A/N: We're back! This is the actual birthday party day, I promise. The song quoted below and mentioned later is on my Spotify playlist for this story. Also, there are pictures of a few of the birthday gifts and also of Elsie's Valentine's Day gift from Charles on my tumblr blog.
Please leave a little review after reading and let me know what you thought. And bonus points to anyone who spots the faint echo of one of my favorite scenes from the movie "Pretty Woman." :)
Thanks to everyone for the love and amazing reviews for this fic. I am totally humbled by your support. x
CSotA
Like a song of love that clings to me
How the thought of you does things to me
Never before has someone been more ...
Morning found Charles and Elsie tucked into one another's embrace, sleeping soundly. Outside a gentle snow was falling, covering the grounds of the estate in a fresh coating of feathery dust. Had either of them been awake to look out the window, they'd surely have commented on the beauty of the glistening flurries in the faint sunlight.
Charles was the first to stir, opening his eyes and taking a moment to familiarize himself with his surroundings. He was often up early in the morning, but the travel and time difference seemed to have done him in.
Getting on, old man, he told himself. Fifty today.
And, feeling every one of those fifty years, he gently rose from the bed, not wanting to wake Elsie just yet. He moved over and tossed another log onto the fire, sparing a moment to wonder how frigid the rooms must have been decades ago when there had not been a supplemental heating system that kicked on at a certain temperature. But then he remembered there surely would have been staff for that, some tweenie popping in on slumbering, disrobed couples in the early morning hours and adding wood to build up the fires.
I think I'd rather have done it myself, he thought, shuddering at the thought of someone not much older than Daisy popping in on him and Elsie as they were now.
He shuffled back to the bed and climbed under the covers, rolled onto his side, and scooped Elsie up in his arms. He had heard her begin to stir a moment ago and had truly not wanted to wake her fully, but seeing her lying in the bed … well, his mind changed of its own volition, his physical reaction to the closeness of her body almost painfully evident.
"Mmm," she murmured, scooting herself over so that his body was flush against her side, and she smiled as she took note of his current state. She reached a sneaking hand downward, and began to caress his hip and thigh with her fingertips.
"You're quite the teasing little one, aren't you?" he whispered into her ear, causing her to laugh softly.
"Happy Valentine's Day," she said. "And Birthday."
"Happy Valentine's Day to you," he replied. "And thank you. I don't think I've had a more wonderful birthday morning in my entire life," he added, the feeling evident in his voice.
She turned her head and kissed him, pulling back before she could get too lost in it. "Do you mean that?"
"I do," he said, nodding. "This is just … perfect. Waking up with you like this, snow softly falling, fire crackling in the fireplace. It's like our own little world."
Elsie's face broke out in a soft smile, and - completely unexpectedly - her eyes filled with tears.
"Els?" Charles asked, reaching his hand up to her face. "Are you alright? I hope I've not upset you by saying that."
She swallowed and shook her head. "No," she soothed him, "not at all. I'm just … I don't know, exactly. Happy. I think I'm just so very, very happy."
"Well, then." He leaned over and kissed away her tears, then moved his lips down her cheek to her jaw, and eventually her neck. She tilted her head slightly to allow him better access and trailed her hand up his arm, grasping his shoulder as a shudder passed through her body at his touch.
"Charles," she whispered breathlessly, rolling toward him and raising a leg so that she could hook her ankle around his calf. "Come here, love, please."
He groaned as she practically pulled him on top of herself, wrapped her legs around him, and guided their bodies together. It was an unexpectedly quick and powerful move from her, and he stilled his own movements for a moment once he managed to balance his weight on his arms.
"No," she protested, "please … don't stop. I need you, Charlie."
He raised an eyebrow at the nickname, and she shook her head frustratedly as she slid her hands down his back to pull him in further.
"Like this?" he asked, sliding in fully and groaning as she began to move her hips erratically, encouraging him to increase his pace.
"Yes," she sighed, throwing her head back against the bed as she writhed beneath him, vaguely aware of her fingernails digging into his back.
It didn't take long for them both to fall over the edge, her biting down on her lip to control her scream as he shouted her name into the pillow that was now resting somewhere above her shoulder.
He fell onto his back beside her, heart pounding in his chest as they caught their breath.
Elsie was the first to recover, and she turned onto her side and placed a hot, open-mouthed kiss to his chest, swirling her tongue around his nipple, now covered in a sheet of sweat, and causing him to moan once again.
"Sorry," she smirked, settling down on her elbow, hand cradling her head as she looked into his dark, gray eyes.
"Don't be," he chuckled, reaching over to brush a stray lock of hair from her face. "But I must say, that was rather unlike you. Or, perhaps, unlike the you that I have been blessed to know up to this point."
"Hmm, well, you certainly didn't seem to mind," she said, smiling down at him lovingly. She moved her fingers to trail up and down his chest; after three passes he snatched them up in his own hand and placed a kiss to her wrist, sending yet another delicious shudder down to the center of her body.
