Chapter Text
There’s an omega in the house, and it’s not his newly presented daughter.
They’d all quietly expected Sybil to present as an omega, she was the perfect example of the designation; kind, pretty, and fiercely loyal. So when she’d presented a few days after her sixteenth birthday, no one in the house was particularly surprised.
Naturally, she’d taken it in stride and was still more than happy to play mediator to her alpha sisters. Mary and Edith were often at each other’s throats, but with the scent of an omega between them, their arguments mellowed out. Fate had been kind to not give him and Cora a third alpha.
The new scent is very different to Sybil, and while Robert’s nose is not particularly sensitive as a beta, he notices there’s also something familiar about it.
“I’m going to have to talk to Carson, if one of the younger staff has presented we can’t keep them here,” he tells Cora after dinner, the scent faint in the drawing room.
“It seems a shame for them to lose their position over something they can’t help,” Cora sighs.
“You know as well as I do that it’s the law,” he says rubbing her shoulder, “besides, it’s safer for them to be at home until they’re bonded.”
“I know, I understand, but it still seems a shame,” she takes a deep breath, “shall we go up?”
“Yes, we better, it’s getting late.”
As Bates helps him to dress for bed, Robert briefly considers asking him if he knows anything about a new omega, as an alpha he’s bound to have noticed, but he thinks better of it. Even if he does know, Carson and Mrs Hughes have probably kept it quiet for the omega’s sake.
“Will that be all m’lord?” Bates asks as Robert ties his dressing gown.
“Yes, thank you Bates. Could you tell Carson that I need to speak with him in the morning? After breakfast, I should think.”
“Of course, good night m’lord,” and dips his head as he leaves the dressing room.
--
“I assume you know what I’m going to ask, Carson?” He asks once they’re alone in the library.
“I believe so, m’lord,” Carson agrees in his usual no-nonsense way, “I had intended to speak to you about the issue before now, but Mrs Hughes and I got rather caught up in containing the situation.”
“And is it contained?”
“It is, m’lord.”
“That’s a relief,” Robert sighs, “now, I must know, who is our new omega? I didn’t realise any of the younger staff were even coming up to their sixteenth birthday.”
“This is the thing, none of them are, which is why we weren’t prepared,” Carson looks away, “the new omega is Thomas.”
Robert stares at him, mouth agape, before he remembers himself, “Thomas? The footman?”
“So it would seem.”
“You’re sure?”
“It’s been hard to miss, to be quite honest m’lord,” Carson looks desperately uncomfortable, but he meets Robert’s eye again, “it’s definitely him.”
“But he must be at least twenty years old!”
“Twenty two, to be precise, m’lord”
“This isn’t possible, no one has ever presented that late!”
“I cannot explain why this has happened, only that it has, m’lord.”
Robert nods and takes a breath, “yes, quite right. Well, we need to decide what must be done.”
“He can’t stay here,” Carson interjects, “it’s against the law for unbonded omegas to work.”
“I know,” Robert rubs his forehead, “do we know where his family is?”
“I’ve no record of them m’lord,” Carson shakes his head, “he came to us as a hall boy from a house in Manchester, but I’ve no information about his parents.”
“I suppose we’ll have to ask him then. Is he fit to come in here and discuss it with me?”
“I believe so, m’lord.”
“Good, you’d better bring him in then.”
Carson leaves the library to fetch Thomas, and Robert allows himself the moment alone to bury his face in his hands and groan.
--
Thomas looks unnaturally pale when Carson ushers him into the library.
“Thank you Carson, you may go,” Robert says as they enter. Carson tips his head and lets himself out again, leaving Robert to face the gaunt footman alone.
“Thomas, did Carson tell you why I asked you in here?”
“He said you needed to speak with me about my...” Thomas shuffles his feet, “my new circumstances.”
“Indeed, I do. To start with, I have a few questions.”
“I’m sure you do,” Thomas laughs dryly, but nods for Robert to go on.
“You’re too old to be newly presented?”
“Yes, m’lord.”
“So you knew?”
“Yes, m’lord.”
“But no one else did?”
“Yes, m’lord.”
“How?”
“A drug.”
“Scent blockers?”
