A/N This is a belated birthday gift for the lovely libbybell/putmeinyourpocketmike. It's the first chapter of a four- or five-chapter story. I can't promise how soon the others will follow, but it shouldn't be too terribly long. The chapters will all be set between the S4 CS and the S5 CS, in the time between the hand-holding at the beach and the proposal (a span of time that seemed ridiculously long to me!). Libbybell and everyone else, I hope you enjoy it!

Summer, 1923, London, Grantham House, sometime just after the "day by the sea"

Mrs. Patmore had watched her two friends paddle in the surf at the seaside. The butler and housekeeper had held hands happily, wading in the surf. It had been a long time since the cook had seen either of them so cheerful and carefree. She had thought it certain that they'd finally declared their love, a love that was abundantly obvious to the cook and to anyone who paid any attention at all … but a love that the two lovebirds had yet to acknowledge to each other or to anyone else, apparently. The couple had certainly seemed pleased after the staff's outing to the seaside, but in the days that followed, as far as Mrs. Patmore could tell, nothing seemed to change between them. So she took it upon herself to investigate and to provide a bit of gentle prodding if necessary. During a lull in the downstairs activity one afternoon, she took a tray with tea to Mrs. Bute's sitting room, currently inhabited by Mrs. Hughes until its rightful occupant recovered from her illness and returned to work.

"Would you care for some tea, Mrs. Hughes, or are you busy?" called Mrs. Patmore through the open door.

"I'm always busy, Mrs. Patmore, but I'm never too busy for tea and a chat with a friend," answered Mrs. Hughes, smiling, closing her ledger, and setting down her pen.

Mrs. Patmore entered the room, and Mrs. Hughes rose from her borrowed desk. The cook set down the tray, and the women prepared their tea and settled themselves into two chairs for a brief afternoon break.

Mrs. Patmore took a sip of tea and sighed. "Oh, it's nice to get off your feet for five minutes."

"A little respite from work is always a welcome thing," agreed Mrs. Hughes, unwittingly providing her friend with the opening she sought.

"Speaking of which, we haven't really spoken since then, but our little outing by the sea last week was very nice," ventured Mrs. Patmore.

"Oh, yes, it was lovely." The housekeeper smiled genuinely at the thought, but she said nothing further.

"You and Mr. Carson seemed to enjoy yourselves," Mrs. Patmore gently prodded.

"I think everyone did," Mrs. Hughes returned.

But the cook persisted. "But the two of you in particular seemed especially … " – she wasn't quite sure how to continue – " .. erm … content."

Mrs. Hughes chuckled at that assessment. "I can assure you that Mr. Carson was far from 'content' at the start of the afternoon. He was convinced that something awful was going to happen – that someone would be injured or something would be lost or damaged. I believe he spent the first couple of hours nervously waiting for some catastrophe to happen. But after a time, he began to relax a bit. I even managed to persuade him to go into the water and get his feet wet! He likely won't admit it, but I think he enjoyed himself, in the end."

"Quite right. I haven't seen him so jolly in a long time. Ever, maybe."

"I'm not sure 'jolly' is a word I would ever use to describe Mr. Carson!" said Mrs. Hughes, causing both women to laugh. "But I do think he was satisfied with the outing."

"Did he say that? Did you two speak afterwards?"

"Well, naturally we've spoken since then, but not specifically about the outing. As you know, it's been quite busy here. But I'm sure he considers the outing a success. He'd certainly have let us know if he'd been displeased with it! Mr. Carson's not one to keep quiet when he's not happy about something."

"No, he's one to keep quiet when he is happy about something," Mrs. Patmore remarked.

"True enough!" agreed Mrs. Hughes with a fond smile. "And he often needs quite a bit of prodding before he does whatever it is that makes him happy."

"And that's your job, I suppose?" And Mrs. Patmore raised an eyebrow.

"Sometimes, it is," allowed Mrs. Hughes. "Oftentimes, times the poor, dear man doesn't even know what's good for him. He doesn't know a good thing when it's staring him right in the face!"

"Hmph. You can say that again!" Mrs. Patmore concurred. "And that's true for someone else I know, too!" she said to herself, quietly muttering under her breath.

"I beg your pardon. What was that?"

Mrs. Patmore continued cautiously. "Oh, nothing. Never mind. Only I wonder if you and Mr. Carson are planning any more … outings together?"

Mrs. Hughes quickly dismissed the suggestion. "Oh, I should think not. Not for a long time. Her ladyship was very generous in allowing everyone the time off and in paying our train fares, and things are very busy now. I imagine it will be quite some time before the staff all have a day off together for an outing – certainly not before we get back to Downton. Perhaps the next time there's a fair in the village, we can all go."

"No, that's not what I meant. What about just you and Mr. Carson, the two of you alone? Say, taking a half-day together and going for tea in the village?"

The housekeeper seemed truly perplexed by her friend's suggestion. "And why should we do that? We have tea together nearly every afternoon."

"Yes, you do – in your sitting room or his pantry or the servants' hall, where you might be interrupted at any moment and where you talk of the family and staff and business of the house."

"Well, what else should we talk of?" Mrs. Hughes wanted to know.

"Oh, I don't know. News? Books? The weather? Something frivolous or enjoyable? Perhaps even something more personal."

The housekeeper scoffed at that. "I can't see Mr. Carson wanting to waste his time by going to the village simply to take tea and to talk of frivolous subjects!"

Mrs. Patmore feared that she was being too subtle to get her point across, but she didn't want to anger Mrs. Hughes by being too direct, so she tried a stronger hint. "Well, not necessarily 'frivolous.' But nothing related to work. Something a bit more … intimate … than you can manage at the house. Don't you two have any private matters you'd like to discuss?"

"Private matters? Like what?" Mrs. Hughes still failed to comprehend what her friend was implying – or else she knew exactly what her friend was implying but continued to feign ignorance.

"Well, perhaps if you had the chance, you might find something private to discuss! Or perhaps you don't need to talk at all. Maybe you can simply … enjoy one another's company." Mrs. Patmore raised her eyebrows meaningfully, hoping that she might convey with looks what she couldn't quite put into words.

Mrs. Hughes opened her mouth to speak, but her response was forestalled by Ivy's knock at the door.

"Mrs. Patmore, Daisy says to come quick!" cried the kitchen maid. "She says I ruined the pudding, but it weren't my fault – I swear! I done just as she said!"

"All right, all right. I'm coming," the cook huffed. She turned to Mrs. Hughes to say, "You see what I mean about the interruptions? A body can't enjoy five minutes' peace before there's some emergency!" Mrs. Patmore shook her head in dismay, gathered the tea things, picked up the tray, and followed Ivy to address the latest kitchen catastrophe. She resolved to leave the housekeeper and butler to their own devices for the time being. But if a romance were not to blossom soon without her help, she would feel no compunction in meddling again.

To be continued …

A/N I'm sorry that there was no Chelsie in this chapter, and I don't think there will be any Chelsie in the next one, either. But after that, it will be all Chelsie, so please stick with me. Thanks!