Downton Abbey: The Next Generation

Chapter 11: Caroline

"It happened," I thought. "It really happened, but then now my plan has to happen." The room remained silent as Nora and Sybbie took the gramophone upstairs. Everyone quietly went back to their rooms, so I followed and ducked into mine. I hadn't showed anyone my new hair, but everyone was suspicious. I had found a way to keep my hat on all through dinner.

"Caroline," someone whispered as they walked in. I turned around and helped Grace close the door quietly.

"What?" I asked.

"They announced the war," she said. "Are you going to enlist?"

"I am, but I don't know when."

"You should go tomorrow night," Grace told me. "That way you have time to pack and you won't steal George's thunder."

"Is that okay?" I asked her.

"You'll be fine. Johnny and I will help you pack and get ready," she explained. "The two of us will sneak down to the servants hall. We'll meet him in the boot room. Could you try to catch him on his way out of George's room?"

"Alright," I said and left me room. I leaned against the wall and waited for Johnny to come out of George's room. I heard the door knob click and grabbed Johnny's arm. He stumbled as I pulled him toward me.

"Miss Caroline, what is it?"

"Meet Grace and I in the boot room after everyone had gone up and bring some of your clothes," I whispered and let go of his arm. I went back into my room and sat on my bed.

"Is he going to meet us then?" Grace asked.

"I'm not sure, I mean I know he heard me, but I don't know if he'll actually go there," I explained. Grace waved it off.

"It's fine, as long as he heard you. Are you absolutely sure that he heard you?"

"I am," I told her. "He seemed to be listening when I said it, so I'm sure that Johnny heard our message."

"Perfect, now all we have to do is wait," Grace told me. The two of us sat there until the clock said it was around 12:30. 

"Are you ready?" I whispered to her.

"Of course." The two of us silently crept along the gallery and down to the servants staircase. We made our way down the servants staircase, avoiding certain especially creaky steps. Grace opened the door to the boot room and closed it quietly behind us. I looked around the room, but Johnny wasn't there.

"I guess he didn't hear me," I whispered to her. 

"I actually did," he said, coming into the room. "But Ella only went up a few minutes ago and I had to be sure Mr. Barrow wasn't down here still. I don't think he likes me very much. I mean he didn't like my dad, but he didn't mind my mom. But then again everyone likes my mom. I mean she is kind and sweet and gentle and..."

"Johnny, Johnny, Johnny," I said to him. "Slow down and focus up." He took a deep breath and sat on a stool across from me.

"I brought the clothes," Johnny said and dumped the pile on the table.

"Why did you ask him to bring clothes?" Grace asked me.

"I need boys clothing if I'm to be a boy," I told her, exasperated. "That's obvious." Grace rolled her eyes and punched me in the arm.

"Do they fit you?" Johnny asked. 

"I would like to say we are about the same size," I told him. "I'm tall for my age and I might be able to pass for sixteen when I register."

"What about the physical exam?" Grace asked. "When the doctor does an exam, won't he be able to tell that you are a girl?"

"I thought about that," I told her. "I can use cloth to make my body look more masculine and I think that as long as I'm healthy, I can bribe the doctor not to reveal my gender."

"What are you going to do about a name?" Johnny asked.

"I don't know," I said, honestly. "I'm going to need a fake name and a fake birth certificate if they ask for one."

"I can get a fake birth certificate," Johnny offered. "My dad knows how to forge documents and signatures."

"Wherever did he learn that?!" Grace asked, shocked.

"You forget," Johnny told her. "My dad was wrongfully accused of murder and went to prison for a couple months."

"Would he do it?" I asked him.

"I think he would," he said. "I'll ask tomorrow morning and see if he could."

"Now we need to pick a new name for you," Grace said. "It can't be a name of any person we know, in case they enlist and are shut down because of us." The three of us sat there thinking for a moment.

"What if you took my mum's maiden name," Johnny suggested. "Smith."

"Or you could take my mum's maiden or her name after she married Nora's dad. McHale or O'Connor."

"Those are very Irish names," I told her.

"My mum is very Irish," Grace responded. "Let's use Smith."

"Alright, now all we need is a first name," I told them. "We should pick something that starts with a "c" so its not too far off the course of Caroline." We sat there thinking again.

"What about Charles," Grace suggested. "It was a common name the years surrounding your birth, so it would seem plausible."

"That is a perfect!" I cheered. "When I register for the  army, my name will be Charles Smith."

"Do you think we'll need a middle name?" Johnny asked.

"We will for the birth certificate, but we can just use Henry for my father."

"Okay," Johnny told me. "I'll talk to my dad tomorrow morning and if he can do it, it will be done by tomorrow afternoon."

"Where are you going to go to register?" Grace asked.

"There's a registration office in Ripon. I can leave on the late train and stay up there until I get the word I can join"

"I can't believe you're going to fight in a war, a real war!" Grace told me. "I never would have guessed when we were younger that you would be brave enough to fight in a war."

"I would have never guess either, but here we are," I told her.

"I should be getting to bed," Johnny said.

"As should we," I told him and kissed his cheek. Grace and I said goodnight to Johnny and went up to our room.

"Are you really doing this?" She asked as we got into our beds.

"I am," I said, confidently. "I absolutely am."