My Dearest Darling

Chapter 29

Robert Crawley stood in the entrance hall of Downton Abbey. He had his arms clasped behind his back and a content smile played on his lips as he watched several people run around, moving things here and there, bringing in new pieces of furniture and taking old ones away. It had been a while since the abbey had last been this busy. Well, since the film people left late in the summer, anyway.

Three days had already passed since their return from overseas and Cora's strength, although replenished slightly, still hadn't returned fully and he doubted it would in the days and weeks to come.

In order to make life a little easier for the Countess of Grantham, her husband had decided to take matters into his own hands and refurnish her sitting room, effectively making it a room for her to comfortably spend her days in and, most importantly, relax or have a quick lie-down without having to climb the flights of stairs every time she felt fatigued during the day.

The workers from the village were still idly going about their business when the Earl was joined by his eldest daughter, who, just like her father, simply watched the men at work for a little while.

"Papa, what are these people doing, exactly?" she asked curiously just when an old armchair was being carried out past them by two young helpers. It took her a while, but she recognised it to be from her mother's sitting room, which confused her a great deal.

"Oh, nothing, really. I just ordered some new furniture for your Mama's sitting room, to make it more comfortable for her, you see. And the people down in the village were very quick as it seems," Robert replied, sounding very pleased with himself and the current busy situation.

Mary nodded almost solemnly and kept on watching the furniture being moved around. When two young men, or rather boys — they couldn't be much older than 18 — struggled a good deal with carrying one of the new settees into the room, Mary half-turned to face her father and said: "Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you but it was never the right moment until now. Maybe this isn't either, but this is as good as it gets..."

The younger woman trailed off as she turned back and continued to watch her mother's new chaise longue be carried inside the sitting room by even more helpers.

Robert turned to look at her with raised eyebrows. But, much to his dismay, she did not elaborate further and simply kept on watching the helpers.

For a split second, as he was looking at her side profile, he was taken aback — he thought he saw a younger Cora standing next to him instead of his daughter. Sure, he had recognised that the older his daughter got, the more she looked like his darling wife, and he even recognised some of her movements to look exactly like Cora. But right then and there, the resemblance between mother and daughter was so uncanny, he'd never realised it as much before.

Mary, however, interpreted his stare with raised eyebrows as an invitation to go on, and so she did, or rather meant to, but not with all the people around.

Mary looked around the hall, searching for an open door leading to an unoccupied room. When she found none, she asked: "Can we go and talk somewhere more private?"

"Of course, come," Robert said, shaking his head slightly to rid himself of the thoughts in his head. His memories of days long gone had no place, not then. He guided her to another small room a bit further down the hall, a way off from the library. Originally, his father had intended this room to be turned into a study for him while he was still the Viscount, but they never got around to it before his father's early and untimely death. So now, this was just another unused room with simple furnishings — if it weren't for Mrs Hughes and the rest of the maids, they would be facing centimetres of dust that had accumulated on the tabletops and chairs, that's how insignificant it had become.