A/n: Ok, so this one got rewritten a few times. I'm just so over it that I hope this chapter will be ok. This one will be a real treat for team Thomas since they haven't had more moments together. Only this one will be more into his thoughts which I know you want to know, so enjoy.

Also, thanks to everyone who reads this story, especially those on Wattpad, as this story is ranked #9 in Abbey (out of 416 stories), #16 in Downton Abby (out of 407), and #12 in Downton (out of 203), #4 in Matthew Crawley (out of 47), and #53 in Thomas Barrow (out of 74)

Chapter 7

"I wish we could talk a little more about you. What was it like growing up in Manchester?" Edith asked as they rounded a corner of one of the churches she had picked to take Matthew to while the hunt was going on. Her olive skirt and matching coat was darker in the dim sunlight the deeper they walked. Her hat and gloves look almost black when they are a shade of dark gray. If it weren't for her cream blouse and the ivory of her skin, she would undoubtedly blend in with the shadows. Matthew walked ahead in his gray suit.

"What does it say about the side aisles?" Matthew asked, trying to change the subject. He didn't want to talk about himself and didn't want to come off as rude, but the man did have other things on his mind. Edith double-checked her pamphlet.

"The side aisle were added in the 14th century by Bishop Richard De Warren." She carefully read as she stopped at the railing of the side aisle, watching Matthew look around and then up.

"Yes, you can see that in the…treatment of the stone." He said as he used his hat in his hands to point towards the ceiling. Edith looked around, not commenting on what he said because she didn't have the first clue to what he was talking about, so she chose something more insightful to say.

"It's wonderful to think of all those men and women worshipping together through the centuries, isn't it? Dreaming and hoping much as we do, I suppose." She spoke softly as he walked right to her with a slight smile, only to pass right by as she finished speaking to look at the rest of the church. He was pointing something out again with his hat.

"Was the screen at Cromwell casualty?" he asked, not once looking back at Edith. She made her way over to him to look at what he saw.

"I-I daresay." She stuttered, still looking at the same spot he was.

"I wonder how they are getting on." He more said to himself than to Edith. Edith looked at him.

"Who?" She asked out of curiosity. Hoping that he wasn't asking about whom she thought he was.

"Lilly…and Mary, of course." He added quickly to cover his slip. His mother had informed him of the goings on at Downton regarding a possible new suitor for Mary, who was bringing along a Turkish Ambassador friend, and that the family wanted to know if they would dine with them to help welcome and meet their guests. In his gut, it didn't feel right to him. They could fling every man in the world towards Mary; he wouldn't bat an eye, but another young man being there and from the gossip, he heard on the way to meet Edith, he was a very handsome young man who made all the ladies he smiled at blush. Men like that always think they are on top of the world and can do what he likes with no consequences or regard for the other party involved. Lilly was a young attritive lady and hopefully wasn't the type to be swayed by a pretty face and empty words. Matthew would not let himself say even in his mind that he was more than a little jealous of the idea of a man he had never met. So, he forced himself to brush it all to the side…for now.

"Well, you know Mary, she likes to be in at the kill, and Lilly is mostly praying that it will be over soon. She's not so fond of the hunt, the poor girl." Edith stated. She felt hurt that he was thinking of anything other than her and the churches they had seen. Matthew looked at her with a smile before turning to leave.

"Where shall we go next?" he asked as he began to walk down the stone pathway towards the doors. Edith turned to face him as he walked.

"Not home?" she asked, a little confused as he didn't care too much for churches. He stopped and looked at Edith.

"Oh, not yet. We've time for one more at least before we lose the light." He said, looking at her before looking at the stained-glass window to see where the light was coming in to judge about much not time they had before sundown before turning back to Edith and then started to make his way out of the church with Edith trailing behind him. She only had a few churches thinking that maybe it would have sparked something within him, and they would have talked about everything and anything, but her plan of winning his favor was growing dim with every second that passed.

"I underestimated your enthusiasm." She said as she followed him out slowly.

