"I'm sorry you had to go through that," Robert said, puffing on a cigar, Matthew beside him with his own cigar in one hand and a brandy in the other. With the maids hard at work cleaning up the Disaster (as that is what Cousin Violet was calling it and Matthew thought it a fitting title) he and Robert had been forced to go to one of the smaller sitting rooms to enjoy their customary after-dinner drink. Carson was clearly unhappy about it, feeling the room hadn't been properly prepared, but Robert had waved him off, saying that a room with a touch of dust was better than… well, what Larry Grey had left them. So the two of them sat in overstuffed chairs, much like when they'd first met, enjoying good drinks and even better cigars. "You didn't deserve it."
"No, I did not," Matthew said, taking a long puff of his cigar. "Nor will I deserve it when it happens again." He held out his hand and smiled as Robert tried to correct him. "We both know it will happen again, Robert. While you have come to accept me as your heir there will be people that will hold it against me forever that I was born into the middle class."
"I'm ashamed to admit that I felt that way at first," Robert said, swirling his drink. "But when they get to know you they will see how wrong they are to think like that… just as I have."
"And that is all I can ask for," Matthew said. "I didn't come here thinking it would be some Victorian Romance novel where I am welcomed with open arms by all. This is more Mansfield Park than that." Robert hummed in agreement and the two lapsed into quiet. Matthew had meant what he'd said but he wasn't about to tell Robert that he was handling his time at Downton better than all expected because compared to the horrors of war the limp insults of aristocrats was nothing.
"Still, it was wrong of Larry Grey," Robert said. "I just wish I knew what compelled him to say those things."
"Alcohol," Matthew said with a smirk, though he knew that wasn't the real answer. He'd quickly recognized the symptoms, watching as Larry sweated up a storm and found his tongue wagging all too easily and remembering when he'd last seen that. The bastard had been laughing the last time he'd pulled that trick but this time he was the one on the receiving end. Matthew still had no idea how Sybil had managed to get those pills, let alone how she'd snuck them into his glass, but he knew she was the source of Larry's 'binging', taking her revenge for something he hadn't done yet. 'I suppose I should scold her for that… she drugged an innocent man, after all. The Larry Grey we encountered tonight was not the one that drugged poor Tom.' Matthew considered what he'd just thought and took another drink. 'Then again, he is a bloody prat.'
Sybil had been shocked when Matthew had told her his plan to subtly nudge Robert towards inviting the Greys to dine with them. She hadn't understood it and made her confusion known.
"Why would you ever want Larry in the same room as you again?" Sybil asked in a huff. "After what he did to Tom I never want to see him again!"
"But he hasn't done it, now has he?" Matthew asked.
"He will again, or worse," Sybil countered, setting her teacup down. They'd been having another one of their pleasant tea times (which in reality was a planning session for their work to alter history and make their lives better) when Matthew had brought up the Greys and caused Sybil's outburst. "You don't know him like I do."
"No, I suppose I don't. But the thing is that he isn't the one I'm interested in."
Sybil stared at him, her eyes narrowing and the skin around her nose crinkling in thought. "Lord Merton? Whatever for?"
"Did you know that Lord Merton, when he attended Eton, was friends with Allen Lothrop? They have remained in touch and he visits quite often."
"And who is Allen Lothrop and why would he matter?" Sybil asked.
Matthew smirked. "His proper title is Lieutenant-General Allen Lothrop and he currently oversees the contracts and deals the English military has with the suppliers of their weapons, uniforms, tanks, and other equipment. As you can imagine in about a year and a half he is going to become one of the most important figures in the war effort." He took a sip of tea, allowing Sybil to slowly consider what he'd just said.
"…he's the key to keeping you off the front, isn't he?"
"Indeed," Matthew said with a grin. "I met him, shortly before Mary became pregnant, and we had a rather fascinating conversation; one that is all the more interesting now that I stand at the beginning of the war and not at the end."
"And you plan to use that knowledge to keep yourself away from the front?"
"If I do this right I will remain in England for the entire war. Along with a few… select others."
