Anyone who knew Peggy could probably tell that she was more than a little apprehensive about this entire situation. Yes, it was true that she had agreed to stay after being brought to Atlantis, but each day seemed to bring with it a new surprise. Not always an unwelcome one, of course, but a surprise nonetheless. The latest was the arrival of Howard and his … wife. Peggy knew, of course, from talking with both Steve and Tony, that eventually Howard settled down, got married, had a son. But seeing it with her own eyes was something different altogether.
That didn't mean she wasn't curious about this woman who snagged Howard and got him to settle down. She suggested that she and Mary meet for tea, and Peggy got there early enough to spend some time reviewing the network and some of her training work before the other woman arrived. Peggy looked up, smiling, and stood when Mary came in. She offered her hand. "I suppose technically you already know me in some way, but since I don't know you … " Peggy shrugged a little. "Peggy Carter. Nice to meet you, Lady Mary."
It was strange to meet Peggy again after being friends with her for over a year. She had gone back home though after the nebula had been fixed, and Mary missed her company. She was glad to hopefully have it again, even if the two of them had to start from scratch.
After shaking Peggy’s hand, the two of them sat down at the table. “It’s nice to meet you again as well. I hope I didn’t come on too strongly over the communicator.” Mary realized that it was probably a shock to her, to meet someone that she never knew but who knew her. There was also the shock that she was married to Howard. Anyone who knew the man would be shocked by that.
It wasn't as much of a shock as it could have been. After all, a lot of the people here from her world knew her or at least knew of her, which was taking some getting used to. She'd lived an entire life in their eyes, yet hadn't even touched most of it in her own.
"Not at all," Peggy told her. "Just wasn't what I was expecting. Not that I can say I expect much of anything at all since arriving here. Have you and Howard settled in all right?"
“Well enough, I suppose,” Mary replied as the tea was brought to the table. She thanked the waitress, then poured some of it into her cup, followed by two sugars and a bit of cream. “The flat is rather nice. A bit bigger than where we were living before, and infinitely nicer than the Enterprise.” The technology aboard the spaceship had been incredible, but the aesthetics left a lot to be desired. “Have you been well? Has the hostage situation been sorted out?”
Peggy wasn't familiar with anything called the Enterprise but it seemed to her as though Howard and Lady Mary had been in some other place like this, outside of their own worlds. "Everything here is pretty nice," Peggy agreed. Futuristic, too. She wouldn't have been able to imagine tablets and handheld phones like those used for communication here before arriving.
"Yes, seems like. From what I understand, this kind of thing happens with some regularity here. Or at least, similar events. Suppose it's better than leading a dull life, yes?"
“I suppose, though I certainly wouldn’t want to be a hostage,” Mary said. Adventure was one thing. Torture was another. Some of the people who had returned from wherever they were being held seemed to be in a very bad way. “Regardless, Howard and I believe that we are going to stay. He was given a good job here and I’m going to look into taking some classes at the university. I should tell you, because you won’t know, but I am originally from 1924.” Thus why she had never gone to university back home. She’d never had a desire, and that certainly wasn’t unusual in her time.
Peggy had suspected that Lady Mary's time was more near hers and Howard's than, say, Steve's future was. "Not too far off from me then," she said. "Classes at the university sound like a good idea. I'm afraid I don't get any chance to relax here myself, though I don't know what I'd do with myself if I wasn't working, wasn't busy."
Mary understood that. She felt like that sometimes. And she knew that Peggy was like that as well. She had been such an important presence on board the Enterprise. “What type of work do you do here?” Mary asked. Her job was to be an office manager for the intake office, which wasn’t much different than the job she did on the Enterprise.
"I'm training in field operations, clandestine branch specifically." Peggy sipped her tea and sat back a little. "It's not much different than what I was doing in the war back home. It's just a different war here."
“What year was it for you back home?” Mary asked, curious if she was from around the same time that Howard was, post-war. Peggy had always fascinated Mary. To be a woman in her career had to be difficult, and she admired the fact that Peggy was tough and managed to make it. Mary had emotional strength, but didn’t come close to Peggy’s physical strength.
"1948," Peggy said. She had tried not to think too much about what she left behind - the possible start of a new relationship with Daniel for one - and tried to focus on what she was being offered here. "I haven't had much of a chance to speak with Howard about whether or not we've experienced the same things yet."
Mary thought for a moment and nodded her head slowly. “I’m not quite sure what year Howard is from, but I believe it’s somewhere around there. Perhaps the two of you can get together and figure out what you collectively remember. We’d love to have you over for dinner, actually, once we get a bit more settled.”
She noticed that Steve and Bucky were here as well. Perhaps they’d like to join them too. Mary would love to be able to invite Tony, but she didn’t think Howard was quite at that point with him yet.
"I'm sure we'll have to, yes," Peggy murmured. She nodded and agreed to a dinner. "Once you're more settled, of course. It might take a while - I'm not sure anyone really ever feels settled here, not with so much going on." She smiled.
“Is this the type of place where there’s never a dull moment?” Mary asked with a smile. So far, it seemed to be that way. She wouldn’t be surprised. These places that tended to take people in liked to keep everyone on their toes.
"It seems to be," Peggy said, "though honestly, that's not much of a change from my life before Atlantis. I went off to Los Angeles for a break - at least, that's what Howard promised me it would be - when in fact it was just as not-dull as my time in New York, or during the war. It's just a different kind of busy and interesting, I suppose."
“He’s spoken a bit about his time in Los Angeles,” Mary replied. “Mostly of a house there that he seems rather proud of.” Probably nothing compared to Downton, and he knew that, but she indulged him, glad for him that he had worked hard and earned what he had. “I do hope that you and I will get to be friends here. I enjoyed your company and your council in the last place I knew you.” She realized how very strange that must seem to Peggy, but Mary hoped that they would be able to move beyond it.
"The pool was very nice, yes," Peggy said, with a bit of a smirk. "Not used to having one in the back garden like that and especially not used to having weather good enough year-round to enjoy it." She glanced over at Mary at the reminder that Mary knew her and not vice versa. She nodded. "I'm sure we will be, if you've managed to win over Howard. I can't imagine that we won't be friends."
Mary smiled a bit wolfishly at that. “I hate to say that I managed to win him over rather quickly. He seemed quite flabbergasted by me when we met. I think I reminded him of some of the upper class ladies he used to see in his youth.” She shrugged before continuing. “Anyway, both of us are flirtatious and he treated me like a queen. We spent more and more time together and soon we were falling for each other. I never expected him to ask me to marry him, but I was glad when he did. I’m happy to be his wife.”
Though if he cheated on her she wasn’t going to stand for it. She’d made that very clear to him.
Peggy had several questions based on that, but she thought she might go to Howard with them rather than Mary. Given that she didn't know Mary at all and considered herself much better acquainted with Howard at this point. "I'm happy for you both," Peggy said, sincerely.
“Thank you,” Mary replied with a grin. “It makes me happy to hear you say that.” Having Peggy’s approval actually meant a lot to her. Mary had great respect for her as a woman and as Howard’s friend. This tea meeting had done a lot to soothe Mary’s concerns about getting to know a “new” Peggy.