In the World of Downton Abbey

Chapter 5 - Meeting Matthew

"I never fall for men older than me."

"Well, looks like there is an exception this time."

Mandy and Anna were in the shoe-polishing room, polishing Mary's and Edith's shoes. It had been a few days since that heated kiss against the blue wall, and Mandy informed Anna of the instance the night after it happened. Anna wasn't too surprised to hear about it, given she noticed that Thomas had feelings for Mandy beforehand.

"I mean, it just doesn't happen with me," Mandy continued. "I drew the limit at five years, but I guess I broke that, too."

Anna smirked. "We can't help who we fall in love with. The heart works faster than ourselves most of the time, and chooses someone before we do ourselves."

"I know. Tell me about it." She set the shoe down on the table and looked at it, fiddling with the buckle. "Anna... do you think it would work out? With me and..." She glanced at the doorway to make sure no one was at there to hear her. "Thomas?" she whispered.

"You can never know. You just have to keep on going."

"Yeah..." She smiled. "Were you around earlier when Mr. Carson was talking with Mrs. Hughes in the hallway about an hour ago? I heard Mr. Carson was saying how he noticed that Thomas seemed cheerful today, and he couldn't figure out why since he rarely is cheerful."

"It's because of you."

The two women smiled at each other, both having the common trait of being in love with someone older than them.

Mandy finished the shoes. "Well, done with this pair. Do you need any help?"

"No, I've got it. You can go and ask Mrs. Hughes what you can do next."

"No need," said the very woman as she walked into the room. "Mandy, could you do me a huge favor?

Mandy straightened out her dress apron. "Yes, I can, Mrs. Hughes. What is it?"

"Well, we need some ingredients for the dinner tonight, and the delivery man who usually brings them has fallen ill, and there are no other workers there at the store. Would you mind running down to the village and picking those up? It shouldn't be a lot, but we can have the motor pulled around if you need it."

Mandy smiled at the idea of leaving the house for a while. "Oh, no, that's fine. It shouldn't be a lot of trouble if it's only a few things. Plus, it's a sunny day, so I'll enjoy the walk. I'll try to be fast."

"Alright. Well, thank you." She eyed Mandy's wide smile. "Goodness, you look bright and cheerful today."

"Do I?" She eyed Anna and she smirked.

"Is there something going on that I don't know about?" Mrs. Hughes asked slyly.

"Can I tell her?" Anna asked.

Mandy nodded. She could trust Mrs. Hughes with the secret.

"Mandy has found herself a boyfriend," Anna said, and Mrs. Hughes's eyebrows lifted.

"Well, I can't say I'm surprised, considering you are a lovely little thing. Congratulations, Mandy. Just remember to focus on your chores if you can." The woman winked.

"I will. Thank you, Mrs. Hughes. I'll just get going now."

She left the room, smiling away. Thomas happened to be in the hallway heading to the stairs that led up to the main part of the house. She stopped for a moment, not holding in the smile. "Thomas," she greeted.

"Mandy," he greeted back with a head nod.

"I'm off on an errand to fetch some ingredients for dinner tonight. Should be a nice walk to the village."