Honour bound
Rated: K+
Pairings: Bates/Anna, Cora/Robert, Edith/Sir Antony, Carson/Hughes, William/Daisy and a few surprises down the road.
Disclaimer: It could not be less mine. Julian Fellowes wrote Downton Abbey, which is produced by Carnival Films for ITV Network. This disclaimer applies for the whole story.
Spoilers: I recommend you to have seen the first season. This story is a follow up to my other fic ´A token of honour.´ You might want to read that as well .
Summary: Basically my view on how I would like season 2 to enfold. With the arrival of wounded soldiers to Downton, the war becomes even more of a reality. And yet, life continues as well. People fall in love, get married, keep their secrets or finally find the courage to share them, cry and laugh together. It´s a sequel to ´A token of honour´ but can be read separately. ´A token of honour´ focused mainly on the relationship between Mr Bates and Anna, this story is more labelled general with romance, hurt, comfort, humour, drama and action thrown in.
A/N: So this is the continuation of ´A token of honour´. Many thanks go to my wonderful beta-reader Stuckinpast. Without her impecable knowledge of Edwardian England the story would have been a laughing stock.
Chapter 1
January 1916
The war had come to Downton at last. By the end of 1915, the first boatloads of many, many wounded soldiers had returned to Britain. Soon the regular hospitals had filled and became over filled with casualties. Downton hospital was one of the first to reach it´s maximal capacity. Many men from the area had volunteered to go in the first months of the war since the enlistment campaign in Downton had been particularly relentless. The return of the wounded soldiers, with their stories and eyes filled with horror brought the reality of the war even closer.
As it became clear that Downton hospital could not possible place another bed, Lord and Lady Grantham immediately offered Downton to be used as a convalescent home. And so the drawing room was emptied, stripped and refurnished as a hospital ward.
For Lord Grantham turning his home into a hospital was a deed of great significance. His work at the war office in London had ceased to fulfil him a long time ago. The strain of feeling useless and redundant, knowing full well that he was considered too old to go into active fighting again, ate at him. Opening his house to provide care to those who had served their country so courageously gave him a strong sense of involvement. It also allowed him to return to his beloved house and gather his loved ones around him once again. Edith, although now married, lived close by. Sybil, who had spent most of the year in London to be trained as a nurse, was to return as well. She could be a nurse in her own home and Robert was deeply glad of it. Sybil had always been somewhat of a favourite to him, although he would deny it to dead. Having her close, being able to watch over her caring, but passionate ways gave him some much needed rest.
And then there was Mary. Mary, who looked everyday more like her strong-willed, proud, intelligent mother. Mary, who caused him so much worry… Mary, who he had failed so badly. Mary, who he wanted to give the world, but could only urge into a suitable marriage. If only she would a accept a kind, suitable man. Once he had entertained high hopes that she would fall for Matthew Crawley.
It would have been perfect. His heir and his beautiful eldest daughter as the next Lord and Lady Grantham. He would have more than fulfilled his duty to the estate, to his ancestors. But Matthew seemed to be out of the picture completely. Certainly after the arrival of that dashing American friend of Cora's.
He was glad to be home again. At least here at Downton he could provide some shelter, some protection from the madness of the world.
Isobel Crawley came to Downton as well. Officially she still resided at Crawley house, but once Downton had become an emergency hospital ward she had made it clear she would rather help here then at the hospital and Dr Clarkson had grudgingly agreed. He certainly wasn´t keen on seeing her go. Isobel Crawley may be stubborn, opinionated and sometimes downright interfering, she was also kind, caring and an exemplary good nurse. One could hardly help but like Isobel Crawley, her warmth and cheerful personality could win over the most rigid heart. In the first, dark months of 1916 the first beds filled with young soldiers, some of them who had barely outgrown boyhood.
They lay there, broken, wounded, only a little life left in them. Far too little to face today, let alone tomorrow. Isobel Crawley moved between the beds, with grace and determination, dressing wounds, administering morphine, changing bandages and holding the men, around the age of her son, who cried for the loss of their friends, their life, their health and their future. Within weeks there was not a single person who wasn´t amazed by her vigour and steadfastness. The staff treated her with the utmost respect and admiration and Sybil, who had only become a qualified nurse very recently, followed her like a shadow, trying to absorb as much of the elder woman´s experience and knowledge as she could.
Since Downton was now a hospital it had been appointed its own physician, a Dr Timothy Wellington from Manchester. He was well in his fifties, quiet and reserved and extremely formal. But despite this, within a few days after his arrival he had become well liked, particularly of Mr Carson and Mrs Hughes. He was polite, obliging and seemed to manage himself without any difficulty in the difficult position of being half a guest and half an employee. He treated the staff with respect, was quiet but friendly with young maids and amiable with the more senior members of staff. He acted cordial towards the family, always displaying a great sense of decorum.
Until it came to Mrs Crawley. Initially, Isobel had been thrilled when she learned Dr Wellington had been appointed to Downton. She remembered him from her time in Manchester were he had been a close colleague of her late husband. Upon seeing him again at Downton, she´d greeted him with an outstretched hand and a warm smile.
´Dr Wellington, it is wonderful to see you again, even despite the circumstances,´ she had told him earnestly.
