Ch 33- Pride

September 1919

"It is rather odd not carrying you around in my belly m'little lad." Elsie whispered in her son's ear.

Sam blinked, beginning to suck on his fist. He laid his head on her shoulder, his tiny eyes growing heavy as his mother made her way down the hall. The sensation of her walking and the gentle chime of her chatelaines dangling on her hip lulled the baby into a sense of comfort that was familiar somehow and made him feel as if he were being rocked to sleep.

It was Elsie's first day back at work after giving birth, and Sam's first day ever at Downton. Everyone, even the family, was anxious to see him and marveled over what a big lad he was for such a young baby. Anna and Daisy had been particularly enamored with him and gathered around him as he napped in a bassinet in the kitchen. Thomas would always recall that Samuel had followed his gaze when he'd first peered into the bassinet.

Elsie had started back to work and hesitantly left her baby in Anna's care while she went down the hall for a few minutes. As babies, the twins always cried when she did this but Samuel did not mind. He lay there and blinked, far too interested in people to worry about much.

"Thomas isn't he cute?" Anna had squealed. "Little baby Sammy."

Anna desperately wanted a child of her own and had been trying without any luck. It was the kind of ordeal that sometimes made interaction with the Carson children painful, and yet other times, the three were an immense comfort to her. It was a struggle she'd keep to herself a little while longer.

"Well." He'd said after watching the baby for a moment, noting the child's size and his face. "No one would ever deny that he's Mr. Carson's baby."

"Oh and why would they?" Beryl turned, asking angrily, her outburst causing the baby to start crying.

"Ooh it's just Auntie Patmore." Anna laughed, trying to soothe him.

"You'll get used to it." Daisy whispered.

Thus far, everyone had been down or come by to visit Samuel. Cora, Benjamin and nanny had come first thing, taking the twins with them when they left. Lady Mary and Lady Edith had come too, baring a gift of their own. Even Miss O'Brien had taken a minute to see the newest addition to the house, saying she thought he was a fine little lad (her pleasantries a shock to all who heard them). Elsie was overwhelmed by the love and generosity the house showed to her and her boy. In all, everyone came down to see the new baby save Lord Grantham and while he was under no obligation to do so, everyone found this curious.

…

"All of it?!" Robert thundered, the sound of his booming voice caught Charlotte's ear. She quickly took cover, hiding behind a column, listening carefully.

It was a beautiful day, one of the last of summer before autumn overtook the landscape and ushered the children indoors for the long Yorkshire winter. After nanny had come to see her newest charge, she'd taken the three older children outside to play. Charlie had fallen and scraped his knee while they were out. It wasn't bad, but just enough to require a little bit of dressing and a lot of love. Nanny had surmised that Charlie was growing and for that reason clumsier than usual, an assertion hat made the little boy happy enough to value his scrape as a battle scar rather than a misfortune.

Nanny had sent Charlotte inside the house to get a bandage and a cold cloth from Mrs. Patmore. The little girl thought it would be a quick, eventless journey until Lord Grantham's angry voice met her tiny ears. She'd known him the whole of her life and never once heard him become angry before. The thought was unsettling for her at best. Charlotte could've moved on and ran to the kitchen but instead remained affixed to the column, listening intently as Lord Grantham yelled into the phone. She wanted to leave but felt compelled to remain, and knew not why.

"All of the money is gone? Cora's entire fortune." He said under his breath. "This investment was supposed to make it safe for Downton for all of time!"

Charlotte's eyes grew wide. She clasped her hand over her mouth, muffling her audible gasp. She was only a four-year-old little girl from Yorkshire, and a butler's daughter to boot, but she didn't live in a sack.

'Oh no.' Charlotte thought.

She swallowed hard and looked up and all around the abbey. She knew it wasn't her house… not like it was Benjamin's but in some way she still felt like it was her home too. Charlotte didn't understand all the repercussions of Robert's conversation. She just knew that loosing money was bad (it meant you couldn't afford things… like servants) and that Downton, his house and her home, was not safe.

…..

A month earlier:

August 4th, 1919 – 11PM

Carson beamed, looking down proudly at his wife and newborn baby son. It was late and pitch dark save the light that came from the hearth. Neither said much as they worked to lull their newest treasure to sleep. Both were exhausted, but transfixed on their baby, an infant they barely believed was there with them. It'd been a long day. Mrs. Patmore had brought dinner, Mrs. Crawley had finally left, and Carson had cared for the twins and the baby on his own for most of that time.

