II - Strawberries and Tea
Cora was puzzled about everything that had happened in the last 10 minutes. One moment she was talking amicably with her daughter and looking after her granddaughter, the next the little girl was all bloodied and crying in her lap and Edith was rushing off to the phone. And now Tom had walked in with a young woman she had never seen before and he was laughing along with her. And now said young woman was being held by Edith in an uncommon display of affection coming from her middle daughter and the stranger was now asking questions as she kept a cold tone with her eyes fixed on little Sybil, "What?" Cora asked confused while getting up.
"Has she lost consciousness your Ladyship? Where is your kitchen Mr. Branson? We need to take her there so I can clean up her wound properly; it's going to be the quickest way. Your Ladyship, did Sybil pass out?" she asked again, this time looking at her. "No, she hasn't. She's cried non-stop, this happened not ten minutes ago. There's so much blood", she whispered out in a sob as Edith reached for her and held her mother. The stranger asked Tom to take Sybil to the kitchen again and Edith decided to speak as Tom and Maggie stormed downstairs carrying little Sybil. "She was a nurse mama, Sybbie is in good hands. And Dr. Clarkson is coming, don't worry, she'll be fine", she said reassuringly as Anna walked in looking puzzled about the entire scene. "Anna, please find Miss Matthews some linens and take them to the kitchen", Cora requested as she found the strength to follow her son in law.
When they reached the kitchen, Tom was holding little Sybbie by the sink while the stranger was carefully cleaning up her wound and hair, with Mrs. Patmore and the rest of the staff utterly confused as to what was happening. Maggie beamed at Anna when she brought the clean cloths she had asked, embedding it with peroxide and pressing it against the girl's little cut. Tom's color was slowly returning to his face now that he had noticed it wasn't much of a cut. "Your daughter will be fine Mr. Branson", Maggie said reassuringly as she kept pressuring the wound. Looking around in detail for the first time since they rushed in, she realized that most of the crew was now quiet, and that a tall man at the back of the room looked almost as concerned as Tom, and seemed to want to step in. Asking Tom to hold the cloth, she reached for the bowl of strawberries and decided to ignore the nasty comment from Mrs. Patmore.
"Sybil, do you want a strawberry? Yes?" she asked, making sure the little girl followed with her eyes the strawberry she was holding in her hand. Up, down, to the left, to the right. She was responsive and active, holding onto her father with her little hands. She decided then to give the fruit to the young girl and took off the cloth, seeing that the wound was still slightly opened, "Stitches would only traumatize her and it's a small cut, we could use sugar to close it", she mouthed, more to herself than to Tom or the onlookers, who each seemed to have a different opinion and were much too eager to express it, "Shut up!" the man in the back said and took a step forward bringing a cup with sugar, "I agree. Sugar. Nurse at the front I presume?" the tall man asked just as the Earl walked in.
With her eyes once again on her little patient, Maggie nodded and poured a bit of sugar in the cut, "Yes. France for the most part. I know it hurts Sybil, but I promise it'll go away sweetheart. She'll need antibiotics to rule out any infections and uhm- You need to keep her awake for two hours at least in case she has a concussion", these last words were said towards Tom, who was now smiling happily to her as he held onto his daughter who was aiming for the strawberries at the table. "Well she most certainly feels better. May I suggest you continue the care of Miss Sybil somewhere more appropriate?" the old Butler said and before the Earl and Mrs. Patmore could agree, Cora spoke, "Thank you so much Miss Matthews, we appreciate what you've done for our granddaughter. You must stay for dinner", Edith smiled pleased with her mother, "At least dinner, maybe for the weekend? I'm sure there's plenty for us to catch up on and Tom and I could show you the land. And you must meet Mary as well once she's not contagious" she added as she reached for her friend's arm.
"Edith, your Ladyship, thank you for your kind offer but I couldn't stay. I'm just here for the day. I need to return to London". The upstairs half of the room wanted her to stay while the downstairs part was eying her with something between disbelief and contempt. Her dress stained with Sybil's blood and slightly messed up hair was not making her score points in that department. In order to settle the whispers and the prying eyes and try to return to normalcy, Lord Grantham spoke with a charming smile, "Nonsense, the weekend is coming, and we won't take a no for an answer Miss Matthews".
