John Bates wasn't worried. Not exactly. He knew more than anyone how Anna had grieved for Lady Mary. It had been a terrible shock for the whole household, so soon after poor Branson's accident. Tom's death had been a shock although Bates had wondered more than once if the heart condition that kept the man from being conscripted had finally reared its head when the crash had occurred. Even Dr. Clarkson had wondered, but in the end it didn't really matter if Tom's crash was caused by the man having a heart attack or if he'd really lost control of the car. Tom was dead and as much as it saddened Lady Sybil, it was how Robert had reacted that had surprised him. It was a shame that it had taken the older man so long to see that the grubby socialist chauffeur had been a fine fellow after all, worthy of his daughter. But while Tom's death had been tragic, the household had bounced back. Everyone circled around poor Sybil and it was as if the family and the servants were united in trying to ease her pain.
It hadn't been so simple when Lady Mary died so abruptly after giving birth to little George. Oh the household was drowned in grief, Anna among the most devastated, but it had been different. Mr. Crawley had been stricken by grief, retreating into a silent melancholy, made worse that Lord Grantham and his wife had been at each other, Cora blaming Robert for not insisting Mary go to the hospital. Bates rather doubted any of that had registered on Matthew. Violet had been stunned by grief, and it had been all Isobel, Rose and Sybil could do to get the family to go through the motions. Worse by far was how poorly Carson handled the sorry business. For months he'd glared and snapped at anyone who so much as mentioned Lady Mary, and practically glowered at Matthew. Everyone danced around it, wanting to show sympathy, but also not wanting to anger the old butler. Fortunately, Robert had finally taken the man aside and spoken to him. By then though, everyone was wary of broaching the subject and those that still grieved, like his poor Anna, were left alone. She had struggled, more than the other servants knew, and it had been difficult for her. Lady Sybil had suggested the new arrangement, that while she didn't need a ladies maid the way Lady Mary had relied on Anna, between herself and Rose, Anna was kept busy and didn't lose her place as a ladies maid. It was kind, the way Lady Sybil was kind, but John did worry, especially early on.
And he worried as they sat at the servants' dinner table listening to the gossip. Carson was out, a day off, which made everyone's tongues loosen.
"What do you think, Mosesly?" Barrow asked, his eyes sharp as always. "Did they have a falling out in London? Ever since the family's been back, they've been cool to each other. Not angry… but hesitant." The dark haired footman shrugged as if it he didn't care, but Bates wondered. Thomas wasn't a ladies man, but if Carson favored Lady Mary, then Thomas favored Sybil, made easier that they had worked together in the war. Finally the younger man set down his fork and said what they were all thinking. "I though they liked each other, that they might… find each other. What happened?"
Mosesly shook his head. "I'm not sure." He hesitated as all the servants gave him their attention. "Mr. Crawley is private. He's not a talker. I think… I know he enjoyed himself, and I know he and Lady Sybil had rather planned to rescue each other, as he put it, from unwanted attention but… I don't know. I think perhaps that they both suddenly realized that they were… playing with fire."
"Is it so awful?" Daisy asked as she set down a bowl of food. She looked puzzled, which was never a surprise. "I mean, they like each other, they're raising their little ones together…"
No one else seemed to want to answer so Bates decided to try. "It's frowned on in their circles, Daisy. People might see it as a convenience for the family and not… something real."
"But it would be real," Daisy countered, her tone innocent. "It isn't as though they have to remarry. There's no reason for it to be forced. No one would mind if Lady Sybil didn't remarry, or Mr. Crawley. It causes no problem either way. So why can't they be falling in love?"
Everyone looked around at each other. Bates supposed it was just shock that it was said so boldly, that it stunned them all. They had all been dancing around it, that Sybil and Matthew had somehow gone from grieving friends who supported each other, to true friends and business partners, to a couple that laughed and shared jokes as though they were married. We all had been hoping for it, Bates realized, and now we're worried that it could be happening. Or maybe not all of us, he realized as Anna's eyes widened in shock.
She covered it well, as she rose to her feet. "Daisy, if they were like us, no one would care. But Mr. Crawley will be the Earl, and he married the Earl's daughter. If he's… in love or not, people in their circle would talk badly of him if he married Lord Grantham's other daughter."
Daisy wrinkled her brow in deep thought. "But why? Why would anyone object? Especially if it's real love and it could be…"
Bates tried not to sigh in irritation. Daisy wasn't a dumb girl, not at all, but she bore the marks of a childhood spent as one of many children where the mother and father never explained anything and then was shuffled off to work in service with little to no idea how the world worked. Anna caught his look and seemed to bite back on what she was about to say.
"People would be unkind, Daisy," Anna said carefully and calmly, although Bates knew her well enough to know her temper was being tested, "because it would look too convenient, that Mr. Crawley was marrying Lady Sybil for an ulterior motive, and that he married Lady Mary under false pretense, probably to please Lord Grantham, and to ensure his place in the family." Anna's voice was edged with anger. "It would look like he was merely replacing Lady Mary, with Lady Sybil, and that Lady Sybil was realizing what a mistake she'd made in marrying someone common."
"But that's not true," Daisy protested.
"It doesn't matter if it's true or not," Anna snapped, "but it's what people would say. Now if we're done gossiping, I have things to do." She turned and walked out, not quite fleeing, but Bates knew by the set of her shoulders that she was upset. He started to rise but Elsie Hughes gestured for him to remain seated.
"Let me, Mr. Bates," the older woman said gently as she rose to her feet. She smiled knowingly. "I've had this talk with someone else recently, who isn't as good tempered as Anna."
