A/N: Second last one, folks! Sorry its taken me so long, these last few weeks have been pretty crazy. I just uprooted my life to move to a different province for a new job. Le sigh.

Anyhow, now that canon is marching on without me (Holy eff, my OTPs never actually happen!), I thought I should put a rush on this. I'm still so sure something dreadful is going to happen in the show and I'll just cry and cry.

ANYWAY.

There will be more. And thank you, everyone, for all of your kind and lovely reviews!

Enjoy!

WS


Chapter 8 - Funny In Her Own Way

Edith and Anthony stood together in the corner of the room that night after dinner, heads together, hand in hand. The announcement had indeed been made at dinner, and as they expected, a mixture of reactions and congratulations washed over them from everyone at the table. Her grandmother had been there, and her reaction had possibly been the most anticipated - at least by Edith.

Staying true to form, the smallest hint of a smile and a nod was all it took to flood Edith with a pride for her success. She knew that the Lady Violet had always been a friend to Anthony, but had been reluctant to admit that the two were well-suited to one another after he returned, injured, from the war. But Edith knew that within the smile was a congratulations for her engagement, and the nod was meant to congratulate her on her victory.

Now that they were all in the drawing room having tea, Anthony and Edith had found themselves in their own little world.

Looking down at their hands together, Edith inhaled deeply and smiled.

Anthony watched her with adoration, his head cocked to the side. "What are you thinking?" He asked, barely above a whisper.

She shook her head, her bright hair catching warm light from the room around her "Oh, it's nothing." She said nonchalantly. "At least, it wasn't important."

"I doubt that." He challenged, his tone light.

She laughed, tugging on his hand gently. "No, really. I was just enjoying..." She sighed, a blush tinting her pale cheeks before Anthony stepped forward and pressed his lips into her hair. The action surprised her, and felt her train of thought slip away.

"Forgive me." He whispered against her, the smile on his face audible.

"Why?" She asked innocently.

He chuckled, a low sort of laugh that Edith had never heard from the older man before. She had to admit the sound tickled her - the way it met her ears and the way it seemed to spread warmth all throughout her body.

Anthony pulled away, and immediately she felt some of that warmth slip away with him.

"I interrupted you." He said, humor in his voice. "You were saying?"

She sighed, finally reminded of the words she had been trying to say when she had been so pleasantly distracted.

"It was... I was only enjoying the feeling of," She paused again, and Anthony had to restrain himself from kissing her again for the pink that swept across her face once more. "Knowing that now I have you." Edith could hardly believe she had managed to get him to reconsider, let alone that they were now engaged.

"I have you." He said simply, though his heart jumped at the thought that Edith Crawley would be his wife someday soon, and he would be able to enjoy her company every day thereafter.

She smiled shyly and backed away from him when her mother's voice floated through the thrum of conversations going on independently of their own. Anthony let her go, the summon had been for her alone - and he saw Lord Grantham walking over, probably to wish him a personal congratulation. "We'll talk later." He said as she stepped back.

She nodded. "No doubt Mama will be wanting me to start worrying about wedding preparations." Edith joked, only too happy to be thinking about being married to Sir Anthony Strallan.

The wedding wasn't a big affair. At least, not after Mary and Matthew's marriage, which had been only months before.

It was, however, everything that the couple wanted.

With the family in attendance - including Anthony's sister and husband from London, and of course the staff at both Downton and Anthony's estate, Edith couldn't have imagined herself being happier to have her father walk her down the aisle.

Anthony mused to her after the service that he had almost forgotten his vows at the sight of her in her wedding dress, to which she could only blush in response.

She half expected it to have been an exaggeration, but some small part of her wished he had been serious - the thought of being able to distract her husband with appearance alone made her even more excited for that night, when they would be alone together as husband and wife for the first time.

That was another matter altogether.

The months of planning had seen the two of them spending most of their time with one another, and whether it had actually been necessary for so much time spent alone, neither would tell. Those months had led them down a rather surprising path of almost compromising passion - adoring glances turning into affectionate touches, which turned into fraught kisses that brought on less-than-innocent carresses and heavy breathing.

Anthony was surprised as ever to find her elegant fingers bunched up in his lapel and her lips on his the moment they stepped out of the reception.

It was late evening, and the party had finally dissipated - allowing the couple to make their excuses and retire to the car that was waiting for them outside Downton. They hadn't gotten far when Edith set upon him, her lips finding his in the light provided by the estate. He smiled into her and cupped her face with his left hand.

They finally broke the kiss, coming up for air when Edith smiled up at him, her expression a mixture of elation and mischief. "Can we go home now?" She asked.

Home. The word echoed in his mind. His home.

Their home.

Where she would be from now on.

He looked on her with tenderness, and she mirrored his expression.

