Sybbie always liked visiting her grandparents at the grand Downton Abbey. She enjoyed meeting the family and the befriended servants (especially Uncle Thomas and Aunt Elsie). However, the most important part of the visit was unchangeably the visit to the graveyard. The visit to Mama.
And here they were, Da and Sybbie. They stood in silence beside the grave marked with letters "Sybil Cora Branson", both deeply lost in thoughts, talking to Mama. Sybbie looked at her Da and saw a smile on his face. It didn't surprise her. Da was generally a happy and smiling person, and Sybbie thought that she knew why he was smiling beside the grave, but wanted to be sure and decided to ask him about it later.
When they returned to the big house, they immediately headed for the library to have their tea. The rest of the family was away, attending some party at another aristocratic mansion. Sybbie and Da were just chatting about how the Downton family had changed since they had last seen them, when Sybbie finally summoned the courage to ask, "Da, why were you smiling at Mama's grave?" She didn't know how to ask this question, so she opted for the straightforward way.
"I always smile when I think about her because she's always with me."
"I know. I feel the same, even though I never knew her in person," Sybbie replied quietly.
"It's been eighteen years since she passed away and there hasn't been a single day I haven't felt her presence. She's been with me through all the ordeals and has given me strength to carry on. It wasn't easy at the beginning, but then I found her again and life has become better since. It's thanks to her that I returned to journalism and later decided to take you back to Dublin. I'm doing everything for the three of us: for you, for me, and for Mama."
"I feel the same," Sybbie whispered. "I feel that there's someone constantly watching over us and giving us strength."
"You never thought that you could find someone else?" the young girl suddenly inquired.
"No, and I never will," Tom answered. "Your Mama go forward together everyday, just as we used to when she was alive"
Here Tom reached out for his daughter's hand and they sat like this in silence for the next few minutes, smiling broadly. They knew that there were, in fact, three of them in the library. Whatever they did, Mama was always with them, and that thought made them happy. Their little family had to endure a lot of challenges, but they always managed to emerge victorious in the end. It was because they were always together.