When he was young and naive, he'd said he would give anything to see a bit of the world and to be involved in some real action as a soldier. He'd given the full use of his leg and learned the true cost of war. It wasn't action and adventure. It was pain and death.
When he came back, disabled and disillusioned, he'd thought he would be willing to do anything for everything not to hurt. He'd gotten lost in the bottom of a bottle and when he found his way out, it still hurt. It hurt more, actually.
When he had been infatuated with Vera, with her confident, sensuous ways, he'd told her he'd do anything for her. She had taken him at his word and he had gone to prison for her crimes.
When he had gotten the job at Downton, he had decided he'd do anything for Lord Grantham and his family now that the man had given him another chance at a respectable life. In the end, he could and did, though it cost his job and his lordship's respect for a time.
When he realized he loved Anna and further that she seemed to love him, he had thought he'd do anything for her not to discover the man he really was. She'd learned and loved him anyway, but he'd hurt her by rejecting her.
He'd told Vera he'd pay her anything if she'd just let him live the life he'd created without her. She'd known she still had leverage with him and she didn't hesitate to use it to ruin him.
In prison, there were men who heard "anything" and knew a man's weakness. He'd known he really would have to do anything to keep the inmates and guards from taking advantage of him. He'd done what he needed to do, though it left him feeling unworthy of Anna and her tireless efforts to free him. She'd been willing to do anything to find justice for him.
And now he was free, in spite of his anythings and because of hers. As he walked out of the prison, the fortress that smelled of damp and desperation, and into her waiting arms, he knew. He wouldn't just do anything for this woman. He'd do everything.
