"I look horrid." Mary said, staring at herself in the full-length mirror. Anna smiled and shook her head.
"I'd say the exact opposite, m'lady. If Matthew is going to be saying anything negative to you, I'm sure he'll change his mind as soon as he sees you," she said. Mary was wearing a cream and navy striped dress with lace detailing on the shoulders, with short sleeves and a hemline going to just below her knees. The dress was paired with one inch navy wedges and a cream woven straw hat.
"You're just saying that so poor Anna will compliment her. Don't feel obliged, Anna," Edith said. Sybil glanced up from her book and the two and rolled her eyes, looking back down at the words.
"Sybil, did you even hear what I just said? Get your head out of your book," Mary said, the annoyance clear in her words, and Sybil quickly looked over.
"She just said the Grey family is coming," Edith said, and Sybil's heart raced. She started to sweat a bit and stood up.
"I think I need to go to the bathroom," she put her book on Mary's bedside table and left the room.
"I bet she likes him," Mary said.
"That's one thing I can agree with you on," Edith replied, walking over to the mirror to fix her hair.
Out in the hall, Sybil was pacing. Larry was coming? They said they wouldn't be able to come this year! Sybil thought she had finally escaped his pestering. She was nervous as to what he was going to do… not only was her birthday the next day, but Larry had recently sent Sybil a Facebook message that he had ended his relationship with some other girl. Obviously he was interested in Sybil again, even though they hadn't talked since the year before at the Grey's annual New Year's Ball.
She hoped he wouldn't try anything.
Tom sat in the servant's dining room, sipping a cup of tea. Being a chauffeur, he technically wasn't allowed to be out at the party like the other maids, so he was stuck here with Isis and Ivy, who was still watching a few things for Mrs. Patmore.
The phone in Carson's office began to ring, and Tom stared at the doorway to the butler's private room. He wasn't sure whether or not to answer it, so he stayed where he was, reading about the news on his laptop.
"Well, are you going to answer it?" Ivy asked, passing by with a tray of deviled eggs in each hand. She left, and Tom groaned, rushing into Carson's office and grabbing the phone.
"Hello?" he asked.
"Hi, is Gwen Dawson there? We tried contacting her first number, but there was no answer, so we figured we'd call this one."
"She's busy right now, but I can take a message," Tom reached for the notepad and pen sitting on Carson's desk, hoping the butler wouldn't notice if they were out of place.
"Alright, well you can tell her that we have accepted her at Brown University and would like her to call us back within a week to discuss coming across the pond. The number she would want to call is 401-397-2492. Thank you!" the line went dead as a smile grew across Tom's face. Sybil had told him all about the plan to get Gwen into college in the United States, and how they hoped it was successful.
Pulling on his jacket, Tom ran outside with the piece of paper. It was going to be good.
"I absolutely could not believe he would do something like that!" Francine said, stopping to take a sip of her champagne.
"So you aren't dating anymore?" Isabelle asked. Sybil sighed. Her friends were nice, smart, and they could be funny on occasion- but they weren't interesting. All they talked about were boys, grades, or school, while she wanted to talk about politics, history, and feminism.
"Is that Larry Grey?" Francine pointed behind Sybil, and she turned around to see Larry staring at them. He winked and she quickly turned back around.
"He still fancies you?" Isabelle asked.
"It's pathetic," Sybil said.
"Why not try it out? He can't be that bad, and it's not like you couldn't use the experience. Besides, you haven't mentioned any other boys," Francine winked back at Larry and Sybil rolled her eyes.
"I've got someone else in mind," Sybil said. She turned her head to the right and saw that someone running towards her, a big grin on his face.
"Sorry to interrupt, m'lady, but I think you'll want to know this," Tom leaned towards Sybil's ear, and she felt his head bump her hat. "Gwen got accepted to Brown," he whispered, and Sybil pulled away abruptly, mouth open in shock.
"You're kidding!" she said, hands over her mouth.
"Swear on the Blarney Stone."
"Excuse me for a moment, I've got to share news with someone," Sybil said, jogging to find Gwen with Tom. She pointed at the servant's tent, where Gwen was taking a platter of deviled eggs.
"Gwen!" Sybil called out. She glanced over, surprised.
"Gwen, you got accepted!" Sybil said. Gwen's eyes widened and she looked down at the platter in her hands.
"Take this, take this!" she pushed it at Daisy and squealed, jumping up and down. Gwen reached out and hugged both Sybil and Branson, all three giddily smiling. They hugged until Gwen pulled away, still squealing.
"I can't believe it! I put in a lot of hard work, so I know it was good, but… I didn't really think they'd accept! I thought my safety would, but not Brown. Wow!"
"Congratulations, Gwen! This is great, really great! I'm so glad for you!" Sybil said, hugging her friend again.
