A/N: We finally talked Charles into taking Elsie up to the Lakes District…want to see what they've gotten up to so far? ;-)

Disclaimer: They still don't belong to me but I'm glad that Mr. Fellowes doesn't seem to mind very much that we borrow them as long as we aren't actually infringing on any copyrights or making any money off the deal!

The True Epilogue

It was dark when they arrived at the address Richard had texted to Elsie's smartphone and they weren't able to see much of the surrounding area on their way in. It was secluded at the end of a long drive but to their surprise, what Richard referred to as a cabin was actually a large fieldstone cottage. Elsie took the keys from Charles and gathered up her purse and the bags with the Chinese takeaway that they'd picked up in the local village while he gathered their cases out of the boot and followed her up the steps to the front door.

She unlocked the door and ran her hand along the wall to her left to find the light switch. They both stood frozen in the doorway as they looked around the cottage. The décor had a rustic feel to it but was hardly what one would consider worn or weatherbeaten. There was a large fieldstone fireplace directly across from the front door in what would be considered a large common room. The furniture was covered in leather and there were large throw pillows and soft lap rugs casually draped in the armchairs and across the end of the sofa. A galley-style kitchen had been tucked into one corner with a small eating area and there was a large set of French doors to the left of the fireplace that Elsie imagined opened onto a balcony or back garden.

Once they'd ventured inside, Charles discovered that there were two ensuite bedrooms at each end of the common room and he deposited their cases in the smaller of the two. Elsie had followed him into the room with her purse and their coats. He hung their coats in the wardrobe while Elsie started to unpack pyjamas and dressing gowns.

"Are you hungry, love?" asked Charles.

"Not very," replied Elsie from the bathroom where she was placing his shaving kit and her make-up bag.

She came out of the bathroom and he reached out an arm to draw her to him. "Why don't you change while I set a fire in the fireplace and open a bottle of wine?" His hands smoothed down her back and came to rest on the curve of her bottom.

"Babydolls or fleece?" she asked coyly, playing with the buttons on the front of his shirt.

"The truth?" he asked looking down at her before hugging her to his chest and planting a soft kiss at her hairline. "I prefer the way the fleece feels when I'm holding you…and I think I want to hold you for a very long time tonight."

Hearing the hoarse emotion in his voice almost broke her heart. She had hoped to put this conversation off until tomorrow but somehow she knew that they would not be able to move past the events of last night until they had talked everything through. She pulled back to look up at him and reached up to smooth his cheek and run her fingers through the hair behind his left ear.

"Lucky for you," she said quietly, "I want to be held for a very long time tonight." She drew his head down pressing a tender kiss to his lips.

"The merlot or the liebfraumilch?" he asked when they broke away.

"The merlot…why don't you put the takeaway in the oven on low while you're at it, we might get hungry later." She turned to let him undo the zipper on her dress and he swatted her bottom when she stepped away to allow it to fall to the floor.

"Slave driver!" he muttered on his way out the door.

When she finally returned to the common room, Charles had set the fire, turned off the overhead lights and was pulling the cork on the merlot to let it breathe. She noticed that he had slipped off his shoes and undressed down to his trousers and undershirt as was his habit when they cuddled on the sofa at home before going to bed for the night. She sat in the middle of the leather sofa and watched as he poured two glasses of wine and handed one to her before seating himself at the end with his back against the armrest. She took a sip of her wine and then scooted over between his legs to lean against his chest as he slipped his free arm around her waist.

They sat in silence for awhile, both alone in their thoughts as they watched the flames dancing in the fireplace. The sound of her voice broke him out of his reverie.

"Sorry, love?" he whispered in her ear, "Say again, I wasn't paying attention.

"Charles, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, love," he said with a deep sigh, "I just don't want to see you being hurt again, especially by that man."

"The only way he can hurt me again, is if he drives a wedge between us and it's beginning to feel as if he has succeeded," she said firmly.

He tightened his arm around her waist and said, "There is nothing in this world that can drive a wedge between us."