"No, not at all," he said emphatically. "It's one hell of a way to start my day, I'll say that."
They snuggled into one another's embrace once again, Charles mindlessly caressing her back with his fingertips.
"I have something for you," he said eventually. "And after I give it to you, I think it would behoove us to get up and shower, much as I hate to admit it, before they send a search party."
"Well, I have something for you as well," she replied, kissing his stubbly chin, "but you can't have it until tonight. It's a combination gift, birthday and Valentine's."
"Opening it in front of the family?" he asked. "So … not some risqué Valentine's gift?"
"Ha! Hardly," she answered, shaking her head. Then she stopped suddenly and stared at him, one eyebrow raised. "And yours?"
But he just shook his head and smiled, then moved to get out of the bed. Elsie tossed the pillows back against the headboard and sat up against them, pulling the blankets up around her waist. She spared a second to consider why she was so comfortable sitting bare-chested against them, why it didn't bother her as it always had with Joe. She watched as he moved over to his suitcase to retrieve something from the pocket, then shook her head.
It's just something else that's different with him, Els. Why question it?
He returned to the bed with a black velvet box in hand, almost the size of a deck of cards.
"I hope you won't think it silly," he said, his voice carrying a note of what seemed to Elsie to be embarrassment.
"Whyever would I think that? I do think it likely that I don't deserve what's in that box, however," she replied, pointing a finger at it and shaking her head.
He looked deep into her eyes. "You deserve more than what is in this box, Elsie Hughes, but I don't think the time is right for that. Yet."
She understood instantly, and felt her heart flutter wildly in her chest.
"Well, then," she whispered.
Elsie swallowed as she held out her hand, and he gently laid the box in her palm. She brushed her fingers over the lid and pried it open with her thumb, gasping loudly as her eyes fell upon its contents.
"Charles," she gasped, her eyes filling, "it's … exquisite."
Elsie reached in to remove the necklace from the box, examining its incredible detail and allowing her tears to spill over as she took in the full symbolism of the object she now held in her hands.
"It's us," he explained, and she nodded, the wordless signal that she already understood the meaning.
The chain was made of delicate gold and it held a pendant that did, indeed, seem to be so very much them. The top half was crafted of white gold, in the design of a thistle. The leaves of the thistle reached downward around a sparkling, solitaire ruby, and they grasped onto a heart crafted of yellow gold.
"For my Scottish beauty," he continued, "who has reached out to me and shared her own heart, and managed to grasp onto mine in the process."
He paused, leaning in to delicately kiss her lips and then resting his forehead on hers. "I only hope she never lets it go."
"I think that's the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me."
"I meant every word," he answered, and she gave him a watery smile.
"Thistle is a remarkable thing, Charles. Have you ever encountered it in the wild?"
He shook his head. "No, I'm afraid I haven't."
"It creeps in slowly, over the course of two years. The first year it is small, prickly, but not terribly threatening or remarkable in appearance. But the second year, well, that's when it shows its true colors. It springs forth quickly, determinedly, and dangerously. It is difficult to do battle with, and it is inherently protective of all things it touches."
"I'd say I chose well, then," he said, smiling softly at her, and she nodded.
"You did at that," she marveled, backing away from him slightly and shaking her head at him in wonder. "And you have nothing to fear."
He furrowed his brow, and she leaned forward to drop a chaste kiss to his forehead as she placed her hand over his heart.
"I will protect it with everything I have," she explained. "And I'm never letting it go."
Elsie decided to take the shower first, but soon after jumping in she was startled by a burst of cold air.
"May I join you?" Charles asked, his head peeking through the shower door.
She smiled and nodded. "If you behave."
"I will," he said, hand over his heart. "Promise."
"Thank God they put a real shower in here, and not just one of those foolish hand-held things," Elsie sighed, leaning back as Charles moved up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
He dropped a kiss to her shoulder and she moved aside so that he could wet his hair, both of them grateful for the hot, steamy water. He washed her hair, something which she found almost more intimate than their escapades in the bed over the past morning and evening. As she rinsed the shampoo out, he reached around her to grab the sponge, then lovingly ran it over her shoulders and back - a task which she happily reciprocated minutes later.
"I'm going to get out of here before we never get out of here," she said, and he nodded.
"Good idea," he rumbled, but he grabbed her in a tight embrace before she made it to the door. "Just one kiss, I promise," he said, silencing her protests.
She rolled her eyes and laughed. "Fine! But I'm starving, birthday boy. One kiss … and then," she added, briefly glancing down and smirking at him, "perhaps some colder water for you?"
"Indeed."
"There you are! I was about to send up a search party," Cora murmured to Elsie as she and Charles made their way into the kitchen. "Coffee?"