For once, Bates was glad someone else was willing to take the task of talking to Anna from him.
0o0o0o0
Of course, Elsie thought as she walked up to the second story landing and spied the light in Lady Mary's room, of course she's in there. And of course she sees this as a betrayal of Lady Mary. She understood, she understood all too well, and she hoped to provide some guidance.
She stepped into the room, not shocked that Anna was sitting on the bed and not even making a show of dusting. Anna looked up at her, and sighed. She folded her hands on her lap. "I'm sorry if I was rude to Daisy earlier. And I'm sorry if… I wasn't as pleased by the talk at the table." She sniffed. "Truth be told, I was glad something had seemed to put Lady Sybil and Mr. Matthew off each other."
That confirmed her suspicions. Elsie took a seat next to her on the bed, suddenly glad Carson was out for the day. "Because Mr. Matthew should spend the rest of his life mourning Lady Mary?" She gestured around the room, a room that looked like Lady Mary had departed on a short vacation and would be home soon, and she knew it wasn't just the family that was having a hard time letting go. "Anna, it's been a little over a year. He's mourned her decently, and honestly, I know you won't deny that, not when you were so worried early on that he was… how did you put it? Fading away from heart sickness, that's right."
Anna shook her head. "I don't wish any more unhappiness on Mr. Matthew, Mrs. Hughes, I don't. But…"
"But you see him smiling at Lady Sybil, and it breaks your heart because Lady Mary was your friend and you know how deeply she loved him and it seems like a betrayal and a stab into her heart every time he so much as considers looking at another woman? And worse, that it's Lady Sybil, her own sister, who supposedly loved the bloody chauffeur but as soon as a better man is free, there she is?" Elsie smiled at Anna's suddenly surprised expression. "What? It's impossible for the head housekeeper to have feelings about the situation?"
After a moment, Anna smiled just a little. "I suppose not," the younger woman said, her tone careful. "I just didn't expect you to take Mr. Branson's side. I thought you liked Lady Sybil."
"I do like Lady Sybil, Anna. I like her a great deal." Elsie saw the way in. "I also liked Tom Branson a great deal. We were friends… He reminded me of my older brother, with his cleverness and his daring. I'm probably the only one who approved of his marrying Lady Sybil. When he died, I lost a friend. I still miss him. And it's made worse that we've all been so sad, over Lady Mary, that I feel we sometimes forget that Lady Sybil lost a husband she loved as deeply." She took Anna's hand and gripped it firmly. "I miss Tom. I miss knowing him and watching him become a fine man in his own right. I know you miss Lady Mary, Anna."
"I do," Anna admitted. She wiped her eyes. "Oh, she could be difficult, Mrs. Hughes, I'll never say different, but once she valued you in her heart, she would walk on hot coals for you. You don't know how she helped me, and comforted me during John's trial. By rights, you know she could have fired me and I can tell you it never once crossed her mind. And… she was so much in love with Mr. Matthew, and he with her…" Her voice started to shake and Elsie put her arm around her shoulder. "And then I see him with Lady Sybil and they're laughing over something the children are doing or some story in the news and I…"
"You want to shake him, and say 'have you forgotten how much she loved you?'" Elsie finished for her. "Just like I want to shake Lady Sybil and say 'have you forgotten how he loved you, how he gave up everything for you?'" She waited a moment. "But when we do that, Anna, we're not being fair." She waved her hand at the room. "I find all of them in here at times, but most often Mr. Matthew. And Barrow tells me he finds Lady Sybil sitting in the cars in the barn. That's when we're not finding them at the cemetery." She found herself feeling her own grief again. "They haven't forgotten, not at all, Anna. And we mustn't be angry with them if they find new love, whether it's with each other or some new person, because whatever love they find, it will be different and they will always have the memory of their first loves. It's bad enough that they will have that doubt themselves, we shouldn't add to it."
"I know I'm being silly," Anna admitted. She wiped her eyes again. "I just miss her, and it hurts. But if it does happen, I won't stand in their way." She hesitated. "But you know I won't be the only person to think unkind thoughts about it. I was wrong… I know, deep down, that Matthew would have to love whoever he married next, and so would Sybil, but if I had the thought even after seeing their grief, then so will other people."
"I know," Elsie said. "But it may not be a concern. They do seem to have cooled off."
Anna shook her head as she stood up. "No, they haven't. Not really. They're very much alike, you know. She's been doing things for the new business and avoiding Mr. Matthew, and he's been all about staying late in Ripon to avoid Lady Sybil because if they're not around each other, they don't have to acknowledge that they might… see something there that maybe wasn't there before. If that makes sense?" She shrugged. "That's the space between them, that they do feel the attraction, that there is something there. And they're both kind souls who feel like if they admit they love someone new, that they're somehow betraying the memory of their previous loves. I think they just need some time." She chuckled just a little. "They're driving Rose quite mad, actually. She has been encouraging them from the start, I think."
"I wouldn't be surprised," Elsie said as she also stood up. "I'm glad we talked, Anna."
"I'm glad too," Anna smiled at her. "John has been my rock this last year but lately the talk at the table and all… When you said you missed Tom, I think that was the first time it occurred to me that I wasn't alone in my grief, that we've all been mourning, and some of the…. Interest in Lady Sybil and Mr. Matthew is because people are as upset as I am but showing it differently. Thank you for helping me see it differently."
"You're welcome, Anna," Elsie said easily. She just hoped Anna was right, that the fire was kindled and the slow burn was about to turn into the fire of passion.