It was the day after Mary's wedding and Edith was still at Downton. It was peaceful and comfortable to be at Downton without risking bumping into Mary.
Edith was glad she had come to the wedding, though, and glad that she had told Mary what she had felt. That their shared memories were more important than their dislike for each other.
How unnecessary all their squabbling and wrangling over the years had been! What good had it done either one of them?
No good at all. It had only made them bitter.
Edith was still a bit angry with Mary for hurting Bertie. But she knew that in a way she was unfair. Because Mary had only wanted to hurt Edith, Bertie had just happened to be caught in the middle of it. Just like Sir Anthony had been on that garden party so many years ago, on the day when the war broke out.
Neither Bertie nor Anthony had done anything to deserve to be hurt by Mary. But Mary just didn't care about that as long as she was able to hurt Edith.
And Mary wouldn't have had the power to hurt Bertie if it wasn't for Edith's own treatment of him. Because Bertie wasn't hurt because Mary had disclosed Edith's secret.
Bertie was hurt because Edith hadn't told it to him.
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Mary could get any man she wanted, or at least almost. But she had no friends.
During their teens Mary did get a female friend from time to time, but it never lasted for very long. Because Mary was never able to keep her hands off anybody else's beau. She wanted all men - no, she didn't want them all, she only wanted to show everybody that she could have them all. That all the men preferred Mary to any other girl.
That is not the way to make friends with women.
Mary always wanted everything to be done her own way. Mary's best friend now was her maid - who was paid to be friendly and never contradict Mary. It was rather pathetic.
Edith actually felt a bit sorry for Mary.
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Edith had decided to stay a bit extra at Downton now that Mary was away. Laura was managing the magazine so well, Edith didn't really need to be there very often. But she had still decided to move down to London once Mary and her new husband were back at Downton.
Edith would come to see Marigold every week and move the little girl to live with her in London when she was old enough to start school. Edith was certain that it would be better for Marigold to go to school and meet other children than to have a governess.
Right now Edith had to make the most of the weeks Mary and her new husband were away. She wanted to spend much of that time with Marigold, but also with her parents and Tom and Sybbie and George.
It was so nice to be with all of her family like this without constantly risking a snide remark from Mary. And without uttering any herself.
Edith really enjoyed being there. Everyone was friendly and happy, although George missed his mother a bit of course.
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Edith felt that being with Bertie those months had made her a better person. Because Bertie always tried to see the best in everybody.
Edith knew it was over now but it was still partly the thought of Bertie that had made her return to Mary's wedding. Because Bertie would have wanted her to do just that. Bertie would have wanted Edith and her sister to be friends. So Edith did what she thought he would want.
She didn't do it because she thought there was any chance of him coming back. She did it because she knew it was the right thing to do.
There are so many bad things in this world, so many bad things that just happen. So why add to them? From now on Edith wouldn't answer back to Mary's bitchiness. She would just try to get out of her way.
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And Bertie - Edith had never actually thought she was worthy of the love of this genuinely good man. She had been sure it wouldn't last, right from the start.
This made it easier for her to get over him - she had never really believed it would last. She would just keep all her happy memories of him as a comfort through life.
A man who had said he was mad about her - that he thought about her all the time they were apart. It was all so strange and so wonderful.
There had been no harsh words when they had parted, and Edith was happy about that now. He had looked so vulnerable when he told her he just couldn't trust her after what had happened. And she hadn't done anything to stop him from leaving her, only wished him good luck, which she was also glad that she had done.
Good luck with somebody else - it hurt to think about that. But she really wanted him to have a happy life, with a wife and children.
There was nothing else for her to do than to try to be glad when she would hear about his engagement sometime in the future. But it wouldn't be easy.
AN: Thank you for reading! And thank you so much for the many friendly reviews to last chapter!
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Off course I don't know what the twist in the CS is. I'm just being pessimistic.
But actually, I'm feeling very much more optimistic after Hugh B said that Edith is called poor Edith for a reason.
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I do hope Mary won't die as someone in a review suggested. She is all the parent little George has left.
