Chapter 2: Finding the missing piece
A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews, the favourites and the follows. I'm glad you like it. In the previous chapter we left Mr. and Mrs. Carson the night before they leave for London. In this chapter we are going to follow them in their week in London which is full of surprises. What's going to happen? Let's find out. I hope you like it.
Disclaimer: Any situation or character that appears in Downton Abbey isn't mine. Only characters and situations outside of the drama are mine.
Lord and Lady Grantham had given them their permission to have a week in London for themselves with the condition to pay for the room they would stay. At first they had refused but in the end they gave in, deciding to enjoy their free time together. Charles had taken their suitcases while Elsie had their key for their room. They were surprised when they entered their room. It was one of the most wonderful rooms they had seen in their lives. In the main room there was a large bed, even bigger than that they had in the cottage and their room at the house. A very nice and comfortable sofa with two armchairs and a low but big enough table were placed at the other side of the room where they could sit and have their tea or wine.
They saw two doors similar to the one they had just opened to enter this lovely room. As they opened the first they discovered a very luxurious bathroom with a bath tub big enough for them both. The second door was leading to the dressing room where they could put their clothes in the wardrobe and change there. As they left their things in the dressing room, they went back to the main room and looked all the room. They looked each other and made a note to thank their employers for this lovely gift.
As Elsie made her way to the balcony she was caught by her husband's arms. He turned her to face him, looked straight in her eyes for a few moments and then began kissing her passionately. At first she tried to push him away but she couldn't resist in their passion and let herself enjoy it. They broke apart breathless but with wide smiles on their faces. "I'm going to change because I would like to have a bath to relax.", she kissed him softly on the lips and made her way to the dressing room.
"I will join you, my dear.", he said with a wide smile on his face and a grin as he followed her to the dressing room.
After a while they were holding each other in the full bath tub, trying to catch their breaths after the release of their lovemaking. It was a new experience that pleased them both and decided to try it in their bathroom at the cottage. Charles started cleaning her back when he heard a sob and discovered that she was crying. "Elsie, what's the matter? Did I do something that hurt you?", he was suddenly worried that maybe making love in the bath tub was embarrassing to her and the sight of his wife crying was saddening him.
Elsie shook her head as a 'no' to his second question but didn't say anything to answer his first question. Suddenly, she felt his arms around her waist and she hesitated for a moment, but she leaned on his chest and continued crying as he was holding her. Finally after a while she had calmed down and wiped her eyes. "I don't know what's wrong with me, Charles. In one moment I was thinking about our lovemaking and the next moment I was thinking about the child I want so much, a child that may never come.", she took a deep breath to calm herself because she didn't want to start crying once more. She knew that he was worried about her and she felt sorry for that.
"Don't worry, love. If it is meant to become parents, we will but if it's not then we will protect the 'children' that are growing up under our care in Downton.", he kissed her softly on the lips. "I want too a child of our own but we can't know if it's going to happen. We'll wait and see. Please don't cry anymore, Elsie.", he held her more tightly against his chest. "Let's finish our bath, get ready to go for a nice walk and then I'll take you to one of my favourite restaurants to have dinner. Is it a good plan?", he smiled at her when she nodded.
/-00-/
Half an hour later they were walking in the streets of London hand in hand. He was showing and explaining to her things which she had never seen the few times she had visited London. They stopped at the shops to take a look at the dresses for the women. Charles had seen how happy she was when she was watching a particular dress and made a note in his mind to take care of something. As they were walking Elsie saw a girl going in the street to catch her ball when she noticed an automobile. She left her husband's side, took the girl in her arms and avoided last minute the automobile.
"Elsie!", Charles shouted when he saw his wife falling on the street with her face while holding the little girl.
"Rose!", a nun shouted as she run towards them.
Charles helped his wife to stand up as she helped the little girl to stand up. The nun run towards them and hugged Rose the moment she reached her. She pulled away and started checking if the girl had been hurt from the fall. Charles looked at his wife and saw that she had blood on her forehead. "Elsie! Oh my God!", he put his hand on her forehead and sighed in relief seeing that the cut wasn't very deep.
"Please come inside so I could take care of the injury.", the nun said with a worried expression and started walking with Rose as Charles and Elsie followed them. The moment they entered the orphanage, Rose run up the stairs to her room while the nun took them to her office. "Thank you so much for saving Rose, Mrs…", she stopped realizing that she didn't know the name of the lovely woman.
"Carson! Mrs. Carson!", Elsie said with a smile to her husband. "This is my husband.", she introduced him to the nun.
"I'm sister Anna.", the nun said to the couple as she finished clearing the injury.
"I'm sorry to ask but why Rose is staying here?", Charles asked very interesting in the girl.
"Rose is eight years old and she is staying here with her twin sister, Christine. Their mother died in birth and their father died while he was working. He was a fisherman and his boat sank when they were caught by a storm.", she informed them with a sad smile.
At that moment Rose entered the office and went straight to Elsie taking hold of her hand. "I want to show you my room.", the girl had a pleading smile on her face and Elsie couldn't resist.
Sister Anna looked at the scene with a smile and when they left she turned to Charles. "They came here three years ago. They have a special bond but it's difficult for them to trust other people. I can see that Mrs. Carson gained Rose's trust.", Charles smiled at the nun and a thought came to his mind.
They left the orphanage almost three hours later as Rose and Christine wanted Elsie to play with them. As they were walking back to their room to have dinner there, he saw the smile and the lovely expression in his wife's face which made him sure about the thought he had. They ate their dinner in silence and afterwards they sat in the sofa with Charles holding her in his arms for a glass of wine. He knew it was the right moment to approach the subject. "I see that you enjoyed yourself with the girls.", he began looking at the fireplace.
"Oh, yes. They are wonderful, Charles. It's sad to know that they haven't got parents or any relatives and they are staying in the orphanage.", she said in a low voice trying to hide her sadness with no succeed.
"I spoke with sister Anna about adopting them.", he was smiling widely when she jumped from her place and looked at him with widened eyes. "There won't be a problem since we work for the Crawly family.", he was serious once again. "I know how much you want a child of our own but we may never have our child. The girls haven't got parents or any relatives, so we all gain something. We gain the chance to become parents to two wonderful girls and they gain the change to have parents who will love them. What do you think, love?", he asked her with a smile but started getting worried when she didn't say a word or made a move.
Suddenly, a wide smile was on her face. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. "I will take that as a yes.", he managed to say when they pulled away to catch their breaths. They didn't say anything else. They made quick work with their clothes and soon they were making love on the sofa praying for their release. Elsie collapsed on his chest trying to catch her breath and drifted off to sleep while hearing his heartbeat. He took her in his arms and placed her gently in their bed, lied down next to her and covered their naked forms. After a few minutes he was asleep with his wife in his arms.
Please, please review. I would like to know what you think about this chapter.
To Be Continued…
