The Shadowed Footman

He's had his heart broken too many times

Reynolds and Brimsley carefully carried Thomas to his room and gently placed him down on the bed where they began to remove his soaking wet clothes, once that was done they redressed him in a fresh shirt before pulling the warm duvet up over his body. Mrs Hughes came up with Doctor Clarkson he removed the make-shift bandages that Brimsley had applied and cleaned the wounds before applying new bandages. Doctor Clarkson left some healing balm and said 'The wounds should heal in time, just keep an eye on him in case fever sets in if it does keep him cool. I'll come back at the end of the week to see Thomas and check on him and the baby'. 

The room fell silent and Brimsley looked at Reynolds as Mrs Hughes said 'Baby he's with child' Doctor Clarkson nodded and said 'Mr Barrow has the ability to carry children, it's very rare'. Brimsley looked over at Thomas's pale sleeping form and sat down in the chair beside the bed he looked at Doctor Clarkson and said 'Do you think he tried to kill himself because of the baby'. 

Doctor Clarkson nodded and said 'It is possible, I'll be speaking to Lord and Lady Grantham about this but you probably need to know as-well. At the end of last month Mr Barrow was attacked and raped'. Mrs Hughes gasped and said 'Oh my lord, did he say who attacked him' Doctor Clarkson shook his head and said 'He didn't tell me no, the injuries from the attack are healing well. But there will always be mental scars to remind him of what happened, I also think he could do with a friend things are going to get very tough for him'. 

Brimsley slowly reached out and took hold of Thomas's left hand as he said 'I will look after him, I hate to think he was so unhappy and couldn't tell anyone what had happened to him'. By the next morning Thomas was sick a raging had set in overnight and he was delirious and constantly having flashbacks and fever dreams, Princess Charlotte had allowed Brimsley to care for the footman clearly seeing how upset Brimsley was over his new friends pain, it was late morning when Anna stepped into Thomas's room she placed the fresh towels down on the dresser and said 'What else can I bring you Brimsley'. 

Brimsley turned to Anna and kindly said 'Some more Ice please Anna it'll help bring his temperature down', before she left Anna turned to Brimsley and said 'It's good to see how much you and Reynolds care for him, he's had his heart broken too many times I would just like to see him happy and loved'. Brimsley kept his gaze on Thomas as his body shook with yet another fever dream he reached out to place the cold cloth on Thomas's forehead as he said 'Myself and Reynolds we're together and we love Thomas, but we're worried that he may not feel the same about us'. 

Anna took the bowl from the bedside table and said 'You and Reynolds have something special and you'll never know how Thomas feels unless you ask him. I'll be back in a moment with some more ice', Reynolds stood in the doorway watching as Brimsley tended to Thomas Brimsley glanced over his shoulder and said 'Come in my love don't linger in the doorway'. 

Reynolds walked in and sat in the chair on the other side of the bed, he noticed how Brimsley was reaching out to hold Thomas's right hand but he stopped himself and looked at Reynolds as he said 'May I my love', Reynolds nodded and Brimsley placed his right hand on Thomas's and then Reynolds placed his hand on top of Brimsley's and together they leaned in and kissed both of Thomas's cheeks. 

*~*~* Line Break *~*~* 

Meanwhile downstairs Doctor Clarkson had come back to speak to Lord and Lady Grantham he sat waiting in the library and after a few minutes Lady Grantham walked in as she walked towards the chair she said 'Doctor Clarkson I'm so sorry to keep you waiting, Carson said you were here and had something important to talk to me about', Doctor Clarkson nodded and said 'Indeed I do your ladyship. I'm not sure if you were told but I came out last night to see Mr Barrow I'm afraid the matter I wish to discuss involves him'. 

'What's happened is Barrow alright' Lady Grantham said softly, Doctor Clarkson took a deep breath before continuing 'Last night Princess Charlotte's man servant found Mr Barrow unconscious in the bathroom he'd cut his wrists in an attempt to take his own life', Lady Grantham gasped before replying 'Poor Barrow I had no idea he was so unhappy, has he said what's happened to make him feel this way'. 

Doctor Clarkson again took another deep breath to prepare himself for what he was about to say next 'About a week and a half ago Thomas came to see me at the hospital, he had some small cuts and bruises he told me that he'd been attacked on his way home from the pub but it seems his attacker also Raped him as-well. The attack has left Thomas with both Physical and Mental scars and also a baby'. Before Lady Grantham could reply Lady Sybil walked in with her husband Tom they both had overheard part of the conversation and Lady Sybil was shocked and saddened by what she'd heard, as she walked in she said 'Will the baby survive Doctor Clarkson'. 

Doctor Clarkson looked down at his hands and said 'The baby will not survive, Thomas will either give birth and it'll be stillborn or he'll miscarry'. Lady Sybil wiped away the tears that formed in her eyes, she and Thomas had become close friends during the war and she'd seen a different side to him that was very caring, she looked at her husband and said 'I might go and see Thomas if that's alright my love' Tom smiled and kissed Sybil on the forehead before replying 'Of course my darling, I know your worried about him'. 

Lady Sybil left the library and walked up the back stairs to the servants quarters, as she approached Thomas's room she noticed the door was open slightly and she noticed that Princess Charlotte's man servant was sat in the chair asleep beside Thomas's bed. Quietly she walked in and placed the bunch of Daffodils she'd picked earlier in a glass vase beside the bed, as she stepped back a creaking floorboard woke Brimsley he immediately stood up and bowed his head in respect as he said 'Forgive me M lady I did not know you were here' Lady Sybil smiled at Brimsley and replied 'Please don't apologise, I didn't want to wake you. How is he doing anyway'. 

Brimsley replaced the cloth on Thomas's forehead with a cooler one and said 'His fever is slowly passing and the nightmares are not quite so frequent so I think we're getting there M lady sorry I don't know your name' Lady Sybil smiled back and said 'I'm Lady Sybil Branson, your Princess Charlotte's man aren't you what's your name'. 'My name is Bartholomew but most people call me Brimsley' said Brimsley softly.

Lady Sybil nodded and said 'It's a pleasure to meet you, anyway I'd better be going I've left him some flowers over there' Brimsley looked over at the golden Daffodils and said 'That's very kind M lady I'll make sure he knows who there from'. 

*~*~* Two day's later *~*~*

A whole week had passed by and thanks to Brimsley's outstanding care Thomas had made a full recovery and once he felt well enough he returned to work. When Thomas woke this morning it was a beautiful winters morning and a fresh layer of snow had set on the front lawn, after getting dressed he made his way downstairs to find Brimsley and Reynolds so he could thank them for saving his life and sure enough he found them in the boot room Thomas knocked on the door and said 'Sorry for disturbing you I just wanted to have a quick chat with you both before everyone else appears. I wanted to thank you both for saving my life'. 

Brimsley and Reynolds both smiled at Thomas and Brimsley replied 'Your worth saving Thomas we're just sorry for what happened to you. Thomas there's something else we wanted to ask you, do you feel the same way about us as we do about you'. For a moment Thomas didn't say anything he just closed the door locking it knowing that nobody would be downstairs for a few minutes, he then walked over to Reynolds and Brimsley and in turn kissed them both passionately on the lips. 

The kiss left all three of them with swollen lips Reynolds looked at Brimsley and said 'I think that answers our question my love'.