Author's Note: I meant to have this story finished and posted on Easter Sunday. I'm sorry it's late.
Yes, this story is set during the annual Downton Easter festivities. There is a headcanon to this. The last Easter celebration was in 1912, the week before the Titanic sank. There was no Easter celebration in either 1913 or 1914 due to bad weather in 1913 (it was in late March that year) and the date being too close to the anniversary of the Titanic sinking. Obviously, the event was canceled during the war (Easter 1915-1918). There was no celebration in 1919 because Easter was a week after Lavinia's death. Easter 1920 was the first celebration at Downton Abbey since 1912. However, Robert only became excited about it in 1921 because it was the first Easter with a grandchild.
Also, a huge thanks to The Yankee Countess for reading this over when it was still a work in progress. I was unsure if I should continue writing the story, but she gave me a bit of a confidence boost.
One more note, as this is an au, I altered the timeline a bit. The Bransons's first child was born in April 1920, ten months after they married.
Easter Sunday
20 April 1924
Little Rory Branson was bursting with excitement. After spending a ridiculously long and boring hour in the Downton village church, and listening to Reverend Travis, the annual Downton Easter Egg Hunt was going to begin soon and he didn't want to be late. The little blonde haired, blue eyed imp was bouncing where he stood as his father helped change him out of his grey wool church suit and into a pair of light blue linen short trousers and a white cotton shirt.
"Settle down, Rory," said his father Tom.
"But daaaaaaa," whined Rory, "I don't want to miss the start of the egg hunt."
Tom chuckled. "Do you really think your grandfather would start the hunt without you?"
His son just grunted, but he did calm down enough for his father to finish changing his clothes.
Once he was finished assisting his son, he turned to his wife, who had just finished feeding their ten month old daughter Nora. "How is she, love?"
"She's wonderful. I just need to change her nappy. We can then meet the family outside."
Ten minutes later, the four Bransons were walking through the French doors onto the south lawn where white tents were set up. As soon as he saw his grandfather, Rory let go of his dad's hand and ran to him.
"Grandpa! Grandpa!" yelled the little boy, his arms outstretched as he reached his beloved grandfather.
Grinning from ear to ear, Robert bent down and opened his arms, catching his first grandchild. "Are you excited, my dear boy?"
"Yes! Will you help me find the eggs?"
"It would be my pleasure." Looking up, he saw the rest of the Bransons approach. "There you are. We were wondering where all four of you disappeared to."
Smiling, Sybil replied. "Nora needed to be fed and we decided that the little monkey in your arms should be changed into an outdoor outfit."
"As I see. The hunt will be starting shortly. We're waiting for the rest of the villagers to arrive."
Looking down on his son, Tom said, "I told you we weren't going to miss the start."
Rory just gave his father a look. Returning his attentions to his grandfather, the little boy began to talk about the egg hunt again. His parents smiled at each other and left their firstborn with his grandfather, walking inside the nearest tent.
Seeing Cora, the three Bransons strolled over to her. Cora laughed when she saw them approach. "Doesn't she look darling in her new dress? I know you're not happy about it, but Nora's my granddaughter and I can't help myself."
Sybil laughed. "Tom's mother told me when I said something about it that you're doing your job as a grandmother and spoiling my kids." She turned her head to look at her daughter in the white dress with matching knickers. "Besides, she does look darling in the dress. Though I'm warning you, she crawls everywhere and I've already noticed her eyeing the grass."
"I know which is why, after talking with Mrs. Hughes, a blanket has been placed in each tent for the youngest guests to play on."
"Thank you, mama."
Ten minutes later, the festivities began. Tom, now holding Nora, stood beside Sybil and Mary as they watched Rory drag his grandfather to the west of the grounds while George dragged Matthew to the east lawn in their pursuit of eggs. Once the saw their sons off, they went back into the tent, sitting down next to Edith, holding her nine month old daughter Alice, and her husband Anthony. They ate and talked for the next half hour before Mary rose to assist their mother with the guests. The Strallans and the Bransons continued to talk about various topics, including the recent election in Italy, when the two little girls became bored. The two fathers decided to walk their daughters around the festivities for a while, allowing their mothers to catch up with each other.
As they strolled, the two men talked. "How are things at work?" asked Anthony.
"Busy, but I like it that way. Makes coming home sweeter."
Chuckling, the older man replied, "Edith's the same way. She's starting to write more articles and she couldn't be happier."
"I'm glad. I enjoy reading them, as does Sybil."
Before he could continue, Nora squealed in delight, which was quickly followed by an equally enthusiastic squeal from Alice. Turning to see what the two girls were looking at, their fathers saw the ring toss where the prizes were stuffed rabbits.
Looking back at the girls, Tom chuckled, "I see you two want more stuffed animals." Shaking his head, he looked at Anthony. "Nora's nursery looks like a zoo with the amount of stuffed animals in there. And she plays with all of them too!"
