Chapter 8

The next few days were full of excitement and preparations for the upcoming wedding. It was to be a small affair, as most servant weddings were, so they barely needed a couple of weeks to plan the whole thing. It was 10 days before the wedding, and both Baxter and Molesley were busy eagerly planning their wedding and what they would do with the week his Lordship was giving them following the wedding.

Lady Grantham was helping Baxter prepare by being an adviser about what Phyllis should wear on her big day. It was only a registry office wedding, but Cora wanted her maid to have a perfect wedding day. Baxter had very little apart from her black uniform dresses and nothing that was exactly suitable for one to get married in, so Cora was planning on loaning Baxter one of her own dresses for the occasion. Thankfully, they were of similar size, unlike Mary and Anna when the latter wed. Then again, from what Baxter heard, Anna and Bates basically eloped, so there was none of the family there.

Though it was to be a small affair, the whole household plus Molesley's father would be in attendance.

At the end of the day, Phyllis and Joseph slipped into the boot room to get some calm alone time. Sitting at opposite ends of the table in the centre of the room, they sipped their tea in contented silence. Eventually, Joseph opened his mouth to speak to the woman who would soon be his wife.

"Phyllis, can you believe that 9 days from now, it will be the night before our wedding?" he asked, reaching out and touching her hand.

"I can't believe that I'm getting married in the first place," she replied. "After all that I have done and all that has happened to me, someone still wishes to make me their wife."

"Because someone sees your true worth and you once said that my strength has made you strong," Joseph said. "But you have also made me strong. I didn't believe in my strength because you were the only one to see it; but then as you became more confident, I became more confident. Now I see my strength. We have made each other strong."

Phyllis felt tears come to her eyes and she squeezed Joseph's hand gently. "Joseph, you are more wonderful than even I knew. I love you and I cannot wait to be your wife, so the two of us can grow even more together," she said quietly.

Joseph stood, not letting go of Phyllis' hand as he walked around the table to press a kiss to her lips. "I know that we are all like a family here, but my father and I cannot wait to give you a real family to call your own. I told him that you never really had a home or family after your mother's death, so he is intent on making sure you know what it's like to have a good father," he told her quietly.

"I'll need to thank him then," she said with a smile. "I remember when I first met your father, he was always so kind to me. I think perhaps he might have known that my father was a terrible one."

"A bit like a father's instinct?" Joseph asked.

"Yes," Phyllis replied. "There's a mother's instinct, so maybe there is also a different type of instinct for fathers."

"Well, I only hope that his father's instinct will do him well. Have you decided who will escort you down the aisle at the wedding?"

"I was actually going to ask Lord Grantham," she replied. "And if he says no, I was going to ask Mr Carson."

"Good luck for when you ask Lord Grantham. But I really can't see him saying no. He knows that Downton is the only real home you've had," Molesley said, smiling and reaching out to touch her hand again.

The couple sat in the boot room contentedly, time just passing them by until Molesley yawned slightly, eliciting laughter from Phyllis. "We should get to bed Joseph," she said. "Or else we'll be too tired to get anything done tomorrow."

"Alright Phyllis, I just don't like having to say goodnight to you."

"Soon we won't have to spend our nights apart Joseph," she reminded him.

"I know, and the faster we get there, the better," he muttered, pressing his lips to Phyllis' as they left the boot room, putting their tea cups in the kitchen before going to the stairs. They walked up silently, hand in hand, until they had to part ways. They kissed a final time, bidding one another goodnight.

The pair fell asleep easily that night, still thinking about the fact that they would soon be falling asleep in the arms of the person they loved.

Now, with only 9 days until the wedding, the bride and groom were nothing short of happy, even if they were nervous about the fact that they would soon be wed.