Chapter 12
A/N: Parts of this chapter were hard to write and you may need some tissues. Here we see a sign of Anthony's intellectual brilliance and a shift in confidence.
Six months passed. Edith did her best to keep busy with her duties at Locksley and taking care of her son. Tom Branson, her father's Irish radical chauffeur, had also taught her to drive. She had not mentioned this to Anthony in any of her letters because she wanted to surprise him when he next came home on leave.
Little Anthony was a strong sturdy little boy who was beginning to look very much like a miniature version of his father. He was playful and happy which made Edith love him all the more.
But Anthony was never far from her thoughts; she thought of him constantly and every night she relived each caress of their last night together. He was just so gorgeous, such a wonderful lover, and she also replayed the serious conversation they had had. She knew, in spite of what he had said that she would never love again were the worst to happen to her husband. He was the one true love of her life.
OO
Major Anthony Strallan lay face down in the cold soil. He was cold and the pain in his right arm and shoulder ripped through him every time he moved. His face was streaked with dirt and tears as he thought of his beloved Lady Strallan and his son. He wondered if his son had taken his first steps yet and what his first word would be; he thought of anything he could to take his mind off the situation he was in and the pain he felt.
"Oh darling Edith," he muttered through gritted teeth, "Will I ever see you again?"
There appeared to be no one to help him so he resolved he would somehow have to get to a military hospital under his own steam. Thankfully there was nothing wrong with his legs but his head ached as the sound of the bullet echoed through his thoughts. He had to try and piece together his account of how he had got here because a conviction for treason depended on it. He slowly and painfully hauled himself to his feet and panic set in as he found he could not move his right arm. The pain was terrible.
He had set out on a reconnaissance mission with a man he had come to trust and after that day's events he knew he would never again trust another living soul other than his beloved wife. Anthony had been carrying a dispatch case containing documents of a sensitive nature to which he wasn't privy for his own protection. However he had employed a clever trick. The model of dispatch case in question had a secret compartment. Anthony had concealed the real documents in this compartment and replaced them with a cleverly coded set which would, unbeknown to any thief; mark him out as a traitor. That morning Anthony had gone into the lavatory and made the switch. But he could not concentrate on any of this now. The pain was hell. Who knew how much blood he had lost? His head swam and he passed out cold.
OO
Oblivious to what was happening to her husband, Lady Edith Strallan, was continuing her business as usual. She had taken her son to Violet's for afternoon tea.
"How are you Edith dear?" Violet asked.
"I'm coping, Granny; terribly worried of course but my Anthony is a survivor. I have to believe that else I will go mad. Sometimes when I'm alone at night I imagine all sorts of horrors and I can't stop crying but when I wake up it is business as usual because I have to portray some sense of normality for the child's sake."
"He certainly looks like his father," Violet said smiling at the little boy who scrambled onto her lap.
"Yes he does and that is both a comfort and a curse right now."
"He will come home Edith dear," Violet soothed, "I never realised just how much you two really do love each other. I was grateful to him for saving you, for saving all of us from scandal but I know he really wants to be with you and all I have ever wanted is for my granddaughter's to be happy."
"Thank you Granny; he is a good friend as well as a husband and lover."
"He is a true gentleman Edith and I hope that both Mary and Sybil are fortunate enough to find husbands as decent as he is."
"Did you know Cousin Isobel has gone to France?"
"Yes I had heard," Violet said, "I think Major Clarkson is glad to have her out of his hair."
"Oh Granny you are silly; he is totally besotted with her as is she with him. The sparks that fly between them can suggest nothing else."
OO
When Anthony came to he was lying on clean white sheets and covered by a blanket, He tried to move and let out a sharp cry of pain although it had somewhat dulled. His head felt foggy and his limbs felt like lead; the ones he could move at least.
He wondered how he had got here. As things swam into sharp focus he was aware of a woman in nurse's uniform making her way towards his bed.
"Major Strallan," the nurse said.
"Yes"
"It's good to see you are awake; you had us worried for a while. We have given you morphine and a blood transfusion. The wound is nasty but a doctor will be coming shortly to talk to you about that. Is there anyone at home you want us to notify?"
"Yes," Anthony's throat was dry, "My wife, Lady Edith Strallan. How long have I been here?"
"Three days but you have been under sedation for much of that time. Your commanding officer has been notified."
