The evening had begun like so many before it. It had been a typical Crawley dinner with just the family with family including Mrs. Crawley and Matthew Crawley. The only guest was Miss Lavinia Squire and with her upcoming marriage to Mr. Crawley she would soon be considered family.

As was their custom, after dinner they congregated in the drawing room for coffee and drinks with just Carson serving. The evening was progressing like so many evenings before until … until … even now Carson shuddered at the thought. Until the door opened and in he strode.

Branson and Lady Sybil! Carson couldn't fathom what had happened. He shut his eyes thinking, hoping, it was just a dream, well a nightmare really, but upon opening his eyes he knew it wasn't a dream. They were standing there in his lordship's drawing room holding hands and talking of marriage. Marriage! He, like most everyone else in the room, couldn't believe what he was hearing.

He had Mrs. Patmore serve him his dinner in his office for he couldn't face the rest of the staff. He couldn't … wouldn't … tell them what had just taken place in the drawing room. It was just too impossible to believe. Maybe, he hoped, in the dawn of light, in a new day, Lady Sybil would see reason and realize the folly of it all.

But his dinner sat there untouched. How could such a thing have happened under his watch? He had had no inkling. How could he consider himself deserving of his lofty position if he had no idea what members of his staff were up to. Of course the house was just recovering from the turmoil of the war years but still that was no excuse.

He knew from the beginning that Branson would be trouble.

Branson's going to borrow some books. He has my permission. Carson, taken by surprise, stared at the young man. An Irishman with an interest in politics ...Are we mad? His lordship had voiced when Branson had left the room.Oh yes it was mad to take on a radical Irishman as chauffeur.

He sat there at his desk staring into space, replaying the scene he had witnessed in the drawing room, the door to his office slowing opening.

"Are you alright Mr. Carson?" Mrs. Hughes poked her head in through the small opening of the door. "You didn't answer my knocking."

But one look at the man told her something was amiss, he was not alright.

"Mr. Carson?" she repeated a little bit louder.

Noticing the untouched tray of food sitting in front of him on his desk, Mrs. Hughes walked into the office and quietly shut the door behind her. They had been friends and confidants since she had become the housekeeper surely he could tell her whatever had upset him.

She took a seat directly in front of him and waited for him to speak. She knew he would do so when he was ready.

Finally after several minutes of continued silence he spoke "I can't believe the abomination I have just witnessed in the drawing room."

Frowning, Mrs. Hughes waited for him to go on. She couldn't imagine what could possibly have been so terrible.

"I knew he was trouble. We should have sacked him for that stunt he tried to pull with the colonel." Mrs. Hughes could hear the fury in his voice. "No … no … it should have been when he took her to that political rally."

"Are you talking about Mr. Branson" she asked thinking what on earth could he have done now that was causing Mr. Carson such pain.

"Of course I'm talking about Branson." Carson finally looked directly at Mrs. Hughes. "He …he …" even now it was so hard for him to voice what he had witnessed. "He and Lady Sybil …"

"He and Lady Sybil want to marry." There was no mistaking the disgust in his voice.

"Oh, I see" Mrs. Hughes quietly responded.

"Is that all you can say?"

"I realize that it must have been a shock to you" she began trying to quickly sort her thoughts. "But I think calling it an abomination is a little too strong."

He looked at her as if she had just calmly said she was leaving tonight for the moon. Surely she couldn't think it was alright for a lady of the house to stoop so low as to marry a member of the staff.

"I can't believe you don't see the outrage in this" he finally managed to say. "If nothing else, he has abused his position to take advantage of a sweet naïve young girl."

"Now Mr. Carson I think that may be a little too strong. Lady Sybil may be a sweet young lady but I think she is strong of character and I don't see Mr. Branson as the type of man to take advantage of a woman."

Carson looked appalled. How could she not see how wrong this was.

She reached out to pat his hand. She knew he considered this an affront to himself as well as to his lordship. "I think maybe we should discuss this tomorrow when you've had time to calm down a bit. And who knows what tomorrow will bring … maybe the situation will change by then" although knowing the two parties involved she knew it wouldn't.

Sitting in her office, Mrs. Hughes sighed deeply. She was surprised it had gone this far but she wasn't shocked. How could she be? She had known he had feelings for Lady Sybil. Branson was a good looking young man with a good job, he would be a good catch for any number of young women in the village but she had never seen him display the slightest interest in anyone other than Lady Sybil.

When she had caught them at the garden party all those years ago, Lady Sybil was a naïve young girl. She had barely finished her first season. Even then though Mrs. Hughes had thought the two made a striking couple, not only were both good looking but they seemed to have similar interests. She remembered thinking then if only Lady Sybil was the local teacher or a shop girl or if Branson the son of an Earl … but … but that wasn't the situation and such a romance could not be encouraged.

Yet sitting here now she had to admire his perseverance. Lady Sybil was sweet and kind, far nicer than either of her sisters, but she was also strong willed and determined. Even as a young girl she had displayed a rebellious side, nothing ever really bad, just straining against the strict rules of her class. Mrs. Hughes had often felt bad for the girl who just wanted to have some fun doing the things ordinary children did.

Then during the war, Lady Sybil had surprised everyone with becoming a nurse but it really was something that suited her. Most in the household, had been impressed with how hard working Lady Sybil, no Nurse Crawley as she liked to be called, was but she thought it was quite typical of Lady Sybil. It was Nurse Crawley's determination that had turned Downton into a convalescent home.

No, there was no way she would believe that Branson had seduced Lady Sybil.

Yet as she sat there and thought about it she realized she should have known what was happening. On more than one occasion she had seen Lady Sybil coming from the garage, a couple of times it had even been at odd hours but owing to her position as a nurse Mrs. Hughes had dismissed it.

One area in which she and Carson were on opposite sides was their view of the family. Carson believed that the Crawleys, especially his lordship, were his superiors. Mrs. Hughes had no such feelings, they were her employers, but she did not deem one person better than another simply because of the circumstances of their birth. She had been here long enough to know that not every nobleman was a gentleman or woman truly a lady.

Marriage was hard enough but those two had so much going against them. She wondered if Lady Sybil really understood the type of life she'd have in Ireland, how different it would be from the way she was raised. But Mrs. Hughes thought that if anyone could make a go it, it would be those two. She truly hoped that Lady Sybil and Branson would have a long and happy marriage. It was a thought she probably wouldn't share with Mr. Carson.

The Next Day

No one had told the staff of the previous night's occurrence in the drawing room. Only Mr. Carson who had been present and Mrs. Hughes whom Carson had told knew or so Carson thought. He had no idea that Anna knew. In her position as maid to the three girls, Carson would be surprised at how much Anna knew about their lives but he would be pleased at her discretion for Anna didn't discuss what she saw or heard.

Carson could never imagine that Anna already knew about Lady Sybil and Branson and had known for months. Carson had no idea that Anna had gone with Lady Mary and Lady Edith racing after the two on their aborted elopement. If he had known, he would have fired Anna immediately. While the night before Carson had lamented his lack of knowledge of what was happening around him, he would probably fire himself if he found out about the failed elopement.

Anna knew that Branson and Lady Sybil were going to tell the family but she had no idea what actually happened. She knew that neither Lady Mary nor Lady Edith were pleased about the situation but their chances for dissuading Lady Sybil had long since passed.

She hadn't been privy to what had happened inside the Swan Inn, but she had sat next to Lady Sybil on the drive home and saw the tears that slid silently down her face. She saw the defiance in her voice and manner when she told them that she would not change her mind that she would marry Tom. Anna had been surprised that Lady Sybil called him Tom and in that one word Anna knew that Lady Sybil was in love.

Anna wasn't surprised that Lady Sybil and Branson had fallen in love. She knew that Lady Sybil wasn't interested in class distinctions and would never let class determine her friendships. That Branson would fall for the beauty wasn't surprising but that he would act on his feelings did somewhat surprise Anna. Yet again, Branson had made clear his social views in the servants hall so why should she be surprised.

She did think they actually were a good match with similar interests and beliefs. Lady Sybil had proven she was willing to work hard with her nursing during the war. But things would be so different for her in Ireland. Anna wondered what Branson's family thought of the match.

Anna had to admire Lady Sybil for acting on her beliefs. She hoped she had a chance to wish them both well in their marriage.

It was Tom himself who told the downstairs staff of his and Lady Sybil's impending marriage taking all but Anna by surprise. He had barely gotten the words out when Carson walked into the servants hall. Upstairs in the drawing room Carson had no right to voice his opinion but here in the servants hall he was king and he immediately made his feelings known upon seeing Branson.

The staff was thunderstruck by Branson's announcement of his impending marriage to Lady Sybil but before they could fully digest it, they were an audience to Branson and Carson's conversation which was even more riveting for Carson made clear his distain for the situation while Branson didn't buckle under to Carson.

While Carson may have forbid the staff from discussing the upcoming nuptials, he could not stop them from thinking about it or talking about it out of his presence.

"I think it's romantic" Daisy proclaimed to Mrs. Patmore. Indeed to Daisy it seemed like a fairy tale only this time is was the male servant who had won the heart of the princess. Daisy liked Branson for he had always treated her with respect unlike some of her fellow servants who saw the lowly kitchen maid as beneath them. He always had a kind word for her and spoke to her as if her she mattered.

Likewise she felt the same about Lady Sybil who even as a child had only treated her with kindness unlike her uppity sisters. When she had worked with Lady Sybil on her cooking lessons, Daisy often forgot Lady Sybil's position because she made her feel so at ease. Daisy had wondered how someone could get to Lady Sybil's age knowing so little about the type of things Daisy had been doing since she was six. But Lady Sybil had shown her determination to learn and her willingness to get her hands dirty (and as Daisy recalled her apron, her hair, her face).

Mrs. Patmore had taken the news in stride. She too had become fond of the young lady. Her gruff manner and occasional bark hadn't put off Lady Sybil's resolve to learn some basic cooking skills. In fact, Lady Sybil had readily laughed at herself and with the kitchen staff which was quite unexpected to the cook and, in a moment of rare sentimentality, she found it rather endearing.

Branson, thought Mrs. Patmore, was quite the charmer with his soothing Irish lilt and ready cheeky grin. He had surprised Mrs. Patmore when after his first dinner at Downton he had come into the kitchen to thank her and tell her how much he had enjoyed his meal. His charm had gotten him extra biscuits or breakfast scones hot out of the oven before the rest of the staff.

If there was anything she disliked, which really seemed too strong of a word, it was his politics but then from what she heard Lady Sybil had much the same beliefs.

While Mrs. Patmore and Daisy wished the happy couple well the same could not be said of O'Brien. She had never liked Branson who she thought had taken advantage of the staff by eating his dinner with them or caging breakfast from Mrs. Patmore. As the chauffeur he had his own cottage with a kitchen and was supposed to eat there not in the servants hall with the rest of them.

But if O'Brien had been honest with herself her dislike of him was because he didn't cower to her like most of the rest of the staff, he never rose to her bait. He was always so sure of himself she just wanted to slap that cheeky grin off his face.

To think that silly girl fell for the Irishman's charm just showed how foolish she was. She was sure the only reason for the marriage was that the stupid girl had gotten herself pregnant. Well if Branson thought this would get him in tight with the family he was as big of a fool as the girl was. No way would his Lordship accept the chauffeur as a son-in-law nor would he welcome a grandchild from the chauffeur. He'd probably pay them money to go to Ireland and never come back or pay the chauffeur to disappear more likely.

She had known something was wrong last night when she had attended her ladyship for she could tell her ladyship was upset and had been crying. But for once Cora was quiet and didn't utter any hint of what was the matter. While she wasn't overly fond of her ladyship, she did hate to see Cora so upset for it would just make her job harder.

However, what was more disturbing to O'Brien was that she prided herself on knowing what was going on in the house especially with the servants. Between her and Thomas they pretty much knew what everyone was up to so how could they have missed something as big as this. Unless Thomas had kept this to himself for after all he was the one that had worked with Lady Sybil at the cottage hospital and on more than one occasion liked to hint that they were friends. FRIENDS! HA! She'd wring his neck if he had known and didn't tell her.

While he was surprised, Thomas wasn't shocked at the news. He had seen how Branson mooned over Nurse Crawley. "I've brought your lunch my lady" "I'll wait to take you home" "I've a message from your mother." All excuses to come and see the fair Lady Sybil thought Thomas for whatever the message was there was no mistaking the look on Branson's face as he talked to her or stood there watching her go about her duties long after he should have taken his leave.

That Lady Sybil returned Branson's love was the shocking thing to Thomas. She was someone who probably could have any man she desired and it was that Irishman who had won her heart that just didn't make sense. What could she possibly see in him? Surely it wasn't title or fortune. But then why should that surprise him? He had known since he met her she was a bit different from the rest of her class.

He had come to Downton as a footman when Lady Sybil was a child, actually just a few days before her eighth birthday. He remembered it so well because that's what she had talked about upon meeting him for the first time. He was sitting at the long table in the servants hall when he was surprised to see the child run into the room.

"Careful miss" he had called out to her "you don't want to trip and fall."

She came to an abrupt stop and stared at him then quickly turned and looked back in the direction she had come from before turning and looking back at him. She raised her finger to her lips and whispered "Please don't tell you've seen me."

"And who are you trying to escape from?"

"Miss Keyes, my nanny. She's no fun. It's so nice I want to play outside but she won't let me."

Both the child and Thomas turned to the doorway when they heard a faint "Lady Sybil"

The child looked back at Thomas with a look of apprehension on her face.

Thomas chuckled but he realized how serious the child was. "Here duck under the table where she won't see you."

As Sybil did what Thomas said, he sat down in front of her so no one could see her. He opened the newspaper that someone had left on the table and seemed engrossed in his reading when the dreaded nanny came running into the room.

Looking about the room and seeing only Thomas she asked breathlessly "have you seen Lady Sybil?"

"Not this morning" he brightly answered.

Nodding at him and mumbling under her breath she turned and headed for the stairwell.

It was another minute before Thomas pushed back his chair and said "I think the coast is clear."

The child scooted out from under the table with a big grin on her face. "What is your name?"

"I'm Thomas"

She giggled as she held out her hand to him "I'm Sybil. I'll be eight on Thursday. Would you like a slice of my birthday cake?"

"That would be lovely but I'll be working on Thursday my lady."

"Well I'll bring you a slice. Thanks for hiding me." With that she spun around and darted out of the room.

Thomas was quite surprised when Thursday came and true to her word the child came down to the servants hall, dressed in her fancy party dress, and handed him a fine china plate with a huge slice of cake.

He smiled as he pictured the pretty child in her pink silk dress, her dark curly hair falling down her back. She had become a beautiful woman Thomas thought. Even though he might not have an interest in that direction he could discern a beautiful woman. But Lady Sybil wasn't only beautiful on the outside, she was a beautiful person.

He had worked beside her for over a year and was impressed with how hard she worked. She never shirked her responsibilities, in fact she seemed to relish them. The only time he knew of her trying to pull rank was when she confronted Dr. Clarkson regarding Lt. Courtenay's care.

Even now, Thomas could feel a tear well up in his eyes as he thought about him. Yet there had been one good thing that had come of that whole sorry episode … Downton had become a convalescent home and much of the thanks for that had to go to Lady Sybil.

While he may not understand how or why she had chosen Branson, Thomas knew he only wished her the best.

Another of the servants that wasn't totally surprised was Bates. He had known last night that something was wrong with his lordship. For starters he had waited for almost two hours for Robert to come to his dressing room which was quite unusual. But one look at Robert's face, Bates knew something had rattled the man. Although they were close, mainly due to their time in the Boer War together, and Bates was privileged to some of Robert's deepest thoughts, there was nothing forthcoming from Robert this night. He was upset and distracted but not in a mood for conversation with his valet.

Probably more than any of the other servants, Bates was well aware of the young chauffeur's politics for the two had spent many evenings sitting in the servants hall discussing politics and Ireland. Bates was also well aware of how his lordship viewed politics since he had made clear his dislike of Lady Sybil taking such an active interest in women's rights and politics. Bates still remembered that it was his loose lips that had gotten Lady Sybil, and by extension Branson, into hot water all those years ago.

It was politics that must have started the friendship of the lady and the chauffeur thought Bates. He knew Branson was friendly and loved to talk so his talking with the youngest daughter, who had similar interests, wasn't a surprise. That it had led to love was a surprise.

He hoped Lady Sybil really understood what she was getting into, not so much with the lad himself but with the situation in Ireland. As an English woman, and an aristocrat and a Protestant to boot, it wouldn't be easy for her.

Yet he couldn't help wanting to root for the two. When he had the chance he would congratulate them and wish them well.