The sisters were eventually told all the information Papa and Mama deemed necessary by the end of January. Firstly, they were told that James and Patrick would be moving to the area, and would therefore be frequent visitors to the Abbey. Mama made certain to emphasize that Mary should continue to be a good hostess to Patrick and act like a little lady. Mary seemed to grind her teeth at this, but agreed to do so all the same.

Secondly, they were told Papa was going away for a while. He was going away to war. Sybil had a flurry of painful questions. Why did he have to go away? When would he come back? What was war?

After a week or two observing her Papa, Edith wondered how she could have ever been so blind to not notice this was coming. Nearly every day she caught him reading newspapers with titles such as "Boers Forces Marching on Five British Points!" or "War in South Africa Begins in Earnest!". Occasionally she would hear him grumbling with Cousin James about not being able to join the initial British assault before Mama would gently tap his arm and nod to them. It seemed they were too young, too gentle to be told anything of any real importance.

It was a frustrating position to be put in where they were told nothing to protect their childish purity while also not being allowed to ask any important questions as children were meant to be seen and not heard. That left whispers she didn't fully hear and British propaganda pieces she didn't fully trust as some of her only sources of information on the war.

The only slightly more trusted source of news was Patrick. As a boy, he wasn't protected from the world as fiercely and was thus told more. Not that he didn't have to be bullied into revealing the information as it was "not for ladies' ears." Thankfully, even Mary joined them in laying that nonsense to rest. But no matter what information she gathered about this South African War, it didn't help her feel any less lost when Papa stood before them in army uniform ready to leave.

"My darling girls," Papa smiled sadly, "I will miss you."

"We'll miss you too, Papa," Edith said, hugging him on one side while Sybil sobbed and clung to him on the other.

"Don't leave, Papa! Don"t leave," Sybil cried.

"I must, dear one. Chin up, I won't be gone forever. Roberts and Kitchener will have us send those Boers packing and then I'll come home to you."

"But Papa-"

"No Sybie, I must. Now, you be a good girl while I'm gone, alright?"

"Yes, Papa."

"And Edith, no more causing any trouble for your mother. She'll have it hard while I'm gone, and I'll need all of you to be on your best behavior."

"I will be, Papa," Edith agreed.

"And Mary, dear Mary," Papa smiled, reaching out to give his dear daughter a tight hug. Mary's stiff posture softened into the hug even while her face didn't move as she still tried to keep in the tears. "I want you to take good care of your sisters while I'm gone."

"Yes, Papa," Mary said.

"Robert," Mama said from the doorway, dressed in jacket, hat, and gloves. "We have to go or we will be late for the train." How Edith wished she was deemed old enough to go with them to see him off properly.

"Yes, alright," Papa stood and looked down on them one last time. "Be brave, my girls. I'll return before you know it."

The truth wasn't nearly as easy as Papa's words implied. Over the next year and a half the house was quieter than Edith had seen it in her whole second life. None of the usual parties were held without the lord of the manor. The only regular guests were a few of Mama's friends, Granny, and the cousins. And yet, the gossip mill of Downton still had plenty to chatter about.

Cousin James and Patrick had begun living in Crawley house. Although most of the time Patrick was away at boarding school. When he returned home for breaks most of his time was spent at the Abbey, reading and bantering with the younger sisters or, more often, spending time with Mary. Unknowingly, he was endearing himself to the staff who less and less viewed him as an intruder and more of a member of the family. A member of the family that acted as Edith and Sybil's brother and would be Mary's future husband.

It was an openly known secret in the house now. Cousin James had agreed that, for propriety and legitimacy's sake, Mary and Patrick should marry if at all possible. Everyone but the children knew. Although, from the dopey grin on Patrick's face whenever he saw Mary, Edith doubted he was completely clueless. Edith and Mary knew too, of course. Even though Mary refused to speak of it again except for hushed whispers for her to stay away from Pat if ever she thought the two were growing too close. Poor Sybil was the only one out of the loop, and was perpetually frustrated that Mama allowed Mary to steal Cousin Pat away all the time.

Mama diverted her anxiousness over her husband to focusing on her daughters. When she wasn't rereading his letters or writing her own replies, she was speaking with their governesses about lessons, helping them practice their etiquette and elocution, or encouraging their educational or ladylike pursuits. Mama was a much more involved mother than many of the era, aristocracy or not. She was also constantly forcing Mary towards Patrick when he was around and to a lesser extent pushing Edith and Sybil to be friends with the boy. Although, if you asked her, that was one of the less pressing concerns she had with her younger two daughters.

