And then they lived happily ever after!" Tom said, closing the book.
"-One more, Da, a story!" Sybbie said impatiently.
"-Absolutely not, you two need to sit and eat." Mary said pointedly, "-And it's useless to contradict me- if the nanny were here, she would certainly be on my side!"
"-By God, Mary! If I had the time, I would agree with you!" Tom said as he stood to put away the toys, "-But you don't like the stories I tell them, and it's no use denying it. I've realized that you're sulking soon as I finish some of them…"
"-It's not that I dislike the stories, but hearing 'happily ever after' at the end of each one annoys me. I know that is not true," she paused and looked at Tom, "-But you can rest assured, I'll not spoil the expectations of the children. I hope that they'll have a different ending than we did." She reassured him.
"-I'm glad you think so." Tom continued cleaning.
"-Do you really have to spread the toys everywhere?" Mary scolded Tom.
"-You know that I always do this! When I Sybbie and live somewhere else it will not have even half of these things. It's not my fault if you think you need to buy every toy in sight!" Mary could hear the disapproval in his voice.
"-Why do you always say that, Tom? Are you still intending to leave us, just pack up one day and be gone? Don't you want to be here with us, with George?"
"-No, I have no intention of leaving Downton anytime soon, Mary. I would not do that to Sybbie, George… the family…" He paused. "It will happen one day, but my desire for that day to come has passed. I only will if I must." Tom softened.
"-Fine. You will not leave us now, but you still might? Why? Why do you think that one day you will need to leave?" Said Mary indignantly.
"-I do not want to talk about it." he replied emphatically.
"-But I want to talk about it! You must answer me. I deserve to know." Mary crossed her arms angrily.
"-I would only leave if you get married, or if I get married. Then it would be necessary." Tom replied, hoping that would be enough explanation for her.
"-As if I marrying would prevent you from living here! I do not understand why things would change, Tom, what nonsense!"
"-Mary… Your son calls me Father!"—he paused—"I take care of your property… we do business together, lunch, dine, and drink tea together, we meet twice a day in the nursery! What man in the world would accept it, or even tolerate it? It would be strange for anyone!" He said regretfully, remembering the possibility of having to give up his time spent with Mary.
Mary did not know what to say. She had not stopped to think about how important Tom was in her life and everything that she would lose if she ever remarried. She tried to justify her actions: "-George… he calls you father, but we've agreed that we will explain it to him as soon as he can understand! I am Sybbie's aunt and godmother, and I want her near me…" She paused again and searched her mind for further explanations. "-And as for the property… well… I will definitely marry a wealthy man with his own business to take care of, and I… we… we… are very good friends! Almost like siblings! You are now family and I have no problem with having you here!" She finished the speech pleased with herself, and yet her heart felt heavy.
"-Well, Mary, I will not argue about your thoughts, and I will not discuss mine… But if I get married before you, I will leave this house. I want my wife to have a house to care for, and certainly no woman would want to live on the property of another- it would not work, she wouldn't like it. Still, I will not go away. I would only leave this house and perhaps my position as property manager."
That Mary left unanswered. She was a little disturbed to realize that if one day one of the two remarried, they would lose everything they had built- their friendship and support of one another. Such talk made ?it feel like remarriage was not worth risking, even for money.
"-I do not want to talk about it! I do not want to disrupt your life, nor do I want George's opinion of you to be interfered with. When the time comes, we will know what to do. Can we change the subject?" She said, turning her face and avoiding his eyes.
"-I do not want you to think that you or George hinder my life! Mary, do not say that! Since Sybil passed, you have been my support, my friend, and I'm glad I can be yours too! If I started talking about George and how I do not want to lose him… I believe that I would begin to cry. I'm just saying- if that ever happens, I will know the best thing to do, but until then, I will be here for you!" Tom rested his hand on hers briefly enough to realize that the conversation had aroused feelings in both too. Their cold hands were sweating and shaking. Something within him began to stir and his throat swelled up. Coughing, Tom decided to break the silence: "-And yes, let us change the subject! Let's talk about the pigs?"
"-Pigs? Oh, of course, the pigs!" Tom laughed at her stammering, and Mary returned a smile.
"-I want you to make a call! I hope you won't refuse!" Tom said excitedly.
"-Now I'm curious. Pigs, a call… whatever could it be? Never have I received such an elegant proposal for an event!" They both laughed again.
"-Well, there will be a Tamworths contest breeders in London and I would like us to go. What do you think? I spent the whole year selecting the best for the contest!"
"-And you think we have a chance of winning, Tom? Do you think our pigs are that good?" Mary wondered, so happy. "-That would open many doors for us! It could help us a lot!"
"-Of that I have no doubt! My efforts will not be in vain, I guarantee at least half the premiums!"
"-Then we will not partake of my usual commitments in London. I usually participate in something, but this is more important! I can hardly wait!" She envisioned the success they would have. "-What would I do without you, Tom?" she said, patting his cheek. "-I will not let just any little minx steal you! They'll all have to go through my screen, alright?" She said, smiling.
"-All right, and I get to tell your men that to replace my post as George's father and property manager, they will have to be more competent than I, or I will kick them out!"
"-Deal!" Mary offered her hand to seal the agreement, and Tom took it, laughing.
"-But the children! Will we take them?" she asked, her mind still on the news.
"-We'll be there for two days. We would have to stay in a hotel near the exhibition grounds, so we couldn't stay with your aunt. We'd better leave the children here. You'd better leave Anna too."
"-Alright, for two days I can get by alone. I'd prefer to choose a good hotel, now that I have to forgo Anna!"
Days passed and Tom had almost everything organized for their trip to London.
"-Tom, I already booked the hotel and my suitcase is packed. You probably haven't thought about what clothes to bring. You must take at least one black tie!"
"-Mary, we'll only stay there for two days, we're going to an contest of pigs, you do not need a suitcase of clothes for God's sake!" Tom exclaimed, scratching his forehead. "And I thought we had this discussion already! Over the ties and everything!" He said.
"-But Tom, I'm talking about a black tie, just in case we win or even for a dinner, you never know! I'm not talking about tails or white tie, just a decent outfit! All the same, I'll ask Mrs. Hughes to pack your bag. Don't bore me with arguments, please!"
"-Like I need someone to pack my bags for me!"
"-I want to surprise you! Stop annoying me, you'll only ruin everything!" She said, glaring at him.
"-A surprise? All right… even though I'm a bit afraid to find out what it is, do as you please! I don't want to go all that way with an angry companion!"
Mary called Mrs. Hughes and handed her a package, asking her to hide the black tie. Mary was so excited she did not realize how strange it all was, but Mrs. Hughes kept quiet about all Mary's strange requests.
In the following days during dinner, Mary could only speak of the pigs. Rose was excited and tried to convince Mary to take her along with them, but Mary adamantly replied "-No, dear." every time. Robert fought with Tom over the trip; he claimed that it was inappropriate for him to take Mary alone. Isobel defended Tom to Robert and eventually convinced him to be quiet; Carson paid close attention to everything Mary said; Cora thought only of her morning coffee, bacon, eggs, and orange juice; Thomas thought the whole story about pigs was ridiculous and told anyone who would listen that Tom would disgrace the family; and Tom asked Mary to not talk too much about the pigs before the children, not wanting George, who was learning to speak, to start calling everyone "pigs".
Finally, the day of the Contest pig breeders arrived and Tom breathed in relief.