This is just an attempt to fill in what happened while Elsie and Isobel were out of the room in chapter 9 of Lavender and Hay's The Merry Wives Negotiate an Encore. I have really enjoyed her stories. I hope you enjoy this!
The Charades had come to a dead end. To be fair they had been playing for some time before they ran out of ideas, even if the ideas never extended beyond their characters. Now they were al l sitting idly around the room. Matthew's friend Christopher came to the rescue with the next excitement.
"Hey, you," he called to William who was precariously perched on one half of the Piano stool, "give us a tune." With that he grabbed the nearest partner, who happened to be Anna and started twirling her around in the middle of the room. Gwen slid off the other half of the stool to allow William more space to Play. The music was quite fast and it cheered everyone up after the disappointing charades. Edith was staring open mouthed at the spectacle of one of the maids dancing with a friend of the future heir, before a hand took hers and pulled her into the centre of the room. George winked at her.
"We can out-dance Chris easily." Edith was very stiff and unwilling to start with but she soon found herself laughing and spinning, just like Anna. Mary was astonished to see Edith looking so sparkly eyed. She glanced at Matthew, as a way of despairing about Edith when James approached her.
"Come on Mary; let's show them how it's done." She smiled at him, then at Matthew and walked into the cleared space. Matthew himself was about to ask Mary to Dance when she threw him a glare of hatred intended for Edith. That stopped him. She wouldn't want to dance if Edith was. Then James asked her. Matthew found himself staring in disbelief. Mary stooping to Edith's level. What would happen next! He looked around the room and saw Sybil watching her sisters.
"How about a dance, cousin?" he asked.
"Why, Matthew. I'd be delighted." At some point more chairs had been pushed out of the way and William had lapsed into a different tune. Isobel having gone for a walk with Elsie, Violet was left on her own. She beckoned to Cora to join her.
"My dear, don't you think this is all getting a bit primitive? Your maid is looking far too jolly." She pointed her walking stick towards Anna who was clinging to Christopher as he spun her around.
"Well it is..." Cora was cut off abruptly
"And your footman never did bring the drink I asked him for." It was a sign that the Dowager Countess was enjoying herself when she began complaining.
"I'll go and see if I can find him."
"Oh, and tell Robert that his Valet has been making eyes at that maid all evening." She made another gesture with her walking stick and nearly hit Edith who came bouncing past. Cora went over to her husband who was standing watching from the doorway.
"Your mother is enjoying herself. She thinks Bates is after Anna."
"Is that why she tried to take Edith out with her walking stick?"
"She's also got Thomas on a quest for a drink. I don't know what sort."
"I've got some champagne somewhere. I decided I'd save it for Christmas." He left the room in search of Carson, Thomas and Champagne. Cora turned her attention back to the room. The music had stopped and everyone was crowding round the piano.
"Wait! I don't know that one." William cried. The boy was being showered with requests.
"Well, does the chauffeur know it? He is the musician in the play." They descended into a torrent of questions to anyone who could vaguely play the piano. In the end Mary ran her fingers down the keys to get them to listen to her.
"I've got an old gramophone somewhere, and records. If someone will help me I will go and get it." Mary turned and walked gracefully out of the room. The four young men, Sybil and Anna all began to follow her.
"WAIT!" Violet gave an exasperated cry. "Mary, you are not taking all those men up to your room. It's not proper. Take the maid. You lot sit down." Her walking stick was becoming an implement of terror to the small gang of followers. William and Branson had meanwhile decided to attempt a duet but were now arguing over who would take which part. However, at that point his Lordship walked into the room with two bottles of champagne and an assortment of other drinks. Carson started pouring them out in an orderly fashion.
"I would like to invite everyone to a glass of champagne, and to wish you all a very merry Christmas." There was a murmur of cheer spread round the room. The Crawley House lodgers were the first to get a glass, quickly followed by Branson who had abandoned the piano argument (well, he was an Irishman!). William started trying to teach Gwen the duet instead. Violet was holding her spectacles to her nose, trying to see what was in the other bottles. She quickly gave up and prodded her son to fetch a glass of champagne for her. Mary appeared in the doorway with Anna carrying the large gramophone.
"We found it," She beamed round at everybody, "although we didn't find many records." There was a snort of laughter from the other side of the room. Mary, Cora and Violet had faces which practically read 'UNLADAYLIKE' as they looked at Sybil.
"Oh, Mary," she was still giggling "that Christmas when we..." By this point Sybil was laughing so hard she couldn't explain any more. A look of realisation dawned on Mary.
"You mean when we hid them from Edith." She had bet Edith all her records that she would never find them. Edith never got the records. Mary never got them back either.
"Never mind, I've got some." She staggered out of the room leaving everyone looking at Mary.