The hunt was finally over as the sun started to go down, and the party headed back towards the house. Lilly was exhausted and filthy and ready to leave her mare and walk on the ground again. Turning over the reins of a horse over Lynch, she headed into the front doors of the manner house. Generally, if she were in her world, this pain and tiredness would end with a hot soak in the tub with bubbles and maybe a bath bomb. Then take out delivery for dinner, a small glass of wine, laying about on the couch while either catching up on tv shows or a good movie on Netflix. Not here, oh no, there was still dinner and then spending time in the drawing room afterward before she could go to bed and relax. With guests staying here, there was no way she would be allowed to take a tray in her room.

Carson was waiting at the end of the entrance hall along with Thomas as they entered and began removing coats and other things with the help of some maids and other house staff. Lilly could hear Mary, Kemal, and Evelyn talking about their hunt. Lilly hoped to slip by before anyone asked her, but Mary was one step ahead.

"Lilly, how did you find today's hunt? I bet the fresh air and good company made your day as it did mine." Mary asked. She always tried to get Lilly to have more fun participating in things like hunting and shooting like a proper English lady instead of burying her nose in books all the time. As a bonus, it would be more time to spend together. Plus, hunts with handsome young men to look at didn't hurt either.

"Oh, yes. I did. It was quite thrilling. A nail-biter till the end, I say." Lilly faked a smile as she took off her coat and handed it to Anna.

"I'll say so. I thought the hounds would never sniff him out, but they got the fox in the end." Evelyn stated as he took off his top hat and red coat to hand them over to Gwen. Luckily Cora and Robert came to welcome the hunters back.

"Heavens, you have been in the wars." Robert looked in astonishment at their disheveled appearance as he walked over to them in his laurel-colored tweed suit and copper walking boots. Cora followed behind in her light wisteria dress with white lace high neckline. Her usual cameo brooch sits at the top center of her throat. Mary walked forward.

"Papa, this is Mr. Pamuk. My father, Lord Grantham." She introduced the newcomer to Robert with a smile half a mile wide as she and Kemal walked ahead of Evelyn and Lilly. Kemal and Robert share a firm handshake.

"How do you do, my lord." He said as he exchanged greetings with Robert.

"Did you have a good day?" Robert asked, moving on to the pleasantries.

"Couldn't have been better." Kemal stated before Carson walked up behind him with Thomas in tow.

"This is Thomas, sir. He'll be looking after you." Carson told Kemal as he gestured over to Thomas. Kemal only nodded in Thomas's direction. Lilly thought it rude that he couldn't even say one word to Thomas like he was human and not like some inanimate object. Once again, Lilly had to remind herself that it was socially acceptable not to speak or be knowledgeable servants during this time. She could not judge the past by the socially acceptable in her time as that would be over a hundred years difference, and many things have changed again and again and again. In a signal generation, things have changed socially more times than they could count. She bit her lip slightly to stop her from calling out his rudeness. Thankfully Evelyn finally made his way to everyone and was interdicted. Lilly was thankful for the minor distraction. After exchanging all the pleasantries, everyone started to file up the staircase to freshen up before dinner. Lilly brought up the rear Cora called to her.

"Lilly dear, can you come here for a moment?" Cora asked sweetly. Lilly nodded and made her way back to Cora.

"Yes, Mama?" she asked as she stood in front of her "mother"

"I just wanted to thank you for going on this hunt and helping Mary make our guest feel welcomed. I know it's not your favorite thing, but you are the only one I know that can soften Mary's rough edge. As you know, we have a lot riding on this to have a good outcome, especially for your sister." Cora spoke softly at her youngest.

"I know. We have a possible marriage for Mary and another country's freedom to think about." Lilly uttered. She knew that Albania got its independence on November 28th, 1912, from the Ottoman Empire, but what about this one? Kemal was a vital part of that now, and what Lilly knew was to come what would happen to Albania and its people? Would everything still come to pass as it did in her world? She could only pray that with Kemal's sudden death from a heart attack, the country still would have its freedom.