"William?" Sybil asked.
"And Barrow. We know that Tom will be safe, with his heart, though I might see if I can get him in too, though I doubt it. He is bloody impossible at times when it comes to his convictions and even if what I have in mind won't require him to pick up a gun I imagine he'll still protest."
"I know… I married him after all," Sybil said with a soft laugh. "So… the price for saving William, keeping Thomas from being maimed, and you out of that wheelchair is dealing with Larry Grey?"
"I'm afraid so."
Sybil paused. "Was the wheelchair really that bad? It looked rather comfortable…"
Matthew laughed.
"I suppose too much drink is the answer but that isn't good enough for me," Robert stated, brow furrowed. "While I appreciate what you said to Lord Merton and commend you for it my generosity will only go so far. Larry Grey will not be welcomed back to Downton until he has apologized for his actions and I deem his words to be true."
"Then be prepared for a long wait," Matthew stated, "because I get the sense he is one that won't accept blame or show humility any time soon."
"Hmmm… you're right on that part. Still, I can't allow him to act like that without some sort of mea culpa. After all, from wine comes truth or whatever the saying is." Robert sighed, tapping the ashes of his cigar in the tray. "This will ruin Cora's plotting, to be sure."
"What do you mean?"
"She has it in her head to pair Sybil and Larry Grey together."
"You mean 'had', do you not?"
Robert laughed. "You don't know Cora that well if you think this will stop her. I'm sure she'll try and find some way to spin this so it appears not as bad as it is and she can start up all over again. Perhaps try and use Sybil's desire to help others to try and convince her that Larry needs her…"
"And you think Sybil will go along with this?" Matthew asked.
"I know she won't," Robert said with a dry chuckle. "I know everyone in this family thinks I'm blind and don't see what's going on in front of my nose and perhaps they are right but even I can see that Sybil will not marry someone she doesn't love and Larry Grey does not fit that bill."
"And yet Cousin Cora will still try?"
Robert nodded. "Of course. My wife can be rather stubborn when she wants to be."
"Like with the entail?" Matthew asked. He hated bringing it up, knowing it would only cause Robert pain, but he knew that until it was fully settled Mary would not be able to move past her bitterness and see the good in him. No matter how much time the two spent together and how the fractures from their first meeting healed she would always carry that sense of injustice until the issue of her believed inheritance was solved. Even though in this new version of their lives their relationship was better, what with them going on rides all throughout Downton and being able to find things to talk about that didn't include thinly veiled insults, Matthew could see it in her eyes that she still wondered about the money. Would it be her's? His? Things could never move on between them until that issue was settled and stability was introduced.
As Matthew had predicted Robert got a pained look on his face. "She is still going on about that?"
"Not as much as before," Matthew said. "Cousin Cora has been utterly polite… but Mary has let a hint slip through several times that Cousin Cora and Cousin Violet are still looking into it and hoping to find some way to separate the money from the estate."
"Foolishness," Robert muttered. "The law is the law, it is simple as that. They only prolong Mary's pain by keeping up on this rather than accepting the fact. Maybe, in some far flung future, we'll end up like the Americans and an heiress might be something possible but we must live in the here and now." He pounded his fist against the table only to then look at Matthew, an abashed look upon his features. "I'm sorry Matthew."
"It's quite alright," matthew said. "A show of emotion is hardly a sin."
"True but that isn't what I am apologizing for." Robert stood up and began to pace, his glass clutched in his hand like a child might hold a favorite toy. "They are being terribly unfair to you. All they think about is how this has changed things for Mary, how had she married Patrick she would have been a countess, which considering her reaction to his death I honestly don't know would have come to pass. I fear she was marrying Patrick for his title and this home and nothing more and I shudder to think what her life would have been like. I've seen too many people in my circle be reduced to bitterness because they sought only wealth." He sighed. "I made the same mistake, I admit, but was lucky that Cora and I found love. I don't think Mary would have done that with Patrick. Still, Cora and mama. They act as if that will never come to pass, that Mary will never get her title."