"Then why won't you support my decision to press charges?"

"I will support you! If that's what you want to do."

"Then why do you keep trying to talk me out of it?" she asked.

"I just want to protect you," he whispered.

"From what?" She sat up and turned to look at him.

"From him…," he spat out and rose from the sofa to pace the floor in front of the fireplace. "From his lawyers who will try to make it your fault…from the press who will scandalize it to sell papers…" He set his wineglass down and leaned against the mantel with both hands and stared into the fireplace.

"I don't need you to protect me, Charles," she said softly, rising to stand beside him.

"That's probably a good thing since I failed so miserably at it last night," he grumbled.

"Is that what this is really all about?" she asked placing a hand on his arm. "You want to make up for last night by protecting me from the courts and the press?"

"Yes! No..Elsie, do you have any idea what it felt like to burst into that room and find him…groping you?" He rubbed the back of his neck with one of his large hands but still would not turn to face her. "And then to find out it had been going on for awhile and you didn't trust me enough to tell me about it?"

"Charles Carson, you turn around here right now and look at me," she ground out. "That was the first and only time that man ever touched me!" she exclaimed when he had turned to look her in the eye. "I didn't tell you about his inappropriate remarks because it's not the first time a man has made inappropriate remarks to me. It's not the first time that a man has made a pass at me." Charles stood staring at her as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Charles…I've been working as a female lawyer in a pond full of corporate male sharks for a long time. I've even made my fair share of passes over the years…until you came along and swept me off my feet." She smiled up at him and reached out to caress his cheek when he pulled away from her.

"Then why didn't you tell me?"

She could hear the pain in his voice and thought carefully before answering, "It most certainly wasn't because I didn't trust you…I didn't tell you because I didn't think to tell you." She saw the puzzled look on his face and continued, "I handled it the way that I've always handled it over the years and it never occurred to me to say anything to you because it never occurred to me that it would go this far." She returned to the sofa to sit and take a large sip from the wineglass she had set on the small table beside the sofa. "In the past, a simple no was usually enough. At most, a verbal slap on the wrist but it never occurred to me that he would follow me to the office and attack me."

At this point, the reality of the situation and what might have happened washed over her again and she broke down sobbing. Charles rushed over to take her in his arms and comfort her.

"Shush now, darling, I'm here," he whispered in her ear as he rocked her back and forth.

"How could I have gotten it so wrong?" she choked out.

"I don't understand," he said calmly trying to soothe her.

"It's what I do...it's who I am!" she exclaimed. "I read people! How is it I mis-read him so completely?"

"I don't know love," he murmured, "I imagine it's because he doesn't play by the same set of rules...otherwise he couldn't stomach what it is he does." He continued to rub her back with long soothing strokes and soon her tears calmed and her breathing smoothed out.

"Charles, I'm sorry," she murmured against his chest.

"What for?" he soothed her, "You've no need to apologize."

"But I do, I should have told you what was going on."

"Why? So I could have growled at him and tried to intimidate him?"

"Pardon?"

"Richard said that I would have groused around and been overbearing and made him uncomfortable," said Charles.

"Maybe it would have nipped this whole thing in the bud," she said with a derisive snort.

"Perhaps, but you're right, it is just as likely that he would have moved on to one of the younger…less experienced girls who wouldn't have been as strong as you are," he said evenly. They sat holding each other for several long minutes before Charles voice cut through the silence.

"Yes, you should have told me," he said firmly, "because that's what couples do, they share their burdens and their joys. You don't have to do it all by yourself anymore."

"I'm learning," she said quietly.

"And I am learning that you don't always need me to protect you…that you can protect yourself, if you have a partner who will support you and strengthen you when you need it."

"And that, is why I love you so very much, Charles Carson," she said, pressing herself against his chest as she felt his kiss on the top of her head. "Speaking of growling," she giggled and looked up at him, "I think your tummy is starting to make noise."

"I admit I wasn't looking forward to that conversation but now that we're through it, I'm famished! Are you hungry?"

