Chapter 14.

The following morning Jimmy bounded out of bed anxious to speak to Thomas. He dressed quickly and rushed down the stairs slipping lightly as he skidded into the servants' hall earning himself a disapproving glance from Mrs Hughes. Jimmy schooled his expression and sat down next to the Mr and Mrs Bates who were chatting amiably.

As breakfast came to a close Thomas still hadn't made an appearance. As Mrs Hughes dismissed them all for the day Jimmy decided to risk asking after his whereabouts.

"Mrs Hughes?"

"Yes James" the housekeeper replied wearily.

"Do you know where Mr Barrow is?" Jimmy grimaced inwardly as Mrs Hughes raised an eyebrow in question at him.

"He's gone to Thirsk for the morning. The clock in Lady Mary's room broke yesterday and it apparently it had to be fixed right away."

Mrs Hughes frowned in annoyance. With all the arrangements needed for the party this evening the last thing she needed was to be without Mr Carson and Thomas for the day.

"Mr Barrow said he needed a part for it only available in the clock shop in Thirsk so he won't be back before lunchtime."

Jimmy nodded and tried to hide his disappointment and followed Alfred upstairs to serve the upstairs breakfast. He would just have to wait until later to speak to Thomas.

…..

Thomas stepped off the train back at Downton and cursed silently when he realised he had stepped right into a large puddle drenching the ankle of his right trouser leg. He shook out his leg angrily whilst shifting the large clock under his arm. The last thing he wanted to be spending his morning doing was trekking back and forth to Thirsk to find a clock part. Sighing he exited the station and glanced at his pocket watch. He was back earlier then he thought he would be so rather then head back in the pouring rain he decided to stop for lunch in the pub in the hope the weather would ease off a bit before he had to return.

Thomas was just pulling open the door to the pub when a familiar voice called out at him. Thomas whirled around to see Freddie striding towards him.

"Afternoon" said Freddie grinning.

"What are you doing here?" asked Thomas not really in the mood for company.

"I just popped out to collect a few things for Lady Cartwright for this evening." Freddie held up a bundle wrapped in brown paper.

"Shouldn't Mrs Butler be doing that?"

"I fancied the walk" replied Freddie shrugging. "Are you going inside?"

Thomas who was still holding open the door to the pub nodded and Freddie followed behind him as he entered.

"Mind if I join you?"

Thomas shook his head and the two settled into their seats while Thomas ordered from a pretty barmaid who smiled coyly at him as she took his order. Freddie smirked but remained silent.

The two sat quietly while they waited for their food to arrive.

Freddie shifted nervously in his seat as memories of sitting in the same pub as he had with Jimmy the night before flooded his mind.

"Have you spoken to Jimmy?" Freddie asked.

"No, I haven't seen him today" replied Thomas curious at Freddie's inquiry.

Freddie nodded and glanced up as the barmaid set their plates down in front of them fluttering her eyelashes as she did so. The pair muttered their thanks and began to eat.

"Why do you ask?" asked Thomas unable to help himself.

"I just… spoke to him last night is all." Freddie took a large gulp from his drink.

"What about?"

"Oh just this and that. You I suppose."

Thomas willed Freddie to say more too proud to ask exactly what Jimmy had said about him.

"I think he's made his mind up. You won't have to wait too long to find out."

"What are you talking about" asked Thomas in bewilderment.

Freddie just smirked. "You'll see."

….

The rest of the day passed without incident. The party was a success, Lady Edith was happy and even Carson had managed to rouse himself for the evening, much to Mrs Hughes' amusement. Jimmy hadn't had a minute to himself let alone time to speak to Thomas. As the last of the guests finally went to bed Jimmy returned to the servants' hall for a cup of tea some of the staff before they retired for the night. Once again Thomas was absent having already slipped up to bed a few minutes earlier.

…

Thomas yawned loudly as he shrugged off his jacket and unbuttoned his shirt. Having been up so early to travel to Thirsk he was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed. He pulled on his pyjama bottoms not bothering to find his shirt choosing instead to sleep in his undershirt. He slipped under his covers and fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

…

Jimmy waited twenty minutes in the hope Thomas would turn up. He gulped his now cold tea and grimaced at the unpleasant taste. He put his tea cup in the sink and started to head up the stairs to bed. He paused outside Thomas's room debating whether or not to knock on the door. Taking a deep breath he opened the door and peered inside.

"Thomas?" he whispered. The only reply was a soft snore from Thomas's bed.

Disappointed he turned and quietly closed the door. He turned around and jumped in surprise as he came face to face with Freddie.

"You made me jump" said Jimmy putting his hand over his chest.

"Sorry" grinned Freddie. ""What were you doing?"

Jimmy blushed. "I wasn't doing anything".

"Doesn't look that way to me" said Freddie chuckling.

"Ssh!" hissed Jimmy "Thomas is asleep".

Freddie looked at him strangely "You were watching him sleep?"

"No!" spluttered Jimmy. "I was just…. Well I wanted to talk to him ok".

"Talk about what?"

"Oh never mind" said Jimmy rubbing his eyes tiredly. "He's asleep anyway so what does it matter."

He turned to walk away and when he felt Freddie's grip on his arm.

Jimmy raised his eyebrow in question.

"If you were going to talk about what I think you were going to talk about, something tells me Thomas would think it was worth being woken up for."

Freddie released his grip on Jimmy's arm and walked down the hall to his own room.

Jimmy felt his breath hitch in his throat. He placed his hand on his chest in an attempt to steady his heartbeat. Taking one final deep breath he slipped inside Thomas's room. Jimmy's eyes took a moment to adjust to the darkness before they focussed on the sleeping figure at the centre of the room. Jimmy slowly began walking towards the bed wincing as the floorboards creaked under his weight.

He gazed down at Thomas watch the gentle rise and fall of his chest. He was snoring slightly and his lips were ever so slightly parted. Before he could talk himself out of it Jimmy knelt on Thomas's bed and placed a gentle kiss on his pink lips.