"Do you ever pause and truly consider how much your life has changed?"
"Whatever do you mean?" Cora asked, looking up from the bit of embroidering she was doing. Robert knew that she didn't actually have to embroider anything but it was a nice way to keep her hands and her mind busy, something Robert was grateful for. He loved his wife dearly but if left to her own devices she would so easily work herself into such a state that there was no way to get her out of it; the only way to survive was to duck one's head, hold on for dear life, and wait for her to crash and burn, as the Americans were so fond of saying. Even something as simple as this, an early holiday dinner, had left her in a state even with Matthew and Mary bearing much of the burden. Robert understood, of course, that this was something important to Cora but honestly he didn't think it was so utterly drastic as she was making it out to be. Matthew had a year of being heir and the awkwardness had been buffed away only leaving the shine of a brilliant young man who would one day guide Downton onward. Mary was settled as well, as Robert was quite sure that Matthew would soon come to him to finalize the engagement between the two of them. Edith was next and would need much of their focus but she was still young and Robert was hopeful that a decent match could be made and it all wasn't as dire as Cora made it out to be. And then there was Sybil.
'Sybil... sometimes it feels as if she is the eldest of my children. While Mary and Edith were bundles of nerves as their first season approached Sybil has become a beacon of patience.' Robert had noticed ever since they'd lost Patrick that Sybil had become... older. Not just in body, of course, because that was a given, but in spirit. She had become an old soul; one only had to look into her eyes and realize that the tragedy had affected her greatly. Sometimes someone would mention a death and Sybil would get a look on her face that Robert had only seen on his mother's features, the stare of one sadly quite familiar with death. 'It's because she sees life is fragile and short. Patrick shook her to the core. Her fever and delirium the day the news broke hardly helped.' Once when he'd visited her she'd looked at him with red eyes and begged him to tell her where her baby was. He hadn't thought about it then but now he wondered if someone had left slip the news about Patrick and in her fevered state dreamed that she was one of the unlikely souls who'd been trapped in that ship, her befuddled mind creating a woman's worst fear of being trapped and near death and only able to focus on one's child...
"Robert?" Cora asked, drawing him from his thoughts.
"Sorry, I had begun to wool gather, it seems."
Cora smiled at that. "Thinking about how much life has changed?"
Remembering what he'd first asked her Robert nodded. "Yes, I was, though not about the changes that first prompted my line of thought." He set aside the book he'd been reading, a delightful little collection of short stories concerning the lives of a long line of lords Matthew had recommended to him, and turned to smile at Cora wistfully. "There are days, even now, where someone says 'Lord Grantham' and it takes me a moment to realize they are speaking to me and not my father. Where I enter a room and expect to see Old Wilson the Butler watching me with those massive eyebrows of his. And just now I was struck by the fact that I still think of this as Roseamund's home, that her room is down the hall from mine, and yet here I am waiting to welcome her like one would a distant relative."
Setting the fabric she'd been working on upon her lap Cora looked at him and smiled softly. "Yes, I know exactly what you are talking about. Even now, after all these many years, I wake up expecting to be in New York with my mother already holding court in the dining room while my brother decides what new adventurous scheme he wishes to be a part."
"And now I fear that same feeling when the girls leave us. That one day they will view Downton no longer as their home but some old house that they are familiar with but holds little emotional connection with them."
"They will never feel that way, Robert. We have had many happy memories here and I am sure the girls will always see this as their home even as they make homes of their own."
He just shook his head in response. "It is things like this that I feel I should have been prepared for long before they came to pass. Do you ever feel as if you missed a step when it came to growing up?" Robert asked. "It is as if when I reached 18 I stopped aging mentally or missed some step that everyone else took. Ever since then I have merely been pretending to be an adult, being actually a child in a grown man's body, hoping that I can bluff my way through life without anyone realizing that I haven't actually matured." He shot her a dark look as she opened her mouth. "And whatever joke you are about to make I've already thought of them all. The benefit of being surrounded by cunning women."
