"This way..."
The waiter at the Ritz was showing Edith and Aunt Rosamund to their table.
Edith had had a couple of good days at the office of the Sketch after being driven to London by Henry Talbot, Mary's new husband. It had been a pleasant trip, he had been good company.
"Is it working out? Henry and Mary living at Downton?" Aunt Rosamund asked.
"As far as I can tell", Edith said. "He's far too good for Mary. They're happy. Although it might be better if he could find something to do."
"Well, won't he go on driving?" Aunt Rosamund wondered.
Before Edith had time to answer that, thunder struck.
...
Edith suddenly saw a very familiar man standing beside the table that the waiter was showing them. She didn't really believe her eyes. Why was he here? Or was she just imagining things?
Her heart skipped a beat when she saw him. He was looking just as handsome as usual, and just as sad as he had been the last time she saw him.
"What on earth?" Edith blurted out. "How did you know I would be here?" Perhaps he had just happened to be dining here. But it didn't look like that.
Bertie just looked at her, so Edith turned to her Aunt instead.
"Are you leaving?"
"I certainly am. Goodnight, darling. I'll telephone in the morning." She gave Edith a kiss on her cheek and then she left.
...
So it was a set up then!
Edith's first impulse was to leave with Aunt Rosamund, but the sadness in Bertie's eyes made it impossible. She still loved him, of course, but she had thought she was at least starting to get over him. Obviously she had been wrong.
So she stayed. She let the waiter help her to sit down. Bertie hadn't said a single word yet.
"Is this all a set-up?" Edith asked. "Somebody tipped you off I was in London. Was it Papa?"
"It was Mary."
"Mary?!"
So Mary had decided that she hadn't done Edith enough harm already. She had called in Bertie to... To do what? To give Edith another scolding?
But no, it couldn't be like that. Bertie wouldn't have played along with something like that, Edith was sure of that. She had to give him the benefit of the doubt. And Aunt Rosamund wouldn't have wanted to hurt Edith either.
But Mary!? What had she been up to? This was all so totally incomprehensible.
AN: Thank you for reading. Please leave a comment!
...
This is my favourite DA scene, so I just wanted to expand it a little. I think there will be three or four short chapters in all.
And the big turnaround in the Christmas Special was something as simple as Mary trying to get Edith and Bertie back together.