Mr Thompson's Appartment, London

Edith was nervous . While David had visited the Abbey, this was Edith's first time in her beau's home. She hadn't spoken to him in a while, but had received a strange letter from him the previous morning. It was written by someone else, as the handwriting was unfamiliar. She was very curious as to why he had not written the invitation himself. Despite the possibility that the letter had been written by a kidnapper or something, and that she was being led to a dangerous lair of which from she would never again see the light of day, Edith had not hesitated to visit. She had of course been very relieved to find David poking his head around the door, as apposed to a fierce hooligan.

"Welcome." He smiled in his familiar American drawl. Edith grinned and stepped inside, whereupon she saw him fully. "Oh my!" She gasped. "Whatever happened to your arm?" David's arm was in a sling and was entirely bandaged. "That's what I was hoping to talk to you about". She frowned slightly. "Why?" He walked over to the sofa and sat down. "Sit" he gestured toward the space beside him. "It's also about the break in at the office." Her eyes flew open wide. "Oh goodness! Were you there when they broke in? Is that how you hurt your arm?" He nodded. "But Edith, I feel quite guilty." "Guilty?" She asked. He took her hand. "They wouldn't have broken in if I wasn't there. They came for me." She narrowed her eyes, "But David, why?"

"I owe them money, about two hundred dollars." Edith's expression changed into one of shock, almost as bad as her aunt Rosamund's. "That much!?" She exclaimed. He nodded. "I know it's a lot. But you see despite my debt, I refuse to do as Lady Painswick asked-" Edith rose her eyebrows, "When were you speaking with my aunt?" "When I was attacked I went to her house, she was the only person I knew in any way that was close enough to help me. I was shot, in the arm and she got a doctor to take out the bullet and bandage me up. I told her about the money, but as I said, I cannot do as she asks." Edith pursed her lips. "What did she ask?" David swallowed, "She asked that for your good, I never see you again."

"How is that for my good!?" She stood up, distraught. "Don't worry, I plan to do nothing of the sort. I wanted this moment to be special, and I wanted your father to approve, but circumstance has prevented that." Edith stared at him in wonder as he got down on one knee and produced a ring box. "Lady Edith Crawley, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?" He flipped open the box to reveal the most beautiful ring she had ever seen. It was silver encrusted with miniscule diamonds. "Oh David! Yes! Yes, I will marry you!" He smiled and began to push the ring onto her finger. Suddenly he paused, "oh! I forgot to show you the best part of the ring". He turned the ring so that she could see the inside. It read ' Sticks and stones may break my bones, but nothing can break my love for you '. She smiled and looked into his eyes. "I thought it was fitting" he grinned. He placed the ring on her finger and she hugged him. "I love you David Thompson." He kissed her, "And I love you Edith Crawley."

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Downstairs, Downton Abbey

Jacqueline Carter sat in the Housekeeper's sitting room. Mr Barrow knocked on the door softly, before coming inside. "Hello Miss Carter." Jacqueline looked up slowly. "Mr Barrow. What can I do for you?" Thomas sat down opposite her. "Oh, not much. I just wanted to see how you were doing. Do you like it here?" She nodded. "Downton Abbey is a very nice place. The family seem fair and the staff are dedicated. What more can a housekeeper ask for?"

Thomas watched her carefully. "You don't know the family or the staff. If you like, I can tell you more about them". She watched him carefully. Despite his words, he wasn't flirting, unlike most men she had met. Still, she did not dare hope that he might be like her, and definitely did not dare approach him with her thoughts. "That would be very helpful, Mr Barrow. Thank you." She said instead. He nodded slightly. "Maybe we can speak in the evening?" She smiled at him. "Of course".

"Wonderful. Good day Miss Carter". He smiled back. "Good day Mr Barrow". Then he took his leave.

Walter still thought of Áine often. She glanced in his direction, but other than that there had been no contact between them. She was upstairs, and he was downstairs. The day that she came down was never repeated. She spent her time with her cousins and Lady Edith. He served her food and opened doors for her. He could find no way to get closer to her, that is even if she wanted to get closer to him.

Mrs Goswami was privy to some information. Unlike in the past, she did not share it with anyone. Lady Grantham had admitted to her that she was indeed pregnant. As happy as Mrs Goswami was for her mistress, she still had a bad feeling about it. The guilt she felt for causing Cora's miscarriage all those years ago, had now resurfaced and she felt oddly protective of the Countess. She did find it strange that no announcement had been made, for was this not good news? Was Cora's previous misfortunate 'accident' preventing her from informing others before she was more confident of a safe pregnancy? But slipping on soap could happen at any time, hardly a reason to keep her pregnancy a secret. If Sarah hadn't witnessed the loving relationship between Lord and Lady Grantham she would have dared to suspect some unfaithful activity. While Sarah wouldn't have ruled out Lord Grantham having an affair, she was confident that Lady Grantham would never do such a thing. Of course, she hadn't seen the glances and regular meetings between Cora and Mr Bricker.

