Lady Mary mourns Matthew's death. Matthew's newly-found letter states Mary is to be his sole heir and thus gives her management over his share of the estate until their son, George, comes of age. Mary assumes a more active role in running Downton. Two new suitors—Lord Gillingham and Charles Blake—arrive at Downton, though Mary, still grieving, appears not to be interested. Lady Edith, who has begun writing a weekly newspaper column and Michael Gregson, a magazine editor, fall in love. Due to English law, he is unable to divorce his wife, who is mentally ill and in an asylum. Gregson travels to Germany to seek citizenship there, enabling him to divorce, but is killed by Hitler's Brownshirts during riots. Edith is pregnant and secretly gives birth to a daughter whilst in Switzerland. She places the baby with a couple there, but later reclaims her daughter after arranging for a family on the Downton estate (Mr and Mrs Drewe of Yew Tree Farm), to foster her.

Erin La Rosa of BuzzFeed stated that the rape was "all pretty uncharacteristic for Downton Abbey, and all terribly upsetting." [12] Emily Orley, also of Buzzfeed, argued that the storyline of the rape of Anna had too much focus on the male characters. [13] Thomas Barrow [ edit ] Robert James Collier plays Thomas BarrowWeekly Top 30 Programmes: ITV1 w/e 14 October 2012". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016 . Retrieved 29 October 2012. When a witness comes forward to claim Mr Green was murdered and the investigation reaches Downton, police question Bates and Anna on several occasions. This puts strain on the couple, as Anna is too frightened to ask John the truth of his trip to York. Matters become worse when Anna assists Lady Mary in procuring contraception for a sexual relationship with Lord Gillingham, and Bates finds the evidence and mistakenly believes his wife is using it so she does not become pregnant with a murderer's child.

Ethel Parks (played by Amy Nuttall) was the new maid introduced in the second series as Gwen's replacement. Outspoken, Ethel does not like being told what to do by anyone, which often has her in conflict with Anna or Mrs Hughes. She says that she does not want to be in service for the rest of her life and often complains about her surroundings. The Crawley family is implicated in a scandal threatening to engulf the royal family, and Robert must go to great lengths to protect his family and the monarchy. Edith is struggling with a moral dilemma of her own, while Isobel has attracted an admirer. Daisy receives an unexpected invitation, while Carson treats the staff to a day out at the beach. [3] Plot [ ] Downton Abbey, one of the main characters is Robert Crawley, the 7th Earl of Grantham, which you will note is rank number three in nobility. His (fictitious) father would have been the 6th Earl of Grantham, his grandfather 5th, and so on." [familytree 9] Morrow, Laurie Bogart (2012). The Giant Book of Dog Names. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4516-6690-8. Beryl Patmore (played by Lesley Nicol) is the cook at Downton. Mrs Patmore is in charge of the kitchen and kitchen staff. She takes great pride in her cooking and is a perfectionist in the kitchen. When the food does not meet her exacting standards, she takes her frustration out on the maids, especially Daisy. Throughout the first series she is often seen bossing around and shouting at Daisy while working but cares for her like a daughter and often offers her advice. She also seems to have protective feelings towards Daisy when she suspects that some of the other staff such as Thomas or Miss O'Brien are trying to make a fool or take advantage of her. Occasionally her caring attitude may become even counterproductive, as when she advises that Daisy should not sacrifice that much of her spare time to try to self-educate herself, as she sees that hopes for that kind of lifestyle which would justify such efforts are set too high considering Daisy's chances to move in the social hierarchy of that era.Weekly Top 10 Programmes: ITV1+1 w/e 9 October 2011". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board . Retrieved 21 October 2011.

William Mason (played by Thomas Howes) (d. 1918) was the second footman at Downton. His father was a local farmer and William used to help with the horses. William had three brothers and a sister but all died at or shortly after birth, leaving him as the only child. His mother died of illness towards the end of the first series. Affable and good-natured, he was also a competent pianist (actor Thomas Howes is a pianist) and would entertain other servants during their free time. During the first series he had strong feelings for Daisy. August 1922. Edith wants a tenant farmer and his wife to care for her baby, but Lady Rosamund suggests she go to Switzerland and give up the baby there. Alfred proposes to Ivy, but begins appreciating Daisy's loyalty after Ivy refuses him. Daisy is confused over her feelings, but gives Alfred up, and he leaves for good. Lord Gillingham, who is ending his engagement, visits briefly, still pursuing Mary; she has learned about Green's crime and wants Gillingham to dismiss the valet, which he agrees to do. The church bazaar is held, organised by Cora; during it, Lord Grantham arrives unexpectedly, as does Lord Gillingham, to tell Mary that Green was killed in a road accident in Piccadilly. Anna realizes that Bates had the same day off, supposedly to go to York, and he will not say what he was doing there. Whilst Anna is in Lady Mary's bedroom after the wedding of Lady Edith and Bertie Pelham, her waters unexpectedly break. Mary insists that Anna shouldn't return to her and Bates's cottage and instead allows Anna to stay in her room to have her baby. Finneran stated that the character "is a thoroughly despicable human being", [16] and that "People actually love that she’s a nasty piece of work. They love to dislike her." [17] Finneran stated her belief that O'Brien's negative attitudes originated from how the character "has basically sacrificed her entire life to somebody else, for the good of their life and their home — it’s no wonder that she would get frustrated or angry about things." [17] Finneran believed that O'Brien "was great to play." [16]

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Mary tells the Bateses that their newborn son is welcome to stay at Downton's nursery during the day, as Anna wants to continue working at Downton, and that soon their son will be joined by a child of her own, as Mary is now pregnant. Molesley gains access to the Bateses cottage and finds a picture of Bates; he and Baxter use it as they travel around York's pubs to find out which pub Bates had been to the day Green died. A pub owner confirms that Bates was indeed in York and would swear to it, which clears him. However, it would endanger Anna once again, who is released on bail. Weekly Top 10 Programmes: ITV w/e 20 October 2013". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013 . Retrieved 31 October 2013. Weekly Top 10 Programmes: ITV1 HD w/e 21 October 2012". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016 . Retrieved 29 October 2012. For a brief time before entering into household service, Mr Carson was a music hall performer in the vaudeville duo the "Cheerful Charlies" alongside former friend Charlie Grigg. When this secret becomes known in Downton, Carson offers his resignation to Lord Grantham. Amused instead of scandalised at the revelation, Grantham gently declines Carson's offer, ending the matter as a non-issue.