A/N: Before I go on holiday myself, I thought there was time for some light-hearted Chelsie summer fun! This story will be short and sweet. Reviews are very much appreciated.

Chapter 1

Lord and Lady Grantham and their family were spending the day at the beach. It was a beautiful summer's day and an extravagant picnic had been prepared by Mrs Patmore. Although the downstairs staff would be working, serving the family, there was still much enthusiasm about a day by the seaside.

"Those maids of yours are going mad in that kitchen! You need to get control of them, Mrs Hughes," Charles grumbled, as he burst into Elsie's sitting room. She was facing away from him, looking in her dressing table mirror, placing the final pins in her hair. Although he could not see her, she rolled her eyes at him.

"They are simply excited about a day at the seaside Mr Carson; let them enjoy themselves for heaven's sake!" Elsie said, exasperated with Charles before the day had even begun.

"They are not meant to enjoy themselves, they are meant to be working. They need to calm down or the service will be an absolute disaster … you should hear them planning what to wear, whether to swim in the sea, what games to play … honestly, they are out of control!" Charles said getting himself worked up into a tizzy.

"And what is wrong with that? They rarely get out of this House, cooped up inside all day, why shouldn't they enjoy it!" Elsie said, growing more irritated by his grumpiness.

"What's to enjoy about the beach? Sand goes everywhere, it's impossible to keep clean, everything gets wet, the standards of dress decline rapidly as everyone wears sloppy clothes … the service will be well below par believe me, it is impossible to keep standards high on a beach!" Charles finished.

"Well aren't you my little ray of sunshine today!" Elsie said with much irony, turning to face him at last, and shaking her head with an amused smile on her face.

Charles was about to reply but as she turned he was totally flummoxed when he saw what she was wearing. He stared at her, open-mouthed, totally stumped for a response. She looked absolutely radiant, so beautiful … and young. This outfit made her look so much younger and carefree. She wore the prettiest pale blue blouse, covered in tiny white flowers. It enhanced the stunning blue of her eyes. The blouse was tight-fitting showing off her wonderful shapely figure underneath. Unusually, it was short sleeved as well as being fairly low-cut at the front. Charles had never seen so much of Elsie's silky skin on display; he noted how the loveliest freckles covered her chest. Then he realised he was staring at her chest and abruptly looked upwards, panicked that he might have been spotted! Elsie certainly had noticed and giggled at Charles, biting her lip. Charles swallowed, blinked several times and then, noticing her dark blue skirt was several inches shorter than she would normally wear, exposing a tempting amount of delightful leg, he let out a tiny, low moan.

"Do I look sloppy Mr Carson?" Elsie asked teasingly, wiggling her hips a little at him as she did a full twirl. She wasn't sure where this flirtatiousness had come from; the thought of the beach must be affecting her too!

Charles spluttered in response, almost choking and taking a few moments to gather himself. Elsie smiled lovingly at him, trying her best not to giggle.

"No … no … certainly not Mrs Hughes … you look lovely," Charles said honestly, gazing at her appreciatively.

"Thank you Mr Carson … now please don't be so grumpy or you'll spoil the day for all of us! It's not just the young ones who are looking forward to a nice day at the beach …" Elsie said, smiling mischievously at him.

She stepped closer to him and whispered, "… and you never know, you might just enjoy it … the sea air tends to make everyone go a little giddy!"

Charles was feeling decidedly lightheaded as he gazed into the beautiful blue eyes of his colleague and friend. She was smiling up at him and he knew he also had a silly grin on his face. Suddenly they both heard a huge clash from outside, and they stepped apart.

"What on earth!" Charles shouted, as he spun around, making to dash out of the room to follow the noise.

"Mr Carson … please remember … don't be crabby!" Elsie said light-heartedly, as he stomped towards the door. He turned back towards her and gave her one of his most exasperated looks.

"… and don't forget your bathing costume … I, for one, can't wait to see you in it!" Elsie kidded and winked. Charles looked at her even more astonished, his mouth gaping open once again.

Elsie stifled a laugh, as he turned, and still quite dazed, stumbled out of the door.