Thank you all! Enjoy!
Chapter 36
1920s Downton Abbey
As the both of them came down from their highs, Anna sat herself up slightly and turned so she could look at Mary. Mary brought her hand over to Anna's bare arm and rubbed lazy circles with her thumb. It made Anna make a happy sound and she inched herself closer to her love.
They had been apart for far too long, but made up for that time away. Now in their bliss, they were just happy staring at one another.
"How was your trip?" Anna broke the silence. Her lower lip came between her teeth, as Mary's hand dipped to her chest.
"It was fine. I did meet someone who was interesting," Mary told her.
"Oh?" That perked up Anna's interest.
"His name is Henry Talbot. He's Lady Shackleton's nephew."
"And this Henry, do you like him?" Anna questioned. Mary's lips curled upwards into a cheeky grin.
"You aren't jealous are you?" Mary teased.
"Should I be?" Anna playfully said back. Mary pressed her hand against Anna's chest and gently pushed her back, before climbing on top of her. Her lips fell to Anna's neck, making Anna moan.
"Darling, you know I only have eyes for you," Mary assured her. "Now, let's get back to making up on lost time."
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Mrs. Hughes found she couldn't eat her breakfast. Her eyes kept darting over toward Anna who was laughing and chatting with some of the rest of the staff. All Mrs. Hughes could think about was how long this had been happening under her nose. How had she missed this?
"Is there something bothering you, Mrs. Hughes?" Mr. Carson questioned her. Mrs. Hughes tightened her fingers around her fork and shook her head.
"No, Mr. Carson, why? Should there be?" Looking toward him, she saw that his brows had knitted in both confusion and worry.
"You just haven't eaten your food and your shoulders are tight."
"I assure you everything is just fine," she replied. She knew she couldn't tell him what she had very possibly found out the night prior; she would not be responsible for putting him into the grave. If he knew this about his Lady Mary, he would fall right over. And Mrs. Hughes knew he would automatically put the blame on Anna. In his eyes, Lady Mary was blameless. She sighed.
"You know you can talk with me," he offered. She gave him the smallest of smiles.
"I know, Mr. Carson. Thank you."
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The moment Mary walked into the nursery, she was met with distain by her sister, Edith. Edith held Marigold tightly in her arms and was glaring at Pippa. But once Mary entered the room, Edith's eyes turned to her.
"Your….your ward….!" Edith growled. "You need to get that child under control."
Feeling protective, Mary walked over to Pippa and lifted her into her arms. She pressed a kiss to her temple and shook her head.
"What on earth is this about? Pippa is a doll."
"A doll! She was encouraging Marigold to climb up onto the beds and jump."
Mary laughed. "Is that all?"
"Marigold could have fallen and gotten hurt!" Edith just tightened her hold on the little girl in her arms. Mary rolled her eyes. She glanced over at the boys who had paused their playing and were peeking over one of the edge of the bed to see what the fuss was all about. Mary wondered where Nanny had gone, but she was sure Edith had sent her out, possibly to scold her little girl.
"They are children, Edith. Children explore. I believe climbing onto the beds and jumping are quite harmless. Be grateful Pippa wanted to include Marigold."
Edith pinched her lips together.
"I will be speaking to Nanny about this. I think it's best Marigold not get involved in such dangerous acts."
"She's a child. Do you plan on just making her sit and play quietly all the time?" Mary countered.
"Why yes, I do, like a proper little girl. I am raising a lady. You, well, who knows what you're raising."
Edith quickly left the nursery, taking Marigold with her. Mary rolled her eyes once more and then went to sit on the edge of one of the beds with Pippa on her lap. She brushed her hand over Pippa's cheek and met her eyes.
"Darling, were you jumping on the bed?"
Pippa eagerly nodded. "Fun!"
"Pippa loves to jump," George said, with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Well, I think that sounds like fun too. Just be careful, alright? We don't need a broken arm or leg. And don't mind Edith, she's a bit of a stick in the mud," Mary winked. Pippa giggled. Johnny made his way around and tugged on Mary's sleeve. "Yes?"
