DISCLAIMER: The name is Christina, not Julian.

A/N: I know that this chapter has taken so long, and I do apologise to all my readers! My granny has gone into hospital with a stroke and I was quite busy with other personal things - however, I have not forgotten about this story and plan to continue it. Due to the wait, this will be my longest chapter yet, as all of you readers deserve it after such a long wait! Thank you for all of the reviews, and please continue to review! I need a little bit of sunshine at the moment! (:

It was the sound of the shower that roused her from her peaceful slumber. Sybil stretched out like an indolent cat and threw back the covers so that her slender form could meet the bitter coldness that came with the British morning; Tom was relentless in his complaints about the breeze coming from the window when it was closed, but she loved to walk around on the freezing wooden floor and adored the sound of the whistle whenever the wind was fierce outside and she was curled in bed next to him. She was satisfied that the dull curtains had been drawn for once, as she didn't bother with the silken robe that was adorned over the chest at the end of the bed.

Her naked form was decorated with several cuts and bruises that she now described as battle scars from the car incident – however, Tom found it harder to look at them after the traumatic thoughts of her assumed death at the time. But he became more lenient to them after he noticed that Sybil tried to shield him from her body; she would cover her bare flesh whenever he came into the room and flash him a mere smile. He knew that she didn't want him to be uncomfortable around her or come to hate her body; it was quite the contrary. He could revere to her slender curves for the rest of eternity.

Tom shivered as he wandered out of the attached bathroom with a towel slung low around his waist; but it was the scene in front of him that halted him in his tracks. Sybil was bent over the chest of drawers as she rooted around in the middle drawer for what seemed to be her underwear – however, to no avail; she straightened and looked behind her at the peeping Tom, literally. She quirked an eyebrow and continued about her business as if wandering around his flat in the nude was the most natural action in the entire world.

"I can't seem to remember where I threw all my clothes," she huffed as she sauntered towards the bedroom door with a sour expression. "No matter, I'll make breakfast first and then find something pretty to wear – we should head out today."

Sybil didn't seem to wait for a response from her stunned boyfriend as she flitted out of the room and into the kitchen. Tom stood in the bedroom with his mouth ajar, not quite sure whether to follow and have his wicked way with her or to dress himself. However, being a normal bloke, he went with the first option and wandered after his unclothed lover with a delirious expression pasted onto his handsome features.

The sound of a brisk knock on the door brought him out of his desire-filled reverie, however. His mouth pulled into a troubled frown as he wondered he would have come in from the front door; someone could have let them in, or it could have been someone who had keys in the first place…he didn't have long to ponder on the matter as three more knocks were directed onto the poor door. Tom could hear Sybil's amused snickers from across the kitchen as she darted across the cold linoleum floor and threw herself into his arms – the fact that she was nude did cross his mind.

"Don't answer it," she moaned against his lips as she kissed him with all the fervour of someone with an insatiable appetite. Tom could feel his mind giving in to her persistence; but the knocking continued and he could feel his cheeks turn red with both annoyance and embarrassment if someone, like his sister, walked in on them.

"It might be important." But his tone was strained as he looked between her and the door; almost like he wanted to dash and see who was at the door and what the hell they wanted, but at the same time he would like nothing more than to take his eager girlfriend right there on the dining table. Yes, it was quite the dilemma.

Sybil seemed to make the decision for him as she rolled her eyes dramatically and clutched onto his coat on the kitchen counter. She threw it around herself; her little arms looking tiny in the long sleeves – it was almost like a dress on her and Tom thought that he had never been more aroused in his entire life as he watched Sybil walk to the door in nothing but his coat. Her smile remained intact as she opened the door and looked out at the persistent visitor; the blonde smiled in return.

"You must be Sybil," her voice was calculated as she looked at the unclad woman that had answered the door to her old flat. Her dark chestnut curls were mussed and despite the fact that there were several fading bruises around her face and neck, she was rather beautiful – and it infuriated the blonde that stood outside the door. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Caroline."