"Mr. Carson do you remember that period oh, about 1902 when we were trying so hard to make ourselves two little lads?"

Carson chucked at the thought as he ran his fingers through the baby's barely present hair. It warmed his heart soundly to hear his wife utter these words so happily. It had been five years now since he'd first found out he was finally going to be a father and sometimes it all still stunned him. They'd gone years wanting a child, any child even one that wasn't theirs by blood. He didn't think he'd ever forget the summer of 1902. By then they'd been married six years and had been trying continuously for a baby with no success at all. She'd not even conceived and miscarried: not once.

Elsie remembered that time bittersweetly. It was their last real diligent attempt at having a child before she saw a doctor in Scotland who finally diagnosed her problem and told her it could be fixed surgically. It would take her eight years to save for the surgery and a little more than three after that for it to take effect. By then they were aging and it was a last ditch effort. Then finally, the twins came. In light of all of that, Samuel Carson seemed almost more surreal than his siblings.

Elsie cried looking down as the baby sighed, thankful that the painful, expensive procedure had clearly been well worth it. Samuel's presence also made Carson relive the long, painful time of wanting that they'd faced. Now he couldn't believe they had three: that they'd gotten their girl and two wonderful boys. For Carson, the newfound pride in having sons, and awe of having a daughter still had not warn off. He didn't think it ever would.

"I'm glad we didn't get them then." He smiled reflectively, perhaps a hint of melancholy in his voice.

He brushed Sam's cheek as he nursed and Elsie didn't reply, knowing already why he was glad: because if they'd been born when they were first together, Charlie and Sam would probably be dead and not just babies starting their lives.

"Mrs. Carson we're so very blessed to have not gotten what we wanted when we wanted it." He kissed the side of her head.

Sam pulled away from his mom, sighing as he placed his face on her breast, his tiny eyes closed tight. He was exhausted too. Carson smiled, resting his forehead against his wife's.

"You're proud, aren't you?" She asked.

"Of you or of him?"

"Of him."

"I'm proud of and astounded by the both of you." He revealed, leaning in to kiss her.

"Charlie he feels like a dream." She whispered as Sam fussed a bit.

"Well if it's a dream then I never want to wake up." He said softly, rubbing his nose against hers. "Elsie thank you for working so hard: for refusing to believe that he was destined to be a dream."

They paused, looking down at their son as he yawned and blinked, his bright blue eyes flashing.

"I love you my lad." Elsie smiled. "You're your mummy and daddy's extra special blessing and miracle of a baby boy. We'd be so lost without you."

…

August 6th, 1919

No one knew it yet, but that was to be Samuel Carson's mission in life: people would be lost without him.

A week had passed since his birth. Elsie was still resting, spending her days in bed. Carson was trying (and nearly failing) to manage the house on his own, while the twins were doing as they pleased: spending hours in the yard, staying up far too late (even after their father put them to bed) and sneaking into their mother's room to catch a glimpse of their newborn brother every chance they got.

"Hi!" Charlie waived at the sleeping babe.

"Shu!" Charlotte warned a little too loudly. "We can't wake him and mummy!"

The twins stood on their tiptoes, peering down into the baby's cradle as he slept, unsure if they found him a bit big for a tiny baby or smaller than they thought he should be. While big, Sam was endowed with the tale-tale newness of a newborn: his eyes were swollen, puffy and nearly sealed shut, he was wrinkled and covered in bruises from his not so easy birth, and finally he cried… all the time. Charlie squinted, looking down at his newborn baby brother, suddenly realizing he was jealous of him.

"He's bigger than we were when we were babies." He recalled a previous comment of his father's.

Charlie still wanted to grow, to be taller like his father and after months of hoping and praying it still had not happened. Charlie was clever in his own way; and realized suddenly, that his brother had grown at a tremendous rate over the past few months: he envied that.

"Charles, Charlotte?" The twins froze when they heard their father call sternly from the doorway. "It's bedtime." The twins sighed begrudgingly, rushing to their father's side as he picked them up.

"Daddy can we say good night to our baby?" Charlie whispered.

Carson smiled at his son's phrasing and gave in reluctantly; afraid the twins would wake their mother or brother. "I don't see why not. We just have to be very quiet."

"Do you love him Daddy?" Charlie whispered in his father's ear.