Thomas nods.
“But what about…” Robert coughs, “what about your heats? You’ve been here two years, surely we’d have noticed you vanishing for a week twice a year?”
“I don’t have heats.”
“You what?”
“I don’t have heats, haven’t since I first presented.”
“How is that possible?”
Thomas shrugs, “I just don’t.”
“So why have you had one now?”
“I don’t know,” Thomas mutters, looking away.
“Well, we’ll leave it alone for now,” Robert says placatingly, “but you must know that you cannot stay working here now that you have.”
Thomas whips his head back to look at Robert, his eyes wide, “but, m’lord…”
Robert cuts him off, “I’m sorry Thomas, but it is the law. Unless you have an alpha hiding somewhere?”
Thomas coughs, “no, m’lord.”
“I asked Carson about your family, but he says you hadn’t provided any information about them?”
“No, m’lord,” Thomas looks away again, “and I can’t go back to them.”
“It is the safest place for you, until you are bonded,” Robert tries to catch his eye, but the boy is glaring out the window.
Thomas laughs, humourless, “safe? With my father? I think not.”
“And why is that?”
Thomas finally looks back at Robert, “why do you think I’m here, m’lord? Omegas don’t work, not even the poorest of the poor, they’re married off and they make babies and they don’t work.”
“They can, if their alpha allows it,” Robert says uncertainly, “but you don’t have an alpha?”
“If their alpha allows it,” Thomas scoffs, “No, I don’t have an alpha. I’m here because the day I presented, my father beat me black and blue and told me to never set foot in his house ever again.”
Robert gasps, “your father threw you out?”
“Yes, m’lord.”
“But, that’s illegal, he had a duty to protect you!”
“He didn’t see it that way, m’lord,” Thomas sighs, “he saw only that the universe had finally granted him an omega, but in a way that he could not have.”
“What do you mean?”
“My father is an alpha, and a proud and angry one. He never found an omega that would accept his bond mark and ended up married to my beta mother so he could sire an heir. They weren’t happy together, and my father was cruel, but she gave him two sons so he mellowed a bit over the years.”
“But then you presented?”
“Indeed, and he couldn’t accept that his son and heir was 'only good for making babies'. He believed in the old way of things, that only an alpha or beta should inherit and omegas should be grateful for a good marriage.”
“So he forced you out?”
“He flew into a rage like nothing I’d ever seen before; he could smell it on me you see, before I even knew what was happening myself,” Thomas’s face drops, “in a way I was lucky, he beat me and berated me, but I wasn’t in heat yet so…”
“So he didn’t…” Robert gestures vaguely.
“No, m’lord,” Thomas is staring at the floor, “he didn’t, and I dragged myself to a family friend. She and her mother kept me for the week, saw to my injuries, and comforted me through it; but I couldn’t stay there. My father would’ve found out.”
“So you took a job in service?”
“Yes, m’lord. The Baxter’s gave me some money, and a reference, and I bought scent blockers and a train ticket. I haven’t looked back in six years.”
“Well,” Robert shrugs, “I certainly understand why you say you can’t go back, and I will not make you. We will need to find somewhere for you though.”
“Thank you m’lord, but the world is not kind to unprotected omegas,” Thomas runs a hand through his hair, “I’m not sure where I could go, and afford to stay.”
“We’ll figure something out, let me discuss it with Her Ladyship,” Robert says kindly, moving to rest a hand on the boys’ shoulder.
Thomas looks at his hand, then glances up at Robert, “thank you, m’lord.”
Robert pats his shoulder then steps away again, “in the meantime, I’m sending you to see Dr Clarkson. You say you haven’t had a heat in six years, and I want to know that you’re well before we send you on your way.”
Thomas looks dumbfounded, “what?”
“I mean what I say, and I don’t suppose you’ve seen a doctor about it?”
“No, m’lord, I haven’t. I was just grateful that it allowed me to hide what I am.”
“I understand, but you’ve had one now, and I think it would do you good to know why.”
“Thank you m’lord.”
“I’ll telephone and organise an appointment for you, but for now, I want you to rest. I’ve told Carson you are to be relieved of your duties, and the rest of the staff will be told you are ill.”
