My first Downton Abbey fic! Yay! I actually wrote this awhile ago but that was before I started my account here. I dedicate this to my best friend who has just started watching Downton.

I own nothing, though I wouldn't mind having Mr Hughes's accent ;)

Elsie shot into her pantry as fast as she could, slamming the door behind her

"I spend days, days! Getting those two to stop insulting one another and they both go and turn on me like that?!" she fumed to her pictures on the walls

"They say talking to yourself is the first sign of madness Mrs Hughes" a voice said quitely. She whirled round to find Mr Carson standing there looking highly amused

"They also say its rude to walk in with out knocking!" she replied angrily, shooting him her best glare. He chuckled and came fully into the room

"Calm down, I only came to see what the matter is." he explained

"And who says anything is the matter Mr Carson?" She huffed back at him. He took a step towards her

"Mrs Hughes, dust came down from my ceiling you slammed the door so hard. Unfortunately you didn't manage to dislodge the spider web that's been bugging me for months. Perhaps you'd like another go? He asked, gesturing towards the door

"No Mr Carson I would not!" she told him, determinedly plopping onto the settee

"Well then at least tell me what has got you into such a state?" he asked sitting down next to her and taking her hand

"Its that damn store cupboard key again!" she explained glaring at her carpet he looked confused and asked

"But the store cupboard key is a fight we have at least once a week. I believe everyone quite looks forward to it"

She stopped glaring at the carpet to glare at him until she noticed the smile that was playing round the corners of his lips

"Yes, only this time Mrs Patmore and Mrs Bird teamed up on me! Two weeks of endless sarcastic remarks and suddenly they're best friends all because of one bloody key!"

"They never did!" he replied pretending to look shocked while to his damndest to keep in the laughter "So you finally relinquished your hold on the fore mentioned key while faced with two rolling pins?" she allowed herself a smile at the image he conjured up in her head

"Like Hell I did! Neither of them will get it while I'm house keeper here! Rolling Pins or not" she exclaimed and then shot to her feet to continue her vent leaving Carson staring at her in awe as she paced

'My god she's beautiful when she's angry' He thought, and indeed he was right. Her grey eyes darkened to almost black, he cheeks took on a very attractive pink colour and her hair, usually so tightly pinned back, had managed to escape a few pins, leaving curls framing her face. How he longed to reach out and tuck them gently behind her ears

"Mrs Patmore spends the last week before she left in my sitting room complaining about how that woman would never be able to keep up and we should look for someone else! Then when ever she wasn't in there I had Mrs Bird enquiring how we managed anything at all with a blind cook! Now my best friend turns on me and teams up with the same woman who was supposedly in adequate!"

"So she's your best friend?" He asked while watching her pace round and round

"One of two" she said "I cannot believe I could be so easily undermined"

"Who's the second one?" He asked completely ignoring the rest of the tirade. She stopped dead to shoot him a piercing look

"Really Charles, the fact that I'm standing here telling you the whole story, which you seem to not be listening to in the slightest should make the answer to that question pretty damned obvious" She said as sharply as possible

"I...I'm one of your best friends?" He asked unsure of what he just heard

"Do you need an ear trumpet Mr Carson? Did my door slamming deafen you or are you being unhelpful on purpose to make me even angrier?" She demanded with her hands on her hips and a few more curls loose he noted

"I don't want to be your best friend" he said stupidly before realizing how bad that sounded

"Well in that case get out of my sitting room! And learn to damn well knock!" she said opening the door for him

"That wasn't what I meant!" he protested getting up and closing the door again before turning to face her

"OH and pray tell what exactly did you mean Mr Carson?" she asked her accent getting stronger and stronger

"only...only..." he stammered unsure of how to put his feelings into words especially when he had a furious housekeeper on his hands

"Only what?" She asked and drew breath to continue throwing him out of her sitting room. He sighed, there was no way he was going to get a word in edgeways now that she really got started. It would be far easier to show her. So he gently but firmly cupped her face to draw her nearer and kissed her soundly on the lips. She struggled against him for a few seconds until melting into him and wrapping her arms round his neck to bring him even closer. When the need to breath became an absolute must they broke apart but kept their arms wrapped round one another

"Only that I love you" he kissed her again "and want to be more than your best friend" he told her while slowly begining to trail kisses down her neck

"I'm sure...that can be...arranged" she told him while clutching him even tighter

Pretty pretty please...I know its a drag...click review...and make an author happy... ;)