Through the Years Chapter 3, a downton abbey fanfic

One

The staff had been busy for a week preparing for the big day for it wasn't often that a child of the house turned one and in fact it had been five years since Edith's first birthday. Breaking with the Crawley tradition of celebrating first birthdays with just a special cake at tea, Cora had decided to have a luncheon party in the gardens for little Sybil. Violet of course thought it seemed too American but Cora was adamant about how the family would celebrate.

This wouldn't be like the garden party the Crawleys hosted annually, it would be much smaller and informal with just the family attending since Sybil wasn't the heir or even the first child. Yet, in another break from tradition, Cora had decided all of the house staff could attend.

To stress the informality of the party, all the food would be finger food such as small sandwiches and an assortment of raw vegetables and cheeses. Cora asked Mrs. Patmore to make a small cake that would hold the one candle for Sybil and then two or three larger cakes that would be for everyone else to eat.

When the big day arrived it seemed everyone was in a good mood for little Lady Sybil had endeared herself to all the staff she came in contact with for she was such a happy baby. It seemed that she was nearly always smiling, a smile which now showed her six teeth, a smile which lit up her big bright blue eyes. None of the maids could envision Lady Mary, so haughty at only six, or Lady Edith with her prickly personality had ever been such a baby.

While she did view her charge in the same way as most of the staff, Mrs. Dancy, Sybil's nanny, knew that Lady Sybil was going to be a handful for she was already displaying a curiosity of the world around her. Ever since Sybil had learned to crawl, Mrs. Dancy had to watch the child carefully for it was surprising to her how fast and how far the child could go so quickly. On more than one occasion Mrs. Dancy had had to go running after Sybil who when caught would sit on her bum, turn her head towards the nanny and give such a big smile, a smile which could be interpreted as proudly saying "look what I've done", that Mrs. Dancy couldn't be angry at her.

Mrs. Dancy was now trying to prepare herself for a fully mobile Lady Sybil for the child had learned to pull herself up to a standing position and if holding on to something could take a few steps. Mrs. Dancy feared that once the little girl could walk her job of minding the child would become much more demanding.

To the delight of her mother, it was at her first birthday celebration that Sybil managed to take her first unaided steps. Whether it was the birthday cake with its brightly colored icing or the fancy colorfully wrapped presents sitting beside the cake that caught her attention, it was clear from the moment Cora sat Sybil down on the lawn that Sybil's attention was drawn to the low table that held them.

Granny and Robert may have been horrified but Cora just laughed at the pictures from that day of little Sybil who had been so carefully dressed in a pretty blue flowered dress with a matching blue ribbon holding back what little dark hair she had, her face, hair and hands smeared with icing and bits of cake. The smile on her face as she looked directly at the camera was as bright as the candle she had just blown out.

Yes it was obvious to all that little Lady Sybil was going to be a handful.

Six

Finally having a few moments of rest, Elsie Hughes sat at the large table in the servants hall, her eyes closed, savoring a hot cup of tea and the peace and quiet of being the only one there. But that solitude didn't last long for suddenly she heard movement and opened her eyes to find Lady Sybil standing there looking intently at her.

Looking puzzled the child asked "Were you taking a nap?"

"Heavens no child, I was just enjoying my cup of tea."

"But you had your eyes closed" the child insisted.

"Well I was just thinking how good it tasted" Elsie countered. She had only been working at Downton as a housemaid for two months and was still trying to adjust to how much busier Downton was that her last employment.

Elsie smiled at the inquisitive little girl. Little Lady Sybil was quite well known for her friendliness to the staff. She often came down to the kitchens looking for biscuits or other treats from the cook and would happily sit at the servants table eating her snacks and talking to whoever was nearby.

Sometimes her forays into the servants hall was just a means to evading her nanny and she would be seen running past on her way outdoors. Just as often the child would be seen sneaking back into the house, usually with her clothes messed up and her unruly hair no longer brushed back into a neat ponytail but rather flying every which way, using the servants stairway as a way back to her room.