"Do you think he's cute?" Charlotte inquired.

Carson paused a moment. "Yes my son. I love him as I love the both of you." He explained. "And no Charlotte. I don't think he's cute. I think he's absolutely beautiful."

"Did mummy do a good job?" Charlotte asked.

"At what?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Growing him."

Charlotte was already considering her own future family and wondered if she'd have to grow her own baby like her mother had or get a nanny like Lady Cora did. Needless to say, Charlotte was quite confused, but expected that she'd grow her own baby as mummy had. Carson (who'd be furious if he knew his little girl was thinking this way) paused, confused for a moment by her question.

"Yes." He said finally. "Mummy has done a spectacular job at growing all three of you." The twins didn't note the tear lingering in their father's eye.

Elsie sighed softly. She had woken when the twins entered and lay there, her heart deeply touched as she listened to them and their father talk to the sleeping newborn Samuel. Her heart quickened at the thought, swelling with a measure of pride and thankfulness she'd never before thought possible. After all these years, there Charlie was, there with the children she'd once been unable to give him.

"G'night baby bwother." Charlie waived.

"Night baby."

"Goodnight my lovely son." Carson said, keeping the twins in his arms as he shut the door. "I love you."

"Daddy when will mummy get up?" She heard Charlotte inquire.

Elsie sighed, also wondering when she would be up and about again. Her mind was eager to do so, but the birth had laid her flat and even a week later, she was still exhausted. She'd never spent so much time in bed in the whole of her life and was trying her best to appreciate it, supposing she wouldn't get this much rest again until she reached death's door.

"Daddy where do babies come from?" She heard Charlie inquire.

Carson sighed audibly and Elsie shut her eyes, taking advantage of the fact that she was supposed to be sleeping.

…

"Daddy, daddy how come you not excited?" Charlotte asked, squinting as she looked up at her father. Carson sighed, a bit unsettled that his little girl was so ecstatic.

A couple of days later, the Carson's awoke to quite a surprise. A message had come down from the house: Lady Grantham and Benjamin were planning on visiting to see the new baby and bring him a gift. Carson and Elsie weren't sure they were up to the task, but the twins were excited: they missed their friend and his mother. Elsie was still unable to get out of bed and so Carson quickly went to work trying to make the cottage presentable, all while trying to mind the twins.

'How does she do it?' He thought of his wife. 'How in the world would I ever do this without her?' He sighed looking up at the ceiling when he heard the baby start to cry.

"Daddy I go, I help!" Charlie cried, running up the stairs.

Carson sighed. Charlotte tilted her head, silently watching her father, curious as to why he was so stressed. All she and Charlie had done that day was help him… well, after going outside and getting their hair and their clothes filthy and after that they'd made a mess in the kitchen too. But Charlotte wasn't entirely sure all that mattered; they were after all, helping.

Carson didn't understand how Mrs. Patmore managed his children so well in her kitchen. They never seemed to make such a mess there. Whatever it was, it had nothing to do with his children being disobedient, unskilled or even small.

"Charlotte." Carson began. "Daddy has a special task for his little girl." Charlotte looked up eagerly as her father bent down, straightening the bow in her hair. "Charlotte I need you to wait for Lady Grantham and answer the door when she comes. Can my lass do that?" He asked and she nodded eagerly.

Carson left Charlotte downstairs and rushed to see how Elsie and Charlie were getting along. Elsie was still in bed, but had managed to get up to make herself look a bit tidier. In an odd way she was grateful for Cora's intrusion it was a welcome distraction from the monotony of lying in bed and caring for the baby.

"That's my lad can you hold his head for mummy?"

Carson sighed with surprise, watching from the doorway as his namesake held his younger son in his arms as Elsie prepared to nurse. It was a precious sight: his little boys together.

"Well if it isn't the Carson brothers." He chuckled.

Carson came up with the name on the spot, not yet realizing it would stick for many years to come and last his boys the whole of their lives. The name would outlive the progenitor and the progeny.

"Do you hear that Sam? We're the Carson brothers." Charlie said and Elsie smiled deeply, looking up at her husband.

"They're here!" Charlotte called.

Carson sighed. "Charlotte that's not how we answer the door my love."

…

Sam looked up wide-eyed at the strange lady and little boy who visited him. She sat at the edge of the bed and the boy stood at her side. Sam was wide-awake now and sucked on his pacifier, propped up in his mother's arms, his bright blue eyes blinking wildly with an active interest no one had expected him to take.

