Downton Abbey - The Story of Emma Barrow

Mister Matthew (September 1921)

AN: Attention please! Spoiler Warning! We've reached the finale of the third season of Downton Abbey. I don't want to spoil or trigger any of you, so here's an explicit warning! Get your tissues ready. The next two chapters will be emotional.

"Shall I take you to Downton Abbey?" Matthew asked, gesturing towards his car.

"I would love to" replied Emma, "But I still have to buy cigarettes for Dad," she added with a roll of her eyes. Since Thomas could hardly leave the bed at the moment, he tasked his daughter with buying a new pack of cigarettes. Emma didn't like it, but her Dad might nag at her if she returned empty-handed.

"I understand," said Matthew, "How is your father? I heard what happened."

"Better, but he's still in pain."

"Please give him my regards," said Matthew as he got into his car, "When George comes home in a few days, I'll personally introduce him to you, I promised," he winked.

"That would be great!"

Emma kicked a stone ahead with her foot. It wasn't far to the Abbey, but on some days, the path surely felt infinitely long. Why did her Dad have to insist on those stupid cigarettes? She could have easily caught a ride with Mr. Matthew... the only consolation was that she saw Ruby again in the village.

"Do you know how it works? Maths?" Ruby asked.

Emma shook her head, "Not really," she admitted.

Ruby looked at Emma with a resigned sigh, "Me neither," and quickly changed the subject to something joyful, "The circus is coming to Ripon!" she exclaimed.

"Really?" Emma inquired eagerly, her face lit up with excitement.

"Oh yes, and it's bringing lots of animals! Maybe we can go there this weekend," explained Ruby.

"Animals?" Emma's eyes sparkled with wonder. "Like lions and elephants?"

"Yeah, and maybe even acrobats and clowns!" Ruby added, her enthusiasm matching Emma's.

Emma's heart raced with excitement at the thought of seeing such spectacles. "I've never been to a circus before. Have you?"

Ruby nodded, her grin widening. "Yeah, once when I was little. It was amazing! You'll love it... Oh, I have to go this way. See you at school tomorrow. Bye!" and with that, the girls parted ways.

The circus. Emma had never been to the circus. Surely she could convince her Dad to visit the circus on the weekend. The thought brought a wide smile to her face until she suddenly stopped in her tracks. At the junction, a pick-up truck was parked across the road. Other tracks led from the road down the small slope, revealing another car lying on its side.

"Keep walking, there's nothing to see here," one of the two men explained, but Emma stood frozen, her gaze fixed on the crashed car. She felt a strange tingling in her stomach as her heart pounded wildly against her chest.

"Don't you live at the Abbey?" one of the men asked.

Emma nodded, seemingly in a daze, her eyes still fixed on the accident scene.

"Please inform His Lordship that Mister Crawley has had an accident."

"Come on, run!"

As if on autopilot, Emma started moving. Instead of rushing through the back door as usual, she briskly knocked on the grand entrance of the estate.

"Emma," Alfred hissed anxiously as he saw her. "You can't come in here," he whispered hastily, but the girl had already darted past him, driven by an urgent need to speak to Lord Grantham.