A/N: Special thanks to the awesome readers who've been leaving reviews of this story. Your feedback means so much. This fic will probably be wrapped up in another chapter or two.
Months passed as his lawyer pushed the divorce through the system. Vera had grumbled at first, and then she'd outright thrown things at him and screamed bloody murder when he sold off the last of the possessions from his mother's house and put it on the market.
"Where am I supposed to go?" she demanded. "If you want this divorce, you must give me the money now so I can support myself."
"You'll have the money once the divorce is finalized and not a minute sooner," Bates informed her, bargaining from a position of strength. "As far as supporting yourself, I'd say it is in your best interest to ensure this divorce goes through as quickly and smoothly as possible."
If looks could kill, as the saying went, Bates would have been dead on the spot.
"And if I sell my story of the Turkish diplomats to the papers? Perhaps I should support myself with it?" she sneered.
Bates refused to flinch. "If you sell the story, you won't get a dime out of me. Keep it to yourself and I'll make it worth your while."
"A woman must have somewhere to live and something to live on, Johnny," she appealed sweetly, or as sweetly as Vera could act as she did her very best to drive him to the poor house.
"I haven't sold the house yet."
"But you've gotten rid of all the furniture!"
He shrugged unapologetically. "You can't eat furniture, either," he commented and left it at that.
Her expression morphed rapidly back to anger and she hurled insults and years of remembered unkindness at him. But Vera's vitriol could no longer harm him or Anna. Still, he gave her a few pounds to subsist on until she found a position to support herself.
In the mean time, Anna wrote to him of Lady Mary's conversation with Sir Richard Carlisle. While Lady Mary had been hesitant to tell her almost-fiancé anything so salacious about herself, apparently some vestiges of their former friendship lingered as he arranged for Mary to buy the story from Vera - through him, of course - and keep it completely under wraps.
Bates missed Anna in those months, as he lay in bed in his rented room in old Ms. Harper's home. As a retired housekeeper for a minor family from York, Ms. Harper enjoyed having conversations with him in her sitting room in the evening. He told the kindly woman stories from Downton and she ruminated wistfully on her time working in a big house.
"Of course, in my day, a valet and a housemaid would not have been allowed to court," she scolded him good-naturedly, Steven having told her about his situation.
"Probably for the best," Bates agreed with her in amusement. "Of course, we didn't have a proper courtship."
"I should think not," Ms. Harper harrumphed. "A married man. You really should be ashamed of yourself. But Steven tells me your wife was a horror. Not an excuse, of course."
Bates shook his head. "I was as much to blame as she for the fall of our marriage. But I cleaned myself up. I did everything I could to be a proper man again in the world, despite this," he said, gesturing to his bad leg.
"Did you never think of going back to her and trying to resolve things? Marriage is a serious business," the old woman reminded him, "not to be taken lightly or abandoned just because some young filly draws your eye."
"I know," he acknowledged. "Perhaps if Vera had been around when I got out of prison... but she was gone. And she'd already told me I was no used to her as a cripple anyway. Our marriage was over long before I met Anna."
Frowning, Ms. Harper did not respond to this.
"And I did not intent to fall in love with Anna, you see," he went on. "In fact, I did everything in my power to keep our relationship purely friendship."
"Oh did you?" she asked sardonically. But Ms. Harper did not know Bates the way others did. She did not know of the years he spent torn over Anna's affections and his unworthiness of her and his inability to marry her. She had no idea what it felt like to have met the true love of your life, only to be foreclosed from ever being with that person because of a lifetime of mistakes.
"Well, I suppose when you've gotten this divorce decree, you'll be free to do as you like," Ms. Harper commented. "And you're doing things properly now, living apart like this until you've got things settled. That's the important thing. Nothing worse than dishonorable men who lure young maids away with promises of love and marriage only to leave them alone and used up with no place to go."