"What's a stick in the mud?"
"Someone who doesn't know how to have fun," Mary replied. "But don't repeat it. Your mum would have my tail."
Johnny giggled. "Shh," he then said, covering his lips with his finger.
"That's right, darling," Mary brushed her fingers through her hair. "While we wait for Nanny, what should we do?"
"Draw?"
"Build?"
"Jump!"
Mary couldn't help but smile. Each child was so different, and yet she loved them all the same.
"Why don't we build for now?"
"Yay!"
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"Anna," Mrs. Hughes called out, making Anna turn. She saw Mrs. Hughes standing in her doorway with her hands crossed in front of her. "Will you please come into my parlor?"
Anna smiled and nodded. She made her way down the hallway and entered Mrs. Hughes' private place. She didn't know how long this would take and debated if she should take a seat or not. In the end, she decided to stand.
"Yes, Mrs. Hughes? How can I help you?"
Mrs. Hughes let out a loud breath, before she began to twist her hands together anxiously. Anna had never seen Mrs. Hughes in quite a state and she worried something terrible had happened.
"Mrs. Hughes?"
"Please tell me that what I saw outside last night was not what it appeared?"
Something terrible had happened, but not as Anna had expected. Her breath sucked in and she felt frozen. They had been found out.
"I…I don't know…." Anna stumbled over her words. How was she supposed to reply to that? She didn't want to flat out lie, but she also couldn't tell her the truth. There were too many consequences if this got into the wrong hands.
"Please don't lie to me, Anna. You and Lady Mary. How long has it been going on?
Mrs. Hughes twisted her lips, as she tried to make sense of it. "You are both widows and have been through a lot. But this cannot carry on. How long?"
"Years," Anna whispered. She watched as the color drained from Mrs. Hughes' cheeks.
"Years?" She breathed.
"It's been official since Pippa was born, but we started it a long while before then," Anna decided it was best to be honest now. Mrs. Hughes knew; she wasn't going to believe any story Anna told her.
Mrs. Hughes fell back and into her chair, clutching her hand over her chest. Anna rushed to her side and tried to help her. But Mrs. Hughes lifted her hand to tell Anna that she didn't need her to help.
"Anna, you….this has to end," Mrs. Hughes had a determined look on her face. "It's over."
"No," Anna strongly replied, making Mrs. Hughes jerk up her head. "It's not….it's not like you think. We love one another."
Mrs. Hughes huffed. "You can't love her, Anna. You are her lady's maid. Do you know what could happen if anyone else were to find out? They could send you away. You could lose Pippa! You and Johnny could end up on the streets. Is that what you want?"
Anna slowly sat in the chair opposite of Mrs. Hughes.
"Mary would never allow that to happen," Anna stated with much confidence.
"You think that, but you cannot know it, not really. She has a title to protect, a son to protect. You would take all the blame, Anna. Lord and Lady Grantham would make sure you were sent far away. You'd never be able to see your daughter again."
"Mary will protect us. She loves us. I love her. I know it's unconventional, but…"
"Unconventional! Anna, this isn't the same as Lady Sybil and Mr. Branson! They will never accept you as Lady Mary's partner."
"I know that," Anna replied. "I am not in any delusions that we will ever be able to be out in the open."
"Anna, I must implore you to end this."
Anna stood from her chair. She met Mrs. Hughes' eyes.
"I know you don't approve. I really hoped you never would find out, but now you have. I just hope you can understand that this is what we want. We really do love one another, so very much."
"I don't think you understand the repercussions of this, Anna."
"I do. And I understand that you may not respect me anymore, too. That hurts, but I can handle it. Now, I must get back to work."
"Anna…."
But Anna didn't stay behind to hear what else Mrs. Hughes was going to say. While she had been strong in that room, she was starting to break. Mrs. Hughes was the closest thing she had to a mother and disappointing her, hurt. Tears began to slide down her cheeks and she found a place to hide and cry.
