Downton Abbey: All Is Fair In Love And War

My Darling, Are We Back In France?

Downton Abbey,
August 1918

Lord and Lady Grantham were rudely awakened in the middle of the night but the look on Miss O'Brien's face said that something was terribly wrong as she was asking them to come downstairs. Lord Grantham hurried out of bed with a gut wrenching feeling in his stomach. The faces of his daughters, Sybil, Edith and Mary, came into view from their respective rooms.

"Papa?" Sybil asked in that concerned yet sweet voice only she could execute.

"Is something wrong?" Edith said and the two followed their parents down the stairs.

There stood Molesley, roughly dressed and sweaty from running. He held out a telegram with a trembling hand and Robert took it with an equal tremble, he knew this was not good news. He read it in horror; out loud and the faces of the rest of the Crawleys' were crestfallen as they heard what it read.

"I knew it was urgent, so I hope it was right." Mr Molesley said, feeling what they rest were feeling about Master Crawley — completely horrified.

Miss O'Brien, after awakening his Lord and Ladyship, had hurried to the servants' sleeping quarters and knocked furiously on Mrs Hughes door who, after an explanation, went to knock on Mr Carson's in the mens hallway. He answered it, wrapped up in his robe and dressed in pyjamas. His normally tidy hair was messy from sleep.

"Mrs Hughes, what is the meaning of this?" He asked abruptly.

"A telegram in the night, no doubt about Mr Crawley and William, Mr Carson" She said, sounding genuinely worried.

Mr Carson's expression changed from annoyance to concern. "I'll wake the others." He said at once and hurried to knock on the doors, explaining to everyone asking why they were awoken in the night. He purposely avoided Thomas' door and instead went to Mr Bates.

Thomas lay awake, he had not been able to sleep since that terrible feeling had come crashing through him days ago; that chill down the spine. He could hear movements outside, in the hallway, and knocking on doors but no one came for his door. So he rose from the bed, peeked his head outside, and saw the servants' speaking. Anna was holding Daisy who looked like all blood had drained from her face.

"We don't know how bad the news are, if they are bad at all" Anna tried to comfort Daisy.

Thomas' lips parted as his breathing sped up. He ran a hand through his hair and looked around in panic. If something had happened to William, something must be wrong with Matthew. His yearning heart was already beginning to break; this could not be the end of their story — Matthew could not be dead. Thomas grabbed his robe and followed the rest of the servants', though at arms length, but no one seemed to pay him any mind or knew that he was walking down the hallway with them at all.

They all stood outside the small library, everyone was standing close by the door except for Thomas who kept out of their view; leaning against a wall with his eyes to the ceiling. He had not been woken up to hear the news because no one thought he would care; about William or Matthew. Thomas' door had not been knocked on and the fate of Matthew would not have been known to him until morning.

"We are all anxious to hear the news." Mr Carson said.

That was an understatement, for Thomas wasn't anxious, he was already feeling like he was slowly dying and all the worst-case-scenarios were drowning him inside his mind. Then Lord Grantham spoke and Thomas covered his mouth with his hand, not wishing to let his sobs of sorrow escape his lips. Matthew, wounded, and wounded badly in Amiens. Thomas felt sick to his stomach, he braced himself against the wall and began stumbling down the hallway and away from everyone else. The last thing he heard before turning the corner was Lady Edith saying she'd drive to Mr Mason in the morning for news about William.