Thank you so much for the warm welcome back!
Chapter 29
Tea had been an awkward affair and there were those at the abbey who had a feeling that dinner was going to be as well. In order to try and make it less so, the youngest Mr Crawley in the house wanted to see his wife before they ate.
Patrick went into his and Mary's drawing room. After tea, it had not taken her long to withdraw there and he had worried about her.
Being in the room when all the family had found out about his and Robert's plans, he had been surprised to see the strength of the reactions. He thought it was a good idea and he still did. Was this not why the royal family had an heir and a spare? He did not feel as if he had a lot of faith in him and Mary just then, in their chance to produce an heir, but he did not want her to know that. That was no way to treat his wife.
"Are you alright, my darling?" he asked as he put a hand on her shoulder gently.
He could tell she was not.
But she wasn't going to admit that – that was not her way at all. "Quite alright – just utterly surprised I suppose."
She could not for the life of her work out why her father was so in favour of her cousin living here. Yes, he was a friend she would admit that much, but the thing about Matthew was he had novelty when he came here.
She did not want him to lose that. And then there was the fact it was her father championing the idea.
It felt to her as if he was fast now losing faith in them, a feeling which she had to say she loathed.
"It may have happened one day any way what with the marriage between Sybil and Matthew. Your father may just be speeding up the inevitable." Patrick tried to offer cold comfort to her.
"But is it inevitable?" she asked. It did not seem as if it was so to her. That was why an announcement had not been put in The Times, was it not? To give Sybil time.
"Apparently your father saw it as so… besides it will be good to have a Crawley man around. I am of age with him. He is a friend and a fine fellow."
Mary was once more reminded of her cousin's reaction to whenever he had another boy to play with as a boy. Had he really never grown up? If he had not then she was beginning to think it was time for him to do so.
"You liked him well enough, don't you Mary?"
"Yes, well enough," said Mary in reply. She had a feeling she was not going to get him to see her point of view. So she was not going to carry on.
Patrick reminded himself once more to say thank you to Robert for taking the blame for this one. But as he could see it was going to take a bit of convincing to get his wife to see this was a good idea, he did not see why he could not use some of his own thinking to do so.
"Besides, would it be the worst thing in the world if he was to learn something about the running the abbey? He could act as somewhat of a partner to me."
Patrick only knew he had said the wrong thing when Mary scowled at him.
"There was me thinking that would be my role." And her father did not mention Matthew helping in the running of the abbey. That was never on the cards – and yet to him it was. Up until this point, she had always thought that he was her ally in the future of the abbey.
Now she saw that her role was one which she was going to have to defend – even from him.
X x x
Robert sighed as he went into the bedroom he shared with his wife. Ever since tea she had been cool with him and he did not want to go to bed on a row.
She was sat in front of her vanity with O'Brien doing her hair as she moisturised her own hands.
"Cora, I do not want this to lay unresolved between us over night."
Well, at least he was being direct. Cora sighed – truthfully not did she.
"You know I think I am going to have to start preparing myself for family gatherings. Between you today and Sybil announcing she had met Matthew, I just do not know whose going to say what." At one point life had been some what predictable at the abbey but she was not finding it so of late and she did not know if she liked that or not.
He had to give her that one. The Earl sat down ready to take any reproach he may get from his wife.
"I thought after we spoke about it, you would wait for us to reach an agreement before you did anything."
Even he had to admit that would have made more sense. If he was not going to do that then she was going to wonder why he had consulted her to begin with.
"All I can say as way of explanation is it felt as if it was the right thing to do."
She was not sure about that she thought as she sighed.
"Well either way it is done," there was no changing it.
And she had had a bit of a time to think on it since tea and well - maybe it would not be the worse thing in the world.
She had done her upmost to move on from what had gone on with Mary and for this most part she had.
Day to day they were civil and working together. And she loved her. She always loved her. But it was there always at the back of her mind.
That if ever they were found out then…. They would all be ruined, so if they were found out then Cora knew what they would need was respectability and a replacement. That thought had crossed her mind god forgive her for it. She knew the last thing the world Sybil would want to be a replacement countess for Mary but needs must.
"My darling, I don't like you to feel I - I went against you in some way."
Cora sighed as O'Brien finished her head.
"I do not know that you did." She honestly wasn't.
She was not sure she would have been against this in the end and she didn't want to make a bigger deal of this that was strictly necessary.
They had daughters to do that for them.
"Will that be all milady?"
Cora nodded. "Goodnight O'Brien."
Robert sighed as the woman the room. He did not think he was ever going to get to the point where he was entirely comfortable with her but this was probably not the right time to criticize his wife's Lady's Maid. And besides, he hoped he had learnt something from the Bates episode.
