It wasn't often that Mrs. Hughes was surprised, as the longtime housekeeper of Downton she had seen far too much, but as she looked at the young lad walking beside her she would have to admit she was surprised. She had expected the new chauffeur to be much like the recently retired Taylor but this chatty young lad, in his ill-fitting suit, wrinkled as if he had slept in it and she surmised he had since it was a long journey from Ireland to Downton, seemed a far cry from the staid and quiet older man he was replacing.

She had known that the new chauffeur was arriving today but his arrival had come just before Carson began his evening dinner duties so after making a quick introduction, the butler had made a hasty retreat thus dumping the young Irishman into Mrs. Hughes capable hands to show him to his cottage.

"Have you always had an interest in motor cars?" Mrs. Hughes asked as they walked across the courtyard and past the stable block. She was curious as to how someone so young was hired for such a responsible position but it seemed rather impertinent to directly question that decision.

Looking directly at her, he broadly smiled as he nodded his head. "When I was about twelve or thirteen I began working in a garage on Saturdays during the school term and then every day in the summer."

"So you don't just know how to drive but also how to repair a motor car?" That would make him a step above Taylor she thought.

"Aye" he replied. "But what I can do will depend on the tools we have and of course on what the problem is."

"I expect this was once part of the stables" Tom commented as they finally approached the garage. Although it sat away from the main stables, it indeed had been a stable housing the young Ladies' ponies.

"Years ago the family had ponies but it's been quite some time since any of the Ladies were young enough for ponies."

Tom opened one of the two large arched wooden doors revealing the two motor cars parked within. He immediately walked inside and stood beside the new motor. "Ah she's a beauty" he said as he ran his hand up and down the fender. "Much better than the motor car my former employer had. I can't wait to get her out on the road."

She was rather amused at the lad's excitement and couldn't imagine that Taylor had ever looked at the motor cars with such enthusiasm. She watched as he finally took in the rest of the garage and was surprised when he frowned.

"Is there something that displeases you?" she asked curious as to what had put a damper on his enthusiasm.

Continuing to look around the garage, he took a deep sigh before replying.

"It doesn't look like the tools have been properly maintained. No excuse for tools lying on the ground and just thrown about on the work bench."

He looked at her. "Guess I have some work to do getting this place in order."

"Well hopefully you won't think that about your cottage" she said as she started walking towards the back of the garage. "It's just over here."

As they rounded past the garage, Tom stopped. "That" he stared at the small two story brick building "that is my cottage?"

Mrs. Hughes smiled at the lad's obvious surprise and delight.

"When they told me the chauffeur had his own cottage I thought it would just be a room tacked on to the garage not" he looked at Mrs. Hughes and grinned "not a whole house."

"The chauffeur is like the head gardener and gamekeeper and stable master and all have their own cottages" Mrs. Hughes explained. She started to say that all of them, including Taylor, had families but thought better of it.

Opening the brightly painted blue door she beckoned him to step inside the small entranceway where his trunk and suitcase that had been left by a couple of the houseboys filled the small space. "I made sure it was clean but it will be your responsibility to keep it clean."

"I'll leave you to look around." She nodded towards an open doorway off to their left. "There's a small bedroom there and two larger ones upstairs. I wasn't sure which you'd want to use so I just left the linens on that chair" she said as she pointed to the lounge chair in the sitting room.

She smiled at him. "I hope Mr. Branson you'll be happy here."

Leaving him to settle in, as she walked back to the main house she no longer wondered about the lad's capabilities. Rather her thoughts were on the affects a young handsome single man might have on the ordered world of Downton.

Seated at her desk Mrs. Hughes lifted her head to take a break from examining some invoices. Hearing heavy steps in the hallway she turned to face the open doorway where a moment later Carson appeared.

"Ah Mr. Carson" she said as the butler filled the doorway. "I was just going to make a cup of tea would you care for some?"

"I can't imagine what his lordship was thinking" he rather gruffly replied.

Raising her brow for the butler seldom, if ever, questioned his lordship, Mrs. Hughes was intrigued by his comment.

"A bright spark" Carson snorted. "His lordship called Branson a bright spark." He shook his head in disbelief.

"My my" she tilted her head. "That is something to be alarmed about."

Sensing her sarcasm, he glared at her. "Bright spark indeed! An Irish radical republican is more like it!"

"What in heavens brought this on?"

"Branson was enthralled with his lordship's library and wants to read politics and history books."

"And that makes him a radical?"

"Mark my words Mrs. Hughes there'll be trouble with him."

Mrs. Patmore ruled the kitchen with an iron hand. Even Mr. Carson didn't dare cross her. Much of the staff, not just those that worked directly for her but the housemaids and footmen too, seemed scared of her. There was an order in the servants hall and all the staff recognized it and maintained it. All that is except that new chauffeur.

