Chapter Sixty Three
Masquerade
"No granny, it wasn't the waiter," said Mary with an audible groan.
"Who then?" asked Violet apparently mystified.
"Not who, granny, what" explained Edith.
Was her grandmother really unable to comprehend what it was they had been telling her about what had happened to them all at the Shelbourne? For some strange reason, which Edith could not fathom, she thought that not to be the case at all. So why...
Of course, they all knew that for granny, as for many of her own generation, things had never been quite the same since the death of Queen Victoria. Yet, for all her apparent conceit and snobbery, beneath that carefully crafted air of contempt and disdain, her apparent indifference towards those she considered to be her social inferiors, granny cared very deeply about all kinds of people. Many around Downton, both down in the village and here on the estate, could attest personally to the numerous acts of Christian charity and loving kindness performed by the Dowager Countess of Grantham.
And speaking of loving kindness, Edith knew from first-hand experience that her grandmother loved her own family too. Above everything else, family was what mattered most to Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham. She was very proud of Papa and all that he had achieved, how in the face of considerable difficulties and in an ever changing world, he had kept Downton intact and inviolate. For all her repeated jibes about their mother being an American, Violet was also very fond of her daughter-in-law Cora; knew her to be a loving wife and mother, thought that she played the part of chatelaine of Downton Abbey to perfection. And, when Edith and her sisters were children, granny had made it very plain that she adored all three of her grand-daughters; did so still, especially Sybil, even though not one of them had been the much longed for grandson and heir.
But, above all, granny was also a realist, so why was she now being so difficult about Sybil and Tom? And to openly berate Papa in front of them all, well that was totally unexpected. It was almost as if she... And, thought Edith, there was something else too; something about her voice; something slightly off-key.
"What then?"Violet repeated crossly.
"Several pounds of gelignite to be precise" said Mary emphatically. "At least that's what darling Tom told me afterwards" she said and in the most prosaic of clipped tones. "The explosion smashed all the windows and brought down part of the ceiling. Several people were ..." Mary stopped, unable to go on, to detail what had befallen some of those who had been taking afternoon tea in the Shelbourne's elegant dining room, let alone others outside in the street.
"Blimey!" interposed Matthew.
"Heavens! Bombe surprise?" exclaimed Violet with a slight chuckle. "To end a simple conversation; even if it was so highly distasteful? Mary my dear, however inappropriate the subject matter, don't you think that was rather excessive?"
"Do you have any idea of what we are talking about" asked Mary aghast at her grandmother seeming to make light of what had happened at the Shelbourne. "People were killed, granny; others terribly injured. It was awful, utterly dreadful".
"It was" said Edith quietly. "Absolutely terrible; how anyone could do such a horrible thing. No-one should have to see what we saw".
"And when the bomb exploded, I... I was across the road in the park. Don't you understand, granny? Can't you see? I didn't know what had happened. And when I found out, that ... that it had been a bomb, it was ages before I could get word on what had become of the three of them ..."
"You mean Edith and Sybil? That's but two. You said three" observed her father drily. His left eye twitched again. He would have to ask Carson to telephone to Clarkson and ask him to come up to the house; to examine him and prescribe some kind of sedative, as well as something for his blasted headache.
"I meant what I said, Papa; the three of them, Edith, Sybil and Tom". Her father looked at her dumfounded, and then shook his head in exasperation.
"... if they were still alive or ..." continued Mary looking steadfastly at her grandmother. Then, remembering how she had felt on walking out from St. Stephen's Green to see for herself for the first time the wrecked front of the Shelbourne and the carnage in the street in front of the hotel, Mary's voice cracked with raw emotion.
"You have absolutely no idea do you granny?" raged Mary savagely, suddenly giving her emotions full rein. Her raised voice reverberated incongruously around the panelled walls of Downton's elegant Drawing Room, while the portraits of her Crawley forbears gazed down upon her with apparent disapproval and reproachful eyes.
