A/N: Thank you so much for reading and the reviews and messages! I love you all.
Everybody knows of the plan, Mrs Hughes has accepted Mr Carson's offer of marriage and Lady Edith feels slightly crowded and overwhelmed with wedding preparations.
If you have the time, please review - after this, there is only the epilogue!
WARNING: There is a massive (ahem) M-rated piece in this fic. Read at your own risk at work/school/library/in-law's house! (i have put it in italics, so it is easier to spot and avoid, if you really don't like that stuff)
Edith was glad it was all close to being behind them. In a few hours, she would be Lady Strallan and she would get into the car, drive to Dover and cross the Channel for her honeymoon. All she needed to do now, was try to keep calm. After all, her hair had been done up prettily before. Anna had helped her into a dress many times. She had been to grand parties and fetes. There was only one difference and that was that she would be the center of all the attention.
People would stare at her. Mary was used to this, Sybil was used to this, but not Edith. She had always been a bit of a wallflower. The wedding was not going to be as big as Mary's, at least she had managed to get that through to Mama. Granny had been on her side for once, which was a bit of a shock, but welcome nonetheless. A winter wedding sounded so romantic to Edith, but Granny warned her: snow was no guarantee. A drizzle, or even rain, was much more likely.
She looked out the window and saw a bright, blue sky and the frozen treetops and thought herself lucky. Lucky the weather was cooperating, lucky everything was going as planned. Lucky she was marrying Anthony. Soon she would be the mistress of Strallan House and Mrs Hughes had sat with her and given her advice on how to handle and manage the staff. She had told Edith that if it would ever be necessary, she would be happy to visit her and help her.
Anna came in with a curling iron and she and Edith set to work. They did not speak much. When Anna braided in the winter jasmine, she smiled kindly at Edith, whose hands shook as she put in her earrings. "You will be fine, milady."
"Will I?" Edith sighed it more than she said it. "I am nervous."
"Most of us are on our wedding day." Anna replied, still smiling.
"Were you?"
"A little. Not because i was marrying Mr Bates, but because of all that would come after."
Edith thought back at when Anna had married Bates in the registrar's office in Ripon and how the months after had been hard and cold and uncertain for her. No wonder she had been nervous.
"You mean... with the former Mrs Bates found dead and all that?" Edith got up from her chair and walked over to the bed, where her gown was laid out.
"Well, yes, that too..." Anna mumbled and blushed a little.
"Oh... " Edith's sudden comprehension flushed her cheeks. "I think it's time for me to get into that dress... Mama will be here soon. She will want to say things to me last minute and do all sorts of ghastly American emotional things."
Anna giggled. "Well, lets get this on you then."
Edith held up her arms and slid into the dress and waited for Anna to do her up.
"Only the veil now..."
"I think perhaps your mother would like to do that, milady. I think i hear her in the corridor." Anna was right, footsteps echoed against the walls. "I wish you much luck, milady. I hope you will be very, very happy." And Edith felt the cool lips of the housemaid on her cheek.
"I will miss you..."
"I will miss you too, milady."
He turned the key and unlocked the door.
"I don't think i could carry you over the threshold..."
"I don't mind. Perhaps... you could hold my hand and we'll step over it together." She held out her hand and he took it. Together they stepped inside. The hall was dark. It smelled of fresh paint and of sawdust.
They halted, unsure what to do. She could feel him hesitate, a light intake of breath.
"Welcome home, Mrs Carson..."
They turned and their mouths found each other in a delicate kiss. She placed her hand on his cheek and smiled at him. She knew he could not see it, they had not turned on any of the lights yet, but she knew he could sense it. He bent over and kissed her again. She leaned against him.
"How does it feel? Kissing a married woman?" she asked him.
"It feels right... " he answered. He stepped away, turned on the light and helped her out of her coat. Grains of rice sprinkled over the floor as they came loose from Elsie's hair.
"I don't know what it is they were thinking." She shook out the skirt of her new dress. More rice fell on the floor. "You'd think they would know we left the sleepless nights and nappies a bit too late."
"I don't think the rice was meant for us, love." he opened the door to the parlour. "They tried to hit Anna more than you."
"They did and it was kind of them." Elsie sat down on the settee. She did not like to say it, but she was a bit tired.
"I could do with a cup of tea..." Charles grumbled as he took off his shoes. Elsie laughed.
"Look at us... what pair of newlyweds has a cup of tea on the couch when they first come home?" She scooted up so she was nearly in Charles' lap. "I don't think we should be drinking tea. Or sitting on our couch..." she whispered in his ear.
She planted soft kisses along his jaw and found his mouth. His arm slid around her, pulling her on top of him. His free hand caressed the back of her neck. His lips touched hers. Elsie fumbled at his tie and collar, thinking how today would have been the last time he wore a stiff collar, but not for long as their kisses grew hotter and their need to feel each other closer more urgent. She pushed herself up from his chest and straddled him. The new sofa was plumper and as she pushed her knees down, her core pressed against his. She stifled a moan.
She held her breath as she rocked back and forth, savouring the effect she had on him. He placed his hands on her hips and pushed back. A quiet moan escaped her lips. Quickly she undid the buttons of his shirt and took it off his shoulders. His chest hair curled from beneath his vest and she ran her hand through it. He caught her lips and opened them with his tongue, kissing her hurriedly.