With a little sigh, she nodded and the Earl walked out, pleased with himself, followed by his wife and the butler, leaving Tom, Edith and Maggie by the kitchen sink, surrounded by the Downstairs crew. "I guess we should leave Mrs Patmore to it, sorry about this but it was an emergency", Tom apologized as he gestured the women to follow the Earl with one hand as he held his daughter with the other. The cook gave the little girl another strawberry smiling for a second and then resumed her sergeant-like tone with the rest of the people, while the Housekeeper introduced herself. "I'll be sure to prepare the guest room for Miss Matthews. Do you have any luggage?" she questioned as they made their way through the corridor. With a little sigh, the guest shook her head, a slight blush crawling to her cheeks again, "Edith I can't stay upstairs you know that. I can't stay, period"
Both Edith and Tom made a case for her to stay during the weekend, which only made her embarrassment grow tenfold. By the time they had returned to the drawing room, little Sybil was eager to resume her running around the place much to everyone's pleasure. "Don't let her run for a while, she could get sick or dizzy" Maggie ventured out before excusing herself to follow Edith to her room.
"Thank you again Miss Matthews" Tom added with a small smile that didn't go unnoticed to Cora and the Earl. Shifting uncomfortably in her seat, she eyed her husband, who spoke as he poured a drink, "Tom let her get settled now, we can all keep on thanking Miss Matthews later". Tom nodded dropping his smile and looking away and Maggie nodded once more and rushed out to catch up with Edith, unable to shake the odd feeling crawling from the pit of her stomach.
Edith thanked Anna for the tea tray and saw her out as her friend sat in the armchair by her bed. "They're delighted to have you here Magdaline, and Mrs. Hughes is preparing the room, you don't want to be on her bad side" Edith teased as she handed her over a cup of tea.
Maggie sighed, "I'm your unofficial fiancée's secretary! If I belong somewhere is downstairs, not up here. I'm a commoner with zero experience in classy dinners; I'll embarrass you and Michael by extension. Have you not thought of that?"
"You are my friend Magdaline, are you not? It's just dinner! They're not going to torture you. And you made quite an impression taking care of Sybil. Tom wouldn't stop thanking you for it" Edith added with an unreadable tone as she sat down and took a sip of her tea. "I have one good dress and is stained with blood Edith, I'm a walking embarrassment", Magdaline finally sighed out looking down with the blush that wouldn't leave her cheeks for a while now
"Is that what's been bothering you? We are practically the same size; you can have any of my dresses and adjust it, ask Anna. Now, enough with this. Is Michael alright? What happened? Something must have happened for you to leave London" she finally asked, her hands locking fingers nervously over her lap. Edith couldn't deal with another rejection, couldn't face herself in the mirror if she had been fooled once again. Surely Michael wouldn't abandon her, not after everything he was going through to make their love legal. But still, a stint of fear kept crawling to the back of her head, only made worse by Magdaline's pause.
Setting the cup of tea on the table between them, Magdaline got up and looked for the letters in her small bag. "I got a letter from Michael. The citizenship is going well. He must stay in Germany for quite some time and once that's settled and he can finish the divorce papers then you'll have to travel there for the marriage. But I'm sure we can arrange things to make it work, invite the family and the like", she spoke quickly with a smile to try and cheer up her friend, who beamed and tear up happily, getting up and hugging her, losing her balance for a minute. "I'm sure he could ask papa for my hand over the phone considering the circumstances and it's not that far, grand-mamma may not be able to go but… what else is the matter?" Edith asked, not letting go of her friend's hand.
Squatting next to the now seated Edith, Magdaline wet her lips and took a deep breath before continuing, "The divorce may take up to a year and after that, he needs to wait some time before being able to wed again. I'm sorry Edith. But uh- we can travel. We can arrange to go there together, I could chaperone you or- maybe your sister" she was cut mid-sentence by the colors leaving her friend's face.
