Chapter 16: And Straight On 'Til Morning

The wire from London had arrived at Downton a mere thirty minutes before the train was due at the station. Elsie's composure threatened to shatter, but her professionalism kicked in and the focus calmed her. She sent to the stables to have the carriage prepared and then headed to the kitchen to talk Mrs. Patmore down from the ceiling. Word had already reached the cook of the early return. Anna and the other kitchen maids were cowering in a corner as Mrs. Patmore railed about no one understanding that meals did not just happen. "And they'll be expecting luncheon as soon as they arrive, I've no doubt!"

"I'll have Roger and Geoffrey lay out a buffet style table. All you have to do is find four or five things that we can put on the table, even if you have to send up the servant's lunch. You've only thirty minutes, Mrs. Patmore. I suggest you don't waste any of that time moaning. Or, if you must groan, do so while you find something to serve."

Mrs. Hughes' calm demeanor seemed to anger the cook further, but the fiery redhead was able to grouse and curse while she produced a lovely tray of cold cuts and cheeses to accompany the leek soup that had been intended for the servant's meal. The servant's would have to make due with left over stew from the night before and a mess of scrambled eggs. They would lose their pudding to the upstairs meal as well.

Elsie was impressed with what Mrs. Patmore had accomplished, and was about to go downstairs to tell her so when she heard the horses hooves approaching. Her stomach dropped. He was home.

The staff scrambled for the front door, running around from the servant's entrance. Elsie told a few of the maids to just use the front door. She could not believe the fools were going to run downstairs and back around the whole house rather than take the few steps out the front door. Of course, Mr. Carson would probably have insisted they do so. Daft man. She smiled to think of the look of indignation he would have on his face if he knew she'd allowed the maids to use the front door.

The first of the wagons carrying the family luggage passed in front of the house on its way to the courtyard to be unloaded. Mr. Carson jumped down from the still moving wagon and walked briskly towards the staff waiting at the front door. Elsie noticed that he was not wearing his hat. The journey had mussed his hair somewhat and small, dark curls showed themselves against the background of finely greased hair. It made him look less buttoned up, more natural. But Elsie couldn't let herself be distracted by that right now. He took his place beside Mrs. Hughes and turned to greet the approaching carriage.

His gaze had only grazed over her and she had been unable to meet his eye. Elsie was disappointed. She had hoped for some kind of sign from him; a smile or a wink. She understood it was better this way. If he had given her any positive sign, she was not sure she could contain her joy and neither of them would want a public scene.

Finally, the carriage stopped and Roger stepped forward to open the door. Elsie watched Lord Grantham descend from the carriage. He looked much as she remembered him, though thinner and less cheerful perhaps. His face did brighten a little as he looked up at his home; making him look more like the young man she had seen visiting Lady Rosamund. He stood staring for a moment, as if overwhelmed, but he quickly recovered. Lord Grantham turned back to help his wife and daughters out of the carriage before turning back to Downton Abbey as a family.

"Welcome home, My Lord." Carson said as the family neared the threshold. The emotion in his voice was only noticeable to Mrs. Hughes and Lord Grantham.

"Thank you, Carson. And thank you, all." He faced the staff at Carson's side and raised his voice slightly. "For taking such care of my family. I am very grateful." Robert's gaze stopped on Elsie.

"My Lord, I should like to introduce you to Mrs. Hughes."

"My Lord." Elsie executed a deep curtsey. "Welcome home. I hope you will find everything to your satisfaction."

"I am sure I shall, Mrs. Hughes. I have heard very much about you. You come highly recommended by the two sources I trust most on such things; Lady Grantham and Carson."

The family continued into the house where Roger, Carson, O'Brien, Miss Randall and Mrs. Hughes followed them. The rest of the staff scooted around the side of the house as the door was shut upon them.

"I fear we may have caught you unawares today, Mrs. Hughes." Lady Grantham apologized, removing her coat and gloves. "Our plans changed so suddenly."

"Mr. Carson's wire reached us in time, My Lady. Mrs. Patmore has prepared a light buffet if you are hungry."

Robert realized with some surprise that he was hungry, though he'd given little thought to food all day. "That sounds lovely, Mrs. Hughes. The girls ate a little on the train, but Her Ladyship and I have not eaten since our rushed breakfast this morning."

"I shall see to the luggage, My Lord." Carson informed him. Roger and Geoffrey would have to wait on the family for luncheon. Carson was not properly attired. "Do you wish to bathe after luncheon?"

"Yes, Carson. That would be ideal."

