The rest of the weekend with Edith's family was relatively calm, and even enjoyable. Michael and Tom continued to find common ground, and Robert even treated Michael to a very detailed account on the history of Downton Abbey during the early 19th century, which to Edith and Mary's amusement Michael tried his best to find fascinating.
But Sunday afternoon seemed to come very quickly as the family was saying goodbye to the pair in the great hall
"Say 'bye bye Edith'" Tom gently encouraged Sybbie as he was holding her and Edith was tickling her cheek
Sybbie brought her chubby hand up to wave
"Dith!... Dith!"
Edith chuckled as Cora and Robert looked on with Michael in between them
"Sybbie, it's Edith..Eeedith" Edith tried to explain to her niece
"Dith!...Dith! byebye Dith!"
Edith pressed a kiss to the toddler's head and addressed Tom
"We'll have to work on it later Tom, thank you for everything weekend and for being so kind to Michael, I'll see you and the little angel at Christmas"
With that she moved on to say goodbye to Mary, and saw Robert shaking Michael's hand
"I'll phone our man Murray tomorrow and give him your information, he should be in contact within the week"
"Thank you for having me, Lord Grantham. It was incredibly generous of you considering the circumstances."
"Yes, well we both know how I feel about the whole thing, but regardless I'm trying to do what's best for my daughter and my family. With that being said I suppose I have no choice but to rely on you in regards to her welfare, so if you do anything to hurt her or make her life in any way uncomfortable you'll be dealing with a very unhappy man."
Anxious to escape the oppressive house and get back to the cozy home he shared with Edith, Michael nodded that he understood Robert and said
"Of course Lord Grantham, thank you for your confidence I'll make sure Edith is well taken care of."
Cora directed a light sigh toward her husband and said with a joking smile towards Michael
"I think at this point Mr. Gregson is well aware he'll be in trouble if he doesn't keep our Edith happy, Robert"
Edith stood before her sister as Mary's hands rested in front of her and her head tilted to one side
"I hope your trip home proved to be successful"
"I think so, Papa didn't go after Michael with a firearm so we can claim a victory..."
Edith glanced around the great hall and tentatively ventured
"Mary, I did enjoy spending time with you this weekend"
Still not entirely comfortable with being vulnerable in front of Edith Mary's eyes gazed at the rug and then returned to look at Edith
"Yes, I did too, actually. It seems all we needed to get along is to occupy different parts of the country"
Edith laughed at the accuracy of Mary's joke
"Edith...I must say I'm happy you two found each other. He's absolutely besotted by you and I must say he has turned out better than I expected, but I should've of known that the minute he said he loathed Richard Carlisle"
Edith stole a glance behind her to see Michael and her mother chatting near the door
"Thank you Mary, he is quite the fan of yours. You two might get on better than both of you expect,...and Mary I don't want to put pressure on you but whenever you're ready we'd love for you to visit London. I know you would stay with Rosamund, but we have lovely friends who are good company."
Mary nodded thankfully to Edith
"Thank you Edith, that would be...nice. Possibly after the holidays, you can take me to one of those provocative jazz clubs you two seem to frequent, now I would get over there and see what Mama is plotting with your Michael."
Edith smiled at the peaceful exchange with her sister and surprised her with a lingering hug
"Goodbye Mary, give George a kiss when he wakes up from his nap."
"Goodbye Edith, safe travels and I'll see you at Christmas"
Cora placed her hand in the crook of Michael's arm and walked him towards the door
"I hope we haven't scared you away Mr. Gregson, Robert can be quite protective."
"I wouldn't expect anything less Lady Grantham, and I very much enjoyed this weekend. Thank you."
Cora then looked at her daughters chatting and laughing and caught the warm look that lingered on Edith's face as she saw Michael and her mother talking
"You know I've never seen her like this, so calm and happy. It seems my daughter has found her place with you Mr. Gregson"
Michael tried and failed to not let his face break into a proud smile as he heard Edith's mother praise their relationship, clearing his throat he answered
"You raised an wonderful woman Lady Grantham, I just feel very fortunate that she thinks me worthy of her attention"
Seeing her daughter approach Cora patted his shoulder and whispered
"Just take good care of my girl"
"What are you two conspiring about?"
Edith cheerfully asked as she began to put on her gloves
"I was thanking your lovely mother for tolerating my bad manners and poor breeding this weekend"
Cora gave a Michael an accepting smile and went to give Edith a hug
"I was just telling Mr. Gregson to look after you, you know Edith you could phone me more often, I've gotten much more comfortable using the telephone."