"Elsie he's so sweet and so attentive, oh my!" Cora giggled.

Sam's first days had been pleasant ones. His parents quickly discovered that he was a happy baby who had an even temperament (except when he got hungry) and that even though he was only a newborn he was in everyway, a people person. The discovery made his parents understand the reason why he was so active, almost present with them even when he was still in the womb.

At just a week old, Sam seemed to possess tried and true charisma, the kind that made his father remember his own youth vividly. He'd once been like Sam; it'd been a reason he'd gone on stage. Carson found that his sons humbled him. Charlie had inherited a sense of humor he kept tucked away, Samuel a presence that locked people in. Carson had transformed his own presence, and used it in his capacity as butler, but it had been ever more powerful for a showman. He sighed, watching his newborn son captivate his first audience, hoping that when the boys were grown they wouldn't find the need, as he had, to tuck away their humor, their charm or anything else. He hoped they would be not showmen but their own men.

The baby humored Cora greatly. She wished Robert would've come and couldn't wait to tell him about their visit. She didn't understand (in looking at the baby) how one person could bare such a striking resemblance to two other people who weren't related themselves. One look at Samuel Carson gave away the unquestionable identity of his parents. His eyes were all Elsie's and his hair, but across the cheeks and in the lips and in the general look of his face he was so strongly Carson it was in some measure astounding.

"He seems to like people very much m'lady." Elsie hardly ever called Cora 'm'lady' in private anymore, but felt humbled, perhaps even a bit embarrassed to have her visiting while she was in bed. "Samuel." Elsie took the baby's hand gently. "This is Lady Grantham and Master Benjamin, can you say hello?" Samuel blinked in reply, trying his best to stare but his vision wasn't about to cooperate with what his mind sought to do.

"Well hello Samuel you're so awfully cute!" Cora squealed.

"Mrs. Carson we brought you a present." Ben said, excited about his new friend. The twins looked on eagerly.

"The twins helped us pick it out in London." Cora emphasized.

Baby Sam's eyes seemed to sparkle once his gift came into view. It was a little porcelain carousel with a music box underneath. He didn't know what it was, but it made him yawn, the music lulling him to sleep in an instant.

…

"Mummy why can't we have a baby?" Ben asked, holding his mother's hand as they made their way home.

He was afraid to ask the question, but felt he must. The little lord to be had perpetual company but was always lonely in some measure, feeling left out of every world that transected his own. He was not a Carson, although he sometimes wished he were. And surely, he was not part of his sister's worlds or his father's.

"Oh sweetie." Cora sympathized, getting on her knees.

It was a beautiful day and Benjamin would always remember the sad but sweet smile on his mother's face as she kneeled before him, surrounded by Downton's garden roses. She giggled, wiping his hair out of his face.

"You've already got your big sisters. You are the baby honey."

"I know." He bit his lip, trying to hide his sadness.

"Samuel will be in the nursery with you in a few months and you'll get the chance to be his friend too, very soon. And you know what else?" Benjamin shook his head. "At some point, probably sooner than later, your big sisters are going to have their own children."

Ben paused and tilted his head, thinking about this for a moment. He'd never considered his sisters having their own children before and the idea was totally alien to him. Oddly, he'd thought of becoming a father himself several times, usually while playing house with Charlotte. He'd wondered if he and his son would have the same relationship he and his father had. He wondered if his son would be Lord Grantham when he himself was dead… but that was the extent of it.

Ben took another moment to consider his sisters and their perspective beaus. There was Sybil who'd run off with Tom a year earlier. He supposed he could get along well with their child. There was Edith…. and Anthony Strallan? Benjamin liked Strallan, but didn't understand why she was dating a man older than their father. Strallan seemed old to Robert Crawley: but he seemed ancient to Benjamin, almost like Grandmama Violet. He didn't understand why, but the idea that his sister might have the old man's child made him feel ill.

Then of course there was Mary and Matthew whose relationship he didn't really understand. Their on again off again drama was nonsensical to him, a little boy who'd already made up his mind about who to love when he was grown. At almost five-years-old, Benjamin had decided that he had three loves in his life: Egypt, Downton Abbey and Charlotte Carson.

One day he'd have to reconcile the fact that only one of those three loves could take precedence in his life. Even today he had some sense of that, having decided that when he was grown, he'd either see the world (particularly where the Pharaohs ruled) and live life on his terms. Lord or not, responsibilities or not. Or… he would marry Charlotte.

