Barrow's Boy - A Downton Abbey Fanfiction

The Ripple Effect

     The servant's hall was bustling, as usual for this time of day. The family had finished their dinner and had dismissed the male staff from the room. Now, the valet and lady's maids were left to wait until they were summoned upstairs.

     Thomas descended the stairs, fiddling with his lighter. He had planned to go out for a smoke but paused as he scanned the room. 

     "Anna," he grabbed her attention as she walked past him. "Have you seen Teddy?"

     "No, not recently. He left earlier to go and find one of his friends, but that's the last I saw of him." Thomas nodded, thanking her and deciding to move on to someone who would likely have more information.

     "Jimmy," the footman looked over his shoulder from where he sat at the piano. "Any chance that you know-"

     "Where Barrow Junior is? I think he went to see Abi. Why?"

     "He'd wanted to hear some stories from America. I thought now could be a good time." Thomas glanced at the clock and frowned. "He's usually home by now, isn't he?"

     Jimmy shrugged, turning back to the keys. 

     "How would I know? You're his dad, not me."

     Thomas shook his head, turning to the clock again. Something felt off. Teddy knew his curfew without Thomas even having to state it. So, the man made up some excuse for why he had to go into the village and left through the servants' door.

      As Thomas approached the Bennett household, he could already hear arguing voices from inside. Although the door muffled the sound, it was easy to conclude them to be Abigail's parents. He sighed, not wanting to deal with them, especially not during an argument, then knocked. He waited, then knocked again after receiving no response. 

     Finally, the door was opened by a maid, letting Thomas hear the full argument. 

     "She's been reckless for years, Charlotte, and you've just let it happen! And now she's gone, and we don't know where! She's not with that Wilson boy, she's not with Katherine, she hasn't gone down to the school-"

     "Alexander, please! I'm worried too! So stop blaming me!" 

     Thomas turned to the maid. 

     "I take it that Theodore's not here then?" The girl, who couldn't be much older than Daisy, shook her head. "Alright. Would you have any ideas for where they might have gone? Only I'm assuming Mr. Bennett hasn't taken it upon himself to ask you."

      "Well, I know that she and the boys liked to spend time in the woods. So I wonder if going in that direction would be a good idea."

     "Would you like to come and help me look? Or, you know, go hide from that for a bit." Thomas motioned at the Bennetts, who were still arguing over Abigail. "I doubt that they would even notice you were gone."

     And that was how Thomas ended up on a search with the Bennetts' maid, who he would later learn was named Alice. The two of them went to the woods, calling out for Theodore and Abigail.

     It was Alice who heard them first.

     "Someone's calling for help," she said, turning her head in the direction. As Thomas listened, he started to hear it as well. And then, both the underbutler and the maid were running.

     Teddy tried to tighten his grip on the rock he had grabbed but found his hands just continued to slip away. They and the rock were too slippery for him to grasp properly. The boy attempted to use it anyway, reaching out his other hand to Abi.