Edith gave her mother a kiss on the cheek and went to put her hat on
"Yes Mama I'll be sure to, now we have to be going if we are to say goodbye to Granny and catch the train, goodbye Papa, I'll see you all in a few weeks"
Edith said as accepted her father's kiss on her cheek then turned to link her arm with Michael's and began to walk toward to the waiting car.
As Michael and Edith took their seats in the car and gave a final wave to her family a wave of contentment washed over both of them and as the car began to drive away from the house both of them let out a sigh of relief and leaned against each other
"I think we did very well this weekend Michael"
"Hmmm yes, I think we did too, but I'll have you know that three members of your family threatened me with bodily harm if I cause you any discomfort"
"Just three?" Edith asked as she looked up at Michael and watched him looking at the passing countryside.
Michael raised his arm and slipped it around Edith's shoulders and began to rub her arm
"Yes just three, but to be fair your grandmother hasn't had the chance to get me alone yet and that butler Mr. Carson was looking at me all weekend as if he didn't need a reason to chuck me out the door by my collar."
After returning from Yorkshire Michael and Edith fell back into their domestic routine and Nigel arranged for Michael to meet with a potential new solicitor, Peter Watson. Michael met with him that week and he agreed to take on the case, but also wanted to meet with Michael and Edith together in order to 'all get on the same page'.
They all arranged to meet in a few days because in their first meeting Michael requested that Watson draw up some papers that needed Edith's signature and he would need some time to complete them. On the day of the meeting Michael spent the morning at the office as usual then met Edith for lunch nearby Watson's office.
"I still think it's a bit odd that I should be meeting with you and your lawyer" Edith said as she stood from the table and was helped into her coat by Michael
"I don't think so, it does concern you Edith, besides I like him, he's a bit...unorthodox but I think very tenacious, yet discrete"
The pair exited the restaurant and walked the short distance to Watson's office and were greeted at the door by his secretary who informed them that Mr. Watson was waiting for them and showed them both into his office.
Edith entered the sunny office lined with bookcases behind Michael and waited for her introduction
"Good afternoon Mr. Watson, sorry if we kept you waiting, let me introduce Lady Edith Crawley."
Watson a short and stocky young man with wavy black hair and gold rimmed glasses shook Edith's hand with a bit more force than usual
"Pleasure to meet you Lady Edith I'm Peter Watson, hopefully I can be of some help to you. Please take a seat both of you then we can get started."
Watson directed them to two office chairs that sat in front of his solid oak desk
"It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Watson thank you for taking on Mr. Gregson's case" Edith said, her aristocratic training kicking in to try and smooth over Watson's direct and forceful approach
Watson gave her a quick nod in response then said as he was looking over papers on his desk
"Right, well let's get on with it, Gregson you would like a divorce from your first wife in order to marry Lady Edith..."
Surprised by his frankness and lack of tact Edith gave Michael a questioning look while Watson was speaking and Michael only responded by shrugging his shoulders with an apologetic look on his face.
"...but you can't get a divorce in England because your current wife is committed, is that right?"
"Yes that's right"
Watson stood and began to walk around his office
"It seems like it would be quite pointless to continue to challenge the divorce in English courts, so we will have to find alternative ways to end the union, so I wanted to speak to both of you to let you know that I along with Mr. Murray will comb every law and statute in Europe to find a way to solve this problem"
The way Watson spoke confidently and plainly about the situation made Edith's confidence in him rise despite his lack of social grace, Watson continued
"...and I hope you will both be open to whatever possibility, I also wanted to advise you that it would be best to receive as little attention as possible. I feel it's best to work without any scrutiny. And I'm aware of both of your positions in the media world so perhaps you should cut down on your nights out, now tell me is there any chance that the public will find out about your arrangement?"
