At the spice booth, Alfred thanks Mrs. Hughes for not spilling to Carson about the little sit-down he and Jimmy James had in the drawing room and she good-humoredly tells him not to do it again. She then spies Isobel and Dr. Clarkson, but she doesn't get to remark much on that before Alfred tells her he knows he belongs cooking. I suppose that will be a gender-based issue in Season Four -- a man doing a job at Downton traditionally reserved for women. As if Carson hasn't had enough of an education this season. Mrs. Hughes says that whatever he does, his time at Downton won't have been wasted and then she gets That Look again as she sees Tufton carrying one with two more women of questionable reputation. Alfred asks what's wrong and she says it's nothing, but I bet she suddenly wishes she could trade places with Carson.

Elsewhere, Isobel is telling Dr. Clarkson that the fair is great fun and after she suggests they sit for a bit, he offers to get her some punch first, as he'd like to ask her something. Meanwhile, Tufton is similarly bringing Mrs. Patmore a drink and it seems like, despite conducting himself with less restraint than a horny teenager, he is kind of interested in this whole marriage thing -- but it seems equally clear that he's only after her for her cooking abilities. Mrs. Patmore doesn't seem overly thrilled even at the former prospect and then notes that Jimmy James has moved from stumbling to staggering. He wanders off...

...and down a path that leads him to an underpass, where two of the toughs from the tug-of-war grab him, presumably with the intent of relieving him of whatever winnings are still in his possession. Thomas appears, though, and tells them to let him go before charging them; in the ensuing struggle, Jimmy James gets free and Thomas yells at him to run before one of the guys starts beating the crap out of him while the other holds him. Jimmy James, in little enough shape to help, takes Thomas' advice...

...while Dr. Clarkson downs a bit of liquid courage before rejoining Isobel. She asks him what he wanted to talk to her about, wondering if he's thinking of asking her back to the hospital, but that's not it -- has she ever thought of marrying again? Whether she had prepared for this contingency or not, she deftly manages to reject him as gently as possible, saying that if he's thinking of getting married, "you're a better man than I am, Gunga Din." Heh. She goes on that "with good friends like you" (ouch, but it had to be said), she likes her life as it is and she wouldn't want to risk that. Dr. Clarkson does not seem let down as easy as she probably hoped, but thankfully, Jimmy James managed not to pass out on the way back up, and he rushes over and tells Dr. Clarkson he's got to come immediately. The two non-lovebirds get up...