Author's Note: In the roles of the Duke and Duchess Bradford, Bill Nighy plays the Duke, and Emma Thompson plays the Duchess. Orlando Bloom portrays Viscount Dudley; Rupert Grint portrays Viscount Edwin; and Robert Pattinson portrays the third brother.
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Chapter Five: Episode 1x05, All's Fair in Love and War, Part Two
When the mail came that morning, Mary watched her father read a telegram and his eyebrows rose. He passed the telegram to Cora. She sighed immediately after reading it. "This is so much trouble. Perhaps we ought to abandon this dinner altogether."
"What is it, Mama?" Edith asked.
"It seems that Mister Pamuk wishes to visit during the Grantham Village fair as well. He's heard so much about my roses, and wants to see them before he has to depart from the country, if it isn't too much trouble. He says he will be on the morning train from London." Cora groaned and tucked the telegram back into the envelope in which it had come. "Really now, there will be too many men at tonight's dinner."
"I just hope it doesn't jeopardize international relations," Robert joked.
"There's an easy enough solution for the dinner, Mama: Just seat all the men around Mary. I'm sure she's all they're here for!" Edith threw down her napkin and stood to leave the room.
"Edith, really!" Cora exclaimed.
"I'm not feeling well. I'll be in my room to recover my strength." Edith stormed out. Mary suppressed her smile.
When the morning train from London arrived at the Grantham Village station, a blonde woman with a trim yet matronly figure and a tall older man with a slight paunch were among the first passengers to disembark from the train. The man wore a stylish gray traveling suit, brown shoes, and a black bowler hat. The blonde woman's hair was neatly pinned under a blue pillbox hat that matched her cobalt blue traveling suit and low gray heels. As she stepped off the train, the blonde woman sighed.
"I certainly hope it doesn't rain during our visit," she drawled, pulling off her kit gloves. "I don't mind visiting Robert and Cora, but if it means spending a whole day indoors with them, I'd rather be locked in a tower awaiting my Prince Charming."
"I thought I was your Prince Charming?" the man asked.
"Arthur dear, of course you are." They leaned closely enough to each other to almost kiss each other, but they were in public. Their lips never touched. "But there's no denying that Robert and Cora are boring when left to their own devices."
"You mustn't say things like that, or they'll think you don't appreciate them, Amelia. We need this match with a respectable family. Don't forget why we're here. This isn't about our comfort," Arthur whispered.
From the other end of the car, three young men stepped off the same train. The first two were tall, lean, and had dark, wavy hair with heart-shaped faces and high cheekbones like their father. The third and youngest Kent brother swayed unsteadily beside his older brothers. "I thought the drink would have run its course by now," said the eldest of the brothers.
"It almost did, but I had another sip on the train, just to make sure," the youngest replied, his voice slurring.
"You'll end up ruining yourself if you're not careful, Edwin."
"I'm a Duke's son. If I ever end up destitute, I'll find an heiress in New York first."
From behind the three brothers, a fourth man approached in a gray traveling suit, not unlike their father's. He tapped Harry, the oldest Kent brother, on his shoulder. "Excuse me, good sir, may I have this dance?"
Harry, Dudley, and Edwin Kent turned at the same time and exclaimed their surprise. They embraced the man in turn. "Evelyn Napier! What a surprise to see you in this part of the countryside!"
"I could say the same. What brings you gentlemen here?"
"We're here for a dinner party with Lord and Lady Grantham. After seeing their daughters at Rosalyn Fairchild's debut, we're convinced to pursue the matter more personally."
"Pardon my inquisitive nature," Evelyn asked, "but which of Lord and Lady Grantham's daughters did you see at Rosalyn Fairchild's debut ball?"
Harry glanced at Dudley. "Only the two oldest were presented, Lady Mary and Lady Edith, am I right?" Dudley confirmed with a nod. "Of course, our parents are here to dine with Lord and Lady Grantham. You know how that is."
"Then our destination and our goal is the same: I am on my way to dine with the Lord and Lady Grantham tonight as well."
"I suppose the pool of eligible sisters has diminished considerably," Dudley said.
"That is," Harry said mischievously, "unless we undertake the same quest as Jason and his uncle the false king."
"No need to set apart one sister as the Golden Fleece, my old friend. What of the youngest daughter of Lord Grantham?"