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Mary had held Anna as she cried for a while. Then she kissed the shell of her ear and told her that everything was going to be fine.
"You can't know that," Anna cried. Mary ran her fingers through Anna's hair and she pressed her cheek against Anna's.
"Shh, just stay here for a little while. I'll handle this."
Mary then stood and went to her desk. Inside, she pulled out a small envelope. Anna looked at her curiously, but Mary just shook her head.
"I'll be back, darling. Don't you worry."
Mary then made her way downstairs. She found Mrs. Hughes sitting alone in her parlor with a pensive look upon her features.
"Lady Mary," Mrs. Hughes uneasily greeted, standing from her chair. Mary stepped into the room and quietly shut the door behind her.
"Mrs. Hughes," Mary said in response. "I know that you have found Anna and me out and that you are rightfully worried about Anna."
Mrs. Hughes sighed. "While I am sure you care very much for her, we both know what will happen if the wrong person were to find out."
"We do," Mary agreed. "Let's sit."
The both of them sat down and Mary placed the envelope onto her lap. She adjusted herself in her seat and straightened her shoulders.
"I will never allow anything bad to happen to Anna or her children," Mary began. "I love her very much, Mrs. Hughes. If we lived in a different world, I would marry her and let everyone know. But we do not."
"No," Mrs. Hughes agreed. "We do not. How, exactly, to you plan on making sure Anna, Johnny, and Pippa are cared for, Lady Mary? You do not know what the future holds."
"You're right. I don't." Mary lifted the envelope and handed it to Mrs. Hughes. "If the wrong people were to find out, I would take the children and Anna and leave. I have plenty of money. We would be fine. And that," she pointed to the envelope. "That is my will. Read it."
Mrs. Hughes opened the envelope. Mary waited patiently as Mrs. Hughes read it over. It was long and detailed. Mary wanted to make sure that every element was covered. She knew how short life could be and that no day was promised to them.
"As you can see,' Mary started a moment later, "If anything were to happen to me, the children and Anna would be cared for. I love them, Mrs. Hughes. They are my family. I want them protected. Pippa and Johnny are my children as much as George is my son. Anna is the woman I love and I will always assure that she has a full and happy life. It won't be done in a traditional manner, but it will be done."
Mrs. Hughes folded the papers back up and replaced them into the envelope. She then handed it back to Mary.
"It does seem you have everything figured out."
"I do apologize for putting you in this difficult position, Mrs. Hughes, especially with Mr. Carson. I know this is a big secret to keep."
Mrs. Hughes waved her hand, "I can handle Mr. Carson. And I do wish I didn't know. However, I won't tell a soul. I also care for Anna and her children and want no harm to come to them, so I will keep this secret."
"Thank you, Mrs. Hughes. I do promise that they will have a wonderful life. I won't let anyone hurt them."
Spring 1970
Pippa smiled as she saw her brothers walking up the walkway that lead to the beach house. She waved her hand and they saw her, quickening their steps.
"Are you both staying?" She questioned them.
"Just for tonight," Johnny told her. "I have a lot of things to do over the week, but I do hope to come back on Friday."
"Yes, the same for me. There is a company that wants to talk to me about the Abbey."
"A company?" Pippa questioned. "What company? And do our mothers know? You know Mother doesn't like anyone messing with the house."
George chuckled. "Yes, I know. Even though it is technically my home now, we all know that Mother and Aunt Anna really are the owners."
Violet ran past them and they all walked inside.
"You brought your girls!" Johnny happily said.
"Yes, I thought we'd stay for the week with Mother and Mama. The girls learn from experiences anyway," Pippa shrugged. She had never believed much in traditional learning, as she and her husband took them along on all their paleontology adventures.
They made their way inside where Anna and Mary were sitting by the fire, sipping on some tea. The two looked up at them and smiled.
"You all made it," Mary said.
"Of course, we did," George answered. "We wouldn't have missed this."
To be continued...
