Okay so here is my first attempt. Hopefully you all will appreciate it. Apart from the background and a few characters, the rest is purely original and factitious.

Chapter 1

If there was one thing Thomas Barrow had learned from his 15 years of experience at Downton Abbey was that this world is a selfish place to live. A cruel and unkind place to be born into and die. As he walked up to the big mansion inside the vast property in Eaton Heights, he contemplated on his life so far. He wasn't given the respect he deserved even though he was made the under-butler. He worked really hard to achieve the position but nobody could make the sense out of his position. "Why an under-butler? What is that anyway?" Mrs. Patmore would ask Mrs. Hughes sometimes. Miss O'Brien was the most unpleased about this new promotion. Thomas still remembered how the two of them would conspire in the broad day light away from everyone. How they confided almost everything in each other and how they eventually used these secrets to turn on one another. But there were people who seemed to be kind to him. Jimmy for example. His pace slowed down as he visualized his face, that handsome and dashing face. Surely, he did not expect Jimmy to understand his nature even though he was deeply hurt by the way he reacted to the event of the night in question.

But now, this was a clean slate. A chance to start something new. He had resigned from Downton and finally applied for a position as a butler far away from the place he was desperate to leave. With a good reference from Mr. Carson and Lord Grantham, he finally was standing in front of the huge mansion. It was not as huge as Downton Abbey but was pretty enormous. "The Colfers are very respectable people in Eaton Heights. Lord Richard Colfer was a member of the House of Lords, and now a writer. You will be happy there Thomas", said Mr. Carson on the day he left. He took one deep breath and knocked on the door.

A skinny man wearing a long coat opened the door and stared at him. His face surprised Thomas because it seemed so peculiar to him. Is he ill? His face looks funny. A long face, with tiny button like eyes and round lips. "Excuse me. Is Lord Richard Colfer here? I am Thomas Barrow…."

"Oh yes. Mr. Barrow, our new butler. If you could just follow me?" said the man and took his two suitcases and lead the way.

The entrance almost reminded him of Downton. The big staircase, the neatly spread carpet and the maids and servants who were running around with their chores. The skinny man took Thomas into the living room where an aged man was reading a book. Opposite him was an old woman knitting. It almost surprised Thomas the people like Colfers would prefer knitting rather than buying something directly from the stores. The skinny man cleared his throat and said, "Lord Colfer, Mr. Thomas Barrow his here."

Immediately Lord Colfer turned around and stood up followed by Lady Colfer who soon followed suit. He approached Thomas and shook his hand saying, "Welcome Mr. Barrow. We were waiting for you. I see you have already met Mr. DeBree, our first footman."

Thomas turned sideways to look at the first footman. Jimmy looks like a first footman and so does Alfred. Not you. "Mr DeBree was kind enough to help me with my suitcases", smiled Thomas still processing in his mind a man of his…looks…would qualify him to be a first footman in a respectable household.

"And have you been to your new cottage in the village?" asked Lady Colfer.

"No milady. But I will this evening. Thank you."

Lord Colfer looked at Mr. DeBree and nodded slightly, probably telling him to go, which he did soon after. He then asked Thomas to take a seat. Thomas wondered if Lord Grantham ever asked Mr. Carson to sit with them in their fine living room.

"So Mr. Barrow, do tell us something about yourself", requested Lord Colfer.

Thomas was slightly taken aback. He felt like he was being interviewed for the position of the butler of the house when he had already qualified. But, nevertheless, Thomas told them things they would want to hear. His work experience at Downton, his experience at the war and how he was looking forward to working for the Colfers. He could tell Lady Colfer was not interested but somehow managed to fake a smile for the sake of her husband who asked questions in-between.

"Seems to me that you are exactly the person we were looking for. A man of your experience is just what we needed to get this place into shape," said Lord Colfer looking at his wife for a sign of support to his statement.

"I understand that the previous butler has a condition….."

"Cancer. Poor Mr. Chapman, he was really good at taking care of the house but not so good when taking care of himself."

"I do not doubt that for a second", said Thomas. But he is sick and over. So you might as well forget about him for I am here to stay.

"Married?" asked Lord Colfer.

"Sorry?"

"Are you married, were married to anyone Mr. Barrow?"

"Uh…no. Still unmarried." And will always be, thankfully.

"A man your age and looks must have high standards for a wife", said Lady Colfer, finally finding the conversation interesting.

Thomas could just smile.

"Well you should go downstairs and meet your colleagues, who will ultimately working for you", advised Lord Colfer.

It felt nice-the 'working for you' phrase. Thomas had always wanted to hear it. It made him feel powerful and at a superior position than everyone else, even though he was aware that he in fact was going to be working for the Colfers.

"You must meet all of the people living downstairs. There are only 20 workers-my valet, the first and second footmen, Lady Colfer's maid and the rest are house maids and cooks. We don't own a big house like Downton and there aren't many people living here, so we found it pointless to hire so many workers", said Lord Colfer, as he lead Thomas down the stairs to meet the others. Lady Colfer resumed her knitting as the two men left.

"I heard you have two children…" began Thomas. "Ah yes! A son and a daughter. Phillip is a married and is a newspaper columnist in Scotland and my daughter Jane is married to a businessman in France. We rarely see each other which makes me miss her the most but we make do."

The long carpeted stairs ended and soon old wooden stairs began. The big windows disappeared and small windows slowly appeared as they headed down and down the steps. Just as Thomas took the last step behind Lord Colfer, one of the maids saw him and nearly screeched "My lord. Is everything alright?" Soon many maids and a few men gathered around her facing Lord Colfer and Thomas. Some looked shaken while others were busy staring at the new member, mostly the maids.

