Cora's private sitting room, Downton Abbey, July 1914
Cora beamed at her beautiful daughters, gathered around small round table for tea and cakes. How well they all looked! Mary and Edith already married, so comfortably settled in the neighbourhood where she could see them often, and darling Sybil after her successful debut Season, so radiant and with such great prospects! And now a hope for a new little one, so unexpected and such a wonderful, wonderful surprise!
Her announcement was met with stunned silence.
For a rare moment Mary and Edith have been united in their reactions, although each of them was focused on herself. How could their mother announce her pregnancy instead of one of her daughters, both married for months already?! On tails of Aunt Rosamund's pregnancy as well. Mary of course knew it was a possibility, but it still smarted that she needed to undergo an operation to even entertain a hope for a baby while her mother not only got three children but was pregnant again in her forties. Not to mention that her operation had taken place three months ago and there still was no sign of pregnancy.
Edith's thoughts were no less bitter than Mary's. She felt completely blindsided by the news. She had been married for six months and while it was still early, she was starting to be unpleasantly reminded that Sir Anthony's first marriage was childless. She had always assumed it was Maud's fault – but what if it wasn't? She was not yet deeply concerned, but she was slowly starting to get desperate for any sign of pregnancy each time her monthly was approaching. She was gritting her teeth at the perspective of Mary getting pregnant first, but to have Mama announce it added completely different level of insult to injury.
Sybil, not burdened by her sisters' concerns, was the first to offer enthusiastic congratulations.
"Yes, congratulations, Mama," said Mary, recollecting herself. She knew it was going to happen, she really should have been prepared. "Although I told you that truly smart people sleep in separate beds."
"As you and Matthew do?" teased Sybil, earning a scandalised look from her mother. Mary just shrugged unapologetically at Sybil's grin. She was trying to maintain her cool façade in public, but she was rather convinced that everybody was by now aware her marriage to Matthew was a passionate one. Sybil herself definitely managed to walk onto them kissing enough times to draw her own conclusions.
Cora looked contritely at her eldest daughter.
"I do understand it might make matters complicated for you, Mary," she said carefully. She could not be unhappy about her miracle baby and she longed to finally give Robert son and heir, but she was sorry for the turmoil it must cause for Mary and Matthew.
Edith snorted.
"Imagine that, Mary might miss out on her Countess' coronet after all," she sneered, ignoring Mary's glare.
"If I do, I will still be much better off as a wife of a solicitor than as a wife of this titled old booby you have married," she hissed in response.
"Girls!" admonished Cora, with little hope for success. She sighed and turned to Mary. "If it's a boy, Papa will give you and Matthew lease on Eryholme for life, of course, so don't be afraid you're going to lose your home as well."
"Just the prospect of the one which was supposed to be mine. Again," drawled Mary cynically, but felt a bit contrite at her mother's hurt expression. Especially since she knew it was very possible that she would not be able to enjoy her miracle baby for too long. "Don't worry, Mama. Matthew has been doing very well in his business; if it's a boy I am sure we will be fine anyway. It's very generous of Papa to ensure Eryholme remains ours, we have rather fallen in love with it."
Cora smiled, relieved. Mary was taking it better than she expected her to.
"Won't it be fun that our little brother or sister and Aunt Rosamund's baby will be the same age as your children?" asked Sybil enthusiastically, looking at her sisters. "They will all able to play together! It's so nice to think about Downton full of children again, it will be like when we were little and our cousins came to visit."
Both Mary and Edith looked down.
Cora frowned unhappily. She was actually hoping for signs of grandchildren by this point. Mary had been married for nine months and Edith for over six. She knew about Mary's operation and she was praying for its success and of course it was still too early for real concern for Edith... But it was rather disheartening that both of her married daughters seemed to suffer from difficulties in their most important task.
"When is the baby due?" asked Mary to break the awkward silence.
"In December," answered Cora brightly.
"A miracle baby born at Christmas. What a lovely symbolism," said Edith, making a genuine effort as well. It was not Mama's fault that she was extremely jealous. A Christmas baby would be born on her anniversary and she was still quietly mourning that dream for herself.
Carson's announcement that lunch was ready to be served was a welcome distraction.
When they got up to leave the room Mary stopped by her mother and entreated her quietly to be careful. Cora laughed.
"Mary, darling, I have done it three times already. I know how to behave," she answered, her eyes sparkling.