"How I've gotten so lucky, I'll never know." He said without thinking.

Edith blushed, raising a hand to Anthony's face. "Are you sure you're the only lucky one?" She replied quietly. He gently pressed against her warm hand, and they inhaled a contented sigh together.

"Can I tell you something?" He said as he opened the door for her a moment later.

Gathering her dress around her, Edith stepped into the car and once seated, nodded. "Of course."

Once he was settled, and her hand was comfortably in his, he looked at her tenderly and said: "Since the first time I took you for that drive..." His voice became even quieter, and she looked up at him with curiosity. "I have wanted to be near you. Every moment of every day. Only, I never thought that after the war, I would have had even the slightest chance of meaning something to you again."

Some part of her had anticipated his statement, and from the moment he saw the look in his clear blue eyes, she had to strain to hear him over the beating of her own heart.

She opened her mouth to speak, but found that she was at a loss for something adequate in response. She had felt the same, but didn't know how to put it into words without ruining the moment.

Edith prolonged her silence by pressing her lips against his.

Now I'm yours. Her mind answered silently, hoping that her thoughts somehow made it to him from the emotion she poured into the kiss.

It did.

Instead of pondering the mysteries of his fortune, he let his mind wander over the details of her soft lips, the curve of her shoulder gently pressed against his, her delicate hand wrapped around his own. Her smell. The sound of her breathing. His wife.

"My darling..." He whispered, pulling away.

She smiled against his lips, and made a pleased noise.

The car rolled on, and at length, the driver announced their arrival at the Strallan estate. Doors were opened, and hands held as both husband and wife exited the automobile.

Coming up to the front door, Edith paused, causing Anthony to turn and look at her. "Is something the matter?"

"No, it's just..." She paused, wanting to enjoy the feeling of walking into her new home.

"I understand." He said knowingly, taking a step back to be at her side.

She looped her arm in his and nodded. I'm ready.

The two of them walked slowly into the house, Edith noticing how different the familiar foyer felt now that she was lady of the estate. Smiling to herself, she noted: and I've done rather well for myself after all. Looking up at Anthony, she felt pride bloom in her chest as well as the deep love that had been growing there for years.
"Welcome home, sir. And milady." A voice floated over them from ahead, and Edith looked up at the familiar faces of Davis, and the speaker, Ms Lyall.

"Thank you." Anthony said as Davis immediately strode forward and began to slip the jacket from his shoulders. Elisabeth did the same for Edith.
"Will you be needing anything tonight sir?" Davis asked, normally being the one to aid the man with his nightclothes, the old valet thought to ask just this once.

Anthony looked at Edith subtly, and she smiled up at him with that hint of mischief he had come to love so fervently.

"No, that's alright." She replied on his behalf, causing the dark-haired housekeeper to smile ever so slightly. .

Davis was unsure if he should wait for a confirmation from his employer, but the woman standing next to him seemed confident in Edith's answer. "Very well." She said, backing away with that knowing smile still on her face. Davis seemed to follow suit eventually, though just before they were out of sight, Elisabeth turned one last time, saying: "And congratulations, sir." She looked at Edith and curtsied before she was gone.

And Edith and Anthony were alone.

"Well." She said finally, her voice cutting through the air.

"Yes?"

Edith smirked, albeit shyly, and took his hand. "Will you show me around the house?"

Anthony could have taken it as flirtation, but he wasn't sure if she meant it as such. Still, the thought of his wedding night had certainly been on his mind for days. He was nervous however, much more nervous than the first time around.

I was young then.

And had both arms, if he were being truly clear with himself. But having his young wife gently pulling his hand in the direction she knew led to the staircase, set his mind on fire.

"Gladly." Was his reply, and he allowed her to pull him to the stairs, where he took over and then walked her down a long corridor. His room was the one on the end – but he paused in the middle of the hallway first. "Your room is -"

"Don't even try that."

The look in her eyes was firm, more resolute an expression than he believed to have ever seen from her.

"I thought you might want your own room." He said frankly, though still very honestly hoping that she would continue to look at him with such fervor.

Oh please. She thought to herself with mild exasperation. Edith shook her head and boldly closed the distance between their bodies, her long, thin arms draping over his shoulders. "Perhaps someday. But for now, you can't let yourself out of being my husband."

A blush burned into her cheeks then, which he hardly noticed for he was mesmerized by the glint in her brown eyes.

"Especially not tonight." She finished, her tone hushed.

Anthony almost lost himself in her at that moment, and if he hadn't been long desiring to truly be a husband to her, he was sure he would have been immobilized by the seduction in her voice. He was a mostly a gentleman, after all.

"As you wish." He replied, finding it difficult to pull himself from her embrace when she was already so near to him. Still, Anthony knew that they couldn't spend their night in the hallway, and finally they made their way to his bedroom.

