Downton Abbey - The Story of Emma Barrow

O'Brien's Trap (May 1920)

"Well, back on your adventures, are you?" Mrs. O'Brien taunted and glared at Emma with malice. Emma looked down anxiously, feeling a lump forming in her throat. She knew that Mrs. O'Brien didn't like her.

"No, Mrs. O'Brien, I'm on my way to the servants' hall," she replied quietly.

"Well, since you're here, you can be useful," O'Brien said, gesturing for Emma to follow her.

"Dad doesn't want me working or being on the other side of the green door," Emma explained.

"Thomas already has enough problems. You would be helping him by lightening the load for all of us. You must have noticed we're short-staffed. Mrs. Hughes needs a new housemaid, Mrs. Patmore needs a kitchen maid, and Mr. Carson needs a second footman."

Emma had a bad feeling about it, but O'Brien had already placed her hand on her shoulder and guided the girl in the desired direction. Emma felt uncomfortable as she followed Mrs. O'Brien, but she dared not object. She knew it was better not to cross the nasty maid.

She found herself reluctantly in a room she had never entered before - the splendid bedroom of Lord and Lady Grantham.

"I don't think I'm supposed to be here," Emma said, but Mrs. O'Brien piled some clothes on Emma's arms. "I doubt anyone will object if you help me. You can see there's still much to be done here," O'Brien explained, taking Ladyship's shoes in her hand.

Emma tried her best to carry the unwieldy load of laundry, but it was just too much for her small arms and hands. She felt pieces slipping from her grip and falling to the floor.

"You're losing half of it," O'Brien muttered. At that moment, O'Brien had a plan in mind and stepped on a piece of fabric dragging on the floor, causing Emma to lose her balance. With a loud crash, she landed against a sculpture in the hallway.

Suddenly, the hallway was filled with silence, and Emma felt her heart constrict in her chest. She had broken the sculpture, which was apparently of great value.

Mrs. O'Brien looked at her with a diabolical grin. "Well, you've done quite well, Emma Grace Barrow," she praised, "I bet Thomas will be delighted to hear what you've done. Not to mention Lord and Lady Grantham, when they see that you, in your careless play, have broken one of their treasures acquired during their honeymoon," and she winked at Emma with maliciously gleaming eyes, "You're nothing more than the biggest mistake Thomas ever made..." After a brief pause, the maid added, "He should never have adopted you."

Emma felt as though the ground had been ripped out from beneath her. Mrs. O'Brien's words had hit her like a slap in the face. She had destroyed the sculpture, and Mrs. O'Brien seemed determined to use this opportunity to continue tormenting her. Panic seized Emma, and her thoughts raced. Tears welled up in her eyes. She felt trapped and surrounded by the nasty witch, and she dared not defend herself, for she feared Mrs. O'Brien's retaliation.

At that moment, they heard footsteps in the hallway. Mrs. O'Brien cast a contemptuous glance at Emma before angrily scolding, "What have you done, you clumsy brat!"

"What's happened here?" Mrs. Hughes asked sternly.

"Oh, it was just a sculpture that broke," O'Brien said, "The brat ran into me and knocked over the sculpture. She apparently mistook the upstairs for a playground. Now, I have to wash and iron Lady Grantham's clean clothes again, including the evening gown she wished to wear tonight when she and Lord Grantham go to Lord Ellington's ball."

"What are you doing up here, Emma?" the housekeeper wondered. Her gaze fell on the broken sculpture and the girl who was still sitting on the floor.

"I, um... I..." Emma suddenly found herself in a difficult situation. What Mrs. O'Brien claimed wasn't true at all. The girl swallowed hard and fought back tears.