"When it very well could," Matthew added. 'Especially when we are married.'
"Exactly." Robert sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "And they are so focused on Mary that they fail to remember she isn't the only one who has had her path altered. You have radically altered your life and your only reward is for them to plot against you. Worse, they fail to see that should they manage to rip this all away from it would be forcing you to put back together a livelihood we already forced you to blast apart."
Matthew found himself speechless. In the old timeline he'd also known that Robert saw him becoming heir as a benefit with not a single repercussion. It was a blessing and should be celebrated. But Robert had never shown any sign of understanding just how much Matthew had given up, how he'd thrown himself into the deep end of the pond and been left to sink or swim. That had been part of the reason he'd been so confrontational the last time, battling them tooth and claw over every little thing. Why he'd been so stubborn and so headstrong.
"Is something the matter?" Robert asked.
Matthew managed a smile. "Just… startled. I didn't realize that you felt that way."
Robert considered this. "Yes… I suppose it would be easy to image me thinking that it would be easy for you to go back to the way things were, to put back your life after we tore it apart. Believe it or not I do have a bit of understanding of how the world works."
"No, not that," Matthew said. "Though I do thank you. I meant more that I was surprised you recognized how this altered things for me… and sometimes not for the better."
"The thing of it is that at first I didn't. Even when you came here I didn't really realize it. But seeing how you've worked to fit us into your life while still trying to ease your way out of your old has shown me that your old life was just as complex as your new one and that it would be unfair to simply expect you to go back to it."
"I… appreciate that, Robert." Matthew smiled, mentally marveling over the changes he'd already made to his life in this timeline. 'Was that all it really took? For me not to be just a blockheaded prat for Robert to see a bit of reason?' His mother had always said one caught more flies with honey but now he was seeing proof of that before his very eyes. Where beforehand Robert hadn't fought the entail out of a sense of not wanting to rock the boat now he did so out of respect for Matthew. It was a wonderful feeling… and humbling. It showed just how wrong he had been the last time, when he'd been filled with youth and vinegar rather than vigor.
Robert reached over to pluck a new cigar out, pausing to run his hand over the box's hinged lid, a bemused smile on his face. "Have I told you how much I love this?" he asked.
"Only several times already since Christmas day," Matthew said. "I am glad I picked your gift out well."
Robert eyed him carefully. "And will you not tell me where you got it?"
"Haven't you a guess?" Matthew teased. It had become a game for the two of them since that luncheon on the 25th of December, when Robert had first unwrapped the beautifully crafted cigar box. It was simple yet elegant, making it perfect for their post-meal drinks and smokes, and Robert had cooed like it was a newly born babe the moment he saw it. He'd asked where he'd gotten it but Matthew had only teased that Robert had to guess its origins. Since then the man had thrown out half a dozen suggestions only for Matthew to shut each and every one of them down.
"I admit defeat," Robert said, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "I wave the white flag and ask that you be merciful."
"I suppose I could ask for something you love in return," Matthew teased. "Pharaoh?"
Robert blanched at that. "Don't even kid. I'd rather you take Cora." Matthew snorted at that. "Well?"
"The box came from Smithers."
Robert leaned back in his chair, brow furrowed in thought. "Smithers… isn't that the antique dealer in London? He's partnered with Burns, isn't he?"
"No. Rupert Smithers."
"…the woodcutter who lives on the outskirts of the village?"
"The same." Matthew took a drink, savoring the taste and Robert's shock. It was hard to tell which was better.
"He… he had this? How?"
"Had? No, of course he didn't, Robert." Matthew paused, letting his class perch close to his lip, enjoying the wait he was putting Robert through. It was an innocent bit of revenge for all the times the Robert of his original timeline had looked down his nose at Matthew's suggestions and ideas. "He made it."
"No!" Robert exclaimed, his words coming out in the same startled, shocked tone one would usually reserve for hearing of the sudden death of a family member or that they'd lost the family fortune (two things that Matthew hoped to prevent this time around). "But… but look at it! The craftsmanship! The careful inlaying here," he gestured at the front, where a detailed carving of a yellow lab in light wood stood out against the dark wood that made up the rest of the box, "that is the work of a master!"