"My birthday is Friday. I'll be six." Sybil blurted out as she stood hopping from one foot to the other.

Elsie was amused by the excitement of the child. She couldn't help but think how nice it was to be excited by a birthday but she guessed birthdays for the children of the house were much different from those of Elsie's and her siblings.

"And do you have big plans for your birthday?"

"Oh this is a very big birthday for me." Sybil stopped her hopping and looked seriously at the young house maid. "I get to start learning from Mrs. Holton." Elsie knew Mrs. Holton was the governess for Lady Mary and Lady Edith although as the governess she had a much loftier position in the household and didn't mingle with the downstairs staff.

"I'm going to learn to read and write" Sybil proudly exclaimed. "I already know how to write my name and I can read a little bit but Mary says I'll soon be able to read her books. Won't that be wonderful?"

Before Elsie could comment, Sybil continued on. "Do you like to read?"

"I do but I don't have much time to do so."

"Mary sometimes reads to me at night and Papa reads to me in the library. I can't wait till I can read by myself. Then I won't have to wait for someone to have the time to read to me I can do it when I want to."

Elsie envied the little girl who could spend her days reading rather than working around the house. Elsie knew she was luckier than many because her parents had insisted she and her brother and sisters attend the local school and she had happily done so until she was twelve when she had to start working. Looking at the child standing before her, Elsie knew this child would never have to work, she would never have to know what it was like to scrub floors or make a bed or even make her own cup of tea. No this child would only have to ring a bell and whatever she wanted would be brought to her.

Lost in her own thoughts, Elsie wasn't even aware that Lady Sybil was still chattering away until the child tugged on her arm. "Would you like that?" the child said.

"I'm sorry Lady Sybil but my thoughts were wandering again."

Sybil knitted her eyebrows as if in deep thought. "Were you thinking about your favorite book?"

Elsie chuckled. "I can't say I have a favorite book for there are so many to choose from."

"Oh" Lady Sybil sounded a bit disappointed. "I guess you're right there are just so many books and I guess I can't have a favorite until I've read them all."

Just then they could hear a faint voice calling "Lady Sybil."

"It's been so nice chatting with you but I've got to run now." With that the whirlwind that was Lady Sybil turned and darted out the servants entrance going in the opposite direction of the voice that was calling her.

Elsie chuckled at the little girl's actions for evading her nanny, as well as sneaking in and out of the house, was a skill that six year old Lady Sybil was quite good at.

Twelve

"I don't think you've thought about this" Violet said sternly to her daughter-in-law. The two were in Cora's upstairs sitting room having tea.

"That's just it. I have thought about it." Cora replied. "It's lonely for Sybil being the only one in the nursery. She shouldn't have to eat every meal alone."

Cora had had to make many adjustments when she married into the Crawleys not the least of which was how to raise children. The children of English aristocrats were watched over by nannies from the time they were born. Girls didn't attend the local schools but were taught by governesses. Parents took very little interest or had little interaction with their children seeming to be content with their children being presented after afternoon tea. It wasn't until the child was fourteen or fifteen that they could partake of meals with the rest of the family.

There had been no nursery or nannies in Cora's childhood. Before she was old enough to go to school, there was a housekeeper who kept watch over Cora. Once she started school, she would spend her time after school in her parent's store sitting behind the counter doing her homework or reading or drawing if she wasn't helping out by sweeping or stocking some of the bins.

Cora knew the moment she first held her daughter Mary that she wouldn't comply with the English formal ways of childrearing. She had endured many sharp comments from her mother-in-law but Cora didn't care for it was the one area she wouldn't be intimated by Violet.

But Violet wouldn't be dissuaded. "Sybil is just too young."

"She'll be twelve tomorrow. That's hardly too young to sit at the dining table with the rest of her family" Cora countered.

"She can hold her knife and fork and drink from a glass." Cora continued sounding quite insolent to Violet.

"Well my dear with Sybil one can never be too sure." Violet was never one to concede a point especially to her daughter in law.

