"You're sure?" Robert asked for the millionth time.
Carson, always patient for Lord Grantham and for no one else, reassured him yet again, "I am, My Lord. Mr. Bates will assist as the guests arrive, and Thomas and I shall serve the dinner. No one shall notice a thing."
Robert had no recourse but to trust his butler. But oh did he dread this. He'd put it off as long as he possibly could, but of course Matthew wanted to see Downton Abbey, as it would one day be his. And his mother, Isobel, wanted to see the house. And now that Mary was back, she had been incessant about wanting to come back to her birthplace. And obviously Mama would come too, since Mary was now living with her.
Going to dinner at Crawley House and the Dower House and insisting Mama host them all as much as possible had run its course. Everyone was so cross at him for everything, but what could he do? How could he let them come here? He could only protest for a few weeks before he begrudgingly agreed to host dinner. Cora had planned the menu with Mrs. Hughes and Mrs. Patmore and apparently the staff were pleased to have something to do again. But Robert was frantic.
"Everything will be alright, darling."
Robert turned to see Cora standing in the library by the fireplace. Isis was laying at her feet. Isis liked Cora. The dog could see the ghosts, it seemed, and enjoyed being near them. Odd. But Robert didn't spend much energy thinking about it.
He sighed and poured himself a glass of scotch to calm his nerves. He drank it down in one swallow.
"You can't know that," he grumbled.
"Well, you've managed to salvage things with Mary, haven't you?" Cora asked, making her way over to him.
Robert chuckled darkly. "In that Mary will share a meal with me, yes. But she will never forgive me for keeping her away from her home. And she hates Matthew, too."
Cora frowned. "I thought you said everything went alright when everyone had tea together last week?"
"As you know, Mama is on a rampage trying to find a way for Mary to inherit instead of a distant male heir," Robert began.
"Yes," Cora interjected. "But the entail is unbreakable, I remember."
When Cora died, they had examined the gift deed to the estate that she had signed upon their marriage, and it turned out that the former Earl of Grantham had ensured that Cora retained no rights to her own father's money. Everything was tied up with the estate, and neither Robert, as a surviving spouse, nor Mary, as a surviving child, could receive anything that had belonged to Cora. And the only way to inherit through the estate was to be a male heir. Mary would get nothing. Matthew would get everything. And despite Mama's protests, there was nothing to be done.
"Did Matthew really try to look into it himself?" Cora asked.
Robert grumbled again at that. He did not approve in the way Mama meddled with the poor Manchester solicitor who got a job in Ripon and had very little interest becoming the next Earl of Grantham.
Everywhere he turned, everyone was at odds. Mama had barely begrudgingly accepted defeat but was cold to Matthew as a result. Isobel and Mama had already begun sparring over the hospital with Isobel trying to be progressive and Mama trying to retain her control. Mary was still angry with Robert for everything that had happened over the last two years. Matthew thought Mary was a snob and avoided her. Mary thought Matthew was a snob in his own way and had come to take her home away from her after her father had kept her from it all these years. And at the center of all of it was Robert, desperately trying to live the remainder of his life in peace.
Only there could be no peace tonight, not with four guests coming to Downton Abbey for the first time in two years and having a crippled valet and a staff of ghosts to serve them.
The sound of the cane on the floor alerted them that Bates was coming in. Cora whispered good luck to Robert and disappeared just as Bates announced, "The Dowager Countess of Grantham and Lady Mary Crawley."
Mama came bustling over as always. "Robert, it isn't right for your valet to be greeting and announcing guests."
"I don't have guests anymore, Mama. You are the firsts since…"
"I hardly think we're guests," Mary interrupted with disdain. "Mama was the lady of this house for decades and I was born here. And yet this is the first time we have been permitted to step foot inside for two years."
Robert placed his hands on his daughter's arms and kissed her cheek. "Mary, please."
She rolled her eyes. "Hello, Papa," she said at last.
Bates returned. "Mr. Matthew Crawley and Mrs. Isobel Crawley."