"And it seems that Smithers is that master," Matthew said.
"I can't believe that the man known for chopping wood even in a blizzard could create something like this."
"Still waters run deep."
Robert paused, looking sideways at his drinking companion. "This isn't some sort of jest, is it? Lead me to think that the local woodcutter is some master craftsman and then surprise me with the truth later on after I've made myself into a fool?"
"While that would be clever I can't claim that," Matthew said, tapping the ashes from his cigar into the tray. "Look on the inside, lower right corner." Robert began to pull cigars out till the box was empty and held up close to his face. "That's his mark," Matthew said when Robert spotted the stylized R and S cut into the wood. "I know it's more traditional to place it somewhere easier to find but Smithers is the humble sort… likes to make sure a piece is known as his but doesn't need to broadcast it."
"I am shocked," Robert said after a moment, setting the box back on the table. "Simply shocked. The idea that such talent could be hiding here so close to Downton… to be hiding in our own village! It's something I would have never expected."
"You once told me that you didn't see Downton Abbey as a building. That I saw only a million bricks that may crumble, a thousand gutters and pipes that may block and leak, and stone that would crack in the frost. When you said it was your life's work I decided to take that to heart. But I am not you, Robert, I admit that. I can not find love in this home yet, mostly because it isn't my home." He paused. "Something I hope to not discover for many, many years."
"I suppose I can allow that," Robert said with a smirk, beginning the task of placing the cigars back in the box. "If the price for you not seeing it as a home is my own life I think that a fair trade."
Matthew chuckled and then continued. "But I knew there were other ways that I could come to love Downton. If not from the structure and the lands then by its people. You know that your daughters and I have been meeting often?"
"Indeed," Robert said. "There are times it feels like they talk more to you than they do to us. And I appreciate that. I had feared that you wouldn't want to meet with them, that you would see them as rivals of sorts, especially after Mary and you… well…"
"You can say it, Robert: we did not make the best first impression."
"For once you are being more diplomatic than I," Robert said, a smile tugging on his lips. "But since then you have treated my daughters like family." He paused, scoffing a little. "Better than family, when I think of some of our most distant relations."
"They've been helping me too. Mary and I have rode to nearly all the farms and Edith and Sybil have helped me make proper introductions all throughout town. Sybil was the one who introduced me to Smithers, actually, and Edith to Mrs. Taylor; she made the preserves I bought for Cousin Cora to go along with her gift."
Robert's eyes widened at that. "Mrs. Taylor? Truly? Cora raved over those preserves, would only allow me a taste before saying it was her gift and she didn't have to share."
"Almost everything I gave you all came from the village in some way or some form. As I learned about the people who call Downton home I came to respect them and their works… and I wanted to show you all a bit of what I experienced as well. I think, and I apologize if this comes off as rude, that you understand the breath of Downton but not its depth. You see the forest… I walk among the trees."
Robert just shook his head and laughed. "My dear boy, you have humbled me and educated me."
"I'm glad to hear that," Matthew said, leaning forward. This next part he knew would be the most dangerous part of his dance. Not just of the evening but for all his plans and goals. If he did it right he would set up the first cornerstone that would build up Downton so it might stand for another century. If he failed then he would face years of struggle as Robert and his poor investment drained away Cora's fortune… and there would be no Reggie Swire to bail them out this time. "You see, Robert… I had another motive for giving you all your gifts. A plan that, with your blessing, I'd like to set in motion."
Robert stood up and walked over to the wet bar, pouring himself another drink. "Crikey, this sounds rather intense, doesn't it?"
"Not so much intense as me fearing to overstep my bounds," Matthew admitted. "What I am going to suggest might seem radical to you and I don't wish to offend."
"Normally I hate the word radical but for once I'll be willing to give it a go. What do you have in mind?"
