Mandy held her palm to her head. She had a horrible headache, and not just from what went on back at Downton and in her life romantically at the moment. She had been calculating the fees for the medicine, bedding, food, and other things the hospital needed in the coming week, and all that she had—and all that she had been using since she started working in the hospital—was a piece of paper, a pencil, and her own math skills.

"What I would give for a calculator..." she muttered.

"You look exhausted."

She looked up and saw George standing in the doorway, wearing his white doctor coat. He came and sat down in the chair in front of her desk. "That's because I am. Where I'm from, we have what's called a calculator. It's a little device that adds, subtracts, multiplies, and divides for you without you doing any math yourself. I really would like one of those about now. I mean, I'm good at math, and I was trained to calculate by hand, but we all have our limits."

George eyed a very flustered Mandy. He leaned in and rested his folded arms on her desk in front of him. "I think you need a break. It's been a long day, and you're bushed. And so am I. Wait until you hear what ruptured on this man a few hours ago. It took a full hour to clean up the mess."

Mandy felt her lunch of garden salad and chicken soup come up, even though that was around five hours ago. "Oh gosh, I don't want to know. Keep your medical things to yourself."

"So you are allowed to vent and not me?"

She eyed him for a moment, and let out an exhausted breath. "Alright, I'm sorry. I just... I've had a lot on my plate lately."

"Does it have anything to do with the man you're seeing? The man from Downton?"

George didn't know about what went on with Matthew since she never told him. "No. Well... I suppose he's part of it. I just really need to see him."

"Then go out and see him. You've been cooped up in this office every day since you started working here two weeks ago. It think it's about time that you go and visit your sweetheart. It may do you some good."

Mandy dropped her pencil and leaned back in her seat. "Yeah, I know. I received a letter from my good friend Anna at Downton, and she said that everyone there misses me. At least the people downstairs do. I'm scared to go back there."

"Why?"

"Well... I suppose I can tell you since I consider you a good friend like Anna. Promise not to repeat this, though."

He put a hand over his heart. "I promise."

"Alright."

She commenced telling him about her arriving at Downton, getting the job, her fast romance with Thomas, the ordeal with the hairpin and who did what in that situation, and Thomas's proposal. She topped it off with her moving into into Crawley House after Matthew kissed her in the village.

George sat back in his eat, wide-eyed. "Wow," was his summation of her story.

"I know, and I don't know what to do. I promised Thomas, and I broke that promise. He's waiting for my answer to his proposal when I know now that I can't accept him."

"Why can't you accept him?"

She wasn't ready to reveal where she was really from. "There are just... reasons. Anyway, that's why I've been lenient about going back to Downton."

"Why are you lenient about going back to Downton?" they heard a female voice say.

Both Mandy and George brought their attention to Mrs. Crawley who just walked in the door. Mandy made eyes at George and shook her head slightly, indicating she didn't want him to say anything. "Just the usual," Mandy said. "After what happened, I'm a bit afraid of going back."

"But don't you want to go see your friends there?" Mrs. Crawley asked. "You haven't been to Downton since you got here. I'm sure they would be happy to see you."

"Yeah, I do want to see them." She paused, and looked at George, then back at Mrs. Crawley. "What are you asking? I sense there's a hidden motive here."

The woman walked more into the room and stood near George. "How would you like to go for a visit?"

Her heart started to hammer in excitement. "A visit? When?"

"Tonight around 7:30. We, meaning you, me, and Matthew, have been invited to dinner by Lady Grantham."

Oh, now that puts a whole new color on things! "Um... I don't think that's a good idea."

"What do you mean it's not a good idea?" George asked. "This is the perfect opportunity to see certain people." He winked.

"I think Mary will eat me alive, though. She most likely still doesn't like me."

Mrs. Crawley waved her hand. "Oh, tosh. Lady Grantham invited all of us, so we are obligated to go. And you can visit your friends downstairs after dinner."

Mandy bit her bottom lip and looked at the stack of files on her desk, and then at George who gave her a reassuring smile. She really did want to see William, Daisy, Anna, Mr. Bates and Carson, and Mrs. Hughes... she really wanted to see them all. She ached to talk to Thomas and explain everything in a way that would not shatter his heart to pieces. Maybe she could just slip in the back to the servants' entrance and not see the family.

