A Lady and her Footman (a Downton Abbey Fanfiction/Thomas Barrow)

Chapter 19

"So you want it just to be a private house again?" Mrs. Crawley asked Cora. Lady Violet looked to Mrs. Crawley shocked. "Well, shouldn't she? Or would you like to abolish private houses?" She asked her with sarcasm.

"Well, that life of changing clothes and killing things and eating them, do you really want it again? Wouldn't you rather Downton be useful?" She alder Cora again.

Cora raised her brows "But the house is useful. We provide employment, and..." She was cut off. "Oh, please. Let me look into keeping it open as a center for recovery. I could run it. The house could be so much more than it was before"

Lady Violet and Cora looked at her in shock of hearing her trying to take over Downton. "And what about you, Mr. Molesley?" He stopped his task of trying to serve us more tea and cake.

"Are you looking forward to this brave new world of Mrs. Crawley's imaginings?" Lady Violet asked outraged.

"I'm glad of my job, M'lady, and I should very much like to hold on to it, with Mrs. Crawley's permission" Mrs. Crawley smiled in triumph as Lady Violet smiled a fake one.

"Servants are always far more conservative than their employers. Everyone knows that" said Mrs. Crawley.

"Then I must be the exceptions that proves the rule" the Dowager remarked. I shook my head as I smirked into my cup of tea.

~~~~

I came back from Mrs. Crawley's, I handed Mrs. Patmore another bag of some his else she needed me to get for her. "That's kind, but let's face it, I'm not a war widow, am I? Not really"

Daisy yelled frustrated as she stomped into the kitchen, Jane following her with a piece of paper in her hand. "Of course you are" Jane said to her in a sweet manner.

"No, I'm not. How long was I married? Six hours? Seven? I shouldn't have taken his name, except it were what he wanted" she told Jane as her frustration faded to sadness.

"Well. I'll leave it here with you" she told her as she laid it on the counter and walked out. Daisy looked at it and sighed as she rolled her eyes.

"Daisy, or wouldn't please William is you don't take what's owing. He wanted you to be looked after" I looked from Mrs. Patmore to Daisy. "She's right"

She looked from me to her. "No, you made me a liar while he was alive" Mrs. Patmore opened her mouth slightly. Daisy shook her head as her eyes stared to water.

"You'll not make me false to his memory" she stated as she walked into the pantry with the brooms and buckets she was carrying.

Mrs. Patmore looked down at the counter and leaned on it as she sighed. I walked over to her and laid my hand on her shoulder.

"She'll get there. Someday" she gave me a small smile as she laid her hand on top of mine. I gave her a small smile in return as I walked upstairs.

~~~~

We all walked out of the dinning room. "I don't dislike him. I just don't like him, which is quite different" said Lady Violet as we walked towards the door, I chuckled.

"Did he talk about Haxby? He's got ghastly plans for that place. Of course Cora doesn't agree" he told his mother. "I'm American. I don't share your English hatred of comfort" I giggled, as did she.