"Oh, bless your heart," Elsie gushed. "And are these … scones?" she asked, peeling back the cloth from the basket in the middle of the counter.
Cora laughed. "Help yourself! I'm nothing like your friend who has that lovely restaurant, but I have learned to do scones properly."
Elsie reached for one and plated it, then turned back and grabbed another out of the basket before heading over to the table.
"Oh, they're still warm," she muttered, and Charles shook his head and laughed.
"Work up an appetite?" Cora whispered in his ear, and she giggled when the tips of his ears turned red.
"Wouldn't you like to know," he volleyed as he headed in to sit by Elsie near the head of the table.
"Well, it is your birthday," she continued, making both him and Elsie stare determinedly into their cups.
"Perhaps you could stop trying to embarrass the hell out of me, Cora, and join us," Elsie called from the table. "Wait, where are the children? It's almost noon!"
"Outside in the snow," came Robert's voice from the direction of the back door. He leaned in to kiss his wife, then hung his coat on the rack and rubbed his hands together briskly. "It's freezing out there, but I couldn't coax them in. They're out by the stables, I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all," Charles assured him. "Daisy adores the horses, you know that. They'll be safe, won't they?" He turned to Elsie, and she nodded.
"Oh, yes. She knows better than to try to ride without an adult present."
"Good," Cora said, joining them at the table with her tea.
"Everything all set for the party?" Robert asked as he poured a cup of tea, and she nodded.
"Yes, I think so. Mary and Richard landed an hour ago, they should be here anytime."
Elsie took another bite of scone, but remained silent. There were a great many things she was looking forward to this week, but spending time with Mary and Richard Carlisle was not one of them.
"The caterers are arriving at four, and Mama will deal with them," Cora continued, a smile playing about her lips. "She was rather amazing with them at Mary's wedding, I must admit. And she needs a job so that I don't kill her by six."
"How many people did you invite, exactly?" Charles asked, eyebrows raised.
"Don't ask," Robert muttered, and Elsie sent him a sideways glance.
"Um … well," Cora said, fiddling with her napkin. "Sixty? Or thereabouts?"
"Sixty?!" Charles gasped. "Cora, I don't think I know sixty people!"
"But you do," she explained. "At least twenty are family and friends! Then there are a few old mates of yours from Uni that Robert's been in touch with, and the people from your firm - you know I had to invite them, Charles - and a few others. Then a couple of neighbors, and Isobel, of course. Don't worry," she said, attempting to both convince him and reassure herself.
Charles just shook his head. "Alright," he gave in, realizing he really didn't even have a choice. "Sixty."
"And the band … don't forget the band," Robert reminded her, and Charles's eyebrows flew up again.
"The band? For heaven's sake, it's a birthday, not a wedding! Cora, really, this is too much."
"Nonsense," she said, in a tone that Elsie was fairly certain had been used on the Crawley daughters countless times. "It's your birthday, it's a big one, and we're your family. We never get to see you now that you've moved away," she pouted, "and we wanted to do this. So please allow it all to happen, Charles. The main event is from seven to eleven this evening, so you can relax before that. Then it's dinner, dancing, drinking, and fun."
He just shook his head. He'd known it would be a some sort of grand affair - Violet wouldn't have flown them out otherwise - but he was still moved by all the effort they'd clearly put into organizing it.
"Thank you," he said simply.
The rest of the afternoon was spent leisurely. Elsie finished unpacking their things and Daisy and Charles spent a couple of hours playing games in the library while Elsie curled up by the fire with a book. It was a peaceful, quiet day, broken up only a bit by Mary and Richard's arrival.
"Damned flight was late," Richard had announced by way of a greeting. "I'm going to lie down."
Mary followed soon afterwards, having stopped only briefly into the library to greet everyone.
"Well," Elsie murmured when they'd both headed up, "I guess a change of scenery didn't do much to improve his mood."
Charles shook his head. "I have no idea what she sees in him but, then again, I was hardly in a place to lecture her about choosing a good spouse," he whispered into Elsie's ear.
She turned and smiled sadly at him, and nodded. "I suppose you're right. And she'd never have listened, anyhow, you know that."
Violet had been gone most of the day but arrived back at the house at three, by which point the entire family had joined Elsie, Charles, and Daisy in the library. The girls were playing in a corner with the iPads, and the adults were enjoying an afternoon cocktail in what Robert kept referring to as 'the calm before Cora's party storm.'
"Happy Birthday, Charles," Violet said as he embraced her. "And Elsie, how lovely to see you again." She grasped Elsie's hands in hers and kissed her cheek. "You look marvelous, my dear."
"As do you, Violet. Thank you so very much for arranging all of this."
"It was my pleasure, dear," she answered, patting Elsie's hand before turning to introduce the woman who'd accompanied her.
