Thank you all, so very much! You amaze me with your continual kindness.
Chapter 57
Summer 1971
"Pippa," Anna brightly said, walking toward the little girl who stood right by the window. She placed her hand into her curls and met her eyes. "Aren't you supposed to be upstairs with your governess? You aren't skipping out of lessons again, are you?'
The little girl looked up at her with a confused look upon her face.
"Gran?" She then said, reaching up to touch her hand that was in her hair. "I'm not Pippa. I'm Violet."
Anna narrowed her eyes, shaking her head. "No, I don't…" She let out a breath. "You're Pippa. Are you…are you playing games?"
"Mama?" A voice then said, making Anna turn. "Mama, what's wrong?"
"She called me Pippa," the little girl explained. "I tried telling her that I'm not you and that I was Violet."
The woman frowned slightly. She patted the little girl's back and bent down, whispering something into her ear. Then the little girl ran off, leaving Anna alone with the woman in front of her.
"Mama," the woman said again. "It's alright. That's your granddaughter, Violet."
"No, Violet is the Dowager. She…she's not a little girl."
The woman deeply frowned, before taking a deep breath and forcing a smile upon her lips.
"I know. I remember her," she quietly said. "I named my daughter after her."
Anna's brows furrowed. "But why?"
"Because she liked my spirit," the woman grinned. "And she was always kind to me. Come on, Mama. Let's go sit down. You need your rest."
"Where's Lady Mary?" The woman frowned again.
"She's resting. You need to rest now too."
1930s – Downton Abbey
Anna finished writing her letter and placed it inside of the envelope. She sealed it up and then hid it in her desk upstairs in her bedroom. This was the safest spot to keep things, because even Mary never came up here. Though, she wasn't trying to hide this letter from Mary. In fact, she would be telling her about it soon enough. Anna didn't know the address to send this letter to and she would need Mary's help in figuring it out.
Once she had finished that, she adjusted her dress. It was loose around her middle. Over the past several months, she had lost weight from the worry of everything. Pippa now wanting answers about her father had put a toll on Anna. She tried not to let it, but it did. That trauma had a way of crashing back over her from time to time, but this had been the longest stretch of time. She knew Mary worried about her. And so she attempted not to let Mary know just how much it was affecting her.
She made her way back down the stairs, already hearing the hustle and bustle of the preparations for the evening's New Year's Eve party. This year, they had invited some of the school mates of George and Johnny, along with their families. It should be fun for the boys. She hoped Pippa would have fun as well.
She, of course, would be watching from afar. It was the most difficult part in all of this. She could never be a part of their world, not completely. But she was grateful that Johnny could be, most of the time. Mary had made it so that he was accepted in a way that she could never be and that made her very happy.
Entering Mary's bedroom, she found Mary debating over two dresses that were laid out on her bed. Anna furrowed her brows, before chuckling.
"I thought you had chosen the purple dress," Anna said, making Mary look up.
"I did, but then….well, this is a big evening for the boys. All of their friends and parents will be here. I want to make sure I look perfect."
"You always look perfect."
"You have to say that," Mary teased. Anna leaned forward, kissing Mary's cheek.
"I don't," Anna then winked. "Ah, I like the purple dress still. It fits you perfectly in all the right places."
"Well, if that's what you want to see me in darling, then that is what I shall wear."
Anna lifted the dress from the bed and then bent down so that Mary could step into it. She stood up, lifting it with her. She kissed every open inch of skin, causing Mary to shudder. When the dress was pulled over Mary's shoulders, she turned to face Anna, bringing her arms around Anna's neck to draw her close.
"Well, I cannot wait for you to undress me later," she winked.
"Me either."
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
The party was a hit. The children, well they really weren't children any more Mary supposed, were all enjoying the music. She sat with some of the parents, speaking about the upcoming semester and their thoughts on the professors. Most of the parents were very nice. But some were a bit snooty. The way they spoke about things made Mary want to roll her eyes out of her head, but she managed to force a smile upon her lips.
