'I Aurelia Rose Crawley, take thee, Henry Matthew Forbes to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, honor and to cherish, till death us do part.'
'I Henry Matthew Forbes, take thee, Aurelia Rose Crawley to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, honor and to cherish, till death us do part.'
Henry then took the gold wedding band handed to him by his best man, an old friend of his from school, and placed it lightly on Aurelia's finger.
'With this Ring I thee wed, with my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.' He said.
Reverend Travis then turned to the friends and family of the happy young couple.
'In the presence of God, and before this congregation, Aurelia and Henry have given their consent and made their marriage vows to each other. They have declared their marriage by the joining of hands and by the giving and receiving of a ring. I therefore proclaim that they are husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.' He said and everyone clapped as Henry placed a tender loving kiss on his new wife's lips.
They walked arm and arm up the aisle and the congregation soon followed them outside into the bright sunny day. They stood on the grassy area and posed for some photographs together and then with their family. The servants all began to walk back up to the house, but Aurelia managed to catch a hold of Mrs Hughes and Mr Carson before they disappeared with them.
'Could you take a photograph of me with our two heads of house?' She asked him and the photographer did as she asked. The truth was she really wanted to have a photograph with her mother, but thought that if she came at it from that angle, it wouldn't look too strange. Not that she really minded. Mr Carson had been a part of her life from when she was a baby and she had an exceptionally good relationship with him, not forgetting the fact that, if she had her way in London, he would be a lot more to her than a butler.
Once the photographs were all taken, everyone returned to the house, where there was food and drink laid out and dancing in the entrance hall. Until the evening the reception was just for the friends and family, but then Aurelia had insisted that the staff come up and join them in their celebration.
Henry and Aurelia were in their element as they chatted happily and excitedly about their future and received words of congratulations from their relatives and friends. Henry introduced Aurelia to his aunt and uncle, who lived about fifty miles away from Downton and Aurelia introduced him to a couple of her childhood friends. Eventually the staff then came up to join them and Aurelia encouraged everyone to dance.
'She's a little unconventional your new wife.' Henry's Uncle Harold said to him as he watched the young woman mix with people and talk to the staff as if they were any other guests. 'I didn't think her kind acknowledged anyone below them.' He added.
'Don't be unkind Uncle; Aurelia is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside, with a great deal of respect for everyone; so yes, she is exceptionally unconventional.' Henry replied proudly.
Whilst everyone was busy, Aurelia took a few moments to share a discreet word with her mam.
'Have you enjoyed your day?' Mrs Hughes asked.
'It's been wonderful, absolutely wonderful.' Aurelia replied, but she was beginning to look tired, which hadn't gone unnoticed by both of her mothers.
'Perhaps you should go to bed, you look exhausted and we've got an early start in the morning.' Mrs Hughes replied, just as they were joined by Cora.
'I'll be fine for a bit longer.' Aurelia whispered.
'What's this?' Cora asked with a raised eyebrow.
'Mrs Hughes thinks I should consider calling it a night.' Aurelia answered with a tired smile.
'Well you are looking exceptionally tired.' Cora agreed.
'You know there's a real downside to having two mothers.' Aurelia said with a tired smile and a roll of her eyes. 'But perhaps you are both right; I'll say goodnight.' She added and kissed Cora on the cheek. She had then made a subtle step forward to say goodnight to Mrs Hughes, but stopped herself just in time, although she really hated having to treat her mam in such a way. Instead she gave her hand a very quick squeeze, before she went over to Henry and they both disappeared, leaving their few guests to their own devices.
The party didn't last for too much longer after the happy couple left and very soon Mr Carson and Mrs Hughes were able to retire, but not before they shared their own special moment downstairs. They sat in her sitting room with a glass of sherry each and exhausted, yet happy expressions on their faces.
'She really took my breath away when I saw her walking down those stairs today.' Mr Carson said.
'Well I may have a biased opinion, but I think she's a stunning girl.' Mrs Hughes replied proudly.
'Just like her mother.' Mr Carson replied casually, but he hadn't meant it to be said out loud. However, Mrs Hughes didn't reply, she just gave a surprised, yet appreciative smile, her cheeks tinged a little pink.
With comments like that and the promise of romance in the air, she very much hoped that their time together in London would prove fruitful.
The next morning Aurelia woke in the arms of her husband; he was still asleep and she took the opportunity to take a mental photograph of the scene of the way his hair was sticking out at funny angles and the way his lips were slightly parted as he slept. She stifled a giggle as he let out a small snore, oblivious to the fact that the woman who loved him most in the world was watching his every move.
It felt so strange to her to have a man in her bed and she knew it was going to take some getting used to, but she loved the fact that she could call herself his wife and he her husband.
As she watched him she could bear it no longer; she placed a kiss firmly to his lips, which went ignored for a few moments, but after a few seconds he began to respond passionately.
'Well that's certainly a pleasant way to wake up. I could get used to it.' He whispered after a few moments.
'Good morning husband.' Aurelia whispered with a delighted smile.
'Good morning wife.' He replied and kissed her passionately again.
Upstairs, in the servants' living quarters, Mrs Hughes and Mr Carson were both packing for their time away, not that they owned much to pack, but still, they both wanted to ensure they were ready.
Mr Carson still felt a little uncomfortable with the idea of going away. He didn't exactly know why Aurelia had asked for him to attend with them and he certainly didn't feel comfortable with it. Had she asked him in his capacity as butler, he may have accepted it more easily, but Mrs Hughes had explicitly said that they were not there to work. Perhaps it was to make Mrs Hughes' trip more credible to the other staff, but he still didn't feel all that comfortable.
