Elsie sailed into the Blue Bedroom at the young maid's curse, her scowl turning to surprise to find her lying on the carpet, one hand caught in the undercarriage of the new electric carpet sweeper, "Lucy!" "Something's stuck," the girl grunted, "Got it!" Turning the torn fabric to & fro and finally checking inside what turned out to be a pair of men's undershorts, she tried to decipher the laundry markings, "Lord Merton was the last to stay here but these spell out, C-A-R-..." What happens next?

A lump formed in Elsie's throat as Lucy spelled out the name. Knowing fully well to whom the shorts belonged, Elsie quickly bent and snatched them from Lucy's hands. "Honestly, Lucy!" She admonished the girl. "You shouldn't be fondling men's undershorts. They're ruined now anyway. I'll take care of them.

Lucy shrugged and went back to untangling the remaining fabric from the sweepers brush. Elsie silently thanked the heavens that Lucy was a sweet, but very dim young lass. Elsie's heart was racing as she wadded the undershorts in her hands. She prayed she wouldn't pass anyone as she made her way back downstairs. The closer she came to his office, the more determined her steps. She was shaking with emotion, caught somewhere between fury and heartbreak. "He wouldn't", "How could he", the only thoughts silently crossing her mind. Coming off the steps in a flurry of rage, she stormed over to his door. Flinging it open, the solid wood hit the stone wall with a bang, startling Charles as he poured over his ledgers. He looked up in shock to find a fuming Mrs. Hughes in his pantry.

"Mrs. Hughes! What are.." Charles bellowed at her, but was caught short by a wad of white cloth being tossed at his chest.

"The Blue bedroom, Charles Carson! Who? Who was she?" Elsie demanded through gritted teeth, her voice catching in her throat. She bit down hard on her lip to stop the tears from falling. She had no clue who the woman could be. Certainly not one of her girls..she hoped. But a guest? She was at a loss for answers.

Charles gaped at her confusedly, he slowly unfolded the shorts. "Mrs. Hughes. Shut the door this instant! What has come over you? What do you mean, who is she?" He held the mangled shorts in front of him and his eyes went wide. He quickly wadded them in his hand and shoved them in his top drawer. "Why do you have my underthings, Mrs. Hughes?" He nearly whispered, his face turning a deep crimson.

Elsie slammed the door with a thud and rolled her eyes at him. "Honestly Mr. Carson, after all these years. You'll play me for a fool? Can you not even give me the common courtesy of letting me know just who it is you're carrying on with under this roof? And in the Blue bedroom! A guest room!"

"Carrying on with!" He shouted disgustedly as he stood and moved around his desk until he was standing in front of her. "I do not, or have not, carried on with anyone under this roof! I think you of all people would know that!" He was enraged. His head hung down as his hands were in front of him, his palms towards her as if holding up an invisible wall. "I cannot believe this!" He turned on her and bent over his desk, exhaling shakily.

Elsie stood firm. Her fists clenched in rage. Her nails biting into her palm to keep her hurt from spilling forward. "And I suppose you mean that I am such a busybody, a gossip, that I should know every dirty little secret of this house? That I would be aware of your little trysts with whomever it is!" She fired back loudly, certain that everyone in the house would hear about their row by the end of the day.

Charles spun around to her. His face red and eyes full of fire. She had never seen him so furious. He grabbed her wrists in his hands and pulled her to him. He bent down, but she turned her face from his. His voice almost a growl in her ear. "No! I did not mean it in that way! But is that what you want to hear? Do you want me to tell you that I've been having a sordid affair with one of the maids? That I've been meeting up with her in the Blue bedroom and having my wicked way with her? Believe me, I've thought of it! There's a certain maid I'd love to take to bed!"

Elsie burst into tears at his words. She turned her back to him so he wouldn't see the pain etched across her face. She couldn't speak. How could she answer him? Did he even expect an answer? Was this a confession? Why had she done this to herself? She should have walked past his door and never spoke of this to anyone. She could have rid herself of the garment and tried to push her suspicions to the back of her mind. She couldn't quite grasp what she was feeling, she only knew her whole world had been shaken. And that she wanted so badly to hurt Charles. To make him feel even the slightest of what she was feeling.

Charles regretted the words as soon as they fell from his lips. They were harsh, angry, improper. Seeing the effect his words had on her, Charles released her wrists and backed away. She had stood before him so angry, with such hostility, that he could not see past it to the hurt that was in her eyes. He now knew she was not there to accuse and undermine his character. He now realized she was hurt...and jealous. And now he had hurt her even more with his words. How was she to know the only maid he ever wanted was her. "Mrs. Hughes I...I apologize. I should never have lost my temper like that. I should never have touched you in.."

She wheeled back around with force, her tears stopping as her anger built. "And I suggest you do not ever touch me like that again! You are a hypocrite, Charles Carson! I don't even know who you are!" She shouted as she poked her finger into his chest. "And you can trust that whichever one of the girls 'whom failed to use a simple two letter word with you' will be out on their ear!"

As she stood before him shouting, her Scottish lilt emphasizing each word as she went on her attack, Charles remained solid in front of her. His anger was slowly dissipating, but leaving a fire still burning within him. When she finished her rant, he calmly said four words. "No. You do not."

"I do not what?" She fired back angrily.

"You do not know who I am. If you honestly think I am capable to doing that..." His voice was deep, but lacked the strength it normally had. "Of doing that to you." He added quietly as he placed his hands at her waist and squeezed gently.

