A/N: Thank you very much to those who reviewed the last chapter. Many thanks to my patient betas, Tripp3235 and mswainwright.
Disclaimer: Not mine. All Downton Abbey characters belong to Julian Fellowes and ITV. I'm just playing with them.
Chapter 8
As Sybil led him to the front door after the confrontation in the drawing room, Tom could still hear voices ringing out as the Earl stormed on about him and Sybil. When they turned a corner, Tom stopped her with a touch on the arm. "I'm sorry that our announcement didn't go over well."
"It was as we had expected," said Sybil still agitated from the commotion the confrontation generated. "I'm the one who should be sorry about all the things they said to you."
"Don't worry about me," said Tom with a weak smile. "I have a thick skin. Will you be all right?"
"I'll be fine," said Sybil as she looked at him. "A good night's sleep is all I need. As Mama always says, 'Everything will look better in the morning.'"
"I'm glad to hear it," said Tom as he caressed her shoulder to help calm her. "I'll be in the village at the Grantham Arms. I'm in room three. I hope that you'll be able to visit sometime. I'll be writing back to Mr. Connolly this evening to set a time for the interview at the end of the month. That way even if we have some set backs we won't miss it."
Sybil nodded and said, "I expect to be able to leave next Tuesday after the wedding. That will give me enough time to pack properly."
"I'll be coming in tomorrow morning to return keys and to say my farewells to the staff," said Tom. "Perhaps I'll see you then."
"If I can get away tomorrow morning, I'll walk you back to the village," said Sybil as she looked at him hopefully, the sound of her father's ranting still ringing in her ears. "Perhaps we can have luncheon then."
"I'd like that," said Tom with a thin smile. "I'd better go before I'm tossed out."
Sybil led him to the front door, where she defiantly gave him a kiss on the cheek in front of Carson. "Until tomorrow."
Tom nodded and went out the front door into the night.
Tom was sitting in his room just after noon the next day when there was a knock at the door. He had hoped that Sybil would be able to walk with him back to the village, but after waiting ten minutes on the drive after his confrontation with Mr. Carson, he started walking back to the village alone. She will come when she's able.
"Coming," said Tom as he made his way to the door.
When he opened the door, Sybil's smiling face greeted him, "Hello!"
Looking around, he said with a smile, "Why don't we go downstairs and have luncheon? I don't want to stain your reputation further by asking you to come in. Let me get my jacket and cap."
As they walked down the stairs, Sybil said, "I'm sorry I couldn't walk you back to the village this morning. Papa and Granny both wanted to talk me out of marrying you. I don't think they understand yet that it's futile. I did promise that I would wait a week, so we can leave next Wednesday."
"Excellent," said Tom. "I'm expecting my mother's letter any day now. When I write her back, I'll let her know that we expect to be in Ireland by Good Friday. I posted my reply to Mr Connolly this morning with my mother's address and rerouted my mail to the Grantham Arms."
As they entered into the dining room of the Gratham Arms, Tom waved his hand at the barkeep and led Sybil to a table by the window.
After they are seated and their order taken, Sybil said, "At this rate, we'll be married by mid-May. I know that Granny would say that 'Marry in May, Rue the day,' but hang that. I'm not waiting another two weeks to be married. I've waited this long, I'll not wait any longer."
"Well, you may have my mother to contend with on that score," said Tom with a smile. "She has the same saying and she may be tougher nut to crack than your grandmother. Besides, we've waited this long, would waiting another two weeks be so difficult? It would also mean that we could pay one month less of rent."
"When you put it that way, I suppose not," said Sybil still slightly ill-tempered when she thought of the conversation she had with her father and grandmother. "I'm just tired of all the obstacles when they don't have to be."
"I know," said Tom as he reached for her hand across the table. "Remember, I waited for you for years. We've been planning this for weeks. Your family has only had a day to digest this new situation. Frankly, I'm surprised that your sisters didn't try something since the elopement."
"They did try to talk me out of it," said Sybil recalling the numerous conversations she had with both Mary and Edith. "But Edith understands my stance and Mary is too busy dealing with Matthew and Sir Richard to do more than talk. I'm just happy that we can be open about our relationship now."
"I am, too," said Tom as he caressed her hand with his thumb.
Sybil smiled at him and spent the rest of the luncheon telling Tom about her confrontation with her father and grandmother. It felt good to be able to talk about everything in the open. They spent the afternoon walking hand-in-hand through the village enjoying their new found freedom. Tom then walked Sybil back to Downton leaving her at the end of the long drive. He had wanted to walk her all the way to the front door, but Sybil thought better of it. They parted with the agreement that she would come see him again the next morning and would telephone him at the Grantham Arms, if her plans changed.