"I'm proud," Tom smiled. He was about to say something else when he felt a smaller hand push itself into his, and he froze, before squeezing Sybil's hand. She looked up and grinned at him. Gwen noticed the interaction and went back to get the platter of deviled eggs.
"Lady Sybil." Sybil turned to see Mrs. Hughes and let go of Tom's hand. "Your mother was looking for you," Sybil looked back at Tom, then walked off towards the tent where she would be.
"Be careful, or you'll end up with a broken heart and a notice," she smiled and walked away, leaving Tom standing on his own. He scanned the area for where Sybil was, seeing her standing by her mother under another tent. She looked at him and mouthed 'garage later,' then turned back to her mother.
"Sybil, darling, you should talk to Larry. He's been trying to see you all afternoon," Cora said. Sybil discreetly pulled her mobile out of her pocket and checked the time- 5:26. Hopefully by eight her friends would leave and she'd be able to sneak off to the garage to talk to Tom.
"Do I have to? He's horrible,"
"Just one conversation. I'm not saying you have to do anything with him. Just talk to him," Sybil sighed in defeat and set off to find Larry. He wasn't that hard to find, for as soon as he had seen her walking alone, he sidled up next to her.
"Hello, Sybil,"
"Larry."
"Come on, don't bring the entire mood down. This is a fun party, keep it light," Larry turned down a path through the woods, and Sybil had no choice but to follow.
"I'm only talking to you because my mother wants me to. Just thought you should know,"
"I'm a nice chap!" Sybil snorted.
"Who was that grubby boy you were with earlier?" Larry asked after a moment of silence.
"The chauffeur?"
"Why were you with your chauffeur?"
"Is there something wrong with that, Larry?"
"He's part of your staff."
"Mary's friends with Anna,"
"Anna is Mary's lady's maid, so there's nothing wrong with that. He's your chauffeur; all he does is drive you around. Don't tell me you talk to him!"
"Maybe I do. It's not any of your business,"
"Talk to me when you've got some sense in you. I like you a lot Sybil, I really do- but you're crazy. Becoming friends with your staff? That's not right. You'll be better in two years," Larry walked away; back to the friends he was with, leaving Sybil on her own. Realizing nobody would notice if she left then, she headed towards the garage, staying behind a few trees.
"Are you sure it's alright to be here while your party is going on?"
"It's fine. It's not like anybody's going to notice anyways. I usually stay with Francine and Isabelle until they leave, then go inside,"
"Have they left?"
"I think so. I don't really care, anyways. They're annoying!"
"Excited for your birthday tomorrow?"
"Not really. It's nothing special around here; I just get a little cake at dinner. Red velvet, that's my favorite,"
"Not special? That's different. At home you always got to sleep in, and when you woke up ma had made some of her delicious mash and bangers. A whole plate, with black pudding and white pudding, too. Then you didn't have to do any chores, or go to school, just do what you wanted all day. I'd go to the library, while my brothers played football and my sisters went to a salon. Opening presents was a little after that. You got to have whatever you wanted for dinner, too. I always asked for fish and chips with a Guinness,"
"Did they give you the Guinness?"
"Since my fourteenth birthday, yes,"
"That sounds like so much fun! I like when you tell stories about Ireland. I'd love to visit one day,"
"You've never been there?"
"No. I've been to Glasgow, Duneagle, maybe somewhere in Wales, but not Ireland. Yet,"
"Maybe I'll bring you someday,"
"I'd like that."
"Actually, I got you something for your birthday,"
"Tom! You don't need to do something like that. Really."
"Too bad, already got it!" he handed Sybil a poorly wrapped rectangle. She gave him a reprimanding look and slid a finger under one of the folds. Pulling the wrapping off, she saw a worn book with the title The Second Sex.
"Thought you'd want to read it. It's one of my favorite books, and this is my copy,"
"Wow. Tom, I really don't know what to say- I really don't. Thank you so much! I really appreciate it," looking up, she leaned forward and gave him a quick hug. Tom smiled, relishing in the fact that Sybil had held his hand and hugged him in one day.
Luck of the Irish, hm? he thought.
A/N: I am so sorry for not updating in so long! Life has taken a turn for the extremely hectic (auditions, being sick, research papers, no inspiration to write, etc.) and I haven't been able to write. However, I got some downtime tonight and just HAD to write for something. This chapter happened! It's a bit longer than usual, which I hope makes up for the less than usual quality. I will try to update Shadow Mentality this weekend, but no promises. If I do, it'll likely be Friday night (completely free) or Sunday morning. Thanks for being patient, I'll try to regularly update again within the next month or two. Things have been crazy and for now it's going to stay that way, unfortunately. Thanks again! xx