For once it was Cora who glared at Violet. Unperturbed, Violet continued on. "You must admit Sybil doesn't have Mary's grace and poise or even Edith's for that matter."

"If you're implying that Sybil is a bit more rambunctious I'll concede that. But she is polite and mannerly. Anyway it is not your decision."

To Sybil's utter delight she celebrated her twelfth birthday in the company of her family in Downton's great dining room for her first dinner with the family. Cora had bought her daughter a new dress for the occasion which wasn't quite like the formal gowns that Mary and Edith wore but certainly much fancier than anything Sybil had ever worn.

While she tried her very best to be the graceful young lady everyone expected at the table, there were of course moments when everyone was reminded she was still a child. Her high spirits and infectious laugh brought a much needed levity to the table.

She didn't partake of the after dinner ritual of drinks in the parlor for it was way past her bedtime. Yet as she practically waltzed to her room, Sybil thought she'd never tire of such dinners.

Eighteen

Turning eighteen had much significance for girls such as Sybil. The most immediate change was that she could no longer wear her hair down or pulled back into a simple ponytail or braid; now she must always wear it in some sort of upsweep. Her husband would be the only man that would see her with her hair down.

She was now a woman; at least society considered her so for with her 18th birthday she was now eligible to be courted. Of course that couldn't formally happen until after she was presented to the king during her season. The balls and garden parties she would attend during that month were intended for young men, well really any unmarried men, to meet her and consider her as a prospect for marriage.

"Doesn't that sound like a cattle auction?" Branson had commented when she tried explaining "the season." "You're put out there on display for them to … well … I'm sorry my lady but it just sounds so demeaning to the women."

"Well what happens in Ireland?" she asked earnestly.

"If you fancy a girl you walk her home from school or church or you ask her to a dance. You talk to her and get to know her."

"And have you courted a girl?"

Tom looked deeply into her beautiful blue eyes, eyes that he thought he'd never tire of looking at. Looking at the earnest expression on her face he realized this was just another symbol of how different their worlds were.

He couldn't lie to her. "I have yes."

"But you didn't marry." Realizing what she had said, Sybil blushed a bit.

"I realized I didn't want to marry so young. So many in my neighborhood end up eighteen and married with a baby on the way working in a dead end job. I didn't want that. I wanted to make something of my life."

Now as she sat at her vanity at Grantham House brushing out her hair his words came back to her. How right he was it was demeaning. The men she had been dancing with for the past three nights weren't really interested in her as a person at least not as much as they were interested in her looks, her wealth, her pedigree. Some had looked downright annoyed when she had talked about women's rights or the vote, one or two had even told her she was foolish.

Conversations with her girl friends weren't any better for all they wanted to talk about was what balls they were going to, who seemed interested in who, and what clothes they would wear.

Even her parents seemed to want to talk only about the parties and balls she had received invitations to and the men she was meeting. Yet as the days went by Sybil realized she wasn't really interested in the season anymore, she was ready to go home. To her surprise, Sybil found that she was missing a certain chauffeur.

How she longed to be back at Downton talking to him. With him she could talk about anything and everything. They had serious conversations about politics. They had lighthearted conversations about favorite foods. They talked about their childhoods, their favorite books, their hopes for the future. In that moment Sybil realized Tom had become her best friend.

Since she had been about fifteen every birthday had been the same even during the war years. Mrs. Patmore would fix her favorite foods for dinner. Her favorite pudding would be served after dinner in the drawing room where she'd blow out the candles as everyone sang and clapped. Then she'd open her presents, a beautiful necklace from her parents with Granny giving her a matching bracelet or earrings, the only surprise being which one. Even the presents from her sisters would be the same every year, a book from Edith and a hat pin and hair ornament from Mary.

As she sat in the drawing room, holding her plate of pudding, she looked around at her family, all smiles and happiness. A happiness that she knew she would soon shatter for this would be her last birthday celebrated with them.

The war had changed many lives including Sybil's. She found she loved working as a nurse. It was the first time in her life that she felt useful. She loved being tired at the end of the day because it meant she had been busy.

