It was going to be my first non-romantic one ;) but unfortunately I couldn't resist so it's got Chelsie moments in it ;D It was inspired by Carson's line in S1 Ep 3 "Even a Butler has his favourite's m'lady" I wanted to do one with Sybil and Mrs Hughes because if she was going to favourite any of the young ladies it would be Sybil.
Five
Elsie was sitting in her parlour going over some accounts when she heard a soft knock at her door, she looked up as the door opened but saw no one until she looked down to see Lady Sybil, one hand hanging onto the door knob, the other clutching her doll near to her face.
"Can I come in Mrs Hughes?"
"Of course dear, come on in" she put down her pen and put the papers to one side, she smiled as she watched Sybil pushing with all her strength against the door in an effort to close it. Elsie smiled thinking how easy it was for her to do it but for someone so small it took a lot of effort. She grunted as she closed it but stayed where she was, she looked at Elsie before looking at the floor, Elsie tilted her head to one side in an attempt to understand what Sybil wanted. She was remarkably small for her age, she was 5 and a half but only came up to Elsie's thigh in height. She had black hair that was already very long and she had it tied in a braid that laid over her left shoulder. She had a sweet innocent face and had large blue eyes that sparkled when she was happy, she was very quiet and a soft high pitched voice. She was certainly the quietest of the three girls but then again she was the youngest so she didn't get a chance to speak much.
"Do you want to come and sit on my lap lass?"
Sybil looked up, despite half her face being hidden by her doll, Elsie could see her smile, it was clear she'd wanted to but didn't want to ask, she trotted over and giggled as Elsie picked her up to sit her on her lap. Sybil leant her head against Elsie's chest and listened to her heartbeat for a moment, Elsie has her fingers around Sybil's waist and her thumb on her arm with her other hand resting on Sybil's leg. She could easily get both arms around the child, she really was small.
It was a few minutes before Sybil raised her head to look at Elsie, she had put her doll on her lap so Elsie could see her face.
"What it is you came to see me about m'lady?"
"Why do you call me that?"
"Well it's because you are a lady, your parents are a lord and lady so you and your sisters are ladies as well.
"But why aren't you Lady… Lady Hughes?"
Elsie laughed, "because I am not daughter of a lord and lady, I'm a farmer's daughter so I'm just Mrs Hughes"
"Are you married?"
"No… no I'm not"
"Oh, well I think you should be a lady, but it's a bit boring sometimes, but mama seems to do a lot so maybe of you were a lady you'd have a lot more to do'
Elsie smiled again and hugged her close.
"Would you like to be married Mrs Hughes?"
This question caught her off guard and she stared for a moment at those innocent eyes.
"Oh, I don't know, maybe"
Sybil was now at the age where she was very inquisitorial and constantly asked questions, most of these questions came to Elsie, she realised that she'd never asked the girl why she came to her.
"Lady Sybil?"
"You can call me Sybil"
"I'm afraid I'm not allowed my lady, it's not my place to call you by your first name"
"well I give you permission, you must call me Sybil because I've told you to"
Elsie laughed again, Mary was the stubborn one but Sybil certainly knew her mind even at her age.
"Ok then Sybil, why is it you always come and ask me questions?"
"You don't like me asking you question?"
"No, no I'm flattered that you come to me dear, but why me? Why not your mother or your grandmother?"
"They're always busy, they can never make time for me but you always do, you're always much nicer to me too"
Elsie was stunned, she had to make time for her employers nicer was a compliment and a half. But before she could speak, Sybil carried on.
"Mary thinks she too old to play with me now, plus she spends a lot of time with Mr Carson and Edith don't one for "playing" any more, so I get a bit lonely, it's nice to be able to come and talk to you" she smiled up at Elsie and she could feel her heart strings tugged at by her sweet smile.
"Well I'm honoured that you spare the time to come and talk to me" she hugged her closer and rested her cheek on Sybil's soft hair.
"What's the name of you doll Miss Sybil? You take her round with you everywhere, does she has a name?"
"Not yet, I just call her dolly, I can't think of a name for her, can I name her fter you?"
"You don't want to name her after me my lady, why not name her after your mama or grandmamma?"
"No, I'd prefer to name her after you"
"How about I help you choose a name my lady?"
"Ok, what would you recommend?"
"Hmmmm, what about Charlotte? It's always been one of my favourite names"
"Charlotte" she lifted the doll to her head height to study her, "yes I think that'll be fine" she turned to Elsie again and kissed her on the cheek, "thank you Mrs Hughes, I appreciate you sparing the time for me" she jumped off her lap and steadied herself upon landing, another move that would be a challenge for her size, "bye bye Mrs Hughes, I must go and put Charlotte to bed" she waved and shut the door.
