CLICK-CLACK
"What did you want to talk to Mr Carson about?" Asked Mrs Hughes as they were putting on coats to go home to their husbands at the end of a long day.
"Never you mind," Mrs Patmore replied and ignored the housekeeper's eyeroll. "I can tell you what Andy wanted to talk about though, if you promise to keep it a secret." She was so excited about the news.
"Go on."
"Andy is planning on asking Daisy to marry him." She whispered and squealed again.
Mrs Hughes' jaw dropped ever so slightly. "That's wonderful news." She smiled and shook her head. "What does Mr Carson have to do with it?"
"Andy wanted some advice from him."
"Advice?" The housekeeper was a bit confused.
"Apparently, your engagement is deemed as the most romantic one in the whole of Downton and the world." She joshed. "He wanted some tips."
"And what did Mr Carson tell him?" Elsie ignored her teasing.
"He recommended Andy finds a private enough place that means a lot them both. He also said, him proposing to you was long overdue, as we all know."
"He said that?"
"Well, he suggested he might have waited longer than necessary." She corrected her initial statement to reflect the truth rather than her opinion. "I thought his advice was of great value to Andy." She admitted.
"Not sure Daisy will be pleased everyone knows before she does." Mrs Hughes realised.
"Hmm," Mrs Patmore inclined her head in agreement. "We'll need to talk to her about marital relations as well." Her voice was very quiet again. She was aware this was her responsibility since Daisy had no family left.
"We?!" Mrs Hughes cried in shock, but Mr Patmore was already off in her own world.
…
An even greater shock was awaiting Mrs Hughes when she arrived at the cottage. She found her husband in his study, click-clacking, pressing the keys on the typewriter.
"Charlie?" She said softly and he jumped.
Mr Carson got up all flustered, almost knocking the desk over. "I err," he gulped. "I had an idea and wanted to write it down, in case I forget tomorrow."
"I see." She was staring at him – trying to hide a smirk. "Dinner will be ready in a moment, Mrs Patmore prepared it just before I left, it will still be warm."
"Alright." He smiled at her and proceeded to help her with unpacking and to pour them some red wine.
"I hear you spoke to Andy today?" Mrs Carson asked shyly when they started their dinner.
"Hm?"
"Mrs Patmore told me about it." She confessed.
"Of course, she did." He said sarcastically as his nostrils widened.
"She said your advice was very good."
"I just told him what he already knew." The butler admitted humbly but puffed up his chest in pride anyway. He was glad to hear his opinion was still highly valued among the staff of Downton Abbey.
"And what is that?"
"I told him to think about what Daisy would want." He explained plainly, her nosiness starting to irritate him a tiny bit. "He knew that, but he needed a little nudge."
"Hmmm." She nodded and took a sip of her drink. "This wine is good."
"Mrs Kent recommended it."
"Did she?" Now Elsie was the one becoming mildly irritated.
"Her late husband's friend used to import them."
"I see." She gripped the cutlery in her hands a little tighter. "Do you manage to do any work, or do you just talk about wine and friends all day?"
"We work, of course, it's only during lunchtime and breaks we get to converse a little." He ignored the hint of sarcasm in her voice and replied calmy. Even though he was annoyed she'd suggest he could ever neglect work in any way. He was the hardest worker he knew.
"Well, it's very good wine, anyhow."
"I think you and Mrs Kent have quite a lot in common." Charles said suddenly.
"Do we?"
"She likes wine for one, like you do."
"Hm."
"And-" His voice became more serious. "She has been through a lot. Especially in the past couple of decades. I'm surprised she coped as well as she did…" He looked down at his napkin and then back at her. "Her daughter has got the same condition as Becky."
"Oh." Mrs Hughes looked up at him with her mouth slightly opened, as a crease appeared between her brows.
"She actually thought it might be nice for you two to talk about it."
They just stared at each other for a while. Charles trying to figure out what she was thinking while Elsie's brain ran a mile a minute.
"You told her about Becky?" She finally got there.
"I did." He admitted and swallowed loudly.
"I spoke to you about her in confidence."
"I know." He looked down, the gravity of the situations dawning on him.
Elsie's breathing was becoming laboured, rage ran through her veins. "So, you thought it appropriate to tell my secret to a woman you've known for a couple of weeks?"
"We are married, Elsie, Becky is my sister too." He tried to reason with her.
"Oh, I see, so you can just tell people everything about me, because we are married?"
"Well…" He was dumbfounded. "Don't tell me you've never shared anything personal with anyone." She was about to protest before he added: "With Mrs Patmore especially!"
"Mrs Patmore has been a very dear friend of ours for years!"
"Well, it still makes me uncomfortable at times." He barked.
"I've never shared anything as personal as this."
"Then why don't you explain to me why she felt entitled to come here today and talk to me about…" He stopped to take a breath. "About Mrs Kent's biscuits!" That was the best way he could convey the peculiar conversation. "What have you been telling her?"
"I-"
"What gives her the right to meddle into our business? Her audacity to come here and speak to me like that simply astonished me." Mr Carson was throwing in some very strong words to prove his point. He was starting to recognise the argument was becoming quite silly but wasn't willing to give up just yet.
"I'm sorry Mrs Patmore made you uncomfortable, but it makes me uncomfortable that you talked to Mrs Kent about Becky." Her breathing was staring to calm down. "And that you like her biscuits more than you like mine!" She added and her face immediately turned red.
He took a deep breath before he started talking again. "I thought it might be good for you both to talk, I am sorry, if I've crossed a boundary, I'm sorry, if I've upset you, I didn't mean to."
"Thank you," She appreciated his apology.
"And you know I love your biscuits." Charles teased her. "I love everything that's prepared by my beautiful wife's fair hands." He took her hand in his and stroked it with his thumb.
This argument reminds me so much of the season 6 episode 2 argument; When Elsie comes to Charles' pantry asking if he'd spoken to his lordship about their reception - when she looses it.. she's so angry she's got no filter, and he knows he messed up :DD
What do you all think? xxx