As he shut the door behind them, he looked at Edith who was already halfway into the room.

She beckoned to him, turning around to reveal the back of her dark green dress. "Would you care to help me?" She asked a little nervously. Despite her excitement and the anticipation of all that was to come, she couldn't help but be very aware that she was new to all of this.

Anthony fought hard not to rush over to her and pull her tight against him. Composure, he learned many years before, went a long way. "I'm beginning to doubt that I'll ever say no to you." He teased, and walked slowly to her.

Finally, he reached up with his left hand to undo the top button at the nape of her neck, and a finger brushed ever so gently against her pale skin. She shivered at this, and his breath halted.

Heavens.

How was he to manage, with a woman like this, who shivered when he touched her?

Edith sensed his hesitation and glanced over her shoulder. "Anthony?" Her voice betrayed her nerves, and she worried intensely in that moment that she had somehow got it wrong – that he did not desire her, physically.

Sir Anthony caught the uncertainty in her eyes in that split second, and he remembered the nervousness he felt on his first wedding night. Smiling, he dropped his hand to her waist, and pressed a kiss into her hair. Slowly, he traveled lower with his lips until he found the bare skin of her neck.

Edith didn't know what to say. Didn't know what to do.

But the feeling of his lips... It was all enough to make her head spin. She hadn't counted on being so affected by his touch. All she could be sure of, was how lovely the experience, and how she never expected it to be with Sir Anthony Strallan. He was a very attractive man, she knew, but the way his hand was positioned at her waist just so, the grazing of his cheek on her earlobe as his lips worked their way back up to her hair, had sent her reeling on how she was to manage the act with such a man – when all she could do was wish to sink deeper and deeper into those caresses.

"Is everything alright?" He asked finally, standing back up to his full height behind her.

She could hardly believe how quickly her body longed for the touch of his lips again.

"Alright?" She repeated. "I'm so much more than alright."

And more nervous than I could ever say. She added mentally. There are so many things I wish I knew...

Her husband still looked doubtful, smiling gently as he noted the slight tension of her lower lip – a trait that he knew marked reservation of some kind on the young woman's face. "Edith..."

She sighed, and looked down.

"What... what if I'm not -" She couldn't formulate the words.

"Edith." This time, his tone was firm.

She turned slowly to face him, and he tilted her chin up with his hand. "You married me. And in doing so you've made me happier than I thought I would ever be. Happier than I deserve." His smile nearly melted her, inside and out. She felt tears again, uncertainty being stripped away with his words. He loves me. She reminded herself, the tears that had been beginning to form glistening on her eyelids.

Anthony kissed her forehead gently, and then her eyelids, tasting salt. He moved his kisses to her lips, and she instantly reacted, pulling him into her by grasping his white collared shirt with her trembling hands. He was surprised by the rawness of it all, and very aware of her body pressed into his. Even through the layers of fabric between them, he could feel the heat emanating from her, and she from him.

My husband. She reminded herself with pride.

She wasn't sure when she fell so completely in love with him. Maybe it was in that moment, as he kissed her – more real and pleasant than any of her novels could have been, and maybe it was long before, six years before when he invited her to a concert instead of the perfect Mary - she no longer knew. Nor did she know when he had finally undone that top button of her dress, and she felt the material slide from her shoulder.

Her fingers had found their way into his tie, unwinding the knot and clumsily pulling apart the buttons of his dress shirt.

It was all a blur.

And though her mind reeled, she remembered every sensation. Every feather light kiss he placed on her face, every warm finger that set her skin ablaze with the simplest of touches.

"Anthony..." She mumbled finally, pulling away from him just long enough to draw breath.

"Yes?" He answered, just as breathlessly.

"Do you love me?" She asked, her voice fraught with innocence.

He couldn't help but chuckle. "Edith, you know that I love you."

"And this is real?"

"Heavens, I hope so."

The smile on his face was made obvious by his tone, and Edith smiled.

"Then..." There was that shyness again, that struck her every time she tried to do something daring.

Anthony waited for her to continue, for he knew she would. He knew how brave she was.

He didn't have long to wait, for she stepped away from him – creating quite the vision, with her evening gown half off her shoulder, exposing her collarbones, pink with a natural blush – and took a few steps backward, toward the bed.

"Will you come here, please." She said with the most endearing questioning tone. He followed her, unaware of anything else in the world.

Suddenly he realized that they were still very much in their dinner attire. Normally, Davis would have provided him with sleep wear, and though he knew where it was, he realized that all of Edith's belongings had been delivered to the room that housekeeping had laid out for them.

Edith saw the thought cross his face, and she cocked her head to the side.

"What is it?"

"I've just realized," he said, looking back at the door. "Your nightclothes..."

Edith couldn't help but laugh.