"Mr. Carson!" Elsie all but gasped as he drew her closer and leaned down, running his lips softly across hers then settling at her ear.

"My room was painted last week. I slept in the Blue bedroom." He whispered against her ear before pulling her body flush against his. He could feel the relief wash through her body as she melted in his arms. Her hands wound up around his neck and pulled his lips down to hers. They were pressing firmly against his, opening to take in each of his full lips. Soon her tongue followed, pushing against his. He couldn't stop his hands as they ran up her sides, reaching around and caressing her back. Pulling her even tighter against him as he grasped her full bottom. He squeezed the firm flesh in his palms and she moaned his name into his mouth. Charles could instantly feel himself harden against her hip. All his good sense was lost. Had been lost since he realized how she felt, what she felt for him. "You're the only one I'd ever want... I've ever wanted." He groaned into her ear as her hands slid his jacket from his body.

Charles' words slipped over her and she could only feel. Her thoughts were tangled together and pushed aside. She was only certain of how she felt, so relieved and completely consumed by the man in front of her. Her lips never leaving his, she pushed his coat from his shoulders then moved her hands to his chest, her perfectly manicured nails digging lightly into the crisp white shirt. She struggled for the buttons as Charles grasped at her skirts, bunching the fabric against her bottom and thighs, his hands strong and firm, yet so gentle. "Yes.." Was all she could manage as she panted and sighed. Her sighs turning to moans as Charles ran one hand up her side to cup her breasts in his palm. She opened his shirt and ran her hands up and down the soft hair of his chest, her fingertips stopping to graze his peaked nipples.

"Gods yes! Elsie..I.." Charles groaned deeply as massaged her body with his hands. "You.. Only you.." His hand finally fell beneath her skirts and grasped her thigh, the silk of her stocking as soft as her skin. He slid his hand further up until his fingers ran beneath the hem of her knickers, slowly moving towards her center, as his other hand continued to pull the bodice of her dress from her shoulders. He tugged at her thin shift, ripping the material down the front in his haste to undo her corset. When at last her the soft white skin of her breasts were bare to him, he dipped his head to lick and suck at her firm mounds and soft pink nipples.

"Charles!" She cried softly as his fingers traced gently down her curls and through her wet slit. She shook against him, a growing tightness and ache across her belly and center. Charles left her breasts and covered her mouth with his, swallowing her cries as he stroked her so intimately, readying her for the coming together. "Please!" She begged against his mouth, pressing her body against him. It was all so frantic and sudden, the thought of pausing for a mere second and she feared it would all fade away. Just like in her dreams.

Charles pulled the tie at her waist and Elsie's delicate white knickers dropped to the floor. He guided her back against his desk and lifted her gently onto the hard wood. Pushing her skirts high up around her waist as his hand moved between them, his thick fingers teasing her and pressing into her heat. She could hear the clink of his belt coming undone as he worked himself free from his trousers and shorts. Sighing softly as her hands ran through his hair, Elsie tugged his face back down so she could taste his lips once more. Their kisses were growing more desperate as their hands caressed each other so passionately, so much love and reverence for one another. Charles pulled back to look into her eyes, confessing the words he had longed to say for more years than he could count. "I love you."

His shirt hanging open, her hands slid from Charles' hair down to grasp his shoulders as she finally looked up into his eyes. "And I love you, my man." Her soft Scottish purr felt like a warm breeze blowing across his body. He paused for a moment and Elsie pulled him to her, her hands sliding to his lower back and urging him forward. She whimpered softly into his bare chest as he slowly filled her, Charles' own deep groan cried into her hair. They held tightly to one another, their connection so close as he remained buried deep within her. He began to thrust slowly inside her as his hands moved to knead her breasts. Elsie's own hands falling behind her to brace herself on the desk as Charles hovered over her. His lips trailed over her neck and chest as his hands and fingers toyed with the hard budded peaks of her soft white breasts. Charles kept a slow and rhythmic pace as he gently moved in and out of her tight warmth, his thick member throbbing in anticipation. Elsie rocked her hips against him, each thrust causing more and more pleasure, her release building quickly as Charles began to move faster and harder. He wrapped a hand in her hair and pressed his mouth to hers, his tongue moving against hers as he rocked inside her. Elsie's legs wrapped around Charles hips as she ground herself frantically against him, chasing her own pleasure, while offering him all she had. It was only a moment and her whole body shook around him, her legs tightening as she tilted her head back, a grating moan of his name escaping her throat. "Ohhh... Charles..."

That was all Charles needed to hear to send him over the edge. He shuddered as he came hard into Elsie, the feeling unlike anything he'd ever known. They continued to kiss and sooth one another as they both came down from the height of their mutual release. When they had found the strength, Charles began to help Elsie with her dress as he carefully settled his own clothing back together. The remained close as they set themselves right. Charles then took Elsie by the waist and set her back down to the floor,mhis hands never leaving her sides he looked down into her eyes. "You do realize, you must marry me now?" He said deeply, a small smirk lifting the corner of his lips.

"Is that so?" Elsie teased back, knowing nothing in this world would make her happier.

"I was thinking the first of July. It is our anniversary after all." He said softly, bending to kiss her lips once more.

"Our Anniversary?" Elsie questioned him, though she knew the date well. It was the day she arrived at Downton.

"The day you came into my life. The day I first fell in love with you." Charles kissed her with all the love a man could feel for his future wife.

"July first." Elsie whispered, as she smiled against his lips...

Smut, smut, smut...and I'm too exhausted to tell if it's any good at all?! Hopefully you'll let me know with a review ;) xoxo