Disclaimer: Downton Abbey is not mine and this fiction is just written for a bit of fun.
Authors Note: Hi all – it has been a while since I have written a purely Downton WIP and I am really looking forward to diving head first back into this fandom! (More than any other, this fic feels like one I wrote called Warring Hearts and I really enjoyed writing that so I am rather excited to be writing this one!) I have had a great time having a rewatch earlier this year and now it is time for me to get posting with A Twist of Fate. The main premise of this fiction questions what would have happened if Mary Crawley had gone ahead and married her cousin Patrick and Cousin Matthew had come to Downton Abbey by a very different road… I am not give too much else away but I will say no matter what else happens, Matthew will not be dying in a car accident and Sybil will not die in childbirth – anything else is on the cards! I think I am even going to write a plot I would have argued against years ago – we shall see!
A Twist of Fate
Chapter 1: Queen for the Day
Almost as if it had been ordained to do so, the sun shone brightly on the day of the March wedding. There were one or two clouds in the sky but no more….
The bride was radiant and had known this day was coming for a long time. It was not the marriage to a prince charming she had hoped for when she had been read Cinderella as a child but it was a good match. Everyone said so. And through it, she was safe in her castle for ever.
As for the groom he was in love. Or he wanted to be in love which is very nearly the same thing.
The father of the bride felt as if he was satisfied by this marriage. After all the trouble and the worry over who was going to succeed him this was the end of the story. The cousin who he had watched grow and loved since he was a small boy become his son through marriage to his daughter and when he was gone, together they would gloriously reign over the kingdom which just for now was his and he did not feel as if you could say fairer than that.
As for the father of the groom he too felt as if this was a satisfying end to a journey. He had tried to accept a long time ago that it had been his cousin who was born to be an earl and not himself and he was the first to admit he had not always been good at it. But now he did have the comfort that if it was not going to be his life then at least it was going to be the life of his son and that did make it easier.
Though she did not know if she was being silly or not, the mother of the bride felt uneasy and she did not know why. She had been among the number who had campaigned for this match and yet as she at last saw all of their hard work come to fruition, she did not feel the joy which her husband did but could do nothing but wonder too late if this was the right thing for her child after all.
The mother of the groom was dead.
The grandmother of the bride and great aunt of the groom felt as if this was the best thing for both of the young ones as it gave her nephew who had liked enormously and the grand daughter who she loved much security. When she did go to the ground, she knew she could do so with what she had given her life to made safe and she could be forgiven for wanting that she thought.
As for the sisters of the bride the two of them had very different views.
One of them was just so glad to see her sister get to the end of the rainbow. To see her marry the man everyone had always known she would.
But the other could not feel as she did.
She felt so bitter that she was now never going to be with the man who she had genuinely loved ever since she was a young.
And it was a love now which was forever going to be unspoken – which was in many regards the most painful kind.
The wedding went off without a hitch. There were tears shed when the young couple pledged their love for the rest of their lives. The villagers cheered louder than they had done for an age when the groom lead his bride back out to the carriage.
It was all done as it should be – and no one could say fairer than that.
X x x
It was still not very often that the people who lived in Downton village came up to the big house, but of course they were invited to eat on the lawn for the wedding of Mister Patrick and Lady Mary. They were not all going to be invited inside but this was one occasion where Robert wanted to be Lord Bountiful and truly enjoy the day.
The current Countess of Grantham could not help but think her revered mother in law did not look as if she was very happy with this arrangement but as sad as it was, she was not going to have a lot of time to enjoy it that day – she had other worries on her mind.
Slipping away from the celebrations for a moment, Cora found herself outside of her eldest daughter's bedroom. She knew Anna was going to be in their getting Lady Mary ready for going away and even though she knew she was being more than a little bit ridiculous she found now she did not want her first born to go away from her. She wanted her there at home where she knew she was going to be well cared for and safe. It had not been that long since she had had Lady Mary and she had been a babe in arms. Or it seemed as if it had not been long right then.
But this was the way of the world she told herself and it had to be done. Daughters grew up and when they did they got married.