"Mary will be settled in her own time. Now go upstairs and get ready for dinner." Cora spoke motherly as she cupped her daughter's chin lightly before letting her go as both women parted.

"I don't understand. Why—Why would she want to be a secretary?" Violet asked. For her life, she couldn't think why anyone would want to leave service, especially in this house. The Crawley's paid better than most other houses; they never mistreated their staff, often held parties and holiday gatherings, and had days off and some holidays. Other families thought them mad for doing such things. So, it blew her mind that someone wanted to leave.

"She wants a different life." Matthew said simply. He was new to this kind of life, having staff to help or do everyday tasks where he had grown up doing them himself with no help. He was now a bridge to understanding both sides, but he fully supported anyone who wanted to better their lives for whatever reason. Lilly looked over to Violet.

"Granny, she wants to do more than clean our home, and I'm in full support of her career choice, and if I can help her in any way, I will. Being a secretary is a perfectly respectable job for a woman, and it's something to be admired." Lilly stated firmly to Violet. She glanced around the table before catching Matthew's eye. Who surprise, surprise; she was sitting next to him once again. He smiled at her, which she returned.

"Lilly's right; we should be helping Gwen if that's what she wants," Sybil added, genuinely believing in helping everyone no matter their status. Sybil was a stain, plain and simple; that's what Lilly thought.

"I agree. Surely, we must all encourage those less fortunate to improve their lot where they can." Isobel chimed in, knowing Violet would find some way to put her two cents in. She loved a good debate, but there was no debating with Violet. It was her way or no way.

"Not if it isn't in their best interests." Violet retorted, and there it goes, Lilly thought as she sat back. It's hard to believe that Isobel and Violet will end up the best of friends when seeing them trying to one-up the other in a verbal altercation. Lilly tuned everyone out and watched everyone around the table, especially Mary in her scarlet and gold evening dress, complete with a scarlet plum sticking straight up from her hair which Lilly thought was overkill. Still, Kemal was foreign to her, so maybe she thought he would go for it. Oh, Mary, be careful what you wish for. Kemal seemed to be playing hard to get with Mary as he often would ask Lilly questions flirtatiously, and Lilly would answer them as she usually would. If she had cared enough to look around, she would have seen that not only Mary had a look of jealousy, but so did another, for a completely different reason.

Soon dinner was finished, and everyone went to the drawing room for drinks and socializing freely before turning in for bed. Lilly had gotten trapped in a conversation with Mary, Kemal, and Evelyn for a short time before she could excuse herself and made her way over to one of the couches before sitting down. Shortly after, she felt another weight settle onto the cushion next to her. Looking to the side, she saw it was Matthew, and she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding or even why.

"Did you have fun riding today?" he asked, trying to make conversation, hoping that it didn't sound weird to her as it did him.

"The riding, yes, the hunt not so much." She told him. A look of shock crossed his handsome face, and then it was gone.

"Really? I thought the Crawley family had hunting in its blood if you hear Mary tell it." He spoke as he was shocked to hear of an aristocrat that didn't enjoy a good hunt.

"Yes, well tell me, since you are a Crawley, do you seek the thrill of the hunt? Lilly questioned him, raising one of her perfectly arched eyebrows at him.

"Touché. My father went on a few from time to time. I occasionally went with him for a little bonding time, but I never cared. Books were more of my thing." He answered thoughtfully.

"Someone once told me that I would rather pet the fox than hunt it, which is entirely accurate when you look at it." She laughed as she looked down at her lap to stop herself from looking at Thomas.

"Nothing wrong with that. A love for animals shows just how kind the heart is, and more people like that in this world." He generally said from the heart. To him, Lilly was the most kind-hearted woman he had ever met in his life or ever in his whole lifetime. Lilly looked up at him. Did he believe that? He shouldn't. He should be thinking that of Mary right now. She didn't have time to think it over as she needed to leave. Then Matthew could join Kemal and Evenly in fighting for Mary's attention even if Mary spends all her time with Kemal leaving Matthew to end up talking to Edith before leaving to avoid her.