He seemed to freeze instantly, his face hardening and his movements becoming stiff. ´Mrs Crawley…´ he barely grazed the outstretched hand. ´How do you do?´ The tone of his voice displayed so much coldness that even Isobel seemed taken aback.
After that first, awkward greeting was over, an unsteady working relationship formed between the two of them. Dr Wellington appeared to be the only one who was wholly indifferent to her manners and personality, and remained aloof and cold. The staff and family wondered about it for a bit and then shrugged it off as a case of instant dislike on his side and tried to navigate between the two of them as much as possible.
Strange how life continues, despite the terror of the war, Anna mused while folding Lady Mary and Lady Sybil´s clothes. Even in a time of war and terror people fell in love, got married and managed to find their own bliss. Lady Edith was married now, since her misunderstanding with Sir Anthony Strallan had finally been resolved. Anna still grinned and blushed as she remembered how she – unwillingly – had become part in a scheme of getting them finding their way back to each other.
In July 1915 Lord Grantham had returned from his stay in London for a short period of leave. Although being back at Downton never meant he could turn away from the war. Almost every evening he entertained guests to discuss the current state of events and the consequences for those left behind. Although in this case the term ´entertained´ was to be applied loosely. The atmosphere was tight and grim, and grew to be more so as the war seemed to progress and showed no signs of ending any time soon.
Therefore Anna had been greatly surprised when one morning Lady Sybil had cornered her outside the library, seemingly barely able to contain her excitement.
´Whatever is the matter, milady?´ she asked, astonished.
Lady Sybil gestured for her to lower her voice and replied in a half-whisper: ´Sir Anthony Strallan has arrived… he´s in the library as we speak.´
Anna remembered with a pang of pity Lady Edith´s heartbroken face as the man had suddenly walked out of her life a year ago. ´Does Lady Edith know he would come today?´ she asked quietly.
´She does, she was informed this morning,´ Lady Sybil replied, her eyes twinkling mischievously. ´Once she heard she didn´t know how quickly she should leave the house. She´d do anything to avoid him.´
´Why is he even here?´ Anna couldn´t help but asking. ´Does his Lordship know?´
´Oh yes…´ Sybil waved her hand impatiently. ´Papa invited him to talk some matters over… something about investing in machinery, now so many farmhands are gone… but more importantly, I had a talk with Mary a little while ago and I now know why Sir Anthony never proposed… and I think I know how I can fix it. I just need your help.´
A definite feeling of apprehension dawned on Anna. She´d never been much of a matchmaker. She believed firmly in just honestly telling your feelings and deal with the consequences, instead of the scheming and manipulating that Lady Sybil apparently was up to.
Something of her reluctantly must have been shown on her face, because Lady Sybil´s voice became pleading. ´Please Anna… you don´t have to do anything, really. Just follow my lead.´
Without waiting for an answer, Lady Sybil pulled her inside the library and they hid behind a large bookcase. It was an open bookcase and over the top of the books Anna could see Sir Anthony sitting all by himself in a large armchair. He was obviously waiting for the arrival of Lord Grantham.
Meanwhile Lady Sybil was positively gloating with ill-concealed excitement. ´Anna, have you ever…´ she began , her voice just that bit louder than strictly necessary for Anna to hear, making sure it was actually Sir Anthony who heard her, ´… been in the position where you pulled a prank on someone only to have it going disastrously wrong?´
´You´d better ask Miss O´Brien instead of me,´ was the first thought that came to Anna´s mind, but she bit it back and answered in an uncertain voice: ´Not that I recall, milady.´
Sybil gave her a big grin before continuing: ´Well, Mary told me she has pulled a prank on Edith once that had gone very wrong… ´
From their hidden spot, Anna could see Sir Anthony shifting uncomfortably in his chair. She could well understand how he was feeling. She was close to fidgeting herself. Lady Sybil gave her a nudge and her eyes implored her to speak.
´Wha… what happened?´ Anna closed her eyes, wishing desperately to be anywhere else but here.
´Well…´ Sybil´s voice was practically booming. ´Mary told one of Edith´s suitors that Edith thought him to be boring and annoying. It was just a joke you see, but unfortunately… ´Lady Sybil had to make a great effort to make her voice sound regretful. ´Unfortunately this man took her words seriously and he left.´
´How dreadful for Lady Edith,´ Anna exclaimed in earnest, momentarily forgetting the situation. As much as she cared for Lady Mary there was not a single doubt in her mind that Lady Mary had not been joking at all. Acting as a ladies maid to the girls for years, Anna was fully aware of the deep rivalry that consisted between the two eldest sisters. From the corner of her eye she could see Sir Anthony sitting his chair, looking absolutely flabbergasted.
´It was,´ Lady Sybil answered smiling broadly. `Lady Edith was terribly upset about it. She still is in fact…´ barely able to contain her laughter she pushed Anna out of the library again and once safely in the corridor collapsed into a fit of giggles.
´Thank you, Anna,´ she managed finally. ´You were wonderful.´
´Glad to be of service, milady.´ Anna had replied wryly and had disappeared as quickly as she could, feeling mortified beyond words. The only good thing about it was that John at least had gotten a good laugh out of it later that evening.
In the end, extraordinary as it was, Sybil´s meddling had a most satisfactorily result: Sir Anthony had renewed his addresses to Edith, who returned them at the first sign of appearance, and they were married only four months later.
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