Barrow's Boy - A Downton Abbey Fanfiction

Love Burns

     Teddy walked up the path leading to Yew Tree Farm, books tucked under his arm. He had thought of some new approaches to the subjects he was currently going over with Peter and, eager to try them, had gotten Mrs. Drewe's permission to come earlier than usual to get a bit more time. 

     He paused, however, before the entry to their house's front yard, at the sight of a familiar woman looking into it. 

     "Lady Edith?" She jumped and then turned to look at him.

     "Oh, Theodore. What brings you here?"

     "I'm tutoring Peter. The eldest son of the family." Edith nodded, and hesitantly, Teddy continued to speak. "Do you need to speak with one of the Drewes? Because I'm sure-"

      "Oh no. No, it's quite alright. I was just passing by and thought-" Edith turned back to look at the two people standing outside, getting laundry. Teddy now observed them as Mrs. Drewe and Marigold. Suddenly, Mrs. Drewe looked up and locked eyes with Teddy before turning her gaze to Edith.

     "Ah, Theodore," she addressed first. Teddy knew that this was improper etiquette, him being of a lower ranking than Lady Edith, but he didn't dare correct her. "Peter is inside. I told him to be ready for you."

     "That's perfect. Thank you, Mrs. Drewe." He took that as his cue to leave, so he did so. Though looking over his shoulder, he noticed Lady Edith walking toward Marigold. 

     What on earth was happening there?

     "Well, I think it's fantastic," Jimmy said from where he stood behind his seat at the table. "When did we last have a prime minister who understood the working class? Never. That's when."

     "It's about time if you ask me," Teddy agreed with a nod.

     It seemed he had just found his next article topic.

     "It's a qualification that is meaningless in terms of government," Carson disagreed as he stopped at the head of the table.

     "I'm not sure I can agree with you there. I think it's important," Mrs. Hughes weighed in. Anna soon agreed.

     "Me too. Mr. MacDonald will have real experience of a hard life. He knows what most people go through."

      "It's proper representation for the majority of society," Teddy added.

     "Up the workers," Jimmy stated with a smirk on his face.

     "So James is a revolutionary now," Mrs. Patmore joked. Thomas very quickly jumped in.

      "He's not a revolutionary. He believes in justice for the majority. What's wrong with that?"

     "Nothing! But I believe he can fight his own battles."

     "We'll have no fighting here, thank you very much," Carson intervened. 

     The conversation ended with that, though the words of the people around him still stuck in Teddy's mind.

     Was this what happened when the right to vote was granted to the majority of society? To the lower class and to the women? If so, Teddy liked it. He liked finally having a government that, he believed, would actually accept his existence.  

     

     Valentine's Day had passed with Teddy only receiving one - the annual one he and his father exchanged every year. Though he knew others may think him a bit old to be continuing this silly little tradition, he was hardly going to ask Thomas to stop. And this year, Theodore had reciprocated, leaving Thomas amused, which was something good in itself.