Isobel liked Sybil from their first meeting. She found the young woman a refreshing change from the rest of her family. She was sweet, kind, intelligent, interested in the world -all attributes that Isobel didn't think the rest of the Crawley's possessed. Isobel had secretly hoped that Matthew would fall for Sybil if he was going to fall for any of the sisters.

It was due to Isobel's interest and help that Sybil had become a nurse. If Isobel had ever harbored any thoughts that Sybil's foray into nursing was just a phase and that a young woman who had always been waited on hand and foot and had never worked a day in her life would soon tire of it she had been wrong. Sybil had proven herself more than capable. She had thrown herself full force into her work and had become an outstanding nurse. Her gentle, kind and caring nature made her a natural with the patients. But it was her interest in learning all aspects of nursing and always wanting to improve her skills that had greatly impressed Isobel. Sybil had blossomed as a nurse. She had found a purpose in life.

Isobel knew there was something wrong in Sybil's life. She knew that Sybil had asked Dr. Clarkson to schedule her mostly at the hospital and that she no longer wanted to work at the convalescent home. At first Isobel thought maybe something had happened with one of the officers recuperating there. No one could deny that Sybil was a real beauty and coupled with her personality, Isobel could easily imagine the officers being attracted to Sybil. But Isobel had never noticed Sybil returning any such interest in any of the men. Could one of the men have made an unwanted pass at Sybil? While nursing had brought a maturity to the young woman, Isobel knew that Sybil had virtually no experience with men. She actually doubted that Sybil had ever even kissed a man.

Then Isobel began noticing that in the quiet moments at the hospital, Sybil seemed to be off in another world. She would often appear deep in thought and sometimes didn't even notice someone talking to her. Sybil no longer congregated with the other nurses during their breaks. She sat alone deep in her own world. While her quick smile was still on display for the patients, she rarely smiled otherwise.

But another request of Sybil's had further piqued Isobel's interest. Sybil had requested afternoon into evening shifts at the hospital. Her requested shifts would not allow her to attend luncheon or dinner with her family. If the cause of Sybil's distress was one of the convalescent patients why would Sybil seem to want to avoid her family?

In the past month, Isobel had only been at two dinners that Sybil had also been present. At the first meal, Sybil had barely eaten anything and hadn't uttered a word. At the second meal, Sybil had created a scene that ended with her abruptly leaving in the middle of dinner. Isobel couldn't recall exactly what had happened although Sybil appeared resentful that she had to attend dinner. This resentment had boiled over into Sybil refusing to dress for dinner stating she had come straight from the hospital and didn't have time to change so she appeared in her nurse's uniform. But Isobel knew that Sybil had left the hospital at least two hours prior.

Isobel cared for Sybil as a daughter and so she was determined to see if she could help Sybil overcome whatever was causing her such distress.

While having breakfast on a tray in her room, a rarity that was only allowed because of her odd schedules, Sybil was interrupted by Anna with a note from Isobel requesting Sybil to attend luncheon at Crawley House. Isobel knew Sybil was not scheduled for work that day so Sybil could not use that as an excuse to not attend. So promptly at 1 o'clock, Sybil found herself knocking on the door of Crawley House.

"Sybil dear, I'm so glad you came" Isobel cheerily greeted her.

"Is there something the matter with my work at the hospital" Sybil warily answered. She had spent most of the morning wondering why cousin Isobel had extended the invitation. The only thing she could think of was that she had done something wrong at work and cousin Isobel was being gracious enough not to chastise her in front of the other hospital staff.

"Oh no dear. It's just that we haven't had a chance to talk in so long. Luncheon is ready. Since it's just us I thought we could be informal and eat in the parlor."

Isobel kept the conversation light while they ate since she wanted Sybil to feel comfortable. So it wasn't until dessert that Isobel finally broached the subject. "Sybil you know I think of you as a daughter so when I see that something is so obviously troubling you, I am concerned. I want to help you in any way I can."

"Oh cousin Isobel" Sybil answered with her lower lip quivering, "there is nothing you can do."

