I know! Finally an update! My apologies for the delay. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing and following. Long live Andith!
Anthony sat bolt upright as it suddenly dawned on him that the room was an exact replica of its counterpart at Locksley!
Clenching his jaw, Anthony Strallan stood and his blue eyes swept across the library, intently studying the details of the room. The floor stand globe, chairs positioned in the same areas of the room, a landscape by Alfred Sisley hung by the window; these were but a few of the striking similarities that immediately caught his attention. Upon closer examination of the bookshelves, he saw that Edith's collection was organized in the same manner as his library at Locksley; alphabetically by subject matter and then alphabetically by author within each topic.
A sudden thought occurred to him and the older gentleman frantically scanned the shelves dedicated to poetry for the volume of William Butler Yeats which he'd given as an early wedding gift, to his then fiancee'. Surely she hadn't kept...Oh Sweet One, Anthony whispered, as he gently slid the tome from amongst the other works. Has he flipped the cover open to the inscription he'd written so many months ago, a envelope slid from between the pages and onto the floor. Retreiving the letter, the baronet saw it was addressed in Edith's lovely script, To My Husband. With trembling hands, he opened the missive and began to read:
My dearest darling Anthony,
If you are reading this, we are now well and truly married and you have made me the happiest of women. Despite Mary's interference, a war, objections from my family, and your insecurities, the man I love is finally my husband! Yes, I love you Anthony, as Elizabeth Barret Browning so eloquently wrote, to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach. At long last we can begin the life I have dreamed of and longed for these many years...
A strangled sob escaped the baronet's lips, Edith had loved him, truly loved him. Had offered him the most precious gift he could ever have hoped to recieve, her love and he'd rejected it. Fighting back tears, Anthony tucked the letter safely inside his suit pocket. Glancing at the clock on the mantle, he saw it was nearly noon just over an hour until he met with the Inspector.
Rushing back to Strallan house, Anthony immediately telephoned Martha Levinson. Another awkward conversation ensued. For the second time that day, a family member, with whom Edith was particularly close, gave him a piece of her mind. The older gentleman had already realized, after Rosamund's tongue lashing, that he had acted rashly but when Mrs. Levinson proceeded to tell him how she'd witnessed her granddaughter fearlessly challenging Lord Grantham for the right to have Anthony in her life, he knew for certain he'd been a right fool. Edith had wanted him, had been willing to fight for him, for them, but he'd acted cowardly and for all her efforts, the only thing the young lady had recieved in return was a broken heart. Eighteen months of misery he'd put them through, months that should have been happily spent starting their lives together, building a future, and possibly, a family. Well, if he found, no, the baronet thought determinedly, when he found Edith, he intended to do whatever it took to win her back.
It had taken some time to convince her but Mrs. Levinson eventually confided in him that she'd helped Edith transfer her financial accounts to the states. Unfortunately, that was the last contact she'd had with her granddaughter but it meant, well, at least Anthony hoped it did, that the strawberry blonde intended to travel to New York. Hopefully, Inspector Moore had gained access to passenger lists which would confirm the young woman's itinerary.
Inspector Moore, who'd served under Anthony during the war and had nothing but the utmost respect for Major Strallan, had been rather suprised by the older gentleman's request. Of course, he was more than willing to help his former commander but, he was afraid, Anthony, who'd just arrived, was going to be disappointed with his findings.
"Come in Major" he greeted the tall blonde before shutting his office door so that they might speak in private.
After exchanging formalities, the inspector sighed, "Sir, I've searched the lists and there's no record of Edith Crawley departing for New York. Nor were any of the other surnames you suggested she might use."
"You're certain" Anthony asked. "You remembered to check Painswick, Branson, Levinson?" He hedged "even?"
Moore nodded slowly, "even Strallan. There were no departures under any of those names. I even went as far as to check the lists for Boston and Philadelphia. Nothing."
"But I'm absolutely certain she's headed to America" the baronet shook his head in disbelief. "l...I don't...might...might it be possible for me to have a look at those lists?"
"It's a good thing I anticipated such a request, sir" the inspector grinned, collecting the items from a filing cabinet and placing them in front of the former officer.
After thoroughly scanning over the lists for New York departures twice, Anthony was discouraged. He'd been positive Edith would travel to New York to her Grandmother's and yet there was nothing to indicate that the young lady had done so. He moved onto the Boston departures. Leafing through the first two, again, he found nothing and Anthony felt a sense of desperation settling over him. Picking up the final list and turning to the second page, the older gentleman started as the name E. Chetwood nearly jumped off the page at him.
Fifteen minutes later, the tall blonde swiftly exited a cab. Tossing the driver more than enough notes to pay his fare, Anthony raced up the steps. Entering his flat, he quickly placed another call to Edith's American grandmother.
"Mrs. Levinson, would you happen to know if the institution housing your granddaughter's assets has any locations in Boston?"
"Of course. First National Bank has branches located all up and down the east coast."
As soon as he hung up the reciever, Anthony Strallan began making arrangements to sail for Boston.
A/N : For anyone who might not understand or remember the significance of the name Chetwood..it's the last name of Anthony's sister who was mentioned in series one.