Edith had no intention of returning to England in the near future, but needs must.
Inheriting anything from Michael had been a surprise. She'd not thought he'd had the forethought to include her considering the trip to Germany wasn't supposed to end as tragically as it did. But Edith was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Although her venture into being a novelist rather than a columnist was going well, she'd not complain about the extra source of income. And in any case, she did care deeply about The Sketch. Besides leading her to Michael, The Sketch was where she had finally found her voice and an audience that was actually interested in what she had to say. Furthermore, it felt like a gift Michael could one day give to the son he'd never known about. For that reason alone Edith knew it was her duty to leave the magazine in a better position than when she received it.
This was easier said than done.
The interim editor that had taken over after Michael had left, Mr. Skinner, was incompetent to say the least. The magazine's integrity was slipping as journalists who'd been working there for years were harangued and ignored. Morale had dropped and so had the quality of the writing. Many of the veteran writers had left and been replaced with inexperienced lackeys willing to say yes to anything Mr. Skinner proposed. The female writers were particularly fed up. Edith couldn't imagine why Michael had hired this man for a magazine geared towards women when his sexism and disdain for the female sex was so visibly apparent.
For months, she tried to reign him in via letters and phone calls, but it wasn't working. Out of sight, out of mind, she supposed. Letters went ignored and phone calls went unanswered.
Ultimately, his disrespect towards the new owner alone would have been reason enough to fire him, never mind how he treated the staff.
Thus, a year and a half after her departure, Edith found herself in her home country, holding tightly onto her son in one arm and their belongings in the other. Although she hoped she would only be away for a month or so, in her heart, she knew that the probability of everything going to plan was slim. Ahead of booking her travel plans, she'd had Aunt Rosamund check out Michael's flat and bring a team of cleaners to make sure it was habitable after such a long vacancy. Of course Rosamund had invited Edith to stay with her, but after Edith pointed out the close relationship between Rosamund's maids and the maids at Downton, Rosamund conceded that it would be better for her niece to stay elsewhere. Edith planned to hire a nanny to take care of Hugo. If anyone asked about him, she had concocted a backstory about a friend abroad who had died in a tragic accident two months after Hugo was born, leaving the child in her care. She doubted anyone in London would question the story. After all, if they tried to draw any connections between Hugo's age and the time she'd been away, she could just claim that the trip to Switzerland was about writing her novel in peace and that Hugo's birth was completely coincidental.
No, Edith was not worried about London society and their opinions. After all, ownership of a magazine would provide her a great deal of influence and she could always retreat back to France should she feel the need.
The object, or should she say objects, of her fears lay many miles outside of London. She'd thought about informing the family of her return, but knew it would only make them expect her to stay for good. With or without Hugo, Edith knew living abroad, or at least outside of Downton Abbey, had helped her grow immensely, and she had no plan of returning to her old life.
She resolved to focus on the magazine and its success. If she ended up staying longer than planned, then perhaps she would reach out to Mama and let her know. But for now, there was no reason to. It's not like they had any interest in The Sketch and she really couldn't afford any distractions. There was too much to do.
Firing Mr. Skinner was first on her list. It would be awkward and uncomfortable, but necessary. She'd already started to make discreet inquiries into a new editor and had scheduled an interview with a Ms. Edmunds the week of her return to England. She'd hoped to Ms. Edmunds would be everything she seemed from their correspondence.
Once a strong editor was in place, they could start to rebuild the staff. She wanted to interview all the existing staff, though she had a feeling most would be let go. She hoped that she in the new editor could move quickly to rebuild the various sections of the magazine with staff writers who were creative and hard working.
With a trustworthy editor who could lead properly and an innovative and focused staff in place, Edith would be able to come and go as she pleased. But she knew this would take time to build.
The Sketch would need to make a big splash to regain its readership. On the journey across the Channel, Edith had begun to brainstorm some ideas about how they could announce the revamping of the company and had decided some sort of party would be effective. A party would allow both Edith and whoever the new editor was to be introduced to society, so to speak, and would be a great opportunity to network with any competition. They could showcase The Sketch as a modern publication for the modern woman. Plus, Edith had come to love a good party during her time in Paris.
Paris afforded Edith a life she had never imagined and she loved the flexibility and the freedoms she had there, but she was looking forward to getting her hands dirty. This new adventure would be something that she could mold into truly being hers through some grit and perseverance. There was a lot of work ahead, but Edith was up to the challenge. The question was, was England ready for Edith?