Caroline held her hand out to the half-naked girlfriend of her ex, but it took Sybil a moment to decide whether or not to be polite towards her husband's lover. However, her polite nature won over and she briefly shook her hand – trying not to think about the fact that this woman shared the bed of both of the men in her life. Instead, she smiled her usual dazzling smile and silently thanked those acting classes she took as a rebellious sixteen-year-old.

"How wonderful to meet you," Sybil gushed. She leant against the doorframe, refusing to open the door further for the woman. "I'm so sorry…but might I ask who you are?" Her expression was a mask of sheer obliviousness that seemed to be convincing, as she noticed how Caroline clenched her fists at the comment.

Sybil had planned to construct more damage, but she suddenly felt Tom's arm around her waist in a comforting manner. It must have looked quite the picture to an outsider – a handsome Tom with just a towel around his waist with his arm around a half-naked Sybil who was dressed in only a coat that dangled around her bare thighs. His face was assembled with infuriation as he took in the smug expression of his ex-girlfriend at the door. He knew that it wouldn't be easy to shake her off ever since he seen her the previous night; she always had a bit of an addiction to him – always peculiar with him around other women and possessive.

"What are you doing here, Caroline?" His voice was cold and calculating.

"Is that how you treat an old friend, Tommy?"

"We're not friends."

He didn't respond to her sweet smiles. Instead, he tightened his hold on Sybil as she took in the self-satisfied woman in front of them. Her blonde hair was twisted into an intricate bun at the back of her head and her bronzed skin was painted perfectly to suit her beautician profession. The sunglasses tucked into her shirt and the ridiculous heels didn't seem to appeal to Sybil at all; and she somehow wondered how on earth Tom could have found her attractive. Well, she was generally attractive, but she always believed that the Irishman preferred personality over appearance.

"If you must know, I came to apologise for what went on last night," she said confidently; her gaze flickered to Sybil with a raised brow. "I was in shock, if I'm honest; I haven't seen you in quite some time…"

"There is a reason for that," Tom replied with a rueful smile.

"Is there a chance we can talk alone for a while?" Her hands came together in front as she looked between Sybil and Tom with a false smile. However, Tom scoffed aloud at the idea, much to the surprise of his girlfriend. Sybil lifted her chin and looked at him with questions aligning each inch of her beautiful features. Tom didn't look down at her – his gaze was unwavering with a hint of a warning on his straight-lined smile.

"I don't think so," he murmured carefully. His voice was slow – almost as if he willed her to understand that she wasn't welcome there. Tom could feel his patience deteriorate as she loitered there with her piercing emerald orbs that mirrored her own toxic nature. He wouldn't discuss past matters in front of Sybil; nor did he expect Caroline to ever show up at his door looking for a civilised conversation.

"Understandable." She turned on her heel and walked with her tail between her legs to the staircase that would lead her out of the building. However, after short deliberation, she turned around and looked at Sybil, before shifting her gaze to her covered stomach. "Oh, and I should say congratulations."

On that note, the visit was terminated and the couple were left in the doorway. Tom could sense that she was irritated – he could feel the waves of anger radiate from her as she turned and marched back into the flat. Her bare feet smacked against the linoleum floor and her dark curls billowed behind her as she disappeared into the kitchen; Tom could hear the clattering sound of dishes and her faint murmuring as she bustled around the small room with a box of cereal in her trembling hand.

He leant against the doorframe in the kitchen and watched her; his mind was full of chaos as he wondered over whether or not to inform Sybil about his ex's slight obsession with him, but his heart was full of awe as he watched her in his home. She was still adorned with his coat around her naked form; her beautiful legs were stretched as she reached for a bowl on the top shelf; her hand would flit across her abdomen now and then, almost as if to remind herself that there was another being in there. She was his best friend, his confidante, his comfort, his lover and the mother of his child – he couldn't and wouldn't be untruthful to her.

"I should have listened to you last night – I shouldn't have gone around there." His frustrated groan mirrored his dislike for his own idiocy as he sat at the kitchen table. He shivered at the bitter air that surrounded the room; but he was soon cocooned in warmth as her arms came around his shoulders from behind. Sybil's chin rested on his shoulder and he smiled at the sensation of her warm breath on his skin.

