exposure. He also helps cover up the scandal that the murder trial of Downton valet Bates would cause. In the second series Christmas episode, it is apparent that Carlisle's pragmatism does not sit well with the Crawleys and he and Mary begin to argue more frequently, much to the consternation of Matthew and her grandmother. Eventually Mary breaks off the engagement to him after the pair argue with increased frequency, and after Lord Grantham discovers the truth from Lady Grantham and advises Mary not to be unhappy with someone she does not love. Carlisle leaves the morning before the Servants' Ball, but not before revealing that he did genuinely love her. It is not known whether he went ahead and published the story. Ultimately, his actions do not matter, as she confesses to Matthew about Pamuk and Matthew proposes to her despite this. Vera Bates Vera Bates (played by Maria Doyle Kennedy) (d. 1918) was the estranged wife of John Bates. Having known each other since childhood, they married young and had a very unhappy marriage. In between serving in the Anglo-Boer War and joining the staff at Downton Abbey, John Bates went to prison for a theft that Vera had committed. Using her husband's name, she obtains a service post in the household of the Marquess of Flintshire since the Marchioness of Flintshire is the Earl of Grantham's cousin. The Marchioness's lady's maid tells Vera about Lady Mary's liaison with Kemal Pamuk. When Vera learns that her husband has a larger than expected inheritance after his mother's death, she arrives at Downton Abbey. She asks for large amounts of money, refusing a divorce so he cannot marry fellow servant Anna, and blackmails him, threatening to expose Lady Mary's secret. She also wants her husband back since she has tried living on her own and does not like it. Bates returns to London with her to live in his mother's home but soon separates after learning that she has been unfaithful to him. Eventually he returns to his post as Robert's valet, and he and Anna rekindle their romance. O'Brien, always against Bates, writes to Vera to tell her where he is and about his and Anna's blossoming romance. Irate, she goes to Sir Richard Carlisle and sells him the story of Lady Mary, unaware that Sir Richard is engaged to Lady Mary and has no intention of publishing the