A horror in the halls of Downton Abbey

Chapter 1; An encounter

It was Tuesday. Thomas, aka Mr. Barrow, was sent to pick up some groceries. Normally, Daisy and Mrs. Patmore would fulfill this task, but Thomas offered to do it for once. Thomas and Mrs. Patmore weren't exactly friends. Thomas didn't have much friends in the castle at all. You could say he wasn't liked by many. Knowing Thomas, he wouldn't do anyone a favor, without getting something out of it. No wonder Mr. Carson asked him why he was so urged to pick up the groceries. He asked if he was planning to meet someone. Suspicious as Mr. Carson is.

Thomas replied in his most polite tone: 'I think that I could use some fresh air once in a while, don't you think?'

Mr. Carson looked at him thoughtfully before he nodded in agreement. 'I do not think it would do you any harm, especially not in your condition. You look somewhat pale, have you already been to the doctor?'

'I appreciate your concern, Mr. Carson, but don't you worry about me.' After a pause he mumbled, 'The rest could not care less either.' With that Thomas left the castle.

It was crowded on the market. At least that was something normal. It was very cold outside, for a summer day. Even for England. Something sinister was in the air and it was not just the rain that was about to fall.

Thomas' thoughts though were on something totally different than the weather. After the wedding of Lady Rose and Atticus Aldridge his thoughts wandered off more and more to the temporary footman. He had almost already forgotten about Jimmy, who had broken his heart when he didn't return his affection.

He went by the stalls one by one. He ordered ten pounds of potatoes by the potato farmer and paid it forward. He also bought a bucket full of sacks with sugar. Mrs. Patmore would know what to do with it, he thought. The Crawley family would want her to bake more pastry after all, they always do. And like that he went down the list of groceries.

At a stall with drapery he saw a familiar face. He tapped the young man's shoulder, after which the guy in question turned around and they greeted each other politely. It was Andy, the lad who had jumped in as footman at Lady Rose's wedding. Thomas smiled from ear to ear. He hadn't thought he would ever see him again. He had hoped it, for sure. He was delighted to see Andy, the guy who had been in stuck in his mind for the last few weeks.

They walked off the square together, completely taken away by their conversation. Andy told him that he had come to town, looking for a job. Thomas, seeing a chance for Andy to work under the same roof, immediately said he might have an idea for a job. Andy was surprised: 'Do you mean working at the castle as footman under Lord Grantham? That is a generous offer, but are you sure Mr. Mosley cannot do the work on his own? And of course I don't want you to go through any trouble for me.'

'Don't you worry about that,' said Thomas, 'I would like to do it, just when you were in trouble for gambling. As for Mr. Mosely: I have heard him complain about the amount of work enough. I am sure they'll take interest in you as second footman.' In the back of his mind Thomas was already planning how to persuade Mr. Carson and Lord Grantham to hire him. He would make it work, in one way or another.

Andy thanked him and they said their goodbyes. After all Thomas had to be back in the castle before the gong.

As he started for his way back Thomas turned around once more to catch one more glimpse of the lad. Andy didn't look back, but it didn't matter, Thomas felt happier than ever.

Suddenly a cold wind was blown into his face and he finally noticed the grey color of the sky. He had been so invested in his encounter with Andy that it hadn't striked him, until now. And once it did, he couldn't not hear the rush of the wind. It followed him all the way up to the castle. And when he set foot onto the path that led directly to the castle, it started to rain. Not just any rain, but a downpour. Thomas started to run, with the cart full of goods, thundering over the stones.

In his haste he didn't watch where he stepped, which caused him to stumble over a large boulder. He fell. His knees grazed the ground and his pants teared open, while blood blended with the wet stones. He got up and looked at the damage of the cart, that had fallen over. The goods laid all over the path, a sack with greens was teared open. He swore. His mood from his pleasant talk with Andy had been ruined.

A figure appeared behind him. Thomas turned around and perceived a Young lady. She looked poor and trembled in the cold of the rain. In the dark due the lack of sunlight in the sky, he could not see her face. This was also due the frayed hat, that caused a shadow to fall over her face. 'Can I help you?' she asked him.

In a haze of surprise over the sudden appearance of the lady, he agreed.

She helped him set the car upright and to get the goods back in. After the cart was loaded again Thomas wanted to thank her and say goodbye, but she insisted on accompanying him to the castle. All of a sudden he thought he recognized her voice. 'Give me the cart, I'll push it, do you just watch where you walk,' she said a little resentfully. Then it hit him who stood before him. It was Edna, the girl who had been fired up to two times at Downton Abbey. This aroused his suspicion. What would she do here in the village after her second resignation at the castle? And what could she be planning to do in the castle?

Author's note:
Thanks to carryonmywws (twitter) for helping me translate this part ♥

All ideas about what is going on in town and what kind of horrors you want to see or something about the relations between certain characters are welcome. Though I'll try to keep as close to the story of the show as for most characters but as Tom and Thomas' characters are definitely gonna be the lead, their paths will change. Otherwise it wouldn't be fanfiction of course ;)
I'd love to hear your ideas, so please let me know :)

For people who haven't watched the show:
My friend Yelena pointed out to me the few things she didn't get as someone who hasn't watched Downton Abbey so I'll answer those questions here. Please feel free to ask me more about what was unclear to you.
Firstly Thomas isn't a very nice person in the show. He's controlling, manipulative and mean. He is ready to risk anything for his goal. That's why he hasn't had many friends. He was friendly to Jimmy but he left the castle. I will stop there to avoid spoilers (for if you were meaning to start watching it).
Secondly Lady Rose is the great niece of Violet, the mother of (the current) Lord Grantham, better known as Robert. That makes Violet Mary, Edith and Sybil's grandmother.
Other characters that were unclear can be found on Dowton Abbey wiki.
As for Edna's past with Downton, we'll get to that in the second chapter, which I hope to post in a few weeks- sorry but I can't make it any less with school coming up again and I have to be realistic.

For the Merlin fans: I will work on those fanfics when I finish this one. Right now there's a preview of my story with Merlin and the Druids you can read :)