Author's note: all usual disclaimers apply.

This sprang from Tess 4 5 sending me a portrait of Tommy. For convenience it is set in 2016 which is a slight time dislocation to the series.

March, 2016 London

"Fun? You think dressing up and prancing around Nanrunnel in some sort of period costume will be fun?"

"Barbara please. It's not like that. I would like you to be my countess for a day and as Mother told you, you do bear a striking resemblance to the first Lady Asherton."

"Yeah and you look like the first Earl. I heard her but I think she is exaggerating just to get me to do it. I wouldn't be comfortable struggling to walk in a big dress all day handing out lollies to little kids."

"You love little kids. Besides we also hand out money to the adults."

"You're going to give away money?"she said skeptically.

Tommy laughed and shook his head. "You make me sound terribly stingy. No, not the real stuff. I had some pre-eighteen sixteen coins minted as a commemoration."

"Why not eighteen sixteen if it's celebrating two hundred years of the Earldom?"

"Eighteen sixteen was the year of the 'Great Recoinage' where they stabilised the British currency after the havoc of the Napoleonic wars. It set the value of the pound relative to gold. I don't want to be accused of fraud. Coins before that were more haphazard. I've had five hundred replicas made that look exactly like the silver pound coins common around here at the time. In fact each cost me more than a pound but they'll be fun and unlikely to land me in gaol."

"You're going to a lot of effort."

"Yes because I want the town and the tenants to enjoy the day. That's why it would be wonderful if you'd agree to play my Countess. It would make it very real for them and I'd rather have you on my arm than an actress."

She was starting to run out of excuses and Tommy was now using his puppy dog eyes face to great effect. "What was her name?"

"Elizabeth."

Barbara was suspicious. "That's my middle name."

"I know. Coincidence I assure you. She was a very striking woman."

"And the Earl?"

"Thomas Alexander. I was actually named after him because of this." Tommy flicked the lock of hair off his forehead.

Barbara shook her head at him. He was irresistible when he grinned at her and swept back his hair. "You were born with that?"

"Yes, apparently I had quite a lot of hair when I was born and I used to brush it off my face. Father saw that and instantly thought of Thomas. You'll see why when I show you his portrait."

"All right,' she conceded, "but do promise me you're not going to invite people from the station."

Tommy's broad smile at her agreement faded slightly with her conditions. "Sorry Barbara. I had to invite Hillier and I thought Winston should come along. Of course all the family will be there and Simon and Deborah will come down."

"Great, and I suppose you have photographers to capture this?"

"Of course."

April, 2016 Thursday Howenstowe

Tommy and Barbara had driven down from London on the Thursday evening to prepare. "I assumed you didn't want to carry to Countess thing too far," Tommy joked, "so you don't have to share my room."

Barbara had not even considered that a possibility but now that he had raised it she felt a tinge of regret. "Spoilsport."

Tommy glanced over at her. He could feel his ears flushing. He would very much like to share his bed with her but he had not yet found a way to tell her that his feelings for her were changing daily. After ten years together it seemed strange that he should only realise now that the love he felt for his partner went far beyond friendship. He hoped this weekend might show her that being his countess might be acceptable to her, perhaps even enjoyable.

He took a deep breath. "You are welcome to stay in my room any time Barbara," he said rather more seductively than he intended.

She looked up and caught his eyes. Her face coloured when she saw he meant it. "And where would you sleep then?"

Tommy grinned at her. He sensed she may not be totally opposed to the idea. They were rarely apart these days. They worked together, drank together, even ate dinner together most nights. He felt sure it was leading somewhere and he intended to push a little further this weekend. He hefted their bags from his boot and headed toward the house. "Evening Mother."

"Tommy! Barbara! Or should I call you Elizabeth this weekend? The costumes are here and they look wonderful."

Barbara had visited Howenstowe several times in the last year and was now comfortable with his mother who seemed to accept their friendship without question. "Hello Dorothy. Barbara will be fine thanks. I still can't believe I agreed to this."

Dorothy took her arm. "Peter's due in the morning. He's coming down with simon and Deborah. Judith arrived about an hour ago. This is going to be so exciting."

After dinner the Lynleys insisted on showing Barbara the paintings of the earls and their wives. "Ta da," Judith said as they entered the library, "see how much Elizabeth looks like you. I saw it before but since you've let your hair grow longer it is uncanny."

Barbara stared up at the life-sized image of a slightly older version of herself. It was disconcerting. She turned to study the painting of the First Earl hanging beside it. The couple were facing each other and Barbara would almost swear they were looking lovingly at each other. More disturbing though was that if she had not known better she would have sworn it was a middle aged version of Tommy, right down to that curl of hair that flopped youthfully over his forehead. She was drawn to the picture in a way that was not quite explainable. "Oh my!"

"Father named Tommy after him. You can see why. Add a bit of grey to the temples and it'd be my brother."

Tommy came and stood very close behind Barbara. She could feel his heat radiating against her back. "And Elizabeth could easily be you Barbara. I always thought there was a resemblance but...well you are the Countess." His hand squeezed her shoulder.

"Tell me about them."

