A/N Wow! So many followers! Thank you for the trust you have in me and in this story ;). And again thank you for the lovely reviews (PercySnail/heymovie1/Hogwarts Duo/kouw/LC).

Enjoy reading.

And then something happened she did not see coming, as much as she had made it her task for today to take care of all of them, this one thing she had not noticed during all the hustle and bustle around her. Only when she saw Jimmy running towards her, out of breath, his cap falling off his head, unnoticed, did she realize that one person was missing. The young footman doubled over in front of her, tried to catch his breath, before he was able to speak.

"Dr. Clarkson. I need Dr. Clarkson. It's Mr. Barrow!" He did not say anything else, was too exhausted from the running so the only thing she could do was to scan the crowd, desperately trying to spot the doctor or Mrs. Crawley amongst the many visitors of the country fair. She should have taken better care, of all of them, not just focused on Tom Branson and Beryl. Leaving them all more or less unattended had been a mistake, simply enjoying herself for one day, like she had initially planned, had proven to be impossible.

"What has happened, Jimmy?" She decided to try it again, addressed him by his given name. She would never call him James, although Mr. Carson preferred it, had forbidden everyone to call the lad by this name. But she knew the butler long enough to allow herself some liberties, ignore a rule he had set for the others from time to time, would not listen to his sometimes tiring and too long monologues about tradition. Besides, he was not here, he could not hear her and she did not care about any rules that only applied when they were around the family. It was more important to find out what had happened. And aside from that, she knew that he would not mind it in this situation because underneath all the stiff and ever so correct façade was a kind and gentle soul hidden.

"He got into a fight!" Jimmy answered and brought her out of her uncalled for reverie. Elsie gasped and covered her mouth with one hand to muffle the sound.

"Where is Dr. Clarkson?" Her voice was now filled with worry. She still could not see the man, had looked everywhere, turned around several times. The way the young boy had hurried across the meadow a minute ago, indicated that Thomas was severely injured. But then Jimmy started to run again, in the direction of the refreshment stalls where the doctor was sitting at a table, next to Mrs. Crawley, engrossed in a conversation. How had she not seen him over there? As soon as Jimmy had approached him, the man was on his feet.

Thomas of all people! As if he had not already endured enough. Why did he always get into trouble when in the last year he had made such good progress in his new position? Elsie's mind was racing while she followed Jimmy, Dr. Clarkson and the others across the grounds. She had watched Thomas, tried to point him in the right direction this past year, let him know that she trusted him, helped him wherever she could (behind Mr. Carson's back sometimes). After all, it had been her suggestion to make him under butler instead of letting him go without a reference. And how often had she discussed his work over a glass of wine with Mr. Carson? How many times had she been able to demonstrate that this decision had been a good one? That Thomas had changed?

They crossed a small river, turned left and found themselves underneath a bridge where the poor soul leaned against the dirty brick wall, bruised, bleeding, his face disfigured by a black eye and cuts at his brow and all over his face. She bit her lip, looked down at him, concerned and in disbelief that this had really happened. Dr. Clarkson knelt down, checked the injuries carefully, wiped away some of the blood from Thomas's nose.

"But why did you get into a fight? That's not like you!" she said, just to say something. Thomas was feisty but in all his time at Downton Abbey, he had only once gotten into a fight, with William. "Is anything broken?" The doctor looked up to her, shook his head and Elsie felt relief rush through her body. At least he had a bit of luck in all this mess. He would be all right and she would make sure that someone would look after Thomas as soon as they were back home.

It was Tom Branson who made the next decision. "I'll go and fetch the wagonette", and he was off while Alfred and Dr. Clarkson helped Thomas to stand up. She could see in his face how much it cost him to not wince in pain, then noticed how his eyes briefly moved from her face to Jimmy's. The footman had remained in the background, had not said a single word, not dared to come closer while Dr. Clarkson took care of the injured man. Elsie observed them, tried to understand this fleeting exchange. There was still some of the unspoken disgust visible on Jimmy's face, although the incident was long forgotten. No one talked about it anymore. But between these two it would probably always be an issue.

Slowly, the group stumbled back towards where they had left the cars. A relaxing day was suddenly over; their formerly happy faces now showed their shock. Beryl had forgotten her suitor altogether, Ivy and Daisy clung to each other and even Alfred seemed lost in thought. The only person not affected by this tragic turn of events was Edna who walked next to her with a smile on her face. Elsie would have loved to reprimand the silly girl now, on the spot, tell her to show some respect, but it would do nothing good. Better talk to her later, in the safety of her sitting room where she felt so much stronger, more determined than now. At least Mr. Branson was not at her side right now although this fact was only a small relief compared to what would await all of them back at Downton Abbey. Elsie let out an unintentional sigh.

"Is something the matter?" Beryl's voice startled her, she had not seen the woman standing next to her, had believed no one had noticed how concerned she actually was. Now she had to find an answer to this question, a simple one, one that would satisfy the cook's curiosity and quench her worry at the same time. She could impossibly tell her what she had observed all day: Mr. Tufton and his disloyalty, Tom Branson, Jimmy and Thomas. What could Beryl do about it? Nothing.

"I am sad that the day had to end like this." This was the only answer she could give at the moment. Perhaps she found the strength to explain everything that was on her mind later.

TBC