Disclaimer: Downton Abbey is not mine, nor are the characters.

Author note: This was my second project for Nano last year – finally getting round to posting it! I hope you like it! This is an AU story with the main change being Cora didn't lose the baby.

Revised: Saturday 30th July 2011

Warring Hearts

Chapter One: Musings of a Father

Downtown Abbey was a place of complete respectability. It was an ancient home going back generations within the Crawley family. Normally, it was also a place of complete calm thanks to the good sense of Mrs. Hughes and Mr. Carson. Their precise planning was always spot on the eyes of their master and mistress.

But on that day, there was far too much going on for it to be calm. The war had only just been announced and soon there was to be the pitter patter of tiny feet in the Abbey. There was to be a new heir with any luck and so with the combination of the two, the Earl of Grantham had to admit he had not even expected peace.

The announcement of the war, as you would have expected it too, had rather put a downer of the garden party but asides that, it had all gone off rather well, he thought. But there were so many questions he had to ask himself now for the future of the Abbey, as well as for the future of his family.

His daughters.

He did love them and he did not think he could possible it be prouder of them.

But they did cause a lot of trouble for themselves and he had had high hopes for them all lately, only for it all to go wrong at the last moment.…

He had so thought that Mary was going to do the right thing and say yes to Mathew. He was a good man and he did not think she was going to get a better offer. He had been so right for her as well, her father had seen it. In spite of the fact he had not been willing to fight the entail, that did not go to say he did not want her to have Downton when it was time for him to hand it over. But he could rewrite history or the law. He knew he was not going to last forever and he did not think he could have been happier than knowing when he was gone, that the two of them were going to take over the house from him. Mary and Mathew would have been a fierce team...

But all that might be changed now. If he and Cora had got lucky this time then she might very well be carrying his real heir as sat there. A baby boy after all this time...

He remembered how when they had had Mary; the two of them had not been so worried. Yes, if they had a boy then it was going to be wonderful, duty and job done. But he had a suspicion Cora had known from the off that Mary was indeed Mary for she had often called her bump 'she' or 'her'.

And he had been delighted when they had had a girl – his only requirement for his first child was they had been healthy and Mary had been a robust child. They were so young and to him she had been so perfect. Everything a baby girl should be, though she had had a demanding streak from the beginning and she had never let him forget it. She had gone into his office when she had been a child at all times of the day and she had never let her governess tell her what to do; for she had been imperious and self assured from the start. His mother had often said she had got that from her and she was right. Mary might not like it but the truth was she was very much like her grandmother indeed.

And then they had had Edith. The pair of them had been delighted by their first daughter but the second had arrived with a tinge of disappointed. He knew his mother had not made things easier for his wife by going on about the need for a boy.

He did wonder if it had had an impact on his middle daughter. Edith was so different to her sisters. She could see devil may care attitude which both the elder and the younger seemed to personify. He knew neither Mary now Sybil cared much for tradition.

But Edith did. She seemed to live in both their shadows just waiting for the day when she made good.

He had so hoped for her sake that her luck had changed when she had met Sir Anthony. She had seemed so contented when the two of them had begun courting. He had not cared for the man much till then but he had made her so happy. He had seen a different side of the man as well. He had gone up in his estimation.

Robert did want the best for her and he did worry that he and Cora were unfair on her. She had always been such a good girl – the problem was that meant they did not have worry about her and she was slightly needy because of that lack of attention...

Finally, they had had Sybil and if the disappointment she had brought caused Edith trouble, then it had caused none at all for Sybil. Even more than Mary, she did not care for tradition. She was her own person as she had proved that year when she had got involved with politics regardless of what he had thought.

She had been a delightful baby and a bright toddler. With her high spirited antics, she had soon made him forget he had ever wanted her to be of the opposite sex.

Of course, her romantic prospects were brilliant. She had delighted him when she had turned into one of the most popular debutantes of the London season. When she had had her coming out ball, he had barely been able to move for all the people there and yet she had handled it all with such grace. She had danced the whole night under Cora and Mary's watchful eyes.

He had hoped she was going to chose a worthy suited but there had been no one there he had seen who was worthy of his youngest. Whoever took her on they were going to have to be a brave man indeed and he was going to have to be a liberal, as well. As much as he wanted to see her married and settled, he did not want her spirit crushed. He could not bear that. His high spirited Sybil was indeed the apple of his eye.