Cora chuckled lightly as him having figured out that she was about to tease him. "As easy as the jests are I also must admit that there are times I feel much the same way. There are times where I feel like I am a child playing house, putting on my mother's shoes and prancing about serving empty tea cups." Robert smiled slightly at that as Cora continued on. "And in these last few months it has felt much as you described, that life has changed between the fluttering of my eyes. Mary comes into the room and I swear that it was just yesterday that she was small enough for me to pick her up. I expect to find Sybil playing with her dolls and instead she is nearly a woman grown."
"But that doesn't stop you from trying to shove them out the door as quick as you can."
She let out a huff at that. "Oh come now… you were worried about Mary after Patrick's passing and now you want to reverse course?"
"Not reverse course… merely not race so quickly towards losing them all."
"I think it's sweet that you wish to keep our girls here forever, happy and lively, but the thing of it is that they won't be either if we keep them locked away." Cora reached over at patted his hand. "Besides, even if Edith and Sybil eventually marry we'll still have Mary."
Robert though felt his shoulders slump at that. "Perhaps… perhaps not." He rubbed his hands together, resisting the urge to crack his knuckles. It was a terrible habit and unbecoming of one of his station yet still there were times when he truly felt the urge to do so, as if that simple act would break the tension he was feeling. "I get the sense that while Mary would like to stay at Downton Matthew will desire some time apart from us."
"You truly do?" Cora asked, not startled at all at Robert so casually discussing Mary and Matthew marrying. It was clear to the entire family that it would take an act of God to separate those two.
'And perhaps not even that,' Robert thought before continuing. "He hasn't said it outright but I gather that Matthew is not the type of man who would be happy starting his married life surrounded by inlaws without a moment of privacy. Even with the size of Downton our presence would linger. No… I wouldn't be surprised if he asked for one of the other estate houses to spend at least their first year or two wed. And after that… I wonder if Mary, having a taste of true freedom, would want to return. To go from running her own home to having terms dictated by two old codgers like us."
"Of course she would!" Cora exclaimed. "This is her home!"
"For now," Robert said as Carson came in.
"Lady Roseamund and Sir Michael Gregson have arrived, my lord."
"Thank you Carson." Robert rose and tried his best to smile even has he felt a horrid feeling of melancholy steal over him. "I wonder how long it will be before Carson is announcing one of the girls like that."
~A~O~O~O~F~
"How late do you think they'll be up?" William asked as he cut into the bit of ham that was on his plate.
"They'll be up for as long as they wish," Mrs. Hughes said firmly but kindly, always the lighter touch when it came to the servants when compared to Mr. Carson. "And we will serve them for as long as they need us too."
"Yes, Mrs. Hughes."
The housekeeper nodded before gathering up some of the thick pork stew Mrs. Patmore had made. "So I suggest you worry less about how long the party will be and focus on eating your fill."
While normally the servants didn't get such grand fair for lunch Mr. Carson was always more willing to allow them something special and hearty just before a major party. For the likes of William and Thomas they would only be able to sneak quick bites between courses, darting down to get a drink of tea or a mouthful of bread before they hurried up with the next platter. Good etiquette demanded that they wait till all upstairs and been fed and every thirst slated before they indulged but it was a horribly kept secret that the kitchen maids would ready some quick morsels for the hard working footmen along with the hallboys and the other various members of the staff that were kept coming and going throughout the evening. Even Carson, with his love of rules and decorum, had been known to quietly sneak a small sip of water and a bit of biscuit from time to time when a party went overly long.
For much of the rest of the staff they would find themselves front loaded when it came to their tasks, a large lull as the party truly began, followed by a final late night rush before they were finally able to go to bed. For Anna especially the day would be a mad mix of rushing about and time consuming lulls. Currently she had little to do, as all the girls were out and about. Lady Mary was with Mr. Crawley going over the final plans for the evening while Lady Sybil had gone to the train station to greet Lady Roseamund. As for Lady Edith she had gone into town to pick up several late-arriving papers; Anna didn't know why but for the last year Lady Edith had become even more concerned with current events than Lady Sybil. The quiet wouldn't last forever and Anna knew that soon she would be hurrying about helping all three of the Crawley sisters prepare for the dinner. Gwen would be there to assist early on, bless her, but Lady Mary would insist that Anna alone handle her hair and clothes and while Gwen was quite good with Lady Sybil when it came to Lady Edith Anna was the stronger hand in helping the young woman prepare. No, Gwen would be dismissed early while Anna would have to manage the entire affair. After that would come the next large lull of the night before finally well into the night (and perhaps even past midnight and into the dark hours just before morn) she would be called again to assist the girls in changing into their nightwear before Anna would finally allowed to go to bed.