Matthew and Isobel were thankfully far more polite and pleasant. They had never been to Downton Abbey before and were both pleased to see everything. Robert allowed Mama to take the reins of the conversation and point things out and explain how the library was used and the history of it from her days here. Mary chimed in at times with memories of her own. As Robert watched the interactions quietly, he felt a very foreign and unfamiliar warmth. Having family around him—living, breathing family—was really very nice. To have people alive and well and sharing pleasantries in the library was quite a gift.
Soon enough, Bates returned to announce dinner, and Robert led everyone into the dining room. His good, warm feeling evaporated. This was the part he was dreading.
Robert sat in his usual place with Mama beside him and Isobel, Mary, and Matthew across from them. And Carson began to serve and Thomas came behind him with the sauces and things. Robert took his food and carried on as best he could while watching what everyone else did. Carson poured his wine and Robert managed a sip without his hand shaking too much.
Really, he should have known to trust Carson. Every single person served themselves and thanked their server and ate the food and drank their wine with absolutely nothing to concern them. More of the magic of ghosts, it seemed. Carson and Thomas were there and doing everything they would have done before, but they were able to go entirely unnoticed. Robert would perhaps ask Carson later exactly how it worked, whether they made themselves look like someone else—since Mama and Mary obviously would have recognized Carson—or if they could just make themselves entirely unnoticeable. Whatever it was, it was effective. And the meal was lovely.
"I'm glad to find you have a cook as good as the one who was here the last time I dined in this room," Mama commented.
"That pavlova reminds me of Mrs. Patmore's," Mary added.
Well, that was because it was Mrs. Patmore's, but obviously Robert wouldn't say that.
"Was it difficult to find staff after everything?" Isobel asked.
It was a bit of an impertinent question, but Robert answered as vaguely as he could. "Everything was difficult after the fire." And that was the truth. "But I have been very lucky with my household staff." Another true statement. Though not the entire truth, of course.
"As unfamiliar as it is for me to do so, I suppose I shall take the ladies through?" Mama offered.
Robert's heart sank again. Mama had done that when Robert's father was still alive. But ever since Papa died, Cora was the Countess of Grantham and Mama was a guest here. That wasn't the case anymore.
The ladies left, and Robert took a cigar and some brandy from Carson. Matthew did the same.
"How is it having guests again?" Matthew asked.
"It is nice," Robert admitted. "It's been so long since these rooms saw anyone living inside them besides me. But it also reminds me quite plainly of what I miss."
"I can't imagine how hard things have been, losing everyone so tragically like that." It was an attempt at sympathy and was certainly sincere, but it was unhelpful.
Robert puffed on his cigar and exhaled in a sigh. "It's harder still to have Mary back. You and your mother are new. And Mama is the same as she's always been. But Mary…" He sighed again. "She resents me for keeping her away, and she's right to. It wasn't fair to her. But it pains me to see my beautiful daughter who looks so much like her mother and to know that her sisters are not here with her. Having no one in the house is somehow easier than having one of the four of them."
Matthew had a kind expression on his face. He was a kind man. "Will you tell me about them?" he asked, "If it isn't too painful."
Yes, Matthew Crawley was a kind man. Robert appreciated that about him. "Another time," Robert answered. "For now, I think it's time we went through to join the ladies."
Later that night, after everyone had left—though Mary did once again try to insist she be allowed to stay at the Abbey and thankfully Mama dissuaded her again—Robert was left alone with his valet and his ghosts once again. He thanked Bates for all of his good work and dismissed him for the night before going into Cora's bedroom.
"How was everything?" she asked eagerly, sitting up in bed.
Robert took a moment to consider the answer to that question as he removed his slippers and dressing gown. "All in all, I think everything was alright. No disasters, certainly. Everyone's still finding their way. Mama and Mary and Isobel are all quite strong-minded. And Matthew is, too, in his way."
"And you?"
"Am I strong-minded? I don't think I am. At least not anymore."
Cora chuckled and shook her head. "No, I mean are you finding your way?"
Robert sat on the edge of the bed, looking over at her. "I suppose so. I must. But I do miss you terribly."
She gave him a sad smile. "I'm right here, Robert."
He tried to smile back at her, but he couldn't quite manage it. "I know.
