The Downton Princess | A Downton Abbey Fanfiction

Chapter Seventeen

Darrel entered the sitting room, followed by JF, who shut the door behind them. The Princess of Wales turned to face the foreign prince, curious as to why he wished to speak with her in private. She could tell that something was the matter, as she had never seen JF look so solemn.
    "Is everything all right?" Darrel inquired.
    "No," JF replied, avoiding her gaze.
    "I see. Is it something to do with Camila? Are she and the baby all right?"
    "They are both fine, as far as I know, anyway. My aunt and uncle are making sure of that; they need an heir."
    "I suppose that is understandable; your child shall be the future King or Queen of Spain. Is it to do with King Manuel? Is he ill again?"
    "No, he is still recovering but he is more or less the same."
    Darrel nodded as she watched JF pace around the room, looking down at the floor. She did not know what else to say, she was out of guesses. While Darrel normally did not mind JF's company, at that moment, she wished that she were back in the ballroom. She found the prince's behaviour unsettling, and wished that she had not led him to the sitting room.
    "JF, can you please tell me what you wished to speak to me about?" Darrel requested after watching him pace for a good five minutes. "I am sure that people have noticed my disappearance, and it would be rude of me to not return to the ball shortly."
    "I am still formulating how to phrase my concerns," JF replied. "And I want to find a way to say it that you will not consider treasonous."
    "I can assure you that you may speak freely to me. We are friends, are we not? We were almost family. So please, what is it?"
    JF took a deep breath and continued to pace. Darrel let out a sigh, sensing that she might be in that sitting room for a while. However, JF finally stopped pacing and stood in front of Darrel.

    "How dare you," JF accused.
    "Excuse me?" Darrel replied.
    "Your behaviour tonight in the ballroom was appalling. Showing that Dankworth fellow off to everyone, dancing like that, kissing him after your dance? What the hell is wrong with you?"
    "I did not realize that you had such opinions on displays of public affection."
    "Do not act stupid."
    "I am not acting stupid. But I do not understand why you questioning my relationship with Lord Dankworth."
    "You don't? And here I thought that you were clever."
    "Please think carefully before continuing, Your Highness. There is a difference between speaking to me freely, and speaking to me hostilely."
    JF looked at Darrel and realized that she had changed since the last time he saw her. She finally accepted and stepped into her role as the Princess of Wales. She spoke confidently, firmly, and looked the part of a future Queen. It was in that moment JF realized that perhaps he should not have started their conversation in such an aggressive manner. Darrel was not the same girl that he used to know; she was the future Queen of England. She would not allow anyone to belittle her. However, he already started and felt as if he had to continue.
    "My apologies, ma'am," JF nodded, bowing his head in acknowledgement. "I got carried away with my emotions."
    "Yes, you Carlos cousins seem to do that quite a bit," Darrel snapped, no longer treating JF as a friend. She sensed that an attack was coming, and she was ready. "Now tell me, what part of my behaviour tonight offended Your Highness?"
    "I do not understand how you could move on so quickly. And how you dare to show to the world that your relationship with Sebastian meant nothing to you. You have quite some nerve, Your Highness."
    "My relationship with Sebastian was incredibly special to me. I loved him with all my heart, and you of all people should know that."
    "You claim that you loved him, but if you truly loved him, you would not be doing this. You would not court another man, and you certainly would not parade him around all of the English noblemen. I expect that there will be an engagement soon."
    "Not that this is any of your business, but if you must know, we have not discussed an engagement."
    That was not entirely true, as Darrel and Tobias spoke about getting married someday. They knew that eventually, they would have to get married if they continued to court each other. However, Darrel never wanted to ask. While men were normally the ones to propose, Darrel was the future Queen of England, and therefore, it was up to her to ask. Darrel wanted to hold off on proposing for as long as possible until she was sure that Tobias would be content in a loveless marriage. While he said over and over again that he did need or want to marry for love, Darrel unconvinced that he meant it.
    "Do you have any idea how heartless you are, Darrel Crawley?" JF demanded.
    "I did not realize that I was, but I am sure you are about to tell me why that is so," she retorted.   
    "How could you move on so quickly after your relationship with Sebastian? Do you know how much you have crushed him? You broke his heart!"
    "I broke his heart? Not only is that not true; as he is the one who broke off our engagement. But you should not be here accusing me when you are why he left."
    "He left you out of family loyalty, which I thought you appreciated."
    "Of course I do. Which is why I let him leave. And I still care about him, and I always will."
    "Well, then you have a funny way of showing it. You moved on seconds after it was over between the two of you. And now you and your new gentleman are in every paper in this country. You broke Sebastian's heart; you broke him."
    Darrel bit down on her bottom lip as she tried not to cry. She did her best to keep her facial expressions neutral. She hated the idea that she broke Sebastian. If she had it her way, she would never have started courting Tobias Dankworth; she would never court anyone again. But she was to become the Queen, and therefore she would need an heir, and to do so, she would need a husband. Darrel wished that she could tell JF the truth; it was all an act for the papers. If she and Tobias were to marry, it would mean nothing to her. She wanted to say that Sebastian was the only man she would ever love. But, she could not risk anyone outside of The Royal Family finding out about her arrangement with Tobias.
    "I thought that you were a good person," JF informed. " I used to think that you were the nicest person on earth, given that you put up with all of Sebastian's drinking and his other issues. But I guess that I was wrong. I guess my aunt and uncle were right about you. You are a silly girl playing with my cousin's emotions."
    "Please, stop," Darrel whispered.
    JF either did not hear her or did not care, as he continued, "It turns out that you are a cruel, heartless woman. You made him give away his title for nothing! My baby cousin is stranded in a foreign country, miserable because you tricked him into thinking that he loved you."
    "Enough!" Darrel ordered, shocking JF and herself by raising her voice. "That is quite enough, Your Highness. I do not have to explain my actions to you, and you are in no place to chastise me. You might be mad at me for what happened with Sebastian, but that is no reason to speak to me in this vile manner. Now, let me remind you that Sebastian was the one who ended our engagement. He has no right to be upset with how things turned out."
    JF was about to protest, but Darrel gave him a warning look.
    "I appreciate your birthday wishes, Your Highness," Darrel said firmly. "And do give my best wishes to the Princess. You have my permission to withdraw."
    JF did his best not to glare at her. He instead bowed, mumbled a goodbye then left the sitting room, slamming the door behind him.

