Hello everyone!
This chapter is a little late, but I had written it on paper and only had time to type it this evening.
Again we have a flashback, the second part of the Christmas flashback a few chapters before. Starting at the next chapter I'll try to make the chapters a little longer, but I cannot promise that yet.
Well, I hope you like it :)
The train to Dover had not been very pleasant for Edith, but both Rosamund and Cora had helped her to keep calm and made her as comfortable as possible.
After Violet had made clear that she liked the idea of them going to Switzerland, Robert had not made much more fuss about it, so Cora had decided she wanted to accompany them to Dover. She would stay there overnight and enjoy a day at the sea, then do some shopping and go back to Downton the next day.
Cora wasn't sure herself why she had decided to do that, but she wanted to help her daughter and her sister-in-law as much as she could. Was there a better purpose for spending money than for something like that? After all, thing would be only half the trouble if she had kept her temper when Edith told her secret.
Since the three women had a cabin for themselves, Edith had laid down on one of the benches, her head bedded on a neatly folded coat while the older women sat on the opposite bench.
While Edith was sleeping – they had needed almost half an hour to convince her to go to sleep – Cora and Rosamund were thinking. Neither of them knew they were thinking about the almost same thing:
Cora was remembering the last time she drove to Dover in 1900, on her way to spent Christmas in Paris while Edith was staying with Rosamund and Marmaduke. This time she would be the one to stay back in England while the other two would leave.
Rosamund thought about all the times Marmaduke had taken her to foreign countries and how strange it had felt to wave goodbye from home whenever Cora and Robert had left – especially that one time in 1900. She had always been the one who left, but back then she didn't mind staying back, because she had Edith with her.
It wasn't that Rosamund didn't love Mary and Sibyl; it was just different with them. In her eyes, Mary had always gotten too much attention – Cora and Robert had spoiled her to no end.
Sybil on the other hand was the youngest, the little sweetheart everyone just had to love. But Edith had been the weird girl, and the only one who could relate to her bookish nature was Rosamund.
Next to her Coras thoughts had wandered on to Christmas 1900. Little did she know what had happened in London.
35 Belgrave Square, 22.12.1900:
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Marmaduke?" Rosamunds voice was low as she spoke to her husband during breakfast. She tried not to draw Edith attention to their conversation, but that was nearly impossible. The girl was still amazed that Rosamund actually had breakfast with them EVERY morning! Her Mama always had breakfast in bed! Right now it seemed like she wasn't listening to the adults at all, and Marmaduke chuckled.
"It's a little too late now, don't you think? Besides, we are talking about your mother. She would come anyway."
"I suppose she would," groaned Rosamund. It had been a while since she last felt as horrified about something as she felt right now about Violet coming to London with Sybil for Christmas.
When they arrived later that day, she was really glad to have her husband by her side. Little did Rosamund know that her mother was watching her even closer for the following week.
Violet knew that Rosamund would have loved to have children herself but couldn't have any, but she wasn't sure if she could picture her daughter as a mother. Seeing her with Edith…well, to say it was unexpected would be understating.
The Dowager had never really believed in fate – or that fate was always good, if it existed – but at that moment Violet just couldn't help but think that fate was cruel.
Seeing Rosamund with Edith had changed Violets opinion. Her daughter would have made a great mother, and yet that was never to be. And Edith herself…well, Violet had never seen the girl so happy at Downton; just like Rosamund she seemed to bloom in London.
Those were more or less the words she wrote Cora in her letter to Paris. Had she known what trouble it would cause, she would have probably never sent it.
Cora had received her mother-in-law's letter two days before they left Paris to come home. Reluctantly she had shown it to her husband and then immediately called Rosamund.
"Mama said Edith seemed very happy with you and Marmaduke?"
"Yes, she is."
"Well…"
"What is it, Cora?"
"Well, could Edith stay with you a few more days with you? I would be lot easier for her to come back home if there is not so much chaos everywhere from us coming back…"
Rosamund sighed.
"I suppose she could stay a few days longer," she finally answered, but Cora didn't hear the hesitation in Rosamunds voice. The older woman wasn't quite sure if Coras plan was a good, but she didn't want to cause any trouble.
After hanging up, Rosamund called Edith down to talk to her.
"What's wrong, aunt Rosamund?" the girl wanted to know.
"I just spoke to Cora, Edith. She wants you to stay here a few more days until they have unpacked and settled into Downton again."
Edith looked at her aunt with big eyes; eyes filled with even larger tears.
"If Mama wants me to…," she said slowly, but obviously y very unhappy.
Rosamund pulled her into a hug. This was exactly what she had feared; that Edith would be unhappy about not going back home, probably feeling like she was cast away – again. But the girl did not cry, she simply sat next to her aunt for comfort. After a while Rosamund sent her up to her room because she had to finish some important paperwork. A huge mistake.