If there was one thing the lonely little boy understood well it was himself and he knew instinctively that those were his choices. He in his infinite loneliness, had been engineered to be his own man, to explore, and view the world as an individualist. He was predisposed to love Downton as his father, grandfather and many great grandfathers before him had… but one day, long from now he would see something much greater in Charlotte Carson than he did in anything else. He had a glimmer of it now, but could never as a boy; understand the power of destiny. The kind that steers the whole of your existence manifests breath out of dust, and life from a barren womb.

He didn't know that as a man he'd come to believe that Charlotte, (and in some way her three siblings), whose entire existence was not just unlikely, but fringing on a miracle, had been made just for him and the continuation of his house. Cora had some concept of this, it was why she held the Carson children so closely and treated them like family. But for now she kept the radical idea to herself, knowing only time could prove her right.

"Benjamin?" She asked, noting her son's long pause.

"Oh but mummy." He considered. "I'll be too old to play with them."

…

October 1919

Carson laughed, holding the baby's head in one hand and his behind in the other, rocking him gently. Sam squeaked as he yawned and stretched within his father's grasp. Carson watched closely, marveling over his new son as he struggled both to keep his eyes open and to lift his head, (something he couldn't do just yet).

"Samuel, you make me a proud da if there ever was one." He said, finding himself grinning from ear to ear.

Carson shifted his son into the crook of his arm cradling him gently and Sam made every effort he could to lift his head. While only three months, Sam had already been making great, but failed efforts to move his body and lift his head. Carson paused aware that he was unable to wipe the joy off his own face. If he weren't so proud he'd feel silly, even in the privacy of his pantry, alone with just his babe.

The baby almost grunted in frustration, upset that he could not yet do what his mind willed him to. Samuel bawled up his fist, angrily gripping his tiny fingers before trying to stick his fist in his mouth.

"Such a strong lad." He smiled approvingly. "Do you know how strong you are Samuel?"

Carson noticed it right away, or seemed to in a way only a man would about a boy. He'd noticed it before, but saw it again more clearly now in the way that the baby boy gripped his hand and swung his arm.

"You've quite an arm m'lad!" He confided, grabbing the baby's arm. "Have I a famous cricketer on my hands?" He asked, the baby's eyes growing wide, almost appearing surprised as he stared up at his father. "But you're going to have to get stronger to keep up with your big brother: he's a natural and so should you be. Because both of my baby boys are special." He whispered. Sam looked up, studying his father with his mother's deep blue eyes.

Carson laughed again, placing his forehead on his son's and kissing his tiny nose, only looking up when he heard a nock on his door.

"Uh-uh hello." He stammered, settling when he saw it was just his wife.

Elsie smiled, standing in the doorway, watching the adorable scene.

"Thank you for taking baby lad for the afternoon." Elsie said, stepping into her husband's pantry.

"Oh I'd have kept him all day if I had the means to feed him." He said, getting up to greet her.

"Oh there you are m'lad. Are you hungry?" Elsie laughed as she took Sam back in her arms and kissed his cheek. "Did you miss your mummy or is your da too exciting?"

"I missed you." Carson leaned in to kiss her.

She smiled into the kiss, pressing her nose against his. "I always miss you. Oh my wee little boy. Would you like to go upstairs and collect your big brother and sister? I think they'll be happy to see you lad."

"Elsie I have to go upstairs anyway. If you'd like to nurse, I'll get the children too." He offered.

"Oh, alright."

….

"Charlotte?" Robert questioned sharply, raising his eyebrow. "How'd you get in here?"

Charlotte gasped and froze on her place on the floor where she was crawling out from under the chaise. She'd been giving her previous encounter with the lord some serious thought and now that some time had passed she'd thought she'd come up with a solution.

"Sowwy Lord Gran-ham." She said nervously scrambling to her feet. She paused uncertain, looking up at him with wide eyes.

"Is your nanny missing you?" He asked kindly.

He didn't really know the children's schedule, or where she was supposed to be or anything. He was only guessing. Charlotte shook her head again. "Would you like to borrow a book?" He asked, wondering if that might be why she was there.

"Uh-uh." She shook her head, walking toward him and extending her hand. Robert was surprised to see a few small coins within her grasp. "I heard about your money. Shu, I won't tell anybody." She whispered. "But Lord Gran-ham pwease have this."