They broke apart and Elsie had to find her bearings. Even after all this time, Charles' kisses made her feel lightheaded. He helped her up.
"I don't want to do this here. I want to make love with you in our bed. Not on the settee, like we had to when we were at Downton and we had to be quiet and careful and quick. I want to take my time and make the most of that sturdy double bed you picked out. And to make you utter sounds i have never heard you make before..."
He took her hand in his and pulled her out of the room, through the hall, up the stairs and into their bedroom. He quickly drew the curtains and sat down on the bed to take off his socks. Elsie watched him. She found it hard to believe that he was now her husband. That from now on, she would be able to kiss him whenever she wanted, could talk to him about everything and that she could allow herself to be driven to distraction by the mere rumble of his voice.
"Help me?" she asked and turned her back to him so he could unbutton her dress. His breath on her skin, his lips on her neck, her back. His fingers stroking her back above her corset. His hands pushing off the dress, reaching around her to undo the fastenings of her corset. He bent his head and kissed the top of her breast. She laid her head back on his shoulder to grant him better access. They stumbled, Elsie fell on the bed, her corset fell to the floor, her legs trapped in her underskirt.
She had obviously not paid much attention, how was it that Charles was standing there in front of her, wearing only his undershorts? He untangled her skirts, peeled off her stockings and carefully laid her further on the bed. He hovered over her, smiling.
"Hello..."
"Hello..."
She lifted her head from the pillow to meet his lips and drew him nearer. His hands were under her shift, pushing up the hem, kissing and nipping at her skin. He brushed his fingers past her knickers, making Elsie tilt her hips to press herself against his hand. He was so close, all her senses were on edge. His scent in her nostrils, his taste in her mouth. His skin against hers as she dragged her shift over her head.
More kisses, more heated, her nails softly scraping his bare back, her thumbs under the elastic of his shorts. Quick and sudden movements, their breaths laboured. He traced the inside of her thighs with his index finger. His fingers rubbing over the satiny fabric of her knickers, feeling the moistness that was forming there. He was driving her wild, it was all she could do to remain quiet. He was pulling her so he could take off her knickers and she cooperated, longing for him, for all of him.
"You are allowed to make a noise..." he whispered and she cried out as he pushed himself inside her. Immediately he picked up a steady pace, taking her with him, pushing and pressing, her legs wrapped around him.
She moaned and whispered, almost without volume at first, but louder and louder as she felt the tension rise.
"Oh god..." she dug her nails in the soft flesh of his buttocks, trying to meet his thrusts when he suddenly left her. She whimpered with frustration. "Why?..." He kissed her, deep, slowly, with exquisite purpose. He rolled over her, pulling her back against his chest. She felt his member against her bottom. His hand was on her breast, playing with the nipple. His lips in her neck. She pressed herself against him, unable to keep it together.
"Please, Charles... please..." she nearly begged. He answered by bending her over slightly and entering her and pulling her close again. He moved deep inside her and she moaned. Her breathing was laboured and she pushed his hand against her breast, her hand clutched the sheet. She could hear him grunt and felt him writhe.
"Elsie..." He was close, she could feel it by the erratic thrusts and she pulled away, pushed him to his back and straddled him, like she had done on the sofa. She rocked on top of him, her hands clutching the headboard, she felt the fire in her core mounting, she didn't want to come, not yet.
"What are you doing?" Charles voice was strained.
"Slowing down..."
They rolled together so she was pinned under him again. He moved in her with deliberation.
"I love you..." his voice was steady and he wiped strands of hair from her face.
"I love you..."
She felt his weight on her, the perspiration on his back, his laboured breath. They kissed hungrily. Their bodies seemed to dance to the beating of their hearts. They were locked together and finally, with a few well placed administrations, she fell, uttering a cry that scraped her throat. She felt how Charles spent himself and hugged him tight. She kissed his cheeks, his mouth and waited patiently as he tried to catch his breath.
She laid her head on his shoulder, he put his arm around her. She snuggled up close.
"We have this big bed here, love."
"I know." she pressed feathery kisses on his chest.
"But i'd rather be close to my husband."
Anna could not find access to her vocabulary.
She had finally found a free hour and had rushed to Downton in hopes she would be able to see Doctor Clarkson. There had been no-one else in the waiting room and the nurse had called her in.
Doctor Clarkson had asked her questions and had her undress behind a screen. She had been glad for a few moments of release from her corset. Since a few weeks, it seemed tighter and uncomfortable. She laid down on a hard bench and Doctor Clarkson had carefully poked and prodded her and ordered her to get dressed again.
She coughed.
"You should have come to see me sooner, Mrs Bates."
Anna looked up and saw he smiled.
She took her purse and got up from her chair.
"I... uh... i should be getting back..."
The doctor nodded.
Anna put on her coat and was halfway out the door.
"Oh, and Mrs Bates?"
She turned around.
"Congratulations."
A/N: Le Sigh. Everyone got what they wanted. Or at least, i hope so.
I really appreciate it if you'd leave me a review or comment!
(And yes: there will be an epilogue. I mean: how can we sleep not knowing how Edith and Anthony are doing? We need to see Charles and Elsie and their surrogate grandchild! We need a conversation between Anna and Elsie!)