In the World of Downton Abbey

Chapter 1 - Arriving & Getting the Job

I always loved the idea of someone getting sucked into a TV show, since there are so many ways the story can be changed because of an unknown person entering it. I absolutely LOVE Downton Abbey, and thought I would write a story where a girl is tossed into the show. I wrote this story some time ago, maybe around six years ago, and had it on another site, I'm just now posting it here. Enjoy!

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She heard voices nearby and smelled earth. She didn't fall asleep near the oak tree in her backyard again, did she?

Mandy opened her eyes to see a red brick wall and blue wood. She sat up. "What the...?" she muttered groggily. "Where's this?"

She stood up, but suddenly, her head throbbed at her temple. She put a hand to her head, brushing past some of her stark orange curly hair, and noticed that she stood next to a picnic table that sat on stone. She looked around a bit at the little courtyard.

"Okay, I have to be dreaming."

Mandy realized that she recognized this area. She just saw it around an hour before when she was watching Downton Abbey.

Those same voices came to her ears again, and two people walked out a door, cigarettes in hand. Mandy hid behind the table and crouched down, noticing that she wore her long, tan, billowy skirt and lavender blouse. She never changed from church earlier.

"There's no way we can get rid of 'im," a woman said in an accent, maybe Irish, and stood tall and prim. "His Lordship has a soft spot for 'im."

"There is always a way, no matter the circumstances," said the man, also with an accent. Mandy gasped when she recognized those voices. O'Brien and Thomas! This isn't happening!

"Did you hear somethin'?" O'Brien asked.

"No. You starting to hear things? Told you you're gettin' old."

"That's not what I mean," she said tersely. "I really heard somethin'."

She walked over to where Mandy was. Mandy held her breath. Why was she even hiding? She shouldn't be afraid of anything if this was a dream. She stood up before O'Brien got to her. The woman stopped and stared at her, her cigarette falling from her fingers to the cobble-stone ground.

"What have we got here?" she asked, looking Mandy up and down.

"I'm sorry," Mandy said, heat rising up her neck. "I just..."

"An American," O'Brien commented. "With hair like that, one would mistake you for an orange Irish."

Mandy fingered her long, wavy stark-orange hair and looked over at Thomas. He stood there tall, dark-haired and handsome, staring at her with his brows creased, and his mouth pulled into a frown.

"Why are you here?" O'Brien asked, and Mandy looked at her again.

"I just... I'm sorry. I..."

A thought came to her. If she dreamt up this Downton Abbey world, which seemed all too real, she could join the staff, or do whatever she wanted. Right? But what if this all wasn't a dream? Regardless, she should say something.

"I was sent here for work," Mandy finally said. "I traveled a long time and a long way to get here, and I wasn't sure if this was the right place to enter."

"Oh," O'Brien said. "If you were here for work, why in the blazes were you hidin'?"

"Like I said—I wasn't sure."

"Obviously." She looked Mandy up and down again, and her nose twitched. Mandy was thankful that what she had on could pass for what women wore during that time. "Pull that hair back and come with me. Don't want it flailing everywhere in front of Mr. Carson."