About three weeks later, Darrel was still at Downton Abbey. Everyone in the household got used to the guards, and for the most part, ignored them. Darrel still didn't like having bodyguards, but accepted that it was the new normal.
One afternoon, she returned from a walk through the village with Tom (as well as Benjamin and Allen). When they arrived at the house, they saw two taxis pulling up.
"Is Cora expecting anybody?" Tom inquired.
"Not that I know of," Darrel replied.
One of car doors opened and Sebastian climbed out, followed by another man. He was older than Sebastian, and had curly dark brown hair and light brown eyes. The men saw Darrel approach and sunk into deep bows.
"Sebastian, what are you doing here?" Darrel gasped, throwing her arms around him.
"I'm surprising my fiancée," he grinned.
"You haven't even been away for a month! I was expecting you to be gone for much longer."
"I dealt with everything I had to. You didn't miss me?"
"Of course I did."
"Good, I missed you too."
Darrel smiled as Sebastian planted a kiss on her lips. They pulled apart and Sebastian gestured to the other man.
"Do you remember my cousin? This is Juan Fernando. Or, JF as everyone calls him," Sebastian introduced.
JF stepped forward and kissed Darrel's hand, "Your Highness. It is an honour to see you again. You have grown since the last time I saw you."
"It's nice to see you as well," Darrel nodded. "You are exactly as I remember."
"Does that mean I was old when you first met me, or that I am young now?"
"You may decide how you wish to take that comment."
JF chuckled, and muttered to Sebastian, "Ella es descarada. Lo apruebo."
Sebastian looked at Darrel then smirked.
"What did he say?" Tom asked.
"Nothing important," JF assured.
"Please keep your conversations in English if you can," Darrel requested.
"Of course we will. Although I can't promise the same for our guards, they don't speak much English."
"More guards?"
Sebastian pointed to the other taxi, where five bodyguards climbed out. They went to grab the bags from the trunk.
"Downton now has eight bodyguards?" Tom asked.
"Looks like it," Darrel nodded. "Papa won't be very happy."
"I hope he doesn't punch these ones."
Darrel shot him a glare, while the Spanish visitors gave them confused looks.
"What did we miss?" JF inquired. "Did Lord Grantham punch a guard?"
"It's not important," Darrel assured. "Everyone's moved past it. Let's get back to your unexpected visit."
"I'm sorry Darrel, I should have called ahead of time. But I wanted this to be a surprise," Sebastian explained.
"Don't worry about it, this was a very good surprise. Let's go in. Benjamin, can you bring the Spanish guards around back and ask Mrs. Hughes to find rooms for them?"
"Yes your highness," Benjamin nodded.
JF relaid the information to his bodyguards. He then followed Darrel in through the main door with Sebastian, Tom and Allen.
Once Allen swept through the library for threats, Darrel and the others entered. Robert, Cora, Mary and Henry were already there, having tea.
"Sebastian," Cora smiled. "Welcome back to Downton."
"Hello Lady Grantham," Sebastian replied. "I apologize for showing up uninvited. I wanted to surprise Darrel."
"Don't worry about that, you are welcome anytime."
Sebastian gave her a grateful nod, then gestured to JF.
"May I present to you my cousin: His Excellency Don Juan Fernando Carlos. Although everyone calls him JF," Sebastian introduced.
"It's very nice to meet you all," JF grinned. "Thank you for letting us stay here on such short notice."
"Well, Mama said that Sebastian's allowed here anytime. She didn't say anything about you," Mary smirked.
JF stared at Mary with a stunned expression, while Sebastian and Darrel couldn't help but laugh.
"Mary, don't be so rude to our guest!" Cora gasped, "Your Excellency, you are of course welcome to stay here whenever you wish."
"Y pronto aprenderás a ignorar las travesuras de Mary," Sebastian added. "Ella es asi con todas"
JF managed to crack a smile, as Robert approached them and shook the Carlos' hands. Sebastian's body tensed, but Lord Grantham gave him a genuine look of respect.
"It's good to see you again Sebastian," Robert nodded.
"Thank you my lord," Sebastian replied. "It means a lot to hear you say that."
"Well, you are my daughter's fiancé. And, I can see how happy you make each other."
Sebastian smiled and took Darrel's hand in his.
"That didn't stop you from punching him in the face," Mary commented. "You do seem to like punching people."
"Stop causing trouble," Henry advised, which caused his wife to roll her eyes.
"Darrel, why don't you help our guests settle in?" Cora suggested. "Then afterwards His Excellency might appreciate a tour of the grounds."
"Sure," she replied, and left the room followed by the Spanish men.
"Why are you always trying to cause trouble?" Robert demanded.
"Would you relax?" Mary sighed. "We're going to be seeing a lot more of them. They'll be part of this family soon enough."
"Well they're not yet. So stop scaring them off," Tom advised.
"Fine."
After the guests settled in, Darrel took them for a walk around the grounds. They brought along Sidney and two Spanish guards.
"I'm sorry about Mary," Darrel said. "She can be...a bit...much sometimes."
"No worries," JF assured. "I guess I better get used to it."
"If you intend on visiting again, then yes."
"Well, that's assuming I'm invited back."
"We'll see how this visit goes."
JF smirked, as Sebastian stopped walking. The others turned to look at him.
"Is something wrong?" Darrel inquired.
"Not at all," Sebastian replied. "This is the perfect place to do this."
"Do what?"
"Well, I never did get to propose to you. And since I am a gentleman, I would like that opportunity."
"Sebastian, you don't have to..."
Sebastian got down on one knee in front of Darrel. He pulled a small black box from his suit pocket. The prince opened it to reveal a platinum ring with a gorgeous, yet subtle diamond. She let out a gasp as Sebastian looked into her eyes.
