A/N Thanks very much to all of you who continue to support my story. It's gratifying to have a small but dedicated group who stick with me and continue to offer encouragement. Special shout-out to guest reviewers whom I can't thank personally or individually.

Sunday, May 22, 2016

For the past several weeks, Elsie and Charles had spent their school days engrossed in end-of-the-academic-year business: matters of scheduling, the leavers' ball, final examinations, awards ceremonies, graduation activities, and other such events. And they'd spent every weekend and many weekday evenings getting things in order for their wedding and for the move to their new house.

Almost all of the wedding details had been arranged. Elsie had purchased her dress, and Charles had arranged suits for himself and Peter. Charles and Elsie had secured the services of a photographer and had gone to a jeweler and chosen wedding bands. They'd arranged decorations and favors with Isobel Crawley, Cora Crawley, and the three Crawley daughters, all of whom who were eager to help. The couple had met with Beryl to choose food for the reception. She'd be working with the Crawleys' usual caterers, who had graciously agreed to an unusual request: they would allow Beryl to choose the menu and to provide the recipes and cooking instructions, while their staff would perform the actual set-up, preparations, serving, and clean-up. Initially, she had wanted to do more of the actual work – the cooking itself; but Charles and Elsie had insisted they didn't want her to be so busy on the wedding day that she couldn't enjoy the festivities, and she could hardly argue with that. The engaged pair had talked to William Molesley and selected flowers for Elsie's bouquet, corsages for the rest of the women, boutonnières for Charles and the other men, flowers and greenery for the chapel, and centerpieces for the tables at the reception. Elsie and Charles had also spoken with Bill Mason about preparing the faculty dining hall for the reception and about setting up another area: an outdoor area in the school's spacious courtyard that would have some tables, a bar, an area for dancing, and a small raised platform to serve as a sort of stage. And finally, Charles and Elsie had spoken to William Mason and Jimmy Kent about music. William had been happy to be asked to play the chapel's organ for the ceremony. Using his connections in musical circles, he also had engaged a trumpeter and a violinist to accompany him during the ceremony, a string quartet to play during dinner, and a twelve-piece orchestra with two vocalists – one man and one woman – to play and sing for the after-dinner dancing. Jimmy Kent had offered to have his band play in the outdoor area for the younger crowd. He was the lead singer and guitarist for a group that was fairly popular on weekend nights at local clubs; they played cover versions of well-known songs as well as many of their own original pieces. Though Charles wasn't keen on the idea of loud music with a driving rhythm at his wedding reception (or on school grounds at all, for that matter), Elsie had convinced him that their more junior guests would appreciate it, and the two had accepted Jimmy's kind offer with sincere appreciation.

And the house was nearly habitable, as well. Charles and Elsie had closed the deal on the purchase of their new home and had hired workmen to make some minor changes: painters to change the color schemes in a few rooms, a plumber to change the bathroom fixtures in the powder room, an electrician to replace the light fixtures in the bedrooms, and carpenters to install wainscoting in the downstairs hallway. They both had packed up many of their personal items from their flats, and they'd lined up William Mason, Andy Parker, and Alfred Nugent to help them move the few favorite pieces of furniture they planned to take with them when the time came. They'd gone shopping for all the other furniture they would need and had scheduled its delivery. Choosing a bed had been slightly uncomfortable, as both had struggled valiantly to keep the discussion (and the thoughts inspired thence) from becoming too suggestive; but they'd managed to get through it. Elsie had even dragged Charles shopping for draperies, linens, and other decorative items in which he'd pretended to have little interest. That little adventure had been blessedly brief, as he'd readily replied, "Yes, dear," to all of her suggestions. The truth was that Charles actually did care about such things quite a bit more than he would ever let on, but he trusted Elsie's taste so implicitly – and in fact mirrored it so closely with his own – that anything she would ever choose would meet with his approval.