“Thank you m’lord.”
Robert nods and smiles, “you may go now. I’ll send word up once I’ve spoken with Dr Clarkson.”
Thomas bobs his head and retreats from the library.
--
“It would seem that the emotional distress caused by your father’s treatment has led to your not having heats,” Dr Clarkson says once they’ve sat down either side of his desk, “your system has essentially been in a sort of panic, and so it hasn’t felt safe enough for you to be so vulnerable.”
“So why have I had one now?”
“I can’t be exactly sure, but if I were to hazard a guess, you finally feel safe,” Clarkson looks him in the eye, “has something happened recently?”
“I can’t say, sir.”
“Not the presentation of an omega who was celebrated by her family?”
Thomas looks away, “I don’t know.”
“Of course it could be anything, hormones and emotions are a fickle business, but I think that there being another omega in the house, one who is safe and happy, will have affected you.”
Thomas nods, “so there’s nothing wrong with me?”
“Not physically, no; and now that you’ve had a heat it is likely you will return to a normal cycle, as long as your emotional state continues to improve.”
“But I still can’t stay here?”
“I’m afraid that is up to Lord and Lady Grantham, since keeping you employed would be breaking the law.”
“I understand,” Thomas sighs, “thank you doctor.”
--
“I have something to discuss with you all,” Robert catches Cora and girls’ attention, once Carson and William have been dismissed for the evening, “we have something of a tricky situation on our hands.”
“What is it, papa?” Sybil asks.
“As you know, there’s an new omega in the house, alongside our darling Sybil here,” Robert raises his glass to her and she ducks her head, smiling.
“So we know who it is then?”
“Yes, we do,” Robert takes a swig of his whiskey, “Thomas, the footman.”
“Thomas?” Mary cries, and Edith looks stunned.
“Yes, I’m afraid so,” Robert says, rubbing his brow.
“How did we not know already? Isn’t he too old to have just presented?” Cora asks, confused.
“He is, it seems he’s had some health problems that have interrupted his natural cycle, and so no one knew until now.”
“So why is this a tricky situation? Shouldn’t we just send him home and be done with it?” Mary asks, ever the pragmatist.
“It seems he was disowned, so he has no home to return to,” Robert is hesitant to share the details of Thomas’s story, “so I’m asking you for ideas on what we should do.”
“Could he stay and work if we kept it quiet?” Edith suggests, “I know it’d be breaking the law but where else can he go?”
“I doubt Carson would approve,” Mary mutters into her glass, “besides, his delicate nature would be hard to hide.”
“He’s done so successfully until now,” Sybil says, “and he hardly seems delicate to me.”
“Sorry darling, you’re right,” Mary concedes, “he’s a decent worker.”
“I’m hesitant to keep him on staff, it seems far too risky, especially as a footman where he’d be interacting with guests,” Robert says.
“That’s true,” Sybil sighs, “even with scent blockers, someone is bound to notice eventually.”
“I think there’s only one option,” Cora says suddenly.
“What would that be?”
“He stays here,” Cora meets Robert’s eye, “not as a servant, but part of the family.”
Mary and Edith start, both standing from their seats, “what?” In complete agreement for once in their lives.
“Cora, what do you mean?”
“We take him in, make him our ward,” Cora says simply, “he’ll be safe and protected with us, and we won’t be breaking any laws. He can be Sybil’s companion until they both find a match.”
“You’re serious, mama?” Mary demands.
“Adopt the footman?” Edith adds, “this is insane.”
“I don’t see why. The boy needs our help, and Sybil will need a companion now, why shouldn’t it be him?”
“Sybil, what do you think, dear?”
“I think mama’s plan sounds like a brilliant one,” Sybil smiles, “I’ve always thought him rather a rough diamond, perhaps we can make him shine.”
“Well, I suppose that’s it then,” Robert agrees, “I’ll have him brought to the library after breakfast tomorrow. I want you all there so we can welcome him together.”
“But, papa…” Mary starts.
“Now, now Mary, I know when to admit defeat, I would suggest you do the same,” Robert interrupts, “besides, I have a feeling you’ll like him.”
“If you say so,” Mary huffs.
Robert smiles.