Robert stared at the coins as she poured them into his hand. "Oh Charlotte." He whispered, tears in his eyes.

"Keep it. Is it enough, can it fix it?"

"Oh my dear girl. I- I couldn't thank you enough." Robert paused, letting the tears trickle down his cheeks.

He wondered how Charlotte had heard, no one knew yet save Cora and he feared how his own daughter would react to the news. He only hoped the reaction would be an ounce as gracious as Charlotte's. He was touched by her gesture, by the idea that this little girl, who was growing up under his roof, would want to save his home and his pride. Lord Grantham looked back up at her, smiling sadly. He couldn't help but thinking that she was adorable, and kind and that she looked just like a miniature Mrs. Hughes if he ever saw one.

"Is it enough?" She asked hopefully.

"Not nearly enough Charlotte. But it means the world."

"But I…"

Charlotte stopped, realizing she shouldn't keep talking.

"Yes?" He pressed.

"I wanted to help m'lord: to save Downton."

"Charlotte it means so much that you'd feel that way about my house. Perhaps you will save Downton one day." He felt the need to encourage, all though he knew that it was hopeless. There'd be no Downton to save by the time she was of school age let alone by the time she was grown.

"Are you enjoying your new baby brother?" Lord Grantham was in pain, pain made worse somehow by her sweetness, sweetness he'd never in his life forget. "I have yet to see much of the little fellow. Charlotte, what's wrong?" He asked, noting a change in her expression.

The little girl paused, not knowing what to say. "Kind of wish he were sister, but he's cute." Robert laughed. "Charlotte feel left out m'lord."

Robert understood all of a sudden. He could only imagine how much the Carson's had to deal with, with their work and a third child.

"All parents get very busy when this sort of thing happens. Even Lady Mary felt left out when Benjamin was born."

Charlotte was surprised. She couldn't imagine Mary ever feeling put out for anyone or anything.

"Charlotte?" Carson asked sternly, walking into the room. "M'lord I'm sorry if she…"

Robert smiled down at Charlotte, looking back up at her father. He didn't mind her visit, it'd served to remind him of all the times Carson had comforted his own little girl over the years and still did. He didn't at all mind returning the favor.

"Oh Carson." Robert began, feeling hopeless but still touched as he began to speak. The butler noticed his tears but his little girl did not. "You have the most noble little girl. Your kindhearted daughter heard of my misfortune and did her best to save Downton."

"Thank you m'lord." Carson smiled proudly, tears in his own eyes as he took Charlotte's hand and they left the room.

"Daddy?" Charlotte asked. "Daddy? Am I gonna get in trouble?"

He sighed and bent down on his knees to face her, searching tiny eyes nearly identical to his own as he tried to find an answer for her. "Perhaps you shouldn't have gone to see his Lordship." He bit his lip. "But you did a very brave and lovely thing my girl. I'm not sure you'll ever understand how lovely. I'm proud of you Charlotte."

Charlotte would've smiled but instead leaned into her father's ear, whispering suddenly. "Daddy can I ask you a question?" He wanted to laugh, delighted by the sound of her little voice in his ear.

"Always." He chucked warmly.

"But you gots to keep it a secret. Okay?"

"I promise it'll be our little secret."

"Did he really loose all his money? Do we all have to leave?"

"Yes he did. But let me tell you something else, sometimes even when things seem impossible: when you're facing the hardest thing you've ever had to do, things sort themselves out."

"Daddy even when it hurts your heart?" She asked, clutching her chest.

Carson and his daughter didn't notice Elsie come down the stairs, one of her sons on her shoulder, the other holding her hand. She and the boys stood and watched as Carson and Charlotte had their moment.

Carson paused, it made him ache a little that his daughter knew about heartbreak. 'She's so young.' He thought. 'I wonder what makes her heart hurt.'

Carson smiled, kissing his daughter on the forehead, not wanting her to know he was worried, but he was.

"Always remember that my girl: no matter how hard the road, there are answers somewhere along the path: answers that will put everything at peace. I trust there here. There have been to the same problems before and Downton is a strong house. But for now, you don't have to worry."

"Are we ready to go Mr. Carson?" Elsie asked as he lifted the twins into his arms. Charlie placed his arm around his father's neck and he smiled back at the boy.

"Yes my Mrs. Hughes." He leaned over and kissed her softly. "I think it's high time for home at last."