Down the corridor, Mrs Hughes was humming a tune as she packed a few of her belongings. Although she did quiet enjoy her job, she couldn't deny that she was greatful of the break. Holidays, breaks away and time off weren't particularly common place when you worked in service, in fact, the last holiday she ever remembered having was when she was in her late teens, just before she started work in the big house in Argyll for the Campbell family. She had gone north towards Inverness to spend time with her grandmother, along with her own mother and sister. Her father, being a farmer, never could get away so she very rarely got to spend time with him.
When they were eventually packed, Mr Carson had Alfred and Jimmy carry their luggage to the car and they then helped Aurelia and Henry with theirs. Mr Carson and Mrs Hughes then made their way down to the car and found the family gathering in the entrance hall to say their farewells. They all made their way to the car and both Mr Carson and Mrs Hughes sat in the front seat, whilst Aurelia and Henry sat in the back, waving goodbye to their family.
Cora watched with mixed emotions as her daughter set off with her new husband. Of course she was happy for the young couple, but she was sad at the same time at the thought of her daughter growing up and becoming a wife. However, she did take comfort in knowing Mrs Hughes would be there with her, along with Mr Carson, the only two other people, beside her and Robert, that she trusted in ensuring her daughter's welfare.
'Have you been to London before?' Aurelia asked Henry as they sat closely next to each other.
'Only once that I recall; my mother's aunt used to live in London when I was a small child and when she died my mother had to sort out her house, so she took me with her. I was very young though, so I only vaguely remember it.' He explained. 'When was the last time you were in London?'
'Not for a long time I'm afraid; actually, I think the last time I was in London was when I was presented and that was before the war.' She said astonished at how much time had passed.
'So the house we're going to stay in, it belongs to your parent's?'
'Yes it does. We don't use it very often I must say and we did used to have a housekeeper and butler there full time, but Mrs Martin retired and we didn't see much point in replacing her so Mr Spratt was moved up here as Granny's butler. I don't like him very much, there's something about him I don't trust.' She explained. 'So if we ever have any reason to stay in the house, we bring some of the staff down with us.'
'It was good of your parents to let mother and father stay for another week. They've grown to like it here.' He said.
'Mama and Papa quite like entertaining, even when they say they don't and besides, they still have Grandmama for…well, heaven knows how long Grandmama will be staying, much to the dismay of Granny and Papa. I think they find her a little too American sometimes.' Aurelia replied with a laugh, just as the car was pulling into the train station.
Mr Carson helped Mr Scott put the luggage on to the platform, which was then put on to the train by one of the station porters. Once satisfied that the luggage was on safely, Mr Carson began to lead Mrs Hughes towards the 3rd class carriages, before he was stopped by Aurelia.
'Now Mr Carson, do you really think I would let you and Mrs Hughes ride 3rd class? I've booked you both tickets with us.' Aurelia said and they were both very touched.
'Are you absolutely sure Milady?' Mr Carson said as he fidgeted uncomfortably, but Mrs Hughes was quite unperturbed.
'Of course I am Mr Carson; now stop trying to find excuses not to come and get in the carriage.' Aurelia ordered with a smile.
Reluctantly the butler did as he was told and helped Mrs Hughes into their carriage before getting in himself, followed by Aurelia and then Henry. It took him a while, but once they were on their way, Mr Carson felt he could relax a little, although it did seem exceptionally strange to be sitting with Lady Aurelia Crawley and to be expected to chat with her like she was anyone else.
'Mr Carson, would it make you feel any better to think of me as Mrs Hughes' daughter and not as a Crawley?' Aurelia joked, trying desperately hard to make him feel more at ease. 'I remember the days Mr Carson when you used to put me on your shoulders when I came down into the servants' hall for a visit, or the time my sisters and I were playing hide and seek and you hid me under your desk in your pantry and never gave me away when Sybbie came looking.' Aurelia remembered fondly and was delighted to see a relaxed smile appear on his face.
'And there was the time that you broke one of your grandmother's vases and came running down to me and Mr Carson in floods of tears at the prospect of getting into trouble; so we went up and dealt with it before anyone else found out and we never told anyone.' Mrs Hughes replied fondly.
'And do you remember the time you fell down the stairs Milady and broke your leg?' Mr Carson asked as he joined in the fond reminiscing.
'How could any of us forget that Mr Carson?' Mrs Hughes replied. 'I've never been so terrified in all my life!'
'What happened?' Henry asked, enthralled by the tales the butler and housekeeper could tell him about his wife.
'Well I was in front of Mary, Edith and Sybbie as we were walking down the stairs, only my dress got caught on something and I tripped right down, banging my head on one of the corners and I broke my leg in two places.' Aurelia explained as she recalled having to stay in bed for weeks whilst her leg healed.
'She'd knocked herself unconscious and was in a really bad way; she was only about nine at the time and we sent for Doctor Clarkson as soon as we could. The poor wee thing, we had to leave her laying at the bottom of the stairs until he arrived.' Mrs Hughes said as she remembered how her heart and stopped beating the moment one of the maids came running into the servants' hall to tell them all what had happened. Mr Carson had, thankfully, been in the entrance hall when it happened.
The reminiscing between the three continued throughout the journey south. Henry would chip in every now and then with tales of his own childhood, but both he and Mr Carson were very much enjoying listening to Mrs Hughes and Aurelia's memories of each other, which they could now discuss relatively freely, the way a mother and daughter would do.
By the time they arrived at King's Cross Station in London, Mr Carson was beginning to feel a little more relaxed about his unusual situation. He still wasn't entirely comfortable, but Mrs Hughes was certainly hoping that she might be able to help him relax properly by the end of the week.