A Scandalous Affair Chapter 7
It was 7 a.m. in the servants' hall at Downton Abbey, and an air of sombreness hung over the room. The servants sat around the large wooden table, and Mr. Carson, the butler, presided over them. There was a noticeable lack of the usual morning chatter and banter. Even Anna, the most faithful of servants, acknowledged that Lady Mary, could be difficult at times, but did not deserve the relentless condemnation that the press was subjecting her to.
Thomas, who was known for his snide comments and biting remarks, remained uncharacteristically silent. He had an ambivalent view of the press, harbouring his own dark secret, and lived in constant fear that one day, the press might uncover his story. He couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding about the power of the press.
Mrs. Hughes tried to inject some hope into the gloomy atmosphere. "At least the worst is over now," she ventured optimistically.
Mr. Carson, usually a paragon of decorum and composure, displayed a rare trace of uncertainty. "Let us hope so, Mrs. Hughes," he replied with a heavy sigh. "It's disgraceful how the papers are allowed to impinge on an innocent lady in this way, just disgraceful," he lamented.
As Mr. Carson finished his first cup of tea, a knock at the servants' entrance from the yard interrupted the solemn gathering. "That will be today's papers. Alfie, answer the door, boy," he instructed. "Then leave them in my pantry."
Turning his attention to Daisy, who was eager to understand the fate of Lady Mary, he responded, "The Dowager has a plan, is all I know. I think there was mention of Lady Mary staying with her American grandmother." Mr. Carson couldn't hide a hint of sadness. Lady Mary held a special place in his heart, and her current predicament weighed heavily on him.
Young Alfie returned to the breakfast table to finish his porridge, and Mr. Carson rose from his seat to retire to the butler's pantry. He needed to review the morning papers before Lord Grantham summoned him.
Settling at his sturdy desk, Mr. Carson took one last sip of his tea and reached for the first newspaper, one owned by Sir Richard, hoping against hope that today's headlines would be less shocking than the day before.
He began to read the headline: "Duped by Heiress." The colour drained from Mr. Carson's face as he realised that things were far worse than he had anticipated.
London Chronicle: 'Duped by Heiress: A Tale of Deceit Unravelled'
In a shocking revelation that has sent shockwaves through London's aristocracy, the London Chronicle brings forth a disheartening account of deceit at the hands of Lady Mary Crawley, the eldest daughter of the renowned Crawley family of Downton Abbey.
Sir Richard Carlisle's Ill-fated Defence
Sir Richard Carlisle, a well-known newspaper publisher and Lady Mary's fiancé, had been poised to defend his beloved in the face of the sensational reports emanating from the North. He was prepared to staunchly uphold her innocence, but little did he know that the truth would be far from his expectations.
Debauchery and Deception Unveiled
Upon further investigation, Sir Richard Carlisle uncovered a terrible truth nestled within the heart of Yorkshire—the shocking revelation of debauchery and death that had long been concealed within the confines of Downton Abbey.
The Tragic Demise of Mr. Kamal Pamuk
The London Chronicle can now report that Lady Mary's former lover, Mr. Kamal Pamuk, formerly of the Turkish Embassy in London, met a tragic end five years ago during a scandalous liaison with Lady Mary. This alarming incident had been shrouded in secrecy by the Crawley family.
A Web of Lies and Deceit
In light of this appalling revelation, it becomes evident that a meticulously crafted scheme was put into motion to reinvent Lady Mary's image as an innocent maiden. The Crawley family, keen to distance her from her own cousin Matthew Crawley, her former fiancé, and the current heir to the earldom, selected a new and wealthy suitor—Sir Richard Carlisle.
Lady Edith Crawley Speaks Out
The London Chronicle is indebted to several brave witnesses who came forth to expose Lady Mary's secret life. Foremost among them is Lady Edith Crawley, Lady Mary's own sister. Appalled by her sister's behaviour, Lady Edith took the extraordinary step of writing to the Turkish Embassy to unveil the sordid truth. This newspaper has obtained a copy of Lady Edith's letter, which meticulously describes the shocking events of that fateful night.
Acknowledgments to the Daily Bugle
The London Chronicle extends its gratitude to the "Daily Bugle" for its role in bringing this scandalous affair to light. Their courageous reporting has helped unveil a web of lies and deceit that has remained hidden for far too long.
The fallout from this revelation is sure to reverberate throughout the aristocratic circles of London, forever changing the fortunes and fate of Lady Mary Crawley and those around her.
Lord Grantham's hands trembled slightly as he read the article from the London Chronicle. The words on the page painted a picture of deceit and scandal that left him in a state of profound shock. It was as if the ground beneath him had shifted, and he struggled to reconcile the image presented in the article with the daughter he thought he knew.
