In the World of Downton Abbey

Chapter 7 - Accusation

Some of that good-ol' Downton Abbey drama plays into this chapter a little. I was always a fan of that drama.

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What was with that look on his face? He at least smirked when she entered the room, but when she walked in the following morning... he didn't even look up at her. What's going on?

She sat down across and a few people down the table from Thomas, and Daisy leaned over on her right and poured her some water. She lingered there for a moment. Mandy turned her head when the girl had not moved for a good ten seconds.

"I'm sorry," Daisy said. "I'm just admiring that hairpin in your hair. It's beautiful."

Mandy noticed Thomas look up from his porridge and glance at her with that same expression he greeted her with when she walked into the room. Something was up, and it had to do with the hairpin. After he saw it in her hair when she arrived back from the village, he didn't speak to her and didn't say goodnight when everyone was off to bed.

"Thank you, Daisy. I got it in the village."

The look on Thomas's face turned grim. Why?

Breakfast commenced, and the first bell soon rang. Thomas bolted up and was the first one out of the room. Mandy maneuvered through the maids and hall boys leaving the room as well, and she made it out to the hallway only to see that Thomas practically ran up the stairs leading to the main entry corridor to the house. She let out a sigh in defeat. Something definitely wasn't right.

Anna appeared next to Mandy in the hallway as their co-workers bustled about. Mandy never told Anna about who she got the pin from. She shouldn't tell her—or anyone for that matter—but she needed to get it off her chest at some point.

"Is everything alright?" Anna asked. "Thomas seems to be in one of his moods, which he hasn't been in since he and you started a relationship."

"I know."

"Do you know what's the matter with him?"

Mandy pursed her lips as she stared at the stairs. "I... think so."

"What?"

"Ladies, off to work."

Mrs. Hughes passed them and gave them a look. "Yes, Mrs. Hughes," Anna said, then whispered to Mandy, "Let's talk later, alright?"

"Alright."

The two separated and went about their chores. As Mandy folded the clean sheets that needed to be put back on the maids' beds, she thought about what on earth she would do if people found out that Matthew bought her that hairpin. Should she even tell Anna, even if she was trust-worthy? She groaned. She ached to tell someone. This was huge for her—her celebrity crush giving her a present. Even though he really wasn't Dan Stevens, it shouldn't matter. He looked like him, and she liked Matthew as a character.

An hour passed, and Mandy hustled to find Anna. She was done with the folding, and it felt as if she would burst. She opened the door to the shoe polishing room and found Anna in there, polishing a ladies' shoe. Anna saw her and smiled and about said something but noticed Mandy's expression. Mandy knew her face was red since her heart pounded a hundred miles a minute, pumping blood into her cheeks.

"Mandy, my, you look rather flustered," she commented.

"Um... Anna, there's something I need to say, and promise to tell no one. If you do, then all heck will break loose, and I'm as good as gone."

Anna put down the shoe she polished. "Golly, must be something pretty big." A look of realization hit her face. "Oh, this is about why Thomas is suddenly so grim."