John Bates arrives at Downton Abbey by milk train, practical and unsentimental, having already decided he would use the day to find another place and begin work that same night. Waiting at the back door, he announces himself plainly: he is the new valet. Anna, the head housemaid, meets him first, joined by Mrs. O’Brien, Lady Grantham’s maid. Their tone is brisk, almost cautious, as if the house itself is measuring him before allowing him inside.