The Downton Princess | A Downton Abbey Fanfiction

Chapter Three

     When Darrel arrived at the train station, she found a young man waiting for her. He was of average height, with sleek black hair, and pale blue eyes. He looked around anxiously until Darrel approached her, and he sunk into a bow.
    "Good morning, Your Highness," he greeted, kissing her extended hand.
    "Hello, Lord Dankworth," Darrel nodded. "Thank you for agreeing to come with me to Downton."
    "Well, seeing as you are the future Queen of England, ma'am, I do not think that I had much of a choice."
    "Perhaps not. Although I am glad that you agreed before we had any discussion involving rank or power."
    "As am I, ma'am."
    "Do you need any help loading your things on board?"
    "My driver already did so, ma'am."
    "Very good. Well, shall we?"
    "Yes, ma'am."
    Lord Dankworth offered Darrel his arm. She accepted it and allowed him to help her onto the train and towards their compartment. Normally she did not appreciate people assuming that she was incapable of doing mundane tasks, such as boarding a train. However, she knew that for the public to believe that her courtship was real, Lord Dankworth had to be seen next to her as much as possible.
    Darrel and Lord Dankworth entered a private train compartment, followed by Allen, who stored her bag on the rack above them. Since Darrel kept a decent amount of clothes and other belongings at Downton, she did not have much to pack apart from an overnight bag, and one case with various things.
    "Thank you, Allen," Darrel nodded.
    "Will there be anything else, Your Highness?" Allen inquired.
    "No, thank you."
    "Your Highness. My Lord."
    Allen bowed then left the compartment, and took his position in standing by the compartment door. While Darrel found it unnecessary to have a guard outside of the compartment at all times, Their Majesties insisted upon it; especially since she refused to have more guards with her when she travelled.

    Once the door slid shut behind the guard, Darrel and Lord Dankworth looked at each other awkwardly for a few moments. While they had spoken to each other on their own before, it was very rare that they were alone together. Normally they only saw each other at public events, or to go on strolls through the park.
    "Are you looking forward to returning to Downton, Your Highness?" Lord Dankworth inquired.
    Darrel shrugged, "It depends on the mood that Lord Grantham is in. I planned on introducing you to the Crawleys before they found out about our relationship in the press. However, due to Mr Jones' article, and all the events that we have been busy with; I suspect that my father will not be too happy."
    Lord Dankworth nodded, "Yes, it is unfortunate. I do not like Mr Jones' articles."
    "Me neither. So, I have asked Mr Turner if he will meet with us when we return to London. It will give us a chance to have our first public interview. Hopefully, it will draw more attention to Mr Turner's newspaper, and away from Mr Jones'."
    "That is a good plan, ma'am."
    "Well, I cannot take all the credit. Sir Charlie was the one who suggested that we do an interview together, and I added that it should be with Mr Turner."
    "Might I voice a concern, ma'am?"
    "Of course."
    "I worry that if we give the interview to Mr Turner, that it will only anger Mr Jones further. Would it not make more sense to choose a more neutral paper to do our interview with, ma'am?"
    "While you do have a point, I trust Mr Turner more than I trust any other reporter. Our first interview should be a good one, and he is the only one that I believe will ensure that we appear to be in a good relationship."
    "Very good, ma'am."
    Darrel nodded, then let out a heavy sigh.
    "Is something the matter, ma'am?" Lord Dankworth inquired.
    "Not exactly," Darrel replied. "However, I am concerned that the true test of our relationship will not be with the members of the press, but with the Crawleys."
    "Why is that, ma'am?"
    "They are my family. They have known me since I was a little girl, and they got to know Mr Carlos reasonably well. We will have to work on proving to them that we care for each other."
    "But, we do care for each other, ma'am."
    Darrel sighed, "Yes, but not in the same way that most people in relationships do. When I was engaged to Mr Carlos, I was so excited at the prospect of becoming his wife, and spending the rest of my life with him."
    Darrel took a deep breath and looked down at her hands, which she had laced together. She forced herself not to cry; she did not want to spend even more time crying over Sebastian.
    "It is all right if you want to talk about Mr Carlos in front of me, ma'am," Lord Dankworth assured. "I understand that you do not love me as you loved him and that you never will. I agreed to companionship when we began courting."
    "And I appreciate that," Darrel nodded. "However, the only people who know about our...agreement apart from us are the private secretaries, Their Majesties, David, and Paul Ringer. And I wish to keep it that way. They do not mind that we are not in love; however, the Crawleys will. Therefore, we must convince them that we are fond of each other."
    "With all due respect, ma'am, why are you not telling them the truth?"
    "Because they will try to talk me out of courting you. They do not understand my duties to the Crown. They do not realize that I must find myself a husband and produce an heir. They would want me to wait until I find someone who I love as much as I loved Sebastian. However, I know that is not possible."
    "I understand, ma'am. And I will do what is required to pull off our charade."
    Darrel nodded gratefully. She could not bear to have Lord Grantham lecture her again about her romantic life, and she certainly did not want to have to go back to the endless parade of suitors.
    "Well, to begin; we must drop the formalities," Darrel informed. "You cannot always be addressing me properly."
    "But that just seems disrespectful, ma'am," Lord Dankworth protested.
    "No, it makes it seem as if we are close enough that we have disregarded titles completely. Besides, even after we leave Downton, we have known each other for months. It is only natural that you put an end to all the formalities."
    "Very well. So I am to address you as Elizabeth?"
    "Absolutely not! In front of the Crawleys, you must address me as Darrel. Otherwise they will never believe that our courtship is real."
    "Darrel?" Lord Dankworth repeated. "But, nobody addresses you by that name."
    "Well, the Crawleys do, as do my close friends. Therefore, you must as well."
    "If that is what you wish, then that is how I shall address you."
    "Thank you. And, if you will allow it, I would like to address you by your first name."
    "Of course you may."
    "Good."
    The two of them stared at each other for a moment; neither of them knowing what to say.

