When Mrs Hughes enters the library after her day at the fair, Mr Carson is bouncing Miss Sybbie gently on his hip. It looks so natural to see him this way and Mrs Hughes can imagine him doing this with one of his grandchildren and it seems sad that he didn't get that opportunity.
"You're back then." Mr Carson says as he looks up and sees Mrs Hughes standing in the doorway.
Mrs Hughes slowly walks into the room. She doesn't want to break the moment between Miss Sybbie and Mr Carson. "Yes, we're back and with stories to tell that can wait until later. Where's Nanny?"
"I don't know, but we're alright. Would you like to hold her?" Mr Carson offers.
"Oh, I don't know if that's necessary. I was quite enjoying watching you with her." Mrs Hughes teases Mr Carson.
"There is no need to get sentimental Mrs Hughes. I just thought you might want to hold Miss Sybil. I know you're very good with small children." Mr. Carson says casually.
"Alright then." Mrs Hughes says gently. "Come here little angel." Mrs Hughes lifts Sybbie into her arms. She hears the little girl sniffle for a moment and then settle. Sybbie rests her head against Mrs Hughes' cheek.
"You're a natural with her you know." Mr. Carson says quietly.
"She's such a sweet baby. You're very good with her too, you know. I suspect if I'd come into the room any later you'd have been singing to her." Mrs Hughes teases Mr. Carson gently. She sits down and bounces Sybbie gently on her knee.
"I was considering singing to her when she was fussing, but she settled quite quickly." Mr. Carson sits down next to Mrs Hughes. He loves moments like this no matter how rare. "Did you have a good time today?"
"I had a wonderful time. I rode the carousel and had really nice food. The weather was perfect. You should have come, even Mrs Crawley and Dr. Clarkson came." Mrs Hughes tells Mr. Carson. "I hardly saw most of our colleagues all day. You could have come with us."
"I wouldn't have felt right if I'd come. I wouldn't want to ruin anyone's fun, but it would have been nice to spend the day together." Mr. Carson says sadly.
"Is that what you think about every time you decide whether or not to do something? You wouldn't have ruined anyone's fun if you'd come with us and you may have even had some fun yourself. You underestimate how accommodating our young charges can be. I would have liked to spend some time with you today. We could have even gone on the Ferris wheel together." Mrs Hughes smiles at Mr. Carson.
"It sounds like you had our whole day planned out. I'm sorry that I didn't come with you." Mr. Carson says honestly.
"Edna will have to go, you know. I didn't see many of our charges today, but I did see Edna and Mr. Branson on the carousel. She pretended to slip and Mr. Branson caught her. She's crossed a boundary and she doesn't care. She's not cut out to be a housemaid. She needs to find a different career." Mrs Hughes tells Mr. Carson.
"I wondered how long it would take for her to cross the line. I suspected she would cross the line eventually. She may be lucky she didn't try to pursue Mr. Crawley or His Lordship like some maids in the past." Mr. Carson says seriously. He softly strokes Sybbie's hair.