This first chapter contains a lot of information and does only serve as a backdrop for my story. Jack will be introduced in chapter two, and the whole thing takes off after that. I will inform you that I am not very familiar with British Aristocracy and I have limited knowledge of British WW2 history. I've used the internet for some information, but a lot of it is just my imagination at work. I write American English and the dialogue will be affected by that. If anyone from the UK feels the need to help out, please PM me.
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It was late 1945. The war had ended, but the country was still affected by the aftermath. After more than five years of battle, people were doing their best to build a new life. For some, it was easier. The wealthy were still wealthy, and even if the war put a strain on the economy as a whole, it didn't really matter for those who were born with a silver spoon in their mouth.
Or maybe it was even harder for them. When you're on the top of the food chain, the fall from glory can seem much higher than it is.
Life for the aristocrats weren't exactly like it had been at the turn of the century, but for the ones that had invested wisely, it wasn't too much of a difference. When a lot of their peers desperately tried to cling to the old ways as their income decreased, this particular family was still doing quite well. That one of these 'investments' had been an imported heir, helped the situation immensely.
Edward, the heir to the Manor had met his American wife just before World War One, and the 'dowry' she came with was a welcomed boost. The manor got much needed upgrades, and the family could keep up appearances almost like in the old days. It was still not exactly the same, but Ed had adjusted fine. Unlike some of these 'money-for-title' marriages, Edward and Dorothy were truly in love, and all they really wanted was to have a big family and to live happily ever after.
With his modern view on things, Edward accepted his wife's somewhat strange take on their privileged life, making the family outcasts for a while. The war changed all that. When Edward came back in 1918 as a war hero, everything was forgotten, and he was back in the good graces of the nobility. That most of his peers struggled a little financially made them even more eager to have Edward and his family amongst them.
One couldn't really call it struggling. Some of them had to cut staff from almost a hundred down to thirty. Their lavish parties had to seize somewhat, and some of the more remote family members had to actually work for a living.
Ed's sister and Ianto's mother, Lady Mary, was raised in the old fashion manner. Her 'job' was to marry well, spend the rest of her life as a wife and mother, and then just wait for grandchildren.
Finding a suitable husband wasn't easy during the first years after Dorothy came to the house, and it could seem like she would have to settle for a man of the people.
She met John Jones at one of those balls they arranged for the young girls of semi-blue blood where they could meet young men of the same breeding. He was a banker and a self-made man. He had never set foot in a manor house, and for Mary's father, he was hardly good enough for her. The only reason for him even being there was the fact that he managed the family's investments. He was never considered an eligible bachelor.
Mary herself agreed. She was used to a different life than he could have provided her with. It had nothing to do with money - he was loaded - but he was in fact one of the common people and also a bit too old for her.
During the war, Mr Jones came to the house on multiple occasions to discuss finances with the old Baron. Ed and Mary's father was of poor health and had to meet with the man in his private quarters. At this time, he rarely left the manor house since even walking the stairs could be tough enough.
John soon learned how to behave among nobility, and during the war he became more or less accepted as part of the family. At this time, the Baron was on his deathbed and he died before John got to ask him the crucial question. As soon as the funeral was over and before Edward returned to service, John asked for his sister's hand in marriage.
In his early thirties, ten years older than his wife, John was eager to procreate as soon as possible, and only ten months after the wedding, Rhiannon came along. A year after that, she got a little brother, Ianto.
They lived in London for a while, but Mary never really fancied city life, so eventually she moved back to the manor. John still worked in the city, but spent all his free time in the countryside with his wife and children.
It wasn't a problem for Edward, the new Lord of the manor. The place was easily big enough to house the extended family, so Ed and his wife welcomed them with open arms. The fact that they had problems conceiving themselves also caused them to pamper their niece and nephew.
The Lord and the Lady of the manor didn't have an heir yet, and that made Ianto next in line for the title, so everybody felt it would be better if he was brought up there anyway. He had no clue about this himself, so when he at the age of ten finally got a cousin, Philip, he didn't know that he was bumped down. He himself had already planned to follow in his father's footsteps and could hardly wait to get out of that secluded living arrangement.
According to family tradition, he was supposed to have been sent to boarding school when he turned seven, but his mother had not wanted to let him go. He was way over ten when he finally left, and even if it was a rough transition and it took some time for him to make friends, he really enjoyed it there.