"The papers I was carrying," Anthony coughed, his throat was dry and the nurse held a glass of water to his pale lips.
"The case was recovered but there were no papers inside,"
Anthony froze before he remembered the coded message and the secret compartment.
"Are you hungry?" the nurse asked.
"Yes but I feel rather queasy so am not sure I could keep it down."
"I can get you some soup and help you."
"No need," Anthony forced a smile, "I'm ambidextrous so can use my left hand as well as my right."
OO
Isobel Crawley walked into the ward. Not for the first time since leaving Downton she wondered if she was doing the right thing. She missed Major Clarkson more than she had realised and this place was like another world.
The nurse who had been speaking to Anthony approached her.
"Mrs Crawley, we have a patient from your neck of the woods. A Major Anthony Strallan,"
Isobel froze and thought she might faint. The nurse helped her sit.
"Are you alright Mrs Crawley?"
"Yes. It's just that I know Major Strallan's wife. What is wrong with him?"
"He has taken a bullet in the shoulder and lost the use of his right arm."
"Oh god," Isobel turned pale, "How did that happen?"
"I don't know all the details yet Mrs Crawley. He's been sedated since he was brought here three days ago and it has only just worn off but he has been in a lot of pain."
"Do you mind if I contact his wife?"
"That would be a help Mrs Crawley, people take bad news better when it comes from someone they know; at least in my experience,"
"And might I sit with him a while? It would help him to see someone he knows although she isn't his beloved wife."
"Do you think his wife would come here to see him?"
"I'm not sure if it's practical. She has an eight month old son she would not want to leave and she would not expose him to danger but her family home – she is the second daughter of the Earl of Grantham – is currently functioning as a military hospital for convalescing officers."
"You would need to speak to the doctor but I think that that would be a move in the right direction."
The nurse took Isobel to Anthony's bedside.
"Mrs Crawley, what on earth are you doing here?" Anthony gasped.
"I thought I would be more appreciated elsewhere, Sir Anthony. All Clarkson and I ever do is argue and I can't satisfy Cousin Cora no matter what I do or don't do."
"Is Matthew alright?"
"I have heard nothing to the contrary,"
"Would you telephone Edith for me? It may be better coming from you."
Isobel placed her hand over his, "of course I will,"
"I'm still trying to get my head around what happened; about being possibly maimed for life and wondering if my wife will still want me."
"Edith loves you, of course she will."
"I don't feel so sure at this moment in time," he winced as he felt a stabbing pain down his back." His blue eyes filled with tears and Isobel held his left hand, "Mrs Crawley if she no longer wants me then I may as well put a bullet in my head."
"Anthony, Edith loves you very much and all she will want to do is take care of you. She married you for better or worse and she is a lady who keeps her promises."
"I know but I just have so many crazy thoughts going through my head right now."
"It's understandable,"
Just then a tall man in army uniform came across with the nurse.
"Mrs Crawley this is my commanding officer Colonel Marshall, Sir this is Mrs Crawley, a friend from back home."
Marshall offered Isobel his hand and she shook it.
"I will go and telephone to Lady Strallan," she said.
When Isobel had left Marshall sat beside the bed.
"Major Strallan you have done your King and country a great service; the men who stole the false documents were arrested for treason two days ago. I must applaud you for that was a jolly smart move of yours concealing the real papers which are still in British hands. By your quick thinking you may well have altered the whole course of the war in our favour and given that you were injured in the line of duty you may well have earned yourself a DSO if not a VC. I am jolly glad to serve with you."
Anthony's eyes were filled with tears.
"I know it must be dashed awful being stuck here but I will use my influence to get you to a military hospital in England where they have better equipment and surgical knowledge; they are limited here although they do a first rate job with what they have available."
"Thank you Sir," Anthony swallowed, "Mrs Crawley will try and get me into Downton as it is a military hospital at present. That is if Lady Strallan wants a crippled husband."
"Of course she will dear man, you are a hero," Marshall said placing a hand on Anthony's left shoulder.
They talked for a while before Marshall left.
That night Anthony lay awake for hours; the pain thankfully numbed by morphine. Despite reassurance from both Marshall and Isobel he knew he would never believe Edith would still want him; at least not until he heard it from her own lips and felt them against his. God he would not even be able to hold her or his son properly.
Finally Major Strallan drifted into a drug induced sleep haunted by his own fears and insecurities.