"Elsie, this is Dr. Isobel Crawley. We're cousins, sort of - somewhere way back in the family line – but, oddly, we only met three years ago, when she moved to Downton to take over the local hospital."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Elsie," Isobel said, and Elsie was immediately taken by the woman's open and honest, wide smile and the kindness in her eyes.
"Likewise," Elsie replied, shaking the woman's hand.
"Violet has told me all about you - all good, I can assure you," Isobel added, and Elsie smiled.
"And Charles - Happy Birthday, you dear man," Isobel said, turning to him to kiss his cheek.
"Thank you, Isobel. It's so wonderful to see you."
"Alright!" Violet announced, clapping her hands together and rubbing them almost gleefully. "What's the plan?"
As Cora led her away, Isobel accepted a drink from Robert and headed over to see the girls. She crouched down to see what they were doing, and began chatting with Marigold.
"Hi," Daisy said quietly, and Isobel gasped.
"Daisy! Oh, my dear, how lovely to hear your sweet voice," Isobel said. "Do you like your new home?"
Daisy nodded, then tapped the tablet's screen to stop their game from timing out.
"What's your favorite thing?" Isobel asked, not really expecting an answer. "Besides Marigold, of course," she added with a wink.
"The farm," Daisy whispered shyly, and Isobel nodded. Violet did mention that Elsie owns some kind of farm … that must be what she means.
"Well, I'll leave you to your game," she said, getting up and heading over to the window. "Ohh, it's snowing again," she said to no one in particular.
Elsie joined her and peered outside. "I thought it never snowed here, but evidently I was wrong! Silly me, hoping to escape it for a while."
"Yes, I hear you do get a lot." Isobel said.
Robert and Charles took two chairs by the fire and watched the ladies as they were chatting.
"She's really wonderful, isn't she?" Robert asked his oldest mate, and was rewarded with a warm smile spreading over Charles's face as he stared unabashedly at Elsie.
"She really is," Charles said, tearing his eyes away from her. "I never knew it could be like this," he whispered, and Robert nodded.
"I know the feeling, my friend. So …?"
"So … what?" Charles asked.
"Oh, come on, Charles. We're not getting any younger, as your birthday only serves to remind us. Are you going to, you know, do something about it?" he asked, tilting his head in Elsie's direction.
Charles sighed deeply, shaking his head at his friend's forthrightness. "Not yet."
"Why not?"
"We've agreed that it's best to wait, at least until Daisy is more like her old self. She's making great progress, chatting with most of the family now, but I still don't think she has fully dealt with Alice's death. We just don't want to thrust her into something she's not ready for."
Robert watched as the girls put away the iPad, and saw Daisy head over to the window where she joined Elsie and Isobel. He watched as Daisy made her way to Elsie's side and leaned into her; Elsie didn't halt her conversation, but wrapped her arm around Daisy's shoulders and squeezed her in a half-hug.
"I'd say she's more ready than you think, judging from that," Robert answered.
"They are developing a nice relationship, but I'm still going to wait, Robert. Things are fine just the way they are, right now."
"Fair enough," Robert said. "But don't wait too long. Marriage really can be the most wonderful experience. I think you saw a glimpse of that in the early days, though, didn't you?"
Charles sat back, his fingertips pressed to his lips as he thought about his answer.
"If you had asked me that question a couple of years ago, I'd have said yes. I'd have talked about the wonderful days Alice and I had in the beginning, working on our careers during the day and feeding off of one another's ambition, then coming home at night to share a place that was just our own.
"But to answer that question today, now that I've been given this wonderful chance with Elsie, I think my answer is different."
"How so?" Robert enquired, honestly intrigued.
Charles took the last sip of his drink, the ice cubes clinking in the glass as he set it back down. He leaned back in the chair and laid his hands on his knees. "I think what I had with Alice fit my idea of what a marriage was supposed to be. The house, the cars, the careers, a baby. But now, looking back on it, I wonder if I confused admiration and youthful lust for actual love.
"Being with Elsie is nothing like being with Alice. What we have between us …" He shook his head. "I can't even explain it, and I certainly cannot compare her to Alice because there is no comparison."
Robert smiled. "We can all see it, you know. Harder for you, perhaps, being in the middle of it. But the way she looks at you, it's so different from the way Alice did."
Charles laughed, drawing the attention of the foursome by the window. Elsie smiled at him and tilted her head, wondering what they were discussing, before turning back to answer something Isobel had asked her.
"Daisy said the same thing, once," Charles said. "I thought it was just wishful thinking, perhaps, on her part."
"Doubtful," Robert answered. "She's smart as a whip, your girl."
Charles hummed, then reached his hand up as Elsie approached, taking her fingers and kissing them.
"I'm heading up while you boys chat. I'd like to finish my book, I think, in that lovely chair by the fire in the bedroom, and Cora said something about 'girl time.' Whatever that means."
Robert laughed. "It means something about polishing nails and drinking champagne, I believe," he said.
