Chapter 4: Return, Waiting and Decision
A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews. I want so much to reply but I don't have much time. In the previous chapter we saw how happy Charles, Elsie and the girls were for the adoption but we don't know yet if in the end they will be a family. I hope you like it as much as I do. I'm enjoying writing this story and it's one of my favourites.
Disclaimer: Any situation or character that appears in the drama isn't mine.
It was their last day in London and they wanted to spend it as enjoyable as they could. The next morning they had to catch the train to go back to Downton. They wanted to spend as much time as they could with the two girls and decided to ask if they could take them for a walk. As they walked from their room to the orphanage hand in hand they had smiles on their faces. Charles had discovered that she was more beautiful when she smiled.
Sister Anna gave them the permission to take the girl for a walk with the condition to bring them back in time for dinner. Rose and Christine were jumping up and down from excitement when the nun informed them. They started walking in the streets of London with the two girls between them. A few couples had complimented them about their beautiful daughters and neither said anything to correct them because they liked this thought.
They arrived at a park where other children were playing and let the twins to go and play with the other children. They sat down on a bench looking at them with wide smiles on their faces. She had begun dreaming about a family of their own when he proposed to her. She loved Sybil very much but she wasn't her daughter and this made her think about children of her own. Somehow when she had seen that automobile going towards Rose she had felt like she was her own child and she needed to protect her which caused her to do what she had done. She turned to look at her husband and saw him watching the girls playing happily with the other children. She placed a soft kiss on his lips and sat closer to him. "They seem very happy, Charles.", she had a sad smile on her face that didn't pass unnoticed from him.
"Yes, they are happy.", he had seen the sad smile. "What's wrong, love?", he was sure that he knew the answer but he needed her to open up to him.
"I don't know, Charles. It's just that… I loved these girls from the moment I saw them. I gained their trust and they want us to be a real family but…", she trailed off and took a deep breath to hold back her tears. "What if we don't get them in the end? Sister Anna told me that they began smiling again when they met us. If we don't become a family, it will hurt them so much.", she couldn't hold back her tears anymore and she started crying in his arms.
"I know what you mean, my love. It will hurt all of us if that happens but we must have faith. I believe that these two lovely girls were sent to our path to stay forever with us.", he watched how her face lit up with his remark. He held her closer to him and kissed her on the lips softly because they were in public and in front of children. From the corner of his eye he saw the girls coming to them. "Wipe your eyes before the girls see you.", he whispered to her ear as he handed her his handkerchief.
Rose and Christine had noticed as they were playing that Elsie was crying in her husband's arms and decided to go to see what had happened. "What happened? Are you alright, Mrs. Carson?", Rose asked with concern in her voice and face.
"As we were playing we saw you crying and were worried that something happened.", Christine explained to them with as much concern in her voice and face as her sister.
"Nothing happened, girls. I'm just very emotional lately but there is nothing to be worried about.", Elsie smiled at them reassuring them that everything was fine.
"I have an idea.", he looked from his wife to his… the girls. "Are you hungry, girls?", he chuckled when they nodded quickly. "Alright then. Let's go for lunch and then for some desert.", he helped Elsie to stand up from the bench and they walked to one of the restaurant's he went during his free time when he was in London for the season.
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They had a very nice lunch and desert in the restaurant. After that they went for a walk looking at the shops and talking about many things. After arriving at the orphanage they said good-bye to the girls and left for their room. Elsie hoped that this wasn't the last time she saw them, she hoped that the four of them would become a family in the end. They packed all their things and slept early because they had to wake up early to catch the train.
It felt a little weird when the train arrived at Downton's train station. Lord Grantham had sent the chauffeur to pick them up from the station. Elsie was very grateful at that because she was feeling tired and she didn't know if she could manage to walk all the way to the house. Once they arrived they went to their room to change to their work clothes and as Elsie went to her sitting room, Charles went to speak with Lord Grantham about the adoption.
Robert and Cora had understood completely the reasons for them to adopt the two girls and felt very happy for them. Robert reassured him that he would do his best to take care of the matter and inform them about the final decision. Later the same day he informed them that the whole process would take a few months and then they would know the final decision.
They had an early night because they were very tired from the trip and the work at the house. As Elsie opened her eyes when the rays of the sun hit her face she put her hand on her mouth and got out of the bed immediately. This sudden moving woke up Charles who was a little confused but got out of bed quickly when he heard his wife vomiting in their bathroom. He was worried with the sight he saw as he entered the bathroom. Elsie was leaning her head on the wall trying to calm down but soon she was leaning over the toilet losing what was left in her stomach. He walked towards her, hold up her hair and rubbed softly her back.
