What happened to Thomas Barrow ⎹ Downton Abbey⎹ Explicit 18+⎹ M/M⎹ Gay ♥ FanFic⎹

The Viscountess Cometh.

I finally set out to tell you what happened to Thomas Barrow. This is an accurate report of the events, and of the people involved. This happened not too long ago.

A year had passed since Lady Mary's marriage to Henry Talbot. They were living at Downton, which isn't a surprise, and they were regularly entertaining diverse guests, from country Dukes to simple childhood acquaintances.

This is how Thomas came to meet the Viscountess Westforth, as she stayed over at Downton Abbey, one cold week-end of November. Thomas first met her outside, as expected of an under-butler. She was accompanied by her father, a nobleman of stern figure, and was merely one among many guests staying over for a party organised by the Lady Grantham. He didn't even pay attention to her looks, but lifted a surprised eyebrow as she graciously floated past him and said: "How do you do?" They were but simple words, but Thomas always appreciated people noticing his presence, and even more those fully acknowledging it. He intended to observe her more closely, but she disappeared among the other guests, and that was it for the rest of the afternoon.

She had brought no maid with her, which Thomas found disappointing, but also, again, surprising. And indeed, Carson informed him that she would need the help of Miss Baxter, as she recently "lost" her maid and was yet to have the time yet to hire a new one.

Years ago, Thomas would have loved to inquire and scheme and shed light on those petty mysteries. But after all that happened in the last eighteen months, and his now precarious but encouraging friendship with the rest of household staff, including a truce with Mr Bates, he knew better now than to meddle and criticise and put his nose where it didn't belong. "I'll do my job, and I'll do it well. That's all there is to it," he said to himself. Therefore he put thoughts of the Lady Westforth aside, and got on with his work.

Dinner was lively and reminiscing of the old days, when Downton Abbey crawled with noble men and women from all around the country. At the end of it, men and women gathered together in the library. Thomas was pleased to see Lady Mary looking so at ease, chatting happily with Lady Westforth. He took advantage of their excited chatter to take a good look at the new visitor.

Probably the same age as Lady Mary, she had a haughty air about her, something he expected was rather calculated, and every move of hers was choreographed to look gracious and aery . She had splendid golden hair, not unlike Jimmy thought Thomas, well arranged in sophisticated curls, and he noticed two mischievous sparkling green eyes, that peered intently into whatever she laid them onto, and rosy cheeks gave her a healthy glow. Thomas noticed she was wearing make-up, which he found bold and intriguing. She was stunning in a dark blue and green beaded dress, and matching olive gloves.

Thomas could only guess she was a friend of Talbot, because he had never seen her before. She was too sophisticated to be a friend of Branson's, and seemed too capable of charming Lady Mary to be a friend of Edith's. He didn't linger too long, and focused his attention on the others guests.

Thomas took great pride in a job well-done. Now that he had set his past scheming and spying aside, he focused on doing his absolute best. It could have been that he wanted to make himself necessary in this grand house, or that he wanted to thank Lord Grantham in his own way, but there was something rewarding in doing one's best, and Thomas sometimes felt he had nothing else to offer. So he would walk around the house at night, making sure everything was alright, that the kids were safe in the nursery, that no bedroom was on fire. He didn't mind. He could never truly sleep if he didn't go to bed absolutely exhausted anyway.

And that night, as he was walking about the corridors of the upstairs bedrooms, in the Ladies's guest wing, he heard a big thump, followed by the opening of a door. He then made out an angry chatter coming from one of the rooms around the corner. It was a man's voice. Amused at his own excitement, Thomas flattened himself against the wall, finding it impossible not to look around the corner and see what it was all about. Strange things always happen in those big houses. He even instigated some of those. So he silently leaned forward to take a look at the scene.