He let out a sigh. 'Well, I survived the Somme…' Bracing himself Matthew said, "I had Murray get me the financial records for Downton."
Robert froze, staring at him hard for several moments before his shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry. I was about to get very angry when I realized that was completely within your right. Downton is to be yours one day and I have asked you to learn all about it. Just because it isn't how it was done in my day doesn't mean that was wrong." His jaw worked lightly before he added, "And to tell you the truth I wish I had done the same thing before my father passed." Matthew knew what Robert refused to say: Lord Patrick Crawley, Robert's father, had nearly ruined Downton in the 1880s with poor management of the estate and it had only been his passing and Cora's money that had saved the day. In fact that was, sadly, a recurring theme for Downton: it's Earls leaving it on the knife point and the next in line expected to fix things, only to drag it right back to the edge. "I suppose, from your tone, you found something disagreeable?"
"Not quite," Matthew said, choosing his words carefully. He remembered how Robert had reacted when he'd talked of his bad decisions and how he'd allowed the estate to come so close to ruin. He'd only survived that time because of Mary and his union; if he tried such a tactic at this point Robert would most likely have him shown the door. "More that I found myself believe you had made things more complex than they needed to be." He could see that Robert was confused and, though the words were like vinegar in his mouth, Matthew forced himself to say, "I believe your investment in the Canadian rail line was a smart move. The returns will secure Downton for several generations."
Robert puffed up a bit at that only to deflate as he remembered Matthew's earlier words. "If you agree with it why do you seem so put off?"
Matthew sighed. "Robert, what exactly is the plan? Spell it out for me, as simply as you can."
The Earl's brow furrowed. "The investment will garner to us a large amount of capital that we might use to secure Downton."
"And how will it secure it?"
"We'll be able to pay our staff, keep the estate in line, invest in improvements-"
"That is the key, right there," Matthew said, cutting him off. "Invest in Downton. That is the goal, is it not? To gain money to put into Downton so it might grow stronger?" Robert nodded his head. "I simply don't see why we don't do that in the first place."
Matthew watched as the older man's face filled with understand. "Ah. I noble idea, to be sure, but flawed, I'm sad to say. My father thought of doing the same thing and his grandfather before him. Both times it worked in the short run but in the long run the estate was left in danger. It simply can't support itself."
"That is where I disagree," Matthew said. "I looked into what your father did, as well as your great grandfather. They bought more land, purchased houses, built things like the new church… all well and good ideas but not quite what I have in mind." He leaned forward and tapped on the cigar box. "I believe that there is wealth to be found in Downton but it must be nurtured. Plant a seed in the ground and hope for the best and it may grow. Provide it with water and care and you stand a better chance of seeing a bloom. That is what I want to do here."
Robert looked at the cigar box. "Through the likes of Mr. Smithers?"
"And Mrs. Taylor and many of the other farmers and tenants. Downton is full of creative people who hold in their minds recipes and ideas that could explode upon the country and even the world but lack the resources and means to do so. Downton could do just that."
"I just don't… no," Robert shook his head. "No, you've clearly thought this over carefully and it would be unfair for me to dismiss it outright. So please, Matthew… if you were given full control of the estates finances, what would you do?"
Not since he'd led that final charge through No Man's Land had Matthew felt so scared and yet so daring at the same time. He knew this was the final plunge and that there would be no turning back this time. Steadying himself he made his pitch for the security of Downton; not just for Robert but for himself, for Mary, for George, and for all those that would come after him.
'If I am to be damned… let me be damned for what I truly believe in.'
"The first thing I would do is pull our investment in the rail line. I discussed it with Murray and within the agreement we set up there is the right to remove our money now with nothing lost. We gain nothing but it is better than losing a portion of it." 'Or all of it.' "I would then invest the bulk of it into several smaller investment opportunities that I have found. They are shorter, provide far less of a reward, but I would feel better know the money was here, in England. With all the whispers of tensions rising across Europe it would make me feel safer to know that the money was on native soil. While I believe the Canadians would never do anything to harm us I prefer to security of keeping it close and readily available."