    "I am sorry that it must be so complicated...Tobias," Darrel said, testing out her new way of addressing her suitor.
    "There is no reason to apologize, Darrel," Lord Dankworth replied. "I understand that it is never easy to court a member of the monarchy."
    "I am sure that after we have known each other for a few more months, this shall seem more natural."
    "I do hope so. This does seem rather foreign to me."
    "Well, if it ever does get too complicated for you, I would not hold it against you if you wished to end our courtship. I do not want you to feel forced to stay with me if it is too difficult for you."
    "It is not too difficult. It might take me some time to adjust to calling you by your childhood name, but I will make it seem natural in no time."
    "That is not what I meant. I know that you told me that you do not mind being in a courtship with someone who will never love you; but I understand if you change your mind," Darrel informed. "Everyone deserves to be in a real relationship if that is what they choose."
    Lord Dankworth did not know how to respond. When Darrel first told him that she would never love another man; he was taken aback. However, after realizing what that meant; he was quick to agree to court her. Originally, he planned to live his entire life as a bachelor. So when someone, not to mention the future Queen of England, offered him a chance to be in a loveless relationship, he thought it was the perfect plan.
    "I will not change my mind, Darrel," Lord Dankworth assured, saying her name much more confidently than last time. "I knew what this courtship entailed when I agreed to it. And I keep my word."
    "Very well," Darrel nodded. "Then thank you, Tobias. I truly appreciate your agreeing to this courtship. I...I do not know what would have happened if I had to pretend to love another man."
    "Well, you never have to pretend around me."
    "Thank you. And neither do you. We can be honest with each other; always."
'Oh, but I can't be honest with you,' Lord Dankworth thought to himself. 'You don't know why I agreed to this courtship, and I hope that you never find out the reason.'
    "I am excited to see Downton," he said, trying to change the subject. "It will be interesting to see where you lived before moving to Buckingham Palace."
    "Yes, I am looking forward to showing you," Darrel smiled. "Despite everything that has happened over the years; Downton is my home."

What are your thoughts on Lord Tobias Dankworth? Will his relationship with Darrel work out?