"Well I'd like to think that I could help in some way if only to listen to whatever it is that is upsetting you"

"It's …it's" Sybil managed to quietly voice before breaking into tears. Through the young woman's sobs Isobel was only able to hear the words "Tom" "Mary betrayed" "my friend".

Isobel reached for Sybil's hands and kindly said, "Sybil my dear take a deep breath. Now tell me the whole story."

Although tears lingered in her eyes, Sybil managed to tell Isobel of her growing friendship with Tom Branson the former chauffeur. How their friendship began before the war discussing politics and women's rights. How they would read the same books and then discuss them.

"It was the first time in my life someone actually was interested in what I had to say. Someone interested in my opinions. Even when we didn't agree, Tom didn't make me feel stupid or frivolous."

"When I told him I was going to be a nurse he was so encouraging" beamed Sybil. "He thought I'd be a terrific nurse and he was so impressed that I wanted to do something with by life."

Sybil continued, "he's been the only person to actually discuss my work. If I told Papa or Mama the things about my work that I've discussed with Tom, they would have made me quit. Mary and Edith are too involved in their own lives to be interested in what I'm doing."

In the pursuing lull, Isobel stated "I know how important it is to have someone to talk to. It's one of the things I miss most about not having Reginald around."

"Was it this friendship with Branson … I mean Tom … that got him fired?" Isobel gently inquired.

As her eyes filled again with tears, Sybil nodded. "Oh yes. Mary noticed my talking to Tom on several occasions and she eventually confronted me about it. I was a fool and told her Tom was in love with me and that he wanted to run away with me."

Her comments stunned Isobel. This was something much deeper than she had imagined.

"Mary promised she wouldn't say anything to Papa if I didn't do anything foolish" Sybil continued "But she didn't keep her promise. When she told Papa he immediately fired Tom."

"Oh cousin Isobel … I ... I miss him so much. I had been afraid to admit it to him before but I was … am … in love with him too."

Isobel was torn. Her heart truly ached for the lovely young woman and she hated to see her in such obvious pain. Yet what could she do? She knew the Crawleys would not approve of her encouraging Sybil with her relationship with the former chauffeur. Yet Isobel did not truly believe that society should dictate who one should fall in love with. While her actions with Branson had been limited he had always struck her as a kind and intelligent young man. Should the two not be able to pursue love just because one had been born a rich aristocrat and the other a poor working class man?

"Do you know where Tom is now?" inquired Isobel.

"Yes, he's back in Ireland. I've received two letters from him. He wrote to me as Nurse Crawley at the hospital. We thought if anyone saw the envelopes they'd think he was a former patient. "

Not wanting to encourage Sybil to do anything rashly but wanting to know the full situation, Isobel asked "Have you thought of joining him in Ireland?"

"Of course. But Tom thinks he needs to have a good job and he wants me to be sure of what I'm doing. I couldn't give him an answer to his proposal before because I wanted to do my part in the war effort and I wanted to be sure I could leave my family and way of life. He doesn't want me to come to Ireland now and then realize it was just to spite my family."

Isobel was impressed that both Tom and Sybil were thinking deeply about their situation and not acting impulsively.

"I hate that my family wants to carry on as if there isn't a war. I can't dress for dinner and pretend that everything is fine. I can't forgive Mary for what's she's done not only to me but to Tom. This was a good job for him. I know he was only staying here until I made my decision but the money was far more than he had been making in Ireland. He's paying for his two youngest sisters to stay in school" Sybil stated defiantly.

She continued "I know they think that my nursing is just a youthful diversion, but it's not. I love nursing and I want to continue it … even after the war."

While Isobel was impressed with the level headedness Sybil was showing, she was afraid that Sybil's bitterness towards Mary and her family would chip away at that level headedness. Since Isobel had had a role in Sybil becoming a nurse, she was thrilled to hear that Sybil wanted to continue nursing. Yet she knew that it would be a battle with her family to do so. But Isobel felt that the young woman should be able to decide for herself what course her life should take.

Suddenly an idea came to Isobel. "What if you transferred to a hospital in London?"