With that, Mrs. Hughes watched Mr. Carson disappear through the door to the servant's stairs. He still had not addressed her directly or even looked at her properly. She was beginning to worry.

-00-

Elsie Hughes sat in the servant's hall, trying concentrate on the list of supplies Mrs. Patmore had given her. The woman really did have atrocious handwriting. She had a nasty habit of switching between printing and script. Elsie did not hear his footsteps approaching, though she was listening for them intently. How could such a large man move so silently?

"Mrs. Hughes, do you have a moment?"

"Certainly, Mr. Carson." She willed the tremor out of her voice, but she could not calm her beating heart. Mr. Carson had been upstairs most of the day overseeing the unpacking. Tea had been served and things were beginning to slow back down to normal speed below stairs as they were finally on the schedule they had anticipated.

Mr. Carson was once more dressed as a butler and not a valet. As she followed him into his office, he stopped before his desk, hands clasp seriously behind his back. It was his lecture stance and she recognized it at once. This did not bode well. She tried to look around him to see if her thimble still sat on his desk.

"Mrs. Hughes, I did not think that I would have to instruct you, of all people, on the evils of overindulgence." He began. "I understand that wine and strong drink can affect different people differently…"

Oh, God. This was the worst possible response. He was going to pass her letter off as a drunken indiscretion. At least he was not going to send her away, she felt sure of that, but knowing he had read her words and could so easily dismiss them hurt her deeply.

"I do not think dismissal is in order, but I am certainly reconsidering recommending Roger for the position of His Lordship's valet."

Roger's name jarred her from her thoughts. "Roger? What is this about Roger?"

"Look what he's done to my rug. I might not have noticed it if he hadn't tried to hide it with this chair." Confused, Elsie looked down at the rug before Mr. Carson's desk. Perhaps there was a stain there. It was very hard to tell.

Part of her brain was still functioning, and it answered for her, "It does not look so bad, Mr. Carson. What makes you think it was Roger?"

"I understand from some of the hall boys that both Roger and Geoffrey overdid it on Christmas. Do you think Geoffrey would have tried to hide his error?"

"No." She said, her mouth still dry.

"I must admit, Roger has done an admirable job with the stain. Red wine and…please forgive the vulgarity, bile are not easily cleaned. I think his punishment will be to deep clean this rug and any other stained rugs during the Season, on top of his other work. And I shall give Geoffrey the opportunity to serve as His Lordship's valet."

Elsie nodded absently and almost formed a word of agreement.

"Thankfully, it's already ugly enough that stains aren't readily apparent. I suppose that's how it ended up down here." He smiled at his own joke. When she did not smile back, he faltered. "Are you quite well, Mrs. Hughes?"

"You've not mentioned my letter, Mr. Carson." She managed to bravely say.

"Um…your letter?" He looked uncomfortable for a second, but then continued. "I cannot say that I received a letter from you, Mrs. Hughes. When did you mail it? The post is so overwhelmed this time of year. I only received Mrs. Patmore's letter yesterday, though it was posted on the twenty third."

She stared at him in disbelief. Why had he acted so strangely upon arriving if he hadn't read her letter?

"That reminds me!" He exclaimed and walked past her to the door, not noticing her stunned silence. She could see her thimble still sitting in the middle of his desk. "Mrs. Patmore! Could you please join us?"

"Yes, Mr. Carson?" The cook came in, wiping flour from her hands.

"I've brought back chocolates for the staff, as you requested. I did not get your letter in time, but Her Ladyship had already suggested the same. I will bring the boxes to you and Mrs. Hughes when they are unpacked. It was an excellent thought and I wanted to thank you."

"Well, they've worked that hard, haven't they? I thought they deserved something special."

"And you wouldn't say no to a box of toffees, yourself." He winked knowingly at Mrs. Hughes.

"That I would not, Mr. Carson." The cook confirmed before heading back to her kitchen.

Carson noticed that Mrs. Hughes was still distracted. "Not to worry about your letter, Mrs. Hughes. Mr. Anders will forward it on from Painswick Place when it arrives, I am sure."

This thought frightened her into action. "Well, there's no need to read it now that you're home. I was only asking that you bring something from the apothecary. They have a much better selection of headache powders in London."

Carson was glad to know she had written to him, even if it was only about headache powder. It would have been her first letter to him. The deeply buried sentimentalist in him still hoped that he could read this letter and keep it preserved in his box of treasured mementos. "Well, I am sorry that I missed the opportunity to help you out."

Missed opportunity; that's it exactly. She thought. Though it's probably for the best. Now, she just had to make sure she intercepted the letter before he accidentally opened it.