Anthony laughed. "The same with Alice. I believe our mutual in-laws are responsible for that." Taking a look at the game, he sighed. "I wish I could win it for her, but with my arm…"
Tom quickly responded. "Not a problem. I'll win one rabbit for each of them."
"I couldn't ask you to do that."
"You didn't ask. I offered. Besides, you have the really difficult task ahead."
Anthony look absolutely confused. Laughing heartily, Tom chimed, "You're the one that has to hold both of our daughters while I try to win them each a rabbit."
Laughing, the two men strolled over to the game. It took Tom fives tries, but eventually he won a rabbit for each girl. Once they had their prizes, the four of them returned to the tent. Noticing the girls grow restless, Tom and Anthony placed them on the blanket with their new toys to crawl around. Cora, seeing her granddaughters crawling on the blanket, quickly ended her conversation with Dr. Clarkson, and sat down with her granddaughters.
Though their grandmother was now with them, Tom and Anthony kept an eye on the two babies, who were each crawling up a storm now, as they sat down with their wives and sister-in-law. Five minutes later, Rory and Robert returned to the tent with a basket full of eggs. Matthew and George soon followed, and the two cousins, with the help of their respective partners, began to count how many eggs they found. Once finished, with Rory having found fifteen eggs to his cousin's twelve, Matthew and Robert went to Dr. Clarkson, the master of ceremonies, to report the numbers. While waiting to find out if they won any prizes, the two boys asked to eat some candy.
Their mothers were having none of it. Sybil eyed at her son and channeled her firm Nurse Branson persona. "You can have candy only after you eat a real meal."
"But ma-" whined Rory.
"No candy until after you eat lunch," she interrupted.
Mary was unequivocal in her response. "No, George. You must eat some lunch before you can have any sweets. I'll get Nanny Thompson to fetch you something to eat."
Seeing that they were getting nowhere with their mothers, the two boys plopped down on the blanket with Nora and Alice as they waited. Catching sight of her big brother, Nora rapidly crawled over to him and into his lap, giving him a sloppy kiss.
"Oomph, Nora."
Ignoring him, she smiled and raised her new rabbit up to his face and jabbered to him. Rory smiled at his sister and responded to her. Alice soon crawled over to her cousins and climbed on to George's lap. Like Nora, she showed off her new toy. George followed Rory's lead and answered his cousin, at one pointing eliciting a chortle from the little girl.
Cora observed her four grandchildren from the other end of the blanket. With the four of them focused on each other, she signaled for Baxter. Her Lady's Maid stealthily approached her mistress with a Brownie camera discreetly in her hand. She gave it to Cora who eagerly began to take photos of her grandchildren playing.
Playtime was interrupted by Sybil, Edith, and Nanny Thompson coming over with plates of food for the children. Nanny Thompson supervised Rory and George as they ate a variety of finger sandwiches, poached chicken, and vegetables, taking sips of lemonade in between bites. Alice and Nora were treated to bite size pieces of poached chicken and cooked carrots, which they both enthusiastically ate.
Once they were done, the boys were allowed to have some candy, enjoying several chocolate eggs and smearing chocolate all over their faces. On seeing the messes her charge and his cousin were, Nanny Thompson sprung into action.
"You two inside right now. You need to get cleaned up."
In unison, Rory and George groaned. "Do we have to?"
Sybil answered for the nanny. "Yes you do. Both of you. Now follow Nanny Thompson's orders."
Both boys reluctantly listened, haltingly moving towards the house. Seeing this, Sybil added, "The winner of the egg hunt will be announced soon. You two don't want to miss the announcement, do you?"
On hearing that, both boys scurried towards the house, nearly knocking over Mrs. Hughes. They paused only to shout, "Sorry!" before barreling through the servants entrance with Nanny Thompson following closely behind.
Sybil mouthed an apology to the housekeeper, who smiled, letting the young mother know she wasn't upset. Sybil turned her attention back to her daughter. "How are you, my little one?"
Nora smiled and yelled, "Ma-ma! Ma-ma!"
Reaching for her mother's hands, she grabbed them and pulled herself into a standing position. Sybil beamed at her daughter, so proud of her in this moment. She knew soon she would be walking and there would be no stopping Nora.
Mother and daughter played together for the next several minutes, with Sybil holding her daughter's hands as she took some tentative steps. Nora laughed as she moved, delighted with herself. Next to them, Edith and Alice were playing, enjoying their mother-daughter time.
Mother-daughter time was ended by the return of Rory and George from the house, followed by a slightly disgruntled Nanny Thompson. The boys had just plopped back down on the blanket when Isobel came over and told the little group that the winner of the egg hunt would be announced shortly. The boys jumped up and started to run off toward where the crowd was gathering, only to be halted by Nanny Thompson.