Anthony... you practical, endearing man.

She shushed him, much to his surprise, and let her dress continue to slide from her shoulder.

Standing up on her toes, she brought her lips a mere centimeter from his, suddenly feeling more confident than ever before.

"We needn't worry about any of that right now."

He inhaled sharply, her smell intoxicating him as he lowered down enough for his kiss to be on her. She was so spellbinding. His left hand came up to graze her shoulder, now bare and still pink with the blush of her mild uncertainty.

She smiled against him as he touched her, and she continued her work on his shirt, and slipped his right hand from the sling. He felt the weight at his side and he broke the kiss, looking down at his arm. Edith took the opportunity to remove the black fabric from over his head, holding it carefully in her hands.

"Drop it." He said then, surprising both of them with the urgency in his tone.

"But I should put it som-" She began to counter, unused to a demanding tone in his voice. He cut her off by saying "Please, Edith. Let it go." And, hearing the bitterness and frustration of his arm slip away as he spoke, she obliged. The fabric fell to the floor.

It was soon followed by his jacket, and the dress shirt that she had wasted no time in undoing.

Anthony seemed rather eager to keep her body close to his, as though to prevent her from seeing his scars. Undeterred, Edith would not let him think of it. She pulled away deliberately, laying kisses over his collarbones and working down to where his torso was pierced by the bullet. The scar tissue reminding her of all that she had seen in the war.

But I love this scar as much as I love him.

It was all part of him, and it was him she loved.

He couldn't believe her comfort with the situation. He and Maud had been cautious, timid lovers. There had always been asking, more words than actions, and a lot of apologizing.

But with Edith, suddenly, there was a new feeling. He needed her. He wanted to feel her against him more than anything, so much so that asking seemed redundant. Her breathing was heavy as he pulled her close, roughly, with his one arm. She cast her own around his shoulders and he walked her back slowly so that she was standing exactly between the bed and him.

As she felt the bed press into the back of her legs, she shrugged one arm out of her dress, and then the other.

Anthony realized what she was doing, and together they pushed the garment further and further down her torso so that hung from her hips, her upper body bare but for the bodice that kept her breasts covered. He looked at her tenderly, pulling away to admire her in her current state of undress.

"Are you sure you wan to do this?" He asked.

"Of course!" She said, this time sounding a little incredulous. "You're my husband, and I should like to be sure of that fact by morning." She teased. He chuckled, a hand coming up to her face and stroking her cheek gently.

"I mean that there are... a great many other things we could do." He wasn't sure how comfortably he could talk about such things, but all he knew was that he was done hurting her. He wanted to enjoy the night, but more so, he wanted to make sure she felt loved, and happy. And satisfied. "I want so much for you to be mine but, I live in fear of hurting you." He confessed.

Edith blushed furiously.

"I'm not afraid." She said, the nervousness that had plagued her seeming so little, in the light of her husband's care.

"You were always so brave." He said with adoration.

She smiled to herself, looking down at his chest.

After a moment, she breathed in deeply, and slid her dress off her, the fabric pooling on the floor around her feet.

Looking up at him sheepishly, she put her knee up on the bed behind her, and then the other. Kneeling there, with her hands now on his chest, she beckoned him forward.

"Come, Anthony. It's time you let me love you."

And with that, he could no longer think. No longer debate with himself that he was somehow in a dream, that she truly wanted him. She was real, her warm hands beckoning him to her. Her lips calling his name, and her body waiting for him.

"You're funny, you know." He said with a smile, following her onto the bed. She looked up at him with mild confusion. "I've never been funny."

"Oh yes," he counted. "In your own way."

She smiled at him as they lay together, she on his left as his hand managed to undo the back of her bodice with surprising dexterity.

"That's what you said about Maud."

"Yes, but you are. But even more so. You make me laugh, smile... everything."

"And you do the same for me. You love me." She paused, and was instantly glad for how loved he made her feel. It was a love that she had never experienced with her family, and that she was unlikely to feel again.

Anthony smirked, as her bodice came off and he finally saw his wife naked. The smirk turned into awe, near reverence, and he was certain she would tell him that he was gawking. But before he gave her the chance, he kissed her, saying: "I have not loved you yet. Not completely."

She made a small noise of approval, and as he moved over her, she felt part of her slipping away; felt Edith Crawley, as she had been, dissolving into the background of the new life she was about to begin as Lady Edith Strallan. With every touch of her husband's lips, she felt a new person blossoming within her, along with the desire that came with the touch of his hand and the feel of his skin.

When they made love, it reminded her that she was no longer that same Edith Crawley – though Anthony loved her even as that young, foolish, funny girl. She had succeeded in marrying the man she so desperately sought, and now she was a new woman with a new life ahead of her.

A life I can't wait to live.