Carson felt his knees give way as he sank heavily into his chair behind his desk. He stared unblinkingly at the letter in his hands. With every word he read he could feel his heart beat faster in disbelief.

It had been months since his return to Downton, since lady Mary had overheard that fateful conversation between her parents. Everything had returned to normal. The ice between Lord Grantham and his butler had begun to thaw allowing them to work easier together. Lady Mary had recovered her equilibrium, rebuilding her relationship with both Lord Grantham and her mother. Carson's unexpected departure and return was no longer a topic for village gossip. All involved had breathed a sigh of relief that the secret was still safe.

So what had happened?

Carson corresponded regularly with other butlers and valets he had become acquainted with over the years. It was a good way to keep up with news and (though he would never admit it) gossip that only servants to the ruling classes were privy to. Normally, Carson was glad of this network because it helped him at times to provide a higher level of service to the Crawleys and their guests. And what gossip he gleaned was only good in so far as it proved that the family he worked for was an honorable one. The Crawleys had never been the subject of such gossip- until now.

Mr. Brodie, valet to the Marquess of Flintshire, had written him to inform him of a piece of news concerning Lady Mary Crawley that had come from the Turkish Ambassador with whom Lord Flintshire has dealings. The Ambassador had informed Lord Flintshire that he had recently been informed that the death of Mr. Kamal Pamuk at Downton Abbey had not been as it seemed. Namely that Mr. Pamuk had not died unexpectedly in his room as had been reported but in the room of an unmarried lady- Lady Mary- and then moved in the night back to his room. Carson was hard pressed to believe such a thing. Only the next bit of information made Carson's blood run cold because he knew it to be true.

The Ambassador claimed that Lady Mary was the result of an affair between the Countess of Grantham and one of her servants. Mr. Brodie. knowing that Carson had served the Crawleys since before the American heiress had arrived in England, was especially interested in whatever knowledge Carson may have in the matter.

Carson felt numb. For over twenty years his affair with Lady Cora had been kept a close secret. Now it was out as fodder for servant gossip and he had no idea what he was to do.

"Mr. Carson?"

Carson looked up into the worried face of Mrs. Hughes. She had entered his pantry while he was absorbed in his letter. Now she was standing beside him looking down at him in concern. Carson quickly folded his letter and put it in his jacket pocket. He hoped that Mrs. Hughes hadn't been able to read it.

"Yes, what is it?" he asked more agitatedly than he meant and Mrs. Hughes's eyes widened in reproach. He closed his eyes for a moment letting out a great sigh, then more gently, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Hughes. Was there something you needed?"

Mrs. Hughes studied him for a moment longer and Carson fought the urge to squirm under her scrutiny. "I came to ask you what we should do about Mrs. Patmore. She's only seemed to have gotten worse. She is very cruel to that poor girl."

Carson noticed for the first time the raised voice of the cook shouting at Daisy. He too had noticed Mrs. Patmore's increased bullying of the unfortunate kitchen maid. He can't imagine what he would do if he were in the cook's place. "Mrs. Patmore is very frightened."

"Is she right to be?"

"Well," Carson fluttered his hands over his desk, "Dr. Clarkson has confirmed she has cataracts. There are treatments, but even the best are uncertain."

"And she doesn't want to risk losing what sight she still has?" Mrs. Hughes supplied. At Carson's nod, she shook her head and looked back towards the door where Mrs. Patmore's shouting could still be heard over the noise of the kitchen. "I don't blame her, but this can't go on forever."

"No," Carson said quietly, tugging at his waistcoat. "It can't."

Suddenly he stood from his seat with a determination that made Mrs. Hughes take a step back from him. "If you'll excuse me, Mrs. Hughes, I have some work that I need to attend to before the family is awake."

At her acquiescent nod, he ushered her out of his pantry and into the hallway where they parted ways. Carson could feel her pitying gaze on him as he hurried up the staircase.

Cora had been once again summoned unceremoniously to her mother-in-law's house with no warning of what the summons could be about. Cora couldn't think of anything that she had done that could warrant a scolding from Mama. She hadn't been in need of one since the girls were small until the whole debacle with Carson a few months ago. Even then, Cora had thought the fault had been with Robert and Carson.

Now she was sitting with Mama exchanging small talk as Bruce laid their tea, but the gleam in the older woman's eyes worried her. Whatever they were to talk about was not something that could be discussed in front of servants. Bruce finished and Cora braced herself for the worst.

"I received a letter from my niece this morning," Violet said, carefully stirring her tea. Cora furrowed her brow in confusion at this seemingly useless bit of information.

"That's lovely of her."

Violet narrowed her eyes, "Is it?"

Cora gasped at the vitriol lacing VIolet's words. She had no idea what had raised Violet's ire, but she knew that she must tread carefully if she wanted to escape this tea unscathed. She placed her teacup back on the saucer so she could fold her hands in her lap. Then she bravely looked Violet in the eyes and waited for the older woman to speak.

Instead, Violet rose purposely from her seat and crossed the room to her writing desk. She withdrew a letter from inside and marched to stand in front of Coar. With a flourish she held the letter out to Cora. Cautiously Cora took the letter and opened it.

"Skip to "I'm sorry," Violet said shaking her head. " It's the second page. Susan never could use one word when twenty would do."

Cora looked to where Violet had indicated and started reading. "I am sorry to have to tell you that Hugh has heard a vile story about your granddaughter Mary…"

Cora inhaled sharply as she read the rest of what Susan Flintshire had to say. Everything was here in this letter. How Mr. Pamuk had gone to Mary's room and died there in her bed. How Mary had dragged Mr. Pamuk's lifeless body back to his room in the bachelor's corridor. Reading it here in black and white the story seemed almost fantastical. If she hadn't lived through the whole ordeal herself she almost wouldn't have believed it.

