B&B OF LOVE AND FUN-4
Hello all. Thank you for all your reviews after last chapter. I see that you have high hopes for this story and I will try not to let you down. I think that it will contain much more dialogues than my other stories, but that shouldn't be a problem.
Saying that last week has been a week from hell, would be an understatement in my case. I had to suspend some of my activities, to get to balance, but writing is one activity that I do not wish to suspend, as it is my happy and safe space.
I hope that you will like this chapter.
Elsie and Mrs Patmore, have given Charles time to make the ultimate decision, about their mutual future. The decision came unexpectedly, during Lady Edith's wedding, when Charles was not able to pour wine and he spilled some on the table.
He got really mad and Elsie immediately took action, calming him down, whilst Charles announced, that he will give up his butler's duties, while Thomas will take over.
Deep down inside, Elsie was glad about that situation, of course she felt Charles's pain, but she thought, that it was a good thing, that he finally was able to make that decision, even if it was forced by not the happiest circumstances.
When it happened, Elsie took Charles downstairs, to his pantry, she made him a large drink and she quietly sat beside him, stroking his shaking hand delicately, until the moment, when shaking subsided. They have been dealing with his condition for quite a while, so she already knew the ways to calm him down. For a moment there was a silence between them, but Charles broke it:
"This is it Elsie...You have married a strong, vital man and now you are stuck with a cripple...This is how the rest of your life is going to look like..."
"First of all Charlie, I know exactly who I married...My beloved, sweet, although nagging husband, who is still a strong and vital man, with just a little extra need of care. Second of all my love, our future depends only from your decision at the moment...Are you ready for something new?"
"I think that I have no other choice...Now, that I have been publicly humiliated and everyone found out, that I'm no longer able to be the butler, there is pretty nothing else that I can do about it..."
"Charles for heavens sake! You were not humiliated...You just had an unexpected attack and that was all...Don't make a bigger deal of it, than it is..."
"If you say so Elsie...But we will not discuss this today...I'm too exhausted..That has been quite a day..."
"I agree...I think it's high time to go home...Have some rest...Come on sweetie..."
Charles let Elsie led him back safely to their cottage...
Next night...
Elsie has just prepared dinner and served it to Charles. They decided to eat at their place, so they can discuss some more things, regarding their future...
"Oh Elsie, I still have pangs of conscience about leaving His Lordship...I mean all three of us...How will he manage?"
"He will Charlie...Thomas will take over and I assume, that Daisy will be the cook now...She always wanted it and from what Mrs Patmore told me, she is more than ready...I admit, that my departure might be a little shock for them, but maybe Anna or Mrs Baxter can take over...I'm more than happy to leave service, after so many years..."
"I know Els...You never really liked it, didn't you?"
"It was not that I didn't like it...It's more about that I was feeling like they owned me...Like I was their property...Working and living in their house, eating their food, wearing clothes that they paid for...Now, for the first time in my life, I will finally be independent and I can't wait for that..."
"You are certainly a wild spirit my love...I managed to cope with that idea by now...And if you are happy, I am happy too...Especially about one thing..."
"What's that Charlie?"
They just started to eat the dish, that Elsie prepared for dinner...
"Since we are starting a business with Mrs Patmore, that means, that we will all live under the same roof and probably eat dinners together, so I will still be able to enjoy Mrs Patmore's kitchen..."
"Oh, that's so sweet of you Mr Carson, praising my cooking skills one more time..."
"Elsie...You are the best wife in the world, but you know as well as I do, that cooking is not your best thing..."
"The same, as being a walking sunshine is not yours..."
"I can be happy Elsie...Smiley and happy..."
"And when has this ever happened? Only when you see your beloved Lady Mary...One more thing to be grateful for...Soon, I will not have to bear her moods anymore...That will be a nice change..."
"Elsie don't be like that...I'm happy in other times, not only when I see Lady Mary.."
"When else?"
"Well, for example when we are all alone and we..."-Charles blushed and stopped in the middle of the sentence...
"One thing is certain Charlie...After what you said few minutes ago, you have no chances of being happy tonight..."
"Oh dear...What have I done?"
The next day...
Mrs Patmore was more than happy, the next day, when they announced to her, that the final decision has been taken and that they definitely want to be in the business with her...
Now, there was a question of informing His Lordship, about their decision and prepare him for the shock of the news, that all three of them decided to leave...However first, they sat together after dinner, in Charles's pantry, to talk over some details...
"I'm so happy that you made the decision...I already sold my house and soon, I will be ready to invest in our new property.."
"I have no other options at the moment.. My palsy is getting serious and I only hope, that it will not ruin our plans..."
"I'm sure it will not..."-Elsie was as optimistic, as always..."I think, that we need to start looking for a property, as soon as possible..It will not be easy to find something nearby, which will fulfill all our expectations..."
"I agree Mrs Hughes...We need to have a place for B&B, an accommodation for us and..."-Mrs Patmore's voice has suddenly broke a bit...
"Anything wrong Mrs Patmore? Can we help you some way?"-Elsie asked, seeing that her friend had some doubts...
"You are already helping me beyond my greatest expectations...But, I was wondering, if I can ask you for one more favor..."