Edith had told the made she didn't want to have tea, something Rosamund accepted without questioning it. It wasn't the first time Edith didn't join her, and she didn't want to make her do something she didn't want.
She sat in her bedroom next to her husband when suddenly the door burst open and her maid came in.
"I beg your pardon?" Rosamund gave her maid a scolding look for the improper behaviour and the girl curtsied quickly.
"Milady, Milord, Lady Edith is nowhere to be found."
Rosamund froze.
"What do you mean nowhere to be found?" At least Marmaduke could keep calm. He softly patted his wife's arm, but Rosamund was too horrified and upset to even recognize it.
"It seems she has run away, milord. Her coat is missing, but no one has seen her leave."
"How could no one have seen her leave?" Her voice shook and Rosamund couldn't help but blame herself. How could she let something like this happen? Why hadn't she spoken to Edith right after she told her she would stay longer? She had no doubt that the girl had run away because of Cora's call. And now she was somewhere out there, alone, in the dark…
Rosamund couldn't keep the tears from rolling down her cheeks, but Marmaduke brushed them away before he pulled her into a soft hug. He gave the maid instructions to call the police and ordered the rest of the servants to go out and look for Edith as well.
When he came back to his wife, she had calmed down a little, but Marmaduke had the feeling that she could start crying again every moment.
"Ros –"
She stopped him by crashing into his arm and nuzzled her face into his shoulder.
"This is all my fault," she whispered. "I have to go out and look for her – I could never forgive myself if something happened to her! She is all alone, in London – god knows what could happen to her!"
"Can I stop you from going to look for her?"
"No."
Marmaduke nodded. He wasn't angry, he understood his wife and if she needed to go, he would not stop her – it wouldn't do them any good. Not that he liked the thought of his wife running through London on her own in the night, but…if he was in her place, well, he would most likely do the same.
Rosamund didn't know where to go first. Edith would have most likely gotten lost in London, still – it couldn't hurt to check the places she knew first, right?
'Where would I go if I was a child?' she thought to herself and, knowing Edith, she ended up at the Green Park.
If it was fate or pure luck that had led her there, Rosamund didn't know but she was thankful. She knew exactly which places she had shown to Edith here and there was one among them that the girl had loved more than any others.
The woman walked straight towards the weeping willow on the small lake, the one with the bench hidden underneath. When she realized that there was a small figure sitting on the bench, Rosamund started running.
"Edith!"
The small person turned around. It was indeed Edith.
Rosamund pulled her into a bone breaking hug, softly stroking her hair before she inspected the girl for any scratches.
"Oh Edith," she whispered, "do never do something like this again, promise me."
"Why?" The girls answer startled Rosamund.
"Because we were worried about you! Who knows what could happen to you in London – in the middle of the night it is even worse!"
Edith looked at her with huge eyes.
"You shouldn't have worried about me, aunt Rosamund. Mama and Papa don't worry either."
"Of course they worry about you."
"No, they don't. They don't love me – that's why they left me with you, because they don't want me! They only love Mary and Sybil!" Finally Edith started to sob uncontrollably and clung to Rosamund. The women held her close and softly stroke her back.
It was rare that Rosamund Painswick didn't know what to say, but at that moment she was at a loss for words.
"Your parents love you very much," she said after a while. "Cora and Robert are just not good at showing it to you. If they knew about this - they would be devastated. They love you very much," she repeated.
"Will you tell them?" There was a hint of panic in Edith voice as she looked up to her aunt.
"No…I won't. However, I will speak with Cora about the way you are treated, alright? Now come, you are freezing and we wouldn't want you to be sick, right? Let's go home."
Both Rosamund and Cora remembered that particular conversation very well.
"I'm glad we finally work together. Imagine Edith did not tell you – we have seen how well I dealt with her," Cora said, watching the sleeping woman. Her sister-in-law turned to look at her.
"Yes. It would have been a disaster."
"You have always been better with her."
"Naturally. She's more like me than anyone else in the family. But I only wanted what was best for her."
"We both did. It's just that we never agreed what the best was."
At least they agree on what is best no, right? In the next chapter Edith and Rosamund will already be in France, but I'm not yet sure if I should write the whole stay in Switzerland, skip it completely like in the show or just write some important occasions? What would you like?
Guest:
Thank you for always reviewing!
I hope you are not disappointed that I didn't write the conversation between Cora and Rosamund yet, but I thought I could maybe write that in a 'flashback' later – I felt like I was stuck with the plot for a couple of chapters and another conversation would only draw it further…
Of course Mrs Hughes and Carson know – they have been there when Mary was born, so how could they not?
Ethelthayerfan
Thanks for always reviewing!
Yep, it's very frustrating for Edith. But she decided she wouldn't ask anymore – she wouldn't get any answers anyway and Mary could overhear… But she'll find out soon, I promise :)