'Hopefully they will all go to bed together,' Anna thought to herself. 'That way I can sneak in a quick nap instead of racing up and down the stairs as each decides to retire.' While it was expected that Anna be at the ready at any time and that her uniform was in perfect order so long as Mr. Carson didn't see her the girls wouldn't mind in the slightest if she showed up with sleep in the corner of her eyes and a few wrinkles in her uniform from lying down upon her bed. Lady Mary had even teased her once that she should just sleep in her room so that the girls could awaken her when they were ready but Anna would never be so bold.
Of course it wasn't a quick nap or time spent reading a good book and enjoying a warm drink that Anna was looking forward to during the party. No, it was the chance to spend some time with a certain valet that had her excited. Even if they didn't do anything special the fact that the two of them would have a long spell to simply sit together was quite welcomed.
Finishing her last piece of buttered bread Anna rose from the table, giving Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes a polite nod before heading out into the hall. The rumbling murmur of the staff talking to themselves was replaced by the quiet of the downstairs...
"Oh, now why did you put that there? Now it's gone right into the bloody sink, you daft girl? You think his Lordship wants his cake tasting like soap bubbles?'
...and the stream of insults directed at Daisy and the other kitchen maids by an enraged Mrs. Patmore.
"You know, the claim that all the dragons are long gone," John said with a twitch of his lips as he ambled up to her.
"That is terrible," Anna said with a smile.
"But it is rather like a drake in her cave, isn't it?" John continued with a shake of his head. "Poor Daisy."
"Hmm... but perhaps it is for the best." When John gave her a look Anna shrugged and smiled impishly. "After all, if she can survive Mrs. Patmore on a tirade then she can handle anything life throws at her."
"DAISY! WHERE DID YOU PUT THE BUTTER?!"
"Right there, Mrs. Patmore."
"...of course it's right there! What do you take me for, an addle-minded fool who has fallen off a turnip wagon! Now get back to work, all of you!"
John leaned back slightly. "You know, I had a bullet go through my leg but I think I'd rather be back in war than walk in there right now with bad news."
Anna let out a small huffing laugh at that before moving on away from the kitchen and towards the back door. Thomas and O'Brien wouldn't go for a smoke for a while and that meant that the small outdoor area the two liked to frequent was free of snooping ears seeking out a juicy tidbit. It was far too cold to wander out (Anna didn't know how Thomas and O'Brien did it as there was nothing on earth that would see her wander out on such a cold afternoon in just her uniform) but standing in the doorway was enough for her. It might not have been something magical to most but with the fallen snow upon the courtyard it made even that dirty and well used place look special.
"If this were some romantic tale told in one of the papers we'd stand amongst the freshly fallen snow as the stars shone down on us and I held you from behind, drawing warmth from each other," John said as he stood beside her, his body just close enough to hers to be seen as too familiar by anyone who happened to walk by.
Anna snorted. "And I suppose we'd be dressed in the finest clothing and just found out that you are some long lost prince and I am the heiress to a grand fortune?"
John snorted at that. "Now that would be a lovely one to see. I doubt Lord Grantham would take well to calling the man who dresses him 'my liege'." He glanced at her from the corner of his eye and added, "But I would like to see you dressed like a princess one day."
"I can do without that," Anna said with a roll of her eyes. "I've felt Lady Mary's arms after a ball and watched her stop fighting the shivers that threaten to overtake her because she was stubborn and wouldn't admit half the dresses she wears are simply not suited for the winter months. I will take a warm coat over any of that, thank you very much." They lapsed into a comfortable silence and Anna found herself rather pleased that she and John had found a happy medium between silence and speech. She'd never truly understood what Lady Mary had meant when she had complained about Mr. Patrick Crawley's need to fill every single silent moment with rambling comments nor her complaints about other suitors during her first season being little more than wooden statues that stood there and did nothing. But with John she had come to see how the right balance meant everything. He knew when to speak up and engage her but also knew when to be silent and allow her peace. Where others would have demanded to fill their evenings, as they worked on stitching buttons and cleaning garments at the table, with idly chatter he was happy to be silent, stealing only the occasional glances.
