Lady Sybil pulled her coat tighter around herself, uncomfortable, as Edith went on about the boy. The snow was falling lightly outside, dusting the green grass.
"… and he was so very attractive! You'd think a boy who goes to public school would not look as fit, but he did. I got a pleasant surprise!"Sybil stared out the window, but she knew Edith was waiting for some sort of response. She took a breath and plastered a fake smile on her face.
"How wonderful, Edith! I admire that you can appreciate a, um, lower-class man's looks," she said, unsure of what she was saying. The words sounded fake to Sybil. However, it was appropriate for Edith.
"Thank you! I hope Mary will approve. She and Matthew are coming down for our break. Tonight, I think."
Sybil nodded and turned her attention back to the passing foliage. She was glad Mary would be coming down- Mary was much more tolerable than Edith. Edith only wished to talk about boys, or who was the most popular senior, or the latest fashions. Mary could carry on a conversation about more educated topics, but she was more snobbish and uptight. Sybil did like watching arguments between Edith and Mary, though- they were like gladiators fighting in an arena, albeit less deadly.
"Wait! I have a picture of him on my phone!" Edith rummaged around in her purse and Sybil sighed, looking out at the road. They were almost at school, and she could escape the presence of Edith.
A bright picture was shoved into her face. Sybil took the phone into her hand and held it further away to get a better look. The black-haired boy on the screen wasn't ugly, but he wasn't that attractive, so she shrugged.
"We must have different tastes in men," Edith said, rolling her eyes and shoving the phone back into her purse.
"Obviously."
The car suddenly jerked off of the road and Sybil tumbled over onto Edith, who was shrieking. The car rolled onto its side and she fell onto Edith, as their seatbelts couldn't hold them in place. Edith was screaming now, and Sybil was shaking in terror herself.
"Edith, be quiet! You're screaming right in my ear!" she yelled, then tried to sit up to get a look at Lang.
"Lang? What happened?" Edith asked, reading Sybil's mind.
"I… I…" he stuttered, beginning to cry.
"What is going on?" Sybil asked, trying to find Edith's phone again to call her parents.
The police were finishing up the report, and Edith was still complaining to Cora about how her new dress would never be worn again because this experience had just ruined it. Sybil could tell her mother was trying not to roll her eyes, and contained her smile. Robert, however, was having a conniption that his daughters could have been killed. They all knew what was going to happen: Lang was going to go.
"It was shellshock," Cora said at dinner that night, and Mary nodded, thinking.
"That was very common after World War One," she said, "but I didn't know there were still soldiers who had it,"
"It's the same as combat stress reaction. I looked it up when we got home," Edith said. She was trying to get attention, as always, but the heads were only turned her way for a second.
"Are we going to get a new chauffer? Or will we be like Matthew and have to learn how to drive?" Sybil asked, teasing. She thought her brother-in-law-to-be was very attractive, but knew it was no use trying to flirt with him. Matthew was 10 years older and he was Mary's. Anything that was Mary's stayed Mary's until she wanted it no longer. Matthew smiled at Sybil, then glanced at Mary, who was sipping her wine and staring at Sybil.
"I've already found someone," Robert said.
"That was quick!" Cora said.
"Where is granny?" Mary asked, changing the subject to something she could take charge in.
"Not feeling well. She promised she would come over for luncheon tomorrow to see you and Matthew," Cora said, "and Edith and Sybil get out of school early, so they should be home soon after. Maybe you three could go shopping!"
Edith and Mary glared at each other across the table, and Sybil knew it wasn't going to happen. They had been together for an hour and already the fight for dominance had begun.
"Maybe I'll learn how to drive anyways. It would be fun," Edith said, straightening up a bit.
"Dig your own grave, my dear," Robert said, almost smiling, but he didn't let it show.
Tomorrow is going to be interesting, Sybil thought.
A/N: I wrote this chapter about a week before seeing the S3 Christmas Special. Like most Downton fans, I am devastated (not saying by what, so not to spoil it) and very upset over what happened. However, this is an AU, so that is definitely not going to happen. Neither is 3.05. I'm not even sure if this story will go that far, but in case it does, those events will be looked over. I wish all of you who are mourning the best of luck in moving on. I'm still debating whether to keep watching because of what happened.