At that moment the youngest of the Duke's offspring stumbled into their conversation. His blond hair had become quite unruly. "Edwin, is that you?"
"Yes," Harry frowned at his brother. "Did you have another drink on the train, Edwin?"
"Of course I did. Beer gives a man fire in his belly; scotch gives a man dignity; and rum gives man fortitude."
"You smell as though you have fire, dignity, and fortitude enough. Can you even stand upright long enough to speak to our old friend Evelyn?"
"The question is, would I want to?"
Dudley chuckled in a good-natured way and slapped Edwin on his back. "That's our brother Edwin: older but not wiser."
"I suppose the trip to the Village took quite a toll upon his nerves," said Evelyn.
Harry cut his eyes from Evelyn to Dudley. "I suppose that is so. Come on, Dudley. Let's help Edwin to the car. Perhaps he can sober up en route to Downton Abbey."
"Good day for the moment." Evelyn tilted his hat at the young men as they walked off. He turned to meet his valet at the horse-drawn carriage sent by Lord and Lady Grantham to carry him to Downton. To his surprise, a familiar-looking figure stood beside the carriage with another valet loading trunks. "Excuse me, but what, may I ask, are you doing?"
The familiar-looking figure turned around. "Kemal? Fancy seeing you here, in this part of the country, again; this is quite unexpected!"
The two men embraced briefly, but Kemal did not offer a warm smile. "Nappy, my old friend, you know where my heart lies. You know why I am here."
"I suppose it is the two of us in pursuit of the Golden Fleece then?"
Kemal scoffed Evelyn's remark. "There are many other prizes you could pursue here in England, my old friend. There's no need…"
"Don't you dare call me, 'old friend,' when you dare to pursue the same prize. I asked you to stay away from her. I warned you…"
"Neither of us speaks for Lady Mary's heart. She will choose whom she will choose, and none other than that. You have no right to declare against me."
"Kemal, if you persist in this pursuit, I vow to you that I will perform a tactical maneuver certain to make Wellington's defeat of Napoleon seem like the work of a lucky novice." Evelyn stepped into the carriage, followed closely by his valet. Kemal climbed in after him. His valet followed.
"I think I will take my chances tonight, Nappy."
Downton Abbey, moments later
Anna was well accustomed to multitasking, but not to the amount of preparation being made for the arrival of the Duke of Bradford and his family. On her way to the girls' bedrooms, the house staff was scrubbing and waxing and dusting a second time. Another bouquet of fresh flowers was brought from the garden. There was fresh carpet being laid on the stairs. And the windows were being cleaned again. 'If this is what Lord Grantham wants for the arrival of a Duke, I can't imagine what he would do if the King and Queen came to visit. The whole house might have to be rebuilt.'
She dressed the girls all in the same room. Even though Anna had ironed and attired them in outfits that were unblemished in fitting the girls, as she worked on Mary's sage green dress, Sybil examined her reflection in the mirror one last time. The conch shell-colored dress gave Sybil's complexion a rosy glow but she seemed to be without breath. "Golly, my corset's tight. Anna, would you be an angel, could you loosen my corset for me, please?"
"And mine as well, Anna. They are terribly suffocating," Mary added.
Anna worked on the laces. 'If these girls worked the hours I work and ate the meager meals I have to eat, perhaps they wouldn't even need a corset to fit their waistlines. They could have the naturally beautiful figures these corsets are supposed to give them.' "Yes, milady; right away."
Edith, seated at the makeup table, smirked sinisterly in the mirror. "It's the beginning of a slippery slope. If you two were more discerning about what you eat, perhaps you could fit your clothes."
"I am not gaining weight!" Sybil snapped.
"Corsets don't shrink in the drawer, do they?"
Sybil fumed, even as Anna moved to work on her corset. When the door of Mary's bedroom opened, Sybil smiled in time for Lady Grantham to poke her head into the room. "Girls, our guests are approaching! You must come downstairs at this moment. It would be dreadful if these young men think you're less than eager to see them."
"I'm coming, Mother. Mary and Sybil have to loosen their corsets first." Edith glanced nastily at her sisters as she strode across the threshold to the hallway.
"Don't worry," Mary said, "even if Edith had the figure of a dancing hall girl, she would have as many suitors now as she could ever hope to have."
