This is certainly far from being my best chapter ever, but I simply can not seem to figure it out so I will post it anyway and keep the story rolling in the direction I it is going for now
The three of them were shown to one of the many round tables lining the grand dining room of one of the best restaurants in all of England, if not the world. The whole interior of the room just exuded opulence and prestige — she almost felt like she was 18, walking into the grand ballrooms of the London season for the first time all over again.
For the first time in months, Mary felt like celebrating. Like all of this had been for a reason. Like things were finally about to go her way again. And she hoped that they would for her entire family. If there was one thing the past months had taught her, then that family really did count for everything. It scared her how close to losing them she had to come to finally realise that when nobody was there for her, her family always was. They always had her back, and she was filled with so much appreciation for all of them that she felt she could burst.
The waiter pulled out the chair for her to sit down while her father did the same for his sister before sitting down next to Mary himself. "Now, who is that mysterious person you asked me to extend the reservation for?" he asked, placing the napkin on his lap the way he usually did with one swift motion.
"Oh, you'll see very soon," Mary smirked. Upon seeing her father's doubtful and outright scared look, she added: "Don't fret, you will enjoy the surprise, I think."
Just when Robert wanted to inquire further, he was interrupted by the fourth chair next to him being pulled back from the table by another waiter. Out of habit, Robert rose from his seat and found himself standing face-to-face with his other daughter. The surprise and shock on his face were clearly visible, his eyes wide while his lips were parted slightly, not only because he had been about to say something. It was abundantly clear to everyone that he had not expected Edith, not in the least.
"What a delightful surprise to find you down in London, Papa," Edith smiled before breathing a kiss on his cheek and smiling warmly at Mary and Rosamund while taking her seat, the waiter still patiently standing behind her chair to push it closer to the table again.
Once the initial shock of her sudden appearance had worn off, Robert quite excitedly asked: "I did not know you were in London. Aren't you entertaining at Brancaster? And where's Bertie?"
"I told you that you would like the surprise guest," Mary smirked at her father before returning her attention to the menu in her hands — but not before exchanging amused looks with her aunt, who seemed to be enjoying the show. Maybe a bit too much.
"I am here on business with the magazine, and Bertie is at Brancaster, overseeing the preparations for his birthday celebration in a few days."
A regretful expression on his face, Robert retorted: "I am still very sorry we will be missing that. Forty is a big milestone."
Edith looked up from the menu and at her father, her brown eyes wide with concern and reassurance. "Oh, don't you worry. Mama's health and convalescence are much more important than yet another birthday celebration. We would not have celebrated at all if it weren't such a big occasion, given Bertie's rank. And Mary has said she would travel North as a proxy for the family, which we think is terribly nice of her."
That last information seemed to be shocking news to the man sitting at the table. He kept glancing from Mary to Edith and back again, not able to fully comprehend what he thought he just heard.
"My, my. You two really have changed, haven't you?" Rosamund interjected, surprise clearly evident in her voice.
His sister was saying out loud exactly what was going through Robert's head at that moment. He had no idea when his daughters had agreed to get along, when they had both finally grown up. In his mind, they were still the squabbling young girls him and Cora had to put up with for years on end. He could swear that just a few short years ago both of them would have wanted nothing more than to see the other rot in hell or if possible in a place even worse. Robert remembered only too vividly how they always seemed to try and make each other's lives as miserable as humanly possible, and he remembered how helpless he and Cora had felt whenever they talked about it.
Smirking, Mary said: "Not changed per se, but I would like to think that we have come to an understanding, haven't we, Edith?"
"We certainly have," the younger Crawley sister beamed across the table, looking her father straight into his perplexed face.
Just then, another waiter came and brought them all some champagne that Mary had already ordered before her sister had arrived.
"Will you finally tell me what it is we are celebrating? There must be a reason you asked me to join you here as a surprise tonight," Edith asked, the glass in her left hand already half-raised.
"Indeed, I would like to know the same," her aunt joined in, looking suspiciously at her elder niece. She had tried to get her brother to tell her the reason behind this dinner invitation to the Ritz earlier, but he would not budge and tell her, which was most unusual for him. He had never been good at keeping things from others, least of all from her when they were growing up.