"Well Thomas became earl and was gifted Howenstowe as reward for saving the King's daughter during some sort of riding accident. We don't know the details. We don't know much about him before that either. We've never found a birth record for him or for Elizabeth which is not surprising as we don't even know her maiden name. They used to tell everyone they were from London even though he could speak perfect Cornish. Apparently he had a cultured accent and was extremely intelligent, the smartest man in Cornwall they used to say. Her accent was much broader it seems. There was a rumour she was once his housemaid but they appear to have already been married when they arrived here so we'll never know."

"How interesting. I imagined you'd be able to trace your family back to the Normans."

"You can trace mine back that far," Dorothy said without a hint of bragging, "but the Lynleys are a bit of a mystery."

"So we celebrate the foundation of the dynasty instead," Tommy said with a smirk. "Apparently they were colourful characters and very much in love. They had three sons and a daughter even though they were in their forties at the time. We don't know if they had earlier children."

"They sound quite fascinating."

"They were. Thomas was ninety-six when he died. Elizabeth fell ill and he insisted on nursing her. He wouldn't let anyone else close. She died one morning and he went into the library, this room in fact, for several hours. When he came out he said goodbye to the family and went back to his wife. He lay down beside her body, took her in his arms and died about an hour later. He left instructions that they be buried lying together in a large coffin just as they had died. A few years ago we ran a geophysics survey over the grave to see if they honoured his wishes but it was empty. We don't know what happened to them."

"That's incredible! Did he take poison or something?"

"Not that anyone ever found. They say he died because he couldn't bear to live without her. He left a letter to that effect for his eldest son James. I'll show you."

Tommy lifted up a lid in an old display cabinet. "See here it is."

"He had such beautiful old writing," Barbara said.

"He did. We have no examples of Elizabeth's. If she was a housemaid she might have been illiterate."

"No, he'd have married someone he considered his equal. She wasn't his housemaid. I can feel it. It's a lovely story though."

"Yes," said Judith, "and everyone in the district knows how much in love they were so you two have to put on a show on Saturday."

Tommy turned and glared at his sister. He had told her about his feelings for Barbara in confidence. He did not need her playing matchmaker. "We'll manage thank you. Now I think we should call it a night."

Judith and Dorothy said goodnight and left them alone still staring at the pictures. She wandered over and looked at Thomas and then his son James. Tommy hovered behind her. "James was a very different man to his father. He had fiery red hair and a temper to match but he was very kind. He was only a teenager during the first great cholera outbreak of 1832. Thomas seemed to sense it was carried in water and insisted that all the tenants boil their water and fully cook their fish. James organised for toilets to be dug in the village and personally helped to dig them and then helped his mother set up a nursing station for victims so they would not contaminate their houses. Only one man in Nanrunnel died. It was quite extraordinary. Later he set up many of the philanthropic interests we have today."

"It doesn't surprise me. What about the Third Earl, William?"

"He was the reluctant earl. He only became earl after his older brother Daniel was killed in the Crimean War. Apparently old Thomas had doted on Daniel but Elizabeth had brought them up after James' wife Mary had died giving birth to William. Turns out William had her inner strength. He made the estate a lot of money from the American Civil War and the expansion of the Empire. He must have been a randy old bugger too because he had nine children."

"Nine? No TV then."

Tommy laughed then continued his summary of the family. When they came to Tommy's portrait Barbara was transfixed. It had obviously been painted before she had met him. His eyes had a sadness about them but he was strikingly handsome in a boyish way. There was no portrait of Helen. "You know everything about this rogue. Not much of an Earl I'm afraid but I am making more effort."

"It's spooky really how similar to you he looks," Barbara said looking around the room.

Tommy put his arm around her shoulders. "Is it? I am reassured that I carry that part of the family line. Look around, half of them were redheads!"

"Nothing wrong with that," she said with a cheeky grin.

Tommy put his arm around her shoulder. "I think the family history is interesting but Thomas and Elizabeth always fascinated me most; perhaps because I'm named after him or because they found real love."

"Theirs is a very romantic story. Wouldn't it be wonderful to share such a strong love where you die rather than live alone?"

Tommy swallowed hard. Now was his opportunity. "I agree Barbara. It's the sort of love I've always craved. I still believe I will share it with someone special."

"Yeah," she agreed wistfully as she looked up and smiled, "you will. There's someone perfect for you out there just waiting."

"I know."

Tommy's kiss took her by surprise. His lips were soft and trembled nervously until she pressed back cautiously. Very slowly they explored. Barbara feared he might change his mind but when his arms came around her and hugged her close she melted into him. Gentle hints of uncertain love soon gave way to a wave of repressed feelings, too long hidden behind their fears. He crumpled her blouse in his fists as he tried to pull her closer. Their tongues dueled furiously, debating the next move. Barbara remembered watching him kiss Helen for the first time. This was nothing like that and she intended to show him that this was not duty; she wanted him and he would know it.

"Tommy, is...this...a...good...idea?"she said as he rested his forehead on hers. Perhaps she was rushing him.

He smiled at how easily she had called him by his name. "Yes an excellent one I think. Stay with me tonight."