"That…Johnny, he's your maid's child?" One parent asked. Mary tightened her lips.
"Yes, why?"
"Oh, that's just so nice of you to send him off to such a prestigious school, him being a servant's boy and all."
Mary clutched the cup in her hands. "Well, Johnny is a very bright boy. That school is very lucky to have him. Now, if you'll excuse me."
She quickly moved away from them, needing to find someone less aggravating to speak with. She knew over the years she had changed a lot. Falling in love with Anna had changed her and helped her see the world with a different set of eyes. But she really hoped she hadn't been as insufferable as some of these parents were.
There seemed to be a bit of a commotion and Mary stood up straighter, before rushing towards the noise. Her eyes widened when she saw George sitting on top of another boy, holding him down. The boy had a bloody nose.
"George!" She yelled, before bending down and pulling him off the other boy. George was breathing heavily, his hand still curled into a fist. "What on earth are you doing?" George didn't answer, he just kept his eyes on the boy.
Another woman came up and pulled her boy off the ground. Mary noticed it was the woman she had just been talking to. She sighed.
"What's all this?!" The woman asked.
"I have no idea," Mary answered, looking back over at her son. "Are you going to explain yourself?"
"He started it," was all George said with a shrug and anger filling his voice.
"I did nothing of the sort!" The other boy replied.
"Perhaps, we should take this somewhere else," Cora said, walking into the room and looking between the boys. A footman was behind her with a towel for the boy's face. Mary nodded in agreement. Yes, the last thing they needed was to draw more attention to this.
"We're leaving," the woman growled instead. She tore the towel away from the footman's hand and placed it over her son's nose. "Come on."
The woman tugged her son away and Mary watched as her mother followed her and tried to speak with her. Mary knew that perhaps she should, but she decided to remain with her son instead. He had a lot of explaining to do.
She brought him out of the main area, away from the rest of the guests, and tore into him.
"Please, explain yourself! Why would you punch someone in the middle of your own party?!"
But George didn't reply. He instead, shrugged, yet again. This only angered Mary more.
"Go, upstairs, now! I will speak with you later."
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
Anna was downstairs when she heard about what happened. It didn't sound like George to get into a physical fight with someone. He only argued with Pippa and in his defense, she usually started it. He had always been a sweet child with a heart of gold.
"Was he hurt?" Anna asked Mrs. Hughes, between the rumblings downstairs. It had become quite the topic of conversation. Thomas was still upstairs. She was sure once he came down, he would tell them to stop speculating about George at once.
"I don't think so," Mrs. Hughes replied. "I didn't see any of it, I'm afraid."
"It just doesn't sound like him," Anna said, furrowing her brows. "He doesn't get into fights like that. There have never been any reports about it from school."
"I don't know, dear," Mrs. Hughes told her. "I'm only telling you what I heard."
Anna sighed.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
Mary went to step outside for some fresh air. She felt overwhelmed by all that had just happened. Since when had her son become violent and when had he stopped talking to her? She pressed her fingers to her temple and sat down on the bench, glad to be away from everything going on inside. She needed to calm down before walking upstairs to speak with her son.
"Aunt Mary?"
Johnny's voice made her turn slightly. He was walking towards her with a concerned look on his face.
"Yes, Johnny? What is it?"
"I know why George punched Mitchell," he said. Mary sat up straighter.
"You do?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Again, Johnny sighed. "Well, he was standing up for Pippa and my mum."
"What?" Mary furrowed her brows.
"I was a little ways a way, but I overheard the conversation. George was telling Mitchell about his sister and how she wanted to be an archeologist. Mitchell scoffed and said that was mighty big dreams for some orphan and that he found it funny that George called her his sister. George got defensive saying that Pippa was his sister and was way smarter than he would ever be. Then Mitchell said she was likely some prostitute's daughter that you kindly picked up off the streets…and that's when George punched him. I would have done it if I was closer," Johnny added.
"Oh," Mary said, relaxing slightly. "Thank you, Johnny, for telling me. That definitely changes things."