"It will be alright," Mrs. Crawley said. "I can even loan you an old dress."

"Yeah, Mandy, c'mon," George egged. "It's the perfect opportunity."

Mandy gulped and eyed the both of them, their expressions showing their eagerness for her answer. "Um, if I go, will I have to have dinner with the family?"

"Why would I loan you a dress, then?" Mrs. Crawley asked. "Lady Grantham invited all of us. I do believe it's to make peace with the past situation. I think she feels sorry for her daughter's behavior."

Mandy balled her hands in her lap. "Um... but I just don't want things to get out of hand. I mean, I was a maid."

"And now you're not. You're a successful working woman now with a real job. Listen, I have talked with Lady Grantham today, and she will make sure things don't get out of hand."

The way Mandy saw it, she didn't have a choice. "Okay," she finally said.

"Good choice, Mandy," George said.

"Indeed," Mrs. Crawley agreed. "Wonderful! We can leave now and get back to the house and quickly find you that dress. I'll do your hair. as well."

All Mandy could do was nod and Mrs. Crawley left to get her things. Mandy sat back in her desk chair and let out a long breath. "Oh, boy..."

"It'll be alright, Mandy," George reassured her.

"But I'll have to sit at that fancy table and be served by Thomas, and be stared down at by Mary. Matthew will be there, too—he alone will make the tension high with Mary and Thomas present. Also, with what I plan to tell Thomas... this won't end well. Things never end well for me."

"Just be positive. You'll be able to see your friends."

She nodded. He was right. She would get to see her friends, and see Anna who she desperately wanted to talk to. "Okay, I guess we'll see how it goes."

~ ~ ~

"That fits you like a glove," exclaimed Mrs. Crawley after Mandy put on an elegant deep purple evening dress, and she pressed out creases. "I'm surprised I was that size before."

Mandy eyed herself in the mirror. The dress fit her perfectly—not too tight and not too loose, and had a satiny feel. It ran down to the floor, and had elegant black lace for the sleeves which went mid-upper-arm, but she wore shiny satin gloves the same color and material as the dress.

"You have shoes to wear, I presume?"

"I bought a nice pair of black shoes in the village some time ago," Mandy said.

"Then that's perfect. Now, for your hair."

Mandy felt like she was going to the prom. She didn't know how women did this several times a day back then—no wonder they had ladies' maids to help them out. When Mrs. Crawley finished tugging her hair and putting pins in it, she stared at the elegant up-do with a few curly tendrils handing down near her cheeks. With the jewelry and make-up added, she looked like a movie star. She never though she could look so pretty!

"You look beautiful," Mrs. Crawley said.

"Thank you. It's been a while since I've been done up like this. Actually, I've never been done up in such an elegant way."

"Well, then, this is a real treat for you."

"You look really nice as well, Mrs. Crawley. That light-blue color looks great on you."

"Oh, thank you, my dear. Now let's go. Matthew is waiting at the door."

They walked out of Mrs. Crawley's room and made their way down the stairs. Mrs. Crawley told Matthew that they were coming down. He looked up, himself dressed in his dinner suit, and when he saw Mandy, he... stared.

As she stepped down the stairs, Mandy felt her cheeks heat up and heart race as Matthew's eyes never left her. Her prom date her senior year, who was her boyfriend at the time, didn't even look at her in the way Matthew ogled at her at the moment. When she came all the way down the stairs, Matthew gulped and then cleared his throat.

"Mandy," he said, "my, you look absolutely stunning."

Heat entered her cheeks, and she smiled sheepishly. "Thank you, Matthew."

They stood there for a moment, both with a smile on their faces, and not leaving each other's gazes.

"Time to go, you two," Mrs. Crawley said, and the two broke the trance and followed her out the door into the cool evening. Matthew noticed Mandy nervously moving her leg up and down, and her hands balling in her lap as they were in the car, on their way to Downton.

"Mandy, you seem shaken up," he said.

"Do you blame me?"

That one statement caused Matthew to stay silent. He knew what she meant.

"It will be alright, Mandy," Mrs. Crawley said reassuringly, but that didn't stop her heart from racing faster than it ever has.