When Robert nodded in agreement Matthew took the next step forward. "I'm not suggesting that we dive in head first without seeing how deep the pond is. If I'm wrong, and I well could be, I admit that, it would destroy Downton and leave us all in disgrace and ruin. Better to ease into it, like sliding into a warm bath rather than leaping into a cold pond." He set his cigar down and folded his hands, righting his fingers over his knuckles. "I also understand that this is all new to you. What I am suggesting is taking what generations have done, have set up, and altering it rather radically. That is something you, and the people Downton, will need time to get used to. I want to think of everyone when it comes to this; it does no good to secure Downton's future if it comes on the suffering of the tenants, even if that suffering is merely worry about the unknown."
"Well said," Robert stated, "and something I was about to bring up. So you want to start small with this… plan of yours?"
"Yes."
"And what exactly do you have in mind? Helping the farmers buy new equipment? New practices in raising crops?"
"Or animals," Matthew said. "The farms are large, Robert, and with our modern advances and families shrinking they are producing more but obtaining less of it. We also have an aging population… too much old blood, not enough new." He held up his hand. "I'm not saying there isn't a place for the old farmers and the older families but we need to attract new one as well. People who are willing to either reclaim family farms that have been allowed to go to seed or who have wanted to leave the cities and return to the ways of their forefathers but do not believe they could fit into the structure and system as it is now."
Robert mulled this over, taking a sip of brandy and letting it wash over his tongue before speaking. "As much as I wish to disagree with you… you're right. Worse, this is a problem that has been around far too long. Longer than you've been alive, even." The Earl of Grantham got a wistful smile on his face. "I remember when I was just a boy, maybe 10 or so, I once snuck out to the Weston family's orchard and gorged myself on cherries. Got the mother of all bellyaches afterwards and they didn't taste as sweet coming up as they did going down, but I was never afraid of getting in trouble. I could have stripped a tree bare and Mr. Weston wouldn't have cared; left more cherries to fall on the ground than he ever was able to gather up."
"And that is my point. The land is being mismanaged." Matthew remembered how Robert and Jarvis had reacted to that the last time and quickly moved to stem off any complaints. "Perhaps that isn't the right word. It isn't the fault of the farmers what is happening… they simply can't manage. Once you'd have families of 8, 9, 10 people who lived on a plot of land and worked from sun up to sun down. Now you have only families of 5 or 6 and soon it will be families of 3 and 4. They still manage to get the same yield, however, because our methods of growing have improved… just not our methods of gathering."
"So we work with the farmers to help them gather more."
"Or use the land in different ways. Plant different crops that reach maturity at different points, so that you are using all the land just at different times. Convert unneeded tree groves into grazing land for pigs and sheep." Matthew took a drink. "We provide the farmers with knowledge and assistance. With expert opinions. Try new methods of farming and use our wealth as a safety net for them. The cost of bringing in a man who understands the raising of sheep would be easily met with the money brought in by the animals that would never come from untilled fields."
Robert slowly began to nod. "Perhaps create some kind of failsafe that would bolster confidence in these untested ideas. If a farmer tries out one of our methods and it fails they know we will provide for them during the winter." He locked eyes with Matthew and he could see he was winning him over. "It allows us to move forward without leaving the risk and burden solely on their heads."
"Exactly. I'd also suggest that we make offers to farmers to… buy them out." He could see Robert sour slightly on this and Matthew once again moved to ease his fears. "There are farmers who are simply too old to continue the work. They have been good tenants but have earned a rest but can't do so as they don't have the resources to pay their rent. Meanwhile we have empty cottages that gather dust and no one to fill them. Why not make, as part of a deal to take over their farms, that they are provided for life with a cottage with no rent."
"Could we afford that?"
"We make no rent off of the them now. This way we'd receive farms that we could either rent out to new tenants or farm ourselves. The old tenants are able to retire with dignity and respect and we would be able to take over lands that they can't manage."
"…what if we also put in an agreement that would allow the farmer's family first right to reclaim the land, should a son or grandson wish to claim it?"