Sybil was seven now and vastly different from either of her sisters. Mary was stubborn to the extreme, completely unwilling to do anything without a reason she herself approved of. Thankfully, Mary was a natural lady and generally would do what her mother deemed in her best interest. Edith was usually a bright and easy going child, except for the occasional broken item or various mischief she was responsible for. But, however she excelled at her lessons or obedient she was on command, she was prone to wandering off and doing as she pleased without supervision.

Sybil was a combination of both her sisters. She would tell you "no" to your face and then run off and do what she wanted. One of the only ways the governesses kept track of Edith was by following the loudly, happily defiant Sybil who always followed after her. She was never one to do the ladylike thing, and it was a battle daily to get Sybil to sit down and listen. At least she had the right disposition. Friendly, sweet, she had the heart of a lady even if she disliked acting like one. One day, Cora had no doubt, Sybil would be a beautiful and great lady, a symbol of English Nobility. The same could not be said for Edith.

Cora didn't know how to feel about her middle child at times. Long ago she and Robert agreed that her two years of silence was just a precursor to a strange and brilliant mind. Her Edith was a genius who excelled at anything she put her mind to and was years ahead of her education. History, math, reading, spelling, Edith could do it all with an ease she didn't seem to even notice. Just looking at the pile of books in the library of various topics no child should be interested in showed her rare mind.

Cora had decided years ago to give her two elder daughters different teachers. While not a cheap thing or the done thing, it helped keep education from being another one of their points of rivalry. It was one area Mary could not truly compete with Edith in, and Cora knew what a storm that would bring if Mary, or even Edith, found out the gape in their levels.

It was truly a shame then, that Edith was not as graced as her other daughters. In Sybil or Mary, her skills would just be a benefit, but with Edith it made her a shy and bookish wall-flower. More of a stereotype than a simple good quality.

"Better a smart flower than a dull one", Cora would hear her mother-in-law chime.

At least Edith was learning lady-like skills just as quickly as academic ones, when they suited her. Cora had frankly given up on needle point entirely. Perhaps it would mean they could find a more mature gentleman who valued skill and thought over beauty for Edith. And who knows, there was still time yet for Edith to grow out of her awkward phase and surprise them. Worst case, she would always have a home in Downton with how close she was growing to Cousin Patrick.

When the war finally ended, a month or two before Edith's tenth birthday, the house burst into sudden life. His lordship was returning home and the house, and the entire village, gave him a hero's welcome. Edith hadn't realized how worried she had been for him until he walked through the doors of Downton and she had nearly started sobbing in relief. Edith knew it was rather silly to believe she, a prepubescent girl, could have had any effect on whether her father lived or died in war, but just everyone's slightly changed faces from how they were portrayed in the show gave her concern. What if something she did had changed his actions in wartime? Or what if this reality wasn't as similar to the television show as she thought it was? Thankfully, Papa was back and life at Downton Abbey returned to normal with very few changes over the years.

One of those few changes, and Edith's favorite change, happened at age twelve. Papa finally allowed her to ride out with him on his rounds of the estate. Mama wasn't pleased, mostly because of how many more freckles she got in her attempts learning to ride, but Papa was thrilled.

In the beginning, Mary had tried to join them. She was not happy with the new tradition and attention it gave Edith. She was a natural horsewoman, much to Papa's pride. Certainly, she was much better than Edith who had a very unstable seat in her saddle. But after a few rounds of constant bickering between the girls, with Mary wanting to race ahead and Edith attempting to stop and talk to anyone who wanted to, Papa called it to an end. In compromise, Papa would ride with Mary, without any of the estate work, once a month and this suited all of them perfectly.

Patrick also took an interest in the rounds and would join them on occasion. Papa had taken to teaching him the workings of the estate more and more as the years went by. Patrick wasn't particularly as fascinated by them as Edith was, but he knew enough. He was also supportive of his younger cousin taking a more active interest in the estate, and always joked that she would one day become the next estate manager of Downton.

The village had more complex emotions on the matter. On one hand, a lord's daughter taking the time to join her father on his work around the estate was unheard of. Lady Edith wasn't even out yet, but was comfortable speaking to all types of women and men alike. It was unnatural that a little girl be so invested in business and an estate, and her opinion, which she was rather more free with than her quiet demeanor and basic common courtesy would indicate, often caused ruffled feathers.

However, she also reminded many of a more reserved, feminine Lord Grantham. She had a poise that pointed towards her noble birth, but also a kindness and concern for the people. She remembered almost everyone's name in the village after a few months, and even the more traditional and terse in the community had to grudgingly admit her ideas and suggestions often held merit and, more importantly, profit.

Eventually, it wouldn't surprise anyone in the county to look up and see Lord Grantham and Lady Edith doing their regular rounds. Even as Edith changed from a bright eyed, red haired little girl to a young woman, she continued to walk and ride around the estate with her father. If only life could stay as simple as it was then.