They soon arrived at Downton, with the whole family out to greet them, and as Mandy expected with every heavy pound of her heart, Thomas stood there, ready to open the car door for them. This would be the first time she saw him since she left. Was she prepared for it? Regardless if she was or not, when the car pulled up, Thomas noticed her in there, and his eyes widened. She noticed his cheeks pinken, and he noticeably gulped. He opened the door, let Matthew and his mother out, then Mandy stepped out. The moment Thomas saw her in her elegant outfit, he stared, stunned.

"Whoa..." he let out, and Mandy tried to hold in a smile.

"You like it?" she whispered.

He nodded and still held the door with his hand, tightly. Oh, how she wanted to embrace him and talk to him about everything! His chest moved up and down, trying all within his power not to embrace her like he has wanted to since she left.

"Mandy, I'm so glad you made it," said Sybil, who walked up to them, and Mandy had to break her trance with Thomas. "And my... you look absolutely beautiful."

"Don't get too excited, Sybil," Mary said, and Mandy took a glance at her. Mary had her arms folded and she had a smug look on her face.

"Don't mind her," Sybil said, linked arms with Mandy, and leaned in. Mandy smelled her sweet rosy perfume. "I'm the one who begged Mamma to invite you, and she readily accepted. I just want this whole situation to set itself out."

"Thank you," Mandy said. She knew Sybil meant well, but... she still had the feeling, like she always did, that things wouldn't go well.

The party went into the house and entered the drawing room. Mandy stood there near the door as she talked with Sybil, and eyed everyone in the room as she did so. Mary had that same look from before, Lady Grantham smiled at her, and the Dowager Lady Grantham—Mandy had to stop herself from going over and asking for an autograph because that was Maggie Smith, meaning the famous Professor McGonagall from Harry Potter—looked at her with a turned-up nose.

"I don't think it was a good idea that I came," Mandy commented to Sybil.

"Of course it was," Sybil assured her. "Don't let Mary scare you."

Mandy leaned in and whispered, "But Mary thinks I stole her man from her. Any woman would turn into a wolf if that happened."

"But you didn't, so she has nothing to worry about."

Mandy glanced at Matthew as he talked with Lord Grantham, and all that had happened between them flashed through her mind. She didn't technically steal Mary's man, he just fell for her when she least expected it... and she fell for him when she least expected it. It just had to be when she was in a relationship with Thomas.

Mr. Carson came into the room and said that dinner is served. The party exited the room, and Mandy still walked by Sybil, but on the other side of her, walked the Dowager, who gave her a look with a twerked-up eyebrow and walked on.

"Don't mind Granny, either," Sybil said to her in a low tone.

"I know. Maybe I shouldn't mind anyone."

Sybil squeezed her arm with reassurance. They entered the dining room, and the table was decorated elegantly, with crystal and china dishes, and a large bouquet of white lilies sat in the center. Mandy looked at Thomas standing next to William. William glanced at her and smiled widely, and Mr. Carson let off a smirk when she looked at him. That gave her a small bit of comfort that her friends were happy to see her. Then she caught Thomas's eye, and she hurtfully remembered what she needed to tell him. He nodded to her chair, and she got the idea. She sat down.

The dinner commenced, and everyone started chatting about the hospital, the Dowager and Mrs. Crawley the main participants in the conversation. Mandy listened, but looked forward and saw Thomas serve Matthew some steamed vegetables.

Those two guys... my life became absolutely crazy because of them.

Thomas stood up and she caught his eye again. This was so awkward—going from the servant to the one being served. Now she knew how Tom Branson felt the first time this happened to him later on in the show. Tom wasn't distracted by the person who he received a proposal from, though, and said person waited for an answer very anxiously.

Mandy snapped back to attention when she heard the word "America."

"Mamma, America is well on its way," Lord Grantham said.

"Oh, it is, is it?" the Dowager countered. "If you ask me, it's going rather downhill."

"Granny, please," Sybil said. "Two people at this table are American, and one is our guest."

The Dowager gave Mandy a disapproving look. "And how is that going to change my mind?"

Mandy felt a little pang in her heart. Sybil said, "Mandy has accomplished so much, more than any other woman in England at her age."