But there was one element of the story she had not been expecting. Susan's letter told of another indiscretion involving Mary…and Cora. There was talk that Mary was the result of an affair Cora had had with a servant. While this was true, Cora had no idea how this could have come to light. As far as she knew only she, Robert, Carson, Violet, and Mary knew of this and none of them would dare reveal the truth. Cora sat dumbfounded as Violet paced back and forth berating her hapless niece's letter.

"I'm sorry," Violet huffed. " She's thrilled! Not one, but two scandals she can hold over us!"

Violet stopped abruptly to stare imperiously down at Cora. "Now, think carefully. Is this other thing true?"

Cora looked up unblinkingly into her mother-in-law's eyes. Violet's face slackened in shock.

"How much is true, Cora?"

Cora glanced away guiltily. "Well, she didn't drag him."

Violet reached helplessly for her chair, sinking gracelessly into it. She studied her shoes for a long moment to gather herself. "I'd wondered about that. I thought Susan must have forgotten how far the girls' rooms are from the bachelor's corridor."

"She couldn't do it alone."

Violet furrowed her brow in confusion. "How did she do it?"

Cora smoothed her hand along her dress before answering calmly, "I helped her. She woke me up and I helped her."

Violet stared slack-jawed at Cora until her face hardened. "Well, I always thought that you would bring dissolution to this family. And now you've done it. You and your bastard daughter! Does Robert know about this?"

"No and he isn't going to," Cora snapped. "What else was I to do? It was terribly wrong, but I couldn't see…"

"Stop!" Violet nearly shouted holding up her hand. "I will not sit here and listen to you try to justify yourself."

"I know this is hard for you to hear," Cora began, drawing herself up to her full height. "God knows it was hard enough for me to live through. But if you expect me to disown my own daughter, you will be disappointed. Good day."

Cora turned on her heel and stormed angrily out of the room.

Carson had tried most of the day to find a moment with His Lordship to discuss the letter he had received that morning. But with every thwarted attempt to speak to Lord Grantham, Carson felt more and more that he should not bring the rumors circulating about Lady Mary to his attention. Carson still refused to believe that his Lady Mary had acted in any way unvirtuous. He worried what such rumors would do to her reputation, but he was more worried about the rumor about he and Lady Grantham. If Lord Grantham found out that someone had let slip knowledge of the affair, Carson may have to leave for good this time.

It was now after dinner and the family were gathered in the drawing room. He did not think that they would be staying up much later due to the hostile atmosphere between Lady Grantham and the Dowager Countess all through dinner. This wasn't unusual in itself, but it didn't happen as often now as it had in the early days of Lord and Lady Grantham's marriage. Carson expected Lady Grantham to retire early tonight to escape from the Dowager and was waiting at the bottom of the stairs in the hopes that he might catch her alone. Perhaps she would know what to do about the rumors.

Carson looked up at the click of the drawing room door. He let out a sigh of relief to see Lady Grantham walking towards him alone. He stepped out from his spot near the wall. Lady Grantham smiled when she saw him.

"Your Ladyship, do you have a moment?"

"Of course," she smiled.

Carson reached into his breast pocket for the letter that he had carried with him like a great weight all day. He barely refrained from shuffling his feet. "I have received a letter, my lady, from a friend of mine. He's valet to the Marquess of Flintshire."

Carson noticed Lady Cora stiffen at the mention of Lord Flintshire but she quickly relaxed into a conspiratorial smile. "I don't envy him."

Carson chuckled more from nerves than Lady Grantham's attempt at a joke. "Lord Flintshire is a minister at the Foreign Office."

"As you know, Lady Flintshire is His Lordship's cousin," Cora supplied.

"Of course," Carson corrected himself, then continued hesitantly glancing over his shoulder. "The point is, Lord Flintshire has dealings with the Turkish Ambassador. It seems His Excellency has made him privy to a scurrilous story concerning Lady Mary and the late Mr. Pamuk… And you."

"May I read this letter?" Lady Cora asked oddly cold and Carson handed it to her readily.

Carson watched her eyes travel slowly across the page. He almost growled in impatience as she took her time reading through the whole letter. He didn't know how much more time they would have to discuss this without an audience.

"Is there anything you want me to do about it, my lady?" he asked impatiently.

Cora finally looked up to him as if she had just noticed his presence. "No, thank you. Sometimes even to deny these things is only to throw paraffin onto the flames."

"But, your Ladyship," Carson countered, "we know one of these to be true. The other is a blatant lie, of course. But leaving these rumors unchecked could do great damage to Lady Mary, to you, and to His Lordship."

Lady Grantham folded the letter neatly and held it out for Carson. She met Carson's eyes steadily. "Carson, I know your instinct is to protect Lady Mary, but the best way for us to do that is to ignore these rumors. If we acknowledge them, we give them credence. Please, do nothing."

Reluctantly, Carson nodded. "And His Lordship? I thought to tell him earlier but I couldn't get a chance."

"Leave His Lordship to me," Cora said firmly. "I don't want another incident between the two of you."

"Of course, my lady."

Lady Grantham turned to go up the stairs. Carson stood watching her until she turned the corner to the family's rooms.

A/N A lot of the dialog used is taken from season 1 episode 6. I changed things when I needed to and moved around the timeline. Thanks to those of you still reading this and for your reviews.