"Well, this is where I take my leave. I'm exhausted from today." Lily said politely as she stood up, with Matthew following suit while wishing her a good night. Once she dressed in her night dress, Lilly slipped under her covers; she was out like a light. She was completely unaware of the events about to take place, completely different from those she had known.

Everyone had gone up to bed. Thomas had taken his time getting to Mr. Pamuk's room in the Bachelor wing of the manor. He had requested to tend to himself after earlier unfortunate events. He thought he read him perfectly. He didn't know why because Pamuk was good-looking, but Thomas saw nothing serious other than some fun as he tried to fake interest in Turkish culture. Hell, if Pamuk had asked him to expand on that, he wouldn't have been able to say anything.

He had always said he wanted to leave because he was tired of being a footman. He tried to move up the ladder to valet and maybe one day butler. It wouldn't happen, not with Bates and Carson here, but there was something that kept him tethered to this manner to this family. What it was, he didn't know, but everything he said he was going to leave, his heart became heavy as if it was telling him that he couldn't or maybe shouldn't leave. He just could not put his finger on what it was. Thomas didn't have time to dwell on what the reason could be as he arrived at Pamuk's room. Thomas knocked before entering; once inside, he saw Kamel wearing only his black robe with a mongoose-colored unnamed pattern covering every inch of fabric and, to top it all off, Persian plum-colored trim and cuffs and black slippers. So whatever plan he had, he was going through with it, and Thomas felt that this wouldn't end well for all involved, himself included.

"I will be paying a visit to the young ladies wing tonight, and you will bring there and never breath a word about it to anyone unless you would like your indiscretions to be brought forth to Lord Grantham, where he will dismiss you without a reference." Kamel all but demanded as he reminded Thomas. Thomas gulped, afraid of the answer to the question he was about to ask.

"Which of the young ladies do you… wish to visit?" he asked, voice full of fear. His breathing became shallow and uneven. He just hoped that no one else could hear it as he tried to get his breathing back under control.

"Mary. Her fiery spirit draws me in. She is a challenge I will win, but there is something to be said about Lilly. Sweet Lilly is the opposite of her sister. Her gentle and calming nature makes her easy to dominate her into quiet submission. I will start with the older, and if I have the energy, I will make my way to Lilly." He calmly boasted about his plan to Thomas. He knew that Thomas couldn't bring himself to breathe a word about it out of fear of Kemal going to Lord Grantham about his nature which would lead to his dismissal without a reference and no hope for future employment elsewhere.

Thomas's breath hitched when Kamel mentioned Lilly. She was the purest soul he knew and had nothing to do with what happened between Kamel and himself. Her smile always brightened up any room she walked into, and it certainly brightened even his darkest days, always so contagious. She always went out of her way to help people regardless of class. He thought of her as beautiful inside and out. Almost like a goddess among mortals, especially when he saw her with the animals around the estate. The sunlight shown down on her makes her look more ethereal than humans. Her brilliant blue eyes always held the spark of life in them. The sight always took his breath away. She didn't need to be dragged into this horrible situation that he brought on himself.

He knew what would happen if anyone ever found out. Their reputations would be ruined; people would avoid being seen with them, and good men would pass on any potential marriage prospects. They would be fortunate if a decent low-class man would want either of them. The talk and whispers behind their backs form not only the village but most likely the whole of England as not one but two daughters of an Earl disgraced would be front page news that would follow them until their dying breath, if not longer.

Thomas wasn't found of Mary and did believe that she did need to be taken down a peg a time or two, but he would never wish something like that even on her and certainly not Lily. The thought made his blood turn to ice in his veins, but he knew there was nothing he could do, so he silently nodded before picking up the candle stick holder with a lit candle and began to lead Kamel to Mary's room and to point out Lilly's room along the way.