They had also made travel and lodging provisions for their honeymoon. Each had had a separate notion for the destination – something the other would enjoy – and they finally settled on a combination of both ideas. Plane tickets had been purchased, hotels rooms had been reserved, and other accommodations had been arranged.

With all those matters in order, only a few details remained. The couple's task for today was to meet with Reverend Travis after services and brunch; and currently, Elsie and Charles sat in his office, finalizing the particulars of their rapidly approaching wedding ceremony.

"That should cover everything, I think," said Mr. Travis. "You've chosen to keep things simple and traditional, and so that makes it easier for all of us. It should be very straightforward. Do you have any other questions for me?"

"No, I don't think so," answered Elsie.

"No," Charles echoed. "I think we're all set."

"Well, then. Enjoy the rest of your day!" Mr. Travis offered as he stood from behind the desk in his office.

"Thank you for your time, Reverend Travis," said Elsie, rising from her chair and shaking his hand.

"We appreciate your meeting with us," Charles said, also standing and shaking the man's hand.

"My pleasure," said the good vicar.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

After Elsie and Charles left Mr. Travis's office, they wandered about the grounds of Downton, arm-in-arm, marveling at the elder Mr. Molesley's green thumb and admiring the newly blossoming fruits of his labors. After recent spring rains, the greenery was full and lush, and the flowers were blooming beautifully. The whole landscape was impeccably manicured, with every blade of grass and each leaf in its proper place. The sun, gentle breeze, and pleasant temperature complemented the natural beauty and made it a perfect day for a Sunday stroll around campus.

After a time, Charles asked Elsie, "So what shall we do with the rest of this beautiful afternoon?"

"I'm not sure," she answered him. "Do you have any recommendations?"

"I do have one, actually," he told her. "But I'm not sure how you'll feel about it."

"Try me," she challenged.

"Would you like to visit Alice's grave with me?" He looked uncertain and rushed to continue. "I used to visit regularly, but it's been less frequent lately. Is it too awkward for me to ask you to go to the cemetery with me? I mean … taking my fiancée to the cemetery to visit my late wife's grave?"

"No, I don't think it's awkward, love. It might be a bit unusual … under other, more traditional circumstances," she allowed. "But our whole situation is hardly conventional. Remember: she was my friend, too."

"So you'll go with me?"

"Of course."

"And it won't seem morose? You won't think I'm pining away for her or anything like that?" Charles worried. "I don't want you to think I'm sad, because I'm not sad anymore. You need to know how happy you make me and how much I love you."

"I do know that. I don't doubt it for a moment, because I feel the same way," Elsie assured him. "And I think it's an excellent idea to go together. I'm pleased that you asked." And she squeezed his hand and leaned against him to emphasize the sentiment.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

A short time later, they stood in the familiar spot at Graceland Cemetery and Arboretum*. Elsie bent down and placed a bunch of flowers near the marker engraved with Alice's name. When she stood back up next to Charles, she pressed herself into his side, and he wrapped his arm around her. They stood in comfortable silence for a few minutes, both deep in thought.

"What do you think she makes of all this? Us, I mean – together?" Elsie asked Charles after a while.

"I'm sure she's pleased," Charles stated without hesitation. "I've never told you this … I've never told anyone. But just before she died, she made me vow not to be consumed by my grief … to give her my word that I'd go on living. She said she knew how much I loved her, but she urged me not to close myself off to the rest of the world after she was gone."

"I'm not surprised to hear that," Elsie replied. "When she was hospitalized that last time, just before she passed, she asked me to look after you. She worried that you would brood or wallow in your sorrow … become bitter or despondent. She knew how much love you had to give, and she wanted to be sure that love didn't stay locked up inside."

"For a long time, I did shut out everyone and everything around me. It took me ten years to carry through on my promise," lamented Charles. "Do you remember when you helped me go through her things and we found that letter?"

"Yes, of course."