It did make her think though. She glanced at her husband. When they first met they had not gotten on. Mahesh was an over confident valet with an attitude, while Sarah was a scheming lady's maid with an evil streak. But, after some time, and a few hours locked in the boot room together, they learned to talk and discovered everything that they had in common. Despite the obvious cultural differences, their childhood shared many similarities. Sarah's mother was also thought to have married below her, not as drastically as Mahesh's mother had, but below her all the same. They had the same amount of siblings, and the same childhood pastimes - to an extent. Sarah had often gone against her parents wishes and played cricket with her brother, a sport that Mahesh loved. They were both graceful dancers and enjoyed fine literature. They ended up in love, and still very much were. The wedding hadn't been very big, but beautiful all the same.

As she thought of her wedding she smiled and looked down at her ring. It had been Mahesh's mother's ring. It was gold and had a single sapphire in the centre. She had been surprised when he gave it to her, but she loved it. It was special, like their marriage.

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The Nursery, Upstairs

Tom watched his mother with the children. Maura was a funny and unique person, one that the children had never come across before. Her accent was enough to set George into giggles, nevermind the stories and jokes she told them. When Mrs Branson was around, Miss Baxter may as well be invisible. Everyone may as well be invisible. The children loved Sybbie's grandmother, who insisted they all call Grandma. Everyone loved everyone and everything was wonderful.

Except. The previous night, Tom had reread the letter that Áine had sent, and was reminded of something. Wasn't his mother supposed to be sick? What about the lung problems and stress? And how long was she staying for? She brought an awful lot of luggage with her. In fact, they both did. Was Áine planning to stay forever as well? Did they think Downton was some sort of hotel that no one ever left or paid for? So, worried that they might outstay their welcome, Tom decided to approach his mother about it.

"Ma?" He called from the door, summoning his mother away from the delighted children. "What is it pet?" She smiled. He inclined his head, "Can I speak to you for a moment, in private?" She frowned but nodded, following him down the hallway. He led her to his room. "So?" She asked, curious as to what her son might want. "It's just that... well...." Tom struggled. "Oh spit it out child!" He bit his lip and looked at his feet. He never could contridict his mother in any way.

"Ma...., I, you see.... It said you were ill! And you're clearly not, I just want to know why you lied". To his emence surprise, Maura Branson burst into tears. "Oh Tom! I didn't know what else to do! And there is some truth in it, I was very stressed for a time. I couldn't bare to tell you the truth, and I so wanted to see Sybbie. I'm sorry.." she wept. Tom hugged his mother and tried to comfort her, she was never one to cry without very good reason. "But Ma, what is the truth?" Mrs Branson sniffed and blinked back more tears.

"I, I lost the house. They came and took it not long before Áine sent the letter. She was living with me when they kicked us out. Cait wouldn't take us in for long, she still won't look at Áine. So I convinced Áine to lie and tell you that I was sick. I planned to tell you the truth when we got here, but everything was going so well. And I didn't want to look like a charity case in front of 'that one' ". She said. Tom shook his head, "Cora has been very good to me, and one of the first who welcomed me into the family and the few to encourage your visit." Maura shrugged, "I still don't like her". Tom smiled, "Well, I suggest that you learn to tolerate her if you're going to stay here."

"Really? You want me to stay?"

"Of course! You're my mother, I love you".

"Oh Tom, my dear child. I love you too."

"You need to be nicer to Cora".

"Mmm... I'll try."

"That's all I ask. The children will be delighted that you will be staying."

"I hope the rest of the family are. I mean, I don't give a jolt if Cora or 'The Dowager Countess of Grantham' don't want me here, but I'd like to get on with Edith and Mary and Robert. I can tolerate them."

"I'm glad you can tolerate some of them. What about Mrs Levinson?"

"I just hope she isn't staying like I am."

"Cora does too. See, you have something in common!"

"I have things in common with Cait, and you know how much I hate her. Living with her for almost a month was pure torture altogether."

"But she's your sister, you can't really hate her!"

"Áine is her granddaughter and she won't speak to her. I'm allowed to hate her. Anyway, enough. Sybbie and the others will think I've been abducted."

Tom chuckled, "indeed they shall." Maura smiled and walked back to the Nursery.