After a dinner alone, Tom retired to his room to review a newspaper he picked up on his walk back from Downton. He was reading an opinion piece, when there was a knock at the door.
When he opened the door, one of the barmaids was there and said, "Telephone for you, Mr Branson. It's Downton Abbey."
Tom grabbed his jacket and quickly put it on before following the barmaid to the telephone by the bar.
"Hello?" said Tom into the receiver.
"Tom? It's Sybil," said the voice on the other end of the receiver. Even through the crackling on the poor connection, Tom could hear the urgency in her voice.
"Sybil, what is it?" asked Tom concerned that she was calling him so late at night.
"I just wanted to let you know that the Spanish flu has hit Downton," said Sybil with a hint of sadness. "My mother, Carson, and Lavinia have all taken ill. I'm needed here until they recover."
"You're fine though?" asked Tom anxiously.
"Yes, I'm fine," said Sybil. "I'll telephone you again when I know more. I'm sorry that I won't be able to see you tomorrow."
"Don't worry about me," said Tom. "I'll be here, my love."
"Goodnight, Tom."
"Goodnight, Sybil."
Tom hung up the telephone and handed it back to the barkeep before walking back to his room worried that Sybil will catch the flu from those she was nursing.
After Lord Gratham closed the door behind him, Tom sat down on the bed and ran through the confrontation that just happened. When Tom heard knocking at his door after breakfast, he thought that perhaps there had been another telephone call from Sybil. He was very surprised to find Sybil's father on the other side when he opened the door. He was even more surprised after he invited the Earl into the room only to be told that he was ruining Sybil's life and cutting her off from her family, and when he refuted that, the Earl offered a substantial amount of money for a new start for him if he left Sybil behind, which when he refused, the Earl then asked him to leave the village.
Sitting on the bed, Tom ran his hand over his face to try to gain an understanding of what just happened. Did he actually think that any amount of money would make me leave her? Did he not know that if I were to leave the village that Sybil would leave with me? It was then that he had a better understanding of what Sybil was referring to when she wondered why her father didn't understand her need to be useful and he understood better how Sybil must have felt yesterday when both her father and her grandmother tried to talk her out of marrying him.
After a few minutes of reflection, Tom put on his jacket and went out to get today's paper to get some ideas for another article. Idleness was not in his nature and it would be good practice to write another article to try to publish in another monthly circular. Every day that he had to stay at the Grantham Arms was taking money from their savings and he might as well try to offset that while he had the time on his hands.
After Lavinia died and Dr. Clarkson had called Grassby's, her body was covered up for removal the next day. When Pratt drove Dr. Clarkson back to the village, Sybil took a short break before going back to check on her mother, and snuck down to Carson's pantry to call Tom. After the emotional trauma of the day, she desperately needed to hear his voice and she didn't want to have to call him from the Great Hall where everyone could hear her conversation. Fortunately with most of the staff either ill or busy in other parts of the house, Sybil was able to get into Carson's pantry without being seen.
Picking up the receiver, Sybil closed her eyes and said in a clear voice, "Connect me to the Grantham Arms, please."
After another quiet dinner alone, Tom went back to working on his article on the peace treaty at Versailles and what it meant for the common worker. It was then that he realized how much he missed the libraries at Downton. While working there, he could reference nearly any book on political or economic theory ever written. He had been surprised to find a full collection of Marx, Engel, Ruskin and John Stuart Mill in the libraries, something he never expected in the house of a peer. For now he would have to make do with the meagre selection of books he owned. Just as he called it a night, there was a knock at the door.
When he opened it, the barmaid at the door said, "Telephone call for you, Mr Branson. It's Downton Abbey."
Concerned by the lateness of the call, Tom grabbed his jacket and ran down the stairs into the main room. The telephone was on the bar waiting for him.
Picking up the telephone, Tom said, "Hello?"
"Tom, it's Sybil. I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to call you until now." Sybil's voice on the other end sounded tired and slightly distraught.
"That's all right," said Tom, keeping his voice calm to determine the source of distress. "I'm sure you're busy nursing everyone.' At least it was Sybil calling him and not her family calling to tell him she had taken ill though when he thought about it later, he wondered whether anyone from the house would call to let him know if she had. "Are you well?"
"I am, but Mama has taken a turn for the worse. Dr. Clarkson says that if she lasts through the night, she'll live, and even worse Lavinia died a half hour ago," said Sybil unable to keep pain out of her voice.
"I'm so sorry," said Tom, not quite knowing what else to say. By the sound of her voice, he knew that she was in need of comfort and part of him wished that they hadn't yet told the family so that he could be there to hold her.