Matthew, thrilled Robert was getting on board, quickly agreed. 'He believes in legacies and the passing of land from one to another… it will be a small price to pay to get this mad scheme started'. Out loud he said, "But I want to do more than just help the farmers grow and gather more crops. I want to help them use their skills, the ones maybe only they know of, to help build this place into the envy of all other estates."
"You mean by providing them with capital?" Robert scoffed. "I don't know how I feel about us becoming a bank, issuing loans and such."
"That's not quite what I have in mind. Many of our tenants would be willing to try their hand at business but know they can't because they have no knowledge or skill in that area. It is one thing to be able to make the tastiest jams in all of England but how does one get them on store shops? While Mrs. Taylor's name means something in the village they don't know her in Manchester or London."
"And how do we correct that?" Robert asked.
"By giving her use of a name that does carry weight." Matthew held out his hands, gesturing around him.
Robert looked at him in startled shock. "Downton? You wish to turn Downton into some… cooperation?"
"Not a corporation," Matthew said firmly. He had known that this would be the biggest sticking point for Robert. He still viewed the Estate as if it were the middle ages, when merely existing was enough and to do anything else was seen as soiling its good name. Robert saw it as being 'middle class' to see wealth as only a means to gain more and had last time bucked and fought him up to his death over his plans. This time he had to get him on board right in the beginning. "Tell me… what wine did we have with the soup tonight?"
"…a white Burgundy. I believe Carson said it was an 87."
"And how did he know that was a good wine? What was his first clue?"
"Their reputation," Robert said, confused. "Wine from-" he paused, it suddenly occurring to him what Matthew was getting at. "Ah."
"The French have been producing the finest wines for ages and each bottle bears the name of the estate that grew it. There it isn't a shame if you produce something with you name on it; in fact it is seen as something being wrong with you if you cannot. Smaller estates, not belonging to the upper class, are bought and sold less for the houses that sit on the land and rather the fields that surround them." Matthew looked directly at Robert, silently urging him to listen, to understand what he was getting at and see the logic to it. "Why not do the same for Downton? Why not use our name to help those that work for us, who depend on us? We make agreements with people who wish to set up businesses that we will help them get their foot in the door and even allow them to use our name and coat of arms on their products. In return we will receive a percentage of their earnings. Dukes and Counts already fight to see who can serve a wine from a certain French estate… imagine them doing the same with Downton Cheese or Jams? Downton Pork and Beef and Lamb? To have the crowned Prince proudly tell a guest that the jewelry box he bought for his lady love is a Downton. It will elevate us and it will elevate those that live on these lands." He held out his arms once more. "The splendor of Downton. That is what all of this is about. I merely suggest that rather than seek to just increase it we use it to our own benefit."
Robert stood up again and began to pace. Matthew knew he needed time to process all this, to come to terms with it. In his first life he'd not even told him a quarter of these plans, sticking with just the small battle of doing better work with the farm lands. He'd hoped that, in time, he'd be able to slowly introduce new modern concepts to strength Downton all the more but now, in this second chance, he had both more time and less. More to set things up, to prepare for the days of war and peace to come, and less to stop all the money from draining away. They could not afford to be meek, not now, not with what Matthew knew was coming. Strength was their only option.
The Earl's first words had him spiraling into despair. "This sounds like a mad plan." Robert sighed. "But perhaps mad is what we need." Matthew felt his hope raise once more. "I like the idea of making Downton self-sufficient. And I also agree whole-heartedly that if we can help the tenants become successful in their ventures it will help us. All boats rise in a flood and all that."
"There is also the morale aspect," Matthew said, deciding to go in for the proverbial kill. "If we can help the tenants… shouldn't we? Isn't that what God would want? He has given us so much and this would allow us to pay it back, to help our fellow man have the opportunity to have a small taste of all we have?"
