Hi all! Had this idea in my head for a while, as my headcanon is that Mrs Hughes knew a lot more about the romance between Sybil and Tom than she seemed to. I'll get on to writing more chapters for all my other stories that are in progress soon, as I've been VERY busy, what with DT coursework and other school work. Hope you enjoy it!

Jo x

She stood there watching; watching him pace about the dining hall. Walking a bit, then sitting. Sit in a different position, and then standing up again. Walk about some more before returning to another seat. All the other servants had gone to bed, including Mr Carson, but Mrs Hughes could tell that the young Mr Branson was having a hard time settling himself down after this evening's dramatic events. She was sat in Mr Carson's office with a small glass of sherry in one hand, when William virtually burst in after giving a very short and faint knock; face flustered from running or walking at a pace to get here, she imagined.

"William!" Mr Carson exclaimed, a hint of detest audible in his voice.

"I'm sorry Mr Carson," the young lad looked at the housekeeper opposite, "Mrs Hughes. Lady Sybil is back from Ripon. Apparently Branson drove her to the counting of the votes and she got knocked out in a fight. Mr Crawley was there too."

"Oh, for goodness sake! That Branson was a mistake from the minute he arrived if you ask me! Bringing disorder and revolution over our heads!" The old man stood up from his seat. "Forgive me, forgive, where are my manners? How is Lady Sybil? Is she conscious?"

"She's conscious, but a bit shaken and dizzy. I don't think you can blame Mr Branson though, Mr Carson." William replied, slowly retreating out the door to carry on with his duties. Mrs Hughes stood up from where she was sitting opposite with surprise plastered across her face.

"And why ever not?" Carson spoke, filling the small, but spacious room with his commanding voice.

"Lady Sybil said herself, she didn't tell Mr Branson anything about where she was really going until they arrive in Ripon. She's arguing with his Lordship right now. You can hear it from the saloon."

"We do not pry on the family's private conversations now do we William?" Carson let out a heavy sigh. "Oh well, I believe you. I'm not sure His lordship will understand though. To be honest, I'm having a hard time believing it myself. We didn't have any of this political nonsense before he arrived!" He turned to Mrs Hughes as the three of them walked out into the hallway.

"I don't think you should be so hard on the poor lad Mr Carson! As William said, Lady Sybil seems to take all the blame for this incident."

Nobody should be so hard on the poor lad. Not now she was standing there, watching him fidget and move about in such an agitated manner. You couldn't help but feel sympathy for the poor lad.

"You should try and get some sleep! Or some rest at least. Wallowing around here isn't going to do you any good!" The young man looked up from his seat.

"I have to stay here, in case I need to go fetch Dr Clarkson." His reply was short; monotonous. No sign of any emotion.

"Lady Sybil is doing very nicely now she's resting. You should do the same don't you think? Hm?"

"I can't. Too much…on my mind."

"Like what exactly?" Elsie sat down opposite as Branson looked at her again, a hint of desperation in his eyes, Elsie could tell. She couldn't quite but a finger on why, and so the thought was quickly pushed to the back of her mind.

"Like…" He looked down at his hands resting on the table, "like the fact that I'm probably going to be unemployed in the morning!" He chuckled quietly to himself.

"Oh, you're an employable young lad you are! You'll find work again soon I'm sure. In any case, you're not fired yet! You never know, his Lordship might be understanding of the situation and let you stay on, if you don't take Lady Sybil to any more election results that is!" She smiled a short, sweet smile at him.

"Possibly." The man still seemed downtrodden. Elsie looked at him for a moment, analysing every movement and every detail of his face for any clue of what is really going through his mind.

"You're still worried about her though, aren't you?" He looked up and almost glared into her eyes. The look was so honest and emotional, she felt a tear building in the corner of one of her own eyes.

"Yes."

"You've built up a bit of a friendship with her haven't you? I can tell." She noticed a small gulp trail down his throat on hearing her words. "Oh don't worry my lad, It's not a crime to be a friend of one of them lot upstairs. Take his Lordship and Mr Bates for example. Anna is close to Lady Mary, and Mr Carson is virtually her surrogate father!" A small smile escaped Branson's mouth. "In fact," Mrs Hughes moved her upper body in a bit closer, "myself and Lady Sybil were like an aunt and niece when she was growing up! You should've seen her!" Branson let out a heart-warming laugh that instantly relaxed the tense atmosphere in the room.

"What was she like?" Branson said still grinning from ear to ear.

"Well, she certainly has a bit of a rebellious streak I dare say." Mrs Hughes watched as Branson hung onto her every word. "I remember one time when she was…oh, about seven, goodness knows how she got hold of one, but she brought a tarantula in to dinner one evening!" They both started laughing. "She walked up to The Dowager and proclaimed, "Look Granny, isn't he fluffy!" I was listening in from behind the screen, and if I didn't know better, I would've said that The Dowager had fallen off her seat judging by the cry of terror she made!"

"Really? Was she really always like that?" Tears of joy had somehow found their way into the young man's eyes.

"Always! There was another time when she set Lady Mary's corset too tight and poor Doris, the head housemaid then, had an awful time trying to get her into it! Of course, Ladies Sybil and Edith were chuckling to themselves the whole time just watching!" Elsie found it a load of her mind to see him smiling like this after what had happened that evening, so she carried on. "But surely the most rebellious was when she was nine, she was friends with the farmer's boy and she walked right up to her parents after church one Sunday and declared that she was going to run away with him and marry him and there was nothing they could do to stop her! I think I was giving her too many Jane Austen novels for her to read!" The smile had been instantly wiped off his face.

"Did she love him?" he asked in earnest. The look on his face puzzled her.

"At that age? Goodness no!" He smiled to himself again at her reply.

"Don't worry, she'll be her bright and breezy self again tomorrow."

"Thank you Mrs Hughes, for putting a smile back on my face again. However, I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight, not with the image of her...her head…hitting against the glass bottles…and the floor. Mrs Hughes, it was awful."

"I know my lad. I know. Just try and get some rest back at your cottage. It's better than nothing at all."

"Thank you again, Mrs Hughes. It's a great comfort." He smiled before getting up and walking away.

She didn't care about what prejudices Mr Carson may have against him, she liked the young lad and there was no denying his sense of loyalty in his voice. The world needs more loyalty in it, she thought, and she hoped the poor lad got over whatever was truly getting him down this evening. He was usually such a lively, happy man, and there seemed to be a hint of something much deeper than worry for her safety and the safety of his job on his mind tonight. Whatever it was, she hoped that he would get over it soon, or come to her with his problems. After all, she was ever such a good listener.

What do you think? Please tell me as reviews mean the world! Oh and the inspiration for the tarantula fiasco came from the FF Downton Abbey RP people. Particular thanks to Grace (WotcherGrace), Ruth (StuckInThePast) and Julia (ScubaKanga) who came up with that whole hilarious conversation!