Convincing Father

Lady Edith Crawley sat in the drawing room of Downton Abbey shortly before Easter 1916 waiting for her father to put in an appearance. She had been conditionally accepted to the Associate Program in Agriculture at Aberdeen University pending the acceptance of her term project. The planting would begin next month and Edith wanted to have her plans in place before then. Her palms were moist and she kept looking towards the clock.

"Edith, dear, you look nervous," her mother said.

"I'm just waiting for Papa to return for luncheon," Edith said.

After what seemed like hours but was really ten minutes. Lord Grantham walked in followed by the Dowager Countess. Edith closed her book and followed the others to the dining room. Her hands were shaking slightly and her mouth was dry. Part way through the luncheon, she set down her utensils and looked at her father.

"Papa, I've decided to take some correspondence courses on farming, agriculture really. I was wondering if you could order some new books for the library?" Edith said as a way of testing the waters.

"As long as you don't have any ideas about running off to college like your sister, you can take all the courses by post you like. Leave a list of books you want with me after luncheon and I'll see to it," he replied.

"Why all this interest in farming, Edith? It certainly isn't very ladylike," the Dowager Countess questioned.

"There is a war on Granny," Edith said. "There are food shortages. We have the land to produce more. We shouldn't waste so much of what we have. I want to learn more about it."

"Still, it isn't very becoming when you return to the house covered in dirt," her mother chimed in. "You must make more of an effort to not be so hands on, dear."

"Actually, I want to be more hands on," Edith said excitedly. "Part of the correspondence course is to take on projects and I have one in mind for livestock."

"Good heavens," her father said. "What's brought this on?"

"I've been thinking about it since last year when Bill was here," Edith said still excited. "We buy our meat when we could easily raise our own. I've got it all worked out on paper. Won't you let me show it to you Papa?"

Her family exchanged glances. It was the first time Edith had mentioned her deceased fiancé without starting to cry and she was showing excitement about something for the first time in months.

"Certainly, you can show it to me, Edith," Lord Grantham said with a small smile of encouragement.

"What are you planning to do for the summer, Mary?" Edith asked her. Edith's face was still glowing with excitement.

"Not farming, if that's what you had in mind," Mary said.

"No, I was just wondering. I wish you would consider coming to the hospital for an afternoon. The men appreciate the visits so much. I plan to continue going at least twice a week over the summer."

"Now don't tell me you're getting modern ideas and plan to go gadding about like your younger sister, Edith," her grandmother stated. "I don't know what you find to do at that hospital."

"Visiting the wounded and making plans for the home farm is hardly gadding about, Granny" Mary defended. "If she's happy poking about the estate, there can't be any harm in it. I'll consider coming to the hospital, Edith. I don't know how I could be of much help."

After luncheon Edith brought a folder with the details she had worked out to show her father. She had followed Tom's advice to create a financial argument for the changes she wanted to make and had gone through the estate books with the manager. As well she had been working on a list of future projects to make the home farm more cost effective and curb the wasted resources.

"I see what you're saying," Lord Grantham said. "There will be initial outlay with some of this. It will be sometime before you break even and even longer before you make a profit, but you will be cutting many of the expenses of running this estate. I must say, I'm impressed by the amount of work you've done on this already."

Edith was embarrassed by her father's praise, but gratefully accepted it.

"Thank you, Papa. Then do you agree? May I have free run with the livestock?"

"As long as you work with the estate manager and stick to the budget I will provide you for all of this. You may."

"Oh, how wonderful," Edith exclaimed with excitement. "I've already talked to the butcher in the village. He said he would take all the meat we could provide. As well he will do the slaughtering in exchange for part of each animal. This is going to work!"

"My only concern is the outline you've made to hire more farm help, we are already experiencing labor shortages. I don't want you pulling the existing help away from their regular duties. You will have to hire workers, but I don't know where you expect to find them."

"I'll have to think of something," Edith said. She gave her father a kiss on the cheek before she almost bounced out of the room.

By the end of July the Battle of the Somme was raging and the hospital was overflowing with casualties. Mary had agreed to go to the hospital one afternoon with Edith and had quickly joined forces with Cousin Isobel and Dr. Clarkson to put pressure on Lord and Lady Grantham to open Downton Abbey as a convalescent home. Edith's plans for her livestock expansion were well under way and she was enjoying every minute she spent in the outdoors. Lord and Lady Grantham arrived home one afternoon to find a cart stopped in the middle of the driveway and Edith busily directing a crew of workers. The men were placing what looked like gate sections on an area of the lawn.

"Edith, what in blazes is going on?" her father demanded.

"I've decided to pasture sheep on the lawn over the summer," she said. The excitement was evident in her voice and she was smiling.

Lady Cora had gotten out of the car and was surveying the area of the lawn in dismay.

"Now see here. Why wasn't I consulted?" her father demanded.

"But you were, Papa, I mentioned it the other day," Edith's smile was slowly fading. "You said if I could find a solution to not having the man power to maintain the lawns I should do it. This is it."

The wind was knocked out of Robert's anger as he realized she was right.

"Very well, Edith. What do you have in mind?" he asked.

"The men are erecting temporary fencing," she said. "We will have a small flock of young sheep on the lawn. The fence will be moved every few days. The sheep will keep the grass down. I bought them inexpensively as they are all young rams birthed this spring. In the fall I will sell them for mutton or we can use them for the estate. There is more than enough pasture for them. The feed won't cost a thing. They only have to be watered and the trough can be moved along with the fence so it won't ruin the lawn."