"Then I'm all in!" Elsie giggled. "See you soon?" She leaned over and kissed Charles, smiling into the kiss as she felt his hand rest on the small of her back.
"Absolutely," he said, relinquishing his hold on her as she stood up once again.
"So things are going well?" Cora pried, sitting beside Elsie as they let their nails dry.
Elsie shook her head and laughed. "They are," she admitted, "as if you didn't know. He tells you both everything!"
But Cora shook her head, a thoughtful look on her face. "No, actually, he doesn't. Not about you."
Elsie was taken aback by that. "Truly?"
"Truly. He used to tell us everything about Alice," she said. Then she looked up at Elsie apologetically, but Elsie waved away her concern.
"Don't worry about it," she said. "We do discuss her, and it's quite alright. I know how it was for them, how it was for him, but we try not to shy away from it all – for Daisy's sake, mostly."
"Of course, you didn't know him then," Cora elaborated. "But yes, he used to tell us everything – the good and the bad of it all. It was hard for him, going it alone while that bitch was screwing around behind his back," she said bluntly.
"Well, that's one way to put it," Elsie chuckled. "But I'd say he did marvelously."
"Oh, so would I! But we've heard nothing much about you, except that you're, well … wonderful."
Elsie turned scarlet and suddenly found something intensely interesting to examine on her thumb. "I see," she said quietly.
"I've known the man over twenty years, Elsie. He's never been as happy as he is now. You're good together, and I don't have to hear the words from his mouth to know that they're true."
"I agree," Elsie allowed. "But … well, there is Daisy."
"If you'll permit me to be insanely nosey, which my husband tells me I am quite good at, I'd like to make a suggestion."
Elsie looked up again. "Go on."
"Don't worry so much about Daisy," she said. Elsie raised an eyebrow, but Cora ignored the look of disbelief. "I'm being totally serious. Daisy left here a shell of herself, Elsie. She was so broken, so sad, and I worried that she'd never be able to pull herself back from that. She wasn't talking to anyone except Charles. She'd drawn herself into her own mind. She immersed herself in books, in drawing, but stopped participating in life.
"She did the bare minimum to get by at school when Alice moved out. She fell behind in maths, which Charles helped her through, and skated through the rest on her intelligence alone. But when Alice died, Daisy became deeply depressed, and it frightened me."
"Yes," Elsie said softly, nodding. "I can see why."
"But look at her now!" Cora exclaimed. "She's our old Daisy, only better, because she's not dealing with the sadness of her parents not getting along. I'm not saying she's better off having lost her mother at such a young age, mind you – that is awful for anyone at any age. But Misty Cove has made a positive difference in her life. You have made a difference in her life, Elsie. She sends us letters about the farm, pictures of the horses … once, a picture of you. She adores you, and would welcome you into their lives fully if you and Charles would only stop being afraid to take that step."
"It's been barely six months, Cora. It's too quick …"
"I'm not saying get married tomorrow, Elsie. But tell me you'd at least consider it?"
Elsie pursed her lips. "Perhaps - as something to decide much farther down the road."
"Fair enough," Cora told her. "I've said my piece. But, Elsie … you really have made the biggest difference in their lives. You must understand that."
"You've only got half the story there, Cora. And I'm not ready to tell you about it just now, but I will, one day," Elsie replied. "Because the difference they've made in my life is what's truly remarkable."
"See? Made for each other," Cora sighed, sinking back in her chair and allowing her eyes to close. "One hundred percent."
Elsie reached up and fingered the pendant that rested underneath her sweater.
Perhaps we are, she thought.
"Els, have you seen my tie?" Charles asked.
She reached into the side pocket of his jacket and pulled it out.
"Here. Old packing trick," she giggled, wrapping it around his neck and tying it for him.
"Where'd you learn to do this, living your life on farms?" he grumbled playfully, and she reached around and swatted his behind.
"Oh, I get around," she answered, turning her back to him. "Zip me up, would you?"
Just then, Daisy entered their room. "You guys aren't ready yet?" she asked incredulously. "What took you so long?"
Charles finished the zipper and even managed to hook the tiny hook-and-eye above it.
"I fell asleep," he said sheepishly, and Elsie laughed.
"He really did! He's getting old," she whispered loudly, winking at Daisy, who giggled in return.
"How do I look?" Daisy asked, spinning around and showing off a new dress. "It's from Aunt Mary – she said it makes me look 'radiant.'"
"She's right," Elsie said, smiling. At least Mary has some redeeming qualities.
"Can you fix my hair?" Daisy asked, holding out her brush to Elsie. "A French braid, do you know how?"
"Sure, come here." Elsie sat on the bed and patted the mattress, encouraging Daisy to join her.
Charles looked on as Elsie carefully brushed out Daisy's hair and divided it into sections, her nimble fingers flying through the braiding as if she'd done it a million times before. It was the second time he'd seen this woman fix his daughter's hair, and it filled his heart almost to the point of bursting.
