Author's note
As always, thank you so much to everyone who has read/followed/reviewed/favourited the story so far! I really love to hear from you - please do keep telling me what you think, it really inspires me!
This chapter continues the STEAMM arc for this story, a festival on Tumblr celebrating all three Crawley sisters and the men they love (with a nod as well to this month's Rock the Reunion AU challenge on Tumblr). This time, we are at Mary and Matthew's engagement party at Downton Abbey.
It's been fun and challenging for me, as an S/T shipper and author, to write for the other two STEAMM ships, so I hope you think I have done them justice as all three couples dance to a song I think you will remember...
Chapter 14 - All together now
Sybil looked around from her dressing table – "Come in, the door's open!"
Mary came into the room – "Are you nearly ready, Sybil? We should all go down together."
"Mary, you look wonderful!" Mary twirled around and the silk net overskirt of her navy blue dress spun out with her. With her elbow length gloves and her dark hair twisted into a chignon, she looked like the perfect example of an Edwardian lady.
A voice was heard from the next room – "Sybil, have you seen..." Tom appeared from behind the half open bathroom door, dressed only in a towel wrapped around his waist, and he stopped short as he saw Mary.
"Hello, Tom – are you nearly ready?" Mary smiled with amusement as she saw her sister's face – Sybil's eyes had glazed over slightly at the sight of Tom's muscular frame, still damp from the shower. Mary saw Sybil shake her head and make an effort to return to the conversation, blushing as she realised Mary had caught her out ogling her hunky boyfriend.
"Tom is coming down in a bit – he insists his costume is a surprise and wants to meet us downstairs. I'm just about ready though..."
Sybil stood up, and Mary admired her dress, which was black, traced and patterned with gold, and her hair, pinned up into a turn of the century style. "Come on Sybil, let's go!"
"You look gorgeous, love." Tom came over to claim a kiss, and the two exchanged smiles as he rested his fingers on Sybil's cheek for a moment – "See you downstairs soon."
Mary took Sybil's arm as they walked down the corridor towards Edith's room. She was nervous and excited and Sybil did her best to calm her, asking about who had already arrived from the family group.
"Well, Grandmama is here already, as you might expect – she probably won't stay late, so she always makes her appearance early..."
Sybil knocked on Edith's door – "Edith? It's us!"
Edith appeared from her room, smoothing her beautiful green dress – "How do I look?"
"You look gorgeous! How did you get your hair to do that? Love those waves!" They all shared a hug and a moment of togetherness before the party really began. Then, they linked arms as they came to the head of the stairs and paused for effect.
"Hm, hm," Mary cleared her throat elaborately, to make sure everyone saw them before they came down.
The eyes of the room turned as one to the three beautiful Crawley sisters as they descended the stairs, arm in arm. As they reached the foot, the first to reach them was a tall, distinguished looking man in white tie and tails, who moved immediately to Edith, taking her hand and kissing it.
"Edith, you look absolutely stunning, my dear. What a beautiful gown."
Edith blushed and dimpled as she turned towards her sisters – "Mary, Sybil, you remember Sir Anthony Strallan?"
He shook hands with both of them in turn – "Lady Mary, my congratulations on your engagement. Lady Sybil, delightful to see you again." He and Edith smiled at each other – clearly, they were both very smitten, which was lovely to see.
"I suppose it's considered out of date to greet one's aged grandparents these days?" A familiar voice sounded from across the saloon, and all three girls hurried to say hello to their grandmother, who was seated comfortably against the wall, looking perfect in her period outfit. From there, she could view the entire room and provide her own unique commentary on the events of the party.
"Granny – you're looking well!" was Sybil's greeting, as Mary leaned in to kiss her cheek and Edith exchanged smiles with the Dowager Countess, who was clearly on excellent form that evening.
"Now girls, I want to say hello to all of your young men – where are they?"
"If you were the only girl in the world, and I were the only boy..."
As she spoke, Matthew approached, looking very handsome in his evening clothes.
"Speaking of whom – you remember our cousin Matthew Crawley, of course?" Mary slid her arm into Matthew's.
"Ah yes, of course – good to see you again."
"Thank you, Lady Grantham, the pleasure's all mine."
"Do call me Cousin Violet – you are family, after all."
"You're too kind, Cousin Violet. Now I trust you will excuse me if I steal Mary away for a while? We need to greet our guests."
The buzz of the party was really rising around them now – with perfect decoration and lighting, appetising food and drink, and period music just starting to play under the hum of lively conversation, Downton Abbey was looking at its absolute best, and it all felt just right for a wonderful evening ahead.
Mary was in her element, laughing as she greeted Evelyn Napier, an old flame of hers whom she felt had never really got over her, and introduced him to Matthew.
The two men exchanged a slightly wary handshake – the man Mary had chosen, meeting the one she hadn't – but once Matthew learned that Evelyn was in politics (not so far removed from the law), they began to chat and discovered all kinds of people they knew in common.
Mary took Matthew's hand – "Darling, I love this song – shall we dance?"