On his way to his room, he stopped in front of Lilly's door. He knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't help himself as he slowly opened her door and peeked into the dark room. There she was, sound asleep, curled up on her side facing the windows with crisp white blankets around like a cocoon tucked under her chin. Her long chocolate hair spread out behind her on the pillow. The light from the fire gave a warm glow to her fair skin. He felt he could stand there forever, looking at the delightful scene before him. He backed out, closed the door behind him, and ran back to his room. He closed his door before leaning against it before the trail of tears falling down his cheeks. Bring a hand up to his mouth before completely breaking down in sorrow. He was never more thankful not to have to share a room with anyone than at this moment of vulnerability. Thomas didn't sleep a wink that night.

In the morning, Thomas changed into a new set of livery for the day and went about his morning routine downstairs before he solemnly brought up Kamel's breakfast tray. He knocked a couple of times on the room before entering the room. He didn't glance at the so-called "gentleman" at first, but the site drained the blood from his face once he did. He set the tray down before quickly going to fetch Carson.

It wasn't long before everyone in the house heard the shocking news of Kamel Pamuk's untimely demises. Even Lilly was affected by it. Sure, she knew it would happen and, at the time, didn't overthink the subject, but it was different after meeting the guy. It's like hearing someone you didn't even know passing away. You know it's a sad event, but you don't feel much on that subject when it's like when you 'oh how sad' and then moving on to a new topic like it was nothing. Nothing like you do when you have met the person; then, it holds a much heavier weight. Lilly thought as Anna finished fixing her hair in a low elegant bun. She thanked the maid as she stood up from her vanity and fixed her black clothes, making sure they were straight before making her way down to breakfast.

Once she stepped foot on the manor's ground floor, she came across Thomas, who had just left the dining room after bringing up a few things for the family's breakfast.

"I'm sorry you had to be the one to find him. It must have been awful." Lilly said, stopping Thomas before he could even cross the room. He looked up at her, and all she could see was the horror still lingering in his gray eyes, but not for the reason she thought.

"Not the most pleasant thing to come across early in the morning, I can assure you, my lady." He responded glumly.

"Yes, of course. It's just so strange that when I went up for the evening, Kamel was very much alive and woke up only to find out he died sometime during the night. Poor Mary must be taking it hard; she was keen on him." She told Thomas. He stood there regarding her for a moment. She didn't have the look of false pleasantries of a woman that has been wronged. She had the look of someone who was genuinely saddened by someone passing. He was so relieved that he quickly stepped forward and brought her into a gentle but firm hug. He was relieved that she had been spared from the evils of that man. His heart felt heavy this morning with the very idea of that vile man putting his hands on this beautiful flower, now light as a cloud. He thanks God for smiting Kamel from the face of the earth.

Thomas got control over his emotions once again and parted from Lilly. At the time, he was lost in his thoughts and didn't notice that she had returned his embrace, even burring her head in his shoulder, taking in the scent of pine trees; some oil scent must be from his duty of maintaining the manor's clocks, and the smell of the air just before a rainstorm. She held on until he pulled away. Lilly's arms slowly fell from his shoulders down to her sides as Thomas took a few steps away to put the proper distance back between them. He cleared his throat.

"Sorry, my lady. I had forgotten myself. Please accept my apologies." He repeated almost robotically. Lilly shook her head.

"There is nothing to forgive. We both need a little reassurance during this difficult time, especially with you being the one to find the poor man. We are human, after all; sometimes, simple human contact is all needed to help ground ourselves and steel our nerves." Lilly replied sweetly, already missing his warmth.

"Thank you. I best get back to work before Mr. Carson finds me and gives me an ear full." He looked around for good measure before departing. With every step he took, the air swirled around him, carrying Lilly's scent. The scent of vanilla, country air, and lilies. It was the most comfortable thing he had ever smelled, putting him at ease.

A/N: sorry for the super long chapters, but I felt like this episode had a lot going on that I could work with and bring more to the table for the characters like Thomas. With what happened between Kemal and him, I felt I could work with it and use it to get into his head and his feelings for Lilly. A little treat for team Thomas. Let me know how you liked it.