Chapter Text
Thomas had just been planning take a small break and smoke, as he usually did between his tasks, so he made his way to the little patio.
The sun was starting to set, and he was starting to have all those thoughts again, but surely a smoke would fix it, after all, it's what he always did.
Just as he lit his cigarette, he heard a noise, almost like sniffling. He thought he'd imagined it and just ignored it, but as it made itself heard again, he felt that he had to go check, he had a bad feeling about it.
He didn't have to search for long as he found Anna just around the corner, leaning on the wall and covering her mouth in hopes to muffle her sniffles.
She was crying.
"Anna, are you-"
"Go away, Thomas!" She snapped. It was unlike her, and it certainly surprised him.
"Anna, I just heard a sound and came to check, no need to snap," he responds defensively, but not in a rude way, not when she's crying like that.
"Well, you can go gossip about it now, just go away!" She snaps again.
"I will go away, if that's what you want, but I won't gossip about something like this." With that said, he left.
That moment played in his head as he dropped the cigarette he never took a drag off, and then he went back inside.
The way she had been covering her mouth even though she thought she was alone, she really didn't want anyone to see her crying.
Now that he thought about it, he was quite certain that he had seen some bruises on her face, she clearly attempted to cover them up with make up, but they were still visible.
Thomas couldn't get it out of his head, that moment, the way she's been acting, the fact she asked Mrs Hughes to move back into Downton, the way she'd been avoiding her own husband.
She'd been avoiding Mr. Bates, a man who had been arrested for murder and she stood up for, every single second, a man she loved with everything she had, and now she was avoiding him.
Thomas hopes that he isn't right, but maybe he needs to pay more attention and check, just check, if she's in that state because of Mr. Bates.
Thomas and Anna may not get along quite well, but there was a time, that now seemed so far away, where they both arrived at Downton on the same week and they were inseparable, at the time, Thomas was quiet and seemed scared of everything, while Anna was extroverted, always talking and smiling, both very hardworking, but then Miss O'Brien came along and turned Thomas into someone he didn't even recognise, but at least if he didn't let anyone close then no one could hurt him, right?
Thomas blinked and realised he'd been sitting for longer than he had intended, and now he had to go upstairs for the family's dinner.
He worked as usual, at least he hoped so, he couldn't quite remember all of it, his mind still trying to deny that the signs were all there, that he looked at Anna and saw what he saw in the mirror just two months ago.
He must've zoned out, because all of a sudden he was sitting at the table in the servants hall and, surprisingly enough, Anna was to his right, and as usual, Mrs. Hughes to his left.
Since the last two months, Mrs. Hughes had quietly been making sure everything was okay. She was the only one who knew, who had seen him arrive on that night. But it wasn't about him right now, he needs to forget about himself and make sure Anna hasn't gone through the same.
They haven't been friends in years, but still Thomas wishes her no harm, especially of that sort, no one should hurt like that.
When Mr. Bates speaks and Anna jumps a bit, Thomas only seems to confirm his fears about it having been Mr. Bates.
He has never liked the man, and he certainly doesn't like him now.
Thomas keeps just observing as dinner keeps going, he doesn't eat much, more concerned about someone who had once been his friend, someone he was sure that hated him once, someone he was now sure that had not an ounce of evil.
Once dinner is over, Thomas follows Mr. Bates, and he thinks that the man isn't noticing, but as soon as they step outside, Mr. Bates turns arround.
"Is there anything you need, Mr. Barrow?" The man asks, a look on his face that makes Thomas's hands sweat, a look that reminds him of when his father would scold him.
Nevertheless, he was going to do what he planned, he wasn't going to back out.
"What did you do to Anna?" Thomas asked, hoping that he didn't sound as nervous as he felt.
The valet's whole demeanour changed and he seemed worried too.
"I didn't do anything, I don't know what's happened to her, but even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you," Mr. Bates answered, he looked at Thomas with some sort of disgust.
Thomas knew no one truly liked him or trusted him, but it still hurt.
"I don't want to gossip, I just want to know she's okay," he responds, very serious now.
"I'm sure you don't... anyway, you should go back to your dark little corner and just leave us out of your gossips." Mr. Bates turned around and began walking away.
Thomas still wasn't fully convinced that Bates truly hadn't been the one to hurt her, but then again, he did seem very worried.
He just went back inside, where he crossed paths with Anna and Mrs. Hughes.
He knew they probably wanted nothing to do with him, so he kept walking.
"Thomas, can you come here for a second?" He hears Mrs. Hughes ask and he immediately turns around and makes his way over to them.
"What is it, Mrs. Hughes?" He asks back, looking between her and Anna.
"Well, Anna told me you saw her crying today, and I just want to let you know that you're not to tell anyone about it," she says sternly.
"Why would I tell anyone about that?" He asks before he has the chance to think about his words.
"Because you don't think before you speak, you just see an opportunity to be mean and you take it," Anna replies, not so calmly, and Thomas feels ashamed.
"Anna, I think we can trust him when he says that he wouldn't say," Mrs. Hughes say with a sigh and he knows where she wants to take the conversation.
"And why should I trust him? Why are you suddenly so nice to him?" Anna asks, and her defensiveness is like a mirror that Thomas can look at and see his reflection.
"I think you should tell her," Mrs. Hughes suggests and Thomas feels a knot forming in his throat.
"And I think there's no need for anyone to know. This isn't about me, this is about her," he tries to get Mrs. Hughes to understand that he wants to change the topic.
She just sighs and nods, understanding that he's not quite ready to talk about it either.
"What is it that you don't want to tell, Thomas?" Anna asks, suddenly seeming curious.
"Nothing that should worry you, or anyone in fact." There was an awkward silence until he spoke again, "I'm quite tired, goodnight."
Then he went upstairs, all the way, until he reached his bedroom, up in the attic, where all the servants slept, and where his nightmares grew during the day so they could haunt him at night.