"Well, Alice had written that letter shortly after we found out just how ill she was. In it, she told me she intended to extract an oath from me, and she said she expected me to honor it. She urged me to go on living and to go on loving. She'd written the letter for me to find later because she feared I'd need reminding, and as always, she was right."

"And it was shortly after you read the letter that you began to reveal your feelings to me!" marveled Elsie.

"I took it as a sort of permission, and I finally allowed myself to acknowledge and act on what I'd begun to feel for you."

"Well, I'm certainly glad you did, because you've made me very happy." She wrapped her arms around his middle and hugged him.

"You've made me happy, too," he said as he kissed the top of her head. "I'd despaired of ever being happy again – of ever loving or being loved for the rest of my life. My heart was broken. But you helped me piece it back together … and now it's yours."

"And I promise always to keep it safe," she vowed, "just as I know you'll keep mine safe."

Another pensive silence ensued as they stood embracing. But after a time, Charles spoke again. "I have another suggestion," he ventured. "When we're in England, will you take me to Joe's grave?"

Elsie was surprised. "Really? You'd like to see it? You didn't even know him."

"But I do know him," Charles insisted. "I know him through you and Peter. You both are who you are partly because of him. And it might sound strange to say, but I'm grateful to him for taking such good care of you both before I came along."

A tear formed in the corner of Elsie's eye. "That's a very sweet thing to say. And in the same way, I'm glad Alice was so good to you, too."

"It's true. She made me a better man," Charles said humbly.

"I think it would be more accurate to say … she fostered and nurtured the kind, gentle heart you've always had. And now it's my turn to take over that task." And Elsie kissed the spot on Charles's chest under which his heart lay.

"I must be the luckiest man ever – somehow to have won the love of both of you: the two most remarkable women I've ever met."

"Also the two smartest women you'll ever meet. Alice recognized a good man when she came across him, and so do I."

"Come on, then, smart lady. I'd like to buy my best girl an ice cream and take her for a walk along the lakefront."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The twosome sat at Bobtail Ice Cream Company**, enjoying their frozen confections. Charles had ordered a single scoop of Signature Sunset*** – Merlot ice cream with dark chocolate chips – and had polished it off in record time, claiming he just couldn't abide letting it melt. He was now helping Elsie finish the enormous banana split she'd ordered with the expectation that she'd end up sharing it with her intended.

"This is nice," commented Charles between mouthfuls.

"It is," Elsie agreed. "Sharing a sundae with my beau on a lovely afternoon like this makes me feel young again."

"Elsie, you can't say 'young again' when you've never grown old in the first place," he stated in all seriousness.

"Well, I shall accept your compliment in the spirit in which it was offered," she said, "and I'm pleased that you believe it, though I disagree with your assessment."

"And I shall take that as a challenge and endeavor to prove to you that you are still in the first flush of youth." He leaned closer to whisper his next words in her ear, "However, I fear I must wait until we're married before I can use all of the means at my disposal to thoroughly convince you."

Her cheeks flushed a lovely shade of rose when she replied, "Oh, my! Suddenly, it feels quite a bit warmer. We'd better finish this ice cream!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

As they sauntered contentedly along the lakefront path in the early evening, Elsie's phone buzzed. She pulled it out of her handbag and was happy to see she'd received a text message from Peter. She became curious when she registered the content of the message: Hi, Mum! Hey, do you think you and Pop can squeeze in one more person at the wedding?

She showed Charles and then quickly texted back: I'm sure we can. Why?

Peter's reply came almost immediately: I'd like to bring someone … if that's ok. I can promise you'll love her. *I* certainly do.

Elsie's eyebrows shot up, and she held the phone out for Charles to see. Then she pulled him by the hand to an unoccupied bench in a quiet spot alongside the path where they'd been walking.

"This demands a phone call. Maybe even a video chat," she said as they seated themselves. Elsie tapped her phone's screen a few times, and an image of Peter's smiling face appeared.

