after "falling into the road". Mrs Hughes discovers a round-trip ticket stub from York to London in an article of Bates's clothing that Anna donates to charity. She gives it to Lady Mary, who destroys it after Bates uses his skills as forger and pickpocket in suppressing a royal scandal. 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. Bates finally confronts Anna and reveals the truth; he realised Green was the attacker as soon as he returned to Downton, and he did intend to murder the valet the day he was killed. However, having bought the train ticket to London in York, he decided not to go through with the plan at the last minute, as he considered his actions would do far more harm than good, since he would certainly have been hanged for the crime if convicted; his love for his wife proved greater than his desire to defend her honour. Bates reveals that he kept the untorn ticket in his coat as a talisman for a time. Anna's attempts to locate the ticket prove fruitless, due to Lady Mary's prior actions. Bates is angered when Miss Baxter informs the police that he could have made it to London the day Green was killed, despite her making clear she could not swear on the evidence. Miss Baxter refuses to inform Bates that, as a convicted criminal herself, she had to speak honestly to avoid another prison sentence. However, the investigation into Green's death begins to wind down, as the police have failed to find anything more than circumstantial evidence to link Bates to the crime. At the end of the series, Bates is livid as Inspector Vyner calls Anna into Scotland Yard as part of an identity parade. Although convinced that there is no evidence for anything to happen, Anna is later arrested for Green's murder. A distraught Bates along with Lady Mary is adamant that Anna will not be