"There," Elsie said a minute later, tying a ribbon at the bottom of the braid. "All set!"
"Let's go, Papa!" Daisy squealed. "It's party time!"
He took Daisy's hand and the threesome made their way down the massive center stairway that led to the large hall below.
Elsie came to a dead stop on the last landing, completely stunned by the sight before her.
The entire room was decorated in white lights: they were in plants, woven around the mantelpiece and over shelves, and suspended from the ceiling in swags. Fully-liveried servers were walking about offering hors d'œuvres to the guests milling about. A four-piece band was set up in the far corner, by the open doors that led to the library, and Elsie could see that the library furniture had been moved around to accommodate several smaller tables and chairs in case guests wished to sit and chat. Other seating was strategically placed around the hall, but the main area remained open for dancing.
"Elsie?" Charles reached for her hand as Daisy ran the rest of the way downstairs and found Marigold.
"It's … oh, my … it doesn't even look like the same place we were in just four hours ago!" she gasped. "Cora and Violet have completely outdone themselves!"
"It's always like this when they have a party. And don't worry – you look spectacular," he praised her, allowing his eyes to rake up and down her body. She'd chosen a rather fitted, low-cut, black dress with three-quarter sleeves, and the pendant he'd given her that morning sparkled brilliantly against her freckled skin. She'd swept up her hair in a loose chignon, and her black patent heels completed the ensemble.
"I feel very out of place here," she admitted quietly.
"Don't," he said, attempting to reassure her. "You're with the guest of honor, after all."
"That's why they're all staring at you," she said, smiling at Robert as he beckoned them downstairs.
"You've got that half right," Charles whispered in her ear, his breath fluttering the at the nape of her neck. He took her hand securely in his and they headed down the rest of the way, to the sounds of applause and shouted 'Happy Birthday' and 'Congratulations' from all those assembled.
"Thank you all so very much," Charles said loudly, gathering everyone's attention with his deep voice. "And my thanks to Cora and Robert for hosting this lovely evening – truly, they are the best friends any man could hope to have, and I'm so blessed that they opened up their family to me so many years ago."
He grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, and motioned for Elsie to do the same.
"A toast – to wonderful friends and amazing family! Best wishes to you all!"
He raised his glass and all the guests followed suit, and the band resumed playing.
The snow was falling steadily by the time dinner was finished, and after an hour of drinking and dancing the guests started leaving the party in droves, fearful that they'd not be able to get through the snow if they waited much longer. Gifts set on a table in the library had been promptly forgotten as people scrambled for coats and scarves, called drivers, and waited for the walk to be shoveled repeatedly as the row of cars moved forward slowly.
"Oh, what a shame," Elsie said sadly, running her hand up and down Charles's back from where she stood beside him.
"Story of my life," he chuckled, "with a February birthday. It rarely snowed when I was a lad, but I would need more than only my fingers to count the amount of times the snow we got came on my birthday. It felt cursed, somehow."
"Come on," Elsie said, tugging him away from the window. "That's the last of them, and you have a family and a mountain of gifts waiting for you in the library."
He turned to face her and rested his hands on her hips.
"And what if I said that everything I wanted is right here?"
Elsie smiled and shook her head. "You daft man, your daughter is in that room, you know. Best not let her hear you say that."
"True," he admitted, "but I think you know what I meant, Elsie."
He leaned down and kissed her warmly, but chastely, then backed away and took her by the hand. As they crossed the hall, he stopped to grab two more glasses of champagne, one of which he handed to Elsie as they joined the rest of the family.
"Present time!" Marigold shouted, and Daisy giggled next to her, nodding furiously at her Papa.
"Sit," Violet ordered, looking at Charles but pointing to the large sofa that remained empty. "Both of you."
"As you wish, Milady," Charles replied, no small amount of cheek in his voice.
Violet had turned toward the gift table but whipped around again upon hearing his comment, giving him a steely glare. Charles noticed the mischief in her eyes, and hoped everyone else did, too. He laughed, and Violet shook her head as she moved over to the gift table and asked the girls to find the ones from the family.
"Here," Daisy whispered, bringing hers over first.
"Did you wrap this yourself?" Charles asked, putting all the wonder he could into his voice. She nodded proudly, and he held out his arm so that she could snuggle in by his side as he pried the paper back.
"Oh, Daisy, this is … splendid," he managed, attempting to control his emotions.
On his lap rested a scrapbook, lovingly put together by his daughter (in what spare time and secret place he didn't yet know … although the auburn-haired beauty seated to his left was his first guess to take the title of 'accomplice') and containing stories, sketches, paintings and more, all done in Daisy's fair hand.