Bates nodded at the sentiment, although the words pressed on him. He'd considered doing just what she'd described with Anna, all except the part about leaving her alone. He knew that the legitimacy of marriage was necessary to keep the good opinion of the Ms. Harpers of the world, and not for the first time, he wished that his legal separation from Vera could finally be done.
Anna wrote to him faithfully from Downton every week, and though hesitant at first, he wrote back to her. She told him of all the things that had happened at the house since he'd left, including some of the major events Mrs. Hughes had told him about. Anna also described her longing for him and for the start of their new life together. He fell asleep with her words in his head, the image of her behind his eyes, and the feel of her warmth ghosting his skin.
A week before the divorce decree was to become finalized, Bates received a visitor. As he entered the kitchen and began tying on his apron, Steven appeared from the dining area.
"First you got the finest looking lass I've seen this side of the channel beating down my door first thing in the morning, and now a real honest-to-goodness Earl is waitin' to talk to you."
Confused, Bates asked, "Lord Grantham's here?"
Steven affirmed, "As I live and breath, in my dining room."
Removing his apron, Bates quickly left the kitchen for the dining area, finding his former employer standing in the empty space, looking around somewhat uncomfortably.
"My lord," he greeted the man.
"Bates," Lord Grantham responded, turning to face him fully. "Anna said I could find you here."
The nobleman smiled and looked genuinely glad to see him.
"I am at your disposal, milord." He gestured to the table he'd shared with Anna on the mornings she'd visited him at the restaurant, and Lord Grantham sat adjacent to him.
"I understand that you are soon to be divorced."
"God willing," Bates answered, "it should be done in a little more than a week."
"And when that's taken care of, you and Anna still intend to wed?"
"Yes, we do."
Lord Grantham nodded, taking this answer in. He took a breath before stating, "Bates, I know we did not leave things on the best of terms when you left for London, but I was wondering if you would consider returning to Downton as my valet?"
Surprised, Bates took in a sharp breath. "The fault was entirely mine, milord. But I would be honored to return."
"You see... I have it on good authority that the reasons behind your leaving were more noble and altruistic than I initially believed," the Earl went on. "I know I should have contacted you sooner, but I felt you needed to work things out with your wife first."
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me, Bates, not until you've told me why exactly you left."
He sighed at the question, already expecting it. "I'd rather not say, milord, as I'm sure its just stuff and nonsense."
"I very much doubt you'd have left Downton - and Anna, for that matter - and stayed away for so long over nonsense."
Frowning, he said, "It was just a scurrilous rumor Vera got from somewhere about a member of your family. I won't bring myself to repeat it."
Lord Grantham was silent for a moment, but kept eye contact with his former valet. Finally he asked softly, "Was it about Mary and the Turkish diplomat?"
Surprised that His Lordship had found out about the matter, Bates confirmed, "It was, milord."
"I heard about it from Cora, just before Mary got engaged to Matthew."
Bates nodded slowly, betraying no emotion over his employer essentially admitting the trueness of the story. Part of him wondered how this secret had ever escaped Downton.
"Then you understand why I had to leave and why I couldn't tell you."
Lord Grantham inclined his head. "I understand that you stood there, saving my family from scandal, while I hurled insults at you."
"You were right to be upset."
"I was a fool," the Earl retorted. "But I intend to fix my mistake. Once things are settled, come back to Downton. You'll have a place there as long as I'm alive, you and Anna both. I'll make sure there's a cottage near the house ready for you. Do you know where you were planning to be married?"
Bates shook his head. "I hadn't thought about it, milord. As a divorcee, I won't be allowed to marry in a church. So perhaps the registrar's office in Ripon, once we get a license."
But Lord Grantham shook his head. "That doesn't seem right. You and Anna should have everyone around to witness it. What do you say to a small ceremony outside in the garden? I'll talk to the registrar about coming to the house to perform the ceremony."
"I can't imagine anything more lovely," Bates confessed, his imagination already conjuring images of Anna in a white dress surrounded by blooming spring flowers. While they wouldn't be in a church, which he wondered if she secretly wished for, they would at least be someplace special.
