I DO NOT OWN DOWNTON ABBEY. SHOUTOUT TO ANYONE WHO GIVES A DAMN ABOUT THIS STORY.
Downton Acres. Bonneville, Texas. 5 days later.
As their first week at Downton Acres was nearing its end, the Crawley family and their staff found to their surprise, that they were actually enjoying themselves. In addition to the horses and cattle, the ranch also dealt in pork; as evidenced by the sty out back by the barn and the pigs that occupied it. Mary and Edith had never actually seen swine before and the young girls were intrigued by the creatures. Nehemiah took them over to see the hogs in their pen and he explained to them all he knew about pigs and how they got made into bacon and pork chops and other delicious meats.
"Pigs make lots of good eatin', is the only thing they really good for, ta be honest." Nehemiah admitted as the Crawley girls had mixed reactions to the idea of being eaten as a pig's sole purpose.
"Pigs nice..." Edith said with a glum look on her face as she gently touched the snout of one of the pigs.
"Don't be a baby, Edi." Mary replied as she stuck her tongue out at her younger sister.
"I not baby!" Edith exclaimed as she returned the gesture as Nehemiah chuckled to himself as he watched the girls tease each other. He could tell those 2 gals were going to have a long and bitter rivalry as they got older. Unbeknownst to the 2 girls, a rattlesnake had made its way onto the ranch and was heading for the swine. Eventually, the snake got close enough where the rattle could be heard and when Mary locked eyes with it, she screamed her head off.
"Snake...snake..." Edith wailed as she grabbed onto her older sister as they were pinned against the fence as the snake inched closer and closer to the girls, wagging its rattling tail in anger. As the fangs of the snake popped out and moved to bite, a loud gunshot was heard and Mary looked just in time to see a bullet pierce the snake's head. Nearby, Nehemiah blew the smoke off the barrel of his pistol as he walked over and pulled out his bowie knife. The Crawley girls watched as the cowboy sliced off the rattler and handed it to Mary, who after a moment of shock, took it.
"That's luck right there, little missy." He replied with a wink as he ruffled the girls's hair before making his way into the pig pen.
Meanwhile, Mr. Carson was making sure that the farm house was being kept up properly. Unfortunately, he and Anna were the only staff taking care of the house since the cowboys were always doing outside work and Jeremiah stayed in the kitchen most of the time to prepare the next meal. Therefore, Carson and Anna were not merely the butler and ladies maid respectively. They were also in charge of cleaning and unloading the family's possessions; putting them in their proper place.
"I will say, I do miss having an extended staff." Anna replied as she was sorting out Mary's dresses and making sure that they were kept separate from Edith's; lest the eldest Crawley child throw a tantrum.
"I can relate to the feeling, miss Smith. However, we can not let our being short handed prevent us from doing our duties the best we can." Carson reminded her as he was hanging up Robert's suits after a missing trunk had been found and delivered from the train station.
"Still Mr. Carson, I am enjoying it here. The green grass, the different plants, the blue skies, i've never seen such natural beauty in London." Anna remarked with a smile as she finished the dress sorting.
"I'll concede that there is a pleasantness about the landscape of south Texas, but the beautiful land can simply not make up for the people of this state and their complete lack of elegance." Mr. Carson replied with a posh tone of voice.
"Not everyone can be as prim and proper as you." Anna replied with a smirk.
"They can at least put forth the effort." The butler replied as he looked over Robert and Cora's room and found it to be satisfactory.
While the staff were conversing amongst themselves, Robert and Cora were doing the same thing. Earlier that day, Robert had helped Isaiah ride fences and check the property to make sure that everything was up to code. Meanwhile, Cora had been helping Jeremiah in the kitchen as he made slop for the pigs's mid day meal. After these tasks had been completed, Cora had suggested a stroll to clear their minds; to which her husband hastily agreed.
"You know, we've been here for almost a week and I still can't get over how beautiful the landscape of South Texas is." Cora remarked as the couple walked hand in hand about the ranch.
"It is a marvel to be sure." Robert replied as he held his wife's hand while they enjoyed their leisurely stroll.
"I've seen you with the ranch hands, they already seem to have taken a shine to you." Cora said with a smile as Robert shrugged his shoulders while trying to hide a small smile.
"They may be a bit rough around the edges, but are very fine fellows." Robert replied as he thought about the conversations that he'd had with Isaiah and the other cowboys working under him about how the ranch was run and the life of a cowboy. It was a hard life, but there was something about the way that they described it. Perhaps it was a romanticized version of the life, but there was a rustic beauty in it all the same.
"Will you miss this place terribly when we go back home?" Cora inquired as Robert was hit with a wave of conflicting feelings. A part of him knew that they would have to settle affairs at the ranch and return to Downton Abbey where they belonged. He was still the heir to the earldom of Grantham and he could not waste time playing cowboy out on the plains of Texas.
However, there was another part of him that felt like he perhaps wanted to stay. Here he felt like free, like he had a true sense of purpose. He wasn't just the heir to Downton, waiting for his father to die so that he could inherit his title. He was a man of his own. Robert felt like he was a real man when he was working with the fellas. It was a hard and dirty job, but it was their job. Maybe it could be his job too.
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