Downton Abbey - The Story of Emma Barrow

Mood Change (May 1922)

Warning: Spoilers and trigger alert!

"Hello?" She knocked gently at first, then harder with her fist against the door of the boot room, "Is everything alright?" The screams abruptly ceased. Emma stood frowning in front of the door. Should she go in and check? She hesitated for a moment. However, Emma had inherited her father's curious genes. She didn't wait for an invitation but pressed down the door handle and slowly opened the door.

"Anna," she breathed the name almost inaudibly. The blonde woman sat trembling and crying on the floor, her hair wild, a split lip, and a black eye. Her clothes partially torn. "What happened?" asked Emma, shocked. She couldn't make sense of what was actually going on, but she saw the butler of Lord Gillingham suddenly appear behind the door. "Nothing happened," the man claimed, "Anna was clumsy and fell – I only came to check on her when I heard her fall – and if you ever tell anyone anything different, I will find you and kill you," he said before leaving the boot room.

Emma's mouth hung half open. She didn't understand what was happening or why Mr. Green was demanding her silence.

"Anna, you're bleeding," the girl noticed and knelt beside the maid, "Shall I get Mr. Bates?" she asked, but Anna shook her head. "Mrs. Hughes?" Again, Anna shook her head but gratefully accepted Emma's help to stand up.

"No one must ever know about this. No one, Emma. Not Mr. Bates, Thomas, or your friends. You must never tell anyone," Anna said with difficulty.

"But..."

"Never, Emma! Promise me!"

"Really no one?" she asked. Emma felt a bit uneasy. Her dad was practically the best lie detector in the world. No matter how hard she tried, Thomas would eventually get the truth out of her.

"Promise me!" Anna urged. The maid was agitated by all that had happened, on the verge of tears, and certainly didn't have the patience to deal with a ten-year-old girl right now.

"I promise," said Emma.

Anna nodded, more or less satisfied, "I will wait for Mrs. Hughes in her office," she announced. Anna's legs were trembling so much that she could barely stand, let alone walk. So, Emma helped her to the office.

"Emma, thank you for coming. He would have continued otherwise," Anna said with a swallow, "You shouldn't be alone while Mr. Green is visiting. Just stay near Thomas, okay?"

Anna's words barely left Emma's mind. What would he have continued doing? Hitting Anna? Would Mr. Green hit her too or even kill her as he had threatened? Why did he grin so oddly when Emma met him in the hallway?

When the door creaked, Emma snapped out of her thoughts. She jumped off the bed and pressed herself against the wall, hoping to disappear into it. It was rather silly to just press against a wall. She should have immediately crawled under the bed or into the closet. Anything to be invisible in case Mr. Green would come to visit and carry out his threat.

"Whoa, young lady. It's just me," said Thomas, surprised as he threw himself on his bed and kicked off his shoes. "What are you doing here? Missing me already?" he asked with a smile, looking over at his daughter. Emma looked like she had seen a ghost.

"Everything alright?" Thomas asked, concerned, staring at her for a while, but Emma stayed in her strange position against the wall, insisting with a nod that she was fine. Yet her face was pale as a sheet, and her eyes were wide open.

"Come here," he said, patting the mattress beside him. Emma listened, lying down next to him. She rested her head on his chest. "Did you have a bad dream?" Thomas asked softly.