My Dear Hobbling Old Fool of a Husband,

London bridges falling down, falling down, falling down... I've had that rhyme stuck in my head ever since reading your delightfully entertaining letters, which I was glad to discover were patiently waiting for me at the Abbey for when I returned. I'm only sorry I've just gotten around to replying to them now! Unpacking from a month's long voyage for not only myself, but Lady Mary as well has certainly been quite a chore. I'm just relieved I didn't have to manage Mr. Crawley's cases as well!

But, as tired as I've been since coming home, the journey was well worth the anxiety of traveling. I'll admit I haven't exactly had my fair share of travels in my lifetime, but the South of France was positively exquisite and every bit as beautiful as if it came straight off a postcard.

Oh, John, it was wonderful! But before you ask whether I ate frog's legs or attempted - rather than danced - the Can-Can, I got to try crepe suzette that was even more delicious than Mrs. Patmore's (but if you tell her that I'll denounce you as a liar) and see sights I would never have even thought up! And, I may have even brought back a little bit of a treat for you...

In the meantime, I've been trying to settle once again into the swing of things at the house. I've so far managed to successfully persuade Mrs. Hughes to divert at least some of my original duties from the other maids back to me. Needless to say, she was reluctant to relent at first; but what with us already being a couple maids and a footeman short, everyone will be required to pull together until his Lordship allows us to once again bring the staff back up to snuff... or until he informs us all that the end of Downton Abbey is nigh.

Have I ever told you how I came to the Abbey? I was the daughter of a deceased factory worker of no more than fourteen. I quit school early on to help support the family even after my mother remarried, which was a shame really now that I think about it; my teacher always said I was quite bright really. But I couldn't let my mother or sister down, not when they were the only people left in my life whom I could still call my family.

I may have been young, but I was bright and had no shortage of wits as far as I was concerned. I was a quick learner and, after a little training, managed to land my first household position by the time I was fifteen. For just over a year, I worked as both a housemaid and nanny for a Lord and Lady Trenton to their two young daughters; and, to be honest, I never really fancied them. The girls may not have been more than five and three but they had tempers like nobody's business and how the parents managed not to give them such a smacking will always be beyond me. It was also a strange position to be in; the staff itself wasn't that big but they still weren't very accepting.

Eventually, I decided that the role wasn't for me and moved onto to other things. I became a permanent housemaid to a Lord and Lady Larson, who were a young and kind couple with a much bigger house and staff than they needed. I wound up staying a few years, during which time I took courses in hairstyling in the hopes of someday qualifying as a Ladiesmaid, and trained under their head housemaid, Charlotte, who taught me a great deal about keeping house and caring for clothes and linen. Lord Larson, however, was an only child, and the couple ended up inheriting his parents' estate when his father grew ill and passed. So they soon sold and moved in to care for his mother with the reduced staff they'd taken with them.

I then worked for a Mrs. Strathon, who, sadly, lived all alone in her family's seemingly ancient estate. There wasn't many of us in the way of staff other than myself, the cook, and her laidiesmaid (unless you count the gardners) but I was able to learn a great deal about dining and table service during my time there until she passed on and her estate sold.

I was, admittedly, sad to lose a job under such devestating circumstances but we must all keep moving on musn't we? And I fear that, if I hadn't continued to move on, I wouldn't be sitting here now while I write you this letter of mine; and not long after did I see the advertisment for a head housemaid at Downton; and, having since acquired a few years as an assistant maid, I applied for the position... and I suppose we can both guess how the story goes from there.

So there you have it: the average and modest story of Anna Smith before she became Anna Bates. And, it's in telling you this story that makes me sad to lose the Abbey after having worked here for over ten years now. It's been a home to me for so long that I can't think of where I would go if they should lose it. My feet have only known the way back home since I've lived here, so where do you suppose they should take me now that we have to leave?

It would seem the family is intending to move into the house at Eryholme once the estate is sold, and will be taking only what staff is necessary with them. So I hope to God you're right in assuming that Lady Mary will never learn to dress herself so long as I'm there to do it for her; and the same goes for his Lordship. But for the poor souls they can't keep on...

To answer your question, I did, in fact, find quite a few answers waiting for me when I got back. Although I haven't yet found the time to read through them but promise to do so before my next visit, which, naturally, you should trust to be very soon. In the meantime please take care of yourself and try to stay in one piece!

Your affectionate wife,

-Anna

P.S. Cottage hunting? It's a date... but only if we both get an equal stake in those doilies.

Thank you to terriejane, Skeeter0003, Eva, and Alice'sAbbey for the reviews! And, although I adore you all for being fans of this little story of mine in spite of the considerable amount of grammatical errors I've made, I do take pride in proper punctuation and grammer so that I can write to the very best of my ability. So please be patient with me while I work through the earlier chapters of this story. But I do hope you guys are starting to notice the difference and even improvement these last two chapters!

Thanks so much for reading and feel free to leave reviews of what you hough about this chapter!

-birdywings