An especially short one today, I'm afraid. Hopefully I'll have another up by tonight. I'm glad so many people seem to be enjoying my writing and I do apologise for the grammatical errors, but I am trying to work on it and I also have janep94 reading over it for me. Again, thank you.
Stephanie xxx
Chapter Seven
"Cousin Robert!" Matthew cried as he rushed into the room where Robert, Cora and Maggie sat enjoying their breakfast.
"Ah, Matthew, we were just wondering where everyone was," Cora said, "You and the girls must have slept in-"
"That's just it, Cousin Cora," Matthew said, handing her the note from Mary, "The girls won't be coming down for breakfast as they're not here at all."
"What on earth could you mean?" Maggie asked, putting down her spoon as she looked up at Matthew confusedly.
As Cora read the note she cried out and handed it to Robert, who scanned it quickly, "They've gone to Dublin to get Sybil," he gasped.
"Why on earth - I told them she'd be fine," Cora's bafflement turned to anger as she stood up and threw down her napkin.
"Cora, dear, they were probably just worried," Maggie tried to sooth her sister.
Cora sighed, "Be that as it may, they are still so young-"
"Mary is almost thirty years old," Maggie interrupted, "She's not a child any more, Cora, and Edith isn't much younger."
"Either way, they are both far too naïve to be alone in Ireland," Cora said as she following Robert from the room. Matthew and Maggie shared a look and then Maggie sighed, stood up and went out after her sister into the hall.
Edith and Mary were walking down Branson's street; Mary had the address from one of Sybil's letters.
"Which is his?" Edith asked and Mary glanced, once more, at the letter. They were both tired from having to pull their luggage and Mary was, to her horror, beginning to sweat.
"Twelve," Mary said, and they paused outside the house. Edith glanced at her sister and Mary sighed. "Well, we shan't achieve anything by standing on the porch."
They walked up the narrow path leading to the door and Mary braced herself to knock. As she did so she heard the sound of barking rise up from inside. The sisters exchanged a worried glance. There was a moment of silence, aside from the dog barking, before the door was swung open by a little old lady. She looked at Mary and Edith for a moment and then shock registered on her face and she fell into a pathetic little bow.
"M'lady, oh, m'ladies! Come in, please, don't be offended by our humble home, m'ladies," the woman cried, causing Mary to feel an overwhelming sense of pity.
"Please! There's no need for all of that," Mary said, offering a hand to the woman to help her up. The woman got, uneasily, to her feet.
"Actually," Edith said, softly, "We're looking for our sister, Sybil."
"Ah, Sybil, such a lovely girl" The woman said, walking into the house and obviously expecting the girls to follow. Mary and Edith shared a suspicious look and then walked into the little house. The lady was walking up the stairs and so Edith and Mary took that as a sign to follow her. Unlike their own house, this one only had two floors and the little lady, whom Mary took to be Branson's mother, led them to a room at the end of the corridor and knocked on the door.
"Come in," Branson's voice came from behind the door.
"Tom, dear, two ladies are here to see Sybil," she said as she opened it, whilst Mary tried to peer around the door to get a look in.
"Ah, I thought they'd come sooner or later, Lady Edith, Lady Mary, come on in."
They walked into the room and Mary gasped slightly at the sight that met them.
"Heavens, darling," Mary said.
"Why on earth didn't you tell us?" Edith demanded, staring at the slightly swollen belly that her sister was cradling. Then she looked at her face. Sybil was grey, damp and obviously ill.
"Branson, we must take her back to Downton," Mary said to their ex-chauffeur, leaving no room for arguments. To her surprise, Branson simply nodded.
"I couldn't agree more."
