The Downton Princess | A Downton Abbey Fanfiction

Chapter Ten

Paul and Sebastian remained quiet for the duration of their walk back to Helen Ringer's house. Once in a while, Paul looked over to glare at Sebastian but did not say anything. He knew that Sebastian would start ranting about something that no member of the public should overhear. Over the years, and especially now that his father was Darrel's private secretary, Paul understood the importance of privacy within the Royal Family. So, he did the best he could to keep Sebastian from starting a possible scandal. In a way, Paul was glad that Sebastian met Lord Dankworth for the first time at Downton as opposed to London, where people certainly would have heard their conversation.

    Once they returned to the house, Sebastian stormed upstairs to Paul's bedroom and kicked the bed frame.
    "If you damage my furniture, I will make you pay for a replacement," Paul warned.
    Sebastian glared at Paul then flopped down onto the mattress that had been set up for him. Last night Paul made it very clear that Sebastian would be the one to sleep on the floor. When Sebastian reminded Paul that he was the guest, Paul replied saying that it was his bed and that Sebastian was no longer a prince.
    "I cannot believe that the Princess already has a new suitor!" Sebastian exclaimed.
    "You saw it in the papers already," Paul reminded.
    Paul was not trying to be rude, or unhelpful. He saw that Sebastian was struggling, and did want to help him through this rough time. Although at the same time, he felt as if what Sebastian needed most was someone to remind him of the reality of his situation. Paul would not allow Sebastian to mope forever, and continue to hope that somehow he and Darrel would get reengaged.
    "He studies flowers," Sebastian informed, emphasizing the word 'flowers' as if it were the worst insult known. 
    "So?" Paul shrugged, taking a seat on his bed.
    "What kind of nobleman studies flowers?"
    "Ones that wish to better themselves by pursuing higher education."
    "We are talking about flowers, Paul. Flowers."
    "Do not use that condescending tone on me, Sebastian Carlos!" Paul protested. "It may have worked when you were the bloody Prince of Spain, or when you were the Princess of Wales' fiancé, but you are neither. So when someone is trying to help you, as I am doing right now, you need to treat that person with a decent amount of respect."
    Sebastian was silent for a few minutes. Up until a few months ago, the only people who would ever tell him that he was in wrong were his parents, JF, The King and Queen of England, David, and, on occasion, Darrel. Even then, Sebastian always knew when he was in the wrong; it was often because he overstepped, or spoke rudely to a member of the monarchy. Ever since moving in with Paul Ringer, he had to endure his lectures on etiquette daily. Sebastian usually did not mean to insult Paul; he was just used to acting a certain way, and it was hard for him to unlearn how he had been taught to act since birth.
    "Sorry, Paul," Sebastian muttered.
    "It is all right," Paul assured. "I understand that it cannot be easy to see Her Highness and Lord Dankworth together. You can be upset, but try not to be an ass."
    "Flowers."
    "Oh, give it a rest with the bloody flowers. There are worst things to have studied than flowers. Do you think studying all the different utensils that have to be used at a State Dinner is any more important than flowers?"
    "Well, in my case, yes. Because if I had used them incorrectly, my father would have murdered me."
    "My point is that you should not obsess over the fact that Lord Dankworth is knowledgeable about flowers and insects. I find it rather impressive. I would have assumed that Their Majesties would have Her Highness court someone with a grander title than the younger son of a duke."
    "Well, They almost let her marry me," Sebastian sighed. "And I had no title."
    Paul was about to say something, but didn't, since Sebastian was not supposed to know that Paul was quite knowledgeable about what happened with the Royal Family over the past few years. 'Let' was a generous word to use in terms of how Their Majesties felt about Sebastian and Darrel's engagement. Their Majesties tolerated Sebastian to stay at Buckingham Palace, while they blackmailed Perseus Chadwick, the Duke of Dulverton, to get him to break the couple up. Paul and Darrel never understood why the King and Queen went through so much trouble when they could have ordered Darrel to end her engagement to Sebastian. But alas, it did not matter, since Sebastian decided to end their engagement so he could return to Spain once his father died.
    "What do you think Her Highness sees in him?" Sebastian inquired, after thinking for a few minutes.
    "I do not know," Paul shrugged.
    "You must know something. After all, I know that you still see her. And with your father being the private secretary. So come on, what does she see in that Dankworth fellow?"
    'A loveless marriage,' Paul thought to himself but did not dare to repeat those words aloud. When Darrel told him the truth about her courtship with Lord Dankworth, she made Paul promise not to repeat it to anyone, or she would find a way to have him convicted of treason. While Paul was certain that Darrel would not do such a thing, he did not want to test his luck.
    "I do not understand it," Sebastian announced.
    "What do you not understand?" Paul sighed, getting rather bored of their conversation.
    "From what I can tell, Lord Dankworth and I are nothing alike. So how is it that Her Highness can go from being engaged to me, to courting him?"
    "I do not know. Perhaps she wanted a change. Surely it would be strange if she began courting almost identical to you."
    "I suppose. But, he is such a bore!"
    "We only spoke to him for five minutes, and most of that time was filled with you being rude to them. And by the way, do not think that I am not upset with you for that. You were incredibly rude! What on Earth were you thinking? On second thought, do not bother answering that question. You were not thinking. At all."
    "Oh, shut up, Paul," Sebastian groaned.
    "No, I will not," Paul retorted. "There are so many reasons why you should not have said what you did. But since I do not feel like lecturing you for the next hour, I will say this; how dare you accuse Darrel of seeing you as a 'pathetic drunk.' Because you know very well that Darrel was the only person who believed in the good in you, while nobody else did. She would have stood by your side forever if you had let her."

