My Dearest Darling

Chapter 49

Smirking, Mary said: "Not changed per se, but I would like to think that we have come to an understanding, haven't we, Edith?"

"We certainly have," the younger Crawley sister beamed across the table, looking her father straight into his perplexed face.

Just then, another waiter came and brought them all some champagne that Mary had already ordered before her sister had arrived.

"Will you finally tell me what it is we are celebrating? There must be a reason you asked me to join you here as a surprise tonight," Edith asked, the glass in her left hand already half-raised.

"Indeed, I would like to know the same," her aunt joined in, looking suspiciously at her elder niece. She had tried to get her brother to tell her the reason behind this dinner invitation to the Ritz earlier, but he would not budge and tell her, which was most unusual for him. He had never been good at keeping things from others, least of all from her when they were growing up.

Finally, it was Mary who spoke up. "Papa and I have come to London today to see Murray in his office." Then, she waited for another few excruciatingly long seconds. No one at the table knew if it was to build suspense or to muster up the courage, not even Mary herself. "It was certainly unexpected, but the business with Henry is settled, once and for all. I signed the divorce papers this morning. I am free of him at last."

For a second, nobody said a word, nobody moved. Nobody even dared to breathe. It was as if time stood still. The reactions — or lack thereof — only substantiated the grave proportions her news truly bore. She had mulled it all over again and again all throughout the day, while at lunch with her father, and then throughout the entire afternoon and again on the way to the restaurant. She had known that this was quite a lot to digest for her family, but she had wished for things not to get this awkward. What else was she supposed to say? A simple sorry would not do, she was aware. Nervously, she chanced a look at her sister and aunt, whose gazes she had previously evaded.

To her relief, a smile had formed on Edith's face, a genuine and wide smile. "Now, that is ample reason to celebrate. I am so pleased for you that this chapter of your life is closed now!" she exclaimed, raising her glass fully while beaming at her elder sister.

"That is a great development, certainly. I am glad that everything is settled now, and so quickly, too!" Rosamund joined in, looking no less joyful than her nieces and brother.

Mary raised her glass of champagne, relieved at how well they had both taken the news. She would have never admitted to it, but she had been terrified of having to tell them. "Henry wanted to get it over with, he knew that he was the one responsible and he seemed somewhat relieved with how things were progressing the last time I saw him at home," she tried to explain. "He's still hiding away, mind you, but his spirits have been a bit higher."

"If only he were already somewhere else and happier there," Robert growled into his glass of champagne, refraining from taking his first sip. He could not forgive his now former son-in-law for cheating on his daughter, no matter how much he wanted to for Mary's sake. Upon seeing everyone's questioning looks, he saw the need to add: "I wish the man no ill, but I do not wish him well either."

"Let's leave it at that, Papa. Because I certainly do not wish him ill, and that's all that should matter. We were both wretchedly unhappy in the end and now it is over."

Robert nodded with a tight smile on his face as he gripped the stem of his champagne flute just a little harder.

The tension that had taken hold of him was about to create an atmosphere none of them were quite comfortable with when Rosamund took it upon herself to diffuse it by raising her glass again and asking: "So, to Mary's new freedom?"

"To Mary's new freedom!" Robert and Edith echoed, finally taking sips from the fizzy beverages in the elegantly manufactured glasses in their hands.

"I think now is a good time to tell you all," Rosamund then said. Turning to look at her brother, she addressed him directly: "and I think you will be quite pleased with what I have to say."

Something in him did not trust her fully to be serious about him being pleased, she had said that far too often to tease him through the years. His eyebrows shot up in question and intrigue, while his lips were pursed quite nervously.

Rosamund had to stifle a laugh at his expression before she went on to explain. "I thought about your request from earlier, and I decided that I will do it. I will sell my house in Belgrave Square and move back to Downton."

Then, her brother's jaw slacked slightly and all the tension that had been only all too evident in his being before was gone. The last remains of his doubts and suspicions seemed to leave his body as he exhaled deeply. They were gone, picked up and swept away by the draft of air created by a waiter quickly passing by their table. Robert opened his mouth and closed it again, looking quite like a fish on dry land. He repeated that rather undignified-looking process two more times before he finally found his voice again. Jovially, he exclaimed: "Oh, I am well and truly pleased!"

"You want to sell your house?" Edith asked, looking positively gobsmacked.

"Well, yes. I have no need for a London house when I move back up north, and there is nothing tying me to Belgrave Square. I would have had a harder time if I was still living in Eaton Square, but I haven't for years. And there is still Crawley House when we need to stay in London, right, Robert?"

"You are absolutely right. And I believe your house will be quite sought after by many people. It is beautiful, after all, and has an ideal location within the city."