These people are so awkward. Why are they staring at me? Weren't they aware that I was coming? And what about that sick thin faced first footman?

"Ah yes. Is Mr. Chapman still here? "asked Lord Colfer. "I was hoping you tow could meet on his last day," he told Thomas.

"Yes milord", said a round faced a short heighted man. "He is sitting but I will get him."

"That is my valet, Mr. Stark", introduced Lord Colfer as Stark turned his back and went inside, what looked like, the servants' eating room.

Soon a large man with bottle-blonde hair came out. He looked sick, you can tell just by looking at him, and he was terribly wrinkled. "Milord. I am sorry I wasn't able to….." he began but Lord Colfer raised his hand to silence him and gave a gentle smile. "It is absolutely alright Chapman. I just want you and the rest of the staff to meet our new butler, Mr. Thomas Barrow", and turned his attention to Thomas. Everyone took a moment to acknowledge him, it seemed. Mr. Chapman observed him from head to toe, Mr. DeBree and an older cook exchanged weird looks, the valet did not give much away and some of the maids giggled.

This is going to be lovely. 20 workers. The former butler who clearly dislike me. The footman who looks weird. Do I really have to befriend the maids now? Good gracious!

"Good morning Mr. Barrow", said a short heighted girl. She had blonde hair tied in a bun wearing a small cap, obviously one of the cooks. Her eyes were brown and she had dimples when she smiled. "I am Betsy, one of the cooks. We were all expecting you."

"Thank you. Please meeting you Betsy", smiled Thomas. She continued to smile and her cheeks changed colour. The other workers, especially the men did not smile when introducing themselves. Thomas did not mind the attitude and the unfriendliness. It will all change now. Once he takes over, he will introduce rules and they would not have a choice but to respect and follow them.

"Right!" said Lord Colfer. "Now that all of you know one another, I think you can start your duties Barrow."

"Milord if I may?" interrupted Chapman. "Since this is my last day and have already begun, I was hoping you could allow me to finish the day. I am sure Mr. Barrow would not have a problem waiting for a day to begin his." And saying this he gave Thomas a look that clearly told him that he was left with no choice. He was reluctant to say "Ofcourse. I do not mind" but he knew that this Chapman worked for the Colfer for years and surely Lord Colfer had a sense of affection for this old man. Besides he was sick, probably dying. The least Thomas could do was grant him his last wish.

"Of course .I do not mind." He tried to fake a big smile.

"Wonderful, then you can take a look around the mansion, at you room at the end of the corridor and then in the evening you can make your way to the village and check your cottage. The word 'cottage' made a lot of the workers, including Mr. Chapman, raise his eyebrows. Clearly they were not expecting Lord Colfer to gift the new butler a cottage on the first day he arrived. Thomas enjoyed their envy. Finally he had something people could envy.

As soon as Lord Colfer climbed his way up the stairs, everyone dispersed to do their work. Mr. Chapman made a peculiar unwelcoming noise and went inside the servants 'dining room. "Do I show you your room Mr. Barrow?" asked Betsy. Thomas understood that no one was willing to make the first move and talk to him except for Betsy. So he might as well accept the offer. He gave a gentle nod.

His new room at the mansion was much larger than the one he had at Downton. It had a single bed in the middle of the room, a side table with lamp, a big closet and a small bathroom attached in one corner. Betsy kept on talking about herself and her work. She helped Thomas unpacked though he did not ask for it. Occasionally Thomas asked her if she had work, maybe getting things arranged for dinner, merely trying to get rid of her. But she always rejected the question by saying dinner preparations will start much later in the evening. Thomas was already making plans about his next day-how he would distribute the duties and how he would win over the Colfers. Betsy went out of his room. Thomas was relived. She came back after 10 minutes, much to his annoyance with a cup of tea, which was the best part of her visit.

Betsy soon said good bye to Thomas when the fat head cook, Mrs. Grayson called for assistance. Thomas finished his tea and looked around his new home before heading out to the village to check out his cottage. The walk was pleasant. The village was not like the village near Downton. It was less crowded in one place and more crowded in another. Lord Colfer had given him the address to his new place on a piece of paper. He asked for directions in-between. Soon his stomach growled telling him he needed to be fed.

Thomas looked around. There was a vegetable shop beside a spice shop. No pub or an eatery. He walked a few more miles and finally found a small patisserie. He was not fond of cakes or pastries but he had to make do with what he got.

Cakes and Sweets. The sign read above. Makes sense I suppose.

He entered and the door chimes made a sound indicating that someone had walked into the shop. A few kids were eating chocolates and the window had a huge variety of them displayed. He looked around for the owner or the manager of the store before looking at the food. They all looked rather delicious and expensive. He couldn't decide what he would order. He obviously did not want something too heavy or else he would not be able to have dinner.

"May I help you, sir?" came a female voice from behind.

Thomas turned around to say what he wanted but stopped. He just stared and slightly opened his mouth to say something. He closely observed the woman who was standing in front of her. Not sure whether it was or someone who merely looked like her. But his question was answered soon enough.

"Thoma…..Thomas Barrow? Yorkshire Thomas Barrow?" asked the woman smiling.

"Alison Carol?" smiled Thomas and leaned forward and gave her a peck on her right cheek.

"How long has it been? Five or seven decades?" asked Alison as she went behind the counter.

"Centuries", replied Thomas. They both laughed. She still looks lovely like she looked all those years ago. God I missed that giggle.

AN: Pleas post your valuable comments/suggestions/criticisms. This is hard topic for me but I am trying my best. The next chapter will soon be up.