So this chapter is about something in the actual script that bugged the devil out of me. I was watching the show on and the first thing out of my mouth when Bates prison release came up was, "But that wasn't what the witness said." Just got the DVD of the season rewatched and sure enough. Hmmm we still have the murder of Matthew Crawley and the thefts. More strange happenings to come! TY all for reading along.
Chapter 6 – Notes and Conversations
"Aren't you coming to bed?" John asked Anna the next evening. She had been quiet and withdrawn the evening before and all day.
"No, I want to sort out some old papers in this drawer," Anna said. "You know I haven't been sleeping well. I thought I might go and see Dr. Clarkson tomorrow."
"Perhaps it will be good news," John said smiling at her.
"Perhaps or it could be the unsolved crime at the house is starting to wear me down," Anna replied.
"Don't stay up too long," John said coming over to give her a peck on the cheek. "Work tomorrow."
"Don't I know it," Anna replied.
Once John had gone upstairs and she heard the bed creak as he lay down, Anna pushed the papers she had been going through to the side and pulled a notebook from the back of the drawer. When she had been working to free John from prison she had kept notes of every name and address she had written to and every conversation. She had kept the notebook just incase anything every resurfaced in the future so they could refute it. She took the notebook over to the small kitchen table where there was good light.
She quickly flipped towards the end of the notebook. There were copies of some letters clipped in the back of the book. There, two pages from the last entry was what she was looking for.
Visit with Mrs. Audrey Barlett, London
The address and time was listed.
Mrs. Bartlett said Vera was upset because her husband had run off with another woman.
Mrs. Bartlett was walking by. The door was open. Vera was scrubbing her hands very hard. Pastry was stuck in her nails. Vera was frightened and jumpy. He was coming back later for his tea.
Anna paused. John hadn't been on the train when Vera was baking the pie. He had been in London at the house. He had gone out to do an errand and was returning for his tea! He was there when she ate the pie! The rest of the entry read as Anna remembered it.
Vera went to post a letter. It was raining and the lights made a halo around her head.
Her memory yesterday had been correct. Mrs. Bartlett had said John was coming back for his tea. Anna sat back in shock. Her notes had confirmed her memory. She quickly shut the notebook and cast a furtive glance towards the stairwell. She took the notebook and shoved it to the back of the drawer then took all the other papers that had been in the drawer and pushed them back in.
She put out the lights and climbed the stairs to their bedroom. Her mind was reeling. Had John killed Vera? Had he been released on a lie? A lie that she had help perpetuate. Anna felt as though she were going to be ill.
"Did you finish with your papers?" John mumbled half asleep.
"No," Anna said. "I'll leave them for another day." She rolled on her side facing away from John and pulled up the covers. She didn't know where to turn or whom she could talk to. Who would believe her? She closed her eyes and willed her breathing to slow so he would think she was asleep. Tomorrow, tomorrow she would make her excuses and go see Dr. Clarkson and make sure she wasn't next in line to suffer Vera's fate.
-0-
"How are we for staff next week, Mr. Barrow?" Mrs. Hughes asked.
"The Bates are off for their annual week. I'll have to see to his Lordship myself," Thomas replied. "It will leave you short one maid but only for a short time."
"It's nothing we can't work around," Mrs. Hughes replied. "Anna is looking tired these days. A rest will do her good."
"We're all feeling tired. A rest at the sea shore would be nice," Thomas said.
"Aye, it would," Mrs. Hughes replied. "I thought we would rotate the staff holidays while the Crawleys are away."
"Any idea what you'll do with your time off, Mrs. Hughes?"
"I thought I might go and visit my sister," Mrs. Hughes said. "It still seems strange to have an entire week to myself after all these years."
"I know the feeling," Thomas replied.
"What about you Mr. Barrow?"
"I'll take my week when I return from London with the family. I can't afford much. I have a cousin just outside of London. I'll most likey go and see him for a few days. He has a motor car, maybe I'll finally learn how to drive one," Thomas joked.
"It seems odd you never drove even a trap or a cart when you were a boy," Mrs. Hughes commented.
"I don't get on well with horses. They're forever trying to bite me. I don't know what it is. I tried to drive once. The nag wouldn't budge so I gave up."
"Perhaps you'll have better luck with a motor car," Mrs. Hughes commented.
"Perhaps but I have my doubts," Thomas replied with a small grin. "They look to be as cantankerous as horses."
"Well, good luck with it," Mrs. Hughes replied. "I was going to ask Anna to stay here rather than go to London with her husband. I could use her here."
"That would make the most sense," Thomas replied. "We try to be accommodating but we can't always be."
"Yes, I agree and she can always have an extra day here and there if she wants to go to London overnight," Mrs. Hughes said.
"Lady Mary will be back next week. Then it's off to London."
"A return none of us are looking forward to," Mrs. Hughes said shaking her head sadly.
-0-
"What would make you think you have arsenic poisoning Mrs. Bates?" Dr. Clarkson asked Anna during her visit to his office.
"I just wondered Doctor. I've been feeling so poorly this last while. I read somewhere arsenic was used in a number of products before it was realized it was fatal," Anna said nervously.
"I highly doubt you have been exposed to arsenic in a large enough dose for it to do any damage," Dr. Clarkson replied. "You're suffering from insomnia. One of the major symptoms of arsenic poisoning is drowsiness. The others are headaches, confusion and diarrhea. In severe cases with long term exposure night blindness can also occur. It takes quite a few doses of arsenic administered over a long period of time to become fatal. You would expect to see the symptoms I described in say perhaps a mining town where ground water has been contaminated and arsenic has made it into the wells."
"I don't have any of those symptoms doctor. I'm just having a difficult time sleeping," Anna said.