"…and once again I surrender to you," Robert said, moving to grasp the back of his chair. "I'll contact Murray in the morning to see about getting our money out of the rail line; we'll arrange something in the next month so that we can go over the investments you've spotted that would interest us. Use that time to select four tenants who you'd like to do business with… perhaps two farmers and two for your Downton Label idea. I'll give you a year to set it up before we determine if we should continue it all or call it a wash." Robert paused, considering his words. "I'm putting great faith in you, Matthew… this will be your mission. I will leave all control of those four tenants in your hands and your plan will live or die by your actions. Are you okay with that?"
"I understand completely and will work to prove your trust warranted." Matthew stood, fighting off a whoop of delight as he shook Robert's hand. With that verbal agreement he had taken the first step towards saving Downton.
Now all he had to do was ensure it worked.
~A~O~O~O~F~
Author's Notes: And so we get another hint at what Matthew plans to do to avoid the front. It is something I clued onto early in the drafting of this story as a way Matthew could be part of the war but not on the front line.
We also see Matthew's grand plan to save Downton: use the fortune of Downton that went into the rail line to instead act as basically a private bank to support small businesses and help them grow with a cut of the profits while starting up their own businesses. It isn't the full extent of his plan but it is a strong start. The idea of using the Downton name came to me from, of all things, The Witcher 3. In the dlc Blood and Wine Geralt gets an estate and while the building is crumbling the point isn't the building itself but the wine it produces. The building may fall but the name of the estate carries the weight of the brand. I thought the same thing here for Downton. Only later did I see that another author (and I forget the name of the fic… I've mentioned it before as the one where Matthew and Sybil survived) did something similar.
Let it be said that I don't borrow things without acknowledging where I got them from. Matthew's line about being damned comes from Star Trek and Robert's line about cherries is from the Mark of Zorro.
And finally let's hit our Plot Bunny. This is one I came up with rather recently and wasn't in my original list of plot bunnies when I began adding them to the end of these chapters.
The bunny begins with a change: in 1853 the law was changed so that a woman could inherit the title and wealth of her family. Thus Mary, being eldest, would be able to be the Countess of Downton without marrying anyone.
With this in mind, when Mary was a little girl, a few months after Sybil was born, Robert, Cora, and Violet went on a trip to the Highlands on their own to visit Shrimpie. Sadly, their was a fire at Duneagle and all three died in the blaze. Murray would arrive a week after the news with Robert's will and to the shock of all it would be revealed that Robert had named, of all people, Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes as Mary, Edith, and Sybil's guardians until Mary came of age. Carson and Hughes would of course be stunned and frightened of the responsibility but the staff with would rally around them.
As time went on Mary, Edith, and Sybil, raised in such a way, would begin to blur the line between Downstairs and Upstairs until, by the time Mary was a teenager, she saw them all as family. Carson and Mrs. Hughes were her father and mother. Mrs. Patmore was Aunt Patmore. Servants like Anna and Gwen were treated like friends and imagine Thomas' shock when, on his first day, Sybil would proclaim him her new friend and Carson would remind Sybil that Thomas needed to get his work done… then he could play. Most shocking of all for new members of the staff would be that eventually the girls would just dine with the servants, treating Downton like a massive extended family.
We would see radical changes to the characters. Mary would be raised by Carson and Mrs. Hughes (who would end up together much earlier, pushed by Mary herself to marry) and thus while remaining like the Mary we know also have a deep understanding for the working man and be more down to earth. Edith and Mrs. Patmore in turn would bond with Edith seeing the woman as her second mother and dreaming of becoming a chef. And Sybil would bond with all the servants to the point that she would help them clean the house and no one would bat an eye.
When we would get to what would be Season 1 the drama would come from Patrick and James. They would arrive and, seeing how Mary and her sisters were so friendly and loving with the staff, feel that they had brought disgrace to Downton and begin a legal battle to rip Downton from Mary. Mary though wouldn't go down without a fight and would hire a certain up and coming lawyer to defend her.
Where the story goes from there would be up to the author. But I think showing Carson, Mrs. Hughes, Mrs. Patmore, and the rest of the staff being a second family to Mary and her sisters would be a ton of fun and heartwarming moments.
