Next Day. ....
Lady Rosamund's house, London

Cora had arranged with Rosamund to go shopping in London. They hadn't seen each other in a long time really, so when Cora arrived at the door Rosamund was surprised to see that she was pregnant. It worried her that Edith hadn't told her. That no one had told her. It worried her even more that Cora didn't mention it. Not once. She did not acknowledge it at all, which led one to believe that there was some secretism surrounding the situation, which seemed quite odd. A Countess married for more than thirty years with three grandchildren, had no reason to keep her pregnancy secret. Edith had, being unmarried. The only reason that someone like Cora could have to keep such a secret, is if the father of the child was not Robert. But that, surely, was utter nonsense! Cora was not the type to be unfaithful to Robert, they were in love.

Rosamund remembered when they were young and newly married. Cora had been so dreadfully upset because she thought that Robert didn't love her. She was still 'a wild American' in those days, and seemed to have walked out of an opera, with all her dramatic displays of love and hate. Rosamund had been delighted with her new American little sister, she was someone who she could talk to about fashion and silly things, and had such an amusing accent. Miss Levinson; with her rich coffee coloured tresses and sapphire eyes, animated expressions and exotic accent. The entire thing was so exciting! As amusing as it had been to watch the horrified faces of those young Cora introduced herself to, Rosamund had eventually taught Cora to wait for a formal introduction and other unwritten rules of high society.

Although much time had passed, Rosamund continued to think of Cora as an innocent, slightly dramatic American who saw the best in everyone and could never understand why jealous daughters of Earls would create nasty rumours about her in order to deter her possible suitors. Rosamund remembered Cora as the young woman who had handed over her money and heart to Robert at the bat of an eyelash. Who never thought twice before marrying Robert, presuming that he loved her as much as she loved him; and then being absolutely heartbroken to discover that while he had graciously taken her money and heart, he didn't give much in return other than a title and a large empty cold country house in the middle of nowhere.

Cora had loved Robert from the very beginning, from the first glance, however it had taken Robert about year of marriage before he fell in love with her. Over the years, Rosamund had watched Cora stick by Robert through thick and thin, loving him despite his bouts of complete idiocy. They were very much in love, as far as Rosamund had gathered, and as she thought of those times, she had no doubt that the child was Robert's. After all, who else could be the father?

If only she knew where Cora had been the day before, and where she had slept the previous night. Cora smiled and stood up. "Shall we set off?"

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The Kitchen, Downstairs, Downton Abbey

Daisy was left alone in the kitchen. The others were in the servant's hall. She made a sandwich and a cup of tea. The bustle of breakfast was over, so she had a few moments to herself before preparations for the other meals of the day were made. Everything was quiet. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. As no one else had gone to answer it, Daisy did.

It was a handsome young delivery man. He was working for Bakewells and carried all sorts of cooking nessessities. He had mousey brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. He smiled at her. "Hello, I've come with the deliveries." He said. "Come through" she smiled in return. "Would you like a cup of tea?" She asked, once someone had taken the deliveries from the man. "Yes, thank you. I'm Jerome Dawson, by the way. I didn't catch your name..?" Daisy handed him the cup. "Daisy Mason." Jerome was about to say 'a beautiful name for a beautiful woman', but spotted a wedding ring on her finger. "Ah, does your husband work here too?" He asked instead. Daisy looked puzzled for a moment, before remembering that she wore William's ring. "Oh, yes he did. But he died during the war." She replied softly. Jerome tried to hide his joy at hearing that he may still have a chance with her. "The war took many, leaving many young widows. It even took my finger" he said, attempting to add some slight humour to the morbid subject. She smiled slightly and sipped her tea. "I'm glad that's all of you it took" she said, almost blushing when she realised how that sounded. He smiled back.

Then Mrs Patmore burst in and practically whacked the tea out of Daisy's hand. "This is no time for dilly - dallying Daisy! Master George wants more of those gingerbread biscuits!" The cook exclaimed excitedly. Daisy breathed out an exasperated sigh and smiled at Mr Dawson. He smiled back and placed the now empty teacup on the table. "Wonderful to meet you Mrs Mason, I hope to see you again some time."

"I would like that, Mr Dawson. Goodbye"

"Goodbye Mrs Mason."

