With a sigh of relief Sir Anthony Strallan sank down on the sofa. He had taken a table by the back window of the café, behind a big plant. He didn't like to be noticed when he had his meals. Not that he thought anyone he knew would frequent a place like this - a simple café just outside the centre of York - but he was getting more and more self-conscious about eating in public with his one functioning arm, fearing he would spill his tea or drop marmalade on his shirt.
He ordered some tea and scones with clotted cream and marmalade, just a simple meal. But it was nice to eat somewhere else than Locksley for a change.
It was nice to be back in York. When he saw the opera house he was reminded of that concert he had invited Lady Edith to, and instead of feeling sorry that he had lost her he actually felt happy that he had known her. Those were the days. The days before he became a cripple.
Today he had taken his car all the way to York on his own. He had made a device for the car that allowed him to manoeuvre the gears and the wheel at the same time, with his only hand. He had tested it out a couple of times before, driving around at his estate with his driver in the seat beside him. But today was the first time he had actually been driving on his own.
He had felt so free.
He hadn't realised how much he had actually missed being able to drive. He had felt so happy doing it now, so strong and competent, so much more like a real man. So he kept driving and before he knew it he had driven all the way to York.
But now hunger had struck him, so he had entered the café. He would just have some tea and then return.
...
Lady Edith and her daughter Alice were sitting with Tim Drewe in a café in York, having tea and scones. They were sitting just behind a big plant, though Edith was sure nobody she knew would go to a simple café like this anyway. Alice was sitting in her mother's lap, happy about the outing. She liked going by car. She liked to eat out. She liked almost everything, but most of all she liked her Mummy.
Little Alice was a happy child, always laughing and smiling. It made it a little bit easier for Edith.
...
Sir Anthony was shaken from his reverie by a familiar voice. "Alice, darling, do you want some more scone? Let Mama help you", he suddenly heard Lady Edith say.
He had noticed that a young couple with a little baby was sitting at a table a bit from him, shielded by another big plant. It was the mother talking to her baby daughter.
"Dada", he heard the baby say.
"You old fool", Sir Anthony chastised himself. "You keep seeing her everywhere, don't you. Hearing her voice everywhere."
Sir Anthony shook his head. Of course it wasn't Edith. She wasn't a mother, though he had once wished he would be able to make her one. Well, things had changed. Life doesn't always get the way we want it to.
Then Sir Anthony heard the young man talk for the first time.
"Lady Edith! I'm afraid we will have to go back now", he said softly. "Before anyone starts wondering."
...
Lady Edith! Sir Anthony almost dropped the teacup he was holding in his hand.
This was no fidget of his imagination. This was real.
He realised that he was in the same room as Lady Edith Crawley for the first time since he left church on their wedding day.
AN: I really shouldn't start on a new story before I have finished A Sudden Interest in Pigs. And The Tangled Web of Life. But I got this idea that doesn't really fit into either one of them, so here goes. Sorry.
Thank you for reading! And if you really wish to make me happy, please leave a comment!