"Will that be all, Mr. Carson?" She did not know if what she felt was relief or disappointment. In reality, it was a mixture of both.

"Yes, Mrs. Hughes. I thought you'd like to know that His Lordship will be wanting to meet you more formally after tea."

"Thank you, Mr. Carson. I look forward to meeting him properly." With a rather unconvincing display of surprise, Elsie exclaimed. "Oh, there it is!"

"There what is?" A confused Mr. Carson wanted to know. She was acting very strangely.

"My thimble. I was sewing on Christmas before we came in here to get the wine. I must have set it down." She swept it up quickly before he could notice that the thimble was sitting squarely in the center of his desk.

"A thimble?" He chuckled at the thought. "You've not read that part of the book yet, by chance? The part I mentioned in my letter?"

"No. I'm on the chapter where he is convinced the dog has become a person."

"That was a rather silly chapter, but sweet." He smiled at her, unaware of how much this simple action hurt her heart. "I have much to tell you about the play and London, though the girls have made me promise to leave out some key details."

"The girls?" Even in her suffering, Elsie could not help hearing the new level of familiarity in his tone as he spoke of the young Miss Crawleys.

"That is, Lady Sybil specifically. She wanted to tell you all about her adventures in London."

"I look forward to hearing about them."

"I'd like to tell you some of what I am authorized to tell over a glass of wine this evening, if you've the time."

Before she could answer, Anna knocked and said, "Mrs. Hughes, His Lordship is asking for you in the drawing room."

"Thank you, Anna. I shall be up directly." Raising her eyebrows in mock fear, she teased, "Time to meet the master. Wish me luck."

"You've nothing to be worried about, Mrs. Hughes, I assure you."

"Who's worried?" She winked at Mr. Carson, not knowing how much it warmed his heart.

-00-

The introductions had gone well. Lord Grantham was as easy going as Mr. Carson had described. Elsie could tell his mood was already much improved from what it had been at his initial arrival. A good meal, a bath and the familiar surroundings of home will have that effect.

Robert had been impressed by his welcome, which had been efficient and professional. He had known his insistence upon taking the early train would disrupt their plans, but he had feared for his own sanity if he remained in London one hour longer than was necessary.

With all the emotions and thoughts accompanying his arrival, Robert had not had a chance to notice much about his new housekeeper. Now, in the quiet of the drawing room and with the calm demeanor of a contented man, he considered her properly. There was no denying she was a handsome woman and rather young to be a housekeeper in such a grand house. Her eyes were keen and she had a confident way of moving and speaking.

Robert asked her some questions about her past work and was astonished that she had once been Rosamund's Lady's maid. "I thought there was a special home for the women who left that post; a recovery ward or something."

"She was a delight to work for, My Lord, but I am not of a disposition for Lady's maid. She was very understanding and supportive when I chose to return to Downton."

"Understanding? Supportive? We are talking about the same Lady Rosamund Painswick?"

"Robert, be kind." Cora scolded him lightly. His mood truly was improving exponentially with every hour he was home. He was in danger of becoming too familiar with his staff.

"I am sorry, Mrs. Hughes, I should not have spoken so." Robert said, though his eyes still twinkled mischievously. Elsie began to understand how Carson could be so devoted to this man.

"I am sure we shall all get along famously, Mrs. Hughes. My dear, did you not have something for Mrs. Hughes?" Lord Grantham prompted Lady Grantham.

"Oh, yes. I had almost forgotten." Cora was still not sure why this gift was supposed to have come from her. Apparently, Carson had suggested to Robert that it would be more appropriate for it to come from the family. Robert thought it would be strange coming from himself, considering he had never met the woman. So now, Cora was left to justify a random gift to a member of staff. "I thought it would be nice to commemorate your first Christmas with us. Please accept this as a token of our esteem."

Elsie was quite shocked to be handed a wrapped Christmas gift from Lady Grantham. All the staff had already received their allotment of fabric and an extra bonus with their last wages. "Thank you, My Lady." Elsie stammered as she slid the tartan ribbon off the slick green paper. Still standing before her seated employers, Elsie opened the flat, white box. "Oh, My Lady, this is perfect. Whatever made you think of it?"

"Well…it seemed right." Cora said, noncommittally. She wasn't even sure what was in the box. Robert had tried to explain, but she thought he was mad. Why would Carson buy the housekeeper scissors? On a chain?

"It is so lovely, My Lady. Thank you. This will be a great improvement over my current key ring." She removed the silver chatelaine from the box, admiring the delicate scrolled working of the clasp. Three chains of stainless steel cascaded from the silver decoration. One chain was occupied by a small pair of scissors, ideal for clipping fraying pillows, linens and curtains. The other two chains ended in small rings, ready for her keys. Already, Elsie was thinking, One for upstairs' keys and one for downstairs' keys.