Elsie sat there, she was always astounded at how grown up she was, she suspected that's what happened when you were brought up in a mature and grown up environment.
She thought of Charlotte, thought of why she'd told her that name. Lady Sybil did feel like a daughter to her, she worried of Sybil's attachment to her but she could see that she was being neglected by the females in her family, her father would sometimes make time for her, she was the apple of his eye and he loved to have her to himself without the other girls but when he was busy she was left out and seemed to rely on Elsie for company.
She'd offered the name of Charlotte because it had been it had been the name she would give her daughter if she'd ever had one. She chose the name as it was the female version of Charles, the man she was so desperately in love with. She and Charles had been romantically involved with each other for 5 years now and she loved him dearly, they'd spoken about marriage but neither of them were too keen to leave, they enjoyed just spending quiet moments together and although it was complicated to hide it from everyone else sometimes but they didn't seem to notice the housekeeper and butler spending anymore time with each other than they already did. She was nearly 31 and felt she was gradually moving further and further away from having a child. She was sad, she felt she'd missed out on it and lost the opportunity but she wouldn't regret being with Charles, she could never regret being with him.
It was late in the evening and after she and Charles had cuddled enough on her settee, they adjourned to their rooms, she was halfway up the stairs when she remembered she'd left her book in her sitting room, sighing she made her way back downstairs into her room. She sighed as she looked around her room, years of being at Downton and as housekeeper, so much had happened just in this little room.
She was broken from her reminiscence by the sound of the door creaking open, she expected to see Charles standing there, they did struggle to part sometimes but instead she saw a dark haired girl, doll pressed against her face wearing her nightdress and trembling, Elsie noticed that there were tear tracks down her cheeks.
"Oh Miss Sybil, whatever's the matter?"
Her lip trembled and she burst into tears and ran to Elsie burying her face in her dress. Elsie bent down and picked her up balancing Sybil on her hip, supporting her with one hand while the other stroked her hair.
"Oh my dear whatever has made you so upset at this time of night?"
"I … had … a … nightmare" she said between sobs
"Oh sweetheart" she hugged Sybil tighter and walked over to the settee, allowing the girl to lie against her. She gently stroked her back, sshhing her every so often, she leaned her head on Sybils, holding her rather possessively but making her feel safe and protected. She heard her sobbing stop and continued to hold her before she looked down to see that Sybil had fallen asleep in her arms. She smiled and kissed the girls' head before letting her sleep
Half and hour passed and Elsie woke to realise she was still in her sitting room with a sleeping 5 year old on her lap. She picked her up, turning the lights off in her room and made her way up the stairs, carrying Sybil back to the nursery which she still shared with Edith, Mary had been moved into her own room once she turned 10.
Elsie put her back in her bed and tucked her in, she turned to leave but heard a whimper behind her, kneeling beside the bed, she kissed Sybil's cheek.
"It's alright now darling, go to sleep" she stroked her cheek and stood up, trying to stop her keys jangling as she began to leave,
"night night mama" Sybil mumbled as she settled down in the covers, she smiled to herself as she closed the door, oblivious to the pair of small brown eyes that watched her every move.
The next morning, Elsie went back down to her parlous after she'd overseen the work the maids were doing, she went over to her desk to find a piece of paper with a drawing on it of a little girl in white, holding hands with a taller woman in black, along with the words;
'Thank You For The Cuddle Last Night Mrs Hughes
Sybil'
She felt tears brimming, she could see how Charles had become attached to Mary, she now very much loved Sybil.
She turned at the knock at the door, she knew that knock, it was too loud to be Sybil but too gentle to be anyone else. She smiled as Charles entered, she found no matter what mood she was in, Charles could always make her smile and feel happy.
"Good Morning darling" she turned to put the note back on her desk, but turning back to face Charles she was met with a puzzled expression, "what?"
"You've never called me darling before"
"You don't mind do you?"
"No no of course not" he chuckled and pulled her into his arms, he sighed as she rested her head on his chest, she could see why Sybil enjoyed being cuddled for hours.
"You were quite the topic of conversation at breakfast this morning,"
"was I?" she was curious, surely his lordship wouldn't be discussing her and her ladyship didn't eat with them, there was only going to be one person speaking of her.
"Oh yes, but not who you'd expect" seeing her confused face, Charles retold the conversation at breakfast.
Robert had been eating breakfast with Mary, Edith and Sybil. They were all very quiet, eating while Robert read his letters. Sybil, only just being able to see over the table, was turning her fork in her hand and Mary watched her carefully.
"Sybil, what's wrong?"
All heads turned to Sybil, including Carson, Sybil looked at everyone before shaking her head and mumbled, nothing, inaudibly. They continued to eat silently until Edith spoke out;
"What was Mrs Hughes doing in the nursery last night?"