"All the same, Mama," pleaded Mary. "Please be careful. You are a bit older now and this baby is such a miracle. Maybe call for O'Brien to assist you when you are getting out of the bathtub? I heard the most awful story in London about a woman slipping on a piece of soap..."
Cora squeezed her daughter hand, grateful for the uncharacteristic concern she was showing for her and her unborn sibling, even though the baby could mean a significant loss of status and money for her. She got a bit teary eyed at the thought that Mary was finally growing up. Oh, how she wished that her precious girl could become a mother herself soon!
"Thank you for your concern, Mary, but as you will soon experience for yourself pregnancy does not make one fragile – although a little pampering is always nice! Just look at Rosamund, she is barely younger than me and she is thriving."
Mary's shoulders slumped when she was trailing out of the room behind Cora. She did try. Maybe her mother would take her advice to heart.
Drive from Downton to Eryholme, July 1914
"Do you think..." Tom hesitated for a moment but then ploughed on. "Do you think your mother will lose the baby again?"
Mary bit her lip uncertainly.
"I don't know... I have tried to warn her to be more careful while taking a bath but I'm not sure if she took me at all seriously."
Tom's eyes bulged.
"You tried to change the outcome of this?"
Mary raised her eyebrows.
"Of course I did. Why should it surprise you so?"
Tom blushed.
"Just... well..."
"Just it's hard to imagine me doing anything to jeopardise my position as the future Countess of Grantham?" she asked dryly.
"Well, yes," admitted Tom sheepishly.
"A title which was never going to be mine in the end in our original time," said Mary quietly. "My son was going to be an earl, but I was never going to be a countess. And you know what I discovered? It rankled, of course, it is something I have coveted my whole life. But in comparison to everything else... This was just the last of the things I missed in my life after losing Matthew."
She smiled wryly at his flabbergasted face.
"I have not changed completely. I would be overjoyed if Mama's baby turned out to be another girl. But I could not in good conscience not to at least try to spare her and Papa this heartbreak. If it works and I have a brother after all... I will just have to deal with it."
"I am still tempted to ask who are you and what have you done with my uppity sister-in-law," said Tom honestly, laughing at Mary's offended expression. "But I am damn proud of you, Mary."
Grounds outside Eryholme, July 1914
They were taking a walk around their grounds when Matthew finally dared to bring up the topic of his shifting prospects.
"What are we going to do if your mother has a boy and I am no longer the heir?"
"Papa did say we can keep Eryholme for life, didn't he?"
Matthew looked at her seriously.
"Would you like it?"
Mary sighed, hitting her leg with a long grass she picked at the side of the road. She looked at the grounds around their home.
"If it's a boy, then I am going to lose Downton – again. I would like to keep at least one of my homes," she sighed again. "Unless we cannot afford to keep it, of course. I doubt Papa has considered that."
She turned towards her husband.
"Can we afford it without your stipend as heir to the estate?"
Matthew swallowed. Here came the moment of truth.
"With just my salary and without the stipend we would find keeping it rather above our means, especially if we had to maintain a second home in London," he said with obvious reluctance. It always gnawed on him that they were living partially on her father's money, but he accepted that this was what Robert considered not only as owed Matthew as his heir, but also that his heir and eldest daughter living on lawyer's salary would bring shame to Downton as living below their station. Mary and Matthew living on a smaller estate owned by the family, keeping sufficient number of servants to run it and entertain their guests in appropriate standard was part of preserving Downton image and honour. However, if there was another heir to replace Matthew, keeping them in the standard they got accustomed to would be just a drain on the estate and even if Robert had been willing to do that, Matthew could not have accepted – even if the news he was just about to share with Mary didn't make the issue moot.
Mary however was resolutely determined to accept it.
"If we cannot afford it, then of course we should move somewhere else," she stated pragmatically. Matthew felt cautious stirrings of hope.
"Are you really ready to be a wife of a city solicitor and join the ranks of dreaded middle class?"
"Upper middle class, if you please," she huffed, "And yes, I am. Although I still hope fervently for another sister," Mary grinned at him cheekily. He couldn't help smiling back at her, a heavy load disappearing from his mind – and until this moment he has not realised just how heavy it was, just how much he was worried that she couldn't see past him being her father's heir or not, that she didn't love him enough to not care.
"And if it is a brother, after all?"
Mary grew serious.