"This can't be true," Lord Grantham muttered under his breath, his eyes fixed on the damning words. He felt a mixture of anger, disbelief, and a gnawing sense of betrayal. The events described in the article were at odds with the Lady Mary he had raised and loved, his own daughter.
His thoughts raced as he tried to make sense of it all. How had things gone so terribly wrong? The Crawley family's reputation was now in tatters, and he knew that they would have to confront this scandal head-on. But at this moment, all he could do was grapple with the shocking revelation before him, hoping against hope that there might be some mistake or misunderstanding.
Lady Mary's hands trembled as she read the article in the London Chronicle. The words on the page were like a cruel punch to the gut, and she felt the colour drain from her face. It was as if her world had been turned upside down once again, and this time, it was a devastating blow she hadn't seen coming.
She raced to the bathroom, her heart pounding in her chest, and nausea rising in her throat. The violent upheaval that followed left her feeling weak and vulnerable. She rinsed her mouth with water, trying to wash away the bitter taste of betrayal.
How could Sir Richard Carlisle have done this to her? She had trusted him, had believed that he would stand by her side. But the article painted a different picture, one of betrayal and calculated deception. It was a harsh reality that she was finding difficult to accept.
As Lady Mary stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, tears welled up in her eyes. She felt a profound sense of loss, not only for the respect she had once thought they shared but also for the shattered trust and the uncertain future that now lay before her. The world she knew had crumbled, and she was left to pick up the pieces of her broken heart.
Cora and Violet sat in the drawing room, their faces etched with concern and anger as they discussed the newspaper article that had exposed one of the family's darkest secrets.
"How did he find out about Pamuk?" Cora worriedly inquired, her brow furrowed in distress.
"Well, we seem to have found the source of our leak at least," said Lady Violet bitterly. She had observed the animosity between her granddaughters for years, but Edith's actions had shocked her to the core. To sabotage the family in such a spiteful way was beyond her comprehension.
Cora was deeply distraught over the latest report. It seemed that the only Crawley to escape the wrath of the scandalous newspapers was Sybil, the very instigator of the entire debacle. Sybil was too ashamed to venture from her room, while Mary lay in bed, nursing a headache.
At that moment, Edith timidly entered the room, her expression contrite.
"How could you be so monumentally stupid as to write to the Turkish Embassy?" Violet seethed, her anger palpable. Edith seemed to shrink into herself under her grandmother's harsh gaze.
"If you wanted to torment Mary over some misguided spite, why didn't you just whisper it in a few gossips' ears? Instead, you wrote it down, providing evidence for all to see. Did you not listen to a word I've said about society and how to handle scandal?" Violet continued to berate Edith.
Edith couldn't determine if her granny was more furious about the secret she had spread or the manner in which she had done it.
"How could you, Edith?" Her mother, Lady Grantham, chimed in, her voice filled with disappointment. "Didn't you think of the family at all?"
"Like Mary thought of the family when she hopped into the bed of the first handsome foreigner she saw?" Edith attempted to justify her actions.
"Yes, but unlike you, Mary didn't blab to the whole of societyu," Lady Violet snapped back.
"Do you have any idea how hard your grandmother, aunt, and I had to work to smooth the scandal so Sybil's coming out was not ruined?" Cora added, her anger palpable. Edith paled, realising that her Granny and mother were well aware of the situation.
"I could pull my hair out in frustration," Violet continued. "This was also the reason Mary wouldn't marry Matthew. She was too ashamed to tell him and wouldn't marry him with half of society knowing," she scolded.
"I... I didn't know," Edith stammered, her contrition deepening.
"I think it's best for you to be anywhere but here," her Granny told her with a dismissive wave. "We still have to talk to your father about all of this," Violet added with a heavy sigh.
Edith practically fled from the room, leaving Cora and Violet to await the arrival of Rosamund, hoping she would bring the promised relief to their situation, with the necessary documents to rectify the problem.
Robert's anger was palpable as he stormed through Downton Abbey in search of his wife and mother. He felt betrayed, deceived, and entirely left out of the loop. The discovery had shaken him to his core, and he couldn't understand why they had kept such a significant secret from him.
Finally, he found Cora and Violet together in a private sitting room. He wasted no time in confronting them. "Did you know about this?" he accused, his voice laden with anger and frustration.
Cora shared a guilty look with her mother-in-law, realising that they could no longer keep the truth hidden. "Yes, Robert, but it happened so long ago we didn't think it was necessary to tell you," she explained, her voice tinged with regret.
Robert's anger flared even more at their admission. "You didn't think you had to tell me when I find out in the papers that my daughter has been cavorting in my own house, under my nose, with some Johnny foreigner?" he exclaimed, his frustration boiling over.