"It's understandable with the upheaval of a police investigation after the difficult time you had clearing your husband's name," Dr. Clarkson replied. "I'll give you a sleeping draught for a week. You said you're going on vacation soon?"
"Yes to the shore for a few days."
"A change is as good as a rest in this case," Dr. Clarkson said while writing his notes. "Go on vacation, try to get some rest and not think about anything back here at Downton for a few days. It will do you a world of good."
"Thank you, doctor," Anna said.
She made her way out of Dr. Clarkson's office to the village pharmacy to have her chit filled, then headed back to the Abbey. She had settled down a bit since last night. John's presence didn't mean he had killed Vera. If he had come back for his tea why hadn't he eaten any of the pie and gotten sick? He had arrived back to the Abbey about nine-thirty on the night in question. That meant he would have caught the seven o'clock from London. That was more than enough time for him to have had tea with Vera. His story didn't quite add up. There were two hours missing when she really thought about it. She had been so sure he was innocent. The man she knew could never do such a thing. What was it Alfred had said? You never knew what a man keeps hidden. Maybe she should stop all this and ask John about it. There could be a reasonable explanation after all.
Anna had just left the village when she heard the distinctive noise of Mr. Branson's car coming up behind her. The shining burgundy hood of his car pulled up beside her and stopped.
"Can I offer you a lift, Anna?" Tom Branson said.
Anna looked at the lane ahead of her and the gathering rain clouds. She smiled and nodded before she got into the passenger seat.
"Thank you, very much, Mr. Branson. I was hoping to get back before it rains," Anna said.
"It's no inconvenience. I was just down to the village to check on my brother's cottage. He's away for the week. How are you finding working with Mrs. Hughes these days?"
"It's interesting. There is more to the housekeeper's job than I had realized," Anna said. "I'm very grateful you kept me on now that Lady Mary has married and will be living away."
"They'll be in London and Viscount Branksome's estate most of the time over the winter. I expect we'll see Lady Mary for the odd weekend here and there. It may be the best thing for her once she learns the real circumstances of her late husband's death."
"Poor Lady Mary, all the grief and now this."
There was a small pause while Tom slowed down and maneuvered the car through the turn towards the main house.
"Anna, I know you've always been close with Lady Mary. If you ever need anyone to talk to I hope you know you can count on me," Tom said seriously. "Lord Grantham doesn't always want to hear things even if they are the truth. I may be the boss now, but I still have your best interests at heart. It's my job to take care of this estate and everyone on it."
"Thank you, Mr. Branson. I'll keep that in mind," Anna replied with a small frown.
Tom didn't say anything more. He just gave her a slight nod and half smile. He pulled up near the back of the house to drop her off.
"Thank you for the ride, Sir," Anna said.
"I'm glad we had this time to chat," Tom replied. "What were you doing in the village anyway?"
"Oh, I haven't been sleeping well. I went to get something to take care of it," Anna replied.
"Take care of yourself, Anna," he said.
"Thank you, Sir. I will," Anna said before she turned away from the car. "What an odd conversation," she thought. "Then Mr. Branson often has odd ideas. You never knew quite what the man is up to next."
-0-
"Are you looking forward to our trip to the shore?" John Bates asked his wife while she was packing a few things into her case. They would be gone the week before Lady Mary's return.
"Yes, I suppose. It will be nice to get away from the Abbey and all the drama even if it is just a few days," Anna said. It had been three days since her trip to the doctor and her odd conversation with Mr. Branson. She hadn't known quite how to ask John about the inconsistencies in his story surrounding Vera's death. "John, I want to ask you something," Anna said slowly.
"Ask away," John said. He was busy putting socks and drawers into his case.
"Where were you really the evening Vera was poisoned? Mrs. Bartlett said you were coming back for your tea," Anna said quietly. John's back went stiff at her words.
"What's brought this on after all this time?" he asked. He still hadn't turned around.
"All the intrigue around the estate I guess," Anna said with a slight shrug. She took a seat on the side of the bed and turned towards him. "I still don't think you did it and I'm glad you're out of prison, but you weren't on the train. I clearly remember Mrs. Bartlett saying Vera told her you were coming back for your tea when she was scrubbing the pastry off her hands. Then she went to mail a letter. You didn't get back till after nine, which means you were on the seven not the five."
John turned to look at her. There was a flash of something cold and dangerous in his eyes before his expression softened.
"The truth is," he said coming to sit beside Anna on the bed. "I did go back. I had gone to the bank to check on the funds. Vera had taken almost everything. I went to close the account. She was a greedy woman. I returned with the five pounds that were left in the account. She thought there should have been more. We fought and she hit me on the cheek with a piece of crockery. I left and went to a pub near the train station. I almost took a drink. You know I have problems with alcohol. I stared at the glass for over an hour before I left without touching it. I took the next train back."
"Why didn't you tell the police you had been at a pub? Why make everyone think you had taken the train?"
"No one wanted to listen to the truth when I had told it. I was distraught. I couldn't remember which pub I had went to. There are all kinds in the area around the station. It would be like searching for a needle in the haystack," John said taking her hand.
"The pie must have been intended for you," Anna said.
"I'm lucky I never had a chance to take a bite," John replied.
"She must have put an awful lot of arsenic in that crust for it to have killed her," Anna commented.
"What makes you say that?"
"I found out people get sick from arsenic poisoning all the time. Sometimes it gets into the water supply. It causes all sorts of problems, but it's not fatal in small doses."
"She was a vindictive woman," John said as he had many times before. "Let's not think about her. Are you feeling better about things?" He slid his arm around Anna.
She smiled and nodded. "I love you Mr. Bates," she said. "I knew you would have an explanation."
"For you, always," he said smiling at her before he slipped the buttons on her housedress open.