So here's my contribution to EAST Alliance Day! It's a modern AU that was inspired by a picture I saw on tumblr of both Laura Carmichael and Jessica Brown-Findlay laughing together, and the idea just struck me: "what if Sybil tried to play matchmaker between her favorite uni professor and her sister?" Thanks to the loving and friendly E/A community, it didn't take me long to realize that E/A was my #2 OTP after S/T :o) I blame queenlovett for that entirely ;o) So while this fic has a healthy dose of my #1 OTP, it is also an opportunity for me to really explore the E/A ship, and I hope you will enjoy this! Dedicated to E/A and S/T shippers EVERYWHERE!

Oh, and as you can see, this is multi-chapter (because I can't help myself!) so more will be coming! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy what's posted right now, and as always, please share with me your thoughts! THANKS FOR READING!

My Sister, the Matchmaker
by The Yankee Countess

An EAST Alliance Fic

Chapter One

Edith Crawley wearily sighed as she exited the restaurant, glancing over her shoulder at the door, momentarily hesitating to see what would happen next. Would he come rushing out after her, offering up an apology? An explanation? An excuse, even? But no, nothing like that happened. Typical.

Well, with dinner officially ruined (as well as her appetite), there was no other option really, other than to hail a cab and go back home. There were no cabs on the street, however, and overhead the sky was beginning to rumble with the threat of another storm. With a resolute sigh, she began walking down the street, hoping to find a cab around the next corner. In the meantime, she dug her mobile out of her purse and proceeded to make yet another pathetic phone call on a long list of pathetic phone calls.

"Sybil? Sybil, are you there?" the phone had gone straight to voicemail.

Edith frowned and glanced at her watch; it wasn't even nine o'clock yet! Sybil didn't like to stay up till the wee hours, but even this was a tad early for her baby sister.

"Look, I don't know when you'll get this, but I'm coming home," she explained. "Dinner was a…well, to put it plainly, it was a disaster. And I'll explain more later, just…I don't know, just…I'm coming home, that's all. See you soon."

Pathetic, she thought as she returned the phone to her purse; absolutely pathetic. She had little doubt that if she opened a dictionary to look up the meaning of the word, she would find a picture of herself. And why not? Because it was absolutely true! Here she was, twenty-eight years old, and her life was at a complete standstill. Her elder and younger sisters had their lives completely under control; they understood their purposes, they were in careers they loved, they were in healthy relationships! And what did she have? Nothing. She didn't even have a place of her own. Indeed…absolutely pathetic.

The sky rumbled again and she swore she felt a few drops fall. It was then that Edith realized she had left her jacket back at the restaurant. It was a warm late summer day, and she had only brought the jacket in case the rain returned from this afternoon. And now the few drops were beginning to become a few more…and a few more.

"Oh bollocks," she groaned, debating if she should turn around and go back for her jacket, or simply continue in the other direction, hoping to find a cab and avoid the mad soap opera she had managed to escape from. In the end it didn't matter what she was thinking about doing, because her thoughts were interrupted by the mugger who zipped past her at lightning speed, grabbing her purse and shoving her so hard that with a startled yelp, she stumbled backwards, landing hard on her rump, while the thief took off down the street, her purse in his hands.

"STOP!" she shouted, struggling to get up, but tumbling back down because her left shoe heel was broken. "STOP!" she shouted again, pulling her shoes off and finally managing to get to her feet.

But by that point, the mugger was out of sight.

And she was standing, all alone, with no purse, no money, no mobile, and still no jacket…which would have come in very handy just then, as now of all times, the clouds opened up and decided to pour its contents down upon the earth, but especially it seemed, upon her.

When it rains, it pours. Never had she thought that phrase could be taken so literally.

What a night. Her date had turned into an absolute nightmare, her dinner had been ruined, she had lost her jacket, her purse and everything in it had been stolen, her shoes were ruined, and to top it all off, she was getting drenched and had absolutely no way of paying for a cab to take her home.

Without a doubt, this was the worst night of her life.

Or perhaps, one of the worst. She groaned at the thought; one of the worst out of many.

The rain was cold but her tears were the opposite. She hadn't meant to cry, in truth she hated crying, it was very "defeatist", as her grandmother would say. But after everything she had just endured this evening, on top of everything she had been enduring over the past year, the stresses and frustrations just became too great and she found herself sinking down onto the curb, her palms covering her eyes as she wept hot, angry tears at the so-called life she was living.

A car could drive by right now and splash her for all she cared, it wouldn't make a difference. She hated feeling sorry for herself, but at the same time, she couldn't stop thinking about how horrible her life had become.

Twenty-eight years old. No job, no home, no sense of direction. She was relying on the charity of her little sister, and while Sybil would never do or say anything to make her feel guilty or ashamed of that fact, Edith knew she didn't have to, because she could make herself feel all those things for how pathetic everything in her life was. And then to top it all off, she kept having her heart broken over and over by lying bastards! She wasn't a perfect person, she knew that, she had made many mistakes in her life…but…but did she really have to be so unlucky?

The sudden splash of cold, dirty water striking her caused her to gasp with shock.

Typical; just typical.