"You should start to learn that I'm hardly ever wrong," she teased as she pressed a chaste and loving kiss to his broad shoulder. Her hands roamed over the blond hairs on his chest and she felt the satisfied rumble in his chest.

"She doesn't know when to move on and cut the ties from the past. I was young and foolish when I met her – she was a little older than me, beautiful and alluring – I fell into her ensnare like a bee to honey. I had just moved here and she provided me with a roof over my head, food and frequent sex. What stupid idiot wouldn't fall for that? But she was possessive…obsessive even. I had to leave, Sybil…"

She hushed him with a kiss to his neck, but her sweet kisses didn't end there. Sybil created a moist trail across his chiselled jaw and she could hear him exhale softly. She eventually moved so that she could slide onto his lap and press a kiss to his willing, parted lips. His breath was warm and she moaned into his mouth; how could he resist her when she was so her?

"You don't need to explain it all to me," she mumbled when she finally broke from the kiss to inhale and exhale softly. "It's in the past now, and we have to move forward. I don't know about you, but I'm quite excited to move forward."

Tom grinned and ensnared his bare arms around her. He rather lost track of his previous thoughts as her delicate hands moved beneath the soft towel around his waist; those gentle hands took him away to a whole other world.

She was positive that she adored all features of their sexual life, but she had a particular sweetness towards their pillow talk. She would curl into a ball that fit against him seamlessly, with her dark curls billowed around her like a halo and her blue orbs shining in ecstasy after their previous antics. Tom would lie on his side and face her as she nuzzled into him comfortably; his blond hair was dishevelled and he would run his fingers across the soft skin of her stomach. However, the conversation had moved to more dangerous terrain as she mentioned that her family would hold a social event that week on Halloween.

"I know that you didn't have the best start with them – but I love my parents, you don't know them. I love my sisters and my friends, and I'm sure that they will come to embrace you when they know more about you. I still haven't told them about the baby, and I'm not sure when…I'm sure Larry will reveal it soon enough."

Tom could sense the desperation in her voice that she was trying so hard to conceal. Her hands were shaking as she reached forward and brushed his moist hair from his piercing blue eyes that seemed to search her facial features for a chink in her armour. He could read her like a book and despite the fact that he would rather gouge out his eyes than attend some posh ball at her parent's house, he knew how much she missed them and would never refuse her if she was persistent.

"If it means so much to you, then I'll come."

"It won't be more than an hour or so and…" Sybil faltered as she realised that he had actually consented to her invitation without argument. "Do you really mean it, Tom? I mean, I wouldn't force you, but I would love it if you would come…" Her smile was dazzling as she sunk her face into his neck in a soft embrace.

"I know that this hasn't been the most conventional relationship, and sometimes I kick myself for succumbing to it all when you were still married. But god, I am glad that my self-control crumbled when I first saw you that morning. I don't want to be the sordid lover that seduced you behind your husband's back – I want to be with you, and love you, and devote every waking minute to your happiness."

Her smile was unabashed as she pressed a lingering kiss to his throat; she could feel the hum of satisfaction come from him as her naked form nuzzled into him.

"I'm terribly flattered," she chuckled. However, her facial features betrayed her as her entire expression was lit like a Christmas tree. With their legs tangled, she buried her feet between his to gather warmth and her cheeks flushed with excitement as she listened to the words over and over in her mind. Oh, how she loved him.

Tom snorted at the posh remark and tightened his arm around her. The sheets were strewn around them in a dishevelled state as both lovers lay perfectly content in each other's arms – he couldn't have imagined being this exultant with anyone. He had a few girlfriends over the years and a soul-destroying one that came with Caroline; he almost laughed at the fact that he had been considering going back to Ireland the week before he received the call from Larry Grey. He could have been back in Dublin. But instead, much to his delight, he was curled up in bed with the woman he loved.

