As promised, the next chapter! I am currently in the process of writing more but am in fairly new territory - since this became very much not a one shot (now the longest fic i've ever written) I've always had at least the next two chapters written and now, because of a work deluge, I don't. I would have held off publishing this chapter but really, I felt bad enough about ending it where I did last week so I couldn't have delayed this anymore! There will definitely be more - it just might take slightly longer than the weekly updates I've managed so far. Or, knowing me and my ability to avoid work, it might not. Honestly, at this point, anything's possible and everything's a surprise.
Either way I hope you enjoy this chapter (and I'm not bitter it didn't happen on screen no way no how not me)!
She blinked as her eyes adjusted from the bright spring sunshine, and saw what felt like hundreds of faces shining at her. Taking a breath, she began the walk up the aisle, passing excited children and their curious parents whispering about the "lady from the house", and she smiled to think that they meant her. As she walked further she began to get closer to those she knew – Andy and Daisy sitting together with Mrs Patmore and Mr Mason, the four of them an unconventional but happy family; Mrs Hughes tearing up already as Mr Carson beamed; Anna waving her son's chubby arm at the bride as she bounced him on her knee; Lady Grantham smiling with unrestrained delight at her maid as she held Lord Grantham's hand; Mr Molesley senior sniffing already into a handkerchief she'd made for him especially in preparation.
Closer to the front, Thomas had lost any trace of ennui and grinned happily at his best friend, while Mr Bates next to him had a small half smile on his face. But as she walked past the people she loved, Phyllis had eyes for none of them. The only person she could see was Joseph, standing proud and agape with wonder at the end of the aisle. He looked so happy, so truly ecstatic, that it was all she could do not to throw her shoes off and run towards him. She kept up the processional pace as best she could (though admittedly speeding her steps slightly towards the end), and silently counted down the seconds until she reached the front.
Finally, finally, she was there. Handing her bouquet over to a very excited Miss Sybbie on the front row to hold, she reached over and clasped Joseph's hands. They stared into each other's eyes and unconsciously stepped closer together, much to the consternation of the vicar. He coughed and they stepped apart slightly again to stand side by side. Giving them a firm look, he quickly began the service. He was well versed in the Molesley family's history with clumsiness and accidents, and was determined to leave no space for mistakes here. They said 'amen' when prompted and sang a rousing rendition of a hymn Phyllis couldn't remember a word of the second it finished – then in no time at all he was prompting Joseph, who blinked and looked confused before remembering his cue.
"Joseph William Molesley, will you take Phyllis Josephine Baxter to be your wife? Will you love her, comfort her, honour and protect her, and, forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?"
He nodded vigorously, then at a prompting look swiftly added "I will."
The vicar turned, trying to resist an exasperated sigh.
"Phyllis Josephine Baxter, will you take Joseph William Molesley to be your husband? Will you love him, comfort him, honour and protect him, and, forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?"
In a strong, clear voice with a smile on her face, Phyllis answered: "I will."
"Joseph and Phyllis, I now invite you to join hands and make your vows, in the presence of God and his people."
Joseph took a breath, and held Phyllis's hands tighter.
"I, Joseph, take you, Phyllis, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward; for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part; according to God's holy law. In the presence of God I make this vow."
He smiled at her proudly, and received an answering grin. Word perfect. Without moving her eyes from his, she echoed the vows.
At a prompting by the vicar, they reluctantly let go of each other's hands for a moment as Thomas reached over to pass the rings.
"Heavenly Father, by your blessing let these rings be to Joseph and Phyllis a symbol of unending love and faithfulness, to remind them of the vow and covenant which they have made this day through Jesus Christ our Lord."
With steady hands, Joseph picked up the smaller of the two rings and slid it into place on Phyllis's hand.
"Phyllis, I give you this ring as a sign of our marriage. With my body I honour you, all that I am I give to you, and all that I have I share with you, within the love of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit."
Picking up the remaining gold band, Phyllis held his right hand in place as she did the same.
They looked at each other, barely holding in their excitement. The vicar, thanking the almighty for a service with no mistakes from a Molesley, turned to the congregation.
"I therefore proclaim that they are husband and wife!"
As the two kissed, loud cheers almost burst the roof off the church. Pulling back, they looked into each other's eyes, a silent bubble in the middle of the noise. Joseph's grin was face splitting and Phyllis found herself laughing with the sheer volume of joy she felt. It showed in both their faces – the disbelief that anyone could be this happy. Clasping hands, they turned to walk back down the aisle, nodding and smiling at people they – honestly – barely saw.
The doors of the church were flung open and the new Mr and Mrs Molesley stepped out into the bright sunlight, clouds of rice and confetti raining down on them from eager children. Joseph blinked, dazed, as Phyllis laughed again and looked up to see the sun shining through a cloud of tissue.
Behind them, the congregants began making their way out of church: children first, dragging their parents to make it to the schoolhouse first. At a more dignified pace came Mrs Hughes and Mr Carson, Anna and Mr Bates (with baby still firmly in tow), the Mason family and Thomas, who took a second to stop and smell the fresh air, smiling as he watched Phyllis laugh in the middle of another shower of rice. Finishing up the procession at the most dignified pace came the family: Tom, Laura, and Sybbie (still carrying the bouquet); Mary, Henry, George and the baby; then finally Robert and Cora. Watching the excited crowds surround the happy couple as they paused outside the church, Robert had a sudden thought.
"Does this mean that Baxter will be Molesley now?" he said to his wife, frowning.