    Sebastian got to his feet and looked at Paul oddly, which made Paul realize that perhaps he should not have said all those things. Paul had to keep so many secrets from Sebastian, that he had forgotten that he was not supposed to know about Sebastian's old drinking habits.
    "How do you know about my drinking?" Sebastian demanded.
    Paul had no idea how to answer that question. Almost a year ago, Robert spoke to Darrel and tried to convince her to leave Sebastian, with the main point being about how Sebastian would go out drinking every night. Needing advice, Darrel spoke to Paul about it, telling him everything. However, Sebastian did not know about Robert's conversation with Darrel or Darrel's conversation with Paul.
    "How much do you about me?" Sebastian inquired.
    "Everything," Paul muttered, not wanting to hide anything else from Sebastian. It was too much effort, and he knew that he would be able to help Sebastian more with everything out in the open.
    "What do you mean by everything?"
    "Your drinking...your trip to Spain, and Their Majesties blackmailing the Duke of Dulverton."
    "Mierda. So she told you all this? Why?"
    "She did not," Paul lied because he did not want to make him more upset than he already was. "My father did. Darrel must have told my father everything when he became her private secretary, and he thought it would be important for me to know when he heard that we were living together."
    Paul realized that he said the right thing for a change because he could see Sebastian's body relax. While he was not happy that Paul knew everything about him, Sebastian was glad that Darrel had not been speaking about him the whole time that they were engaged. Sebastian sat back down on the mattress.
    "Are you all right?" Paul inquired.
    "No," Sebastian muttered.
    "Is there anything that I can do?"
    "No."
    "Okay. I am going to do a bit more work in the gardens before we lose the light. Do you want to come help?"
    Sebastian nodded, wanting to get his mind off of things. He got to his feet and followed Paul down to the gardens.

    "Sebastian," Paul said, as they continued to weed the flowerbeds. "It will get easier."
    "What?" Sebastian replied.
    "Seeing her with another person. One day it will not bother you anymore."
    "How do you know that?"
    "Because it does not bother me anymore. I just want her to be happy."
    Sebastian nodded then added softly, "I am sorry that I was so horrible to you. I did not understand what you were going through...but I think I do now."
    Paul smiled at Sebastian, grateful for the apology, even if it was many years later.