I DO NOT OWN DOWNTON ABBEY.
FACE CLAIMS
ISAIAH SIMMONS- LIAM NEESON
EZRA PAULSON- SAM REID
NEHEMIAH CRISS- CLIVE STANDEN
J. TOBIAS FREHLEY-SCOTT EASTWOOD
Austin, Texas. United States of America. January 25, 1895.
Robert heaved a sigh of relief as he finally disembarked from the train. After the New year's celebration, Robert and Cora and their daughters had packed their bags and took a train to Liverpool; accompanied by the Butler Mr. Carson, and the newly hired maid: Anna Smith. The Earl of Grantham had been most reluctant to let Robert and Cora to make the trip; but like his son, he was eventually persuaded by the amount of money that the oil shares and cattle ranch promised. He did insist on sending Carson and Anna to tend to the family; for he hadn't wanted his eldest son and daughter in law to travel abroad by themselves.
They then embarked on the SS Britanic for an 8 day voyage across the Atlantic. The trip was enjoyable for the entire family having the best rooms in the saloon class section; especially Mary who was overjoyed at being on her 1st ever open sea voyage. Edith had been a tad sea sick over the voyage, but she got over it relatively quickly.
After the family landed safely and spent a few days in New York City, Robert paid for a train to take them to the Texan capital of Austin. According to Cora's mother, Bonneville was about 28 miles away. While in New York, Cora had paid to have a telegram sent to the lawyer Mr. Frehley, informing them that she and her family were now state side and were securing passage to Austin; where he could send someone to take them to the ranch. The train ride took over a week as they went down through Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky; stopping in Nashville to restock on supplies before going though Arkansas until they finally reached Austin.
"Finally, I do believe that I have had my fill of ships and trains for a while." Robert declared as he helped the girls step off the train.
"Unless someone invents a flying machine, i'm afraid they are the only options." Cora replied as she disembarked:
"Where is the ranch, papa?" Mary asked curiously as her eyes darted around the train station while they began walking.
"We're not there yet, my darling." Robert told her as he turned to his wife anxiously. "They are sending someone to fetch us, aren't they?"
"I sent Mr. Frehley another telegram in Little Rock, i specifically asked him to provide transportation." Cora assured her husband as they eventually made their way off the platform and out of the station. The streets of Austin were crowded with people on horses or in carriages. The girls were enthralled with the sight of men on horseback, but their parents weren't so starry eyed as they feared that no one had come for them.
After a few minutes of waiting and watching, Cora caught sight of 2 cowboys walking towards the family. One of them was a strong looking man with scruffy copper hair and eyes that appeared to be indigo in the sunlight. The other fellow was a dark hair fellow with a decent looking beard and blue eyes. Both of them wore classic stetson hats and dusty boots. They both walked over to the Crawleys with peculiar looks on their faces.
"You be mister and missus Crawley?" The copper haired man asked while chewing tobacco.
"Yes sir...I'm Robert Crawley and this is my wife, Cora." The heir to Downton explained as he held out his hand, which the copper head shook heartily.
"Name's Ezra Paulson, this here's Nehemiah Criss; we're wranglers at Levinson Acres." He said as the other cowboy tipped his hat.
"These are our daughters: Mary and Edith." Cora said with a smile as Mary attempted an awkward curtsy while Edith waved her tiny hand.
"Ya got some pretty lil gals, missus." Nehemiah remarked as he tipped his hat to to the Crawley girls, who gave him a giggle in return.
"This is my maid, Anna, and our butler Mr. Carson." Cora added as Anna curtseyed while Carson grimly offered his hand for a shake.
"Charmed, i'm sure." Carson said with suspicion as Nehemiah shook his hand.
"What's a butler do?" Ezra asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm in charge of the male servants and I make it my business to keep the entire house up to proper standards." Carson answered with solemn pride.
"So, yer kind a' like a foreman for the fancy servants?" Nehemiah asked in turn, earning a weird look from the butler.
"I suppose you could say that...yes." Mr. Carson replied awkwardly.