"I wonder what possessed his lordship to hire that young Irish man?" Mrs. Patmore asked Mrs. Hughes as the two of them sat down to enjoy a cup of tea in the latter's sitting room. It was a ritual the two had done many evenings once the evening meals, both upstairs and down, had been consumed.

Her friend's question caught Mrs. Hughes off guard although she would admit that she too had wondered why his lordship had hired such a young and handsome man especially considering he'd be driving the young ladies of the house. But Mrs. Hughes doubted that Mrs. Patmore was concerned about the chauffeur and the young ladies of the house, at least not the upstairs young ladies. Having been here for just a week, she wondered if the young lad done something to upset the rather volatile cook.

"Has he done something to upset you?" she cautiously asked.

Mrs. Patmore's eyes widen a bit then she chuckled. "Only if you consider my cooking to be on par with his mum an insult."

Mrs. Hughes raised her brow as if questioning Mrs. Patmore's comment.

"After dinner this evening he came to the kitchen to tell me how much he enjoyed his dinner. Said the stew was just as good as his mum's and that she was an excellent cook."

Mrs. Hughes laughed in relief. "Well I think that's quite a compliment."

"Don't get many of them around here that's for sure." Mrs. Patmore sighed.

"But to your question as to why his lordship hired him I understand he came with excellent references" Mrs. Hughes focused back on Mrs. Patmore's opening question. "And I understand he's not just a driver but a mechanic also. Something that Taylor wasn't."

"Well Mr. Branson's certainly a bright spot something else Taylor wasn't!" Mrs. Patmore again chuckled.

"Can't disagree with that observation" and Mrs. Hughes joined in her friend in laughter.

Mrs. Patmore took a sip of her tea. "Actually I think it's rather nice having a young man with a bit of cheek around. Certainly better that some of those dour faces and sour dispositions we have."

Mrs. Hughes wasn't sure if a man with a bit of cheek, as Mrs. Patmore described it, was a nice thing at least not when there were young impressionable house maids around.

Mrs. Patmore set her cup down on its matching saucer. She leaned in and whispered "I heard that Miss O'brien berated him for eating dinner with the rest of them instead of in his cottage like Taylor."

Mrs. Hughes frowned, her voiced dripping with distain. "I'm afraid Miss O'brien likes to insert herself where she has no business doing so."

Nodding agreement, Mrs. Patmore settled back in her chair. "It would seem a pity to have him eat alone in his cottage. It's not like Taylor who had a wife to cook for him."

Mrs. Hughes inwardly smiled, amused that the chauffeur had apparently won over the often prickly cook.

"I'll agree with you there. But it does bring us back to your original comment. Why didn't they hire a family man?"

I want something new and exciting.

Lady Sybil's words regarding a new frock rumbled through Tom's mind. What he wondered would she consider new and exciting? Tom would admit he wasn't knowledgeable about women's fashions but he could tell Lady Sybil's as well as the rest of the family's clothes were certainly more finely cut and of better quality than what his Ma and sisters wore.

"Oh Branson it's finally ready" Sybil, seated in the back seat of the Renault, bubbled with joy as she cradled the dress box on her lap. "I can't wait to wear it!"

Tom would admit he was curious. Very curious.

"Mr. Branson!"

Tom quickly sprung back from the window and stared at Mrs. Hughes who was standing at the corner of the house. He had been so intent on watching through the dining room window Sybil twirling around in her new gown, it really couldn't be called a gown could it he thought, that he hadn't heard any footsteps on the gravel path.

Although his face had blushed, he didn't appear sheepish about having been caught spying through the window.

As he approached her, Mrs. Hughes sternly stated "Don't play with fire, Mr. Branson, or you'll get burned."

"I only-" he began somewhat defiantly but was quickly cut off by Mrs. Hughes.

"It doesn't matter what you want." Her words came out more harshly than she intended. As the two of them began walking towards the courtyard outside the servants hall she said more softly. "No matter what you think of the system, if you intend to stay here it would be best if you'd remember some things are off limit."

They entered the servants hall where Bates and some of the house maids were sitting at the table.

"So was it as daring as she said?" Gwen was saying to Anna.

"I think so" Anna smiled thinking of how Lady Sybil had looked. "I'm sure she made quite a dazzling entrance" replied Anna.

"I can't believe all this chatter over a frock" Mr. Bates chimed in.

"It isn't just a frock Mr. Bates" Anna replied. "It is …"

Mrs. Hughes observed Tom who was standing beside her intently listening to Anna. There was no mistaking the gleam in his eyes and the shy smile on his face as he seemed to drink in every word of the chatter in the room.

"I'd love to see it"

"I've never seen anything like it"

"Wearing pants in the dining room" Mr. Bates chuckled. "I'd like to have seen the Dowager's face."

Maybe, thought Mrs. Hughes, it was only the dress that had caught the lad's attention. Taking another looking at him, she shook her head and sighed deeply.