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Downstairs, Downton Abbey

"Both were in prison! Maybe Downton isn't as much of an uneventful village as I had thought", Miss Carter exclaimed as Mr Barrow gave her some background information on the inhabitants of the Abbey. "Downton is full of surprises" He replied, taking a sip of his sherry. "At least neither of them actually committed the crime." Thomas didn't look at her, "we don't know that." She rose her eyebrows, "Do you have something against the Bates's?" "Not really, maybe. Mrs Bates isn't too bad, she can be quite nice, but I don't like Mr Bates. I don't trust him and I'm not entirely inclined to believe that he didn't kill Mr Green or his ex-wife. I'm pretty sure that he'd kill me if he got the chance, I know I would." She decided not to comment on that.

"What about the Earl and Countess themselves?" She asked. "Lord Grantham is.... well, he's an Earl and prides himself on the estate and his dogs. And his family. But mostly the estate and his dogs." Thomas answered. "Mmm... thrilling. And Lady Grantham?" Jacqueline queried. "She's American, so she's different from the others in her attitude towards servants. She has changed since Sybil died." Jacqueline frowned, "I'm sorry, who is Sybil?" Thomas looked pained as he thought back on his war days and the tragic death.

"Lady Sybil. She was the youngest of the Crawley daughters. She was different, more.... like us I suppose. She didn't care much for stations, that was clear enough when she married the chauffeur- Mr Branson, the Irishman. She was also a suffragette. She was a nurse during the war and I got to know her quite well. Her daughter is Miss Sybbie. Lady Sybil died in childbirth, pretty much. We were told that everything had gone well, the baby was fine and so was the mother. Until she just, died.

"We were all asleep. Then they woke us up and told us. It was a very sad time for us all, especially Lady Grantham. Some people said that Her Ladyship blamed Lord Grantham for Sybil's death, although how much truth there is in that, I cannot say. Lady Sybil was one of the few people who were ever kind to me. She was such a kind and nice person, I suppose God needed her up there." He finished, trying not to be overcome with emotion. Jacqueline patted his hand sympathetically, "you are blessed to have known someone like that,truly good people are difficult to find outside of heaven". He smiled slightly. "Thank you for listening to that. I haven't spoken much about Lady Sybil to anyone but her daughter in a long time - and I couldn't expect a five year old to comfort me while I talk about her dead mother." Jacqueline looked at him through her lashes, "I don't think so. Her nanny wouldn't let her down in a hurry if you did".

"Luckily I have you to comfort me" Thomas smiled. Jacqueline laughed. "Indeed! How lucky you are to have me." Thomas sighed and glanced at the clock. "It's getting late." He stated, more to himself than Jacqueline. "Yes. Well, I'm off to bed, early mornings and all that." She smiled standing up. " Of course. Goodnight Miss Carter, and thank you." "For listening?" She asked. "For not listening to the gossip about me. You may have noticed how few friends I have." She smiled softly. "I have noticed, by I don't understand why. You seem to be a very nice person. Either that, or we are both very bad."

Thomas smiled back. "You are not bad, so I take courage in that." Jacqueline walked past him to the door. "Courage is very important in this world. Yet many do not understand the difference between courage and cowardice. Goodnight Mr Barrow". "Goodnight." Thomas replied. Then she was gone. Miss Carter was a very interesting person and Thomas quite liked her. For someone so beautiful,- while she was aware of her beauty- she didn't dwell on it, and she wasn't vain. She also didn't judge him. And people who didn't judge him were practically non-existant.

Oh! I'm republishing this to see if it will fix the weirdness. ..

So... Sorry for the delay I don't fully have my Internet back yet so there may still be delays ...

THANK YOU FOR READING! ! !

ALSO

OVER 4K!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH! !!!!!

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Oh! I forgot to say, 'The Bates's Irish Adventure ' is now posted so yay!!
Yay! Thank you!

CAST
Lady Grantham ~ Elizabeth McGovern
Mr Bricker ~ Richard E Grant
Lord Grantham ~ Hugh Bonneville
Charlie Carson ~ Jim Carter
Elsie Hughes ~ Phyllis Logan
Thomas Barrow ~ Rob James-Collier
Miss Baxter ~ Raquel Cassidy
Mr Moseley ~ Kevin Doyle
Mr Bates ~ Brendan Coyle
Anna Bates ~ Joanne Froggatt
Lady Mary ~ Michelle Dockery
Denker ~ Sue Johnston
Spratt ~ Jeremy Swift
Lady Edith ~ Laura Carmichael
Henry Talbot ~ Matthew Goode
Daisy Mason ~ Sophie McSherra
Mrs Patmore ~ Leslie Nicol