Happy New year Chamberites!! I am OBSESSED with Downtown Abbey at the moment and since I was snowed in, my muse kept gnawing at me. So, here's a new story to inaugurate a new year.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
He stood staring at the coffin. You would think that a multitude of emotions would be flooding him, but that was not the case. He was just numb. Still in shock . . . still reeling . . . still . . . He heard a sniffle to his right and looked down. His beautiful daughter who had her mother's eyes was wiping her nose. He bent to pick her up and breathed in her scent. No one should have to deal with death at 3 years old. He wasn't even sure she understood what happened. Her mother was gone; killed in a car crash.
An hour later, he sat in the massive living room of his Bel Air mansion still holding his little girl. There were people all around. Models, business acquaintances, and friends of his mother-in-laws offered condolences, ate food that they brought, and whispered.
He looks devastated.
He hasn't let her go since the burial.
What is he going to do now? He doesn't know how to take care of a child.
Well, she wasn't very nurturing either. But at least she had her mother.
I heard that they had an "open" relationship.
Do you think he'll go back to England now?
"Let me take her upstairs to lie down," his assistant said as she knelt beside him.
He stared at her with unseeing eyes. He didn't want to let her go. She was his life line right now. He shook his head at the petite blond, who'd been providing assistance to him in professional and very unprofessional ways for the last year.
She started to insist, but his mother-in-law interrupted, "Stacy can you go make sure that the kitchen staff know to begin clearing up in fifteen minutes?"
"Of course, Mrs. Spencer", Stacy said and scurried off.
Ruby Spencer exhaled deeply and sat next to him.
"Thank you for handling all of this," he said quietly as he looked at the woman who'd been his blessing and curse for the last three years.
"I didn't do anything son, I just made a few calls and my friends and church folk did the rest."
She looked out as the crowd of people began to thin. They both nodded and shook hands with the well-wishers for the next few minutes.
"Do you want me to take the baby for a little while?" Ruby asked as she stared out the window.
He hesitated and looked down at his child. He had no idea what to do with her.
"Yes, that would be appreciated."
Cast pictures are coming up!