Chapter 10: Poor Edith No More
The title plays off the fact that for much of the series "Poor Edith" was used to describe Edith...
Throughout the dinner, Edith found herself watching her future mother-in-law. It was almost as if she was waiting for the other shoe to drop. For so long, she had never had much luck. With her being engaged to a Marquess, who was she to believe that "poor Edith" would wind up happy?
With the touch of her fiancee's hand to her arm, Edith knew it was time. She knew Bertie was ready for the fight ahead of him, but she couldn't help but wish it didn't have to happen over such a formal dinner. As soon as he stood, Mrs. Pelham stood as well. The battle lines had now been drawn. As she listened to her, her heart knew that there would be no approval.
Bertie rose to speak after his mother. He could tell by her tone that she wasn't about ready to announce the engagement, and he knew he would have to do it. As he started talking, he couldn't help but notice Robert talking to her. As soon as he finished, she rose and interrupted him. There they stood and then the moment came when she said, "And let me be the one to make this happy announcement." Bertie kept his face straight, but the joy inside of him was hard to contain- his mother was accepting his fiance, the one he had chosen to marry.
The now officially engaged couple couldn't hide their glee. Neither could believe they had shared such a passionate moment in front of their parents, but the relief and love had to be shown. Bertie couldn't be prouder of Edith as she received the praise she so richly deserved. He could see that in the future, she would be able to hold her own against his mother. But now, there was another matter to take care of before Edith and her parents returned back to Downton Abbey.
"Earl, I wonder if I might have a few words with you," Bertie asked Robert nervously.
"Please, you are going to be family now, call me Robert," Robert insisted as he and Bertie walked toward a quiet corner of the room.
"I know that everything is official, but I wanted to make sure this engagement had your seal of approval," Bertie said nervously- wrapping his hands around each other in a nervous sort of fashion.
"It certainly does. I couldn't have asked for a better match for my Edith. She has risen above the ashes in her life, and has found true happiness at last," Robert said. "Even when you were just an agent, you had my approval. I saw the way you treated her, the way you treated Cora, and knew you would honor her the rest of her life. I couldn't ask for more."
Bertie smiled and reached out and to shake Robert's hand. Robert surprised him immensely by pulling him into a hug. After the hug, Bertie asked him "What did you say to mother at dinner? After the first toast, I could feel her disapproval..."
Robert smiled and said, "If you know our family history, you would know that I didn't approve of Sybil marrying Tom. I almost lost her as a daughter when I refused to approve. It took more time than your mom, but I finally came around. After she passed, it was the only sort of reconciliation that I could make with myself that she knew I approved of her and Tom... I only let your mother know the same thing could happen to her today," Robert said with a wistful smile at the mention of his baby girl.
"Thank you so much... I only hope I can continue to meet your expectations as a future son-in-law," Bertie said softly. Robert smiled and said, "Keep doing what you're doing and you will meet them as you have already done so."
Bertie smiled as he walked over to his fiance and the mothers. When he walked up, the conversation ceased. He smiled at them and said, "Don't stop on my account."
Edith smiled happily at him and said, "We were discussing my dream wedding dress- which you will not see until I walk down the aisle."
"Ah," Bertie said. "When will that be?"
Edith easily slipped her hand into his and said, "In December... probably close to the end of the year..."
Mother Pelham raised her eyes in surprise at the mention of the timeline. She queried, "Are you sure you can pull it together in time?"
Cora smiled and said, "When Edith sets her heart on something, she will get it done on time. Now, if you will excuse me, I'm heading upstairs. Robert?"
Robert nodded his consent and followed his wife. Mother Pelham looked at them and said, "Welcome to the family, Edith. I hope I will have the chance to meet my future granddaughter before the wedding."
"I hope you will as well," Edith said easily. "I have no doubt that Bertie and I will be visiting each other at our perspective homes between now and December. Maybe, one of those visits, I will bring Marigold here to visit her new home."
Mother Pelham nodded her head and said, "I think I will join your parents and take my leave. Goodnight son."
Once she left the room, Bertie started pulling Edith toward the door. Edith had thought he would lead her toward the couch for them to enjoy another cuddle session, so she was slightly surprised. Bertie smiled and at her, and said "Trust me."
Edith nodded her consent and allowed him to lead her out of the room. As they walked the hallways, she couldn't help but wonder at the conversation between her father and Bertie.
"What did you and my Father discus?" Edith said easily. "I highly doubt it was wedding plans.
"It wasn't... but this was the type of conversation that I don't feel free to discuss," Bertie replied easily. "It was between us men and that's all you need to know." With that, Bertie pulled open the doors to the library. Edith was surprised that this was the destination of choice, but decided it was best not to question the location.
"I wanted to do this in a place that meant something to both of us," Bertie said as he lead her to the middle of the room.
"Do what?" Edith asked suspiciously.
Bertie smiled at her and simply said, "Would you mind removing your gloves?" Edith looked at him with a questioning look but did as he asked. She placed them on the table beside and turned to face Bertie once more.
When she faced him, he had dropped down to one knee before her. He pulled out a black box from his pocket. He opened the box and asked, "You are the love of my life. I can't imagine spending the rest of my days with anyone but you. Will you marry me Lady Edith?"
Edith's face went from shock to complete and utter surprise. Tears immediately began to form in her eyes as she whispered, "Yes, my darling Bertie. Yes, I will marry you."
Bertie reached up and took her left hand in his and slid the ring on her finger. Edith couldn't help but gasp when she saw the size of the diamond. The ring itself was simple, but the diamond was huge. Bertie slowly raised himself up and took her face in his hands and leaned in to give her a kiss. Edith slowly raised her hands to caress the back of his neck as she allowed the kiss to deepen. The kiss went on for several more minutes before they finally pulled back.
"The ring is beautiful..." Edith whispered. "I never imagined I would have one like this..."
"You deserve it," Bertie whispered back. "For so long, you haven't felt worthy of love and acceptance. Even when I was an agent, you accepted me. Now, as the fiancee of a Marquess, you deserve a rink worthy of the title... and this ring works."
Edith smiled at him and said, "Thank you... Who knew when we shared that dance in this room how our lives would change?"
"I didn't..." Bertie said. "The dance was just the beginning of our tale. When I was lonely during those days before I saw you again in London, the dance was a treasured memory for me. When I realized earlier today I still needed to give you the ring, I knew this would be the place to do it... for that was the last moment on the best day of my life."
Edith smiled at him and said, "And you have made it a moment to remember."
The two of them then shared another kiss and cuddled on one of the sofas as they made plans for the upcoming weeks. The two of them knew that they would make the time to be together in the upcoming months. Neither could imagine not seeing the other until just before the wedding. Whether at Downton, Brancaster on in London, the two would find the time to meet and see the other one.
The conversation between Robert and Bertie is taken directly from "Stealing Cinderella"...
And now, I don't know if I want to continue this or to say it is complete... I'm leaning toward complete at the moment. If I did continue it, I would almost have to have a timeline to follow. This one worked because I had the episode to use as the timeline.
Reviews, likes, comments and/or suggestions are food for this author...