The Maid and the Footman| Thomas Barrow

Chapter 8.

TW: talk of rape, harassment, and a mental breakdown. Please proceed with caution.
Three months later~
Listen to: Are You With Me by Nilu
Mia was slowly improving as well as working harder. Thomas was so happy to see Mia mostly back to herself. She was putting herself together again and it was slowly getting easier for her. As time went by, Lady Mary was having suitors again, including Lord Gillingham. Thomas was worried for Mia as well as what he would do to Lord Gillingham's valet if he met him face to face. Mia didn't know much, but she knew Lord Gillingham's valet may show his wretched face again. She just didn't know when or how..
Two weeks later~

Mia walked down the stairs to find Lady Mary and Lady Grantham speaking to Mrs. Patmore. She heard " Lord Gillingham and his valet...staying a week..." Her breath caught in her throat and she ran off quickly. She tried to catch her breath. He couldn't be here. She headed to the dining hall and found a tea kettle that was warm. She poured a cup of tea and tried to calm down. Ms. Hughes came in to find Mia nearly shaking while she drank her tea. She came up beside her and it startled her. Mia looked at Ms. Hughes and the look in her eyes had only been present at a different time, which didn't help Ms. Hughes anxious thoughts. She put a hand on her shoulder " Mia, is everything alright? " The young woman nodded and took a shaky breath. Ms. Hughes wasn't convinced as she watched Mia. She knew there was something wrong. She decided to leave her alone and headed upstairs to check on the maids. After she finished with the maids, Lady Grantham stopped to tell her that Lord Gillingham was coming to see how the land was developing and he was bring his driver and valet with him. Ms. Hughes paled, and said she would get right to preparing for the arrival. But, she was seeking Mia first. She found Mia in the dining hall with Anna beside her, Thomas on the other side. She coughed " Mia, may I speak to you? Privately?" The young girl nodded and followed Ms. Hughes to her office. She looked at Mia with concern as soon as they were inside " Mia, I'm sure you've heard about Lord Gillingham coming to visit. If you need me to, I can get you time off if you wish. It may make it easier for you, and Thomas. " The young girl sighed " No, I am not going to run away like a coward. He did this to me, but I can choose to be stronger than him. Which is why I'm going to stick it out. Don't worry, Ms. Hughes. I'll be fine. " She smiled sadly and left her office. Ms. Hughes sighed as Mia left. Mia was too young to be so strong, and she was tempted to just tell Lady Mary the truth about what her suitor's servant does in the dark. But, she would have to wait. Then, an idea struck. She called Mr. Bates and Anna in. When they walked in, they were confused. Anna looked worriedly at Ms. Hughes after Mr. Bates walked in " Ms. Hughes, is everything alright? I hope we did nothing wrong. But, if we did, please tell us. " Ms. Hughes smiled " No, Anna. You did nothing wrong. I just needed your assistance with something of an..important nature. It's about Mia. I need your help watching her. " Mr. Bates looked confused " Why? Has she done something wrong? " Ms. Hughes sighed " No, but she needs to be protected. " Anna looked worriedly at her "From who?" Ms. Hughes sighed " Lord Gillingham's valet." Mr. Bates scowled " Why?" The older woman looked heavenward and sighed " Mia was attacked by him, when he was here last, as well as multiple times while she worked for Lord Gillingham's parents. Thomas knows she was attacked but he doesn't know it was the valet. I think he suspects or is positive that it is him though. " Mr. Bates scowled once again at the thought of Mia being hurt in any way " How do we protect her?" Ms. Hughes looked at them both " She will need to be watched but it needs to be subtle as Mia doesn't want to be watched or protected. Like if he's bothering her, one of you could walk up and ask for her help with something. Just don't make it obvious. I don't want Mia knowing that I'm helping her. " Anna nodded and so did Mr. Bates. Anna looked at Ms. Hughes " Does Thomas know about this? The protection?" Ms. Hughes shook her head " No, I figured he would protect her even without knowing. So, I just let him be. I know that Thomas will protect her with his life. He loves her more than anything. And I'm depending on that. But, you two are my substitute, just in case. I didn't protect her last time, and I won't let her down. Even if she doesn't want my help. I still will find a way. I let her down before and I won't do it again. " Anna put a hand on Ms. Hughes's shoulder, trying to console her. Ms. Hughes sighed " Should we let Lady Mary know of this? It may help. " Mr. Bates shook his head " No, I don't think we should. It may appear more natural when we help Mia if she doesn't know and thats what we are counting on. " Ms. Hughes nodded to herself and sighed " Alright, we have a plan. Now all we do is hope we don't have to put it into action. " The couple said their goodbyes and went down the hall to the dining hall, and Anna poured them both a cup of tea to calm their nerves. Mr. Bates looked at Anna with concern " What's wrong? Is it Mia?" Anna sighed " I'm worried about her. This is something bigger than all of us. And I'm worried we won't be ready to deal with what's to come. " Mr. Bates shook his head in agreement as they sat, not knowing what was approaching...