Matthew excused himself from the conversation – "Let's have a drink in London sometime, shall we?" and turned to his fiancée.
"Have I told you just how beautiful you look tonight, my love? That dress is simply perfect." His arms moved around her and they began to sway slowly back and forth, her hand smoothing through his hair.
"You look pretty perfect yourself tonight, Matthew – oh, I am so happy with the way the party has turned out! Anna really has been a star, the way she helped me with everything - she's gone above and beyond what I'd have expected even the best PA to do, so I must get her a really special thank you present. Have I been a bit of a bridezilla about it, darling?"
He grinned - "To coin a phrase from that well known lifestyle guru, Chandler Bing - you are a little bit high maintenance, but I like - maintaining you." He smiled lovingly at her and ran the back of his hand gently down her cheek, staring into her eyes as they kept circling around the room.
"Did I ever tell you how happy I am that we are getting married? I know I can be a bit difficult sometimes, but I want you to know how much I love you, Matthew, and that being with you helps me to be the best version of myself..."
"Mary, darling – I love you so much. I can't wait for us to spend the rest of our lives together. Now, can I kiss you? I need to, very much."
Mary smiled – "Well, if you must, but you'll make me untidy."
"I'll take that risk... now, come here..."
Matthew pulled Mary closer and kissed her. She let out a small sound of pleasure and tightened her arms around his neck as they continued to dance.
Evelyn looked on at the happy pair, a trace of regret on his face as he wondered what might have been, and took a glass of champagne from a passing waiter.
"Nothing else would matter in the world today, we could go on loving in the same old way..."
"Granny, I think you already know Sir Anthony Strallan?"
"Sir Anthony, yes of course - it's been a long time. How is life over at Locksley?
"Can't complain, Lady Grantham, can't complain, always something to be done."
As the music started to play, Edith felt the desire to be alone with her guest. "Anthony, would you like to dance?"
"Ah Edith, I'm not sure about that, an old codger like me..." He winked at her and she smiled at what had already become a running joke between them.
"Come on, I'll hold you up...excuse us, Granny."
They moved over to the dance floor and as he put his arms around her, she looked up at him. "Such a perfect night, isn't it? Mary has done a lovely job with the party, I'll give her that."
"How do you and your sisters get on?"
"Sybil is so lovely, I'd find it hard to imagine anyone not getting on with her - it's been wonderful to see her so happy with Tom this evening, I must take you over later to say hello. But Mary - to be honest, Anthony, Mary and I don't really connect that well – we seem to clash in one way or another most times we meet. Things have been better though, since I've lived in New York... maybe we appreciate each other more now that it's more difficult to be together."
"Speaking of appreciation – I am so happy to be here with you tonight, my dear. At this stage of my life, to meet a beautiful young woman like yourself and have her dancing with me at this lovely party, well, things don't get much better than that."
She looked up and stood on tiptoe to place a gentle kiss on his lips. "I'm proud and happy to be here with you tonight, Anthony. I hope you know that? Somehow over the last few years it's been all about my career for me, and I haven't made much time for my personal life, so I feel so lucky that you came along..."
Anthony smiled down at Edith and tightened his arms around her as they kept dancing - You have no idea, my lovely girl, how lucky I feel! Sometime soon, when he could get up the courage, he wanted to tell her just what she had come to mean to him in the last few months.
Over by the edge of the dancefloor, one of Matthew's colleagues, a quietly spoken man called Henry Lang, watched Edith with pleasure - Mmm, now she is an absolute stunner! I wonder if I've got any chance of cutting in on that fellow of hers...
"I would say such wonderful things to you, there would be such wonderful things to do..."
"Good evening, milady."
Sybil turned around and her eyes widened in amazement. Tom was standing opposite her - instead of dressing in evening clothes, like all the other men, he had chosen to wear the outfit of an old fashioned chauffeur! She couldn't help noticing how flattering the dark green livery was, the way its close fit defined his strong shoulders and arms, and she found herself wondering what the view would be like from behind.
She introduced him to her grandmother, and as Tom charmed the old lady effortlessly, Sybil thought his accent sounded a bit stronger than usual.
He turned back towards her, and smiled to see her confusion as he took her arm and led her to a quiet corner of the room, leaving the Dowager Countess with her daughter Rosamund who had just brought over some old friends to say hello.
"I really did surprise you, didn't I, a stór! I'm a journalist, don't forget, so I did a bit of research into your family and found out that, about a hundred years ago, there was a bit of a scandal when one of the Earl's daughters fell in love with the chauffeur, and she ran away to marry him in Ireland. You have to admit, this getup is lots more fun than that penguin suit Matthew's got on!"
Sybil found herself feeling rather flustered. As she met Tom's eyes, the rest of the room seemed to melt away a little...God, he looks absolutely gorgeous in those clothes! I don't know how I am going to restrain myself from reaching out to undo those brass buttons, right here and now...
He knew perfectly well the impact he was having on her, and grinned – "Sure, milady, and 'tis grand to be here this evening, at all, at all." His exaggerated Irish accent had a similar effect on her to the costume he was wearing, as he had hoped – he'd known about her weakness for his accent from the first night they met and every now and again he would take advantage of it.