"You'll need to find something nice to wear tonight, though," John finally told her.
"Whatever for? Just us sitting in the common area. It's not like I'm going to be attending the dinner."
"No but I've asked Mr. Carson last week if the two of us might take a few hours to head down into town once his Lordship and the girls were dressed and he agreed so long as we returned by 9. I've arranged for the Grantham Arms to have their private room set up for a nice quiet dinner for the two of us."
Anna turned and stared at him, her hands on her hips as she glared at him… though there was a smile on her face. "You are going to spoil me, John Bates, if you keep up with acts such as that."
"You act like you shouldn't be spoiled."
Refusing to comment on that, as no matter what she said she knew he'd turn it around into a compliment, Anna instead said, "People are going to talk if we keep sneaking away like this."
"Anna… people are already talking." He gave a slight half shrug and flashed a bemused smile that both warmed her inside and infuriated her. "We've been subtle but not that subtle."
"So… everyone knows?" Anna asked, startled by the idea that what she had thought was a private romance had been revealed to the downstairs.
"Knows, discussed and whispered about, accepted and now seen as normal," Bates said with a smile before looking over his shoulder and moving to the side as Mrs. O'Brien came walking towards them, her hand at her side with a familiar cigarette holder clutched in her fingers. "Excuse us, Mrs. O'Brien, we were just discussing our plans for tonight. I'm taking Anna to the Grantham Arms for dinner once the party starts. Will be back by 9pm latest though."
Anna swallowed, waiting for the insults and the slights to come. The mocking of the two of them behaving in a way unbecoming the staff of Downton, O'Brien's clear jealousy that Anna got to head out, dark looks that promised rumors and gossip to be spread to the entire house. She could practically hear O'Brien's grumblings about Anna and John taking advantage of Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes kindness to get out of work and she steeled herself for the verbal slings and arrows that were to come. How they shouldn't be together, how they shouldn't be enjoying their lives before delivering a veiled threat to make their lives hell for daring to find a bit of happiness in the world.
"Well, if you are going to be out and about you might as well pick up an order for me. Her Ladyship has been wishing to have some of Mrs. Taylor's preserves but I haven't a chance to head down and place an order for some and it always takes her a few hours to get those things ready and by the time it is I won't have a chance to head down there. I'll send a hallboy down though and have him ask Mrs. Taylor to drop some off at the Grantham Arms for you to bring back with you."
"Of course," John said with a smile as he took Anna's hand in his own and with that O'Brien hurried outside to begin her smoking. Thomas went by while Anna stood there, utterly flummoxed, with him giving just a sarcastic comment about John making a good door to keep the cold out before joining his cohort. "See? Known about, talked about, accepted."
"I… I just…" Anna stammered as John led her back inside.
~A~O~O~O~F~
"…of course everyone knows, Anna!" Mary exclaimed as the maid worked on her hair, Sybil watching with a bemused smile as the poor maid's cheeks went through several different shades of red. "I mean, you haven't been flaunting it but we've all seen how happy you've been these last few months and how you and Bates find a way to stand next to each other whenever possible."
"Papa came to us a few months ago asking us to talk with you, actually," Edith said with a wry grin from her spot on Mary's bed. "He wanted you to inquire about Bates, as he'd noticed how happy he's been these last few months-"
"Floating on air I believe is the term he used," Sybil chimed in. She didn't want to mock poor Anna but the situation was just too funny, especially when she remembered how her father and come to them fumbling with his words. He'd clearly needed their help but hadn't been comfortable in the slightest asking for it. Sybil had found it both amusing and cute.
"-and he was afraid that he was on some new pain medication for his leg and he feared he was becoming addicted to it."
