.
Clarke's Prince of Denmark's March begins to play on Downton Church organ. Anthony gently kisses the new Lady Strallan, then she takes his right elbow behind the sling. They walk down the nave together smiling at the small gathering of friends, family, and staff they handpicked together to share their special day.
The wedding breakfast at Downton is suitably quiet but there is a joy to the proceedings that Edith and Anthony feel would not be there with a grander affair. Later, Mary comes up to Edith with a small bag. She has been Edith's maid-of-honour.
Mary: You can't go without these, Edith.
Edith: Thank you, Mary. Quite spontaneously, she kisses her. Is Jones ready?
Matthew (joining them with the rest of the family): I believe so. (To Anthony, under his breath): Courage, mon brave. I'm sure it won't be as bad as you think…!
Anthony: Thank you Matthew, for everything: for talking me out of putting a bullet in my head that day; for being my Best Man; for being my friend.
Matthew (putting his hand on Anthony's shoulder): Don't mention it. Send us a postcard from Verona.
Robert (shaking hands with Anthony): Welcome to the family, Anthony. I believe this is the first time we've had a marriage between the Strallans and the Crawleys, isn't it?
Edith: Papa, I'm afraid we'll have to leave researching the family tree to you. I'm taking Anthony home before it gets too late.
Cora: Goodnight, my darling. Don't be gone too long.
Edith: Thank you, Mama.
Then, so very quickly, all the goodbyes are over and Anthony and Edith are sitting in the back of his Rolls-Royce, on their way home to Locksley.
Edith: Hello husband.
Anthony: Hello wife. What's in the bag?
Edith: I hope it's a DSO and a VC. Would you like them back?
Anthony: Heavens! I'd forgotten about those. Thank you. Did they reassure you?
Edith: Yes, they did. It was very sweet of you to lend them to me.
Anthony: Like any good knight in shining armour, I lay the heads of the dragons I have slain at my lady's feet.
Edith: I can't thank you enough for today…for trying again and going through with it this time.
Anthony: It felt a bit queer to begin with. Ghosts…
Edith: But once we got past 'Dearly beloved'…
Anthony: …it got a lot easier.
Edith: I felt the same.
Anthony: Worth remembering this time?
Edith: Definitely.
Anthony (quietly in her ear): It isn't over yet.
.
They are entering Anthony's bedroom, later.
Edith: This is the one room in Locksley I have never entered.
Anthony: You could have done so, if you had wished.
Edith: I wanted to preserve the mystique.
Anthony: Not much mystery, I'm afraid, just tweed and shaving cream.
Edith: You know very little about women and what intrigues them, you know that?
Anthony: I have always known very little about women, and what I once knew I fear I have forgotten.
Edith: I don't actually believe that. You kiss like a man who knows what he's doing.
Anthony: Really? You really like the way I kiss you?
Edith: You kiss extremely nicely.
He looks at her unbelievingly.
Edith: Anthony, you send electric shocks down my spine and make me feel giddy with joy and…desire.
Anthony (swallowing hard, thinking): Dear God, this is where it begins. At last. I've waited so long for this. (Aloud): When you kiss my neck, it makes me go weak.
Edith (quieter): Where? Just there?
She places a gentle finger on the angle of his neck just under his cravat. Unable to speak, he nods. She kisses it, lightly but thoroughly.
Anthony (closing his eyes, he breathes the word): Oh…
Edith: It would be easier to do this, if I might remove your cravat and collar.
Anthony: Please do.
Edith (thinking): His neck is suddenly so white below the neckline where he wears ties all the time. His skin is so firm and yet so smooth. I love the feel of his muscles under my fingers.
Anthony (losing control of his voice): Lower…please, lower.
Edith lets her hand slide further down his neck to his collar bone followed by her kisses. She begins to undo the buttons of his waistcoat.
Edith: Let me please you.
He catches her fingers and kisses them.
Anthony: Only if you'll let me please you too.
Edith: Anthony…tell me how. I don't know how. Not really.
He looks her in the eye, holding her hand to his chest.