But the biggest change was that the war gave Sybil the courage to follow her heart and her heart belonged to Tom. She had kept him waiting for years while she dithered as to whether she was willing to lose her family, her friends, her lifestyle but she hadn't faltered as to whether or not she loved him. That she had known for quite some time even if she wasn't willing to admit it to herself or to him.

So she savored every minute of this evening, of the good wishes and love of her family. It was the memories of times like this that she was taking with her regardless of what happened when she told them her plans. Next year she would be in Ireland and she would be Mrs. Tom Branson.

This birthday was different from any other birthday in her life for it was the first she was away from her family, it was the first she'd celebrate in Ireland, and most importantly it was the first she'd celebrate as Mrs. Tom Branson.

She had told Tom they didn't need to do anything special that she'd be happiest just having the evening alone with him.

It had been a long tiring shift at the hospital and Sybil just wanted to get home and put her feet up and rest. Maybe she could talk Tom into going for take away fish and chips which had become one of her favorite meals. Hopefully he would be home early enough to do so before she ended up cooking something just to alleviate her hunger.

To her surprise Tom was already home when she arrived there. A vase of fresh cut flowers graced the end table in the living room filling the room with their sweet scent. These were flowers Sybil knew Tom had cut from a friend's garden and not the kind one bought.

"Home on time I see" Tom smiled at her as he came out of their bedroom.

As he took her in his arms he kissed her forehead before dropping his lips to hers. While it was a lingering kiss, Tom didn't want it to lead to anything more just yet for he had a surprise for her. He could see from her eyes that her shift had been another grinding one although the smile she put on tried to hide that fact.

"I'm surprised you're home before me" Sybil managed to say as Tom ran his hands up and down in back.

"Well I had some things to do" he sounded quite serious although the gleam in his eyes betrayed that seriousness.

"And you're home just in time to see what I've been doing love." Releasing her from his arms he took her hand and led her to the bathroom. There to Sybil's utter delight he had drawn her a bath. The warm water from the bath had steamed up the mirror while the bubbles from her favorite bath salts, a gift from Mary, had soaked the room in the scent of roses.

"I thought after a long day on your feet you deserved a good soak."

"Oh Tom" Sybil pulled him close and kissed his face.

"We can't start that just yet love. You take a good soak and I'll have dinner on the table when you're ready."

Twenty minutes later Sybil appeared in the living room wearing her short silk robe, refreshed and ready for dinner. "Do I smell fish and chips?"

"From your favorite place."

They spent the next hour sitting on the living room sofa, eating their take away fish and chips, drinking bottled cider, and chatting.

"It's funny that when I was walking home tonight all I thought about was a warm bath and fish and chips. I can't believe you did it."

"Well I know my wife." Tom had been worried about Sybil's birthday for weeks. This was the first one for her away from her family. He knew he couldn't buy her anything as expensive as what they could give her.

He handed her a small package wrapped in bright blue paper tied with a multi-colored bow that was almost the size as the package. "It's not much but it comes from my heart love."

Sybil snuggled up to Tom and opened her gift. To her delight it was a book of love poems.

Tears welled up in Sybil's eyes causing a moment of panic to race through Tom. Although he didn't doubt her love for him, he still had moments when he was afraid that love wouldn't be enough, that she'd realize all that she had given up to be with him.

"Love" Tom quietly murmured. "Love I …"

Sybil cut him off as she raised her fingers to touch his lips and silence him.

"Tom just being here with you is present enough. You've given me the best presents I could ever … you gave me your love and you gave me my freedom."

She continued speaking as she stroked his face. "Really could you imagine Granny or Papa or even Mary sitting in their bath robes eating take away fish and chips wrapped in newspaper in the drawing room?"

That image caused Tom to laugh out loud.

Sybil laughed out loud with him. "But it's these things that I love."

She suddenly stood and grabbed both of his hands to raise him off the sofa. "And you know what would make this night perfect" she said coyly.

He looked at her and grinned. "Aye love I think I do." Lifting her off her feet and into his arms he carried her to their bedroom.