"Please, Robert, don't be overdramatic," Lady Violet retorted, her tone sharp and unapologetic. "We had no idea Edith had written a letter detailing the affair or how Sir Richard found out about it," she added defensively.
Robert was momentarily taken aback by his mother's sharp tone, but he quickly recalled a similar incident during the war. Bates's wife had blackmailed him over a Crawley scandal, which had caused Bates to leave his employment at Downton for several months in a misguided attempt to protect Robert's reputation. At the time, no one had divulged the details of the supposed scandal to him, and he now understood why.
"It was Bates's dead wife who told Sir Richard, but that was years ago," Robert admitted, his voice filled with frustration. "She was threatening Bates that she would go to the papers with the story if he didn't give Anna up and all his money too. Sir Richard must have kept this information for all these years and never said a word. Until now," he concluded bitterly, realising the extent of Sir Richard's vengeful motives.
"What will we do now?" Robert asked, his tone more resigned, as he considered the complexities of the situation.
Violet, always one to think ahead and take control in times of crisis, responded with a sense of determination. "Well, I will have to put my plan in action, just as soon as Rosamund arrives," she declared ominously, leaving no doubt that she was ready to tackle this scandal head-on, regardless of the consequences.
Rosamund arrived at Downton with a sense of purpose that was evident in her demeanour. Carson escorted her to the library, where Robert, Cora, and Violet were gathered, waiting for her, so they could finally hear their mother's plan. She exchanged a kiss on the cheek with her mother and greeted her brother and his wife before diving into the matter at hand.
Violet wasted no time getting to the heart of the issue. "Do you, have it?" she asked Rosamund, her eyes filled with urgency.
Robert, who had not been privy to the conversation beforehand, looked confused. "What does she have?" he inquired, trying to make sense of the situation.
Violet began to explain her plan, her tone grave and determined. "The situation for Mary and the family is now catastrophic," she started. "If the paper had just printed a correction, this could have been avoided. Or if the only story was about Pamuk, we could have packed Mary off to America, let the gossip die down, and she could have returned to the fold—tarnished, perhaps, but still returning to the family." She looked around the room, her expression filled with concern.
Robert's resignation was evident, while Cora wore an unhappy expression. Rosamund, however, appeared more than a little displeased with the current state of affairs.
"As for Pamuk, there's nothing we can do," Rosamund declared bluntly. "So, we will have to make the Carlton scandal go away."
Robert, still somewhat confused, asked, "But how, Mama?"
Cora, on the other hand, had started to put the pieces together. She knew where this was leading, though she wasn't entirely thrilled with the prospect.
"Why, Mary must marry, of course," Violet revealed, leaning back in her chair with an air of satisfaction.
Robert's puzzlement remained. "But who will she marry?" he asked, his brows furrowing in confusion.
The three women exchanged disbelieving glances, as if Robert were missing the most obvious solution.
"Why, Branson, of course," Violet replied, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
The tension in the drawing room was palpable as Robert confronted his mother, Lady Violet, about the audacious plan she had devised. His voice nearly reached a shout as he expressed his disbelief and outrage.
"Branson! Are you mad?" Robert spluttered, struggling to contain his anger. "You cannot be serious, that scoundrel to marry Mary, when two days ago he tried to run off with Sybil."
Violet, the matriarch of the family, maintained her composure, her expression unwavering. "Robert, listen to me. This might be Mary's one chance," she explained, her tone both patient and assertive. "She is not Sybil. Status and reputation matter to Mary more than personal happiness, or she would have married Matthew all those years ago, and she certainly wouldn't have accepted Sir Richard either."
Robert's frustration was evident as he huffed and muttered his disbelief. "But still, Branson!"
"Yes, Branson," Violet affirmed, her voice firm. "Think, Robert, remember what Sybil told us. Branson has a job in Dublin waiting for him as a reporter. He even has a book of poetry published."
Violet could see the scepticism in her son's eyes, so she continued to explain their audacious plan. "So instead of Mary marrying the chauffeur, she will be marrying an eccentric poet. Mary was swept off her feet by the romance of it. We can say that Branson, being a published author, convinced Mary that Sir Richard was a scoundrel. And lo and behold, it's true, didn't you read the scandalous article he had published? Because he was a jilted lover."
As Violet laid out her plan, the other family members in the room watched in admiration, recognising the brilliance of her scheme.
Robert, though still sceptical, asked a pertinent question. "How will we explain that he was our Chauffeur?"
Violet's response was filled with confidence. "That's the beauty of it, we won't have to. He's a poet. Everyone knows they're as mad as snakes."
She continued, "If anyone asks, we just shrug and say he's a poet. Remember Byron, we will say. Everyone loves a romantic tale of star-crossed lovers, with Sir Richard cast as the villain."