Finally, it was Mary who spoke up. "Papa and I have come to London today to see Murray in his office." Then, she waited for another few excruciatingly long seconds. No one at the table knew if it was to build suspense or to muster up the courage, not even Mary herself. "It was certainly unexpected, but the business with Henry is settled, once and for all. I signed the divorce papers this morning. I am free of him at last."
For a second, nobody said a word, nobody moved. Nobody even dared to breathe. It was as if time stood still. The reactions — or lack thereof — only substantiated the grave proportions her news truly bore. She had mulled it all over again and again all throughout the day, while at lunch with her father, and then throughout the entire afternoon and again on the way to the restaurant. She had known that this was quite a lot to digest for her family, but she had wished for things not to get this awkward. What else was she supposed to say? A simple sorry would not do, she was aware. Nervously, she chanced a look at her sister and aunt, whose gazes she had previously evaded.
To her relief, a smile had formed on Edith's face, a genuine and wide smile. "Now, that is ample reason to celebrate. I am so pleased for you that this chapter of your life is closed now!" she exclaimed, raising her glass fully while beaming at her elder sister.
"That is a great development, certainly. I am glad that everything is settled now, and so quickly, too!" Rosamund joined in, looking no less joyful than her nieces and brother.
Mary raised her glass of champagne, relieved at how well they had both taken the news. She would have never admitted to it, but she had been terrified of having to tell them. "Henry wanted to get it over with, he knew that he was the one responsible and he seemed somewhat relieved with how things were progressing the last time I saw him at home," she tried to explain. "He's still hiding away, mind you, but his spirits have been a bit higher."
"If only he were already somewhere else and happier there," Robert growled into his glass of champagne, refraining from taking his first sip. He could not forgive his now former son-in-law for cheating on his daughter, no matter how much he wanted to for Mary's sake. Upon seeing everyone's questioning looks, he saw the need to add: "I wish the man no ill, but I do not wish him well either."
"Let's leave it at that, Papa. Because I certainly do not wish him ill, and that's all that should matter. We were both wretchedly unhappy in the end and now it is over."
Robert nodded with a tight smile on his face as he gripped the stem of his champagne flute just a little harder.
The tension that had taken hold of him was about to create an atmosphere none of them were quite comfortable with when Rosamund took it upon herself to diffuse it by raising her glass again and asking: "So, to Mary's new freedom?"
"To Mary's new freedom!" Robert and Edith echoed, finally taking sips from the fizzy beverages in the elegantly manufactured glasses in their hands.
"I think now is a good time to tell you all," Rosamund then said. Turning to look at her brother, she addressed him directly: "and I think you will be quite pleased with what I have to say."
Something in him did not trust her fully to be serious about him being pleased, she had said that far too often to tease him through the years. His eyebrows shot up in question and intrigue, while his lips were pursed quite nervously.
Rosamund had to stifle a laugh at his expression before she went on to explain. "I thought about your request from earlier, and I decided that I will do it. I will sell my house in Belgrave Square and move back to Downton."
Then, her brother's jaw slacked slightly and all the tension that had been only all too evident in his being before was gone. The last remains of his doubts and suspicions seemed to leave his body as he exhaled deeply. They were gone, picked up and swept away by the draft of air created by a waiter quickly passing by their table. Robert opened his mouth and closed it again, looking quite like a fish on dry land. He repeated that rather undignified-looking process two more times before he finally found his voice again. Jovially, he exclaimed: "Oh, I am well and truly pleased!"
"You want to sell your house?" Edith asked, looking positively gobsmacked.
"Well, yes. I have no need for a London house when I move back up north, and there is nothing tying me to Belgrave Square. I would have had a harder time if I was still living in Eaton Square, but I haven't for years. And there is still Crawley House when we need to stay in London, right, Robert?"
"You are absolutely right. And I believe your house will be quite sought after by many people. It is beautiful, after all, and has an ideal location within the city."