June 1919
Lilac was a nice color to wear to a spring wedding, which was fortunate for her. Typically, Edith would not have traveled so soon but her sister's wedding was cause enough to bend the rules of mourning. She could not say that it was a happy day for her, though she was happy for Sybil, despite the unusual choice of groom. Looking out the corner of her eye, she caught Mary's. They were both in mourning of sorts. Edith Strallan was widowed at the age of 28 while Mary Crawley was an engaged woman in desperate want of freedom. Both their cloudy thoughts were interrupted by their new brother-in-law.
"It's time for the groom to dance with his sister-in-law," Branson, no Tom, said extending his arm to Mary. "And I don't see a way out of it for you either Edith."
Surprisingly, Mary laughed in a genuine, if haughty way. Lady Mary Crawley accepted the hand of her brother-in-law, the former Downton chauffeur, and went to the center of the dance floor. Another young man, who Edith recognized as one of Tom's younger brothers all but skipped up to her.
"May I have this dance m'lady?" He said it in a jesting manner, but not meant to be rude. Edith accepted his arm like Mary had done with Tom.
Once on the dancefloor, Edith tried to feel as light as she could. She certainly had enough experience pretending to be content.
"Do you not care for weddings Lady Edith?" the younger Branson asked.
"Oh no, I do." She wondered if she should just let it be. Though not talking about it seemed to be more tiring than speaking.
"This is the first happy event I've attended since my husband passed."
Michael Branson flinched a bit. "I'm very sorry, Lady Edith, I wasn't thinking. Tom and Sybil told me about Sir Anthony but-"
"Please, don't worry about it," Edith interrupted. "It's nice to dance again."