Roberts head shot up, a horrified and confused look on her face, Carson felt worried, more about how Robert would react, he knew that Elsie was close to Sybil but wasn't sure how Robert would react knowing how much time they spent together.
"When was this?" Robert addressed Edith as he put down his letters,
"last night, it was very late and everyone else was in bed"
"Sybil?" he turned to her, "why was Mrs Hughes in the nursery?"
"She was putting me back in bed, I'd had a nightmare and I went down to her, she cuddled me till I fell asleep then she took me back to the nursery"
"Why did you go to her? Why didn't you come to me or mama?"
"I don't know, I knew you'd both be in bed, but when I came out of the nursery I heard the servants still up so I knew she would be"
"Why do you spend all your time with Mrs Hughes? She's a servant" Edith said bitterly, not realising how mean it sounded until she'd said it
"Why shouldn't I?" Sybil suddenly shouted, her high pitched voice piercing Edith who sat next to her, causing her to cover it with her hand, "why shouldn't I spend my time with Mrs Hughes, you don't play with me anymore, you're too grown up" she sneered, but before Mary could retort she began at Edith, "and you're getting there as well, you're too boring to play with now"
"Sybil!" Robert pleaded but his daughter was far stronger than he gave her credit for.
"You and Mama are too busy to take any notice of me, the only one who does is Mr s Hughes, that's why I spend all my time with her. You're all supposed to be Lords and Ladies but she's just a farmers daughter and she's far nicer, they all are, all the servants, they don't have posh backgrounds and they're much nicer people to be with than all of you, you all ignore me!" She turned to Edith, "that's why I spend all my time with her, because she's far nicer to me than anyone else and I love her!"
With this she climbed off her chair and stormed out of the door that Carson held open for her, a slightly amused expression on his face. The sight of such a small girl making such an exit and a defence against someone she cared for was so admirable.
The family stared open mouthed at one another,
"well done for starting that Edith!" Mary spat "you're just jealous that you don't have one of the servants to care for you!" with this she followed Sybil.
Edith felt tears brimming and she looked down at her lap,
"Don't go getting upset Edith, but don't go upsetting your little sister, she's much younger than you and is left out, if she's found a friend in Mrs Hughes, let her spend time with her. Now, go and apologise"
She nodded silently and made her way out. Robert stood up, with a sigh, turning to Carson.
"Carson, could you thank Mrs Hughes for caring for Sybil, I don't mean to make her feel neglected and I'm happy she's got someone to go and talk to"
"Yes my Lord" he said with a nod,
Robert was about to leave before he turned back,
"actually, I thank both of you, I know how you care for Lady Mary. You're like second parents to the girls, and right now I think Sybil could do with a caring mother who gives her attention, it's kind of her"
"I think, if I may say so m'lord that Mrs Hughes cares for Lady Sybil because she has never had a child of her own, I know that she would have liked one, I think she's making up for it" he smiled sadly thinking how much he'd love to have had a daughter with her.
Robert nodded knowingly, "well she's not too old yet surely, she may meet someone over the next few years and may have her own child, make sure she knows how much I appreciate what she does now though" he smiled and left.
Charles thought, maybe he should propose to her again and they could have a child together, but thinking about it, he realised they didn't have enough money to support themselves let alone a baby. But he made his way downstairs to inform Elsie of what his Lordship had said.
"Oh lord, I was the cause of the argument?" she put her hand to her forehead but Charles took it away and kissed it instead.
"If you saw and heard Lady Sybil you'd be proud, I never expected it to be her that defended your honour, I'm certainly proud of her" he winked at Elsie before resuming their previous position of her head resting on his chest while he stroked her head.
"She said she loved you by the way"
"She's a sweet girl, I guess I love her as well"
"She thinks of you to be a second mother to her, I don't think she could be without you"
"Then we shall have to stay and take care of the girls while their parents don't"
"If we cant have our own children then we should take care of someone elses?" he looked down at her, confused.
"Well they seem to want us to, as long as Miss Sybil wants me around I'll be here for her, Im sure you'll do the same for Miss Mary"
"Yes I will, you would have made a wonderful mother though"
She flinched, "well, tha's our decision, I'll miss not being able to bring up our child but oh well" she trailed off and gazed off at the wall, "but you can't miss what you never had"
"Cant you?" they looked at each other for a while before she began to cry and he held her tight.
"I'm sorry Elsie, I suppose we couldn't support ourselves, we've still got the young ladies here and his Lordship understands the attachment between you and Lady Sybil"
"Ok" she sniffed, she didn't know what to say but she was glad to have approval to look after Sybil, even though she wasn't her own daughter, she wouldn't swap her for anything.
Hope you liked it, I am planning to continue, please tell me what you think :)