Her mobile buzzed persistently on the coffee table. She tried to dismiss it the first few times, but she found it hard to resist the intrigue that came with each text message. It seems that her separation from her husband didn't remain such a secret after all the socialites in London came together for her mother's social event. Her friends were either shocked or offended when the news spread that she had run off with the Irish driver. She had scoffed when she received a stream of texts that revolved around their offence over the fact that she hadn't informed anyone of her affair.

What is the point of a sordid affair without giving the details to your girlfriends?

Sybil dismissed them all; no doubt she would meet them in an hour or so at the ball. However, it was the best wishes from one of her dearest friends that she could not set aside. Gwen had left an endearing voicemail that had almost left Sybil in tears – it had been at least a year since she had last seen the budding secretary. She had been one of her closest friends whenever she had lived with her parents; she had been one of their few maids at Downton and Sybil had christened her as her best friend, much to her parent's shock and disappointment. Instead of having tea parties and luncheon with the more well-bred ladies around the estate, Sybil was seen having races and sleepovers with the redheaded maid. But Sybil was never one for social statuses.

"I haven't met any of your friends," Tom mused after she explained to him about the bombardment that will be expected on them when they arrive.

"Most of them are much too posh for my taste – I mean, I love them all and I would never swap them for the world, but I never had time for them whenever they are up their own arse," she retorted with a raised brow.

Tom grinned at her charm with words as he admired his costume in the mirror. He combed his hair carefully to the side and listened to the gentle hum of the music coming from the stereo – it had become quite the routine whenever Tom and Sybil came home from their outings to just sit back and listen to music after dinner.

"How do I look?" His tone was amused as he turned around to look at her. Sybil grinned as she took in the costume that he decided to wear that night.

"I know its Halloween and all that, but isn't it slightly ironic?"

"I think it suits me very well," he grinned. Tom fixed the collar on the green jacket and his girlfriend took a moment to skim over the costume with amusement fixated on her beautiful features. She remembered him telling her about how the last old lady he worked for was quite old-fashioned and often had him wear the uniform whenever she had guests come to dine with her – 'I wouldn't have worn it if she hadn't paid me so much' he had explained to her. But she had to agree that it did suit him well. The chauffeur uniform was a dark emerald that seemed to bring out the blueness of his eyes; the trousers were ridiculous but he described them as 'airy and pleasant'.

"I'm sure my father will have a thing or two to say about it," she smirked.

"I think we will be a bit late because of the traffic in town, but we can call it fashionably late, can we not?" he teased as he came to sit down on the couch.

"I'm late for most things, don't fret about it," she chuckled. "How do I look?"

Sybil rose from the couch after spending more than twenty minutes on her make-up; he really couldn't understand how someone could spend so much time on one eye, and then the equal amount of time on the other eye. However, he could soon see the difference as she posed in front of him – she seemed to dazzle him with a mere smile. She was clad in a soft blue costume that rather reminded him of Arabian Nights. Her brown curls were crowned with a beautiful headpiece and the entire attire was framed with the silken harem pants that flowed around her long legs.

"Mm, you suit it quite well." He mirrored his own words as he rose from the couch and ensnared his arms around her small waist. "In fact, good enough to eat."

Sybil squealed in delight as he adorned her neck with moist kisses; his hands were urgent as they roamed her curves with desire. However, she was the first to pull away with a stern expression; her brow was creased and she poked him once on the chest.

"I don't think I spent two hours putting this on just for you to take it off, sir."

"But there is tonight…"

Sybil didn't argue.

Tom couldn't wrap his mind around the soiree that was set out in front of him. He was awe-struck at the entire scene, but he would much rather be at the pub with a few mates nursing a beer in his hand, with his arm around the most beautiful woman in the room. However, he would endure torture if it meant that he could see a smile on her face – it had started with general conversation and dancing and then dinner had been served around the massive hall, and then the auction would start for the charity. But as much as Sybil adored being around her family and friends, Tom could easily see that she did not fit in to the entire scene as she should. Her fire was not to be tamed, no matter how many opponents she had at the one table.

"I just feel that we should be doing more than sitting around drinking wine and bidding on expensive items for the soldiers," she announced at the table. "I know that the money will be used for important things, but I feel that a more practical approach is needed when our soldiers are out there risking their lives."