Sybil had been out but one season – if he was honest, he hoped she was going to be at home for a while yet. And he might get that wish what with the war on. He did not think there was going to be much of a season next year. But then they were saying it was going to be over by Christmas were they not?

He hoped that was so true... he had served in the Boer war and he knew what it was like to serve. He had been proud of what he had done when he had served his king and his country. But he did not want other young men to go through what he had. It had been horrific... but, then it was character building war, wasn't it?

And he would not have missed his chance to serve. He would have gone ten times over. But that was because he had been able to go home at the end of it to his wife and his three lovely daughters. He remembered the day he had got home with such great joy.

He did not want young men like Matthew hurt... with any luck all the boys was going to come home safe... No, war was a game for young men and he was not going to go and leave Downton once more – not unless he had too.

"God speed," he said to himself as much as it was to all those soldiers who were going to war.

A knock on the door was well timed. He had nearly finished his port and he knew who it was going to be. In all the mayhem that was going on, Carson worked on Carson time and he had no doubt even in war, he and Mrs. Hughes were going to keep Downton on track as they did in peace time.

He had no doubt in their ability.

"Enter."

"My lord, everyone has gone up," he said to him as he discharged himself from duty for the night.

"Thank you Carson. And well done for the garden party today, please do let Mrs. Hughes and the rest of the staff know just how proud you all did Lady Grantham and myself today. A shadow came over though, didn't it?" he sighed.

"Yes, sir it did. But it was not thoroughly unexpected." The newspapers had been predicting war for weeks – the strife in Europe had been a topic of conversation downstairs over meals.

If the war had done one thing right for Downton then it was getting Thomas away from it, Carson thought grimly. But he knew if William had to go away then the below stairs staff would be quite downcast by the development. He was a good lad who would be missed.

"No – I don't suppose it was. How are things downstairs?"

He had no doubt they were not going to be in uproar for he and Hughes would never allow it but he had seen it in their faces, just how worried they were. And who wasn't?

"Maybe a little tense, my lord," Carson said with his brow furrowed, "but no cause for concern. Is there anything else I can do before I go down, my lord?"

"No, Carson that will be all for tonight," he said with a nod and he got up. He wanted to go up and be with his wife.

His wife. He thought so much on the girls that night that he had not thought enough on his dear heart, who much like their Sybil, to him was a constant surprise. He was so glad they were having a new baby now he had got the chance to get used to the idea. If it was a boy then a lot of troubles were going to be solved for them.

And yet if it was a girl, which seemed to him likely (as they seemed rather good at making baby girls), then he was too old to be disappointed by it now. No, he would take that beautiful girl in his arms and tell her she was just loved as the others.

Once Bates had helped him change into his night clothes, he walked through the side room where the bed he was meant to sleep in was, into his wife's room who was already tucked up waiting for him but unlike usual she did not look as if she was waiting up for him. On the contra, she had already lain down and shut her eyes.

He was reminded of the fact that she was a lot older than when she had been having Sybil and it was wearing her out... but he did not think he ever had loved her as much as he did then.

To think he had married her for money... he loved her so much he would have married her without a penny if he had known what he did right then, the life which they had enjoyed together.

Crawling under the covers to be by her side, he took her in his arms as she turned into them and kissed her forehead. No matter what, the two of them were going to face the war and the new baby together.

They would settle the three daughters they already had and make sure they were happy no matter what.

The Crawley family would stay together as they always had - he would make sure of it.

XXX

Even though night had fallen a long time ago, Edith did not think she could face going to bed. She did not think she was ever going to sleep well again. He had left her. He had said he was going to propose and he had left her. She had been so pleased when he had seen her over and in spite of Mary's shadow. He had been so kind and sweet and gentle...

And now he was gone.

He had given her no reason but he had not had too. Mary had said something to him, she must have, Edith saw it in her so called 'sisters' eyes. She was trying to get back at her for what she had done with the letter.

Oh, but Mary had deserved what she had got but she had done nothing wrong. She had committed no sin. He had meant to be the one who saved her from the Downton. She had enjoyed her childhood for some of it, when Mary had been away, but she did not love Downton as any of the others did. It was a prison for her that she feared she was never going to leave it.

And it was not as if it had done anything for her, she knew even Sybil adored for the old house more than she did, for all her sister's love of modernity.

But she swore this… before she left it; she was going to make Mary pay for what she had done when she had robbed her of her happiness with Sir Anthony.

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