Parsing this strange sentence with a smile hiding on her lips, Cora considered the question.
"Well, I asked her and she said she doesn't mind staying as Baxter if it's easier for us. I suppose she'll be Mrs Molesley in the village, I don't think those children would settle for anything else. The pair of them are practically famous from what I've heard."
He snorted. "And she'll definitely be able to carry on?"
At this, Cora turned to look at him. "Why on earth are you worrying about that?"
"I just don't want you to be overworked, with everything at the hospital. You need to have a maid you can rely on."
She held his arm tighter and patted it reassuringly. "I can rely completely on Baxter. She's already assured me that she can stay as late as I need, whenever I need, and that she'll only leave the house when she's sure I won't call her. It'll be fine."
"Still, a Lady's Maid marrying and staying on. Who would have thought it?"
"Well, Anna's been married to Mr Bates for years now, and that's worked out well for all concerned." she pointed out.
"Yes, but that's different!"
"I don't see how. Honestly Robert, it will be fine. She asked me for my permission to marry him after all, and I said yes. I would have said something then if I thought there would be any problems, but I really don't. We must all be flexible to survive, and I couldn't have come between the two of them."
Robert shook his head in amazement at the memory of Cora breaking the news to him. It had taken a good five minutes for her to convince him she wasn't pulling his leg – and even having seen the service, he was still having trouble.
"I must admit, I never suspected there was anything there. Molesley and Baxter! Who'd have thought?"
Cora sighed inwardly. Wonderful he may be, but Robert really was the most unobservant man. She had known for a long time that there was something brewing between the two. From their trips round every pub in York on a quest to prove Bates' innocence; Miss Baxter reassuring her with a spark in her eye that Mr Molesley would be accompanying her to the trial of that awful man; the fact that the two of them had stood or sat together at every major social occasion over the last four years – yes, it had been perfectly obvious to her, and no doubt to nearly everyone else. Robert must have seen this in her face, as he sighed in turn.
"Is this another case of me being the last to realise something everyone else already knew?"
"I'm afraid so, darling."
"Ah well. All's well that ends well."
The two of them walked on, arm in arm, towards the school.
Ahead, Phyllis and Joseph had managed to find a moment of peace. The children had rushed ahead to the schoolroom – "first time I've seen them so eager", commented a bemused Mr Dawes, chasing them down the road at a marginally more sedate pace in a bid to make sure the school stayed intact – and the adults had fallen politely behind to give the newlyweds a moment. As the pair walked down the path leading through the churchyard, they tried to find the words to express a tenth of what they were feeling.
"I've never seen anything as beautiful as you walking down the aisle towards me." He said softly, staring down at the top of her head. She looked up, brown eyes meeting his, and the dopey smile on his face melted her heart again.
"It was everything I could do not to run." She admitted, and he snorted.
"I wish you had run. It seems mad now that we haven't been married for years. Decades, even! It just feels so…"
"Right." She finished. "It does, doesn't it? Mrs Phyllis Molesley."
His heart skipped a beat at the sound of her name with his.
"Mrs Molesley." He muttered.
She smiled, then stopped suddenly, clutching his arm.
"What?" he said, nervously. "You've not changed your mind at the sound of it?"
She gave him a fondly exasperated look, then shook her head.
"No – I just need to find Miss Sybbie a moment. There's something I want to do."
Watching bemusedly, Joseph saw her gracefully make her way up the young girl and her father, kneel down – being careful not to mark the dress – and exchange some unheard conversation with her. Sybbie handed over the bouquet, albeit slightly reluctantly, and Joseph smiled to see Phyllis carefully remove one of the roses and hand it to the young girl, who squealed in excitement. She made her way back and he smiled at her clutching the arrangement firmly.
"Miss Sybbie didn't want to let go?"
"I think she has a new-found passion for flowers."
Dad'll like that, he thought, then proffered his arm again.
"Why did you want it now? Why not wait?"
"Because there's something I want to do with it." She said, cryptically.
They kept walking until they reached the corner of the churchyard and she pulled on his arm again gently.
"Here." She said, softly.
He looked down to see a very familiar gravestone.
"Gladys Molesley." He said automatically, before looking over at her. She smiled sadly at him, and knelt again. Pulling a sprig of each flower out of the bouquet, she gathered them in a new bouquet of their own, before gently laying them on the grave and bowing her head for a second. Standing up, she linked her arm in his again and pulled him close, resting her head on his shoulder.
Joseph was speechless for a second as he stared down at the grave. Finally he managed to choke out a "Thank you", and Phyllis squeezed his arm.
"It's only right she should be remembered today. I really would have loved to have known her."
"She'd have loved you, lass." came a voice from behind them, and the pair turned to see an equally choked up Bill watching them.
Phyllis smiled. "I'm glad you think so."
"Oh, I know so. I'm that proud you're joining the family, I really am. I hope you know that."
She nodded, squeezing Joseph's arm again as he managed to regain control.
"Goodbye Mum." He said softly, before turning and continuing the walk towards the school with his new wife held close.
Bill stayed a moment longer, looking down sadly at the gravestone.
"He's finally happy and settled, Gladys. 54 years it took. 54 years. Would you believe it, never thought we'd see the day! You'd be made up for the both of them. Our son, a schoolteacher, and married to a nice woman like Phyllis. He's done well for himself."
He sighed, leaning his hand on the cool, rough stone.
"Thank you, love. It was a wonderful life with you."
Then he too walked on, following the wedding party into the sun.