"What have you accomplished, Mandy?" Edith asked her, the first time the girl has ever spoken to her.

"Well," Mandy began a tad nervously, pushing her hands into her lap as everyone's eyes were on her, "back home, I went to college and got a degree in accounting."

"Accounting?" Mary said. "My, what a..."

"That is very impressive, Mandy," Lady Grantham said, covering up what Mary was going to say.

"Impressive?" the Dowager repeated, taken aback. "It more disgraceful, if you ask me. You see what I mean? America is letting its women do whatever they please, when they should be at home preparing themselves for marriage and homemaking."

"Oh, so you think that women shouldn't make a difference in the world?" Mrs. Crawley asked.

"No, I do not," said the Dowager. "That is the job of their husbands."

"But Mandy has been so successful at the hospital so far," Sybil argued. "Because of her hard work, the finances are in order, when they never were in the past."

"Well, I did not ask that she work there as our hospital accountant. I was against it, as well as her staying at the Crawley house—after what she did to this family."

Mandy's heart jumped up to her throat in alarm, and she looked over at Thomas and noticed his fists clench at his sides as he stood near the wall. He knows now. He knows that I broke my promise to him, and he doesn't look happy about it.

"Lady Grantham," Matthew began calmly, but clearly he was trying to stay calm himself.

"Don't you 'Lady Grantham' me, Mr. Crawley," the Dowager countered. "You know more than all of us what happened, considering it was you who started it all."

"Mamma," Lord Grantham said forcefully, as Matthew pursed his lips together. "Restrain yourself, why don't you?"

"Why should I? You all know that it would've been better if that girl never showed up, and that blasted hairpin never became a problem."

"Granny!" Sybil said, appalled.

"She's right, though," Mary said as she sipped her champagne, irritatingly calm. "I quite agree with her."

"Oh, will everyone please stop it?!" Lady Grantham ordered in a stern voice. "We will not have another word against Mandy, or bring up what has happened. It already passed, so can we please have a peaceful dinner for once?"

That silenced everyone, and a thick and uncomfortable silence filed the dining room. Mandy looked down at her chicken and green beans, trying to hold back the tears that pleaded to come out. She caused so much trouble, and the whole family suffered because of her. She glanced at Matthew, then at Thomas, both of them with a frown on their faces. They suffered from this as well.

The dinner eventually ended with not many words spoken after the argument, and the family exited the room. Mandy glanced at Thomas, who assisted William and Mr. Carson with clearing the table. Her heart hurt even more. He knew she broke her promise to him. He was probably hurting inside profusely, knowing how fragile he is.

In the library, Sybil stood next to Mandy and Mrs. Crawley. "I told you I never should've come tonight," Mandy said after taking a large breath to release the emotion that rode up her throat.

"No, don't say that," Sybil said kindly. "Granny speaks her mind more often than she should—we all just learned to get used to it."

"But she was right," Mandy countered. "Even if she was speaking her mind." She eyed Thomas who served tea on a tray, then at Matthew, who talked with Lord Grantham again. "I caused enough trouble. I should just leave."

Mary suddenly walked up to them, and before any of them could say anything, she said, "May I have a word, Mandy?"

Mandy's heart jumped. Oh, no. Sybil and Mrs. Crawley gave her sympathizing looks and left her. Mandy stood there with Mary, wishing her friends stayed at her side.

"I hope you don't think our family horrible people," Mary said, holding a cup of tea on a saucer.

"No, of course I don't. Your family is wonderful." At least certain members of them are.

Mandy noticed that both Matthew and Thomas saw Mary with her. Matthew stood as if he were ready to take Mandy away if anything happened, and Thomas was in a similar stance.

"But?" Mary prodded.

"But," Mandy said, and met Mary's brown eyes, "a few of them don't seem to like me."

"That is an understatement."

Mandy felt her chest constrict again. She took a shaky breath before asking the one thing that she wanted to since she was accused of stealing... "Why do you hate me so much, Lady Mary?"

Mary's eyes widened. "Goodness me, hate you?"

"Yes. You schemed to get me sacked, which you successfully did, and you agreed to have me come tonight, just to humiliate me more."