Delays
Dusk was falling as Sybil and Tom walked down the Princes Landing Stage in Liverpool. A porter followed with their bags. There was a strong wind blowing and the first drops of heavy, cold rain were starting to fall. The steam ships of the Coast Line Ferry Service were tied along the landing. The gangways were embossed with each ships name and lead from the pier to the ship's brow. There were lights along the landing and even in the early evening it was busy with the bustle of people coming and going, porters working their trade and the crews going about their business.
"After all those years as a chauffeur, you would think I would remember to carry an umbrella," Tom had joked as they walked. Sybil pulled herself in tighter to his arm as though drawing strength from his warmth against the cold night. The crossing would take eight hours overnight on the SS Classic landing them in Dublin early the next morning.
When they reached the ship and presented their tickets, the Purser informed them the sailing had been canceled due to bad weather.
"I'm sorry sir, but the forecast is for heavy seas overnight and through tomorrow morning. We are expecting a twenty-four hour delay. We have reserved hotel space for our first class passengers at the Imperial Hotel. When you arrive there present your tickets. A room is being held in your name."
Sybil looked at Tom while he got directions to the hotel. She felt the slightest bit of alarm coupled with excitement at spending a night in a hotel room and another at sea with him. Their relationship had progressed much further than that ill-fated night at the Swan Inn. She had been prepared to tell him she was ready to take things further than the kissing and petting they had engaged in so far but how much further she wasn't sure.
Back at Downton Sybil had made it clear that there would be nothing more than kissing until things between them were settled. If they had succeeded with their elopement seven weeks ago it would have been a mute point. The decision to formally announce their engagement to her parents had created an entirely new set of problems. Plans needed to be made, sisters reminded to mind their own affairs and a new set of boundaries established in her and Tom's physical relationship. He had told her he wanted to face her father with a clear conscience. Sybil respected Tom's position and agreed with him but it hadn't been easy.
If their courtship had been a normal one without the need for secrecy they would have sat together at church. He would have come to dinner with her family and they would have spent evenings in a corner of the drawing room discussing their interests and flirting in whispers. They would have been free to sit together at a teashop, or take walks around the gardens. They had been forced onto a different path by a society that frowned on their mix of class and were trying to make the best of it. Sybil had often been able to get away to speak with Tom through the day but most of their conversations had revolved around planning their departure and any news they had received. On Tom's half days they had met in the secluded areas of the gardens weather permitting and twice Sybil had gone to his cottage after everyone had retired for the evening. They had both known that discovery would lead to a massive scandal but their lack of time alone had pushed them to take risks.
The chauffeur's cottage had been cozier than Sybil expected. Tom had explained that during large parties with overnight guests he was expected to accommodate the visiting chauffeurs while valets and ladies maids stayed at the main house. The cottage had a small stone fireplace in the sitting area with a sofa. As well there was a dining table with six chairs in the kitchen and a smaller table pushed under a window where Tom kept his writing materials. The rooms were small but adequate. Upstairs there were two small bedrooms, one of which had dormitory style beds. Originally he had been expected to take his meals here, but he had not liked the idea of one of the other staff members having to bring his meals down.
The two of them had spent their stolen time here curled in front of the fireplace on the sofa wrapped in an afghan. Sybil had undressed many men at the hospital, tended their wounds and washed their bodies, but none had tempted her to explore their bodies with her hands and lips as Tom's did. He had kissed her softly at first, then with more passion. As she allowed herself to enjoy the sensation of his lips and tongue on hers, her hands had moved to the buttons of his shirt and waistcoat. He had kissed her neck and the flesh exposed at the neckline of her shirt as she explored the firm texture of his bare chest and back. His skin was warm and smooth as silk with the hardness of muscle underneath. The light covering of hair on his chest tickled her fingertips. To be able to touch him and explore his body was like opening a gift on Christmas morning. She could feel his body reacting to their closeness and it made her want more and more. Tom's hands had brushed up her sides and made her gasp with sensation. When she felt his hand cup her breast she thought she would faint with longing and desire. There was nothing in her world in that moment but him and nowhere else she wanted to be. Tom had been the one to slow things down. No matter what he had his integrity and he would face her father without having to lie about their physical relationship.
Two weeks later Tom had heard back from most of the letters and applications he had sent out, but he wanted to wait a few more days in case he heard from a paper in Dublin he had applied to. Sybil's parents were going overnight to visit friends and she was confident she could get away to meet Tom at his cottage that night.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Tom had said. The blush crept up his cheeks as he pushed a hand through his hair.
Sybil's own cheeks had reddened at the sight of his. "I know our situation isn't ideal, but I want to spend time with you and I don't see any other way to manage it."
"Its not just that, Sybil," Tom said as he moved closer and took her hand in his. "I love you. I'm a man and I want to show you, not just tell you. I'm concerned for what might happen. Do you understand?"
This closeness with a man was so new to her that hearing him refer to their intimate relationship was still embarrassing. Her eyes turned to the ground then quickly looked up into his. He was so trusting, so kind and so completely without guile she loved him even more in that moment than she had before.
"I trust you, Tom. I just can't see any other way for us right now."
He nodded and drew her in for a quick kiss before he went back to work.
Sybil had a hard time waiting for the house to quiet that evening. Her skin crawled in anticipation of his touch. She wanted to be with Tom, to spend time with him, to touch and be touched by him so badly it was almost a taste in her mouth. There was a new intimacy to their relationship that evening as she laid against his chest and listened to him read. There was a definite deepening of their connection. She had always been able to read him and vice-versa but now it was more as their intimate thoughts became exposed to each other.
They had kissed and held each other that night, but only gone so far as to unbutton his shirt. As Sybil had lain with her head on his bare chest before she left she knew there was a subtle shift in their understanding. At this point more would just mean more complications. It wouldn't be long now. They just had to be patient.
The facade of the Imperial Hotel in Liverpool came into view through the rain-splattered windows of their cab. The rain had started to fall in earnest on the short trip from the landing stage. The heavy fat globs of water bounced when they hit the cobbled roads and soaked everything in sight. By the time Tom had gotten their bags transferred from the cab to a waiting bellhop, she was wet, tired and frustrated with yet another delay on the journey to her new home. Sometimes it felt like they would never arrive.