"Bravo," Isobel commented from her seat as she listened intently; Tom remembered that Sybil had pointed her out as Mary's future mother-in-law. "Very well said."

However, Isobel seemed to be the sole person at the table who spoke out. The rest seemed to be lost in their wine or other light topics of conversation; but with a light squeeze on her hand under the table, Sybil felt elated once more. At least she could always count on him to be one of her true supporters.

The entire night had almost avoided catastrophe, but there was the matter of her family. She knew that they would not make a fuss in front of all of their friends, but her father was less than pleased that Sybil chose to attend the ball with her secret lover – or so Tom had come to be known. Both of them had dismissed the whispers and continued with their evening, until Granny made an appearance.

Her walking stick was set deliberately against Tom's seat – there was no escape.

"You look like a cousin of mine, in his younger days. He rather looks like a young Albert; don't you think so, Robert?" Granny must have spent about fifteen minutes scrutinising him without so much as a word spoken to him directly. Sybil would have intercepted and saved him from such a fate, but no-one interrupted Granny.

"You have put my granddaughter in quite a difficult position." She finally spoke to him directly, but without malice or judgement in her polished tone.

"I understand, ma'am." His voice was strained, but he concentrated on the warm hand in his underneath the table. She stroked the back of his hand with her soft thumb. "It was never my intention to bring such scandal to her…reputation."

"It rather comes with the territory when one has an affair, does it not?"

"Sybil was incredibly unhappy in her relationship with her husband; she would have left him with me or without me."

She could sense the tension rising in his voice and she smiled sweetly at her grandmother; she knew that Granny meant well, but she didn't quite seem to grasp the fact that others liked to keep their own business to themselves.

"Isn't this dangerous territory to tread on such a joyful night? Look, everyone around us is having fun whilst we sulk in the corner – I'm sure there is time for the family to get to know Tom a little better after tonight," Sybil concluded.

Granny spent another half hour quizzing Tom on his background. She decided that he was related to the Branson's in Cork, to which Sybil excused them from the table.

The dance floor was alive with moving bodies as Sybil pulled the overwhelmed Irishman by the hand; there were a few heads that turned in interest as the couple moved towards the door to the main ballroom. She decided that Granny was not the worst candidate for the scrutiny; it would have been much worse if Mary decided to pull them aside, but she was much too busy with the endless admiration adorned on her. Her father had decided to dismiss them all night, which suited her just fine. She was sure that the evening would have been a flop if it wasn't for the kindness shown to Tom by her mother and Edith, whenever she came to say hello.

Sybil pushed the door open and felt the cool air surround her in the hall; the sounds of the ballroom seemed so far away now as she pulled him towards the bathroom. The sound of her clicking heels echoed in the hall as she rounded a corner and he followed her down a deserted corridor that somehow made him uneasy. Tom watched her with interest as she pulled him along like a doll – he didn't complain, as it was much preferred to the judgemental looks that were thrown to him each second in there. However, he found the silence unnerving and soon broke it with his soft lilt.

"You know how much I like your impulsiveness, love, but where are we going?"

"To the bathroom," she replied in a breezy tone.

Tom raised an eyebrow and looked behind him; the corridor was still deserted. However, this was the first time that a woman had ever dragged him into a bathroom; well he was positive that it had occurred in one of his endless fantasies.

"Don't you want to go home…?" His sentence was broken with a sharp tug from her. She used her free hand to work on the handle of the wooden door, and eventually accessed the spacious bathroom that she knew would be left abandoned from the stream of guests that only knew about the main bathroom on the first floor.

Her smirk was mischievous as she spun around after turning the brass lock on the door. Tom wasn't sure whether or not to run from this new side of his sweet Sybil, or to embrace it and pray that she didn't break him in her need for closeness. Her hands were on his chest as she worked at the intricate buttons on his uniform and her mouth worked on his neck as he tried not to make a feral noise at the back of his throat.

