I'm doing something I told myself I'd never do again and that's posting multiple multi chapter stories at once. I have LIAJ running here with a conclusion yet to be determined and another one going in another fandom that also is a bit open ended. But this one has been playing in my head for weeks and weeks and I can't ignore it any longer. It means I'll probably keep posting with the same frequency overall but the time between posts in each story might be a little longer. I sure hope it proves to be worth the chaos in my mind, lol. More imortant, I hope you find it agreeable.
Had Lady Edith Crawley stepped into the car a few seconds earlier or turned this way instead of that, her eyes wouldn't have caught a mere glimpse of him across the road. But she wasn't earlier and she didn't turn and consequently, her eyes were drawn to the very familiar head as he stood looking down at a woman. The woman said something that made him laugh; well, not laugh exactly for Sir Anthony Strallan rarely really laughed. But he had a way of throwing back his head slightly with his mouth open and his eyes sparkling before his mouth closed into a very crooked but delightful smile..
She hadn't seen him in over three years; three years, seven months, and twenty three days to be exact. A lot had changed in that time; she had changed. But one thing hadn't changed, she realized. She was still in love with him.
His hair was not quite as blonde but the waves and soft curls at his collar were still there. So was the sling, the constant reminder of the horrible injury that had been done to him in war and had left him with even less confidence in himself than he'd had when she had first known him.
Edith took a moment to study the woman that was with him. She was tall for a woman, making it unnecessary for Anthony to bend down to hear what she was saying. From the distance, Edith couldn't make out her features exactly but she seemed to be attractive. Her hair was dark with touches of grey showing and Edith surmised the woman was closer to Anthony in age, perhaps in her early forties. While she was well dressed, it wasn't opulent. And as the woman reached up and patted Anthony on the cheek, Edith felt a tightening in her abdomen. She was jealous.
He looks happy, she thought petulantly. I could have made him happy. Why wouldn't he let me? It was a question she had been asking herself for the last three years, seven months, and twenty three days… well, perhaps not every day in that time. The driver cleared his throat, bringing Edith out of her trance. Quickly she climbed in the car, still watching Anthony across the road even though she felt it was torture.
Across the road, Anthony Strallan was oblivious to the proximity of Lady Edith. He wouldn't have been so very relaxed if he had known. Instead, he was engaged in an amusing conversation with the friend of his cousin. Ella Brumstead was visiting from Dorset and staying in the home of his cousin, Felicity Haversham. Felicity was just a few months younger than Anthony and the two had been very close as children. Later, she married Earnest Borden, a solicitor in Portsmouth and the two rarely saw one another as adults. However, Earnest was in London for an extended period, involved in a criminal case of some import and Anthony had been staying at Strallan House for several months. Consequently, he and Felicity had renewed their relationship and he'd attended several dinner parties at the Borden's. He'd met Ella Brumstead at one of those dinners.
He was at ease around Ella. While she was comfortably situated, her late husband having left her a small fortune, she wasn't part of the aristocracy. The story of his treatment of Lady Edith Crawley had made all around that circle, making social engagements prickly for him. Ella didn't travel in the same circles and consequently didn't seem to know about his disgrace. She was also pleasant to be around, witty and intelligent. They'd shared tea a few times and he'd asked her to join him for the theatre the previous week. Felicity had teased him about his courtship, which had sent him into a panic. He wasn't courting anybody, he'd insisted. He was too old for such nonsense. Besides, he thought, he could never be truly happy with anyone but Edith. Still, Ella was a pleasant distraction and lifted his spirits.
"So will you be at Felicity's tonight?" he asked Ella.
"Yes, she's planned quite an event if I understand her correctly… something to do with Earnest winning his case."
"Yes, it made all the papers," Anthony shared. "I knew he had a successful practice but I never realized how important he has become."
Ella smiled. "Yes, well…so, I'll see you tonight then?"
"I look forward to it," he said, tipping his hat before seeing her into her car. Sighing as he watched her car pull away, Anthony wished he could feel more for Ella than he did. But his heart belonged to Edith and that was the simple truth. Every other woman failed miserably in any sort of comparison. Suddenly his good mood was gone and he was left with the usual melancholy that came with any thoughts of Edith. He could only guess as to what their marriage would have been like; he knew precisely how lonely his life was without her in it.
That night, he forced himself to attend Felicity's dinner; after all, he had promised to be there. He knew Ella was expecting things from him that he couldn't give, that she had feelings for him that he couldn't return. He was being unfair to her he concluded and was determined to make it clear to her at the party that there could be no future for her with him.