Chapter Text
Robert unfolded the paper and nibbled the corner of his toast. The women had, of course, taken trays, assuming they were even awake. Cora had made an objecting noise and rolled over when he’d got up, and he was certain she was asleep again by now. He’d rather wanted to join her, if he was honest, but the world didn’t stop turning just because he had a new granddaughter. There was still the estate to deal with, and he should call Murray and keep him updated. The last thing he needed was for the lawyer to mistakenly submit paperwork before they’d managed to convince Thomas to stay.
“Do you think you’re going to spend all day at the shop, Tom?” Bertie asked. Henry was, as anticipated, still asleep, and Thomas hadn’t put in an appearance yet, so it was just Robert and the two younger men.
Tom paused, his bacon halfway to his mouth. “I’d planned on being there for most of the day, but I can close up early if needed, unless it’s busy. Why?”
“I wanted to talk to you a bit about some ideas I had for modernising Brancaster. We’re in pretty good shape at the moment, but it pays to stay on top of these things.”
“I’ll be home by tea,” the Irishman promised.
Any further conversation was interrupted by the door opening soundlessly, the motion drawing their attention. Thomas walked in, hesitating a bit as he found himself with all eyes turned his way. “Good morning.” He smiled, although to Robert it seemed a bit forced. At least he didn’t act like he was going to back out of the room.
A chorus of ‘Good mornings’ greeted him. Robert folded up his newspaper and set it aside, trying to act as if this were a standard breakfast on an average day. The younger man’s words from dinner the previous night, about how the family was treating him as one of their own, had stuck with him, nagging him off and on throughout the night. Perhaps, he thought, if they treated Thomas as if he really had grown up as the heir, he would be more inclined to see reason and stop fighting the inevitable.
Thomas walked over and helped himself to food from the side board. Robert kept his attention on his kedgeree and toast until he was seated, then asked, “Did you sleep alright after all of the excitement last night, Thomas?”
“I did, as a matter of fact,” the younger man replied, brightly. “Thank you. I’m sorry I’m late, I’ve actually been up since before sunrise. Turns out that changing from a servant’s schedule isn’t as easy as you’d think.” He laughed a little, although that was definitely forced.
Tom smirked. “You’ll get used to it soon enough, trust me. I’d give it two weeks at most.”
“And then something will come along that requires you to get up early and you’ll curse the universe for it,” Bertie added with a good-humoured chuckle. “I remember the first time I had to get up at six o’clock after laying in until eight for months. It was hard to believe I used to do it every day.”
“Well,” Thomas smiled, turning his attention to his eggs. “I look forward to adjusting.”
“What have you been doing all of this time?” Bertie asked, glancing at the clock. “I assume you haven’t been polishing the silver.”
“Absolutely not,” Thomas assured him, firmly. “That is one task I’ll be glad to never do again, thank you, unless I have a watch that needs polishing.” He took a bite of toast. “I’ve just been thinking, mainly. Went out and had a smoke. Trying to put my thoughts in order.”
“Any progress?” Robert asked, trying not to sound too interested.
“A bit, yes. In fact, I think I’ve come to a conclusion on where I want my life to go from here.”
All eating paused. All eyes turned to him.
“And what conclusion have you reached?” Robert asked, reminding himself not to hold his breath. In the interest of appearing nonchalant , he reached for his cup of coffee and pretended to be more interested in that than whatever Thomas had to say.
“Well,” the younger man sighed, spreading his hands. “It’s not an easy decision, that’s for certain. I’ve always wanted to travel, and see other places. As it is, I’ve mostly seen France, and not at it’s best. There have been several times I’ve thought of having a flat there, but of course, I’ve not had the money.” He paused, then took a sip of his own drink, carefully not looking at any of them. “Now I have the money. I really could go off and live there, maybe open a clock shop, and who would stop me?”
Damn it. Robert tried not to grimace at the words, but it was difficult. Of course, France would be a more comfortable place to live for a man like Thomas, there was no denying that. And it wasn’t as if he was attached to the family, outside of the children. But it couldn’t happen. He couldn’t let it happen. How to convince Thomas of that, though? He’d tried and tried and not been able to come up with a good argument, a fail safe to make the younger man see reason. He glanced at Tom and Bertie, but they were both simply listening to Thomas. Hopefully one of them would come up with a good counter argument.
“The thing is,” Thomas continued, thoughtfully. “Somewhere along the line, Downton became home. I don’t know when or how, or even why, really, but it’s where I feel settled.”
Robert stopped breathing.
“And while I like the idea of living in France, I wouldn’t want to live there alone. I’ve never really had a family before, even with the Barrows. As soon as Sammy was born, that was it. I was just some strange kid taking up space in the bedroom, even if they pretended otherwise. Another mouth to feed.” He shook his head. “Here though…you all want me. Despite my past as a servant and how difficult it will be to get me up to scratch. Even if it all goes South, you’re all willing to make the effort just so I’ll stay. No one has ever been like that before. Not with me.” He looked towards Robert and smiled, although it was still a very tired smile. “And along with that, I’d get to be an uncle. Really an uncle, to George and Sybbie, to Marigold and my new niece. I’m not going to get that opportunity anywhere else in the world.” He took another deep breath and, turning his attention to his food, finished, “And so, if you don’t think there’s too high a risk of my embarrassing everyone, I will choose to stay here.” He took a bite, as if to punctuate the statement.
Robert let out the breath he’d been holding and tried not to sag with relief. “Thank God.” Thomas gave him a somewhat surprised look, which he met with a smile. “I have been trying and failing to come up with arguments to convince you to stay all night, so it is a relief to hear I don’t need to. And no, I don’t think you’ll embarrass us too much. I don’t think you’ll embarrass us at all, even if it takes awhile for you to find your footing. As Tom has pointed out, you at least know how to address people.”
“Maybe you could give me lessons?” Tom interjected, smiling cheerfully. “I’m still rubbish at it.”
“I can try,” Thomas agreed. “If you teach me just enough about cars to follow a conversation with Henry.”
“It’s a deal.”
“Right then,” Robert nodded. “I’ll call Murray after breakfast and tell him to go ahead with the paperwork.” He raised his coffee in a toast. “Welcome to the family.”