"We'll get yer luggage on the wagon and then we can be on our way." Ezra said as the 2 cowboys began taking the suitcases to the horse drawn wagon. Once the luggage was in and everyone had climbed aboard, the reins were snapped and the group was on their way.
Levinson Acres. Bonneville, Texas. Later that day.
After a ride of a little under an hour, the wagon finally made its way to Bonneville and then to the ranch itself. It was a large sprawling place of about one thousand, six hundred, and eighteen acres. There was green grass against the backdrop of blue skies and wooden fences. The girls were spellbound by the sight of the land while everyone else tried and failed to hide how they seemed charmed by the ranch. The sounds of cattle could be heard as the wagon approached the main gate. The gate opened up and the wagon rolled up to a huge and sturdy looking farm house. On the porch, a clean shaven man in a dapper looking suit who walked out to greet the new arrivals.
"Hello, you must be Mrs. Cora Crawley; name's J. Tobias Frehley, I'm the executor of your uncle's estate." the man said as he helped Cora dismount from the wagon.
"Charmed, this is my husband Robert." She replied as he stepped forward to shake the lawyer's hand.
"I must say, this is a beautiful piece of land." Robert remarked with a grin.
"She's the best ranch I ever been on." A voice sounded from behind them as everyone turned to see a hard faced man walking toward them with a swagger that made you think he owned the place.
"This is Mr. Isaiah Simmons: the ranch foreman. He's the link between yourselves and the ranch hands." Mr. Frehley explained as Robert greeted him with a hearty handshake.
"A pleasure, Mr. Simmons." Robert said as the men shook hands.
"Mr. Simmons's my old man, call me Isaiah. I heard that the boss's niece was coming to lay claim to this place...gotta imagine that Texas gonna be a mite different compared to the land of tea drinkers."
"We drink other beverages besides tea, Sir." Carson commented stuffly as Isaiah shrugged his shoulders.
"Didn't mean to offend ya, I can show ya inside the big house; help you get settled." the foreman offered as he started pulling bags out of the wagon.
"We'd be much obliged, Sir." Anna replied as they went inside with Isaiah.
"Papa, can we see the ponies?" Mary asked impatiently as she saw other cowboys bringing out several steeds.
"I can keep an eye on 'em, make sure they don't get into no trouble." Ezra offered as he took both sister's tiny hands in his calloused ones. Before Robert could say no, Cora held his hand tightly.
"We would be much obliged." Cora replied, knowing that the legal business would bore her daughters to tears. Ezra led the excited girls to the stables as J. Tobias motioned for the couple to follow him inside.
"The paperwork is all here for Mrs. Crawley to sign and once I take it to city hall, she'll officially be the owner of this ranch." he said as he motioned them into the main office.
"I still don't understand why you could not have mailed these documents to us." Robert remarked as he and Cora took their seats at the main desk.
"Reuben insisted that his niece come here in person." Tobias said in a don't kill the messenger tone of voice. "Personally, I think he was hoping that after spending some time on the ranch, you'd fall in love with the place and want to take over."
"Us, own and operate a cattle ranch? That's absurd!" Robert remarked, tempted to burst out laughing at the very idea.
"Mr. Frehley, that simply isn't possible." Cora explained gently. "My husband is the heir to the Earldom of Grantham and we have built a wonderful life back in England. We came her to see that the ranch falls under our control and once things are settled, we intend to return back to Downton."
"Considering that it took you several weeks to get here, I would encourage you to stay as long as you can." the lawyer pleaded as he knew that these stuffy Brits would need some convincing. "Who knows, you might find that the rancher's life is for you? Give it a trial run, say...a fortnight or so. If you still aren't convinced by then...we can discuss selling the ranch to someone who'll properly care for it." Robert and Cora looked at each other, knowing that it was the least they could do.
"Very well...we'll give it a go." the heir to Downton conceded as Cora signed the papers, transferring ownership of the ranch to her.
"Excellent, i'll get these submitted with the town straight away. Also, you're free to re brand, change the name if you'd like?" Tobias offered as Cora thought about it for a moment.
"Let's change it to...Downton Acres." She replied, honoring her family's home and earning her a deep kiss of pride from her loving husband.
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