Remembrances – or Something Like That
It was always a fun day when Miss Sybbie looked into Mrs. Carson's basket and found something new!
The basket had quite the history, when one stopped to think about it. On the first occasion that Mrs. Carson had agreed to look after Miss Sybbie was when the 'basket' came into being. It had been tucked away in the corner of her sitting room for quite some time, ever since she had used it to take Ethel a selection of food supplies from the kitchen, something with which to tide her and little Charlie over. Since Charlie had gone to live with the Bryants, and Ethel had gotten on with her life, there had been no need for the basket. And so it sat. In the corner of the sitting room. Empty.
One day, and she can't quite remember when, Mrs. Carson was asked by Mr. Branson if she could mind Miss Sybbie for just a bit. Just an hour. The little girl and her father had been speaking of Mrs. Hughes (and how she had become what they preferred to call her-Mrs. Carson) on and off and finally, one day, Miss Sybbie asked if she could visit her downstairs, all by herself, without her papa's watchful eye over her.
So Mr. Branson inquired and Mrs. Carson was delighted to agree to some special time with her favorite young lady. She was thrilled at the idea of hosting Miss Sybbie for the hour. She had watched the child from afar, and interacted with her on occasion, not realizing quite the little spot the young lady had begun to take up in her heart. They would have a splendid time together!
And, so, the day had come and Miss Sybbie was delivered to Mrs. Hughes' sitting room by her father. "Thank you, Mrs. Carson. And Sybbie… behave yourself, now. I'll be back in just an hour to fetch you. I'll expect a good report."
"Yes, Papa. Don't worry about me. I'll make sure that Mrs. Carson and I both stay out of trouble!"
Mr. Branson exchanged a smile with the housekeeper as he headed back into the hallway.
"Well, Miss Sybbie…" and "Oh, Mrs. Carson, this is SO wonderful, isn't it?!" both tumbled out at the same time. They looked at each other and grinned. It was going to be a great hour!
Mrs. Carson, knowing ahead of time that Miss Sybbie would be stopping by, thought to put a few items in the basket, thinking that if they had run out of conversation or other things to do, she could take a look in it and perhaps be entertained by whatever she found there.
Well, if Miss Sybbie didn't see the basket straight away and ask what was in it! There was one just like it up in the nursery and she wondered if it held the same kind of fun that the upstairs basket held.
"Go ahead, child, and take a peek."
Sybbie pulled out a small doll with button eyes, three little books, a ball and a small scarecrow. "What's this, Mrs. Carson?", she asked, holding up the little scarecrow.
The books, ball, and button-eyed doll looked similar to the things in her upstairs basket, but she had never set eyes on a scarecrow doll before.
"Well, lassie, that was a little gift from a friend of mine. I kept it to remember him by.", said the housekeeper.
"Him?", Miss Sybbie asked. "Did Mr. Carson give it to you?"
"No, sweetheart, someone whom I've known for many, many years gave it to me. Someone who has known me since I was a young lass like our Daisy. We grew up together on neighboring farms. He came to visit me quite some time ago. We agreed to meet at the town fair and while we were walking about, he played a game and won this little scarecrow doll. He gave it to me to remember him by."
"Are you still friends? Do you visit each other?", asked Miss Sybbie.
"Well, yes and no, lass. I like to think that we are still friends but, no, we don't see each other very often. He lives quite some ways away. In fact, we haven't seen each other since the town fair and it will be a very long while before we see each other again, if we ever do."
"Daddy has something that he keeps to remember a friend by. He doesn't see her anymore, either. He doesn't even know where she lives now, but he remembers her as a friend and so he keeps something that she gave him."
"That's nice, Miss Sybbie. Sometimes we keep things that remind us of friends that we don't get to see much anymore, if ever at all."
"It's a little poem, Papa calls it, that his friend, Miss Bunting, wrote for him. She gave it to him in a little frame and he keeps it to remind him of her. He says they were good friends for a while, until she moved away. And he has a picture of my mummy in a frame, as well. He says it's good to keep little things like that."
"Bremembrance. Remembery. I can't remember what Papa calls them."
"Remembrance?", asked Mrs. Hughes.
"YES! That's it! Things that people give you to remember them by. Like Miss Bunting's poem she wrote for Papa. He said she was just a friend, but it's nice to have bremembrances from friends, especially when they have to go far away and leave you.",said Sybbie.
"Did you say that your friend got the little scarecrow at the town fair? The one that Daddy's been talking about? The same one? Did you go? You've been there? I want to go. Aunty Mary is taking George on Friday, she said. Could we go? Could we go to the town fair together? You and me? Wouldn't that be just wonderful, and so much fun, Mrs. Carson?"
Mrs. Carson had been considering asking her Charlie if he would agree to go for a bit this year. He'd always been such a curmudgeon about the whole thing, but maybe this year…
They did manage to arrange their half day off together for this coming Friday. Her husband had quite the soft spot for Miss Sybbie so perhaps she would be that which would tip him in the right direction. She didn't convey any of this to Miss Sybbie, but the wheels were turning. She'd speak to her husband this afternoon.
