I've seen Perfection

Part four

The next day, Mr Carson had brought Mrs Hughes her breakfast, but she was still asleep when he arrived, so he just put the tray on her bedside table as quietly as possible and then went off to serve His Lordship upstairs. It was only Lord Grantham at the breakfast table, for Her Ladyship and Lady Mary as married women were served in their rooms, Lady Edith had had to go to London this morning in an urgent business of her magazine and Mr Branson had offered to drive her to the station.

"And how's Mrs Hughes today?", Robert enquired as Carson refilled his cup with steaming tea.

"I can't quite say, Mylord", the Butler replied truthfully. "I haven't spoken to her yet. But I plan to do so as soon as I've finished here."

"Very good." Lord Grantham took the cup and brought it to his lips while he fetched his newspaper with the other hand. He wanted to turn his attention to the printed letters, his eyes wandered over the headlines of some articles, but then something else came to his mind.

"Carson?", he said, putting the papers back down, "What was this matter between you and Her Ladyship yesterday?"

"Mylord?"

"Something she said about Mrs Hughes", Robert said slowly, apparently trying to recall the exact wording. "Do you remember?"

"I do, Mylord", Carson answered cautiously, not very eager to warm the subject again, but too set in his ways to be untruthful towards his employer.

"And?" Robert raised his eyebrows questioningly.
"What was it about?"

Mr Carson had an idea, of course, but he liked to believe that Her Ladyship wouldn't lower herself to such acts of presumption, so he thought it best to assume himself that it had been nothing but an unfortunate choice of words from her side, unsettling him by pure chance and not deliberately.

"I really couldn't say, Your Lordship", he therefore stated rather evasively, but Robert didn't seem disappointed at all.

"Well, that's a relief", he declared. "I already thought it was just me who the meaning had passed by." He took another sip from his cup and unfolded the newspaper again.

"The subtleties of women", he laughed lightly, throwing a glance over his shoulder at the Butler. "Who is to understand them?"

"Indeed, Mylord", Carson agreed, quite relieved himself as Lord Grantham finally returned his full attention to his breakfast and the latest news.
The next twenty minutes were spent in silence apart from the sound of tickling china and the occasional rustling of turned pages and when Robert finally got up and left the room, Carson followed him into the entrance hall.

"Is there anything else I can do for you, Your Lordship?", he asked when Lord Grantham prepared to climb the big staircase.

"No, thank you, Carson", Robert said, stopping in his steps. "Go and take a look at our housekeeper. Tell Barrow he should have an eye on the entrance door today."

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To Carson's great relief and delight, he found Mrs Hughes awake and in rather high spirits. The night's sleep seemed to have done her good, her temperature was down and some colour had returned to her cheeks. Her breakfast had been already finished when he arrived and they had talked until now, matters of work - how Anna was getting along, that Mr Branson was still out to deliver Lady Edith, the graciousness of Lord and Lady Grantham granting him time to visit her. She was livelier than yesterday, laughed more, was more her usual self. But despite everything Mr Carson knew her well enough to sense that she still felt weak, so the request she expressed at some point surprised him and let him worry again.