She leaned her head on the wall for a few moments to calm down and then tried to stand up but the dizziness wasn't helping. He helped her stand up and put an arm around her waist to support her. He was taken by surprise when he felt a sudden weight on his arm and discovered that it was his wife who had fainted. He picked her up in his arms quickly and placed her softly back on the bed. He put on his dressing gown and left the room to send for the doctor. He had seen that she wasn't feeling very well lately but thought that it was from her worry about the adoption.
He asked Anna to bring the doctor upstairs to the room when he arrived at the house and he went quickly to his wife. As he leaned over to cover her with the covers he noticed that she was bleeding and this worried him very much. He watched her face making expressions of pain and he didn't know that to do to help her. Fortunately, doctor Clarkson arrived a few minutes later at the house. He asked him to wait outside the room as he examined the housekeeper to see what was happening. Anna had stayed outside with the butler worried about the older woman and in case the doctor needed something.
Charles was passing back and forth outside the room waiting with worry for the doctor to inform him about what was happening with his wife. He stopped in his track when he heard the door opening and made his way quickly towards the doctor. "What's wrong with my wife, doctor?", he was worried and the sad expression on the doctor's face wasn't helping him.
Richard lifted his head and looked from Anna to Charles. He could see how worried they were for the housekeeper. He took a deep breath before talking to the butler. "I am sorry, Mr. Carson! Mrs. Carson lost the baby.", he informed with sadness in his voice.
He saw how they widened their eyes and their mouths dropped open in shock. "What? Elsie was pregnant?", he managed to ask after the first shock had gone.
"Yes, she was two months pregnant. I gather that neither Mrs. Carson nor you knew that she was pregnant.", he understood the shocked faces when Charles nodded lightly in agreement. "She has to stay in bed for three-four days to recover completely from the miscarriage.", he informed them and saw the worry written on Charles' face.
"Will she be able to get pregnant again?", he wanted to know if there was a chance for them having their own child or the girls were going to be their only children.
"She will be able to get pregnant again but she will have to stay in bed during her pregnancy. She will have difficult pregnancy and her age won't help on the matter but if she gets pregnant she will have to stay in bed in order to give birth to a living and healthy child.", he hated to deliver such news to a husband but he needed to know the truth in case the woman would get pregnant in the future. "I have to go to the hospital but I'll be back in the evening to check on her. She has to rest and eat properly in order to recover completely.", he added finally and left for the hospital.
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Anna had offered to stay with the housekeeper and take care of her while Charles went to inform Lord and Lady Grantham and take over her duties until Elsie would be able to work again in a few days. Cora was very sad to hear the news while Robert reassured him that he would do his best so they could adopt the two girls. He knew what his butler was going through as he imagined how sad and devastated would be if something like that happened to his Cora.
Elsie had cried herself to sleep when her husband informed her about the miscarriage and what the doctor had said exactly. He went back to his work knowing that Anna would take care of his wife because he needed something to distract him for the events of the day. It was going to be difficult for them especially since they didn't know that they were going to be parents but the baby was gone before they had the chance to know.
They decided to put this behind them but they would never forget about the chance they had lost. The only thing that made them happy and dream for a happy life was the adoption of the girls. They knew that Robert was making his best to make sure that they would adopt them but it wasn't so easy. They made love again a month after that day. Elsie wasn't ready for it and Charles didn't want to pressure her or hurt her. They just waited for the right time and it had finally come one evening as they were having a glass of wine in her sitting room. They continued spending time together, taking walks in the gardens of the estate, courting like before they got married and slowly they got back to their life together.
The days were passing, sometimes slowly sometimes quickly and it made them worry about losing a second chance to become parents, to have a family of their own. Almost three months had passed since they returned from that week in London. Elsie was helping a new housemaid to get used to the work by showing her. Charles was busy in his pantry checking over the lists of the wines they had in the wine cellar. As he was checking over one of the lists he was informed by a footman that Robert wanted to see him in the library. Charles stopped what he was doing and went upstairs.
"Carson, I wanted to see you for something very important. They send this letter and I believe it's the final decision about the adoption of the twins.", he handed the letter to the butler.
Charles stood still looking at the letter in his hands for a few moments and upon looking Robert who was very impatient to know the decision, he opened the letter. "Oh my God! We are the parents of Rose and Christine… Carson.", he looked up at Robert with a wide smile on his face.
"Congratulations, Carson. I am very happy for you and Mrs. Carson. I know that you are going to be wonderful parents to the girls.", he said as he shook his hand. "Go find Mrs. Carson. You have the day off to go to London and come back tomorrow with your… daughters.", he smiled widely at the man who had been serving his family for thirty years now.
"Thank you very much, Milord.", Charles nodded at Robert and left quickly in search of his wife. She was going to be very happy with this news. He was very grateful that Lord Grantham gave them the day off to go to London and come back tomorrow with their… daughters.
Please, please, please review. I would like to know what you think of this chapter. (I'm working on the third chapter of the story 'What happens next?'. I hope it will be ready until Saturday so I can update it!)
To Be Continued…