Anthony: We have the rest of our lives to learn how to please each other. Tonight…
He runs his hand over her cheek and down over her shoulder.
Anthony: …tonight, I just want to be close to you. Anything else is a bonus. Neither of us needs the extra pressure to be…athletic.
Edith: Once again, we are perfectly suited.
Anthony: Now, where were we? I believe you were helping me undress…
She reaches for his sling.
Edith: May I?
Anthony: Yes, but…sorry, it helps if you hold the arm while you do it; take the weight while you lift the sling over my head, like that. I can't hold it up, you see?
She can see that this embarrasses him. She takes his advice, but once the arm is free, she lifts the hand to her lips to kiss it. Immediately, she feels him relax again.
Edith: Now the tails and waistcoat I think I can manage without the tutorial.
Despite her confident assertion, when she begins to unbutton his shirt, she feels as though she has strayed into foreign territory without speaking the language. She catches glimpses of his chest underneath, smooth and well defined. She is both attracted to touch him, and frightened to do so. Her actions slow, and Anthony automatically assumes she is disgusted at what she sees.
Anthony: Darling…if you don't want to see…
Edith (realising what he means): You think I don't want to see your scars. She shakes her head. It wasn't that at all. I wasn't looking at your scars; I can't see them yet. I've just never seen a man without his shirt before. You are…magnificent, but I'm nervous.
Anthony (reassured by her words): Oh, my sweetest, loveliest Edith.
Edith: Would you prefer it if I were not to see your scars tonight?
Anthony: That is kind of you to offer, but I think I would prefer to be totally open and honest with you, my love.
She slides the shirt over his shoulders, the left one muscular, the right one withered and criss-crossed with surgical scars and one large, ragged scar in the centre where he was pierced by the bullet. She skims her hand over it and despite his instinctively starting back, she can feel that the bones are not all there as they should be. Carefully placing kisses over it, she says
Edith: My darling. My poor darling. What you must have suffered. Does it…is there anywhere I shouldn't touch you? I don't want to hurt you.
Anthony: Don't worry. There's not much feeling there at all now. But…oh Edith…the way you touch it…
Edith: I love you. All of you.
Anthony: Oh dear God, Edith! I adore you!
He catches her and kisses her with a raw, unbridled passion for the first time in his life. She is utterly overwhelmed, wrapping her arms about him.
Edith: I think I've done enough for now. It's your turn.
Now it is Anthony who feels nervous. Timidly, he slips her dress off one shoulder, followed by the other. The dress is silk and slips easily down over her body to the floor. Anthony is speechless. All he can do is let his eyes drink her in, worshipping her body, but also absolutely adoring her.
Anthony: Oh sweet heavens! What did I ever do to deserve you?!
Edith (reaching up for another kiss): You took me out for a ride in your Rolls-Royce.
Anthony: My own words fail me.
.
Come, Madam, come, all rest my powers defy,
Until I labour, I in labour lie.
.
Edith: If you are going to quote Donne I will not be able to resist you for long.
Anthony (between kisses): In that case:
.
Licence my roving hands, and let them go,
Before, behind, between, above, below.
O my America! my new-found-land,
My kingdom, safeliest when with one man man'd,
My mine of precious stones: My Emperie,
How blest am I in this discovering thee!
To enter in these bonds, is to be free;
Then where my hand is set, my seal shall be.
.
With Anthony placing his hand between her breasts over her heart, with a gesture of both adoration and possession, they both lose themselves in their passion and each other, letting all sense of time or place slip past them. Thoughts become wordless, actions are urgent and zealous. Kisses are frantic for them both. Anthony feels that he might drown in his love for her. Edith knows that heaven holds nothing better than this, to have him in her arms, to be able to inspire such ardour in the one man in the world she could love like this. They claim the highest height of love, and lie as conquerors, entwined, until the dawn breaks on their new life, together.
.
Thank you for reading to the end. Reviews are, as always, extremely welcome. I struggled with this story, far more than my previous efforts. If anyone wants to nominate me for the Bad Sex Award, I'll take it like a man.