Chapter 10
A/N: This chapter is also longer than I intended because I wanted to explore Anthony's heritage. After re-reading The New Heir, by Baron M., I used some of his information to further explain about the current Anthony and his family. (Hope I got this right Baron). Anyway, this chapter sets the stage for Anthony to work on the Edith project.
The morning after the night before was awful. Edith's head felt as if it were full of helium. Her eyes hurt when she blinked, and her hair hurt when she ran her fingers through it. She couldn't remember ever being hung over like this, but maybe that was because she had never been hung over. In reality, Edith didn't drink much, but she had last night and was obviously paying the price this morning.
She moaned to herself as she got out of bed and stumbled toward the kitchen. When she turned the water on to fill her coffee maker, it echoed in her head like Niagara Falls. Flipping the switch on the machine, she padded over to the table, sat down and stretched her arms out in front of her while laying her head on the cool wood top and moaning. She gently opened the venetian blind next to the table but let out a groan as the morning light filtered in. Pulling the cord she shut it again and sank back into the chair.
What must Anthony Strallan think of her? Thank God she hadn't thrown up in his car, she had managed to get her head out in time, but still she was mortified. He had saved her from further humiliation by Larry Grey and for that reason alone she liked him. But, more than that he had a pleasant personality and he was easy to talk to. He was also a man who could hold his liquor. They both had had at least three cocktails as she maneuvered him around the function. Yet, he finished the evening with two double scotches and still was able to drive her home. She on the other hand was a crying, red headed drunk. Well, maybe if he was lucky he would never see her again. Yes, she decided she would try to avoid him at all costs when she was at the hospital. The embarrassment of seeing him again was more than she felt she could handle.
Edith was one of the best volunteers at the CHSU. When she first started there, she went wherever the volunteer coordinator sent her. But when she was assigned to pediatrics she had found her niche. The young patients loved her. On Tuesdays she initiated the weekly Bingo game and made sure that every child who wanted to play had a chance, even those that were critically ill. On Thursdays she visited the rooms of the children who had had surgery or treatments. She brought books, puzzles, games and even a few I-pads for them to use that she had purchased with her own money. And once in a while she would haul out the Karaoke machine and she and the children who were able would sing and entertain the others. But Halloween was the best time. She made sure everyone had masks and worked it out with the cafeteria that healthy treats would be there to pass out. Halloween was for children and she wanted to make sure that these sick children were not left out of the fun.
Now, as she sat in her kitchen drinking coffee, she realized that she could never volunteer in pediatrics again. What if she ran into Anthony Strallan. She figured with their history he wouldn't want her on his service and he probably wouldn't approve of her unique way of volunteering. Well she would tell Mrs. Lewis, the volunteer coordinator that she wanted to be assigned somewhere else in the hospital, even if it meant in the cafeteria, busing dishes.
But, as her fuzzy brain slowly came to life she knew that she wanted to see him again, wanted to see those blue eyes and that crooked smile. Oh, Lord she thought, what am I going to do?
Anthony Strallan woke early the next morning. He hadn't slept very well at all; his concern for Edith had kept him tossing and turning most of the night. He had wanted to follow her into her house, to make sure she was alright, but her friends seemed to have everything under control so he just left. He didn't have her phone number or he would have called her this morning to find out how she was feeling. He didn't think he could call the hospital and ask for it; he was new there and trying to explain why he might want her number would be complicated. No, he would find out somehow on Monday what days she volunteered and where. He'd put Mazie on it. If anyone could get the information he wanted, it was her. Of course he would have to be casual and come up with some far- fetched reason for wanting to know, but he was an intelligent grown man, not some immature schoolboy. This should be a simple enough task.
He spent the rest of the day unpacking the rest of his books and pictures. The previous owners of his flat had gone to great lengths to create a lovely library off the main sitting area. It was just his style; dark wood floors and dark bookshelves. The sofa and two chairs that he had purchased along with the lovely rug, made the room cozy and comfortable. Light streamed through the large palladium window giving the room a warm glow. Dusting his books he started putting them on the shelves. They were scattered all over the room because he always put his books in an orderly fashion. Alphabetical by subject matter, and then within each subject, alphabetical by author. He knew it would take him a while to get them the way he wanted . Knowing his personality he most likely would move them around many times before he was satisfied.