Isobel stepped in. "It's fine Nanny Thompson. I was going to ask if they would like to escort me over." Facing the young boys, she asked, "Would you two like to walk over with me?"
The cousins smiled. "Yes, granma," voiced George, as Rory nodded his head aggressively.
Isobel laughed and stretched her hands towards the boys. George took her left hand while his cousin took her right, and the trio walked towards the East lawn. Sybil and Edith followed behind, their daughters on their hips as they strolled toward Dr. Clarkson and the rest of the guests.
They arrived in just in time. As soon as they caught up with Isobel, George, and Rory, who were standing with the rest of the family near the front, Dr. Clarkson began to announce the winners.
"Happy Easter everyone!" proclaimed the doctor. "Before I announce the winners, I wanted, on behalf of the village, to thank the Earl and Countess for hosting the Easter celebration. While this isn't the first time they have generously offered up Downton Abbey for the celebration, there was a period of time where we didn't have a celebration. I am glad that those dark times are behind us and we can now enjoy this renewed festivity. Now, it's time to announce the winners of this year's Easter Egg Hunt."
He paused as he was handed an enveloped by Mr. Taylor, the owner of The Grantham Arms. "In third place is Johnny Case." A brown haired boy about two years older than Rory and wearing brown short pants and a light blue shirt shyly strolled towards Dr. Clarkson and was handed his prize basket of candy.
"In second place is Teddie Smith." A little girl with straight, auburn hair in plaits and wearing a blue cotton dress, bounded towards the front, eyes wide with delight. She graciously accepted her prize basket and went to stand next to Johnny.
"And in first place," boomed Dr. Clarkson, "is Rory Branson."
Rory's eyes widened in delight and he ran to Dr. Clarkson. His mouth formed a perfect 'O' when he saw his prize was a basket filled with chocolate eggs, Fry's chocolate cream, Fry's Turkish Delight, some toys, and two stuffed lambs. The four-year-old's face was like sunshine as he walked over to the other winners. As the crowd dispersed, their picture was taken. Tom and Robert looked on, waiting patiently. Once the photgrapher finished, Tom traipsed to his son.
Dropping down to his son's height, Tom spoke. "Congratulations, boy-o! Do you need help carrying the basket?"
"Yes! Thanks, da!"
Together, with Tom carrying the basket in his right hand while holding his son's hand in his left, the walked over to Robert. Robert picked up his grandson and hugged him.
"Congratulations, my boy."
"Thanks for helping me."
"You did it all yourself. Now let's go show your mother and grandmother what you won."
They quickly crossed the lawn, returning to the tent the family was occupying. Sybil, sitting on the blanket with Nora, grinned when she saw her son. "Congratulations, my love!"
As soon as he could, Rory started to show off his prize basket. Everyone in the family offered up congratulations to the little boy. However, George, not having won any prize, was sullen. When Rory walked over to his cousin and partner in crime, he asked, "What's wrong, George?"
In a little voice, he said, "I got no prize."
Rory smiled and reached into his basket, grabbing two chocolate eggs and the Turkish Delight. He offered them to his cousin. George hugged his cousin in thanks. Before sitting down to eat his loot, Rory gave the stuffed lambs to Nora and Alice. In return, he got tackled by the two girls, who gave him sloppy kisses.
"Ugh!" he shouted.
Once they crawled off him and back towards their parents, Rory and George settled down to eat. Nanny Thompson watched to make sure they didn't eat too much. Eventually, she halted their candy eating spree. However, by that time, the two little boys were bored with sitting and began a game of tag.
With the boys running about, Tom, Anthony, Matthew, and Mary sat down on the blanket. Nora and Alice both crawled towards their fathers. For a while, they sat and talked, watching the boys run about as Horace, Robert's labarador puppy, ran with them. It was as they watched Rory and George that Nora and Alice, seeing their chance, made a run, or rather a crawl, for it, darting onto the lush grass. They made it several feet before they were caught by Tom and Edith. As they were caught, the girls laughed, proud of their escapade.
After an hour of running about, Rory and George returned to the tent. Yawning and rubbing their eyes, they laid down on the blanket and fell asleep. Nora and Alice soon joined them, clutching their stuffed lambs and rabbits.
Robert and Cora looked on their four sleeping grandchildren, smiling. Turning to his wife, Robert uttered, "I didn't miss the Easter festivities during all those years we didn't host. But now, with those four, I can't imagine not doing this. Funny how grandchildren make everything old new again."
Cora looked tenderly at her husband and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. Taking his hand, she led him over to their expanding family, the two of them smiling the whole way.
Postscript: I based Rory's willingness to share on my five-year-old cousin, who has always shared his toys and food with people. It was his birthday on Easter Sunday and I wanted to imbue Rory with a bit of my cousin's spirit.