On her way back to Downton, after her engagement dinner at Brancaster, Edith was more happy and confident than she had ever been in her entire life.
All was well between her and Bertie again. She knew she had his love and admiration and that their breakup had been much harder for him than it had been for herself.
She had even managed to win the good opinion and perhaps even the love of Bertie's forceful mother. There were no secrets in her life any longer. Everybody that was important to her and everybody who was important to Bertie knew about and accepted Marigold now.
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Edith decided to be generous to Mary. Bertie had asked her to forgive her sister, he felt the way he had overreacted when hearing about Marigold was entirely his own fault. He was certain now that Edith would have told him before marrying him. He knew that she had tried to tell him on the evening before that breakfast but he hadn't been able to listen to her.
Mary wasn't all that important to Edith any longer, which made it much easier to be generous to her.
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Edith knew for certain that Bertie would have come back to her, even if Mary hadn't interfered. But that didn't matter. Like any gift, it is the thought that counts.
After all Mary had made an effort for Edith, which was probably the first time since she was six and Mary was eight and Mary had rescued one of Edith's dolls that had fallen into the river.
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Edith remembered Sir Anthony's words, after he had proposed to her that night. That she had given him back his life. She remembered how thrilled she had been when he said that.
Afterwards she had of course found out that he really hadn't wanted his life back after all. Or perhaps he just didn't mean those words, he just wasn't sincere.
But hearing Sir Anthony say those words was still a sweet memory to her.
So she decided that she should say that to Mary. That Mary had given Edith back her life. Even if Bertie wasn't her life, at least not all of it. She loved him, she adored him, he made her very happy but she had learnt from experience not to let a man become her whole life.
So she would tell Mary that she had given Edith back her life.
However insincere it would be.
AN: Thank you for reading. Please leave a comment!
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I pubished the wrong chapter at first. Thank you Tammyteresa for pointing that out!
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Mary didn't give Bertie back to Edith, I'm sure Bertie would have come back with or without Mary's intervention.
This is what I belive Edith was thinking when she used those words. (Or rather - JF likes to re-use lines.)