"Elizabeth Darrel Crawley, I love you with every fibre of my being. Will you make me the happiest man alive by marrying me?" Sebastian grinned.
"Yes, of course I will," Darrel nodded.
Sebastian stood up, pulled Darrel into his arms, and planted a kiss on her lips. When they pulled apart, Sebastian slipped the ring onto her finger.
"Seb, it's beautiful," Darrel admired.
"I'm glad you like it," Sebastian replied. "This ring has been in my family for years, and I've been picturing it on your finger for ages."
Darrel gave him a forced smile as Sebastian pulled her in for another hug.
"You two are a cheesy couple," JF informed. "Creo que podría estar enfermo."
Sebastian rolled his eyes.
"What did he say?" Darrel asked.
"His Excellency said that he thinks he may be sick," Sidney informed.
"I didn't realize that you spoke Spanish. You'll be helpful when it comes to deciphering what these two are saying."
"I guess we must be careful when he's in the room," Sebastian shrugged.
"Yes, consider yourselves warned," Darrel smirked.
Sebastian laughed as the group turned around and headed back to the house.
"And now I have an excuse to leave Benjamin behind," Darrel whispered to her fiancé.
"Who's that?" Sebastian asked.
"He's in charge of my protection, but he doesn't have the sunniest disposition."
"That's not how you should be choosing your guards."
"If we're forced to have bodyguards following us everywhere, we should like them to a certain extent," JF shrugged.
Darrel gave the prince a knowing look, while he glared at his older cousin.
"¿Por qué te traigo si no te pones de mi lado en las discusiones?" Sebastian demanded.
"Porque a menudo estás equivocado, primo pequeño," JF grinned.
Darrel turned around to look at Sidney and the other guards, who were stifling laughter.
"What are they talking about?" Darrel inquired.
"His Highness asked what the point of bringing his cousin along was, if he's not siding with him," Sidney informed. "Then His Excellency said that his little cousin is often wrong."
Darrel giggled.
"We should ban this guard from following us," Sebastian declared.
"No chance," Darrel smirked. "I want to know what you're saying in your secret language."
"Well then I'll teach you Spanish."
"That's an excellent suggestion. I accept."
Sebastian smiled and wrapped his arm around his fiancée.
That evening, after dinner, JF was in his bedroom getting ready when there was a knock on the door.
"Entrar!" He called.
After a few moments, the door swung open and Darrel stepped in. JF turned when he saw her reflection in his mirror and sunk into a deep bow.
"Your Highness," he greeted. "I'm sorry, I thought it was a guard, or Sebastian."
"No worries," Darrel assured. "Your guard informed me that you gave me permission to come in."
"Well, I suppose with you being the future queen, you don't need permission to enter."
"Everyone deserves privacy."
JF nodded. "What can I do for you ma'am?"
"Please, drop the formalities. Not only is it annoying, but we're family at this point. We should be able to speak openly to each other."
"Of course."
"Now, the reason I am here is because I need to talk to you. I don't want anyone to overhear us."
JF gestured to the armchairs by the fireplace. Darrel took a seat and he sat down across from her.
"How can I help?" JF asked.
"Sebastian was telling me that he's pictured me wearing his family ring ages," Darrel informed. "But he and Lady Camilla were planning on getting married last year."
"And?"
"How long has Sebastian been thinking about me in a romantic way?"
"Since he met you four years ago."
"I see..."
Darrel looked down at her hand and fidgeted with her new engagement ring.
"Something is bothering you," JF observed.
"Queen Sofía told me that Sebastian's been trying to get over me these past four years," Darrel admitted. "I assumed that she was exaggerating, because I don't think she likes me very much."
"It's probable that Her Majesty doesn't like you, but she doesn't like anybody. And she wasn't exaggerating. In fact, Sebastian wasn't trying very hard to get over you. He once told me that whoever he ended up marrying would only be his second choice. He thought if he dated enough Spanish girls, romance wouldn't mean anything to him. Trató de adormecer sus sentimientos de amor. Sorry, I'm quite tired...he tried to numb his feelings of love."
"I feel terrible."
"You shouldn't. It wasn't your fault. My stupid baby cousin got attached...and chose his own way to deal with it. Besides, at least you're together now."
Darrel shrugged.
"While we're talking about this, I have something I should tell you," JF informed. "I wasn't planning to, but it seems relevant now."
"What is it?" Darrel asked.
"Sebastian didn't complete all his duties back home. He was too distracted because all he could think about was you, and the next time he could see you again. My uncle found him useless so he thought that if he was back here with you, he would focus more. Their Majesties sent me with Sebastian so I can keep an eye on him. They expect him to get work done while we're here. But of course, I wanted to see you again, and get to know England better."
Darrel nodded, and got up.
"I've taken up enough of you time," Darrel explained. "I should go. Thank you for speaking with me. I appreciate your honesty"
"No worries," JF nodded.
"Um...please don't tell Sebastian about our conversation."
"Of course not. Goodnight your highness."
"Goodnight, your Excellency."
JF bowed as Darrel left the room.
Once she was back in her bedroom, Darrel sat down on her bed and stared at her engagement ring. As she did, all she could hear was the sound of Queen Sofía's words echoing in her mind:
"He spent the good part of the last four years failing to move on from the youngest daughter of an English Earl. I am happy that he finally has the girl he wished for, but I hope you understand how much this means to him. Now that he finally has his so-called dream girl, he will do anything to keep you."
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Author's Note:
Everything said in Spanish was written through Google Translate, so there may be some errors. If you notice any Spanish spelling or grammar errors, feel free to let me know.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. This story now has 12.5k reads! Thank you to everyone for reading this fan fiction.
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-Writographer