    As soon as JF left the room, Darrel sat on the floor, bursting into tears. She never knew that JF could be so cruel, and she hated the fact that she broke Sebastian's heart. She wished that she could go see him and tell him that she did not love Tobias; she would only ever love him. But she knew that she could not do that. If anything, she hoped that Sebastian seeing Darrel move on would help him get on with his life; the life that he chose for himself. Unfortunately, she knew now that she would always be the villain in Sebastian's life. However, if that made it easier for Sebastian to cope with the end of their engagement, she did not care.
    After a few minutes of crying, Darrel got to her feet and looked around the room, tears still streaming down her cheeks. She could not go back to the ballroom; she was a mess, and she would most likely start crying if anyone tried to talk to her.
    Darrel opened the doors out onto the balcony and looked around, as the summer breeze hit her face. She noticed that there was a balcony not too far above her which would allow her to leave the vicinity of the ballroom without anyone noticing.
    Making sure that nobody was watching, or that any guards were about to shoot her, Darrel made her way to the balcony's railing. She placed one foot on it and hoisted herself up using the lower part of the above balcony. Once both feet were on the railing, she slowly began to pull herself up to the second balcony. As her hands reached the railing of the second balcony, Darrel took a deep breath, and then swung herself over the railing and onto the balcony.
    Panting, Darrel tried the door, and much to her relief, it was unlocked. She entered the room and realized that she was back in the drawing room that she was in before they entered the ball. She could hear the noise of the party going on below her, but she left the drawing room and headed to her quarters.

    Once Darrel entered her sitting room, she sat down on the floor, throwing her tiara to the side, and burst into tears again. She felt so alone, helpless, and unsure of what she was doing with her life. She wished that the Crawleys were there to comfort her. But they were not invited, since there would be too much gossip concerning the Crawleys and the Royal Family.
    At some point, the door to the sitting room opened. Darrel did not bother to look up until he saw Tobias sit down across from her.
    "What happened?" Tobias gasped. "Are you hurt?"
    "No," Darrel muttered.
    "Should I get one of the guards? Or the Royal Physician?"
    "No. I am fine. Or at least, I am uninjured."
    Tobias nodded but was not exactly convinced.
    "What happened?" Tobias inquired.   
    "JF spoke to me," Darrel informed.
    "The Prince of Spain?"
    "Yes, that is his nickname. Anyway, he told me how much he hates me."
    "Why?"
    "Because I broke Sebastian's heart."
    "That is not true. He broke yours!"
    "Yes, I know that. But since I am courting you, Sebastian now thinks that our relationship never meant anything to him. And I cannot tell him the truth. I have broken him, and I cannot fix it."
    "I am sorry. I am sorry that His Highness upset you, and I am sorry that you are filled with guilt about how our relationship impacted Mr Carlos."
    "Do not be sorry, none of this is your fault. It is not anyone's fault. We are in this mess, and somehow, we need to figure out a way to move through it."
    Tobias nodded. He moved to sit beside Darrel and offered her his hand. Darrel gave him a small smile and took it, squeezing it.
    "Thank you," Darrel nodded.
    "I know that we do not love each other, but I do care about you," Tobias informed. "And if there is anything that I can do to help, I will."
    "Thank you, you are a good man, Tobias Dankworth."
    Tobias smiled.
    "I cannot go back to the ball," Darrel announced.
    "I understand," Tobias nodded. "I can go tell Their Majesties that you are not feeling well."
    "No, please do not do that. I cannot bear the idea of seeing them tonight or hearing them lecture me about leaving right now. And I cannot let them know about what happened with JF."
    "Why not?"
    "Because JF is David's closest friend, and I will not allow them to fall out over this. JF has every right to defend his cousin."
    "I suppose. You are an incredibly kind person."
    Darrel shrugged as she got to her feet. "Let's go."
    "Go where?" Tobias inquired, getting up.
    "Anywhere. But I cannot stay here."
    "We have nowhere to go. We cannot just wander around London; imagine what people would say."
    "Then take me to the Birmingham Estate," Darrel ordered.
    "Why Birmingham?" Tobias replied.
    "Because it's secluded, we can bring guards, and nobody would think anything of it. Please, Tobias. I cannot stay here."
    Tobias looked at Darrel curiously but then nodded. He saw that Darrel was in a lot of pain and that her entire face was stained with tears. He understood that what she needed most was an escape.

Was there some truth in what JF said to Darrel? How will his words impact her?