"STOP THE CAR!" shouted a voice. Edith didn't pay any attention to it, she was attempting to shake water from her body, not that it made much difference since she was already soaked to the bone from the rain above. She didn't realize that the car (a cab, ironically), had come to a halt just a few feet away from her, and the passenger had scrambled outside, telling the driver to wait, while he rushed over to where she was sitting.

"Miss? Miss, are you alright?"

Edith groaned and pushed the damp fringe away from her brow. It was difficult to see the man standing in front of her, due to her blurred vision caused by both her tears, and the hard rain that poured around them. But she could make out that he was a somewhat older man, late forties, early fifties, blonde hair with wisps of gray, and he wore a long, beige trench coat and held a lopsided black umbrella.

"I'm so, so sorry!" he apologized. "We didn't see you, and…here, let me help you," he insisted, stepping forward and offering her a helping hand.

Yet despite the offer, Edith didn't take it, but rather scrambled to her feet on her own, trembling and hugging her arms around herself. "Thank you," she muttered, even though she hadn't accepted his help. She reached down and picked up her broken shoes, cursing as she noticed a distinct run in her stockings. Had that happened during the mugging? Or afterwards, when the cab splashed her?

"Miss…" the gentlemen stepped forward, bringing his umbrella with him and positioning it over her head to keep the rain from soaking her, not that it really mattered at this point. Still, she sighed and lifted her face and forced what she hoped looked like a smile of gratitude, when in truth she just wanted to be left alone to wallow and drown in her personal puddle of misery. "Miss…" he murmured again. "I…forgive me, I…I know I'm a complete stranger to you, but…but may I offer you a lift?" he gestured towards the cab just behind him.

Edith wiped her cheeks and eyes and looked up at the gentleman, her vision a bit clearer than before. He had a kind face, and the street lamp overhead allowed her to see the color of his eyes, which were a striking shade of blue. She was right about his age, but just because he was older didn't detract that fact that he was handsome. And he looked so…concerned, just now. Concerned and rather desperate to make sure she was all right.

"I um…" she glanced over at the cab behind him. Didn't Mama always warn us about accepting offers from strange men? Not that this man looked like a creeper, but then again she would never have thought her date this evening was capable of—

"Look," he interrupted her thoughts. "I understand your caution, and that is wise. Therefore I will give you my cab, and wait for another."

Edith's eyes widened at the gesture. "Oh! Oh, oh no, no, I couldn't—"

"It's quite alright, I assure you," he interrupted with a smile. A kind smile. A kind smile to go with his kind face.

Despite the cold damp that was seeping through her skin, a strange warmth settled over her heart by the simple look. His eyes continued to hold concern for her, but she also saw a need in them, or rather, a yearning to help her in some way, shape, or form.

"But…but…" she shook her head. "No, I…I couldn't, because I have no money—"

"Oh, do not worry my dear, I will pay for it!" he assured, still smiling…and then blushing somewhat for the little endearment he had just called her. It was just the sort of endearment an older person would bestow upon someone younger, yet it did cause Edith to blush as well, and that warmth to begin spreading. I'm just not used to encountering kindness from strangers, especially strange men, she simply told herself.

She shook her head. "No, sir, that is very kind, but I couldn't possibly—"

"Miss…I'm sorry, I know I keep interrupting," he apologized, looking down at his feet somewhat sheepishly. "But…forgive me for presuming anything, but…seeing you sitting there on that curb, with no coat, no umbrella, and…and now learning that you have no money, I can only assume that…whatever happened to you this evening has not been good."

She couldn't help but laugh at that; a classic British understatement, but very, very true.

He seemed to smile then, a look of relief washing over his features at the sound of her laugh. "Please," he implored. "Let me do this for you? To try and…correct at least one wrong this evening? After all, it was my cab that splashed you, so really, I owe this to you."

He didn't owe her anything, it wasn't as if he was the one driving the cab, and it was her own fault for sitting on that curb in the first place. But the look in his eyes, the genuine wish to help her, to try and make things better for her, even in something as simple as paying for her lift…

Chivalrous. That was the only word she could think to describe this stranger. And they say chivalry is dead…

No, it was very much alive, she just hadn't been lucky at finding it, until now.

"Alright," she sighed, blushing and looking down at her feet, her arms still hugging her body. She lifted them then, her eyes meeting his, and for the first time all evening, she felt she had something to smile about. "Thank you."

He smiled back, his grin widening to show his teeth, and held the umbrella a little higher as she made her way from the curb to the cab. She climbed in and watched as he paid the driver a very handsome fee, far more than was necessary for where she was going, but he held up a hand to reassure her it was alright before she could utter a protest.

"Well," he turned and smiled at her after finalizing everything with the driver. "I hope that your evening from this point forward is much better than it has been."

It already is, she wanted to say. But instead, she blushed and smiled and thanked him again, and watched as he stepped away from the cab, holding his hand up as if waving goodbye…and kept her eyes focused on him just a little longer as the cab pulled away.

She only realized once she could no longer see her chivalrous stranger, that she had never asked or learned his name.

Coming next...

Some insight to Sybil and Edith's situation, Sybil contemplates her own love life, and a "surprise" that Edith discovers when she makes it home...