He leaned down, tilting her face up to his for a kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, then she saw someone familiar approaching.
Sybil introduced Tom to her old boyfriend, Tom Bellasis. He was accompanied by a beautiful girl who wore her blonde hair twisted high on her head.
"Sybil – lovely to see you again. May I introduce my fiancée, Lavinia Swire?" The two Toms shook hands, and Sybil felt herself blushing a little as she remembered what she had done in her bedroom, that very afternoon, thinking about first loves.
The foursome exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes before "her" Tom said -
"Darling, would you like to dance?"
Sybil turned to him happily, smiling as she moved into his arms and he swept her away onto the dance floor, leaving the other Tom behind.
She couldn't help noticing again how perfectly his chauffeur's livery fit him as her hand rested on his shoulder. She looked up at him – with his hair slicked back, apart from a few stray strands of his fringe that she longed to touch, and his gorgeous blue eyes focused intently on hers with a gaze that burned through to her very soul, she felt faint with desire for him, particularly when she imagined herself as her long ago ancestor, falling secretly in love with the chauffeur and not able to express her feelings in public. That idea of a secret love affair between the lady and the chauffeur was getting her all hot and bothered, just as he had planned.
Tom Bellasis watched Sybil, who looked absolutely gorgeous that evening, and who was obviously completely in love with the man she was dancing with, and felt just a momentary pang that things had not worked out between them.
Then, he turned back to Lavinia - "Would you like a glass of something, sweetheart?" - and realised that, perhaps, things had turned out for the best after all. All the best to you, Syb - I really hope you will be happy with him.
"If you were the only girl in the world and I were the only boy."
Carson rang a little brass gong, and Robert stepped up onto the lowest tread of the staircase – "Sorry to interrupt your fun, everyone – I'd just like to say a few words."
The crowd quietened down and the song came to an end, as Robert pulled Cora up beside him and put his arm around her waist.
"On behalf of my wife Cora and myself, I'd like to welcome you all to Downton Abbey tonight, for the celebration of this wonderful occasion. We both love our three beautiful girls so much, and this party, marking the engagement of our oldest daughter Mary to Matthew Crawley, is so special for us. Mary, where are you?"
Mary made her way across the room towards her parents, holding Matthew by the hand. Robert reached down to her and placed a fond fatherly kiss on her cheek, before raising his glass –
"I'd like to ask you all to charge your glasses and drink to Mary and Matthew – they couldn't be more perfect for each other and I want to wish them a lifetime of happiness together. Mary and Matthew!"
Cries went up all around the room – "To Mary and Matthew!" as champagne glasses were emptied and refilled, while Matthew took Mary in his arms and kissed her passionately in front of them all.
He then walked over to his mother, who had been sitting for the last hour trading enjoyable barbs with the Dowager Countess, and gave her a hug too, which she returned with interest. Then, he and Isobel walked back over to Lord and Lady Grantham, for them to clink glasses all together in a parents' toast.
"I wondered for a while if we'd ever see this day, Matthew," gently chided Isobel, her face glowing with pride in her son.
Robert gently wiped a tear from Cora's cheek and pulled her in close for a hug as she turned back to the room and said - "Now, do help yourselves to the wonderful food, everyone! Just through that door, to the dining room, I believe the ice cream will be coming out soon..." - before turning back to Isobel. "Now, about the wedding planning..."
Edith came over to Sybil, taking her arm – "It's such a lovely night, isn't it! Tom, good to see you again, and what a splendid costume! Did you meet Sir Anthony Strallan?"
While Sybil was chatting to Edith and Anthony, she felt something being pushed into her hand, and turned around to see Tom heading out of the saloon towards the front door. He looked back at her briefly, before turning away. She looked at her hand – there was a folded piece of paper in it, with "Lady Sybil" written on the front – what could it be? – and she made her excuses to step to the side of the room, alone, and look at it.
A flush of colour raced up her cheeks as she read:
"Lady Sybil
Forgive me for my boldness – I can no longer stay silent. I must speak with you and tell you how I feel. I am so desperately in love with you, milady. My heart aches for you, and my arms long to hold you. Will you come to the garage to meet me? It's cost me all I've got to say these things, so please, milady, come to me, I'll be waiting...
Yours always, with hope
T. Branson"
Sybil's face flushed again – what was he up to? She was so intrigued, she quickly sneaked away from the crowds and made her way out of the house, finding herself starting to run as she headed towards the garage.
A/N -
"a stór" = my darling in Irish Gaelic, per Google translate.
Hope you all enjoyed the STEAMM celebrations! The Crawley sisters certainly got to dress well in this chapter. :) Do you remember Mary's dress in 2.08 when she and Matthew danced - it was always my favourite dress of hers (among a massive selection!) and I really wanted to put her in it at this party. The other two dresses are DA costumes as well, as you can see from my Tumblr photoset.
OK - I think you can guess where I might be headed with the next chapter - did someone say garage sexytimes? ;)