Like always, when Mr. Carson entered the servant's hall for breakfast, everyone stood. The butler gestured them to sit, but he kept standing.
"Since we are all here together, I'll take advantage of this to make an announcement". It was true: even if it was the first day of the new year, everybody was already in the servant's hall, waiting for breakfast. Even Mr. and Mrs. Bates: they had their little John a few hours before, and Mary had insisted for them to stay and sleep at the Abbey. She didn't want Anna to go home so soon after the delivery, she wanted to be sure that everything was fine with her. Mary had been very protective of her, and Bates and her wife didn't want to insult her by refusing her invite. They decided to have breakfast in the servant's hall, while their little one was sleeping with the other children: after that, they would have gone home. Everybody looked around, a little surprised. No one, except Mrs. Hughes, knew what Carson was talking about.
"Is it something good, Mr. Carson?" asked Daisy.
"Well, I think it is. After a lot of thinking, I have decided to retire".
"What?!" said , while everybody looked around, shocked. The butler raised his hands, asking for silence. "You know how much I love my job, but I am not getting younger, and the many responsibilities of being a butler are becoming too tiring for me. Besides, I would like to spend more time with my wife, and doing other things".
"We'll miss you, Mr. Carson", said Anna, sincerely.
"Thank you, Mrs. Bates. But, I also want to introduce to you the new butler", said Carson.
"You already found him?" asked Mr. Moleseley.
"We did, Mr Molesley. It was... an easy decision, after all".
Mr. Bates smiled, lowering his head. He had an idea of who the new butler might have been. Mr. Carson noticed that. "Do you think you know who am I talking about, Mr. Bates?"
"I think I do, Mr. Carson".
"And.. are you happy with this choice?"
Bates was silent for a second. "I think I am, actually".
"Good. Then, I have the pleasure to introduce you to your new butler". Mr. Carson gestured towards the door, as inviting someone in. And after one second, Mr. Barrow showed himself in the servant's hall.
"Oh!" said Mrs. Patmore, with something between a laugh and an exclamation of surprise. Anna smiled, as did Andy and Ms. Baxter . Daisy looked confused, like the hallboys.
"Welcome back, Mr. Barrow", said Ms. nodded, finding it impossible to speak.
"Very well. Mr. Barrow, would you like to say something?" asked Mr. Carson, very formal as usual. Thomas opened his mouth, and closed it again. "Yes. Well, I..." He couldn't think of anything. He couldn't even look at them. His heart was beating so fast he thought it could explode. His mouth was suddenly dry. "Yes, I... sorry". Without even raising his head, Thomas sprinted for the door, leaving everyone confused.
As usual, Mr. Carson was able to keep his composure. "Well, it looks like we are starting off with the wrong foot, I am afraid. Excuse me". With that, he left the servant's hall to go after Thomas, leaving the other servants to their speculations.

"Was it something that we did?" asked Daisy, uncertain.
"Don't be silly!" answered Mrs. Patmore. "We didn't say or do anything at all!"
"I think he is just very nervous", said Mr. Bates, very calmly.
"Mr. Barrow, very nervous? Well, that's news. I think I never saw him like that", said Mrs. Patmore.
"What are you talking about?" said Mr. Moleseley. "Of course he gets nervous. He tried to kill himself just before leaving his job here. He's not..."
"What?!" exclaimed Mrs. Patmore, almost shouting, looking shocked at Mr. Moleseley, who paled. He clearly had forgot it was a secret. Ms. Baxter raised her eyes to the ceiling, and Anna briefly covered her face with a hand. So much for keeping his secret.
"What are you talking about?" asked Daisy, very upset. "What he..." Mr. Bates interrupted her. "I think we should drop this, for now. We can explain everything later".
Anna looked at him, and Bates whispered: "Well, the cat is out of the bag, isn't it?"
"I'm sorry, but who else knows about this?" asked Mrs. Patmore, again.
"Everyone now, Mrs. Patmore," answered Mrs. Hughes, taking a sip from her cup of tea.
"But..."
Mrs. Hughes put the cup back on the saucer. "Do you remember when Mr. Barrow was in bed with the flu? Well, it wasn't the flu".