Since his days at the hospital would be long, he figured that he would have to tackle the books and pictures as soon as he could. There was one box on the floor marked family photographs that he hadn't opened yet. Taking the box cutter he sliced through the packing tape and started to unwrap each photo along with the family photo albums. He would scatter the framed pictures around the flat and put the albums on a separate shelf in his library. The pictures meant a lot to him; they were his family, his history. There were many pictures of him as a young boy with his parents , his brother Mark and sister Margaret. There were pictures of him at boarding school and university and one of his favorites was the one with his family who had come over when he graduated from Harvard Medical School. And there were pictures of people who had gone before. Unwrapping one of the four albums he flipped through the pages smiling. One picture caught his attention. It was a picture of his great- grandfather and great- grandmother taken sometime shortly after their marriage in 1922. Below the picture written in white ink on the black paper was the inscription Edith and Anthony Strallan on their honeymoon - 1922.
He sat back in the chair and looked at this page. Looking out at him was his great-grandfather, Anthony Strallan from whom the family said he got his blond hair and blue eyes. But his eyes lingered on the picture of his great-grandmother. He knew enough about genetics, DNA and recessive genes to know that certain traits and likenesses could skip one, two, three generations, sometimes even more. He was amazed and very curious. Over ninety years separated the picture of Lady Edith Strallan and the woman who in a very short period of time had managed to worm her way into his life and thoughts. Oh the hair was different and the smile a little smaller, but the likeness was uncanny. Staring back at him from his family album was the current Edith Crawley. How can this be, he thought to himself. Who are these California Crawleys?
He knew from family history that the Earldom of Grantham had once belonged to the Crawley family, but had passed to the Strallans when there were no longer any male heirs related to the Crawleys. In the 19th century, a Crawley daughter had married a Strallan and had produced two sons and two daughters. Because of that marriage the Earldom had eventually passed to the first son of Edith and Anthony Strallan, upon the death of her father the 5th Earl, Robert Crawley, sometime in the 1940's. Edith was the first daughter of Robert Crawley to have a son, thus he became the heir. Anthony knew that four children were born to his great-grandparents, Jonathan the oldest, Thomas, the middle son, and then his grandfather Robert and his twin sister Elizabeth. All in all his great-grandparents hadn't wasted any time. Four children in 5 years. He smiled when he thought about that. The rumor in the family was that they couldn't keep their hands off each other; propagated like rabbits. Thus, Jonathan inherited the title and the main estate, Downton Abbey. The original Strallan estate Locksley, where all of the Strallan children were raised, went to Thomas, great-grandfather's second son.
But great-grandfather Anthony had been far ahead of his time and had been interested in mechanization long before it became popular in farming. Because of his interest, he started a small manufacturing company in York to produce tractors, harvesters, reapers and the accessories and parts that were needed for them. He wanted to make sure his youngest son Robert had an inheritance too. So when Anthony's grandfather went to university he studied accounting, business and law with the knowledge that he would run the Strallan Company. Because of great-grandfather Anthony's vision, each of his sons had an inheritance, thus making all the descendants of the original Anthony and Edith very wealthy. Locksley, eventually merged with Grantham upon the death of Robert's brother, Thomas. Thomas had never married and Jonathan and Robert didn't want to lose that part of their legacy. Their personal fortunes paid the estate taxes when Thomas died, thus ensuring that the legacy would continue. Lawrence, Jonathan's son was now the current Earl of Grantham and Anthony's father Henry and his brother Mark were the current CEO and CFO of Strallan Industries, which had diversified far beyond farm equipment. Yes, the Crawleys and the Strallans were old titled English families and because of their linage, all the Strallan men carried the title 'Sir' and their wives and sisters 'Lady'.
So now his interest and curiosity was peeked. Given enough time, he was going to find out everything he could about this American branch of the Crawley family. And as he sat there looking at that picture of Anthony and Edith Strallan circa 1923, he smiled to himself knowing that the means to that end would be none other than the current Edith Crawley herself.
Sorry about the length. I wanted this 'family' connection, and also wanted to set it up in such a way that the current Anthony, like his great-grandmother goes after the person he wants. Edith chased Anthony in 1920 - Anthony will give the current Edith a run for her money as well.