She stood then, patting Johnny's shoulder, before making her way up quickly to George's bedroom. She found him sitting in his bed, reading a book, and nursing his hand with some ice. She didn't know who had given him the ice. Her best bet was Thomas.
"I'm not saying anything," George stubbornly stated. It was times like these where he was too much like her for his own good.
"You don't have to. I know what happened," Mary said. George glanced up.
"You do?"
"Yes, I do," Mary answered. She sat down next to her son on the bed. "And I'm proud of you."
"You are?" George was shocked.
"Of course, I am. You stood up for your sister and for Anna. That was very much you being like your father," Mary said with a wink.
"Well, Pippa is my sister. I can pick on her, but no one else can," George said. "And he called Aunt Anna a name I won't repeat. He didn't know he was calling her that, but she's like a mum to me and I won't have people speaking about her like that."
Mary ran her fingers through his hair.
"No, I won't either," Mary agreed.
"He's not even smart. He has low marks in all his classes," George said with a huff.
"Let's not make fun of people's skills in school. We all have our strengths," Mary reminded him. "But he is definitely not kind and he won't be invited over again. Him nor his parents."
"You really aren't mad at me?"
"Definitely not."
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
Anna listened intently to Mary as she explained what had happened between George and that Mitchell boy. While it hurt to hear a child speaking about her and Pippa so harshly, it was comforting to hear how much George cared about them both. It all made much more sense now. That was the George she knew.
"I don't believe we will be hosting another party for their boarding school acquaintances," Mary said, as Anna pulled one of her locks of hair into a curler for the evening. She was attempting a new style. Mary would sleep in these curlers and then in the morning, Anna would style it. "They were all so snobby."
"At least the boys enjoy school," Anna said. She twisted another hair and then she paused. She guessed now was as good of time as any to bring up the letter that she had written upstairs. "I…I need your help with something."
"Oh yes, what's that, darling?" Mary smiled at her through the mirror.
"I'd like for you to reach out to Tony Gillingham for me."
Mary's face fell.
"Why on earth would I do that? I haven't spoken to him in…what, twelve years?"
"I've decided to search for information about Alex Green," Anna then said, doing up another piece of hair. Mary quickly turned around, making Anna's hand drop from her hair.
"What?!" Mary breathed, before standing. "Anna, why? Why would you want to find out anything about that man?"
"Because, he is Pippa's father. When we are ready to tell her the truth, I think it is best that we come prepared with information about him. All I know is his name and who he worked for," Anna calmly said.
"Green was a sick, horrid individual," Mary shook her head.
"He was, but he is also Pippa's father. Nothing you or I can change. Pippa deserves to know what I can find out about him. I need to have things to tell her about him."
"Absolutely not!" Mary said angrily beneath her breath.
"Yes!" Anna said back, not allowing to be rolled over.
"He assaulted you!"
"I know that. I was the one he attacked! You don't even know what that was like!" Anna knew she had to keep her voice down and so she did. But it didn't keep her chest from heaving. She had known Mary wouldn't be pleased about this, but she hadn't expected such push back from her.
"I do know!" Mary replied. "I have held you after nightmares! I took care of you after it happened. I remember the bruises. And I see the way it still affects you! I cannot allow you to do this."
That made Anna's lips purse tightly together.
"Allow me? I don't need your permission, Mary."
"This is not right. You can't do this," Mary said again.
"Why do you think you are the final say? Hum? It is because I am your servant and you the daughter of the earl and the mother of his heir? I have to do whatever you say then, is that it? What will you do? Will you dismiss me without a reference?" Anna saw Mary's mouth open and then shut, stunned. "Is that it? Forget that we've shared a bed together for twelve years and three children? At the end I am still your inferior, aren't I?"
Anna turned around then, not giving Mary a second to say anything else. She closed the door harshly behind her and curtailing it right upstairs to the maids' quarters. She would not be sleeping with Mary tonight.
To be continued...