As he turned the pages he took note of only a few, knowing he'd go back countless times in the future to revisit them all. The first was the picture Daisy drew in Miss Baxter's office on her first day there, but then they evolved: beach, Daisy with Charles, two sketches of him alone – working in one and cooking dinner in the other - two of him with Elsie, and one of the three of them together, and - oddly, he thought - one of the three of them and Tommy the day they went out for a movie and some pizza.
He looked to his side and noticed Elsie looking on with awe.
"Are you responsible for this?" he asked in a whisper, but she shook her head.
"Miss Baxter helped me," Daisy told him. "I asked her to when she said I should start putting things in a portfolio, to save them."
"What a fantastic idea, Daisy," Elsie said, and Daisy beamed.
"Thank you, petal," Charles said, and he set the book aside so that Daisy could sit in his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed tightly, and he returned the embrace as he placed a kiss to her forehead.
"Surely she's a bit old for sitting in your lap?" Richard said from across the room.
Charles looked up sharply, meeting the other man's gaze from where he sat. "No, she isn't. I'll gladly take love from my daughter for as long as she's willing to give it, and I'll thank you to remember that."
Richard pursed his lips and nodded, conceding defeat … for now.
That man really is insufferable, Elsie thought, and she reached her hand out to squeeze Daisy's arm. "Well done, you," she whispered, and Daisy nodded.
"Oh, let us go next," Cora said, her happy voice breaking the oddly heavy mood that had settled amongst them. She selected their gift from the table as Charles set Daisy's book aside.
"It's quite heavy," Charles said, puzzled, as she placed it in his lap. He held the box up and shook it gently, making everyone laugh, before putting it back on his legs and opening it.
Inside was a corrugated cardboard box, sealed tightly with tape.
"Here, let me," Elsie offered, reaching over and puncturing the seam with her thumbnail, then dragging it through the tape until quite a wide spot had been unsealed. She and Charles determinedly avoided one another's eyes as fleeting images of her nails raking down his back earlier that morning fluttered through their minds.
"Thank you," he managed, swallowing with some difficulty as he pried open the top of the box. Inside was an item wrapped in paper, nestled in amongst some packaging peanuts. He reached in and removed the item, attempting to keep the small bits of Styrofoam contained.
As he peeled away the paper, he realized what it was. "Oh, my. Robert, Cora … this is incredible."
He removed the rest of the paper to reveal an antique clock. It was made of rosewood and measured just under ten inches tall. He turned it in his hands, examining it from all sides.
"This is an antique," he murmured, looking to Robert, who nodded in agreement.
"It is."
Charles looked back in the box and spotted a note. He gently handed the clock to Elsie as he removed the envelope and read the note aloud.
"To our 'brother,' Charles, as he celebrates the day when the hours of his life cross this most significant threshold. Here's to the next fifty, and to never forgetting where you come from."
"Oh, Charles," Elsie whispered, holding the base of the clock out for him to see.
"Parkinson and Frodsham were out of London," Robert told them. "They went out of business in 1947, but this one was undoubtedly manufactured at least twenty years prior to that." He smiled at his best friend, the only brother Robert had ever really had, and Charles nodded in reply, additional words unnecessary.
"Happy Birthday," Cora said quietly, and Charles thanked her.
Marigold brought over the gift from her and Edith next, which was a first-edition book entitled World War I: The Definitive Visual History.
"It was published almost two years ago, and I managed to meet the author and have it signed," Edith told him.
Charles opened the cover and read the inscription. "Thank you, Edith. This is absolutely wonderful – I may just start it tomorrow."
Next was the gift from Mary and Richard – a set of two small boxes. As Charles lifted the lid of the first one, Elsie hazarded a glance at the Carlisles, one of whom looked extremely bored, and one of whom was watching her beloved uncle with a rare light in her eyes.
Inside the box was a fountain pen, handcrafted of Australian wood. The attention to detail was superb, and the larger size of the pen was a perfect fit in Charles's hand.
"This is truly remarkable," he said to Mary, choosing to ignore Richard for the moment.
"Well, I know you, Uncle Charles – none of those 'new-fangled' pens for you." She smiled affectionately at him. "There are tips and whatnot in the other box," she added, indicating the one in his lap that he'd not yet opened.
"I shall treasure this, Mary, thank you."
Richard raised an eyebrow at the exchange, but wisely said nothing. He'd thought the pen was a foolish idea, and was surprised the man had liked it at all.
"Two left!" Marigold announced. "Do you want the big one or the little one next?"
"Oh, let's go for the big one!" Charles laughed. "Why not?"
Marigold placed a perfectly square, flat gift in his hands. "The tag says it's from Elsie," she said shyly.
Charles looked at the package and then at Elsie. He was fairly certain he knew what he'd find under the sparkling paper in which she'd wrapped the gift, but he was also fairly certain that she knew he'd not be able to use it.
"Go ahead," she said, a smile on her lovely, red lips. "Open it."
He did as she asked, peeling the paper away to reveal – yes, I'd thought so – a vinyl record.