Mary let out a huffing laugh. "I could make some coarse joke about him being addicted to you but that would be rather low-class of me." Anna ducked her head, embarrassed, but Sybil could see that the maid's reflection was wearing a rather pleased little smile. Mary waved her hand dismissively. "I think Papa got that all in his head thanks to… Pamuk." Mary had gotten better, able to actually say the name of her attacker, but Sybil could tell that her sister still had leagues to go, assuming she ever truly got over her traumatic experience. "He sees signs of taking illicit drugs everywhere. Silly of him, really. As if Bates would ever handle such things."
Sybil hid her smile behind her hand.
"So everyone knows that you and Bates are together so there is no need to worry anymore," Edith stated.
Mary chimed in, "But by all means do not take this as an excuse to begin kissing him senseless throughout Downton."
"Though it would be funny to see Granny react to that!" Edith laughed, Mary and Sybil quickly joining her. "So have no fear, Anna, everyone knows about you are spoken for. Thus the only ones who will tossed to the wolves are Sybil and I."
Mary arched an eyebrow at that. "Oh? That came out a bit more bitter than I would have expected."
Edith opened her mouth to protest and Sybil, not wanting yet another fight among her sisters (she quite literally had enough of that for two lifetimes), spoke up. "What's wrong? I thought you were looking forward to 'your turn'." 'Unlike me,' Sybil thought to herself. She knew it was cruel to think about, and she knew that she should also be working to make Edith's life better, but part of her wanted to keep Edith searching for quite a long time so that her mother would keep her focus on getting her sister married and not on pairing off her. 'The first born must marry, be they male or female. The second born it is expected. The third can be an afterthought. Oh, they'll want me to marry but they'll be focused on Edith first.' She knew it was vanity and arrogance to even think it but Sybil knew the conceptions her parents and Granny had concerning the three of them. Mary was the cunning but determined one, like a wild stallion that needed just the right trainer or else she would run wild. As for herself her family saw her involvement in politics to be a passing thing, a hobby like painting or writing poetry that would fade as time went by. With it gone all that would be left would be her beauty and her reputation as the 'kindest soul in Downton', meaning that she would be the easiest to marry off.
'Kindest soul. I wonder if they'd think that if they knew just all I have done to protect the family.'
But Edith? Her parents and Granny seemed convince that Edith would be a struggle, acting as if she were some hunchback troll that they kept locked in a cellar and fed fish heads to. While not the same type of beauty as Mary or herself (for Edith favored their father more than their mother), Edith still beautiful in her own way. More so she was someone who could better mold her life around another person's. Sybil loved Tom but that didn't mean there hadn't been growing pains in their marriage and the less said about the madness that was Mary and Matthew's first courting the better. But Edith? Sybil knew when she found the right person her marriage would be the easiest.
"…so it is less being bitter and more dreading being the sole focus on mama's meddling. I've seen how she was with you and it has given me plenty of warning about how she'll be now that it's my turn."
"Hmmm, you are right on that count," Mary said, inspecting her hair before nodding. "Thank you Anna, we can manage on our own. You need to dress for your own dinner." Anna bowed her head and hurried off, a blush on her cheeks and a smile tugging on her lips.
Edith let out a weary sigh. "I fear that mama will be in far too much of a rush to marry me off and will shove at me the first man she sees."
"Not the first man," Sybil teased. "I don't see her forcing Thomas or Carson on you."
"But perhaps Bates but only if she wished to see Anna fight you for him," Mary snarked.
Edith wasn't amused though it had little to do with Mary's quip. "Mama asked you to invite Sir Anthony Stranton, did she not?" Sybil forced herself not to glower at that; if she had her way she would have kept the wedding-ruining bastard as far from her sister as she could. She rued the fact that there was no good way to get rid of Sir Anthony as she had Larry Gray… not that she hadn't considered drugging him as well. "I have a bad feeling that she is plotting to force him upon me."
"Well, I would certainly hope not!" Mary exclaimed, putting on her gloves. When she turned she leaned back slightly, clearly startled to see Edith and Sybil staring at her in shock. "What?"
It was Edith who found her voice first. "I would have thought that you would claim that I should latch myself onto his leg and never let go for he is my only chance of avoiding being a spinster."