Outside, Mr. Carson got close to Mr. Barrow, who was looking intently in front of him, with a worried look on his face.
Thomas didn't need to look to know who it was: he would have recognized Carson's pace everywhere. "Why I stopped smoking, Mr. Carson? I could really use a cigarette, right now". Mr. Carson stopped walking, clearly surprised at what Thomas had said. "Oh, you stopped smoking, Mr. Barrow?"
The new butler nodded. "I did. And now I regret it".
"Well, add it to the list". Thomas looked at Carson with an expression of mild annoyance, that Carson ignored. "What happened, Mr. Barrow? Why you left like that?"
Thomas stayed silent for a few seconds, looking down to the ground. "I can't do it, Mr. Carson", said at the end. "I can't. It was a mistake".
"Do you really think so, Mr. Barrow?"
Thomas shook his head. "I don't know".
Carson got closer to him, and Thomas turned to face him. "If there is someone who is ready for this job, Mr. Barrow, it's you. You were the under butler for a long time. You know everything about the house, about the family, about the other servants. You know what people like and what they don't like. You are perfect for this job".
"It's not the job, Mr. Carson. It's... them. I can't work with them. They hate me. I did something bad to any single person in that room. They don't want me to be the butler, and I can't do this".
Carson got even closer to him. Thomas didn't turn, but he could feel the fabric of the Butler's uniform that was touching his arm."Ms. Barrow... Thomas. Listen to me. This is a chance for you. A chance to right any wrong you may have done to these people. A chance to let them know you for who you really are. A chance to have finally a home, a family. A chance to do the job that you always wanted to do. A chance to become a different person. It's not a chance that you can miss, because you will not have another one like this".
Thomas kept his head down, but Carson knew that he was crying. A small tear fell on the dirt in front of them, like a raindrop. Carson kept talking. "Besides... you weren't watching when I made the announcement, but I was. I looked at their faces. There were a lot of smiles. No one looked disappointed. Maybe surprised, but not disappointed. Even Mr. Bates was smiling. I can assure you, Thomas, that you have all their comprehension. They know you, they learned that you are not the kind of person that they thought. They want to work with you. When you left, many times I heard people saying that they were missing you". Thomas raised his face, looking at Carson with a hopeful face. "Is it true?" he asked.
"Of course it is. I am not the kind of person who lies, you know that". Thomas kept looking at Carson, without saying a word. He dried the tears with his hand, and Carson finally said: "So... are you ready to give them your first speech as a butler?" Thomas looked at him and nodded.

When both butlers entered again in the servant's hall, everyone stood, as usual. Carson gestured them to sit and then, without speaking, looked at Thomas, who raised his head for the first time. He could see a lot of curiosity on the faces in front of him. No one seemed openly hostile, and Ms. Baxter and Anna were smiling. Daisy had an encouraging expression on her gentle face. So, he found the courage to speak.
"I... I'm sorry for earlier. I guess I felt too overwhelmed, and I needed to calm down a little. I only wanted to tell you that is a true honor for me to work here as a butler". The words, that earlier he seemed he couldn't find, where coming out of him easily.
"Downton has always been my home, the only place where I have ever put down roots. I always wanted to have a permanent position, and being a butler at the Abbey is a dream that comes true, for me".
Again, he looked around. No one said anything, they all were listening carefully.
"But... there is something I need to address. I know that I have... bad history with almost anyone here. And I know that it's been my fault. But lately... let's say that I have had the time to reflect on the past. I promise you, I will not make the same mistakes. I know what I did wrong, and this place and you all are too important for me to take the risk of ruining everything. I hope that... that you too will be happy to work with me". Again, Thomas looked at them. What they would have said? No one spoke for a few seconds, and Thomas felt his heart dropping. He was right, they didn't want him...
But then, Anna spoke loudly. "Welcome back, then, Mr. Barrow". She laughed, clearly pleased, and her welcome was followed by others. Thomas couldn't say anything more, or he would have started crying again.