I decided to post these nuggets as I write them. Likely two more to go.
December 21, 1925
"Is that her?" Saoirse asked.
"No, darling," Sybil answered as she held Saoirse's hand tightly, not wanting to lose sight of Tom, who was walking a little bit ahead of them in the crowd at the dock where Edith's ship had made port.
"How about her?"
Sybil turned to see where her daughter was pointing. "No."
"And her?"
"Darling, you don't remember your Aunt Edith," Sybil said. "How do you expect to recognize her?"
Saoirse shrugged. "She looks like you, doesn't she?"
Sybil smiled. "Not quite. Though I suppose she looks like Grandmother Martha."
"So I should look for bright red hair?"
Tom laughed, as they caught up to him. "How about we do the looking?"
Saoirse furrowed her brow in annoyance. "I've got eyes too, Da."
Suddenly, Sybil gasped. "There she is!"
Tom turned, followed the direction of Sybil's eyes, and indeed, he saw a smartly dressed Edith Crawley coming down the gangway. Sybil ran over to where it met the dock, leaving husband and child behind, and waving anxiously at her sister. Edith waved back and walked quickly down to greet Sybil. She seemed somewhat taken aback when Sybil jumped into an embrace but accepted it. Even from a few yards away, Tom could see that she was smiling through tears, just as he was sure Sybil, who had her back to him, was too.
Saoirse wanted to run to her mother, so eager she was to meet the aunt she didn't remember, but Tom held her back. "Let them have their moment, darling." He could see Sybil's shoulders shaking in a way that suggested she wasn't merely crying but sobbing.
After several long minutes the sisters finally pulled away and laughed at their own tears. "I don't know what's come over me," Edith said. "But it's so good to see you."
"I've always cried easily, you know that. But I don't know that I've ever sobbed with happiness. I'm so happy you're here!"
"Mummy, why are you crying?"
Sybil laughed as she wiped her eyes and looked down and Saoirse, who'd finally been allowed to catch up to her.
"Is this Saoirse? Oh, my, how you've grown!"
"Say, hello, to your Aunt Edith, darling! You've been waiting so anxiously to see her."
Saoirse had been quite excited to see more of her mother's side of the family, but in the moment, her shyness emerged, which Edith, of course, found rather endearing. Saoise grabbed her mother's hand and buried her face into her side.
"I'm sure she'll be clinging to you in no time," Tom said, finally approaching. "Hope you had a good trip."
"We did, thank you, Tom. It's good to see you again."
Tom held out his hand and offered a warm smile, which Edith returned as the shook.
"Oh, yes, we!" Sybil exclaimed. "Where is Marigold?"
Edith turned. "Here they are now."
Coming down the gangway now was a young woman, about Sybil's own age, dressed in modest but obviously well-cared for traveling clothes and holding a small child.
"I hope it's all right that I've brought help. I've made arrangements at a hotel—"
"You mean your not staying with us?" Saoirse said, previous shyness forgotten.
Edith looked back and forth between Sybil and Tom. "We couldn't all of us impose. I certainly didn't want to presume."
"Of course, but we do have the room," Sybil said. "Rather, the building does. The apartment above us was just vacated. There's furniture. Nothing particularly fancy, but not shabby either. You'd fit quite well and would be much closer."
Edith felt rather overwhelmed. "Well . . ."
"Oh, please!" Saoirse replied. "It'll be so fun for Mari-land."
"Mari-gold, darling," Tom corrected.
Edith laughed, warmed by Saoirse's eagerness, so like Sybil's open, welcoming and unquestioning nature. Edith couldn't know how Sybil would react to her secret, but she couldn't deny that being close to the sister she missed so dearly would be welcome—and to give her own daughter a taste of life outside of Downton, where the secret made Edith feel ashamed and unwelcome on top of how out of place she'd always felt where she should have felt at home.
"Here we are, milady," the young woman said. "The steward pointed me to where we may collect the luggage."
"Thank you, Lily," she said. Taking Marigold from her arms, she said, "Look Marigold, it's—"
"Your cousin! I'm your cousin! I'm Saoirse. You say it by putting together 'seer' and 'shah.' See, it's easy! Seer-shah!"
Sybil and Tom looked at one another. "I suppose it's OK if she calls her cousin, isn't it?" Sybil asked.
Edith swallowed a lump in her throat. "Yes." Bending down so that she and Marigold, still in her arms, head now on Edith's shoulder, were level with Saoirse, she added, "Would you like to say hello, Marigold?"
The small girl, barely more than two, took her thumb out of her mouth for a quiet wave, and then put it back in. It was a small gesture, but enough to endear Saoirse, who immediately turned to her parents wide-eyed with excitement.
"You must be exhausted," Sybil said. "How do we pick up your things?"
"Just over there, milady," Lily answered.
"Oh, dear," Sybil said with a hearty laugh, "I haven't answered to milady in years and don't intend to start doing so now. Edith, please don't find this impertinent, but in my home, I'd like—Lily, is it?"
Lily bit her lip. Edith had said this might happen. "Yes, mila—I mean, yes, um. Yes."
"Lily, I'd like you to call me Sybil, please. I do not live like my parents and got this far away from them precisely so I didn't have to." Turning, to Tom, she added, "This is my husband, who was our chauffeur."
He chuckled. "Tom Branson. And Tom will do fine."
Lily shook both their hands. "Lily Idleweiss. Thank you for your hospitality. I'll go see to the bags."
"I'll help," Tom said and the two moved off.
Edith sighed as they walked away. "I told her things would be different here. I hope it's not overwhelming."
Sybil laughed. "No more than it must be for you, I'm sure."
Edith turned to her sister. "I'm just happy to see you. There's never a moment I'm with family that isn't awkward for some reason, so why bother with caring about it now."
Sybil leaned in and hugged both Edith and Marigold in her arms. "I'm so glad you're here."