She nodded her head and padded after him when he went to the kitchen. She placed one hand on the granite countertop and reached up to place the other hand on his shoulder. He looked down at her and took hold of her waist with both of his hands to boost her up onto the countertop. It was something he'd had to get used to but he found that he enjoyed having her in the kitchen when he was cooking.

He remembered the first time it happened, she tried to stay out of his way but after the third time that he'd almost trod on her, he picked her up in his arms and unceremoniously dumped her on the countertop in the townhouse where she proceeded to unceremoniously pout...until he walked over and took her in his arms and discovered that the countertop was the perfect height for cuddling such that neither of them had to bend or stretch to reach those oh, so sensitive spots. It had cost him a very expensive filet mignon to find out that he needed to keep him mind on the task at hand when she was in the kitchen with him.

He was rummaging through the kitchen drawers looking for the silverware and when he turned back to her with two forks in hand, he found her unceremoniously shoveling Kung Pao Chicken into her mouth with a pair of cheap wooden chopsticks.

"What?" she said after swallowing a particularly large mouthful, "I'm hungry."

Charles set the forks down beside her and reached over her shoulder to remove a plate from the rack below the cupboard behind her. He patiently scooped out a portion of the jasmine rice and then poured the entire container of spicy shrimp over the top. He then very ceremoniously turned his back and leaned against the counter beside her.

"I guess I'll just have to eat all the spicy shrimp that you ordered," he said before taking a large bite of rice and sauce. She reached over his shoulder and tried to lift one of the shrimp off his plate when he trapped her chopsticks with his fork.

"You said we could share," she pouted against the back of his shoulder.

"That was when I thought we were going to eat like civilized people, you know, plates, forks, etc…"

He took another bite of shrimp while she weighed her options. She gently raised one leg up to slide her foot along the counter behind him and nestled herself up against his back with her knees gripping his hips on either side.

Gently nipping his earlobe, she settled her chin on his shoulder and offered, "You can have anything you want for dessert."

"Anything?" he queried as he contemplated her offer. "Do I need to specify the details now?"

"No, since I've offered anything your heart desires, we can negotiate the details at a later time."

"Fair enough," he stated stabbing one of the shrimp with his fork and offering it to her over his shoulder. She laughed and stretched forward to take the proffered bite. He turned and reached for another plate to put the Kung Pao Chicken on and they ate together from both plates sitting on the countertop between them.

When they finished and he had rinsed the dishes and put them in the dishwasher, he returned to stand facing her between her knees. His hands slid around her waist and he drew her gently to his chest. He looked deeply into her eyes and whispered, "Now, for my dessert."

He covered her lips with his in a gentle loving kiss. He teased her lower lip with his tongue and hers slipped out to tease him in return. When he deepened the kiss, he tightened his arms around her and slipped his hands under her bottom to lift her off the countertop. Without breaking the kiss, he walked them over and sat in the middle of the sofa so that he could turn and fall back with his head upon the pillows while still holding her in his arms. She unwound her legs from his waist and stretched out along his length, allowing her hands to wander under his undershirt and into the waistband of his trousers. Charles broke the kiss and stayed her hands with his.

"No, Elsie," he said softly, "not tonight." He kissed her on the forehead and pulled her arms down so that she rested against his chest. "I just want to hold you tonight."

"But Charles," she said tentatively, "you've been taking care of me and my needs…what about you?"

"Elsie, my love, what I need tonight is to…" he trailed off looking for the right words, "To protect you. To hold you in my arms and know for certain that nothing and no one can harm you as long as you are here with me. Is that alright with you?"

She snuggled deeply into his arms with a contented sigh, "It's more than alright." He tightened his arms and legs around her as she listened to the sound of his breathing and soon felt the rumble of his snoring beneath her cheek. She smiled to herself as she stretched up to pull the quilt from the back of the sofa over them both to keep warm as the fire began to burn low and before long her own gentle snores were keeping rhythm with his.