July 31, 1926

The moment she stepped through the door, Charles closed his book and placed it on the nightstand beside the bed along with his glasses. "You were in there a long time," he commented innocently.

"I wanted a long soak in the tub. I didn't think I needed to clear that with anyone in the house, especially my husband." Her words were clipped, no denying the irritation she felt at the moment.

"No, you deserve a nice bath after a long day. I just didn't expect you to be gone so long. I suppose I thought you'd already be in bed when I made it upstairs."

Elsie removed her dressing gown and tossed it across the end of the bed before moving to her side and throwing back the covers. "And I suppose I thought my husband would have been not far behind me when I left him downstairs with Lady Mary Crawley," she answered through gritted teeth. Turning onto her side facing away from him, she punched her pillow and took several deep breaths, trying to still her mind and silence her irritated thoughts.

"Elsie, what on earth has gotten into you? Lady Mary came downstairs to speak to me about the dinner party on Monday evening. She wanted everything to be perfect. That's nothing unusual. She's done this sort of thing before."

"Aye, she has, and her timing is impeccable."

Charles wrinkled his brows and tilted his head a little in Lady Mary's defense, though the gesture was completely lost on Elsie. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means exactly how it sounds, Charles." She paused for a moment, wondering if he would make the connection and knowing that he wouldn't, especially where his favorite daughter of the house was concerned. "It means, Charles, that we've been in the same house with Mary Crawley all day … all bloody day … and she chooses the exact moment when we're to retire for the evening … after a long day of serving them, I might add … she chooses the moment that you're supposed to be heading upstairs with your WIFE to come and talk to you about a dinner party that's two days away!"

"They were things she wanted to confirm with me, Elsie. I could hardly send her away. She's introducing Mr. Talbot to the family and some of her closest friends. This is important to her so that makes it important to me."

"Well, then, perhaps you and Lady Mary should have stayed up all night going through all the finer details which just absolutely could not wait until morning or tomorrow afternoon since this party is to happen in two days time."

"That's not fair, Elsie, and I would have expected better from you."

She turned onto her back and gave him a steely glare that would have sent most maids scurrying away. "And I would have expected more from her, though I suppose it's too much to ask that she respect me … as your wife."

Charles met Elsie's gaze, desperately trying to think of the right thing to say but coming up with empty words and hollow gestures. Still, he had to say something, and they both knew it. "I apologize on her behalf … and mine. I should have politely requested that we speak on the matter in the morning. Truthfully, I didn't expect it to take that long. I thought it was one more thing I could take care of today rather than pushing off until tomorrow."

"Why do you always … ALWAYS … do that?"

"What have I done now, aside from apologizing to you for upsetting you to the point where you're practically shouting at me over something I had no control?"

"You're taking the blame for something she's done. You're letting her get away with something simply by shifting the responsibility to yourself. She's wounded you time and time again with her words and deeds, and yet you still treat her like a little child, one that is still learning right from wrong."

Charles sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. "I wasn't taking the blame for her," he said calmly. "I was merely trying to apologize to you for my part in the situation."

"Well, for your information, the situation in this room could have been a lot nicer than it is now if she hadn't barged into your pantry at the last minute. I had hoped that we could retire early tonight, have a bit of time for ourselves. Goodness knows, we've been too exhausted lately to really have a proper conversation, much less anything else, once we're in bed. And the one night we had a chance to head upstairs a little early, a night when we weren't so exhausted that we only wanted to collapse and sleep … and she snatches that from us. It's almost like she knew!"

By the end of her speech, hot tears of frustration and anger were spilling down her cheek and onto her pillow. Charles felt his heart breaking as he watched his wife wipe angrily at her face. Gently, he reached out and took her hand in his, bringing it to his lips and tasting her salty tears while his free hand lightly wiped away the remaining tears. Too tired to care anymore, Elsie allowed herself to be drawn into Charles's arms, her head tucked securely beneath his chin.

"I am sorry, love, truly I am. A good husband would have remembered his duty to his wife first and asked her to wait until morning."

"Stop taking her side! She … "

"She's jealous, Elsie. That's all. She's jealous of you, and to a degree, she's jealous of us," he said softly.

Elsie scoffed. "The girl has had everything she's ever wanted on a silver platter and handed to her by servants tasked to do her bidding. What could we possibly have for her to be jealous of?"

