Very late contribution to the EAST celebrations! I haven't written mainstream Downton for so long so I apologise if I'm a little rusty on accurate characters etc.

Usual disclaimer, I don't own Downton Abbey, or the Crüxshadows whose song I have included. (It's called east, so I couldn't resist! Sorry!)

Unbeta'd.

Enjoy :)

Too many questions, where answers are few

The path driving tangled, love's destiny's truth

With hunger unwilling, a passage to choose

The trees growing ripe with forbidden fruits

Sybil watched out of the window as the car drove round in a couple of circles on the driveway, before starting off down one of the side roads of the estate. She placed her hand protectively against her stomach as she watched them disappear into the trees.

"I thought your sister was just being polite the first time she expressed an interest in that old Rolls Royce." Sybil turned and smiled warmly at her brother in law. "But now I wonder if she married me more for the car."

Sybil laughed. "Anthony, whatever doubts you may have, let me reassure you that Edith loves you more than anything. And secondly, your love of technology is what makes you perfect for one another. I remember that first dinner at Downton. You captivated Edith's interest early on I'm afraid."

"She's so good at realising the impact technology has on people. Good and bad. It's a very human ability, but I don't know anyone who could match her talent."

"Yes. Edith is very good with people. She proved that at the convalescent home when she… ah!" She clutched her hand to her stomach tighter at a particularly hard kick. She and Tom were expecting their second child and their daughter, Saoirse was already looking forward to becoming a big sister.

"Sit down my dear, or else your husband will tell me off for not looking after you properly."

"Oh Anthony, no one could accuse you of that! You're putting us up here as it is. Tom and I owe you a lot." She told him. Her tone was jovial, but there was a seriousness in her meaning. When Tom and Sybil had been unable to return to Ireland, they purchased a few small rooms in York. However Edith had been most insistent on their visiting Locksley and it had become a haven to the young family.

"Nonsense." Anthony countered. "We're family. And besides, Edith and I love spending time with Saoirse." Sybil grinned at that. Her daughter was certainly spoiled with attention in the Strallen household!

"She loves it here. She's a country girl really. York doesn't suit her and if I'm honest, she's a bit scared of Mary, but don't tell!" Anthony chuckled, and gestured that he would keep his silence. On their last visit to Mary, in London, Sybil had found the city suffocating, as well as less accommodating to pregnant women with small children. The hustle and bustle provided a chaos that no other city could match. Locksley was quite the reverse. Her brother in law was exceedingly welcoming and easy going, her daughter could play outside and visit the farms with her uncle, and Tom and Edith seemed to have more and more in common every time they visited.

"I'm not sure your husband would approve of your handling of the car, Lady Strallen." Tom teased as Edith braked late, allowing the rear of the heavy car to step out as they drifted around a bend in the road.

Edith laughed. "What he can't see can't hurt him." She told Tom above the noise of the engine. "Besides this is nothing. We had dinner with Hugh and Ethel Locke-King last week. She took Anthony and I out for a drive. It was fabulous, but you should have seen my husband's face!" Edith giggled at the memory. "Have you been to the circuit, Tom?"

"No I haven't. I've heard good things about it though."

"It's really nifty! Ethel said I should go for a spin myself. I'm not sure, but she insisted that I went to watch at least. You should come with us."

"I might do that." They lapsed into silence, letting the engine take control of the conversation, before Tom brought up the next topic. "How's the writing going?"

"Oh, it's wonderful! I'm so grateful that you suggested it. They've offered me my own column to discuss affairs of the modern woman."

"Attagirl! I knew you could do it, but I thought Sybil was the women's rights activist. I see now that it runs in the family." He tutted mockingly, and Edith glared at him playfully. She loved spending time with her brother in law. He was always so refreshing and full of ideas.

"Forgive me asking a personal question, but were you in love with her, even back then?"

"When?" Tom asked.

"The rallies and women's rights protests. Before the war."

"Oh. Yes." Tom couldn't help the slight blush that had crept up on him.

"So you waited for her all those years?"

"Yes."

"Thank you Tom." She said after a pause.

"What for?" His brow furrowed in confusion.

"Waiting for her. It means a lot to women to have a man who would wait for her. A man who believes in her. I get letters all the time from my readers, hoping for a man like that."

Tom remained silent. He thanked his lucky stars every day for his chance to be with Sybil, and again for the way her family had accepted them, but it felt like Edith had just accepted him on a deeper level. "You might want to slow down a bit. This bit of road looks less car friendly." He said as they approached a section with a few cracks and holes. Unfortunately his warning was a fraction too late, for as soon as he'd finished the sentence there was a loud bang.

"Oh, applesauce! That was the tyre. Never mind, there's a spare in the back." Edith got out of the car to get the wheel.

"Edith Crawley going to change the wheel of a car?" Tom joked as he got out to join her. "You sound positively radical!"

"Tom, it's the twenties. If you're not radical, you're nobody."

"Something else your readers told you?"

"No. Anthony."

Go, go, go east.

The Crüxshadows

*Hugh and Ethel Locke-King created Brooklands, the first purpose built motor racing circuit. If you live in England and have an interest in cars, it is a beautiful place to visit!

Soo... Any good?