"You did wonderful back there," she murmured against his jaw-line. Her breath was warm and came out in sharp gusts as she reached for his hat and removed it from him. Tom's honey-coloured hair was mussed and hung over his eyes in the most adorable manner she could ever imagine. "God, I do love you," she moaned in protest.

It was almost like her heart was ready to burst. Sybil, as a young woman, had never experienced such emotions in her entire existence – nor did she expect to feel like this after her unfortunate partnership with Larry. However, now that she had received her first bittersweet taste of love, and how it felt to be loved; she could never return to that life in which she was adorned with only loneliness.

Sybil's fingers were ensnared into his hair as she pulled on it lightly; his answering groan made her knees weak and her mouth water with desire. Tom could feel his back connect with the mirror as she pushed him against the wall with fervour; he was soon rid of his chauffeur jacket and he was surprised to note that her own attire was unbuttoned and ready to be removed. It was almost like a wave of lust had washed over her, and she couldn't get enough of each inch of his bare skin.

"Sybil, this is your parent's house…" he breathed out between kisses. "I'm all for the untamed love-making, but in your parent's bathroom?"

She rolled her eyes to the ceiling and continued to bare herself, due to the fact that her chauffeur's shaking fingers were doing a mighty slow job at it. She squirmed out of the blue silk that kissed her milky-white skin and took a moment to carefully remove the harem pants that embraced her ankles. Tom opened his mouth to protest further; but the mere sight of her naked form was enough to shut him up. Her hair had been pulled into intricate knots at the back of her neck and she looked like a goddess from another time – somewhere in the past; he could almost remember seeing it. Her white skin looked soft and slender under the bright light of the bathroom and the gentle swell of her breasts as she inhaled and exhaled…yes, all protests were gone from him.

"Don't be such a spoil-sport, Branson," she announced in a posh tone. "I find it rather thrilling – the threat of detection, hand-marks on the mirror, marking your territory on their youngest daughter. Don't you find it just a little bit exciting?" She chuckled.

His mouth felt like a desert underneath the blaring sun; he had no words. Instead, he chose to show her his excitement through actions. His hands were on her tiny waist in a matter of seconds and she was flushed against him in a passionate kiss; their chests were crushed together in the battle for ultimate closeness. His moist tongue teased her lips until they finally parted and welcomed him into her mouth.

Sybil's deft hands worked on those ridiculous green trousers until they were around his ankles and he was able to lithely step out of them. There were several footsteps in the corridor outside and she could hear the sound of snobbish voices filtering through the door, but she didn't halt in her endeavours. The voices soon passed and she was still ridding her almost-naked chauffeur from the last of his clothing. Her fingers were tucked into the waistband of his boxers and he moaned against her lips at her tantalizing characteristics; if he wasn't the one trapped against the mirror then he would have definitely had his way with her already. Perhaps she wanted to be caught out; the thought somehow enticed him.

"For God's sake, Sybil," he grumbled. Tom spun them carefully around so that Sybil was seated on the edge of the basin, balanced only with his strong arms around her. His free hand worked at his boxers until his pulsing manhood was revealed in all its glory; and how Sybil relished the fact that she had made it like so. She could remember seeing one for the first time; she thought it horrible at first, and she knew that Larry's erections often came from the fact that he loved to see her in pain. This was different…he was excited for her, because of her body…her voice…everything.

There was no need to ask for permission at this point; he teased her entrance just as much as she had teased him. Tom didn't stop until he was sure that his bold girlfriend was a drivelling mess. Her arms were limp around his neck and her face was flushed against his shoulder as she murmured weakly for him to 'hurry the fuck up'.

Sybil arched her back in search of him, and by God, did she find him. Tom pushed into her slowly; mischievously filling her inch by inch until she could only whimper. His hand supported them against the mirror, whilst his other hand kept her balanced around her waist – he set an agonizingly slow pace at first. Sybil's arms were enfolded around his neck and her long legs were draped around him desperately.