"Think of the smell," Lady Cora finally said. "Edith I can't a bunch of smelly sheep circling the house."

"They won't be close to the house, Mama. There is more than enough space. The Gardeners will still need to tend the lawn closest to the house."

"Robert!" Lady Cora exclaimed. She knew she was rapidly loosing the argument.

"Edith is right. We don't have the manpower to maintain the lawns properly and the sheep will nicely take care of the issue. Have the men carry on," he said.

Edith's smile was back as she turned back to what she was doing and signaled the men to get back to work.

At the end of August Edith was ready to put another of her ideas into practice but needed to hire at least one new farm hand. Whoever she hired needed to be able to grasp the new concepts she was experimenting with and have the ability to keep daily records. There were no replies to the advertisements for regular field hands so she had to think of something fast or have her plans ruined. An idea came to her one afternoon when she was leaving the local hospital and passing through the square in Downton on her bicycle. It just might work.

The following afternoon Lady Edith Crawley accompanied by the estate manager approached a group of ragged young men. The young men were all obviously veterans. Two of them had canes and one had a ragged scar that ran across his face. The other four had the gaunt haunted look Edith had seen at the hospital so many times with men who had serious injuries and would face slow recoveries. None of the men looked as though they were getting enough to eat. They were a pathetic lot, but she was desperate and it was worth a try.

"Hello, I'm Lady Edith Crawley," she began. The men's eyes turned towards her, a couple of them tipped their hats but most made no other movement. "I'm looking for workers for the home farm on my father's estate." At least two of the men turned their faces away from her. She took a breath and continued on. "I need someone who knows how to keep records and has experience working with poultry. The position isn't extremely physical, it includes a place to stay and three square meals a day." None of the men said anything to her. Her confidence was lagging a bit but she wasn't through trying. "I'll be in the village square by the large oak in the park for the next twenty minutes if any of you would like to apply for the position."

Edith walked away somewhat dejected. She had kept up a serene appearance while speaking to the men as she had been trained to do, but her hopes at finding anyone were fading fast. She went to sit on the park bench in the shade while the estate manager went to fetch her a cold drink from one of the shops. Edith had been sitting in the park discussing where they could next look for help when a ragged young man approached. He had a military canvas bag over his shoulder and was wearing an old pair of boots that had seen better days. His hair was shaggy and he had at least two weeks of beard on his face. The rags he was wearing for lack of a better word hung from his gaunt frame. He was twisting his cap in his hands nervously and his eyes were trained on the ground.

"I've come about the job, Milady," he said.

The estate manager was taken aback and shook his head slightly at Edith. Edith was undeterred. This would be her first time conducting a job interview and she was determined to at least attempt to ask a few questions.

"Have you ever worked with poultry before?"

"I used to work on the farms around here before the war," he said. "I've tended chickens."

"How much education do you have?"

"I went to a village school until I was fourteen."

"Can you drive?"

He shook his head no.

"Can you get up into a cart?"

Again he shook his head no.

"Would you be able to lift crates of eggs into a cart and carry pails of feed?"

He nodded his head.

"Let me tell you about the position," Edith said. "I'm starting a small poultry operation on the estate. I will be establishing three flocks of fifty hens each to begin with. I am going to experiment with different types of feed. Each flock will have its own feed and records will have to be kept of how much is given and how often. As well the hens will be individually weighed periodically to determine which feed is working best. You will have to gather the eggs, grade them, feed the hens and keep the pens clean and well maintained. Once the operation is established and I have determined which methods work best, I will increase the size of the flock. I was hoping to find someone who could deliver the eggs to the shop I have made arrangements with but I can make other arrangements. As long as you can load the eggs into the cart or lorry, I would have no objection hiring you."

The young man's head snapped up.

"Thank you, Milady," he said. The look on his face showed that he was almost ready to weep with gratitude.

"What is your name?" Edith inquired.

"John Biggs," he said with a strong Yorkshire accent.

"Mr. Biggs, as long as you perform the tasks required every day the rest of your time is your own. You will be provided with a small cottage that you will share with five other men once I have hired them. As well you will be provided with sufficient provisions for three meals a day. I expect your behavior not to reflect badly on myself or on my father's estate." Edith named a sum that wasn't huge but was more than the disabled man could expect to make if he was lucky enough to find work.

"Milady, will I have to. I mean to say, will I have to."

"No," Edith replied when she grasped what he was trying to ask. "When we get to the point of replacing the hens with younger ones, we will sell the birds live. The hens selected for use on the estate will be sent to the gamekeepers to be prepared. You won't have to kill anything."

"Thank you, Milady."

"Can you come with us now? We can wait while you collect your things."

"I don't have any things, Milady," he said obviously embarrassed.

Edith was a taken aback. She knew men were sent out of the hospitals as soon as they were well enough, but the Downton hospital catered to Officers. Was this what happened to boys from poor families when they were too ill to work?

"My manager will take you to the merchant's for some attire suitable for your position. He will charge it to the estate against your first month's wages," Edith said to preserve the man's dignity. She made a mental note to have one of the maids go through the storage cabinets at the main house to find one or two extra blankets and a decent pillow to be delivered to the man's accommodations.

John Biggs turned to follow the estate manager to the shops. Edith noticed as he walked away that his right leg turned out and drug slightly as he walked. She hoped she had made the right decision in hiring him, but she had little choice.