"Ah, Mrs. Bute, could you come to my office for a moment?"

"Certainly, Mr. Carson. How can I help?" She followed him into his office and was surprised when he closed the door behind her.

"I should have said so before," Mr. Carson began. "But I really must thank you for your recent advice to me."

"Advice?"

"Yes, you advised me to write an apology to a friend I had offended. I did as you suggested and my friend and I are back on good terms. In fact, my friend received my second letter before replying to the objectionable one, and responded to both at once. There was still a little misunderstanding to be cleared up, but my friend forgave me wholeheartedly. Thank you, Mrs. Bute."

"You're welcome, Mr. Carson," she answered, smiling slightly. "I thought it might have worked out. You've been in a much better humor recently, so I suspected your apology must have been well-received."

"Yes, it was." Mr. Carson chuckled. "I suppose for the staff's sake, if for no other reason, I should be very careful what I write in my letters to my friend." His voice softened. "I shouldn't like to hurt her and I'm afraid if I did, I should be quite rough and churlish with everyone. It's not fair, I know, but sometimes it's just who I am."

Mrs. Bute only watched his face in sympathy. He was staring into space, with an odd, wistful smile on his face. She now had no doubt that the man was in love, but was he aware of it himself? She decided that another chat with Mrs. Patmore was in order. Mrs. Bute was constantly at war with herself over whether her intrusion into Mr. Carson's affairs was appropriate, but one thing that might help her feel certain of the right course would be to know more of Mrs. Hughes's feelings. She herself had spent a scant few hours with the other housekeeper, so she was the least qualified person downstairs to make any judgment on that score. If anyone could tell her more of Mrs. Hughes, it would be Mrs. Patmore. Mrs. Bute slipped silently out of Mr. Carson's office, leaving him to his brown study. He was so deep in thought that he didn't even notice her departure.

#####

"Afternoon post, Mr. Carson," Mr. Barrow announced, handing the butler a stack of letters and going on his way. Those words had become music to Mr. Carson's ears. Mrs. Hughes's letters didn't always come in the afternoon post, but most of the time he was the one to answer the door to the postman in the morning. In the afternoon it was more often James or Mr. Barrow. He had never been particularly fond of James and did not like Mr. Barrow at all, but anytime either of the two men spoke those four simple words, Mr. Carson was seized with anticipation. The soles of his feet prickled as he flipped through the stack to see if there was a letter from Mrs. Hughes and if there was, he struggled to hide his smile and to breathe normally until such time as he could actually read it. Then from the time he read a letter until the time he wrote a reply, he was easily distracted from his work. With the frequency of their current correspondence, this meant that Mr. Carson spent a great deal of his time feeling oddly off-balance. He was getting used to it now, but he couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not. While in reality none of the family noticed anything, he felt that he wasn't quite keeping up standards, but he didn't seem to be able to do anything about it. Today Mr. Carson was rewarded by an envelope addressed to him in Mrs. Hughes's curly script, which he immediately put in his pocket. He knew he wouldn't have time to read it until much later, but it would be well worth the wait; her letters always were.

#####

Dear Mr. Carson,

I cannot tell whether you are scolding or teasing about my eavesdropping, but in any case I will remind you that you have benefited enough from my efforts that you should have no cause for complaint. I hear much more than I tell, even to you, and whether you believe it or not, I think that the things I know allow me to do my job better. You seem bent on flattering me lately about how well I do that job, so you can take my eavesdropping as part of what you seem to see as my surpassing skill as a housekeeper. I still do not believe you, but I will not complain that you think well of my work. I think you as excellent a butler as can be found anywhere in England, so you can be assured that our friendship is based on mutual respect, however much we may quarrel over the little things.

Thank you for your concern over my moments of loneliness at this time of year. Please don't imagine that I languish in gloom and dejection. I have survived many a London Season, and I shall manage at least a few more. For the most part, I am content. You surprise me with your account of Mrs. Bute's observation after her first Season at Grantham House. She makes me sound like a spirit of some sort! That is rather dreary, don't you think? Even when I am a bit lonely, I am very much alive and well back at Downton. It seems natural that I might be mentioned by the staff occasionally, but that I am present even when absent is certainly absurd. You are trying to make me feel better, and I thank you for it, but there is no need for you to exaggerate.

As for our discussion of the price of beef over evening sherry, I should think it a good idea that we have such a conversation. You know nothing about how much any of these things cost, as for the last twenty years or so I have ordered the beef, the grocer has delivered it, and Mrs. Patmore has cooked it. I shouldn't like to see you fleeced by half of Downton's shopkeepers due to your inexperience. Beyond our discussion of beef, and your concerns over missing your family, just think of all of the time you will have for reading. I know how much you like to read, and then to reread your favorites, but you don't have much leisure time for that now.

We continue to get on well in Yorkshire. Please accept my thanks for sending Mr. Molesley back to Downton in place of Mr. Barrow. It was a sacrifice for you, I am sure, but it has made my life a great deal more pleasant. Mr. Molesley has his faults and foibles, but he is quite simply a nice man, and those are harder to find than one might think.

My best wishes to you, Mr. Carson.

Sincerely,

E. Hughes

To be continued...

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