becomes muddied. On returning home, relieved to find that Isis is safe, he learns from Grantham that some children had found and returned the dog, seemingly ruining Thomas' plan. However, his physical dishevelment deceives Grantham into thinking that Thomas has more concern for the family than Grantham believed, and Grantham later tells Carson that he is willing to give Thomas a try as valet. In the third series, Thomas and O'Brien's alliance begins to fall apart with the appointment of her nephew Alfred as footman. When O'Brien seeks to assist Alfred by enlisting Thomas' support, he refuses to help tutor him, irritated that someone else should progress rapidly when he spent years trying to reach his position. Thomas is then attracted to the handsome new footman, Jimmy, and walks into his room and kisses the sleeping Jimmy. He is caught by Alfred, who walks in on this scene and eventually tells Mr Carson at O'Brien's insistence. O'Brien then preys on Jimmy's discomfort and embarrassment to have him blackmail Mr Carson into sacking Thomas without a reference, otherwise Jimmy will go to the police. Mr Bates, to Thomas's surprise, intervenes, by informing Lord Grantham of the details and then offering to force O'Brien to call Jimmy off. Thomas provides Bates with words that lead her to believe Bates knows of her hand in Lady Grantham's miscarriage, and she quickly backs down. Although Bates had hoped Thomas would leave with a good reference, Lord Grantham decides to let him stay on so Thomas can lend his skills to the upcoming cricket match between the village and the house. After Thomas excels in the match, Lord Grantham decides to keep him on in the new position of under-butler, much to Bates' consternation since Barrow now nominally outranks him. In the second Christmas special, Thomas, now known mostly as Mr Barrow, participates in the Tug-of-War match for the Downton side. When they win, Barrow follows Jimmy who, having won a large bet, has too much to drink. Barrow finds Jimmy just as he is cornered by two members of the opposing team, and puts himself in the way so Jimmy can avoid being beaten and mugged. Barrow is badly beaten instead. While he is recuperating, Jimmy comes to speak with him. Barrow accepts that Jimmy can never give him what he wants, so they instead agree to be friends. In series four, Barrow is