She could hear noise come from the corridor once more; but this just excited her more. Tom could feel all of his stamina crumbling as she slowly pushed her hips towards him in such a slow but hard rhythm. He was afraid that it would all be over in two seconds and he felt like a fifteen-year-old boy once more – but that was why he adored her so much…she made him feel like that. The pace quickened after the first few minutes and Sybil could feel desire pool in her stomach; all of her limbs seemed to threaten cramp as he pushed into her as she balanced on the edge of the basin.

"Oh god, Tom…" Her voice was strained; but she knew that it would be fatal for her to call out his name in such a manner. Instead, she chose to burrow her nails into his back as he thrust frantically into her now; on the brim of his own release. It was with a brisk knock on the door that both of them found their climax; he spilled into her with his mouth opening without sound as Sybil tightened her limbs around him as her entire body seemed to turn to liquid at that moment.

Tom and Sybil were both silent as they listened to their heavy breathing; however, the knock came once more and the pair almost groaned at the inconvenience. He quickly pulled out of her and pressed an urgent kiss to her parted lips; he was sure that he couldn't speak out after such an activity, but Sybil had a delirious smile on her face.

"It's occupied!" she called out in annoyance as she removed herself from her perch on the water basin. She winced as she felt the pain from such a position; oh, but how it was a blissful pain that made all of her bones ache with desire once more.

"Sybil, is that you? We've been looking for you." She was sure that she could have died at that moment as she heard her eldest sister's voice from the other end of the door. Tom was already retrieving his scattered clothing from the floor and pulling it on him; she decided to do the same before she was caught in quite the predicament.

"You're not upset about Granny, are you?" Sybil almost groaned as she heard Edith's voice filter from the outside, also. She had never expected to be in a situation where both of her sisters waited outside a bathroom door as she dressed quickly after fabulous bathroom sex with her handsome boyfriend. No, she had never expected it, but she embraced it as it came.

"No, not at all," Sybil croaked as she slid her costume back onto her naked form. She indicated for Tom to quickly do up her buttons as he pulled on his hat; she could feel her hands sweating as her sisters made no move to leave. "I'll be out in a second!"

"What will you say?" Tom's whisper was embroidered with amusement.

"Never mind that, just go along with it," she whispered in return. As the last button was done, she took a quick look in the mirror before she flitted towards the exit. She flicked the lock and opened the door with a ridiculous smile. Her once-neat curls at the back of her neck were now mussed and her swollen lips were hard to miss; she was met with a calculating look from Mary and a shocked expression from Edith – in which both were ironically dressed as rather stylish witches.

"Oh, we didn't think to find you here, Mr Branson," Mary spoke first. Her facial features were not kind as she took in his appearance with distaste; but now was not the time for confrontations, as she would have plenty of time for that soon.

"There was a bit of an accident," Sybil mumbled suddenly. "I managed to spill my drink on him, as clumsy as I am. Isn't that right, Tom?"

Mary noted that there was nothing odd about the driver's costume, apart from the fact that the buttons were mixed up after a hurried dress in the bathroom. Her eyebrow rose, but she did not comment on it.

"Well, we came to tell you that mama invited you to stay with us at the weekend; she wanted you to know before you left for the night," Mary continued.

"What Mary means to say, is that mama wants both you and Tom to travel to Downton for the weekend – it will be quite amusing, I'm sure. Matthew will be staying and we have the cricket match to look forward to…" Edith was cut short as Mary touched her arm.

"That was all we had to tell you, darling. I'm sure we'll see you there."

Tom could feel the eldest sister's gaze on him, unwavering. Yes, he was sure that the intimidation and interrogation would not be too far away in the future. Edith allowed them both an awkward half-smile as both sisters took their leave.

"Well…that was an interesting night," Tom finally broke the silence.

There was a moment of stillness, and then both of them burst into laughter. Sybil enveloped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest as she listened to the hum of his laughter; she was positive that she had never been so content in her entire life at that moment. Mary and Edith turned the corner at the end of the corridor, but they could still hear the laughter from the bathroom.

"Well, we always knew that Sybil did things differently…" Mary mused.

A/N: Ah, how I love Sybil/Branson sexytimes. And they always come out of no-where. I'm sorry if this chapter was a little scattered and if there are any mistakes, but do review and let me know! (: