Once, some years ago, she had told Mrs. Crawley that Mr. Carson had astonished her. She had never figured on his meeting Charlie Grigg at the station that day, never expected him to swallow his pride and see off his old pal; never expected him to extend his hand and wish well the man who'd caused him such misery and stolen his girl all those years ago. Yet he had done just that and she was well and truly taken aback. However, it was not the first time that he had left her speechless, taken her breath away. No, the day she had heard the strains of an old folk tune sung in his voice, tears pricked her eyes and she couldn't have found words to express the joy she felt when she heard the words he sang of her stealing his heart away. He didn't know she'd heard him singing and she'd never tell him. It was her secret to keep tucked away in the folds of her heart to remember on cold nights when they had argued over some stupid thing that did not really matter or when he'd said something insensitive or haughty.
It was not often that she was left speechless, unable to come up with a pithy remark or two, an explanation when pressed. But he had quite frankly astonished her with his proposal of marriage. Though she had hoped that someday he would finally get around to it, she had not expected him to leave the Christmas party while Lady Mary sang, guide her to his pantry, and close the door. When he told her that he signed her name to the deed, she thought he had done it out of some pang of loyalty, guilt over having pushed her to consider buying a house with him when she could not afford it. But she soon realized that it was not that at all.
Though there had been no grand declarations and he had never expressly said the word 'love,' she knew it all the same. The way he hadn't tugged at his waistcoat, as he was wont to do when unsure, told her that this had not been unplanned but that he had given careful consideration perhaps not to what he would say but to what he wanted her to understand. That he didn't call her by her Christian name, perhaps too intimate, perhaps feeling the hadn't the right quite yet and his not using her title, because this was not about their positions in the house but about their futures together, told her more than any words he said ever could. Simply, he told her that he wanted only her. When she finally found her words she stumbled, uttered something ridiculous about getting a proposal at her age. They still danced around one another until it was his turn to put a stop to it, to ask her what exactly she meant. Bringing her hand to her breast and shaking her head at her own silliness, she put him out of his misery.
The tears in his eyes when she accepted him, spoke of his love for her louder and more sweetly than had said the word itself. No, his proposal and her acceptance may not have been the stuff of romance novels, but it was the stuff of their romance; of a romance true and pure, deep and abiding, unmuddled by false notes of over sentimentality and the expectations of others. She had once told him they were different people, but now they would embark on becoming one.
TBC…thank you all for your support.