Barrow's Boy - A Downton Abbey Fanfiction

Romeo & Juliet

     "Where on earth do you think you're going?" Thomas' voice stopped Teddy in his tracks as he reached the bottom of the stairs, the group of teenagers following behind him.

     "I'm going to find Abigail," Teddy replied honestly, taking a few steps into the servant's hall. Thomas took a drag from his cigarette, staring Teddy down for a moment before he spoke again, drawing out his words.

      "Are you insane?"

     "But-"

     "Theodore, you've just been shot! You should be upstairs resting, not walking around and risking opening your stitches."

      "I'll be careful," Teddy begged, trying to hold himself together. If he didn't do this now, he wasn't sure if he ever would.

      "You gotta let him go, Thomas," Everett spoke up from behind Teddy.

      "Why?"

      "I need to tell Abi that I love her." 

     It was at this point that many of the people sitting at the table fully turned to look at him instead of glancing through the corners of their eyes. Thomas stared at him for a moment, then nodded.

     "Walk slowly; keep your head on your shoulders. Don't you dare risk hurting yourself more than you already are."

     "Thank you, Dad!" 

     Teddy would have run to the door if that didn't contradict exactly what his father had just said. So, he walked stead, heart racing either way.

     "Abigail, O Abigail." Abi jumped as she heard his voice, looking over her shoulder a Theodore as he approached. "Wherefore art thou Abigail?"

      Her bare feet were in the lake as Abi sat on the dock at the edge of it. Her shoes, socks placed precisely inside of them, sat not too far from her. Teddy studied her for a moment, the way her hair waved in a way that showed that it had clearly been taken out of a braid and how the sun caught her eyes. He smiled to himself before continuing.

     "Deny thy father, and refuse thy name. Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love."

     "Has your recovery made you so bored that you're memorizing Shakespeare?" Abi asked, lifting her feet out of the water. She shook the excess water off of them before moving to stand. 

     "Oh, I've had that memorized for longer than you think," Teddy replied, leaning against the tree to his left. Abi stared at Theodore for a moment, mouth slightly open. Theodore stared back. Now that he was here, facing her, he suddenly felt a loss at how he was going to do this.

     "Sorry, Teddy," she said, brushing her hair away from her face. "I look a mess. I didn't expect-"

     "You don't look like a mess." Abi looked at him as she grabbed a ribbon for her hair, using it to tie it loosely back. "Not to me."

      How did this even work? Would it be acceptable for him to just say the words? How were men supposed to confess? It wasn't like Thomas had ever given him lessons on this. Before he could reach a conclusion, she spoke again.

     "What are you doing here, Teddy?" He tilted his head to the side. "You should be resting-"

     "I needed to see you. To tell you something," he replied. Good, that was a start. Abi shook her head at him.

      "If you're here to tell me about you and Hazel, then don't bother."

     Teddy was growing very confused very fast. Him and Hazel? What about them?