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Upstairs, Downton Abbey

It had been difficult to escape working, a housemaid had a busy day. Jane was the oldest of the three housemaids and somewhat ignored by the others. Polly and Alice spent their time complaining about their work and talking about the next dance that was on in the area. They were only planning to be housemaids until something better, or a husband, came along. They gossiped and giggled, but usually didn't give Jane a second glance, allowing her to slip out of the room and meet Lord Grantham in the smoking room.

He told her to call him Robert. She was unsure at first, but now thought of him as that. They talked a little, about her work and her son, the estate and his dogs. Mostly they kissed. No one found them in the smoking room, but they were still wary. "Jane.." he whispered, pulling her closer, onto his lap, as he continued to kiss her. "Yes, Robert?" She asked tracing designs on his cheek with her hands. "I love you" he said. She paused for a moment before replying. "I love you too."

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The Gardens, Downton Abbey

They met in the gardens again. This time, Walter and Áine sat together, in a small hidden walled garden at the very end of the gardens. In this 'secret garden', as they called it, there were all manner of unusual and exotic plants alongside local wildflowers. The gardeners still tended to it, as there was no sign of it being overgrown, but it was also clear that the members of the family who owned this particular garden had not entered in a very long time. There were a few trees and shrubs, and a swing. The swing was beautiful, entwined with climbing plants and supported by a large strong oak tree.

The swing was quite wide, wide enough for two people to sit on, side by side. Áine sat first and invited Walter to join her. They talked about various things. Walter was explaining about the time he was chased by his local Earl's hunt. Walter loved all animals, and was entirely against hunting. He had spent a time not eating meat, but they didn't have enough food to allow him to eat extra vegetables, so he was forced to either eat meat or go hungry. He had gained the trust of many of the wild animals in his locality, one of which being a fox. The fox was so relaxed around Walter, that he was able to pet him and draw a detailed picture of him. He was drawing the fox, when he heard the hunt coming.

"The fox was terrified of course, so I shoved my art equipment and the fox, into a satchel I had with me, and ran as fast as I could. I jumped over logs, short ditches, low walls, fences, everything in my path. The hunt were catching up with me, so I headed for the village to make it more difficult for them to follow me" Walter explained. Áine was enthralled, she had no idea how much of this story was true, but she loved it anyway. "How did you fit the fox in a satchel?" She asked. "The fox's head was sticking out, and the satchel was more like a sack. My father makes them out of leftover poorer quality leather from the tannery that he works in. They could be any size." Áine nodded with a grin. "Continue" she prompted.

"Okay. So, I ran into the village and into the butcher shop. Not a good idea. The fox jumped out and pounced on a chicken, then the butcher went mad and started screaming at me and his wife took out a sweeping brush! Next thing I knew, the butcher's wife was chasing both the fox and I out onto the street. The fox had dropped the chicken, and at this stage the hunt had reached the village. I kept running, back home. I had lost the fox. When I reached home the hunt were not far behind and my parents were furious. It's because of that, I wasn't allowed to work at our local manor house and had to come to Downton." Walter smiled. "Do you regret saving the fox?" She asked.

He shook his head. "Oh no. If I didn't save that fox, I would never have met you", he smiled sweetly. She smiled back and let her hand rest lightly on his. It wasn't very ladylike to make the first move, but she was no Lady. He turned his hand over slowly, and intertwined his fingers in hers. They sat on the swing, hand in hand, and somewhat in love.

Yay! Chapter 25 is complete. ... only 28 chapters left!!! Woop!!

I hope that you're Still enjoying this story, I'm trying to keep it interesting. ..

Please let me know what you think and that...

Also, 'The Bates's Irish Adventure ' is now available for reading. ... check it out. ... now.... please....... yeah...

Also-Also, DAISY BOYFRIEND ALERT LET'S GET OVERLY EXCITED! !!

CAST
Lady Grantham ~ Elizabeth McGovern
Mr Bricker ~ Richard E Grant
Lord Grantham ~ Hugh Bonneville
Charlie Carson ~ Jim Carter
Elsie Hughes ~ Phyllis Logan
Thomas Barrow ~ Rob James-Collier
Miss Baxter ~ Raquel Cassidy
Mr Moseley ~ Kevin Doyle
Mr Bates ~ Brendan Coyle
Anna Bates ~ Joanne Froggatt
Lady Mary ~ Michelle Dockery
Denker ~ Sue Johnston
Spratt ~ Jeremy Swift
Lady Edith ~ Laura Carmichael
Henry Talbot ~ Matthew Goode
Daisy Mason ~ Sophie McShera
Mrs Patmore ~ Leslie Nicol