August 28, 1926

"Elsie?" When he heard no response, he tried again … a little louder. "Elsie, are you awake?"

"Did you wake me up to ask me if I was sleeping? What time is it, anyway?"

"Half past two."

"Charles, I was having a lovely dream about a handsome butler I know who decided to ravish me in his pantry while we were having sherry. He was just about to …"

"Elsie, I have a very good idea what this butler of yours was about to do."

"Oh, have you had a similar dream about a housekeeper of your acquaintance, then? I'd love to hear more about it. We could compare notes and maybe …"

"That is not why I asked if you were sleeping."

"More's the pity, Mr. Carson." She reached out and stroked his face with her fingertips. "Have you not been to sleep at all, love?"

He closed his eyes and enjoyed the soothing touch of her fingers across his cheek and down the side of his neck. "No, not a wink."

"Why not? Do you want me to get up and get you some warm milk or a cup of tea?"

Charles draped his arm across her waist and shifted closer to her. "No, don't go, please. I just cannot seem to fall asleep. I have too many thoughts running through my mind, I suppose."

"Tell me what's bothering you and maybe that will help," she suggested. "I'm wide awake now, and if you talk about it, perhaps we can both get some sleep before the alarm goes off in a few hours."

Charles took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He didn't want to see the look of disappointment crossing her face as he admitted why he was still awake. "I'm a little nervous about tomorrow." There, it was out in the open, and he immediately felt a little weight lifted from his chest.

"What on earth is there to be nervous about? All you need to do is stand at the altar, look handsome in your Sunday suit, and then make a toast at some point during the afternoon. Simple as that," she said soothingly. "I'm sure Mr. Molesley wouldn't have asked you if he wasn't completely sure you were the best man to be his best man." She tapped the end of his nose and gave a little laugh. "You're a man of style and show, love. Just look at it as another type of dinner party in which you are in charge. Then, everything will be right as rain and you'll handle it all with ease."

"Are you not nervous at all? You'll be standing there beside Miss Baxter, in front of all those people."

"No, because all eyes will be on them, not us, darling. Truth to tell, I was more nervous about our wedding, and even then I wasn't overly unnerved by the whole ceremony."

Charles's eyes widened. "You mean you weren't terribly nervous about getting married? Why weren't you anxious?"

"I was marrying my best friend, and I know you love me. I had no doubts that you would be waiting for me at the altar, and at the end of the day, we would be Mr. and Mrs. Charles Carson. Nothing else mattered. Reverend Travis was going to make us recite a few words, we would make our vows, share a little kiss to seal the marriage, and then we'd be off to a celebration." She stretched over and kissed his lips softly. "I was more worried about our wedding night than the wedding itself," she admitted quietly, "though, I think we've managed that hurdle quite well, Mr. Carson."

"Indeed we have, Mrs. Carson!" he said with a hearty laugh. "I don't mind telling you that the whole day had me in a bundle of nerves … from start to finish."

"Did you doubt me, love? What made you so uneasy, aside from the wedding night jitters?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I suppose I thought you might change your mind, realize you didn't want to be stuck with me, something would go wrong and we'd have to delay or cancel the wedding, and any number of other things that ran through my head that day. It wasn't until I saw you appear at the back of the church that all my fears seemed to vanish, aside from those concerning the evening when we were alone."

Elsie hugged her butler to her and guided his head to rest on her breast, her fingers running through his soft greying hair. "You are everything I could have ever hoped for in a husband, Charles Carson. You never had anything at all to worry about, then or now."

He gave her a little squeeze and pressed a kiss to her chest. "I'm sorry I woke you up for something so trivial, but I do feel much better now that I've told you about it. You always know what to say to alleviate my fears. Thank you."

She kissed the top of his head and ran her hand down his back. "Do you think you can get some sleep now, and let me see if I can recapture that handsome butler in my dreams?"

"I'd rather you take advantage of the butler right here in your arms," he said, his voice low as it rumbled through her body.

"Well, you do always sleep soundly afterwards. I'm sure I could be persuaded to exhaust my husband, assuming, of course, he thinks he can compete with my butler. I have to say, he was pretty exciting."

"After the reception for the Molesley's, I'll bring you back here, we'll sip some sherry, and I'll show you how much more exciting our own living room can be in comparison to the pantry. What do you think of that?"

She shifted so that her face was level with his, almost nose to nose. "I say I'm glad you woke up me in the middle of the night, Mr. Carson. Now, let's see what we can do about getting rid of some of this energy you seem to have tonight. We'll call it practice for later, after our best man and matron of honor duties are over."

Charles leaned over Elsie to give her a searing kiss, but pulled back suddenly with wide eyes. "Oh Lord! I've just thought of something."

Elsie gave an exasperated sigh. "What, and this had better be good?"

"What if he asks me for … you know … advice?" Charles asked, his voice laced with panic.

Elsie couldn't contain her laughter. "I'd say you'll have enough practical experience that you can share a few tips with him. I'm sure Miss Baxter wouldn't mind you giving him a few pointers, though."

"You're not helping, Elsie!"

"Then, why don't you stop talking and start reminding me why I don't just roll over and see if I can recapture my dream."

He ran his hand down her side and began slowly drawing her nightgown over her hips, intent of showing her why reality was sometimes so much better than dreams.

TBC …

A/N: Thanks to Olehistorian for her suggestion that Charles and Elsie have a pillow talk about their own wedding, wedding night, etc. I hope you enjoyed this one! Xoxo