"Of course Mrs Patmore, what is it?"-Charles asked, being curious..
"Would you agree to my niece Katie living with us? I know, that it wasn't in the original plan, but she has been so good with guests in my B&B, really helpful and extremely hard-working...She is devastated about coming back to her home village..."
"Well...I think that it wouldn't be a problem for me...I believe, that a younger person can become handy, especially with the most tiring duties...But what do you say Charlie?"
Charles blushed a bit, because that was the first time, when Elsie called him like that in front of Mrs Patmore, usually she addressed him as Mr Carson, but he quickly decided to forget about it, understanding, that now, when they will work together, he needs to be more flexible with his beliefs...
"I see no reason why I shouldn't agree...I remember, that you were praising your niece, so I think that a help will be needed, as my wife mentioned...So I will say yes..."
"Thank you so much Mr Carson...I really appreciate it...Katie will be so happy...She is a good girl, a little clueless at times, but God knows, that I have experience in that area, working with Daisy for so many years..So I can handle her...She wants something more from life, than just living in her family village...She is kind of a wild spirit..."
Charles and Elsie looked at each other, smiling, as they reminded themselves a conversation, which they had last night...
"So it's settled...Katie will be a part of our team...I think that we have talked over the most important things...Katie will help with daily duties, I will do the housekeeping things and you will be in charge of cooking..."-Elsie smiled widely, thinking, that everything was falling at the right place...
"Thank God for that..."-Charles mumbled quietly, but Mrs Patmore heard it and she smiled...
"Did you say something Charlie?"
"No, no Mrs Hughes...I just cleared my throat...Charles and Mrs Patmore exchanged amused glances..
"Good...Do we have anything else to talk about, before we will announce our decision to the family tomorrow?"-Elsie asked, looking at those two with narrowing eyes...They thought, that they can fool her, but she knew exactly, how they made fun of her cooking...
"Actually, there is one more thing that bothers me...I hate to be the one who is causing problems all the time, but I want us to be honest and open with each other..."-Mrs Patmore said...
"What is it Mrs Patmore? I'm sure we can solve this together..."-Elsie didn't know what her friend meant, but she was already trying to be understanding...
"I have sold my house and I know, that you are going to sell yours...Plus Mr Carson mentioned before, that you are going to put some extra money from your savings, if we will find a perfect place, which will cost a little more...In that case, I think that it's fair, that after we will start earning, we should share the profits according to what we invested, meaning, that you should have the major part of the profit...Do you agree?"
There was a moment of awkward silence, after that statement and even Elsie felt a little uneasy, mostly because she saw, how difficult it was for her friend to make that statement...She stayed quiet, letting Charles decide in that matter...Her jaw literally dropped, when she heard what Charles had to say...
"No Mrs Patmore...I do not agree with that...Regardless of how much you or us, will invest in our future property, we will share the profits equally...As we will all put the same amount of work into that place..."
Charles said it with such decisive voice, that there was no question, that he really meant it...Mrs Patmore lost her usual cheek and suddenly got very emotional, saying "thank you for that" few times, while Charles poured her more alcohol, to let her get back to balance...
As for Elsie, she was so incredibly proud of her husband at the moment, that she already knew exactly, how she is going to reward him for that...
Later, Carson's bedroom...
Elsie was lying atop of Charles, treating him with small, sweet kisses on his mouth, whilst her hands were running through his thick, silver hair...He held her tightly, caressing her bare back, happy and satisfied, after the wonderful and sweet love, that Elsie just gave him...He let his tongue inside her mouth, wanting to deepen the kiss...His quiet moans, were expressing everything he felt that moment- pure bliss...
They parted for breath, but Elsie continued her kissing journey, through his jawline, cheeks and neck...
Charles thought, that he went straight to heaven, because where else could he experienced such beautiful moment as this one?
Ever since he made that strong declaration to Mrs Patmore, he sensed, that Elsie was very grateful, but he could never expect, that once they will go back home, she will be instantly all over him, leading him straight to their bedroom and showing him how much she was grateful..
Her lips were caressing his chest now and he wanted this to never end...
"Oh Els...That was...Oh God..."
"Yes Charlie, I will gladly listen to what you have to say about this, as you always seems to lack of words, when it comes to that topic..."
"That was the sweetest moment of our marriage...And I do not know, what I have done to deserve it..."
"You know very well Charlie...That thing you did today, what you said to Mrs Patmore, about sharing our profits equally...That was amazing and it reminded me once more, why I fell in love with you..."
"If I could predict, that it will have such effect Elsie, I would offer Mrs Patmore all of our profits..."- Charles smiled wickedly...
"Let's not get carried away Mr Carson..."
"I have a different opinion Mrs Carson...Let's get carried away and let's do it right now..."
He rolled them around, having Elsie lie on her back and covered her body with his, kissing her with an extra fervor and she totally surrendered to his kisses and caresses...Feeling no need of words, only actions...
That's all for today's chapter...That was a long one, but I hope you won't mind...The therapeutic effect for me has been reached...I think that this chapter was fully in compliance with the story title- love and fun...If you liked it, you can always let me know...Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!