"Let's turn in for the night," said Cora with a sigh. What with one thing or another it had been a long day and she was ready for it to come to an end.
Robert smiled.
"I did not know if you would want me in your bed tonight," he said honestly. If she had been too angry to sleep at his side then he did not know that he was going to blame her for that.
"I always want you in my bed," she said honestly and he came to brush his lips to hers.
It had been a good end to a difficult day in there room. He hoped it was the same in other corners of the abbey as well.
X x x
The following day breakfast was a quiet affair. Edith had risen early and so she had broken her fast first that day and as a result had left the room before her father had got there practically.
As for Sybil, she ate quickly and too left the room, though she had been sunny enough. Robert had a feeling she was up to something but he had had that feeling when it came to Sybil since she had been quite a young girl. There was no reason for it to be any different now.
As a result, Robert and Patrick were left alone, with just Carson in the room with them.
That was enough for reason however, for Patrick to go in to anything too deeply. Carson had always been Mary's champion and he was going to be for as long as the two of them lived.
He maybe her husband but if Carson found him wanting, then so was Mary going to before long.
"Thank you." He simply said as he looked his eldest cousin in the eye. He would say much more if they were on their own but the fact was he didn't need too. Those words conveyed everything.
Robert looked him in the eye and nodded, glad as well Patrick had seen fit to not expand.
"You're welcome," he said as he rose from his chair. "Carson, please tell Mrs Patmore breakfast was delicious as always."
"Of course, milord."
Pharaoh was soon on his feet after his master, knowing as she did that they were going to go into the garden for their morning stroll. Robert Crawley was a man of routine and his dog knew it better than anyone else.
The master of Downton stepped out into his garden and breathed. In spite of the effects of the day before, he didn't feel too bad. Things seemed to be settling down as these things did.
He hadn't been walking for too long when something – or someone – caught his attention. Sitting on the bench, under the tree, sat his youngest daughter. Now there was someone he should discuss the events of yesterday with.
She was engrossed in a book, but looked up as he approached.
"What do you think of the plan to bring Matthew to the country?" Robert asked Sybil as he approached her.
In spite of the fact it was January, she found that she needed the air these days, providing she was well wrapped up.
Between the idea of her own nuptials and her sister's marriage and Edith's heartache, which nevertheless seemed to be lessening, there was always people talking in the house. And sometimes she just wanted it to stop so that she could think a little.
And read a little.
Ever since Patrick's accident she had been determined that if she ever found herself in such a position again, she was not going to be as useless about it as she felt she had been that time - no matter what her cousin said. He would have it be known that she had been an immense help to him, but she felt she could have done better and so she had been talking a great deal with their librarian about all things medical – or at least what medical books they had in their library.
It was an area in which she was of course going to have to be self-taught for there was no way that her governess would have touched on such a subject. Having her father coming across her reading made her want to hide the books away in some ways but not all – she had always had guts and she was not about to lose them then.
"I think it is a wonderful idea." Truly she did. Of the family – out of all of them – she was the only one who had a problem with the fact that her and Matthews's engagement had not yet been announced to the world, for if she had had her way it would have been.
When she came out she did not want the likes of Larry Grey to think she was on the market for she was not.
She knew whose wife she was going to be, so she did not see why they should not know as well.
She knew it was all down to her age and they were waiting for her to doubt her own judgement but in her heart, she believed it was not going to happen and she was not going to change…
Not when it came to this.
"I know you all think I am young and weak and I am going to come to my senses any day now –"
"Sybil, the last thing in the world I think you are is weak," said her father as he took the place at her side. "I do not think either of your sisters have half your courage."
Or if they did then they had it in very different ways…
"Well, I do not know about that but – but what I do know is I love Matthew – I'm in love with him," she admitted and blushed a little. She never would have thought that she would say those words to her father. "and I am glad he is going to be here more often than he is not. It is important for now for us to spend more time together, to get to know each other – even more than we do now."
"I just did not want it to feel to you if anyone was putting pressure of you," he said to his dear girl.
"I do not – Papa, I feel as if my life is just begun and now he is going to be here, it can begin in earnest," she said with a true grin. One that said all her father needed to know about the way she felt for Matthew.
Robert smiled. She really did have a loyal true heart.
He sat at her side for a moment and sighed.
"Not too soon, dearest," he said to her. Maybe for just a year more, she could remain his little daughter.
Sybil felt her heart soften, but the book to the other side of her, and took her father's hand in her own. Together, they watched a white cloud blow across the clear blue sky, discussing matters of much less importance, before returning to the house for a warming drink and the rest of the day.
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