a purpose

the fact is, i’d like a LIFE!

lady edith crawley / lady edith pelham of do.wnton abbey. written by bee ( she / they, est , 21+ ).

there was always a moment, after lewis mentioned the comte’s name in polite conversation, when his heart nearly stopped in his chest. no matter how innocuous the mention itself might be, the paranoid voice in the back of his mind invariably began to babble frantically that he had given away too much. even after edith’s cheerful reply came, his worry did not entirely dissipate. he had never been more glad for the presence of a fire to stare into, in order to avoid glancing up at his host. “ quite well. exceedingly well. i reside normally in london; i am always glad to take in the country air. ”

as she gave the servant the order, lewis took the opportunity to step up close to the fire and stretch his hands out to warm the aching stiffness from the fingers. he had not realised, until he’d entered the house, quite how much the rain had chilled him to the bone. really, he ought to invest in a better coat; morrison had been telling him so for at least a year and a half. perhaps the man had a point, insufferable though he was. turning his head halfway over his shoulder, he replied, “ i am a guest of the comte d’arces. you must have met him, i imagine? ”

lewis hesitated for a moment. his stiff sense of propriety urged him to ask as little as possible, but he was rather cold, and the prospect of a strong drink to warm the blood was a little too enticing. it would surely not be out of line to request something, since she had asked. he rubbed his palms together uncertainly for a second or two longer, then nodded once. “ i would very much appreciate some brandy, ” he replied, “ if you have it. ” given the size of this house, he doubted whether there was any food or drink in the world it did not contain, but it seemed polite to add that last little addendum all the same. “ as to the coachman, do not trouble yourself. i am staying at one of the local estates, not in the village; it is easy enough to walk. ”

lewis had considered interjecting when the lady of the house ordered a room prepared. an hour or two in a stranger’s home was something he could stomach, but an entire night was absolutely unconscionable — even the downpour was preferable to that. deciding at the last moment, however, that it was more polite not to protest, he kept his mouth reluctantly shut. it would be simple enough to take his leave before it became late enough to think of sleep. stripping off his gloves, he handed them off to the waiting butler along with his hat and coat before following his host down the corridor. “ oh, i am sure that will not be necessary, madam. these sorts of storms never last more than an hour or two. ”

𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑.  /  𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐔𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐒.

“ really, i am grateful for your hospitality. it would have been a sorry fate, having to walk the rest of the way in this weather. ” exhaling hard, the surgeon removed his hat — carefully, so as not to send too many rain droplets spattering — and pushed the damp blond hair back from his forehead. sheltering in the home of a stranger was not exactly within his comfort zone, but the alternative was unpleasant enough to force his hand. with any luck, the rain would abate before long. “ as soon as the storm is done, i shall be on my way, i assure you. ”

“it is no trouble, milady,”  thomas responds to her apology, standing there still.  his mind wanders once more.  “mr. carson is always saying how i am superfluous, so i shall show him my worth.”  did he just say that?  did he just say that, out loud, to a lady of the house?  he is losing his touch.  thomas’ eyes widen.  “my sincerest apologies, milady.  i have spoken out of turn.”  his face blanches, and he glances at edith before looking down.  he clenches his hands at his sides.  that had been stupid.  so stupid.

thomas cracks a small smile at her jest.  he is quiet, the proper servant before her.  he nearly found his way out before saving edith, so he is lucky to still be here.  her gratitude almost feels wrong.  certainly, he saved her life, but he does not feel as though he is a HERO.  “i only thought quickly, milady.  i could not imagine leaving you alone in that room to burn.”  and that much is the truth.  he does not wish death upon anyone.  the fire had kicked in his training from the war;  he felt like he was on the front again, carrying a wounded fellow to safety.  he sees her looking at him, and he turns his gaze to meet hers.  he wracks his brain, and there’s certainly a hundred things he could have thought of when he was younger and more selfish.  “i am quite content, lady edith…  however, if something comes to mind, i shall let you know.”  he offers another polite, tight smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. 

no matter where we are, WE’LL ALWAYS SHARE THE SAME SKY. we can always find each other in the same constellation.

WAS HE BRAVE? the whole reason he had even been on that floor was the accompany jimmy to lady anstruther’s room, to cover for the footman. just another thing thomas has done that is bad. he used to not care, but as he gets older and feels like he does not have many friends… jimmy is gone now, and thomas is alone. barrow forces a polite smile, the one reserved for the family. “it is my duty to protect you, milady.” he says with a nod of his head. “the only appreciation i need is your good health, lady edith.” 

