This is the story of Thomas Barrow.
Thomas Barrow has been working as the first footman at Downton Abbey for years. He's always been careful to keep his personal life hidden from the prying eyes of the other staff members and the Crawley family. Bu...
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Ellie was agitated and upset, and Thomas could tell that something was wrong. He asked Ellie what had happened, but she wouldn't say anything.
Thomas had a sneaking suspicion that Ida had done something to upset Ellie, but he didn't want to jump to conclusions. He decided to keep a closer eye on Ida and make sure that she didn't have any more unsupervised interactions with Ellie.
As he tried to calm her down, Thomas couldn't shake the feeling that something had happened on their walk. "Ellie, sweetheart, can you tell me what's wrong?" he asked gently. Ellie shook her head and buried her face in his shoulder.
Ellie refused to tell her father what had happened. He had a sneaking suspicion, though. "Did she hurt you, Ellie?" he asked gently.
Ellie shook her head, but Thomas could see that she was holding something back. He turned to Ida. "What happened?" he demanded.
Ida shrugged. "Nothing much," she said. "We just had a little chat, that's all."
Thomas didn't believe her for a second. "What did you say to her?" he pressed.
Ida hesitated, then sighed. "I just wanted to show her some things," she said. "I wanted to help her."
Thomas felt a surge of anger. He knew that people didn't understand her condition the way he did. "She doesn't need your help," he snapped. "She has me."
Ida raised her hands in surrender. "Fine, fine," she said.
Thomas's heart sank as he realized that something had indeed happened to Ellie while she was with Ida. He couldn't help but wonder what Ida had said or done to upset his daughter so much.
Later that afternoon, when Thomas was in the kitchen helping Mrs. Patmore with the preparations for dinner as Daisy was in bed Ill, he overheard Ida talking about Ellie. "She's such a sweet little thing, isn't she?" Ida said. "It's a shame about her condition."
Thomas's blood boiled as he listened to Ida's words. Who did she think she was, talking about Ellie like that? he didn't like it one bit.
As soon as he could, Thomas pulled Ida aside and confronted her. "What are you doing with Ellie?" he demanded. "Why are you so interested in her? I know you are up to something."
Ida's face went red with anger. "How dare you accuse me of anything! I was just trying to be kind to her."
"Kind?" Thomas spat. "You've been trying to take over since the moment you got here. And now she's upset and won't tell me why. I know you're up to something."
Ida glared at him. "You're being ridiculous," she said, turning to leave.
Thomas grabbed her arm, his grip tight. "You're not going anywhere until you tell me what you want with my daughter," he said, his voice shaking with anger.
Ida tried to pull away, but Thomas held firm. Finally, she relented. "Fine," she said, her voice cold. "I was trying to teach her to talk properly. You're obviously not doing a very good job of it."
Thomas felt his blood boil. "How dare you!" he shouted. "Ellie is happy and healthy, and she doesn't need your help. If you ever go near her again, I'll make sure you regret it."
Ida sneered at him. "You're just a servant, Barrow. You have no right to talk to me like that."
Thomas felt a surge of anger and frustration. He was tired of people underestimating him because of his position. "I may be a servant," he said, his voice low and sharp, "But no one... no one gets to mistreat or talk about my daughter like that."
~
Late that night as father and daughter lay in bed, Thomas fell into a deep sleep, exhausted from a long day. But little did he know that Ida had been watching and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
She crept into his room and took Ellie from her bed, before leaving the house and heading to the train station. Thomas woke up in the morning to find Ellie's bed empty, and his heart sank as he realised that his worst nightmare had come true, he knew that she hadn't got out of bed on her own as she can't walk on her own, not without his help.
"Ellie?" Thomas called out, panic rising in his chest. "Ellie, where are you?" He searched the house from top to bottom, every room, but Ellie was nowhere to be found. Thomas felt like his world was falling apart, and tears streamed down his face as he struggled to accept what had happened.
He knew that he had to find his daughter, but he had no idea where to start.
He stumbled down the stairs, hoping to find someone who could help him. When he reached the bottom, he saw Mrs. Hughes and he ran over to her, his voice shaking with emotion.
"Mrs. Hughes, have you seen Ellie?" he asked, barely able to get the words out.
"No, Thomas, I haven't," Mrs. Hughes replied, her expression concerned. "What's happened?"
Thomas explained everything to her, and Mrs. Hughes listened intently, her face growing more and more worried by the second.
"We need to find her," she said firmly, taking charge of the situation.
He felt helpless and alone, wondering if he would ever see his daughter again. But he refused to give up hope, and he knew that he would do whatever it took to bring Ellie back home.
The news spread quickly through the household, and soon everyone was searching for Ellie. But it was clear that she had been taken, and the police were called in to investigate. Thomas was beside himself with grief and worry, unable to do anything but wait for news of his beloved daughter.
Days turned into weeks, and still there was no word on Ellie's whereabouts. Thomas was a shell of his former self, barely able to function as he waited for news. He couldn't eat or sleep, and the once-bustling house was now shrouded in a somber silence.