"A whole year? That's- But after the year we'll be together again, won't we? He's not abandoning me, is he Magdaline? Please", she broke down in sobs and Maggie brought her closer to her, brushing her back slowly, "Of course not. Michael adores you Edith, he'd never leave you. It's taking longer than what the lawyers had anticipated that's all. But he'll marry you and you better make me the maid of honor!" she teased trying to lighten up the mood and managing it for a moment. Reaching for the letter, she handed it over, "This one is for you and I had instructions to hand it over in person so, here it is. Now drink some tea with extra sugar, you're too pale". But Edith ignored her, getting up swiftly and opening the letter as she walked towards the window. She was reassured by each loving word but the message was the same: she was meant to wait for at least a year.
Edith stood by the window staring at the fields for quite some time and Magdaline stayed put, sipping her tea slowly and watching her friend. She was sure of Michael's love for Edith, there was no question about it but she couldn't help but wonder how their next year would be. Will Edith find the means and excuse to travel to Germany? Could Maggie provide a good enough reason for them to go other than the obvious? Could she manage the weekend let alone the next year of meeting these people and not embarrass Michael or Edith? She'd never forgive herself if instead of helping smooth Edith's family she'd compromise their engagement. Magdaline had been less than proper at the train and she knew it, and then she took the little girl to the kitchen. The kitchen! This was a fancy castle, there ought to be more proper rooms to take care of little Sybil and everyone minded. Well, not everyone. Mr. Branson wasn't bothered. Mr. Branson was very kind, wasn't he?
With a small sigh, she looked up at her friend again, "What? Sorry?" she asked when she heard a murmur coming from Edith, "I said we should check the clothes Maggie, what's got you so dreamy?" she teased making Magdaline blush once again, "Nothing, I'm worried about you and Michael and the dinner and staying here and everything. Sorry, I'm here to reassure you not to drive you mad", she chuckled out getting up and walking by her friend. "Right. I thought you may be worried about mother giving you the eye after the third time Tom thanked you for helping Sybil", she added casually, opening the closet door. "Tom's a good man. I didn't think much of him at first being our chauffeur but then he taught me how to drive and then Sybil and him fell in love and he became part of the family, even after her death. Mama was very eager to help him settle with little Sybbie here. And I find it quite refreshing seeing papa being confronted by someone. Matthew did it too". Maggie was visibly confused by the recount and Edith wasn't sure as to why she was telling her friend her brother-in-law's story with the family. Upon further thinking, she came to the conclusion that Sybil had passed over a year ago and if Mary was entitled to move on with her life why wouldn't Branson have the same right? Because he wasn't a Crawley? It was nonsense. And if Tom indeed showed an interest in Magdaline and she found herself drawn to him, then why couldn't Edith help them? Would that betray her sister's memory? Doubtful, Sybil wanted Tom's happiness and she wasn't around to give him that anymore.
With her eyebrows still furrowed, Maggie sighed, "Why are you telling me all this? And your mother was upset about the accident. I think you're seeing things that are not there. Or you're trying to make me even more self-conscious, you tease", she tried disregarding Edith's words and implications but they were in her mind now and she was even surer that the right approach would be coming up with an excuse to leave early. She had no other choice now, "I'm not a tease, I don't think anyone ever called me that... Here, try this one on, I think that color would look lovely on you", but Maggie refused, stating that it was far too cute and expensive for a commoner, "Oh you need to stop with that speech, you are my friend. You handle Michael's affairs and you've been invited to stay not only by her Ladyship but by the Earl himself, so try it on", she ordered with a mild reproach at the mention of her parents. "And this one too, for tomorrow morning. And this one for Saturday dinner. I bought it last time I went to London and never wore it, I'm sure you'll make heads turn".
Magdaline chuckled lightly holding onto the fine dresses her friend was giving her and pulled her close to a hug once again, "I know it's not proper but nobody's watching", she thanked her again and stressed once more how much of a terrible mistake this was, her thoughts going again to Michael and the fact he won't return for another year. And that Edith's parents probably didn't know he was married. "He'll come back soon. I know it in my heart Edith. Now... Your parents don't know about Lizzy, do they? I'll make something up. Something believable so they don't suspect anything, don't you worry. He will come back for you" she stressed the last sentence with a soft smile, brushing Edith's palm.