Michael and Edith shared a guilty look with each other then turned their attention to Watson who was leaning against the window sill with his arms crossed, Michael tried to explain
"Anyone who knows the facts won't say anything, but there is another newspaper editor who thinks he knows and there is a chance that he will publish accounts of Lady Edith and I in the coming weeks"
Watson looked contemplatively out the window
"I see, well if he does than he does, no use trying to get the milk back into the cow's udder once it's squirted out, right?! Now let's move on to Mr. Gregson's estate affairs"
Edith was simply perplexed by the strange lawyer but after he mentioned Michael's estate affairs she began to rise from her chair
"Thank you Mr. Watson, I'll just be outside Michael"
Before Michael could explain Watson jumped in as he was at the filling cabinet
"Please stay until we've received your signature Lady Edith"
Edith lowered herself and looked to Michael for an explanation
"I'm selling you my house, dear"
"Michael what am I going to do with your house?" Edith asked as she was thoroughly confused by this meeting
"I'd still very much like you to live there with me..." Michael said with a playful tone but seeing Edith's annoyed expression became more serious,
"...Edith, I want to make sure you are protected in case something should happen to me, that you are provided for as much as I can manage right now"
Not wanting to imagine that such morose things could happen an forlorn look came to Edith's face
"Michael are you sure that's necessary?"
Michael eased his hand into hers and leaned closer
"Yes, very necessary, we never know what can happen, it's more for my peace of mind than anything...and your father's as well I suppose"
"Why would my father have anything to do with this?"
Maintaining eye contact Michael began in a nonchalant tone
"It's just during our weekend I had the feeling that he was nervous about me, like I was set to drop you any second. So I just don't want him worrying about us, I'll be sending him copies of the deed with your name on it and my restructured will"
The feeling of security and appreciation for Michael being so concerned with not only her well being but the feelings of her father made Edith tingle with happiness, then Watson's voice broke her dreamy state
"Alright then Lady Edith if you could sign here and give me the payment to give to Mr. Gregson..."
"How much is the payment?" Edith asked as she signed her name on the deed
Michael answered
"One pound, you're getting quite the deal"
Edith searched in her handbag and came up empty
"Michael, I forgot to bring money do you have any I could borrow?"
Michael laughed to himself and looked to Watson
"I do, but do we really have to physically exchange the currency?"
Watson nodded in a very serious tone
"I'm afraid so Mr. Gregson, otherwise it wouldn't be a complete transaction, I like to do things so as to avoid any question"
Michael accepted the lawyer's strict way of doing business and took out one pound and handed it to Edith, Edith went to hand it back but was stopped by Watson
"I'll have to give the funds to Mr. Gregson, to make it a legal exchange, Lady Edith"
Wanting to leave the lawyer's office as soon as possible Edith quickly gave the money to Watson who then put it in an envelope and handed it to Michael
"Thank you very much, Mr. Watson. Do you need me to sign anything else?"
"No I think we have everything sorted, here is a copy of your new will which Lady Edith is the primary beneficiary, and the provisions for...erm, Mrs. Gregson's care are included and detailed"
Michael accepted the folder containing the documents and followed Edith to the door
"We'll leave you to the rest of your affairs Mr. Watson, and do contact us as soon as you have anything worth sharing"
"Yes thank you for your diligence Mr. Watson" Edith added as Michael helped her into her coat
"I haven't done anything yet Lady Edith, but I will do my best, good afternoon"
Stepping out into the London streets to make their way home and taking his arm Edith immediately said
"Michael, are you sure you want that man representing us?"
"He's just very thorough, Nigel swears by him, claims he's absolutely brilliant, I think together with Murray they'll find something for us"
Edith looked over to Michael skeptically as she pressed herself into his side to avoid the chill in the air
"I hope so,...and Michael you know you didn't have to give me your house and put me in your will, I know you're not going anywhere"
"Yes well, I don't think your father feels the same and I want to make it as easy as possible to him to accept me, plus I promised him I'd look after you...and we never know what can happen. I know you don't like to talk about it but, I want you taken care of in case anything should happen to me."
Running her hand up and down the inside of his arm Edith sighed
"If that's how you feel, then...thank you it's very considerate. Now enough about all that business, do you think it's at all possible that you and Nigel will beat Maggie and I at bridge tonight?"
"Possible? It's an absolute certainty darling, the previous time Nigel and I let you ladies win so you could better enjoy your evening..."
Michael replied with mock arrogance as he gave her a cheeky grin and lightly nudged her with his shoulder
"...but tonight I'm afraid the kid gloves are off, so Hawkes and I will be coming for blood"
"I'll be looking forward to more challenging competition, just remember I do have a few tricks up my sleeve"
Michael laughed to himself as he turned his attention to getting them across the street while Edith was giving him a flirty smile with a certain happiness shinning in her eyes
"Oh I know you do love, I'm very aware of that."