At her grand-daughter's sudden outburst, for once Violet said nothing; remained uncharacteristically silent, seemingly lost in a world of her own.
"And where precisely was Branson, when the bomb exploded?" demanded Robert forcefully despite his throbbing head. "Hiding under the table like some damned Bolshevik I'll be bound!"
"No, Papa, he wasn't! What darling Tom was actually doing was saving the lives of your two younger daughters and without any thought for himself or for his own safety!" stormed Mary with tears starting in her eyes; no longer bothering to make any attempt to hide her seething anger at her father's continuing disparaging remarks about her brother-in-law.
"I don't know what we'd have done without him," said Edith recalling with pleasure the comforting feel of Tom's strong arm placed tightly around her slender shoulders, as all three of them had made their way, choking, coughing, and stumbling across the debris strew floor of the darkened dining room of the Shelbourne Hotel in the aftermath of the explosion. "Tom was so very, very brave; in fact he was absolutely wonderful".
Robert guffawed again.
"Next you'll be telling us all what a perfect gentleman he is!"
"Actually, Papa, that's just what Tom is. A perfect gentleman" said Edith.
"In fact he's more a gentleman than you, Papa!" exploded Mary. Cora's head snapped up, staring at her daughter in amazement.
"Mary, I think that's ..."
Mary ignored her mother, silenced her attempt at intervention with a shake of her head. It was time some things were said.
"After all, unlike you, Papa, Tom would never do anything as singularly dishonourable as to try and pay someone off, to make them ..."
"There's no need to be vulgar" said Violet priggishly.
Mary paused, suddenly stopped what she was saying, seeing that her father had gone very white.
"So he even told her about that, did he?" said Robert softly. It was obvious to whom the earl of Grantham was referring.
"Told who about what?" asked Violet evidently mystified.
Cora and Isobel looked at each other, both equally perplexed.
"When Papa found that he couldn't make Sybil give Tom up, he went to the Grantham Arms and offered Tom money to leave Downton and go back to Ireland without her" explained Mary simply. "Of course, Tom's far too honourable" – she shot her father a harsh glance – "to do anything like that; even if others in this family aren't. So naturally he refused".
"Naturally" echoed Violet.
"Is this true, Robert?" asked Cora quietly.
Robert nodded his head.
"But, it wasn't how it sounds, Cora. I acted against my better judgement; when there seemed to be no alternative. I was thinking only of Sybil" he said brokenly.
"And Tom refused Papa's bribe" added Edith; saw her father wince at the use of the word bribe.
"Sybil was very upset, when Tom explained to her what Papa had tried to do" said Mary quietly. "Tom didn't want to tell her, Papa, whatever you may think of him. But Sybil insisted that he did. You see, they share everything; unlike some of us in this family, they don't have secrets from each other".
Cora nodded; looked at her husband and then across at her two daughters.
"As you both said, the act of a perfect gentleman".
"Indeed he is" said Mary.
"Tom sounds an admirable chap to have around when you're in a spot of bother," said Matthew enthusiastically. Mary and Edith each shot Matthew a brilliant smile; nodded him their thanks.
"That's precisely what I told Edith," said Mary.
"Well, I wouldn't go that far," said Violet. "But, credit where credit is due. I always thought Branson had many admirable qualities".
"Mama, please. As for Branson..."
"Papa, his name is Tom," said Edith forcefully.
Robert shook his head.
"And who precisely is Tom again?" asked Violet suddenly seeming to take leave of her senses. For his part, Robert stared incredulously at the ceiling again, as if seeing the elaborate, ornate plasterwork for the very first time.
"He's your grandson-in-law," said Cora through gritted teeth.
"Sybil's husband" said Mary now close to losing all self-control.
"Oh, yes, of course; him. One forgets," said Violet apparently absent-mindedly. "It was so much simpler when he was just plain Branson. Can he not remain that way – for auld land syne?"
"No, he can't" said Mary and grimaced.