CANON VERSES

pre - series

anything that takes place before 1912. the forgotten crawley sister ; NOT HALF SO CHARMING AS MARY OR PASSIONATE AS SYBIL. head over heels for patrick crawley, who is in turn head over heels for edith’s elder sister, mary. TURNED BITTER by being so constantly passed over for her lovelier, wittier, more desirable sisters and dreading the thought of being the UN-MARRIED SPINSTER of the family while her sisters find happy marriages & lives. has not a thought of the war on the horizon.

series one

1912 - 1914. left HEARTBROKEN after beloved patrick dies aboard the titanic, edith feels as ADRIFT and OUT OF PLACE as ever. it seems her EVERY ATTEMPT is bound to fail in some manner ; the heir to the grantham title, matthew, is taken with MARY ( history is doomed to repeat itself ) despite edith’s attempts to gain his interest. the jealousy within her has crystallized into something SHARP & UNKIND - specicially regarding mary, though that is not new - perhaps that is what drives her to WRITE TO THE TURKISH EMBASSAY REGARDING THE AMBASSADOR THAT WOUND UP DEAD IN MARY’S BED. it was unthinking ; the scandal would surely harm her prospects, too. heart breaks once more when MARY wards off a suitor edith has been falling for, SIR ANTHONY STRALLAN.

series two

1915-1919. spans the time of WORLD WAR ONE & the year after, though no one knew to call it that yet. it feels wrong to worry over being wed when so many of the men edith has known are off at war, fighting & dying. so she finds OTHER THINGS TO DO. she learns to drive with the aid of TOM BRANSON the chauffer. she spends time with the soldiers who arrive at the abbey when it is turned into a convalescent home, TAKING CARE of the wounded & recovering. AFTER THE WAR she attempts to restart a relationship with STRALLAN, who was badly wounded in the war.

series three

1920 - 1921. EARL’S DAUGHTER JILTED AT THE ALTAR! how much further can humiliation mount? edith had thought there was a PATH THROUGH LIFE ; married to anthony strallan. instead he turned her down at the altar & fled. a terrible year can only be made more HORRIBLE when baby sister SIBYL, kind & lovely & smart sybil, dies. it feels as though grief will ENGULF THEM ALL, edith included. so she heeds sibyl’s advice - FINDING SOMETHING TO DO. it comes in the form of a regular column in a magazine and, beyond that, in the form of MICHAEL GREGSON, the editor of the sketch. he is MARRIED but his wife has been in an asylum for years. THEIR LOVE IS DOOMED, edith knows this, but oh - HOW SHE LOVES HIM.

series four (PREGNANCY TW)

1922. their love is INDEED DOOMED. michael gregson goes MISSING in germany, where he had moved in order to be able to divorce his wife & wed edith ; not before edith falls pregnant with his child, out of wedlock. from the harm her spreading word of mary’s INDISCRETIONS with the turkish ambassador had caused edith knows for certain that such a thing will be a DISASTER for the family. STILL - SHE WANTS THIS CHILD. SHE LOVES MICHAEL AND KNOWS SHE WOULD LOVE HIS BABY. a plan is hatched by aunt & grandmother to go off to geneva & have the child, leaving it with some childless family there - against edith’s initial plan to give the child to some of the tenant farmers at downton. she does go to switzerland and have the baby ( MARIGOLD ) but cannot MOVE ON after returning without her. it is as though a part of herself is MISSING ; something has been torn from her heart with her daughter & MICHAEL, who is gone. it is good the drewes still want for a child.

series five

TBA

series six

TBA

AU VERSES

regency

the middle daughter of the earl of grantham & his american wife, lady edith crawley is getting a touch OLD to remain unmarried. her elder sister MARY is more desirable, with her sharp wit and raven hair - younger sister SYBIL more amusing & daring. lady edith is oft the one with an empty dance card and something sharp glittering in her eyes as she lingers on the edges of ballrooms & tries, perhaps a little TOO BLATANTLY, to catch the attention of some suitor. (follows much the same beats as pre-series and series one)

modern

a successful magazine editor & mother, EDITH CRAWLEY-PELHAM is quite the stylish figure these days. (to be expanded. series five & six inspired)

dragon age

@edthcrwly liked for a starter !

“I DO HOPE YOU ARE WELL, LADY EDITH.”  thomas knows he’s speaking out of turn, but just a few nights before he had edith in his arms as he fled from a fire in her bedroom.  her sadness has loomed over the estate, and thomas must admit that he has felt that same melancholy lately.  he stands there, head still tall, not directly looking at her.  they are not friends.  thomas has known his place in this family.  he’s trying to stay out of trouble, even if he wants baxter’s loyalty…  though, he finds himself glancing at lady edith out of the corner of his eye. 

this is a blog for LADY EDITH from dow.nton abbey.

i am selective & mutuals only, so i only interact with blogs that i follow. please do not take it personally if i do not follow you back - i am selective in order to keep my dash clean! - but i ask that you please do not im me if we are not mutuals.

the themes and imagery of war, death, illness, pregnancy & motherhood, and period typical sexism will be on this blog. while i will tag everything, a lot of these are integral to edith as a character and not easily avoided.

please do not godmod / powerplay / metagame, etc. the basic rp rules! i control my character and you control yours.

please DO im me to plot! i love plotting - platonic, romantic, adversaries, etc. - and would like to aim for plot-heavy connections for edith!

i do NOT write smut. it makes me uncomfortable. please do not pressure or ask me about doing this as it is not something that brings me any joy or interest.

(are rules passwords still a thing at all?) if they are - i do not send in rules passwords! if i follow you, i have read your rules.