Chapter 6
Edith politely excused herself to get ready for dinner before rushing to her room. As soon as she had closed the door, she went to her vanity and took out the necklace Michael had given her when he had visited Duneagle Castle. It was a beautiful gold heart-shaped locket with EC inscribed on the front in cursive. He had given it to her as a promise that, one day, they would marry, even if they had to run away and change their names to do it. It was the most beautiful and heartfelt gift Edith had ever received. She was surprised that Ellie had been wearing her necklace, but then again, everything today had been a surprise. Now she knew in her heart of hearts that Ellie had been telling the truth. Edith sat down on the bed and silent tears streamed down her face. She was filled with so many emotions she couldn't even name them. However, she didn't have much time truly contemplate what she was feeling as a knock on her door signaled that her maid, Lily, had arrived to help her dress for dinner.
In his room, Robert was standing in front of the mirror as his valet, John Bates, straightened and dusted off his clothes.
"How is the girl doing, milord? If you don't mind me asking," said Bates.
"Clarkson believes she will be up and ready in no time," responded Robert. "However, her situation is quite curious."
"Oh, how so?" Bates politely wondered.
"She seems to think she is from the future."
"She did hit her head quite hard, didn't she?"
"That's what the doctor said, but..." Robert drifted off as he contemplated the evidence that the girl had provided to prove that she was indeed from a far off future.
"But what milord?"
"Never mind, Bates," Robert said, shaking his head to clear out his thoughts. "Don't worry about it. I am sure we will get to the bottom of her strange arrival soon enough."
As the family settled into their seats for dinner, Matthew finally asked the question that had been on his mind all day. "How is the girl?" He hadn't been able to find out for himself as he had had to visit Mary and then go to the office.
"She will recover," responded Doctor Clarkson. "Although she is quite strange."
"What do you mean?" asked Cora.
"I would imagine I too would be 'quite strange' had I been the victim of a vehicle of that size driving so speedily over me," said Lady Violet Grantham.
"Yes, well Lady Grantham, she appears to have all of her faculties exempting the fact that she believes she is from the future," replied Clarkson.
"She had quite a few trinkets that she claimed is 'future technology,'" laughed Robert. "I certainly don't believe she is who she claims to be." The Lord of Grantham House had become quite accustomed to ignoring those little butterflies in his stomach telling him that he was lying to everyone, including himself.
Carson, who had been standing at the door, making sure dinner went smoothly, quietly sniffed at the mention of technology. In his opinion, that was already a mark against the girl. He knew it wasn't his place to judge the guests of Downton and he would never admit to doing so, except perhaps to Mrs. Hughes, but he hated technology and was firmly against the change. Carson turned back to silently listening to the conversation.
"And who exactly does she claim to be?" Cora questioned her husband.
"She says her name is Elizabeth Edith Crawley, Edith's great granddaughter who was born in 1996."
"Indeed, what a ridiculous notion," said Violet. "Are we sure she isn't a spy of some sort?"
"Cousin Violet, I sincerely doubt she is here to try and sabotage the family's reputation," said Isobel Crawley, rolling her eyes. "Obviously, she was seriously injured and is out of sorts."
"Indeed, she didn't even see me coming. No one would try to 'infiltrate' Downton by nearly getting themselves killed," concurred Matthew.
"Lord knows we don't need another scandal," said Robert.
Edith nearly snorted at her father's statement. If only he knew about Michael's situation and the scandal that was brewing between his daughter and the editor of The Sketch. Personally, she was done caring about the public's opinion. She thought this entire situation was ridiculous. Her father and the physician had both seen the evidence with their own eyes.
"I believe her," said Edith, speaking for the first time since dinner began. Her voice startled everyone at the table and their heads swiveled back to her. Clearly, they had forgotten she was there as they had been so engrossed in the conversation. Edith barely suppressed her eyes from rolling; she was used to this kind of treatment.
"Why ever would you believe something so preposterous?" said Tom. Normally he would believe his sister-in-law, but he had to agree that this situation was crazy.
"She has something of mine, something that only I knew about and of which there is only one."
"What are you talking about Edith?" Violet led her granddaughter.
"She has a golden locket that I received on my last trip to London. It is engraved with the letters EC, my initials. Furthermore the way she talks and dresses and the so called 'little trinkets' she showed us are things that we certainly have never seen before."
"When did you get a locket?" Cora asked her daughter.
"Oh um," Edith's face blushed slightly. "Well, I bought it when I was in London, as I said." She pulled the necklace from beneath her dress, took it off, and handed it to her mother.
Matthew certainly didn't believe his sister-in-law. He remembered his conversation with Gregson and what the man's intentions were. He had advised him to break it off with Edith. Over the last few years, Matthew had come to see Edith as a younger sister whom he had to protect and had gotten to know her fairly well. While lately she had taken to dressing with the latest styles, something she hadn't truly cared about, he knew that she didn't splurge on little gifts for herself. Matthew stared right at Edith with an eyebrow raised. She was forced to duck her head to avoid his gaze.
"Oh how lovely, Edith." Cora cooed over necklace.
"What exactly did she say?" Asked Tom. He thought over what Edith had said about the girl's attire and tried to recall what she had been wearing. One her legs she had been wearing a tight pair of pants made of the sort of material he had only read about cowboys in America wearing with rips in them and a pair of strange, black shoes with white laces. On her torso she was had on a black shirt with butterflies and some sort of golden sweater. He had to agree with Edith even if he didn't completely believe her, the girl's style was strange.
"Well, she certainly didn't act very ladylike and she feared that we were kidnappers. Then she assumed that she must be dead. I think she even implied her own mother was dead."
Everyone pondered this new tidbit of information. Those who hadn't met Ellie yet still remained disbelieving whereas Doctor Clarkson and Robert were beginning to have a change of heart. Everything Edith had said was true. They had been there and witnessed the girl for themselves.
"Edith, are you certain? It's only that I worry, the last time you believed someone's story you ended up hurt." Cora recalled the soldier that had claimed he was Patrick Gordon, Edith's dead first love. She didn't want to see her daughter hurt and this girl's story was even more unlikely than that of the man.
"Mama," exclaimed Edith. "I am not nearly as naive as I was back then. All the evidence agrees with what Elizabeth is saying. I know I said that last time, but Father and Doctor Clarkson witnessed her explanation as well. I feel it in my bones that she is telling the truth." Edith implored her mother, and the rest of the table, to see reason. She, too, recalled what happened last time but she knew this was different.
"Anyway," said Matthew, "she is our guest and we should treat her accordingly. Even if she was well enough to go back to wherever she came from, or even to the hospital, I think we should keep her here. I am still the one responsible for her current situation. Anyway, keep your friends close and your enemies closer, as they say."
Edith excused herself, claiming exhaustion. She had much to muse over. On her way out, she asked Carson to make sure that Mrs. Hughes delivered something to eat to who she knew was her future great granddaughter.
