A/N WOW! your reviews have been amazing and everytime I received a new one I was like "stop it! please! This story does not deserve them!" :D

Here comes the epilogue. I think this is still a T :) Enjoy reading. (I've never gone this far before...)

EPILOGUE

They were alone, finally. He closed the door behind them carefully, turned the key inside the lock, made sure no one would disturb them tonight. There she was, standing in the middle of the room in the darkness, looking at him, smiling, her silhouette accentuated by the moonlight that shone outside their windows.

It had been a very long day for both of them. First the church service in the morning, then the reception in one of the smaller dining rooms at Downton Abbey. Family and the few friends they had, all of the other servants, had gathered to celebrate this happy event. It had been marvelous, exciting and unexpected. They were just servants after all, not family members. When he had asked her to marry him it had been from deep within his heart. Possible consequences of his proposal he had repressed that night, had not even considered them. What might have happened if Lord Grantham had denied them to get married, to stay in service, to continue working at the estate? He did not want to think of it and he banned this thought completely from his mind. What mattered was her, only her, their future. And now it began. In this very room and in this very night.

"You look beautiful", he whispered and stepped closer to where she stood. She wore a cream coloured blouse and a dark blue skirt, not a wedding dress. Although she had had a hard time convincing Anna and especially Daisy that she would not need one, not at her age. Both had tried to talk her into buying a new dress for her special day. But his Elsie, his wife, had been stubborn as always, strong willed, and persistent.

His wife. He repeated this phrase over and over again in his head while at the same time taking one step after another, carefully, slowly, almost hesistantly, until he stood right in front of her. "My beautiful wife." It sounded right and perfect to him. Her smile widened and her hands reached out to cup his face and draw him close for the long awaited kiss. He felt how her lips parted and granted him entrance to explore her mouth almost immediately. But they weren't in a hurry. Instead they took their time, savouring every moment, slowly moving forward towards the double bed. She clung to his neck, he had his arms around her waist to steady her, still kissing this wonderful lips until he had to break apart to catch his breath.

"This is not a dream, isn't it?" Elsie whispered against his lips. "The day has been real."

"It has, my love." He kissed the tip of her nose, her eyebrows, her forehead, buried his face in her hair. She had asked Anna to braid it in the same way she had it done on the day she had arrived at Downton. And Charles felt a bit guilty when he slowly started to take the various pins out.

ooooo

Elsie buried her head on his shoulder and let him do whatever he wanted. This was their night and she did not want to go through it in a hurry. Every second she wanted to remember later, to recall over and over again whenever she felt the need for it. His hands moved carefully through her hair and she felt how the braids loosened, fell upon her shoulders. In return she had moved her hands to the front of his shirt and tried to unbutton the waistcoat without looking at it.

"What are you doing?" he took a step backwards to be able to look at her. Elsie met his gaze but let her fingers continue her work until the waistcoat was open.

"It will be more comfortable when we do not wear all this layers of clothing." The fact that they were in their own bedroom at the far end of the bachelor's corridor had its effect on her. No one would hear them, no one would disturb them. They were far away from all the other servants. Her hands slid underneath his now open waistcoat to get it off his shoulders.

Charles let it slid down onto the floor and before he had a chance to pick it up, Elsie started to undo the next button border on front of his shirt. She looked up into his eyes when she was halfway through and was rewarded with another deep kiss, making her forget what she had just done.

Suddenly it was him, who opened one button after another of her blouse. "Be careful, I would like to wear it again," she grinned, kissing the tips of his fingers, this time making him forget about his task, giving her the chance to continue what she had started.

ooooo

Their game went on until Elsie wore nothing more than her white, silken shift. Her skirt, blouse and corset lay somewhere on the ground around her, forgotten about. The man, her husband, in front of her was the most important thing at that moment. Charles still wore his black trousers and was about to take off his shoes when Elsie decided to take the next move. She sat down on the corner of their new bed, holding out her hand for him to take.

"Will you join me?" it was not really a question. She knew that he would and it took only a second for him to sit down next to her, cupping her face and kissing her more hungrily than ever before. She fell onto the bed, taking him with her, rolling around so that she lay on top of him. Feeling his body underneath hers was an overwhelming sensation. Even though they still wore some of their clothes, she could feel his need now.

With a dull sound one of his shoes fell off the bed, then the other one. Elsie took this as a sign to let her hands wander down to the waistband of his trousers. "May I?" he simply nodded, biting his lip.

ooooo

Her skin was so soft underneath his hands and he could not stop exploring it. With his hands, his lips, his feet. He needed to touch her although he was almost falling asleep after the third time they had made love tonight.

"I will never let you go." He mumbled sleepily while his fingers ghosted over her bare breast underneath the covers. "Never."

Elsie tried to keep her eyes open, rested her head on his bare chest, felt how his chest rose and fell. His heartbeat resounded in her ear. "I will never leave you." She placed a kiss on his chin before she drifted off into an exhausted but happy sleep. Her husband next to her, encircling her body with his strong arms, drawing her close, making her feel safe and warm. They were one now. Finally.

THE END

Tired, I go to sleep now. Without a Charles next to me... :(