Elsie had been looking for something to replace the heavy brass key ring that Mrs. Pearson had favored. Not only did it clank in an unappealing manner when she was going up or down the stairs; it had caused a permanent, small bruise to form on her leg where it hit her repeatedly.

Now that Cora saw the gift properly, it did make sense to her. "Well, Mrs. Pearson was rather old fashioned when it came to her keys. We thought you would appreciate something more delicate."

"Thank you, again, My Lady. I can't think of a finer gift."

"You are most welcome, Mrs. Hughes. That will be all."

After the housekeeper had left, Robert turned to his wife. "What the hell just happened?"

"A thoughtful gift was gratefully received, Robert."

"Scissors and key rings? These are thoughtful gifts?"

"They are for someone in her position, Robert. And, as far as chatelaines go, that is quite a lovely one; tasteful, but beautiful. To be honest, I should have thought to get her one for Christmas."

"Chatelaine? Is that what it's called?" Robert asked rhetorically. "Well, she thought it was the perfect gift. She and Carson really are perfectly suited, are they not?"

"They work together well, if that's what you mean."

"Do you not think they might work together too well?"

Cora finally understood what Robert was saying. There certainly was an unspoken something between the two heads of household. She had noticed it, but had not thought to attribute it to any romantic feelings, only to the mutual respect of two people at the top of their profession.

"Do you think we should do anything, my dear?" He asked her.

"Absolutely not. We don't know that anything is going on. To be honest, so long as it does not affect the level of service, I do not care if anything is going on, nor should you."

"But, if we let it go unchecked, it might mean that Carson must leave us."

"I don't see why it should mean that. But, if it did, we would be happy for him. We should be happy for them both. But I think you are seeing smoke where there is no fire. This is Carson we're talking about, after all."

"Yes. Yes, of course, you are right, my dear. There is no need to go looking for trouble where there is none."

-00-

Elsie could not believe the lovely gift she had just received. She had priced chatelaines her last half day, looking through all of Mrs. Beecher's catalogs. Elsie had not found anything for less than three pounds, and those had been bulky brass things that were not much improvement over her current key ring.

She knew immediately that this was not a three pound, or even a five pound gift. If this was anything less than eight pounds, she'd eat her hat.

Elsie had seen the confusion in both Lord and Lady Grantham's faces. One had no clue what was in the gift before it was given and the other had no clue even after. Neither of them had purchased her gift, she was certain of it. Only one person could have done.

He looked up from his ledgers at a light, jingling sound. She was standing in his doorway dangling her new key ring, the keys freshly transferred from her old ring.

"Whatever is that, Mrs. Hughes?" He tried to sound curious, but she could tell he was delighted.

"A beautiful gift from our thoughtful employers to celebrate my first Christmas as housekeeper." She walked in and hung the keys at her waist for the first time. Elsie saw how his eyes followed the keys to her hip and lingered there. He was very proud of himself at that moment, as she felt he well ought to be. "Her Ladyship has exquisite taste."

His smile broadened. His eyes still rested at her waist as he admired how the chains hung down from her waist to the lovely curve of her hip. "She does, indeed."

"I feel a little guilty." She confessed.

"Why?" He wrested his gaze from her hip to her face.

"I have not yet earned a gift this fine. This is something you give to a housekeeper after many years of loyal service."

"Perhaps Her Ladyship felt that you do deserve it." He offered, hesitantly. "Perhaps... she wanted you to have this with the hope that you would stay at Downton for a very long time."

"Do you think that's what she is hoping, Mr. Carson?" Elsie asked softly, biting her lip as she awaited his response.

"I believe she must hope that very much, Mrs. Hughes."

"You may tell Her Ladyship that I've no plans to leave Downton, Mr. Carson."

"She will be very glad to hear it, Mrs. Hughes. As am I."

TBC…

A/N Sorry about the letter fake out, please don't hate me. I will tell you that it is still out there, but don't fixate on that too much.

As for the gift, I was just going to call it a key chain, but I noticed there were scissors attached and looked up 'scissors on a chain' and tada! Straight from Wikipedia… 'A chatelaine is a decorative belt hook or clasp worn at the waist with a series of chains suspended from it. Each chain is mounted with a useful household appendage such as scissors, thimble, watch, key, vinaigrette, household seal, etc.'

Fanfic, it's educational!

Please review if you have recovered from the tryptophan and the shopping.