Mary was never going to be a spinster and marrying Patrick meant she was going to be able to stay at her beloved Downton for a long time to come.
Even though she was the lady of the house, she knocked on the door and only went inside when she was called in. Mary was after all, queen for the day.
"Ready for the off?"
"Just about," her daughter replied.
"What do you think Anna?"
"Yes, I would say we are nearly there, my lady."
"Then will you give me a moment to say good bye to Lady Mary."
The maid bobbed and left the room.
Personally her mistress would rather she had stayed but there was not a lot Mary could do to counter command her mother.
It has been a very fine day and they were now all saying today that honour had been satisfied thought Cora as she looked at her daughter. She had had no son but her child was going to inherit the Levinson money. And the Abbey to boot.
Yes, it was all well done.
"I just wanted to say how very proud your father and I were of you today." Cora said gently. Cora had not told Mary that much of late as the two of them had argued about guests and money and flowers for the wedding but she felt it was important that she said it just then.
"I am glad." Her daughter said with sincerity.
"Mary, I am not going to ask you if you love him very much for the two of us both know this is not a love match – but I do need to know one thing. Are you happy?"
"I do not see what that matters one way or the other now. The thing is done," she said as she looked in the mirror and wished very much her mother had not chosen to have one of what the family referred to as her American moments just then.
"I am your mother. Of course it matters."
That was not the attitude she had had all along in this thought Mary but it was her wedding day and she saw no need to end it on a row.
"I am happy I am going to be Countess of Grantham. I am happy to know this will be my house one day and my children will grow up here." That was all she could give to her mother right then.
The truth was she did love Patrick in a way – the way many cousins loved each other – she cared for him. But he would never have been who she had chosen for her husband. If she had been given the choice. Which she never had been.
She felt her mother's eyes on her and looked into them for a moment. That was not the answer which Cora had wanted but there was nothing which she could do about that.
"Do try and enjoy Italy my dear." She attempted another route.
"That I can absolutely promise to do." Mary replied brightly.
She was going to enjoy the sun. And she was going to enjoy the culture. She did not know if she was going to enjoy the company of her husband for an entire month but they would see about that.
Her mother nodded. "You really are a beautiful bride. My darling daughter."
"Thank you mama," Mary smiled as she learnt over and gave her a kiss. She was not going to leave her on an argument – that she refused to do.
"I know the last few months have not always been easy – and we have not always seen eye to eye. But I love you, very, very much…"
"I love you too."
X x x
It was always going to be the case, but Anna could not help but laugh a little about how long it had taken to pack for herself to go to Italy, in direct opposition to how long it had taken her to get Lady Mary's wardrobe ready for the trip.
She was sure she could have got herself ready several times over in the time she had spent getting Lady Mary ready.
But now, at last they both were and it was not going to be long until she was boarding the ship to take her to a foreign land for the first time.
She couldn't wait.
Looking across the room she shared with her best friend, she smiled at Gwen.
"Right, I think we are ready for the off so keep your eyes and ears open – when I am home I am going to need a lot of precise reporting."
"Anna, you are off to Italy for the month. I should think I am the one who is going to want precise reporting."
Anna did not know how to respond to that it was true. Not one in a hundred girls of that class got to do what she was.
She blushed as she thought of how lucky she was for a moment before turning back to Gwen.
"Is there anything else you need to know about take care of Lady Edith and Lady Sybil before I go?"
Gwen shook her head.
She didn't think so.
Already she was looking forward to Anna's return. She did not want to be in service and training as a ladies maid seem to go against everything that she wanted to do.
Still she would have her postal course in the evenings to keep her company and her dreams alive.
And it was not as if the woman she loved as a sister was going to be gone for too long – it was a month, and then she and the young Viscount Downton and his bride would return.
And not too long after that she thought with a smile, she would be off.
"I'll be fine – they will be fine. Enjoy yourself Anna and don't get to grand for me!"
The two Yorkshire lasses dissolved into laughter, safe in the knowledge that would never happen.
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