The glow of the sunbeam warmed and roused Liam Branson from his deep, although short, slumber. He had a rough night, and could not fall asleep. Images from the battles he had fought across the water had raced through his mind, and when he returned to his beloved home, he had found that he had not escaped the violence whatsoever. Now every evening consisted of nightmares of the men he had killed over there, and now the fellow countrymen who he had a hand in their deaths or imprisonment.
As Liam threw the threadbare sheets off of his thin body, there was a large bang at his bedroom door. "Are you awake Liam?! Don't forget, you need to go pick up your brother and his bride-to-be today!" Oh, how could he forget? This bloody wedding was all his mother talked about, since it was announced. Liam's brother, Tom, had found himself an incredibly wealthy British woman. Why she wanted to marry the likes of his brother was something Liam could not comprehend. "Yes, I'm awake, mother," Liam grudgingly said. He had not met this, Sybil Crawley, but he already knew he was not going to like her. Anyone who shared Tom's views of Ireland's independence was someone Liam was immediately not going to get along with.
While Liam dressed into his military uniform, all he could think of was how Tom had found himself a British woman, an upper class lady, at that. Liam believed these troubles between Ireland and Britain could be solved by marrying and starting a family with the British population. However, he was willing to do what he could to end this silly conflict. He had been spying for the Black and Tans, since he had arrived back from the War. He believed what he was doing was for the good of the Union.
After eating a hearty breakfast, Liam drove the car to the train station to pick up Tom and Sybil. He waited what seemed to be an hour for the train to finally arrive. Liam saw Tom, holding all the luggage and directed him to the car. A woman, not much older than 20, followed. Liam was overtaken by her sheer beauty. He could not believe this was the Sybil that he had determined to be a raging radical like his brother. Without thinking to take off his cap, he said hello. Quickly, he realized his mistake, and while removing it, she laughed. It was the most glorious sound he had heard.