"Oh, don't be so dramatic!" Mary groused. "I merely mean that you are better than Sir Anthony Stranton."
"Really?" Edith said incredulously.
Mary finally stood up and walked over to Edith, moving to sit down on the bed next to her and taking her hands in her own. "Edith dear, I will never claim that I have been the best sister in the world. In fact I would wager that when I look back on my life one of my greatest regrets will be wasting my chance to be the sister you deserved. But I do want you to be happy. I truly do. Maybe it is because I have finally found my own happiness… perhaps it is because of all the darkness from that night so many months ago has shown me that there is so much evil in the world and that the only way for us to survive is to stand together, the Crawley Sisters against the world… but what I desire now is for you to be happy. And being a nursemaid for some old man just so your children can inherit some estate is not it."
Edith, in the quietest of voices, murmured, "Matthew suggested last year that I shouldn't seek out a lord at all. He said that I needed a modern man, someone who had made his fortune with his own two hands. To start a dynasty instead of continuing it."
"And Matthew proves just how wise he truly is," Mary said, it clear to Sybil that her sister was thinking of her own pain that had come from the Crawley Family Fortune being tied to a title that must pass to a male heir. "So just know that if Mama does try to force Sir Anthony or any other corpse on you I'll be there to make some quip and draw attention away from you."
Sybil laughed at that. "And I will rant about the vote and make such a scene that Sir Anthony will go screaming out into the night!"
Edith, clearly fighting back tears at the kindness Mary and Sybil were showing her, nodded her head quickly. "Thank you. Hopefully… hopefully it won't come to that. But I appreciate the gesture." With that she stood, smoothing out her dress before moving towards the door. Mary made to follow her only for Sybil to catch her by the arm.
"I'm proud of you," she whispered.
"Dear Sybil… you should always be proud of me," Mary teased.
~A~O~O~O~F~
Author's Notes: So I know some people complain about chapters like this as they feel they are 'filler'. But here is the thing… with a story like this we need these chapters to show how the characters have changed. To see how Mary falling in love with matthew early has altered her. How Anna and Bates are handling having a more… natural relationship. So on. Don't think of them as filler… think of them as catch ups before we hit the next major plotpoint… which is coming next chapter when Matthew meets Gen. Allen and the party truly begins.
Now then, our plot bunny. And in honor of Halloween let's go with something rather… spooky. And silly.
The Crawley family has lived in Downton Abbey for ages. And when I say ages, I mean that literally. Centuries really.
For you see, the family of Robert Crawley aren't exactly among the living.
No is quite sure when the Crawleys traded warm beds for dirt filled coffins but for the family being undead doesn't mean one can ignore tradition. After all, they might be vampires but they are still British aristocrats and hells below they don't want to have a scandal! One still throws lavish parties… they just ask their staff to make sure they have some A- bottled and ready. After all, when one is competing with lordly werewolves, witches, and phantoms it is important to keep up appearances.
Only now their orderly world has been thrown into chaos. Patrick Crawley, Robert's chosen heir, has died his final death. Not on the Titanic, but with his father at the hands of the latest Van Helsings. That leaves Robert forced to summon one of his still-human relatives to take over as the future heir of Dowton.
Imagine Matthew Crawley's surprise then when Lord Grantham summons him to Downton… and he wakes up without a heartbeat, holes in his neck, and Robert and Cora happily introducing him to his new Brides: Mary, Edith, and Sybil.
Obviously a vampire story with humor the story would focus on Matthew dealing with the strangeness and insanity of him suddenly being a vampire… and now married to all three Crawley Girls, who would be his vampiric brides. How you wish to deal with the servants (undead, ghouls, vampires themselves, or just humans who figure it is easier to just work for said vampires) is up to you. As is how sexual the story gets… keep it repressed Downton or lots of lemons with Matthew and his three wives. Introducing other monsters would also be interesting… maybe Tom comes from a line of irish werewolves? Bates is Victor Frankenstein's most successful attempt at creating life and Anna is a mummy that Robert brought back with him after the war? Isobel is killed within the first chapter but comes back as a ghost to haunt Vampire Violet? It's up to you!