"It wasn't that funny." She started looking through the pile of records that she had left. They were mostly from operas and not suitable for dancing to. Miraculously George found one which was suitable and the fun began again. This time he took Anna's hand and started the dancing. Matthew quickly claimed Mary. William, who had been freed from piano playing duties, shyly took Gwen's hand and led her to, what was now, the dance floor. Christopher and James both approached Edith. They ended up trying to dance as a three but with limited success. Sybil came flying back into the room with her arms full of records. She put them down next to the gramophone which had been strategically placed next to Violet and looked round for a partner. Her eyes quickly settled on Branson. She started walking up to him, when she noticed the mistletoe. She stopped a meter in front of him and was met with his confused expression. She glanced above his head, then around at the room. Her grandmother was hidden by the gramophone. Her parents were talking to Sir Anthony. Mr Bates was staring jealously at Anna. She decided she was safe and closed the gap between them. The kiss lasted longer than it ought to have done.
"What was that for?" he asked when she finally stepped back.
"I just got caught out by my own stupid mistletoe. Now are you going to ask me to dance or shall I ask you?"
"I think I'd better ask you, to keep up some moral standards." He held out his hand to her "Lady Sybil, would you do me the honour of this dance." the gramophone was beginning to wind down, "or would you like a drink and then we can dance the next." She laughed.
"I should like that very much." She walked over to the pile of records and picked out the one she wanted.
"What a hullabaloo!" Violet was still having a good time.
"Yes Granny. Mary!" Sybil shouted to her sister.
"Sybil, don't..."
"How do you work this blasted contraption?"
"Shout." Violet finished her previous sentence. "And don't use such foul language." Mary walked over to help her sister. Sybil walked back to Tom who had been holding a champagne glass for her. She drank it quickly before the music started.
"Shall we?" she held out her hand to him. He walked her onto the dance floor. The music was quite a bit slower than what they had been dancing to. A few couples looked at each other nervously, before continuing dancing. Christopher and James were now arguing over who should sit down! Robert took Cora's hand and joined in. Isobel and Elsie had come back in and settled themselves in the corner.
"So what's the big thing with the records?" Branson started the conversation. Sybil stifled another burst of giggles.
"One year me and Mary took all her records and hid them in the pig sty so that Edith wouldn't find them. We never reckoned on the Pig finding them first."
"So..." He didn't get the whole picture yet. Sybil was yet again finding it hard to contain her laughter.
"Why, it SAT on them!" The resulting laughter caused a lot of worried glances from around the room.
"Robert, should we do something about Sybil? Your mother looks ready to eat her alive." Cora stated.
"No. Let her be. It is Christmas." Cora wondered if her husband would be quite so lenient if he hadn't drunk as much champagne. Elsie and Isobel were having a similar conversation.
"I wonder what those two are gossiping about?" Sybil whispered to Tom.
"Us dancing, I'd imagine." Her head was now resting on his shoulder. Even Mary and Matthew hadn't gone quite that far. Sybil could see that Gwen wanted to take up a similar position on William's shoulder, but hadn't quite dared. "Look! Sir Anthony has gone up to them." Sybil brought her head up to look.
"Is he going to ask her to Dance?" She watched as Isobel nodded slightly, before sir Anthony left. She sighed. "That could have been fun. Carson might even have asked Mrs Hughes if she was the only one sitting there."
When Isobel came back, she was wearing her coat. "I think it's time we left. Thank you so much for having us here today. It has been delightful." Well, she's cheered up, Elsie thought to herself.
"Will you want the car?"Cora asked.
"No, thank you. We will all fit into Sir Anthony's Rolls Royce." Sybil squeezed Branson's hand.
"We don't have to go yet, do we Mrs C? It's not like we are at all tired." Christopher spoke up for the group, but his point failed as James yawned.
"I suppose we should all get some sleep. I've arranged for us to have a DADS meeting tomorrow." Sybil piped up.
"Don't you mean a mother's meeting?" Edith was always the one to question everything.
"No. D.A.D.S. Downton Abbey Dramatic Society." Sybil explained.
"Oh, well, that's all we need." Violet chimed in.
"Sybil, darling, I thought we had agreed not to hold any rehearsals over Christmas."
"Mama, it's not a rehearsal. We just need to arrange when to practice Act 2 scene 3 and Act 3 scene 4. That's all."
"And the duelling. That needs a LOT of practice." Edith added.
"If only William and Gwen could duel as well as they could dance." Branson muttered to Sybil. She grinned at him. She wasn't the only one who had noticed those two.
"The same could be said for you! Mrs Hughes hasn't been the same since your practice attempt with Gwen."
"I'm glad you approve of my dancing." He said as she stepped forward to bid her extended family a merry Christmas.