This is a recap. There are major spoilers here.
It’s been a week since Mary and Lord Gillingham arrived at the hotel in Liverpool for their tryst, and they are spending a lazy morning in bed together. Lord Gillingham wants to spend more time in the city, but Mary says they’ve gotten away with things so far and they shouldn’t push their luck. From now on she wants to do things properly. Gillingham is eager to push things along, but Mary seems a little more reticent.
Later, Lord Gillingham is helping Mary into her car. Across the street is Spratt, The Dowager Countess’s butler. He takes note of what he’s seeing, though Mary does not see him.
Thomas finds Carson in his office and asks to use the telephone. He won’t tell him what for, but asks to be left alone. As Carson leaves, Thomas makes his call. He’s inquiring about an advertisement he saw in the newspaper, referencing something that said “choose your own path,” but what it is exactly remains a mystery for now.
Inspector Willis of the police arrives again to have a word with Carson, this time with a little more information about the witness to Green’s death. It was a young woman and she heard Green say, “why have you come?” When Carson asks what the information has to do with Downton, Willis says that Green had told Lord Gillingham’s staff that he’d quarreled with someone at there. Carson objects that he saw no such thing and has no idea what Green was talking about.
Spratt has returned from Liverpool and after an awkward exchange with Violet in which he tries to be coy about knowing a secret, spills the information that he saw Mary and Gillingham . Violet is taken aback, but doesn’t want Spratt spreading rumors, so she tells him that they were both there attending a conference and there was nothing untoward going on.
While at Dinner, Carson questions Thomas about the telephone calls he’s been making and receiving. Thomas tells him his father is ill and he’ll need the day off tomorrow if he wants to see him before he dies, to which Carson agrees. Baxter extends her sympathies, saying his father was always kind to her, but Thomas replies bitterly “he wasn’t kind to me.”
Cora gives Baxter an ultimatum: tell her the full story about her past as a thief and she’ll give her an answer as to whether or not she can stay.
As Anna prepares Mary for bed, she wants to know if a date for her wedding to Gillingham has been set. Mary is reluctant to talk about it, but asks if Anna will keep the contraceptive device (which in this time period was probably a diaphragm) and the book for her. Anna reluctantly agrees. They also discuss the case of Green, Mary aghast at the idea that Green should have thought himself mistreated. They agree that Bates should be in the clear since there can be no evidence, which Mary should know because she burned the ticket stub placing Bates in London at that day.
Cora has planned a day in London to visit art museums with Bricker. Robert at first says he has a meeting, and can’t go, but when that meeting is canceled he tells Mary that he will surprise her.
Willis has returned and wants to talk to Bates, because he finds out Green said Bates was the one he quarreled with. Bates has all sorts of details about his day in York, but Anna later reasons that he still would have had time to get to London and back.
Violet has invited Mary to tea, and confronts her with knowledge of her tryst will Gillingham. Mary is unapologetic, but Violet is partially mollified by the news that Gillingham has already proposed. Violet tells her that she must marry his as soon as possible, but it’s clear Mary has no intention of doing so.
In London, Baxter finally tells Cora the full story of what happened. While at her previous job, she fell under the influence of a footman named Peter Coyle, who made her do all sorts of bad things, including taking the jewels. She gave them to him and was meant to meet him the next day, but he never showed and Baxter went to jail instead. She never told the police about him because, she says, she was too ashamed.
Edith has been babysitting little Marigold for Mrs. Drewe who had to take her son to the dentist. When she returns, Edith and Marigold are nowhere to be found. She panics, searching the entire house and the property. She finally finds Edith and Marigold feeding the chickens with Mr. Drewe. When Edith leaves, Mrs. Drewe tells her husband she doesn’t want Edith around anymore. He considers her words. It’s a mystery as to why Drewe and Edith don’t just tell Mrs. Drewe the truth about Marigold’s parentage. It seems like it would make things a lot easier.
Cora spends the day at the Museum with Bricker, who tells be many flattering things about her insight into the art world. When Cora can’t reach Rosalind to tell her she’s coming to dinner, Bricker invites Cora out with him instead. They spend the evening together and Cora tells him about her time when she first arrived in London. He asks her if they can do it again, but she tells him no.
When Cora arrives at Rosalind’s, Robert is waiting for her. He’s angry that he came down to surprise her only to find her out with another man. When Cora protests that Bricker only wanted her insights into the art they saw, Robert replies that he doubts that’s true. Cora is insulted by this and goes to bed angry.
The next day, Robert and Cora return to Downton, where Rose has invited the Russian refugees to tea. Also arriving is Gillingham, who wanted to surprise Mary. Mary avoids him and goes to talk with her grandmother, who repeats her advice to marry Gillingham quickly. As she gets ready for the tea, Cora tells Baxter that she can stay.
Drewe arrives to talk to Edith. His wife is upset, and Edith can’t come visit Marigold anymore. Edith is heartbroken and runs upstairs.
Since Bunting had come to give Daisy her lessons, she is invited to tea with the Russians. She upsets them by saying the Czar’s policies were misguided, and the Russians threaten to leave. Robert gets them to stay by showing them artifacts of the Romanovs collected by his parents during their tour of Russia years before. Violet spots a fan she was given by a special friend and turns to see that friend, Prince Kuragin, is there. She is taken aback but the two have a sentimental reunion prompting Mary to exclaim, “My, Granny has a past!”
As they get in the car, Isobel asks Violet if she will see Kuragin again, but Violet ignores her, telling the driver to move on. As they drive away, Violet and Kuragin share a wistful stare.
Downton Abbey air as part of Masterpiece Classic every Sunday night at 9:00 on KIXE Channel 9.
Chad Grayson has been a gas station attendant, sold video games over the phone, and even was the person who cuts the mold off the cheese in the cheese factory, but spent most of his career as a middle school Language Arts and History teacher. He is now a full-time stay at home dad and writer. You can find him on twitter at @chadgrayson and on his blog at cegrayson.wordpress.com.