"Then it will be very difficult for me, I will not lie. But we will figure it out," she sighed, but then looked up at him with a smile again.
Matthew took in a huge gulp of air.
"The thing is," he said slowly, "that we are not relying just on my salary and your father stipend anymore."
Mary looked at him in surprise.
'Yes, we also have my settlement. It brings us quite a lot of passive income, doesn't it? I use some of it to pay the rent for Painswick House."
"It does," said Matthew. "Most of it is invested in shares of different kind and many of them are in companies which pay us dividends. However, you know I invested a substantial portion of it to buy a full partnership in Reggie and Jack's firm."
Mary nodded, still mystified why he was bringing it up now.
"The thing is," repeated Matthew, "that our firm has closed the deal between the British government and Anglo-Persian Oil Company."
"I know. We celebrated it together."
"Yes. But what I haven't told you yet is that the price the government paid for the shares was two million pounds."
"And it matters because...?"
"Because our firm is getting a percentage of this sum in payment, in addition to shares which as the result of this deal have also significantly appreciated in value."
Mary's eyes grew wide.
"How big percentage?" she whispered.
Matthew told her and her mouth dropped open.
"And it's ours?"
"Well, one third of it. Jack, Reggie and I get equal share."
Mary swallowed. It still was a fortune.
"So you are saying... that heir or not you are rich?"
Matthew looked at her intently.
"We are rich, Mary. Or at least richer than I expected. If you are going to have a brother I won't be able to give you Downton or a title. You will never be a countess. But we will have a very comfortable life. Can you be happy with that?"
"Let me see," said Mary in mock concentration, "can I be happy with being married to an amazing, attractive, clever man whom I also happen to be madly in love with and who is very rich, apparently? You know, I think I just might be."
The saucy look in her sparkling eyes, together with her words, turned out to be too much for Matthew's ability to resist her. His lips were suddenly on hers.
Downton grounds, Downton Abbey, July 1914
Robert did not waste time and brought up the main topic on both of their minds as soon as they left the house to go on one of their customary walks over the estate.
"I want to say I'll make provision for you and Mary, if it's a boy and you're pushed out..."
"Don't worry about it, Robert. I know you can't. If any man living understands the strength of the entail, it's me," he took a deep breath. "And anyway, it's quite unnecessary. You see, I have some very good news of my own to share."
"Oh?"
"My firm closed the deal we have been working on for the last year and I must say it turned out to be extremely profitable for me. Including both the percentage of the final contract and the shares I have both received as part of the initial procurement of my services and bought by myself since with Mary's settlement, I have acquired very significant amount of money."
"How significant?" asked Robert, clearly surprised.
"A fortune, really," admitted Matthew reluctantly. "I earned over sixty five thousand pounds just on the closing of the contract. The shares I own are currently valued at about two hundred thousand pounds and likely to further appreciate in value in a short time."
Robert gaped at him.
"You earned this kind of money in a year?"
Matthew shrugged.
"It was an exceptional deal. I do not foresee a similar one happening any time soon. However, its success did open a lot of doors for us. We are already receiving enquiries from several companies about representing them in negotiations for government contracts. And of course, Anglo Persian Oil Company wants to keep us on retainer for any future legal matters in England. So, as you see, even if you are blessed with a son, you won't have to worry about Mary and me. We should manage very well," he finished, smiling at his father-in-law.
Robert shook his head ruefully and smiled as well.
"It seems I underappreciated you, my dear boy. But you don't know how proud I am of you and how very happy you made me with this news. Worry about you and Mary was the only blemish on my and Cora's happiness and to know it's unnecessary is the best gift you could give me. I've always known that I won't regret having you as my son-in-law, whether you will be my heir or not."
They walked on in perfect harmony with each other. Robert felt he could levitate from happiness and relief. Something Matthew said though started to give him food for thoughts.
"So you are certain that the shares you have will appreciate in value soon?"
"Nothing is absolutely certain in finance, but in probability yes, they should. Since the circumstances have been recently debated in the Parliament, I don't think it would qualify as insider trading to tell you that after the government investment and with a thirty years long contract the company has both the resources and the surety of supplier to properly start their production and sale of oil. I expect that it will soon be reflected in their financial reports and subsequently in their share prices."
"Maybe I should divert some of Cora's money to it," said Robert musingly. "The Canadian railway is stable, but currently it does not really bring in any money."
"I would definitely advise it," said Matthew carefully, but with assurance. "You know my position on need of diversification of investments and this particular investment has been very lucrative for me."
"I will call Murray after we come back," decided Robert. "It wouldn't hurt to show bigger profits from the family investments sooner rather than later, especially if there is going to be a war."
Matthew nodded gloomily, hiding his internal joy at making such an unexpected headway with Robert regarding the money.
"In case of war the need for oil is going to increase exponentially. And even though the company is located in Persia, is owned by the British, 53% of it by the British government now, so it should be a safer bet than one located in the New World, even in one of the Dominions. Especially since I've heard that the company's president, Mr Hayes, died on Titanic and the current management seems to be lacking in comparison to him in many ways."
Robert sighed at the mention of the disaster which so affected his family, but soon refocused on Matthew's advice. It seemed much more worthy than he previously expected considering that his heir and son-in-law just earned a considerable fortune of his own.
"I will call Murray and tell him to sell half of shares in the railway and use the proceeds to buy ones in the company you represent. And maybe we could both look through some other investment prospects he keeps sending me? Your insight would be very welcome."
"Gladly, Robert," answered Matthew, elated. He couldn't wait to tell Mary the good news! Whether he would inherit it or not, at least now it seemed that Cora's fortune would be secured for the future.
Matthew's study, Eryholme, August 1914
The phone call was from Sybil.
Mary put the received down carefully and walked slowly towards Matthew's study. She knew it was most probably coming. She had tried to prevent it. She knew that money or not she still wanted Downton and she would have lost it if her brother survived.
And yet she was desperately sad.
She stopped in the doorway of the study and looked at the afternoon sunlight bringing up the golden shine on Matthew's bent head. He raised it realising she was there, with a ready smile despite her interruption, which promptly switched to concern. Mary guessed she must look a fright.
"Mary, what is it? I heard the telephone, is it bad news?"
She nodded. Before she could find her voice to answer him properly, he was out of his chair and standing in front of her, holding her hands.
"It is Mama," she said with deadened lips. "She fell in the bathroom and lost the baby. Seems that you are the heir again, after all."
"Good God," whispered Matthew, his eyes widening. "Is your mother alright?"
He caught himself before she could respond and raked his hand through his hair, his other hand still holding Mary's.
"Stupid question, of course she cannot be alright. What I mean is, I hope she was not further injured by the fall?"
Mary shook her head.
"From what Sybil told me, just some bruises and normal recovery from labour. She should be physically well within a week or two. But oh Matthew, it is so horrible!" she cried, feeling the first tears falling down her cheeks.
Matthew nodded, looking pale and horrified himself. He led her to a small leather sofa on the side of the room and embraced her tightly when they sat down.
"I want to go to her," said Mary nervously. "Although I have no clue what I am going to say. But I must see her."
"Of course, darling," Matthew immediately agreed, but then hesitated a bit. "Do you think I should come as well, to express my condolences to your father, or would it be indelicate?"
Mary raised her wet face to his in surprise.
"Whatever do you mean?"
Matthew fidgeted.
"You said it yourself. I am the heir again. I am again benefitting from a tragedy befalling your family."
"It's your family too," said Mary fiercely, grasping his hand. "And I am benefitting from it as well, as your wife. But they love us both and we love them and we should be together."
Matthew nodded with determination.
"Then I am going to order the car prepared. I'm going to drive, I need to clear my head a little." He slumped against the back of the sofa. "Those sudden changes in my status and prospects in the last two years make me sometimes dizzy. To learn that I was the heir to an Earldom and such huge estate, only to be told that I may well not be after all and now again that I will be... Although I guess that it still isn't certain. Your mother might get pregnant again."
Mary squeezed his hand comfortingly and shook her head.
"It is very unlikely," she said quietly. "Mama is forty-six. There have been eighteen years between Sybil and this pregnancy. There most likely won't be another child. It was a miracle there was one, even briefly."
Matthew raked his hand through his hair again in agitation.
"The worst thing is that I don't even want to be the heir, not really, except for your sake. I know how much you love Downton and want to be the countess one day. But I have never really wanted it and I never felt comfortable in benefiting over you – and now over your little brother. It feels... awful, really. I feel awfully guilty."
"You shouldn't. Those circumstances were always totally beyond your control," insisted Mary vehemently. Matthew gently stroked her face, smiling fondly.
"My staunchest supporter. I still find in unbelievable that you never resented me over it. You really are an admirable person, Mary."
Mary dropped her face to hide her expression at his totally undeserved praise. If only he knew!
"Well," she struggled for words. "It took me years to get over the resentment regarding the entail and the previous heir. I could hardly destroy all that good work by resenting you."
Sitting room, Downton Abbey, August 1914
"How is Cora?" asked the Dowager with more sincerity than she usually deigned to show regarding her daughter-in-law. Mary picked her teacup and sighed.
"She is devastated. She was so happy about her miracle baby," she swallowed hard and forced herself to take a sip of her tea before continuing. "Physically she is well, although weak and in some pain. O'Brien doesn't leave her side. I think she feels guilty for leaving her in the bathroom."
"As well she should be," muttered the Dowager darkly. Visibly gathering herself, she swiftly changed the topic.
"Thank God we have you and Matthew married at least. I hate to think how bleak things would be if we were to search for another heir now."
"Matthew feels awful about it, you know," said Mary quietly. "He never wanted it to happen. He didn't even wish for a girl."
"Your husband is an honourable man," said Violet in a voice heavy with meaning. "Even though he takes it to ridiculous lengths."
Mary bristled.
"Is it ridiculous to care about one's family?"
"It is when it is totally against one's interests," retorted Violet calmly. "As sad as I am for my son and daughter-in-law, I am still happy for you and Matthew. You will make fine Earl and Countess. It is ridiculous to be so worked up over inheritance rules when benefiting from death of a relative is the very gist of it. After all, you will only be the Countess of Grantham on occasion of your father's death."
Mary shivered.
"Which I hope will be many years in the future. As much as I want to be a countess, I cannot imagine Papa dying."
"Of course you can't. You do have a heart, Mary."
"Do I? Edith thinks I don't and she is hardly the only one."
"Edith!" the Dowager scoffed dismissively. "What does she know! One must only remember how you mourned Patrick to know that is not true."
"Well, Edith holds my mourning for Patrick as the proof of exactly opposite conclusion," noted Mary dryly. Even though she knew Edith was actually perfectly right, she didn't forgive her for her attempt at trying to scare Matthew off her.
"If I was basing my conclusions on my observations of your behaviour with Patrick, I would have agreed with her," said Violet, gazing shrewdly at her granddaughter. "But then I saw your grief and it was real. You have always been so adept at hiding your feelings, Mary, that we did wonder if you had any, that's true, but when you do show them, you are always honest. You do not act, Mary, you hide. You were not feigning your grief, especially since there was no need for it. We were all well aware that it was to be an arranged marriage, there was no requirement for you to develop any real feelings for him. We would have not judged you harshly for being little bothered by his death."
Mary exhaled sharply, only now realising that she was holding her breath.
"It was horrible, suffering so," she said shakily, putting her cup in its saucer to prevent herself from dropping it. "It was like I was surrounded by darkness which couldn't be lifted, like I was never to be happy again. But then Matthew came, and he has lifted it piece by piece. I am so happy now, Granny, so very happy. And yet I feel guilty sometimes, as if by being happy I am betraying the one I mourned. How can I be happy with another when we loved each other so and now he is dead?"
The Dowager look was filled with compassion and understanding.
"We are stronger than we expect, my dear. We have to be, to survive. Would you begrudge him finding happiness as you did, if your positions were reserved?"
Mary shook her head.
"I would not," she admitted, "but I'm sure I would have been terribly jealous!"
They both chuckled in perfect understanding.
Library, Downton Abbey, August 1914
Matthew carefully stepped into the library, searching for Robert. He found him eventually on one of the red sofas, nursing a drink, but seemingly without paying much attention to it. In fact, he was so engrossed in his thoughts that he only noticed Matthew when he heard his quiet greeting.
"Oh, Matthew! Sorry my boy, I was quite elsewhere, I didn't even notice you."
He gestured for Matthew to sit and got up to serve him a drink, but Matthew waved his offer away and got it himself. Sitting down opposite his father-in-law he felt as desperate for words as he probably had never been before.
"I'm so sorry, Robert," he started, knowing it was woefully inadequate, but coming up empty with anything better. "I cannot imagine how painful such loss must be."
Robert wiped his eyes quickly.
"Thank you, my boy. I appreciate your condolences," he sighed deeply and said, "It was a boy, you know. My son."
He had to get up and go to the tall window to hide his face. Matthew got up as well, but remained by the fireplace, giving Robert space in his grief. He felt absolutely dreadful.
"I'm sorry, Matthew, seems I am a bit overwhelmed by it all."
Matthew could not listen to his apologies.
"It's perfectly alright, Robert. If ever there are circumstances which allow for open expression of grief, losing one's child must be one of them."
Robert shook his head ruefully.
"He wasn't even born alive. So small, you know, so far from being ready, but he was perfectly formed and you could see he would have been beautiful like his sisters. Oh God," he took a shuddering breath, "I didn't know they are already so perfectly formed at this stage."
Matthew came over to him and put his hand on his shoulder, not knowing what else to do. Robert patted his hand gratefully and visibly braced himself.
"You are a good man, Matthew. We are so lucky to have you here, especially in the circumstances," he looked away, seemingly contemplating the rolling grass outside, but in truth seeing none of it. "Doctor Clarkson says it's highly unlikely you would be put in such uncertainty ever again. It was Cora's last child."
"You must know," said Matthew in thick, choked voice. "Then I would love nothing better than for this baby to live. I and Mary would have managed beautifully, we have discussed it and were in perfect agreement over the matter. It would have been so much more right for your heir to be your son."
Robert squeezed Matthew's arm gratefully. He didn't tell him that he considered him as close to a son as he would ever get to experience, not then, it was all too raw with his poor lost baby boy at the forefront of his mind - but he did think it.
Green Bedroom, Downton Abbey, August 1914
"How was Papa?" asked Mary anxiously when they met in the guest bedroom which had been long assigned to their exclusive use whenever they spent a night at the big house. They even kept several changes of clothes there to allow for more spontaneity.
Matthew sighed deeply, practically collapsing into the armchair.
"Bad," he said, "I had an absolutely awful conversation with him. He saw the baby, you know. It was a boy."
"Oh God," Mary's hand flew to her mouth in horror. Nobody had told her that the last time around. "They were able to tell so early?"
"Apparently they are already fully formed at this stage" said Matthew woodenly. They both shuddered.
"How is your mother?"
"Not better than Papa," said Mary sadly. "She barely spoke, but she seemed glad to see me there. I also had tea with Granny. It was really uncanny to see her genuinely concerned for Mama."
"I can well believe it," chuckled Matthew lightly. "What about the garden party? Is it cancelled or postponed?"
Mary waved her hand tiredly.
"It's still on, just as planned."
Matthew couldn't hide his surprise.
"But surely in the circumstances..."
"Mama is adamant. She says it is impossible to cancel it at such a late date and anyway it will take her mind off grief. I would gladly cancel it for good, but she is in charge, since Papa won't refuse her anything right now, whatever his opinion about the wisdom of it."
To say that Mary herself was not looking forward to the garden party would be a huge understatement. She had hated the memory of that day for years and now she was desperately trying to steel herself for the unavoidable announcement she was going to hear there. The Germans were marching into Belgium already, British ultimatum was soon to follow. She shuddered and looked at her husband imploringly.
"Could we lay down on the bed for a bit? We still have time until dinner and I could really use a hug."
Matthew didn't respond, just lay down on the bed and opened his willing arms for her.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: According to the inflation calculator I found, Matthew's earnings of 65,000 pounds in 1914 would equal to about 9,5 million pounds in 2023. The shares he either invested part of Mary's settlement and his own savings in or received as part of his payment for the deal, valuated at 200,000 pounds in 1914, would be worth 23,5 million in 2023. Not sure how reliable this calculator is, but those are the figures I had in mind. So yes, he and Mary would have been more than alright financially even without the inheritance.
I've seen APOC used to give Matthew a fortune in some other fics and decided to use it too, because it absolutely makes sense with the timing. We know that Reggie Swire was in serious financial difficulties at the time of Marconi scandal in 1912 and yet he somehow made an enormous fortune he left to Matthew in 1920. Anglo-Persian Oil Company was near bankruptcy itself in 1913, but gained exponentially as the result of the deal with the British government and then of course as the result of the increased demand for oil during ww1. It still exists nowadays as part of BP. Anybody involved with them or buying their shares either before the deal or even before the war was bound to get very rich.
I know that some of you wished for Cora and Robert's baby to survive, but for further plot reasons I decided to keep to canon on this issue.