"Well, that would be fun, wouldn't it, my dear? I'll speak to your father later this afternoon and see if we can't arrange a time."
"Oh, Mrs. Carson! Wouldn't it be just so wonderful if we could go?! Would you take me? Oh, and maybe Mr. Carson. Would he go, as well? Could he? It would be so much fun!"
"Remember, we've got to ask your da. With his permission, we perhaps could go this Friday, on my half day."
Later that afternoon, away from Miss Sybbie's listening ears, Mrs. Carson managed to get permission from Mr. Branson as well as convince her husband to take Miss Sybbie to the fair. Not too long, mind you, Mr. Carson had said. He wanted to spend a bit of his half day alone with his wife. Agreed, she had said. We'll take Miss Sybbie for an hour or so, return her to Nanny and then go on a walk, just the two of us.
Well, early Friday afternoon finally came and Mr. Branson and Sybbie showed up at Mrs. Carson's sitting room door. The young girl could barely contain her excitement. Her dancing steps and her tapping shoes could be heard throughout the downstairs.
"I'm ready! I'm here! Is it time? Is Mr. Carson going, as well? I do hope so! Daddy said I should bring my sweater because it's a bit windy. I don't feel cold, yet, though. I feel just wonderful! I feel per-fect!"
"What's this about someone feeling wonderful? ", rumbled the butler's voice, as Carson came out of his pantry and met Miss Sybbie and Mr. Branson in the hallway.
"Oh, Mr. Carson! You have your coat in case it gets too windy, as well. Are you going with us? Please say that you are? Won't this just be the best day?" The adults grinned and Mr. Branson rolled his eyes. He knew his daughter would have a grand time with the housekeeper and the butler, but hoped that she'd not wear them out. Good thing it was going to be a short outing!
"Well, my dear, I thought that I would join you, if I might? It's been quite some time since I've been to the town fair, so I suspect you and I will both be seeing a lot of new and exciting things today."
"Yay!", squealed Miss Sybbie, as she spun around in delight, crashing into her father. "Easy does it there, love. You'll have to walk a bit more calmly at the fair. There will be many, many people. You'll need to always keep an eye on Mr. and Mrs. Carson. Never stray from them and mind what they say. Understood?" Mr. Branson trusted his daughter's afternoon caretakers implicitly, but knew that she could always do with a reminder.
"Yes, Daddy. I will try so very hard to be so very good. We will stick together like glue, won't we, Mrs. Carson?"
"Yes, my dear, we will. That sounds like a very good idea."
But then the butler piped in. "Oh, no! Not like glue, Miss Sybbie! How will you part ways when we're done at the fair? Mrs. Carson is much too tall to fit in your bed with you. And I would miss her terribly. Who would check on Mrs. Patmore's supplies? Who would make sure the maids have done their chores? Who would walk back to my cottage this evening with me?" Carson , usually gruff and blustery on the outside, secretly enjoyed to no end the conversations he could have with the children, especially this dear girl standing in front of him this very minute.
Sybbie giggled at the thought of she and Mrs. Carson literally stuck together. " Ohhh, Mr. Carson. We can all stay close enough together without glue. I know I can. Can you, Mr. Carson? Can you stay close enough to us?"
The butler melted inside as he pondered the precious words and thoughts coming from this dear soul. For only a moment his mind wandered down the 'if only' path his heart was prone to take on occasion, but he quickly came around.
"I do believe I can, Miss Sybbie. I think we all shall have such a good time together that we wouldn't even think of being separated. What do you think, Mrs. Carson?"
"I think we'll be perfectly safe! We shall stick together closely, certainly, perhaps even hold hands. Do you think that would keep us together, love?"
"Yes!", exclaimed both Miss Sybbie and Carson together. It looked like she would have two 'loves' with her that afternoon.
"Well, then. I suppose it's time for both my loves and I to enjoy our afternoon!"
And so the butler, the housekeeper and their young charge headed out to the town fair. They were gone a bit longer than they had planned and the couple's later walk had to be shortened, but a grand and glorious time was enjoyed by all.
There might even have been a little shoulder riding going on. Miss Sybbie may have had the best view of anyone at the fair that afternoon. And a certain butler may have had sore shoulders the next day.
There may have been a pony ride, some games and sweet treats involved.
There may even have been a tiny prize won when a certain butler managed to toss the ring right over the cloth doll. And a certain young lass, when handed the prize, may have been quite excited when she exclaimed, "Oh, goodie! Now I have a bremembrance of you, Mr. Carson!"
"Ah, but lass, you don't need one of me – or Mrs. Carson. They're for when you're not able to see someone for a long time or maybe ever again. We're able to see you every day. That's much better than a remembrance!"
Well, who could argue with that?