There weren't many children at the manor, and he was frequently bored in the company of adults. He sometimes played with the young son of the housekeeper, Harry, but the boy was five years younger and they could only play outside, as indoors there were strict rules on where the boy could go. The only reason he was even permitted on the premises at all was because the butler was his father, and the old Baron had allowed his parents to marry under his reign. Playing with his sister was never really an option. Rhiannon was aloof and distant, and she actually preferred the company of the adults.
At the school, Ianto made a few friends, and even if he missed his family, it was a new and exciting experience regardless. It was still not the freedom he really craved, so he looked forward to going to college. That was like getting out of prison, and he enjoyed every moment of it. He passed his exams with flying colors, and at the age of 22, he became the youngest associate in his father's firm.
Money was never an issue, so when he wanted to find a place in London, his parents bought him a nice flat within walking distance from his place of work. They also provided him with a manservant and a part-time maid.
Rhiannon married early, and they hardly ever saw her after she moved far up north with her husband.
A new war was coming. Ianto didn't look at himself as a fighting man, but felt compelled to sign up for service. He didn't even get that far before Military Intelligence contacted him. He'd showed extraordinary skills in tracking funds going in and out of the country, and they wanted to utilize that.
While many of his friends fought and got killed or injured on the battlefields, Ianto spent the whole war cooped up in his office trying to make sure that no British funds were used to finance the German war machinery.
Uncle Ed, who had served in the last war, left to join his comrades in their fight against the German threat. He didn't return. He got shot down on a recognizance flight just before Christmas 1943.
By that time, many of the staff had left as well. The young boys were drafted, and the girls were given the opportunity to become nurses or office personnel. Some of them even worked on assembly lines to build weapons, while others were hired for more clandestine missions.
The lack of help and the fact that the army needed all the space they could get, forced the family to abandon the whole west wing of the manor. It was soon turned into an infirmary, where some of their previous employees worked as nurses or nurse's assistants.
They still had plenty of space, and Ianto quite enjoyed coming there during this time. Inside, people were seriously injured or even on their deathbed, but the place was still crawling with life. It was very different from when he grew up.
On one of these trips to visit his family, he met Lisa. She was different from the other nurses. It wasn't only her dark skin that distinguished her from the rest of them; she was also extremely professional and didn't flirt shamelessly with the soldiers. Not all the girls did that, but Ianto knew that they were trying to secure their future, knowing that when the war ended they would probably be back in domestic service, waiting on the rich and powerful.
Ianto never looked down on them for it. Most of these girls had nothing before the war. This was their chance to prove themselves, to prove that they were worth just as much as any soldier. They all knew it would be over one day; at least they all hoped it would.
Lisa was from a well-to-do family, and didn't really need to work for a living. Her dad was a surgeon and came to the manor when he was needed. Coming from old money in his home country, he'd been shipped to England to get his Doctor's degree, but he never returned.
Lisa was a trained nurse already before the war, and she spent a lot of time tutoring the new girls. She was skilled in teaching and she was also fluent in four different languages. Ianto was overwhelmed by her beauty, and started to spend time in the infirmary to help out with different tasks.
He didn't really have much experience in courtship, and felt totally helpless when he tried to get Lisa's attention. Not that he was a virgin; he had been out and about in the city, but he'd never met a girl that he would even consider taking home to his family.
It took six months before he finally dared to ask her on a date, and another year went by before he told uncle Ed about his love for the girl and that he wanted to marry her. It was a highly inappropriate connection, but Edward and his wife condoned it. Ianto's mother was more reluctant to let her son marry a girl without a pedigree, so Edward's support was crucial. When they received the sad news about his mission, Ianto thought that his future happiness was doomed as well.
Surprisingly enough, his mother changed her view on it and with Lisa's father's approval, he finally proposed to the girl.
When the war ended, Lisa went to work at a hospital in the city. The infirmary was still in service, but there were only a few soldiers left, and the nursing staff got cut down to the bare minimum.
A few of the men in there were just waiting for the angel of death, while most of the others were American soldiers who needed to be well enough to get shipped back to their home country.
Arranging a wedding could be exactly what they needed to get their spirit up, but Mary kept postponing it. Ianto was confident that it was because she had second thoughts about Lisa, and wanted to make sure that the family wouldn't lose face.
Lisa and Ianto didn't mind waiting. They had already dived into things that should have been reserved for married life. They could have gone ahead and tied the knot on their own, but decided to wait for their families' support.
Eventually, Mary came around, and it was decided that the wedding would be in June next year.