2: About great-grand children (6x04)

"Your great-grand children won't thank you when the State will be all-powerful because we didn't fight!"

Here it was again, one of her mother's ironic remark meant (willingly or unwillingly) to hurt her. Rosamund still coudn't actually understand what was the point in that, and especially, not the purpose even; sometimes the Dowager Countess openly admitted that she hadn't accepted yet her daughter's second marriage, and then some other times like that particular one, she seemed to suggest that that marriage and its consequences hadn't happened soon enough instead. Either way, Violet was accusing and either way Rosamund ended up hurt.

"Well, I probably won't even get to know my grand-children, so I can live with that…" she replied, as calmly as she could, even if her now stiffened body was betraying her.

But the older woman didn't read the signs apparently, since she just slightly shrugged and threw an eloquent glance at her. "That was totally your choice, Rosamund."

Rosamund was already opening her mouth to reply once again, when unluckily – or luckily, actually – Robert, Tom and Edith entered the sitting room, ending the dangerous twist the conversation of the four woman in the room had just taken. As soon as Mary arrived as well, the plan to go downstairs to welcome Mr and Mrs Carson back from their honeymoon was put into action, and Rosamund was actually the first to move and leave, not to lead the way though. She had another stop to make before that and yes, that was her own choice as well.

The door of the children's room was left ajar, so she could easily open it with a single soundless push without being noticed. Sybbie, George and Marigold basically lived there, but in that very moment none of them were present and the reason of her visit was actually a little guest who had joined the trio only for some days. Leaning on the jamb, she just remained then for a couple of minutes to stare at the scene going on in front of her eyes: a four years old girl was drawing sitting in front of a small table, and a man with an impressing similarity was sitting on the floor in front of her, answering to her many curious questions about… well, everything. It was exactly that curiosity the reason why she was the first to notice the woman's presence in the end, widening her bright blue eyes in delight and standing up quickly, taking the precious drawing just made with her.

"Mommy!" she exclaimed, running into her arms. "Look at it! Do you like it?"

Rosamund, who had bent on her knees to embrace her own child, took now the paper in her hand and gave a careful look at it. Some casual lines and spots of colours that led to give the idea of two female figures with very opinable proportions: that was what everything was about to an objective judge, but to her own eyes that truly was the best piece of art ever, anyway.

"Oh that's beautiful, my darling! Who are the they?"

The little girl's smile widened even more, in clear pride now at her mother's praise, and then just moved her little finger on the paper. "That is me… And that is Granny Violet!"

"Well, Greer, you certainly depicted her far more nicer than what she actually is" the woman commented not helping her irony.

Lowering the drawing just a bit, she met the ill-concelaed amused smirk of the man. "What happened now?" came the predictable question right after.

But Rosamund didn't reply and only let out an eloquent sigh. In total calm, she handed the paper back to her daughter and placed a kiss on her peculiar light red hair. Then, she stood up and slowly approached her husband who had just stood up as well. She didn't answer even then, but moving her eyes from her daughter, who was now back drawing again, to him, she felt her previous annoyance completely disappear and her face only showed now the most relaxed of the expressions.

"Richard, have I ever told you how much I am truly happy?" she asked in a whisper, out of the blue. And she beamed genuinely as to stronger confirm her words.

Doctor Clarkson looked at her for a moment in pleasant wonder and then, as he took her hands in his own, couldn't help but smile back. The fact itself was not coming as a surprise of course, he could tell by her everyday behavior that she was happy, he knew that; but what was totally unexpected though was that she was actually saying that aloud, never being the one to speak openly about her feelings – as wasn't himself too, after all.

"I want you to know that, because it is true. I am finally truly happy in my life" she continued, feeling maybe a bit encouraged by his touch. "Sometimes I just wonder what I would have done in my life now if I hadn't met you here during the war, if we hadn't fallen in love and if we hadn't started a family… I- I'm sure I would have been so empty and gloomy and alone without you and Greer…"

His reaction was quick and warm this time too. Now, he was holding her tight in his arms in fact, letting her silently know through that simple contact that her doubt was the same constant one that crossed his mind every morning, since, if things had gone differently, his life would have been that very same dramatic situation she had depicted for herself. All the difficulties they had indured through their years together, the uncertainties before their wedding and then the many fears during the pregnancy… Everything had led to that and he would have done everything back all over again.

"It doesn't matter, Ros, because we had met. And now we have this life, it's real" Richard finally said, and that was a way to both reassure her and reassure himself.

Then, they just broke their embrace and both looked once again at little Greer, who chose right that moment to look up as well. Silently, all the three of them smiled, widely.

They were just lucky, she guessed, and also very happy indeed.

This came as a surprise, didn't it? I just wanted to write something to fix Rosamund's clear pain in the episode and I found that this was the only way to truly fix that. Now, some short considerations I've made in order to write the chapter: I considered Rosamund born around 1973 (which is the last possible year considering Violet's meeting with Prince Kuragin in 1974), which would make her 46/47 in the months between 1920/1921, when in my mind is set Greer's birth. Why Greer? Just because it's a Scottish name and I fell in love with it since I first heard it on "Reign". Furthermore, I've imagined Greer to be portrayed by a younger version of Isabella Blake Thomas.

That said, thank you very much for the wonderful reviews to the first chapter of this collection, I hope you liked this one as well. I'd love to hear your opinion about everything:)