"Isobel, what a surprise. We weren't expecting you," Mary greeted as Mrs Crawley entered in the room.
The Lady and her son, George, were comfortably seated on the sofa of Downton's library. The young boy was dressed in an impeccable sailor outfit, and immediately offered a huge smile to their guest, revealing his small teeth.
"I know," Isobel said to her daughter-in-law while smiling back to her grandson. "I thought I'd just drop by and see if there was someone in the house."
"Well, you are always welcome here, and George will be delighted to spend some time with his Grandmamma," Mary smiled before inviting Isobel to sit next to her. "You arrive at the right time, the children just woke up from their nap. Sybbie is with Tom in the gardens, while we chose to stay in, didn't we, Darling?" she added, giving a loving glance to her two years-old boy.
Mary poured some tea in one of the many cups arranged by the servants on the table, and offered Isobel to do the same, which she did.
"Are you staying for dinner?" the elder Crawley sister asked as she carefully took the first sip of her still very hot drink. "Everyone would be so glad to see you."
"Thank you, but I'm not dressed for it," Isobel politely declined, not wanting to sound rude. Since Matthew's death, the Crawley family showed the former nurse more sympathy than anyone else, and frequently offered her some comfort by inviting her to join them for dinner, or simply encouraging her to visit what would be her only grandson.
"In fact, I was putting some things away this morning, and I found this," Isobel explained, before getting a stuffed bear out of her bag. George, who was still a bit asleep after his nap, looked at it with interest. "It was Matthew's. I thought George might get it now he's a little bit older."
Her voice trembled with emotion as she evoked the name of her deceased son, while a pang of sadness twisted Mary's heart. Two years had passed since the heir of Downton's fatal car crash, and it was still difficult for the two people that were closer to him than anyone else: his mother and his beloved wife.
"How nice of you," Mary immediately said, trying not to focus on the sadness she felt when she heard her husband's name. All the family suffered on the announcement of his tragic death, and only time could allow these two women to heal this huge wound, and to eventually move on. When she thought about it, Mary could only imagine how difficult it was for Isobel to let something that belonged to Matthew go, even if it was to give it to George.
"Oh, Darling," Mary told George as she caressed his head and tried to sound joyful. Even if she had indeed moved on these past few months, the pain was still here, but she forced herself to get over it, not only for George, but for her own future too. "How lucky you are."
Isobel smiled to her daughter-in-law, and held the bear to the boy. He immediately grasped it, and held it against him. There was no doubt, he liked it.
"Well, this bear seems rather successful," Mary stated as George looked as the happiest boy on Earth.
"I am glad it is, then," Isobel said. Both women stared at the child, not wanting to interrupt this precious moment. Without even knowing it, they shared the same thought at this moment: how Matthew would be proud of his little Prince.
"His father was exactly the same at this age," Isobel noted as she observed the little boy. Of course, everyone who knew Matthew couldn't help but notice the striking resemblance between the two: same blonde hair, same blue eyes, and same softness on their faces. What had been a real pain for Mary and Isobel right after the lawyer's death, was now what it had to be: a daily remembrance of the man they both loved so much, in a different but very strong way.
"I know," Mary simply said, still lost in the contemplation of her son playing with his new stuffed friend. Then, she looked at Mrs Crawley, a soft smile on her lips. "And I suppose we should be happy and grateful for that, shouldn't we?"
Isobel nodded quietly, and her eyes met Mary's, both perfectly knowing they could never be as 'happy and grateful' than they would have been if George's father was still here, and that the only thing to do was to accept it. What a simple word to describe such a difficult action, which required a lot more strength than the one they had now. But there was no rush, they could see that later, and to be honest, neither of them wished to let Matthew go for the moment.
THE END.
Hello!
First of all, thank you for reading this one-shot, I hope you enjoyed it. I immediately thought about this story when I saw little George with his bear in one of Downton Abbey's series 5 promo clip. The TV Show's casting directors did a wonderful job by choosing the twin actors that play Mary and Matthew's boy this year, they really look a lot like their fictional father.
I still haven't seen this new series, only a few pictures and some screencaps on Tumblr, but it looks really interesting, and I can't wait to be able to watch it (it will just take ages for it to be broadcast in France... I won't be able to resist, and simply order the DVDs as soon as they're available on the Internet ^^).
By the way, I apologize for any huge grammar mistake: as I told you, I'm French, and even if I checked this one-shot a lot of times before publishing it, there may still be some errors around the corner...
With this, I wish you a very happy Downton Day :)