"Then its settled."
The Earl stood from the table and Bates followed suit. The two men regarded each other for a moment more before they shook hands.
"I look forward to having you back, Bates. It hasn't been the same without you."
"I am eager as well, milord. I appreciate this second chance."
Quirking his lips, Grantham responded, "Considering the reasons for your leaving, let us just consider this an extension on your first."
Once again packing all of his worldly possessions into a single suitcase, Bates said farewell to Ms. Harper and Steven, who had dropped by to wish him on his way.
"You make that girl an honest woman, you hear?" the landlady warned him.
"She's already an honest woman," Bates told her before turning to his friend. "And thank you for everything you've done for me."
"Pay you a pittance to peel potatoes and chop onions?" the other man asked with a laugh, "Not much to thank about that."
"You've been a good friend, and I appreciate it," Bates said.
"Well, if you ever find yourself back in London in search of a job, you know where to find me," Steven told him.
And finally, after almost three years spent away from Downton, Bates set off for the train station to return. He had not written Anna of when to expect his arrival because he was not sure when the divorce decree would be deemed final by the courts. But the afternoon before he'd heard from his attorney - the matter was done. He had only to distribute the money he'd agreed to pay Vera, and that would also be handled by his counsel. Sir Richard Carlisle's arrangement to buy Vera's story and completely gag would likewise be finalized at the same time.
His now ex-wife had tried to muck things up at the last minute, of course, writing to the court to claim that he had paid her for the divorce. But after admitting to the financial arrangements, his attorney was able to easily argue that the money agreed to be paid was only to ensure Vera's support until she could get back on her feet. From the way the attorney argued it, Bates ended up sounding magnanimous in his generosity. The judge dismissed Vera's claim and the divorce went through as scheduled.
And Bates was finally free.
He could not keep his mind from wandering during the train ride, his thoughts bringing him back to Anna again and again. He thought of their life together, of all the things he could do to make her happy. After paying off Vera, he had a little money leftover from his mother's inheritance, and they would get more still when he managed to sell the house, if they didn't decide to just rent it out for the time being. But Bates knew that Anna did not want the kinds of things money could buy.
She wanted him to light the fire in their sitting room and read to her in the evenings. She wanted him to walk her to church on Sundays and sit in the pew beside her, to hold her gloved hand in his and gently squeeze her fingers as he smiled down at her. She wanted nights of shared passion and mornings of them cuddling together, warm and dozing.
Bates knew what Anna wanted from him because she'd told him in her letters over the past months, since he'd last seen her in London. She cared nothing for jewelry and clothing the way Vera had. What she desired from him was far more substantial than such possessions.
Once the train had reached his destination, Bates stepped out onto the platform, his case in hand. The walk to Downton would take some time, but he looked forward to the scenery.
Suddenly, he saw a familiar figure exit one of the first class compartments. "Bates!" Lady Mary greeted him warmly. "Anna didn't tell me you would be on this train."
"She didn't know when I was coming today, milady," he explained, smiling at the strange sense of deja vu. "I didn't know myself until yesterday."
"Then everything is finally settled?" she asked, obviously referring to the divorce.
"Yes," Bates answered, breathing a fresh sigh of relief. "It is settled and done with."
She nodded, her appreciation of him obvious as she regarded him with her rich, dark eyes. Bates found himself looking forward to seeing her marry the young Mr. Crawley. They would make a good match.
"Let me give you a lift to the house," she offered. "I'm sure Anna will be mad to see you."
"That would be much appreciated, milady," he thanked her knowing that a ride would bring him to Anna much more quickly.
TBC
A/N: I tried to stay intentionally vague about the divorce decree as my understanding of the process in this time and place is pretty limited. But it always bugged me that Bates seemed to get done in by terrible legal advice both during his divorce and at his trial. I also re-purposed some of the lines/situations from the show in this and prior chapters as part of my re-imaging of how this storyline could have gone. Reviews and feedback are appreciated.