"Each other … love … marriage … this," he said giving her a little squeeze. "We're best friends, you and I. That's something she's never truly had. We're deeply in love, something she hasn't had since Mr. Crawley died. And, even when we're not on the same side, we know we still love each other more than anyone else. She doesn't have that with anyone." He dropped a light kiss to the top of Elsie's head, waiting for another tirade. When it didn't come, he decided to push on.

"When she was a little girl … I've told you the story about her wanting to run away." He felt Elsie nod her head in answer. "From that day forward, she always came to me with her problems. She never went to her parents, always me. I was the one person in the house she trusted enough to confide in. I was her best friend when she was little and she needed someone. When Lord Carter broke her heart, at the tender age of fifteen, she didn't turn to her parents for a shoulder. She turned to me, much like she did when Mr. Matthew died. You know, when His Lordship and I saw her for the first time the day of her wedding, do you know what she said?" Elsie shook her head and shifted closer to her husband. "She asked … Will I do, Carson? Not, how do I look, Papa, but she sought reassurance from me. In some ways, she's still that little girl that runs to me, knowing I will always be there to support and encourage her."

"But where does that leave me, Charles? I'm your wife. I am supposed to come first, not first when Lady Mary doesn't need you." Elsie's tone had softened, replaced with weariness.

"It leaves you right here, in my arms. I made a mistake tonight, and I will be sure to think things through more clearly next time. I've only been a married man for three months, sweetheart. I'm still learning and, honestly, love, I didn't expect her to take up so much of my time. I thought that by talking to her tonight, we might have a little more time tomorrow afternoon, after Sunday luncheon, to ourselves. I see now that I was wrong to have assumed. They are still our employers, and the planning of this party is part of my job. Having said that, I shouldn't have allowed work to come before you, because if there's one thing I know it's that my job is replaceable but time spent with you is not."

Elsie took a deep breath and let it out very slowly. "Thank you for that, though it doesn't mean that I forgive her for barging in on our time together."

Charles gave a little laugh and tilted her head back to look at her. "I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere until breakfast in the morning."

"That ship has sailed tonight, Charles. I'm afraid I'm no longer in the mood. I'm not angry with you, and I appreciate you trying to explain Lady Mary's attachment to you … and yours to her. But, I think it's best if we just turn in for the night."

"I understand," he said sadly, thinking of the night he could have had with Elsie instead of the one he had just spent with Lady Mary Crawley.

Elsie smiled a little to herself before letting Charles off the hook. "Maybe, tomorrow, if you play your cards right and you are truly repentant and seen the error of your ways, we might be able to carve out an hour or two for ourselves tomorrow."

Charles switched off the bedside lamp and shifted them down in the bed, still holding her securely in his arms. "I promise to spend as much time with you tomorrow as possible, and immediately after breakfast, I'll speak to His Lordship about taking a full day off to spend with my wife, after this party, of course. What do you say to that?"

She shifted her head a little closer to his on the same pillow, rubbing her nose with his before kissing him lightly on the lips. "I'd say you've only been a husband for three months, but those have been the happiest three months of my life. We're both still new to marriage. It's going to take me a little more time to learn to share you, my adoring and generous husband. I'm sorry I was so angry with you earlier."

Charles closed the distance between them slowly, brushing his lips against hers, savoring the taste of her kiss, thankful for her forgiving nature, surprised by her jealous streak. He respected that she was still a little hurt that her plans for the evening had been thwarted, and he silently vowed, through his gentle caresses and loving kisses to make it up to her.

When the kiss ended, she smiled at him and closed her eyes. "I love you, you old boobie. We'll make tomorrow night better than tonight."

"A night like this with you is better than any sort of night with someone else," he reminded her. He brushed her hair over her shoulder and trailed his hand down her arm until their fingers were laced together. "I love you, Elsie, and no matter what you may think, in my heart, you will always be my number one girl."

With smiles on their faces and sharing the same pillow face to face, Charles and Elsie put their differences aside and slowly slipped into a peaceful sleep.

TBC …

A/N: Thanks to ChelsieGirl for the suggestion for this pillow talk. She wanted to see a drabble where Charles explains to Elsie why he has such a bond with Lady Mary, how it began and why. I hope it didn't disappoint!