It was an audacious plan, and the family had their reservations. Cora expressed her concerns, "But surely people will know it was a scraped-up plan, Mama?"
However, Rosamund, ever the resourceful one, chimed in, "They won't because I have procured a special license backdated by four days in Mary and Branson's name."
Violet summed it all up. "We'll get Travis to marry them, sign the marriage certificate, send it to the office in Ripon, and it will be official."
Robert, still not completely convinced, raised another issue. "And what will we say about the arrest?"
Violet's response was both clever and calculated. "That's the true beauty of the plan. We contact the Daily Bugle and give them an exclusive. They obviously hate Sir Richard. We tell them that Mary needed to break free from wicked Richard, but she was afraid of him. He was always hinting that he would ruin her. She fell in love with Branson, who offered to rescue her. So, there was a secret wedding, ensuring Richard was kept in the dark, until it was a 'Fait Accompli', and the wicked Richard could no longer threaten the married Mary . They were going to her cousins for a honeymoon in Scotland, and the motor broke down. They were married, so they booked a room as Mr. and Mrs. Branson to be discreet and somehow got caught in the sting operation. The police didn't believe they were married, because they didn't bring their certificate. Why would they? They were going to family in Scotland."
Violet had meticulously thought through every detail of the plan, leaving no room for doubt.
Robert, resigned to the idea, knew that his daughter's life would take a dramatic turn. He couldn't help but worry about Mary's future, but he also hoped that after a couple of years, she could have a quiet divorce and move on from Branson.
But then he thought of Sybil and her declaration of love for Branson, realising that this plan would cause her great pain.
"What about Sybil?" Robert asked, his concern evident in his voice.
Violet responded sombrely, "Sybil has seen all the papers; she knows her part in this disaster."
"Besides Cora and I have a plan for Sybil that may help her swallow this bitter pill. There is a lady's college in London that prepares young women to enter university. She can go there, stay with Rosamund for the year. Sybil has exclaimed she is bored, we will give her something to do," Violet said firmly, knowing at this stage Robert would agree.
Cora inquired, "And Branson?"
"Bring him down, and I will deal with him," Violet asserted confidently. "He has also seen the papers. We'll soon see what type of man he is."
The family's fate hung in the balance as they prepared to set their audacious plan into motion.
As Mr. Carson informed Tom that the Dowager Countess wanted to speak with him, Tom couldn't help but feel a mixture of anxiety and curiosity. He knew that this conversation could determine his fate, and he needed to approach it with caution.
Tom sat up on the bed, his mind racing as he prepared to face Lady Violet. It was too early for another meal, so the summons could only mean one thing: a discussion about his future, he had already deduced what the only remaining outcome that could salvage this situation was.
The door swung open, revealing Mr. Carson's stern countenance. His words confirmed Tom's suspicions. "The Dowager Countess wants to talk to you," Carson stated, his tone grim and serious.
Tom quickly rose from the bed, knowing that he needed to make a respectable appearance for this meeting, despite the rough treatment his clothing had endured over the past few days. His white shirt was wrinkled, and there was little he could do about it, but he straightened his waistcoat and jacket as best as he could.
Mr Carson couldn't help but notice that Branson's suit, though creased, was of much better quality than what most servants would possess outside of their uniforms. It had obviously been tailored to fit him, which struck Mr Carson as unusual.
Tom observed Mr Carson noticing his suit, and the momentary look of confusion.
Memories of how he acquired his first suit came flooding back. When he was fifteen, Tom had won a writing competition in an Irish newspaper, earning himself one whole pound. His mother had been immensely proud and believed that a well-dressed man was taken more seriously in the world. She had taken him to Dublin, to one of the better second-hand shops, and picked out a suit that cost six shillings. Then, she introduced him to Mrs. Murphy, who lived nearby and charged him one shilling to ensure the suit fit him perfectly. The very day he wore his new suit, he secured a job as an apprentice chauffeur. Tom carried the lesson his mother taught him that day with great significance throughout his life.
So over the years when he has been paid for this stories or poems, he saves two thirds of the money for the future and the remaining third on good quality clothes and shoes. It really did make a difference when negotiating with publishers, for his book of poetry he was able to negotiate 12% royalties instead of the standard 10%. Tom swore it was because he didn't look like the average starving artist that he got a better deal.
Now, with Lady Violet's summons, Tom knew exactly what she might expect of him. She probably anticipated that he would marry Mary to salvage her honour, which he had inadvertently damaged beyond repair through his impulsive actions. The weight of responsibility and expectation bore down on him as he prepared to meet with the Dowager Countess, hoping to find a way to move forward from this complicated situation.
Note: There is actually one more chapter, there was more in it then I had calculated.