After a short pause, Sybil said, "I have to go. I'm calling from Carson's pantry. I'll call you in the morning when I have more news."
Knowing that Sybil was about to hang up, Tom said quickly, "I love you, Sybil."
Tom could hear the sound of a sob from the other end of the line, before he heard her say very quietly, "I love you, too. Bye, Tom."
"Goodbye, my love," said Tom before he heard the click of the receiver on the other end.
Putting the receiver back on the telephone and handing it back to the barkeep, Tom slowly walked back to his room, hoping that the verbal comfort was enough to carry Sybil through the night.
After she hung up the receiver, Sybil sat down in Carson's chair, put her hands on her face and sobbed. While she was always able to perform her duties in an efficient manner when she was tending to someone, the build up of emotion behind the facade after a death always came to a boil at some point later in the day when she was off duty, usually after she had spoken with Tom about it. Sybil had been taught as a child not to show her emotions as a lady never showed her joy or her distress, but it was always difficult to watch someone die, especially someone you knew. Though a rival with Mary for Matthew's affections, Lavinia had always been polite and kind to the family and didn't deserve to be a victim of this dreaded disease. No one did really.
Then of course there was Mama. She had never seen her mother so violently ill before even when she lost the baby. After Lavinia died, the thought of losing Mama overwhelmed her with fear which was what prompted her to call Tom. She hadn't realized it until now, but he had been her emotional pillar for years, ever since the first death she witnessed at the hospital in the village. At the time, he had told her of the first death he had witnessed as a child in the streets of Dublin at the hands of the British Army as it repressed yet another Irish revolt. How she wished that he was there to hold and comfort her.
After about five minutes, Sybil was composed enough to leave the pantry. As she exited the room, Sybil found Mrs Hughes on the other side of the door.
"Lady Sybil," said Mrs Hughes very surprised to find one of the daughters below stairs. "I came down to get something and was wondering who was in Mr. Carson's pantry at this time of night."
Sybil blushed at being discovered before she said, "Mrs. Hughes. It wasn't my intent to startle you. I was just using the telephone."
"Ah, to call Mr. Branson," said Mrs. Hughes, her tone neutral.
Sybil ducked her head, smiled and said, "Yes. I needed to let him know about what had happened tonight." She had always found Mrs. Hughes more formidable than Carson and couldn't help but confess everything.
Just then Jane came downstairs, "Mrs. Hughes, Miss O'Brien says we need more ice. Her ladyship's temperature is rising again."
Looking at Mrs. Hughes, Sybil said, "I better go and help with Mama."
Mrs. Hughes nodded before she and Jane went in search of ice and Sybil headed up the stairs.
Tom was slowly eating his breakfast in the main room the next morning, when the telephone call came though. The barkeep waved at Tom for his attention and pointed to the telephone on the bar. Tom quickly put down his utensils, swallowed some tea, wiping his mouth with his napkin before putting it on the table and walking over to the bar.
Picking up the receiver, Tom said, "Hello?"
"Tom, it's me." Sybil's voice came through clearly for once and it didn't sound sad.
Tom smiled and said, "You sound tired."
"I am a little," said Sybil. "I just wanted to let you know that Mama is better this morning. It was close last night but she weathered the storm and is on the mend now."
"I am glad," said Tom, who was happy that Sybil sounded in better spirits. Realizing that she probably stayed up the night to nurse her mother, Tom added, "You should get some rest. I don't want you falling ill, too."
"I will," said Sybil. "After last night, I just wanted to hear your voice."
"If you're free tomorrow," said Tom thinking quickly. "I can come and we can walk to the village and spend some time together, then I'll walk you back in time for dinner."
"I'd like that," said Sybil. "How are you managing?"
"I've been worried about you and I miss you," said Tom. "To pass the time, I've been reading newspapers and writing another article. I'm not used to the life of leisure."
"I wish you could be here," said Sybil. Then lowering her voice, she added, "I miss you, too."
"We'll have some time together tomorrow my love," said Tom.
"I'll call you again early tomorrow morning," said Sybil
"I look forward to it," said Tom. "Now get some rest."
"I will," said Sybil. Quietly, she added, "I love you."
"I love you, too," said Tom, not caring who could hear him.
"Bye," said Sybil before she hung up.
Now knowing that Sybil was faring better this morning, Tom was able to finish his breakfast. After breakfast, Tom went to pick up the latest paper which had more news he could put into his article. In better spirits, Tom was able to complete a first draft that he will ask Sybil to edit before sending it off to the monthly circulars.
A/N2: This was one of my favorite chapters to write. I always wanted to know how Tom and Sybil kept in touch while she was at Downton and he was at the Grantham Arms. I'd love to hear what you think of this chapter good or bad, so please do review. :)