"Hi, Mum!" he greeted her cheerily.

"Peter Burns! Don't you 'Hi, Mum!' me! Explain yourself, young man." She pretended to be stern, but the beginnings of a smile tugged at her lips, and the softness in her voice betrayed her gentle teasing.

"Oh, hi, Pop! You're there, too. Good," said Peter when his video feed showed Charles peeking over Elsie's shoulder.

"Hello, lad," Charles said. "I think you'd better tell us what's going on. Your poor mum's growing pretty impatient in her curiosity. Now, tell us about your young lady."

"Well, you know her, actually," explained Peter. "Do you remember Claire Dawes?"

"Goodness!" cried Elsie. "How could we forget? Except for you, she was probably our best student ever."

"Yes – and my biggest competition at Downton. Only I could never quite dislike her or be jealous or wish her ill, because she was always so nice."

"She was," Elsie agreed. "A real sweetheart, that one."

"Still is," Peter added. "I'd lost touch with her for a while. While I was at Stanford, she was at Johns Hopkins. But she's been at Harvard Medical School while I've been here at MIT, and we've come across each other at various events here and there. I've always liked her, and so I finally asked her out. We've gone on a few dates, and … " He trailed off, unsure how to explain the situation.

Luckily his mother understood. "And things are going well, then?" she nudged gently.

"Very," Peter confirmed. "She'll graduate this week, and she's invited me to attend all the festivities with her family."

"That's lovely!" Elsie remarked.

"It is. And the best part of it all is that she's moving back home to Chicago to do her internship and residency at Northwestern," Peter informed Elsie and Charles.

"Well, that's fortunate," added Charles. "So we can assume we'll be seeing a lot of Miss Dawes when you move back?"

"You'll see her sooner than that, actually," Peter clarified. "She's getting ready to move, just like me, but I've asked her to stick around until next week and come to my hooding ceremony and graduation with you two and Gran and Auntie Becky. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all!" Elsie was quick to assure him. "That will be nice."

For the next ten minutes, Peter told Elsie and Charles all about Claire. Claire had attended Downton with Peter, and the two had always been at the top of their class, engaged in a friendly competition with an underlying mutual respect. During that time, Charles and Elsie had both taught Claire, so they knew her reasonably well. But after graduation, Peter and Claire had gone their separate ways and had had little contact until the last year or two. Elsie and Charles were pleased to hear Peter relate how he'd come to be reacquainted with Claire and how he'd grown quite fond of her. He spoke of her in glowing terms, and Charles and Elsie recognized in Peter all the tell-tale signs of a young man who was hopelessly smitten.

As they wrapped up their phone conversation, Peter had a request: "Pop, I might need to talk to you at some point for some dating advice."

"Me?" Charles asked. "I'm no Romeo, you know."

"You must be doing something right," Peter observed. "Just look at the beautiful woman you've got yourself!"

Charles chuckled. "It's true I've got myself a real beauty, but I've done nothing to deserve her. She's just taken pity on a poor old man; that's all."

"All the same, you'll be available for some guy-talk if I need your help, right?" Peter asked.

"If my limited knowledge and experience can be of any help, then I'll do what I can," Charles promised. "But I doubt you'll need much help. Any young lady in her right mind would be thrilled to be the object of your attentions, and your young lady is a smart one. I'm sure she knows a good thing when she sees it."

"I know I can always count on you, Pop. Thanks. But speaking of dating, I'd better let you two get back to what you were doing. It looks like I've interrupted a romantic lakefront stroll on a beautiful evening," Peter apologized.

Elsie dismissed Peter's concern with a wave of her hand. "Oh, it's fine. The lake's not going anywhere. It will still be there when we get back to our walk."

"Well, I'll talk to you soon, then," Peter said.

"All right, lad. Love you," returned Elsie.

Peter smiled and blew a kiss into the phone. "Love you, too, Mum. Bye, Pop."

