Do You Smell That?
Daisy sat tiredly at the servants table after a long day of preparing dishes for the upcoming surprise birthday ball for Lord Grantham. Mrs. Patmore had been bed-ridden for the past week and a half with a nasty bug, so Daisy and the kitchen maids had to do it on their own, which meant Daisy had to fill Mrs. Patmore's shoes, and stay in her own. It was hard work, and she could now see why Mrs. Patmore became agitated so quickly.
Anna walked quietly into the room. "Hi, Daisy. All done for the day?" She began to put away the sewing machine that she'd been using earlier.
"Yeah. I'm now waiting for Andy to finish up so we can walk back home." She blinked her eyes exaggeratedly to keep them open.
"I see. I'm doing the same. Lord Grantham wanted to have a chat with Mr. Bates tonight, so he's taking longer than usual."
"A chat? What about?" Daisy's curiosity, which had always bordered on nosiness, piqued.
"I'm not sure. There's no uncertainty about his job, I know that for sure."
The younger woman nodded, stretching her back and rolling her neck.
Anna's nose crinkled up suddenly. "Do you smell that?"
Daisy tilted her head, sniffing. "Oh my- what is that?" She jumped up, ready to storm into the kitchen and yell at whichever one of the girls messed with the dishes. "Sarah- Maisie- what are ya doing in here?" Her voice loudened.
The minute she stepped foot in the kitchen, she was face to face with her husband. "Andy? What's happened?"
His cheeks were aflame with embarrassment. "Uh, I…" he scratched the back of his neck.
Her eyes landed on the tray that sat on the island. "Did you make those?"
He glanced back at the burnt cookies. "Yeah…"
Daisy walked up, observing them. "Are they peanut butter?"
Anna put her hands to her heart. "Aww, did you make them for Daisy?"
Andy reddened even more, turning to stare at the counter as he cleaned it. "Mmhmm. I know you had a long day… so I made the dough earlier in our kitchen, but since the oven is broken, I brought it here to bake them. My talk with the footmen took longer than usual, so they started to burn…" he sighed, pausing the cloth he was wiping with. "I'm sorry. I should've stuck with what I know."
Daisy wrapped her arms around his middle. "Thank you, love." She smiled as he turned around in her arms.
"But they're rubbish, now." He hugged her back.
"They aren't past saving- just burnt a little, not enough so we can't scrape off the blackened parts." Standing on her toes, she pecked his lips. "I love you."
He grinned. "I love you too, Daisy."