"Unforgettable," he read, looking up at his family. "Nat King Cole. But, Elsie …"
"It's a bit more recent than the others," Elsie interrupted, confusing him slightly, "but I know how much you love him."
"I do, but …"
"But you don't have any way to play it? Yes, I know," she said, patting his arm. "But you will once we get home."
She smiled brilliantly at him, and his jaw dropped.
"You bought me a turntable?" he said. He was stunned; they'd discussed the merits of vinyl versus compact discs and digital downloads only once, months ago. He couldn't believe she'd remembered it, even.
"No," she admitted, biting down on her lip.
"But you said … now I'm thoroughly confused," he said, cocking his head.
"I bought you a gramophone," she admitted. "And a few more albums."
"A what? As in an actual gramophone? From the 1920s?"
She nodded, and Violet raised an eyebrow at her from across the room, winking when Elsie caught her eye. Very well done, Elsie, the look said.
"It'll be delivered tomorrow, along with the albums, and John Bates has agreed to set it up. I hope you don't mind. Anna does have the key, as we'd asked her to keep an eye on the houses while we were gone."
He just shook his head. "Not at all," he said, leaning over for a kiss. "Thank you."
Elsie reached her hands out and placed them on his cheeks, kissing him sweetly as she felt everyone's eyes on them. "Happy Birthday," she whispered, and he kissed her again before breaking away.
"I cannot believe you all, truly," Charles said, simply feeling blown over by the thoughtfulness of all of the gifts.
"Here," Daisy said, handing him the last remaining box. "It's from Violet," she added, and he nodded.
"Yes, I suspected as much," he smiled.
The box was small, and he unwrapped it to uncover what appeared to be a ring box. He looked to Violet in question, but she gave a minute shake of her head.
Open it, her eyes said, and he complied.
When he spied the contents of the box, Charles plopped back unceremoniously against the sofa's cushions, looking as if the wind had been knocked out of him.
"Charles?" Elsie asked quietly. "Darling, what is it?"
He showed her the open box, his quivering bottom lip rendering any speech impossible for the moment. He wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand, and Elsie examined the ring set in the velvet box.
"It's a crest," she said. "But … oh, Violet," she gushed, looking up at the older woman. "Is this …?"
Violet nodded, and Elsie noticed Cora reach out to grasp Robert's hand, where she saw for the first time that he bore an identical ring on his own finger.
"It's the Crawley family crest," Charles managed to utter.
Elsie closed her eyes, biting down on her lip to keep herself from crying. "Of course it is."
Violet cleared her throat and grasped the table beside her as she spoke.
"You came into my son's life at a time when, I'm not ashamed to say, he sorely needed a friend. Over the course of a great many years, you cemented yourself as a part of this family – the brother that Robert never had, and another son to me. It's high time we recognized that, and what better time than the day on which we mark the halfway point of your life?"
Charles slid the ring onto his finger, smiling at how it fit perfectly. He rose and crossed over to Violet, drawing her into a hug.
"Thank you for this," he whispered, so that only she could hear. "And for everything else."
Violet backed away from him, and kept her voice at an equally soft whisper.
"This is a turning point for us both," she said meaningfully. "I feel that, for the first time, I don't have to watch out for you anymore." She raised an eyebrow, and Charles just smiled.
"Perhaps you don't," he replied, shooting a brief glance Elsie's way.
"Work on that, will you?" Violet teased, and Charles laughed.
"I feel like you're all on a common mission this week," he whispered. "But I shall work on it, I can promise you that." He leaned down and placed a kiss to her cheek.
"Good. You're a man of your word, Charles Carson. Just don't take too long."
Charles looked around the room at those who were gathered with him.
"I am a very lucky man, indeed, to be surrounded by so many lovely people that I have the privilege to call my family." He smiled as Daisy yawned widely, and watched as she scooted over toward Elsie, who put her arm around the girl and hugged her. It was a small action that spoke volumes about the amazing turn his life had taken six months ago, and he had to shake his head to refocus.
"I cannot thank you enough for all of this, truly. It's no secret that Daisy and I had a rather traumatic time of it last year, but I think we've turned a corner of sorts – due in no small part to the wonderful place that Misty Cove is."
"Hear, hear," Edith said, and Marigold nodded her agreement.
Charles reached for his glass and held it aloft.
"I know it's my birthday, but I propose a toast to all of you. I thank you for the love and support you've always given me, and it is my deepest wish that we all spend a great many more years in one another's lives."
"Cheers," Robert said, raising his glass, and the others followed suit.
"Cheers," Daisy said clearly.
Charles looked lovingly at his little girl, still wrapped in Elsie's half-embrace, and blew her a kiss.
"Cheers," he said, tilting his glass at her.
tbc ... I hope it lived up to your expectations - particularly to my "tap-tap-tap on the shoulder" friend. x