"Goodbye, son," said Charles. "And please give our regards to Claire."

"Will do," promised Peter, grinning broadly.

After Elsie tapped the red button to end the call, she turned to Charles and let out a sigh. "Well! That was certainly unexpected!"

"It was," Charles agreed. "But it was a pleasant surprise. He certainly sounded happy."

"He did. I don't think I've ever heard him talk about a girl quite like that!"

"But you are pleased, right?"

Elsie was silent for a moment, looking down at her lap.

Charles put his fingers under her chin and gently turned her face toward him. "Hey, what's all this?" he asked.

"You'll think it's silly."

"I doubt that."

"Even I think it's silly," she told him. "I'm happy for Peter. Truly, I am. But the truth is … I'm a bit jealous. For twenty-six years, I've had him all to myself. And now … "

"Oh, darling!" Charles wrapped his arm around Elsie and kissed her temple. "That lad's got more than enough love to go around. This isn't going to make him love you any less. Did your love for him diminish at all when you fell in love with me?"

She sniffed, casting her eyes down again. "No, of course not."

"Well, then. There you have it."

"I suppose you're right," Elsie agreed with a sigh.

"Sometimes I am," Charles teased before turning serious again. "Elsie, when we chose our new home, we spoke of grandchildren: bedrooms for them to spend the night, a yard for them to play … How do you think those grandchildren are going to come along if Peter doesn't find himself a suitable mother for his children?"

"Will you please stop making so much sense?" Elsie joked as she warmed to the idea and her equilibrium returned.

"Sorry."

"And it does help tremendously that we already know Claire and that she's such a doll," Elsie conceded. "I imagine I'd be a lot more upset if he brought home a complete stranger or someone I didn't like. If he's got to date anyone at all, I'm glad she's the one."

"That's my girl!" said Charles encouragingly. He looked pointedly into her eyes. "And I'd like to point out something else. A relationship that starts out as friendship based on mutual respect and admiration is sure to have a solid foundation. At least that's been my experience."

Elsie gave him a bright smile. "Why must you always be so wise?"

"It comes from spending time with you, I think. Occasionally, I learn a thing or two."

"Come on, then." She stood from the bench and tugged on his hand so that he rose, too. "The sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, and the birds are singing. Let's finish our walk."

A/N *Graceland Cemetery and Arboretum is a real place, very near the real location of the fictional Downton Academy campus. (I've mentioned it before as Alice's final resting place.)

**Bobtail Ice Cream Company is an actual place, too.

*** Signature Sunset is a real flavor: Merlot ice cream with dark chocolate chips. I didn't make it up. If there's wine-flavored ice cream, you know that's what Charles is going to have!

**** The portion of the Chicago Lakefront Trail (the whole of which stretches nearly 20 miles along Lake Michigan) that passes through Lincoln Park is a very pleasant place for a leisurely stroll. In fact, all of Lincoln Park is pretty scenic.

Please see my tumblr post for pictures of all these places.

Special thanks to evitamockingbird and ChelsieSouloftheAbbey, who offered their input on aspects of this chapter.

I'm sorry it's been so long between updates. I'll try to do better with the next few chapters. Just so you know what's coming, we'll have the arrival of Elsie's sister and mother, the introduction of Claire, Peter's graduation, a hen party and stag night, and the wedding day and wedding night. I don't mean to pull a Fellowes, but I'm not sure how much of the honeymoon we'll actually see in detail.

Reviews have been falling off somewhat over the last few chapters, and I've been struggling to keep this story going; and so for both of those reasons, I will probably wrap this up sooner as opposed to later, before we all lose interest entirely. I promise to still provide what I hope will be a satisfying conclusion, but every story has a natural lifespan, and I'm afraid this one is nearing the end of its days. I've lost quite a few readers/reviewers, but that's all right. I'm especially grateful those of you who remain. If you're willing and able, please drop me a line to let me know what you think. Thanks so much, friends.