A/N: Thank you for the lovely reviews!

From York to New York

Chapter Eleven

There was a knock at the door in the early morning, just after the sun had risen. Mary jolted up in bed, completely awake. Tom stirred beside her. Mary froze, eyeing the door until she heard Anna's voice calling out, "Milady?"

Mary let out a sigh of relief. "Just a moment!" She turned to Tom, whose eyes were now opened. "You need to get dressed," she whispered to him, before giving him a soft peck on the lips.

Tom groaned. "God, I wish I didn't have to."

Mary smiled. "Well, we won't have to worry about that for too much longer," she said. There were only four more days left until their wedding...

Tom propped himself on her pillows, the sheet sliding down to reveal his chest. Mary felt her cheeks grow warm, which was very silly, but it somehow seemed different in the light of day. "So we're in agreement? We'll tell them all after breakfast?"

"After we tell George first," Mary reminded him. "But yes. Today after breakfast." She frowned. "That is, if we haven't slept too late and missed everyone. I don't know if Mama had plans. She seemed rather glad to be in New York again. Perhaps she's already gone and planned something."

"I'm sure we'll have a chance," Tom assured her, before reaching over to stroke her cheek and leaning in to kiss her once more. At first, it was all very gentle and chaste, but soon Tom deepened it, each one more passionate and full of longing than the last.

"Keep this up and we'll get untidy again," she mumbled in between kisses.

"How can we, when we never tidied up in the first place?" Tom replied back, smiling.

Mary was tempted to continue— sorely tempted— but she forced herself to pull away. "We mustn't keep Anna waiting any longer," she told him glumly.

"Quite right." Tom leaned in once, giving her a quick kiss before swinging his legs over the side of her bed to locate his clothing.

When Anna came into the room, her eyebrows raised upon spotting Tom shrugging on his jacket. "Is everybody downstairs?" asked Mary, giving her look that clearly said Don't say anything.

"Everyone except for her Ladyship and the children," Anna said, looking amused. "The coast is clear," she said, directing the last part at Tom.

"Thank you, Anna," Tom said with a grateful smile and a blush creeping up his neck before making his get away.

When the door closed behind him, Anna simply said, "I see that you've worked things out between the two of you," with a wry smile.

"Don't be vulgar," Mary said with no hint of scolding. In fact, she was grinning from ear to ear. Things had worked themselves out... several times, in fact. "But yes. It seems I was jumping to conclusions. I made a big fuss over nothing."

"Well, I'm glad. Not that you were upset, but that nothing was wrong in the end between you two," Anna clarified. "You seem very well suited for one another."

Mary grinned, a little shyly. "I certainly think so. It might have taken us awhile to see it... but I think we are."

As it turned out, Sybbie had already delightfully informed George of their parents' impending marriage. He was as excited as she was about about the prospect, and he was even more thrilled at the prospect of living in Newport after Mary assured him it was much like Downton and that they would be very near the ocean.

"That went well," said Tom as they walked down the steps.

"Yes, it did," Mary said, amused. "Though I don't know if I'd trust Sybbie with a secret. That's two people she's told now."

"You can't blame her. She's excited." Tom's hand brushed against hers for a fraction of a second. "Besides, after today, there'll be no need for secrecy. Not where that's concerned." At this, they both shared a smile.

"We should wait to tell them—" And by them, she meant their chatty, excitable children, "—until we're ready to let everyone else know about other thing."

"I agree... though I think it will be safe considering there will be an ocean between us when that time comes."

"And thank God for that," said Mary with a chuckle, though she doubted she would be laughing soon about anything else.

Everyone reacted to the news as well as expected. Papa blustered and shouted and was shocked when everyone else failed to react with the same dramatics. "Did you know about this?" Papa demanded Edith, who had surprisingly spoken out in Tom and Mary's defense, insisting he was overreacting.

"Well, no. Not before we came," said Edith, glancing nervously at Tom and Mary, who were standing hand in hand in the center of the room. "But... Well, it all makes sense now, doesn't it? Why Tom left so suddenly, why Mary was so down in the mouth..."

"But you don't approve of it?"

Edith looked right at Mary. Then, she calmly said, "It's not up to me to approve or not. They can make their own decisions. But I want them both to be happy. Don't you?" The last part was directed at Papa.

"It's not a matter of being happy! This is preposterous!" Papa whirled around, now diverting his rancor to Grandmama. "And you've allowed this to carry on here, have you not?"

"I don't understand why you're so worked up, Robert," she said calmly, reaching for her cup of coffee. "Tom is a good man. He makes your daughter happy. I don't see what the problem is."

"The problem is that Tom was already married to one of my daughters, which means he cannot marry another!" Papa exclaimed.

"Well, there's no law against it, is there? Not anymore."

"Mother, you aren't being very helpful," Mama said, shooting Grandmama a reproachful look. Thus far, she hadn't said anything regarding Tom and Mary's announcement, stunned silent.

"Have you forgotten all your American values, Cora?" Grandmama turned now to Papa. "I don't understand all this fuss. Tom is a decent, honorable man who knows your family well. You speak of darling Sybil but if he was a good enough husband for her, then why is he not good enough for Mary? Unless you haven't truly accepted him after all."

A silence fell over the room. Mary gripped Tom's hand tightly as Papa drew in a deep breath. He looked up to face Tom.

"I will admit, when you and Sybil told me of your intention to marry, I reacted badly. I was very snobbish and I didn't see what a chauffeur could offer one of my daughters. I was wrong in that instance. You loved my daughter and you were a fine husband to her." There was a long pause before he spoke again, "But that is why I think it all the more inappropriate for you to pursue Mary."

Mary was ready to object, tired of having her thoughts and opinions discredited and hearing her fiancé dressed down in this manner but Tom beat her to it. "I'm sorry you feel that way. I hope you do that I did love Sybil very much." His hold on Mary's hand tightened. "But I'm in love with Mary and she loves me. We've been through heartbreak and experienced great loss, but we have finally found someone that we wish to spend the rest of our lives with. With all due respect, you don't understand what it has been like for us."

Papa's jaw tightened. "Maybe I do not, but I do know that this proposed marriage of yours is entirely inappropriate and forbid it!"

"You can't forbid us from doing anything! I'm not a little girl, I don't need your permission! We've made our decision whether you like it or not and you'll just have to accept that!" Mary burst out. She addressed her family as whole. "You are more than welcome to attend the wedding, as long as you are all here, but your disapproval won't change our minds." When Papa gave her a stunned look. "On that note, I think Tom and I will step out so we can continue our planning." Without another word, she tugged him out the door.

"Are you alright?" Tom asked concernedly they left the room.

"I'm fine. I'm angry, but I'm fine." Somehow she had always known they would react like this. She squeezed his hand tightly. "I'm just glad it's over with."

Tom let out a shaky sigh, managing a weak smile as Papa's muffled voice thundered from behind the door. "It's one thing to give thanks for, I suppose," he said, chuckling before adding, "Now let's not stay too much longer."