Time Skip~ a week later~
As Lord Gillingham valet and driver conversed with the staff, well all of them, except for Thomas. Thomas sat at the table, smoking his cigarette, and trying to focus on the paper he was reading instead of the girl he loved trying everything she could to stay upstairs. His fists clenched as he thought of this bastard hurting her. Speak of the devil. As Mr. Green walked in, you could cut the tension with a knife. At least it was on Thomas's end. The other staff were quite cordial with him, but they didn't know the truth. Thomas felt his blood boil as he glared at the offending man. He felt rage well within him, so he decided to leave. He got up, claiming he had some business to attend to, but as he left, he saw Mr. Green smirking over his coffee, and he felt a sense of foreboding and as the emotion crept into his bones, he knew something was going to happen, something terrible. But, to whom would it occur, was the question that haunted Thomas as he left to go upstairs.

Mia's POV

As I walked around upstairs, observing the maids as they cleaned the library, as Ms. Hughes had an errand to run, so I stepped in, I felt a chill. I rubbed my arms, trying to warm them up. It was then that I heard a voice behind me " There seems to be a cold front coming through. I hope it isn't too chilly. I'd hate to be cold at a time like this." I scowled " Oh don't worry. Your heart is cold enough that you won't feel it. " He walked up beside me " Would you care to repeat that? Or should I force it out?" I turned to Mr. Green and glared at him with an intensity that surprised even me " Stay away from me. I know for a fact that if you touch me again, I will personally make sure you regret it. I will find a way to bring justice for myself and others, but that takes time. And I am very patient. Your life will slowly unravel and like poison, it will slowly kill your reputation and your career. So, I'd advise you to stop now. Or regret it. " He smirked " Oh, yeah? The young maid has fire. Well, we'll see how long your little boy-toy lasts before his temper gets the better of him. " With that he walked off, and left me shaking like a leaf. My mind was shutting down, I could feel it. I ran to my room and tried to breathe. I prayed, harder than I ever had in my life, for Thomas and the rest of my friends, that no harm would come to them...

3rd POV:
As Mia attempted last out the two weeks, Mr. Green got bolder and bolder, which had Thomas concerned. Mr. Bates and Anna noticed it too. Mia was becoming quieter and the fire she had, it had nearly gone out. Thomas got up, claiming he needed coffee. He walked to the kitchen and out the door, and when he turned, he saw the man he desperately wanted to beat to a bloody pulp. The said man turned to Thomas and rolled his eyes " I honestly don't know what she sees in you, Barrow. You're not very bright and you aren't very handsome either. What does she see? I don't honestly know, but I know this. She isn't going to last the week. I bet you've noticed. She puts up with me, because she's scared I'll hurt her precious friends, or you, her dim-witted lover. But, you know why I won't? Because I am smarter than you think and I know Mia's weakness is her family and friends. I can get her to think that I could hurt you, and I will, even if don't intend to, but she doesn't know that, now does she?" Thomas lunged for him, but arms pulled him back. He turned around in a rage and saw Mr. Bates. The man sighed " Come, Thomas. We wouldn't want to make a bad impression on our guests. Come inside. " Thomas let Mr. Bates lead him inside. As the door closed, Thomas was shaking with anger. Mr. Bates found Anna and brought her over. She put her hands on Thomas's shoulders and tried to get him to calm down " Thomas, listen to me. You need to breathe and try to calm down. It won't help Mia if you freak out on us. Just breathe. Breathe. " Thomas took some deep breaths and before he knew it, he was calmer. He turned to Mr. Bates with a deathly rage in his eyes " We need to watch this bastard. I know for a fact he has something up his sleeve. I just don't know what. Mia may be in danger, so we need to be on our guard. Alright? " Anna and Mr. Bates both nodded solemnly. Thomas wouldn't let anything happen to Mia, not while he was her man...and especially not that traitorous bastard Mr. Green.

3rd POV:
Anna decided to check on Mia, and she walked into Mia's room, to find her laying on the bed, looking at the ceiling. Anna sat beside her, and squeezed her hand. Mia turned to her slightly and looked at her. All Anna could see was pain in her eyes, and her heart broke as she knew Mia was hurting more than she could ever imagine. She smiled with empathy " Mia, I know you're hurting more than I can imagine, but Mia, you need to come back to us, back to Thomas. ' She saw a flash of something in her eyes so she continued ' He loves you, Mia, and he wants to help you but you won't let him. He doesn't know how to help. But, he wants to. He hasn't left and he doesn't plan on it. He loves you, Mia. Please, come back. " Mia just covered her face with her arms and cried like no one had ever cried before. It was sobbing that shook her whole frame and rattled in her chest. Anna just held her, hoping Mia would soon be well...