Sybil breathed a sigh of relief as the laces finally permitted her to breathe. "That's quite cruel of you to say, Mary. Edith is our sister. We ought to be a source of encouragement to her."
"Encouraging Edith is like cavorting with the French: It's best done at a distance, and can only go on for so long before all propriety is put to the test. Come now, Sybil. Either we greet the Duke and his family, or we risk eternity as old maids."
Anna watched them leave the room and sniffled slightly. 'Maybe if I wore a dress like that, Mister Bates would notice me.' Then she walked down the stairs after them.
Edith had reached the front door of the mansion and stepped into the line with her parents. She stood out from her sisters in a white silk afternoon gown. Sybil struggled to smile. 'I wish we could have all come dressed similarly. We used to be such a trio, all dressed alike when we were small children. I miss those days terribly.'
Lord and Lady Grantham already stood on the drive of Downton flanking one side of the stairs. A car and a carriage approached up the drive; the carriage contained four young men. "Perhaps we needed a second car," Lord Grantham said from the side of his mouth, addressing Cora but loud enough for Sybil to hear.
"A second car and a second chauffeur seem to be a ridiculous formality. One additional staff for a temporary visit is more than adequate. Otherwise, we would have a chauffeur as useful as marching into a Russian winter," Cora responded.
The car parked closely to the front steps, and the chauffeur climbed down to open the doors. As soon as Amelia exited the car, she smiled broadly at Cora. "What a delight to see you again, Cora!"
Cora opened her arms wide to embrace her friend. "Amelia, how I have missed our conversations of late; corresponding with you isn't half as engaging as your voice." The two women stood at arm's length from each other. "Your dress is simply amazing. It looks like a Worth creation."
"Oh no, it's a new designer but from the same school in Paris!" Sybil maintained her smile by watching Tom open the door for the carriage. The tall, lean Bradford brothers stepped down from the carriage. "Are these the same lovely ladies I saw in London just last season?"
Sybil turned her attention to the Duke and Duchess. Arthur seemed engrossed in a profound conversation with Robert, while Cora stood with her left arm stretched out to present her three daughters. "Indeed, they are. Mary, Edith, Sybil, you remember the Duchess of Bradford, don't you?"
"How do you do, Duchess Bradford?" Mary led the sisters in a series of curtsies.
"I am well, Lady Mary. I hear from Lord Evelyn Napier that the hunt here at Downton is most thrilling."
Mary looked surprised. "I wasn't aware that you were a huntress, Duchess."
"In my time, I was quite the athlete. In part, it's how I met Arthur; he was the avid hunter and I was a passionate huntress. We fit well together, Arthur and I. Of course, that was long before I had the boys and had to stay from the hunt for quite some time."
Sybil smiled at the story. "Are you close to the Viscount Branson, Duchess? You mentioned him a moment ago," Edith asked.
"Not really, but Lord Branson was at the station at the same time as we were. He should be on his way here, but there weren't enough carriages to bring us all at once."
The corner of Edith's mouth turned up at the sight of Mary's crestfallen countenance. "And are these the strapping young sons of the Duke of Bradford, about whom I've heard so very much?" Robert bellowed.
Arthur stepped back to present his sons. "Indeed, Lord Grantham, these are my handsome sons, the jewels of my wife's coronet: Harry, Dudley, and Edwin. I believe it has been many years since you last saw them together like this. Dudley has been in his studies at Oxford, and Edwin has been…abroad."
'Edwin looks positively ill. He seems as though he can hardly stand. I hope he doesn't get sick in front of Papa. It would dampen the mood of the visit,' Sybil thought, studying her counterpart among the Duke of Bradford's progeny. 'And that Harry looks quite old to still sleep in the bachelor's quarters. I do hope he's to be paired with Mary, rather than Edith or me. And Dudley…'
"You've been away at Oxford?" Sybil asked boldly.
Dudley smiled at her, and Sybil blushed. 'Those lovely green eyes…They feel as though he's looked into my very soul. They're not quite brown but not quite as light as green either. But I mustn't become one of those women who lose all notion of sense because a man smiles at me, must I?' Sybil glanced away and steadied herself. "I've just finished my studies in letters of the law."
Sybil risked a glance at him. Dudley continued to smile at her. Sybil's smile only faltered when Cora glared in rebuke at her.