July one year after Sybil's return (3 months after last chapter)
Tom was sitting in the garage working on an article when he heard the click of shoes on the floor. Quickly shutting the laptop so he wouldn't be accused of slacking on the job, he turned to see Sybil holding a rather large picnic basket with both hands.
"Need some help?" Tom asked as he got up.
"That would be wonderful," he took it and she sighed, stretching her arms a bit. "I'm not quite sure what Mrs. Patmore put in there, but it's heavier than I'm accustomed to. Bet some of the nice china is in there,"
"All the china you have is nice." Sybil rolled her eyes and pulled Tom with her out of the garage, shutting the small door behind them.
"We are going for a walk to the place we had picnics as children," she said as they walked through Downton's extensive yards. They passed by the part of the woods where Tom had punched Larry, and Sybil smiled at the thought. He was so chivalrous.
After twenty minutes of trudging through the woods, Tom sighed.
"Are we there yet?"
"Almost, you baby," Tom smiled at the term of endearment and kept following until they reached a clearing with a large patch of grass and a few bushes.
They laid out the blanket and Sybil sat down cross-legged, pulling the basket in front of her and opening it.
"Wow, she really outdid herself. It's like one of the picnics she'd pack for us when we were younger and came out here on nicer days," she said, pulling out a bottle of wine.
"I'm sure Mrs. Patmore didn't pack wine for you when you were younger," Tom joked. Sybil rolled her eyes.
"No, but she did for Pa-pa. He was the one to always come with us. I haven't had a picnic in maybe ten years. Edith was eleven when she stopped coming, which would make me nine. That's about right. Did you ever have picnics?"
"Once, for my sister's birthday. A picnic was all she ever wanted. It went wrong though, because it started raining in the middle of the picnic. We ended up finishing it in our kitchen,"
"That sounds fun!"
"It really wasn't. She threw a whole fit about it. Then again, she was five,"
"I'd love to meet your family."
"Would you?"
"Of course! You've met my family," Tom nodded at this and thought.
"I think Kieran's in London on business in a few days."
"You'd really take me to meet him- now?"
"Why not? You want to meet him, Sybil, and I want you to meet my family, too." He reached out and rested his hand on her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb. Sybil smiled at him, taking his hand in hers.
"Well, I think we should eat the picnic lunch before we do anything," she said, reaching into the basket and pulling out wrapped sandwiches. Tom smiled and took the one handed to him, helping to unpack the basket.
"Ooh, she made us trifle!" Sybil said, pulling out a glass container of the treat.
Tom was nervous, to say the least. He had been waiting for this for three days, but he was scared of what Sybil would think of Kieran, and vice versa. Would she think Kieran was better looking? At home he was always considered more handsome by the girls; thought Tom did have his fair share of admirers. Sybil walked out of the bathroom towards him, wearing a fancy skirt and blouse. She looked as if she was going out to dinner on a date, not to a pub. Then again, it could be like a date, but Tom wasn't sure who would be the third wheel. He had dressed slightly nicer, though, wearing dress trousers and a nice jumper.
"This is pretty good weather for July!" Sybil said as she got closer. As she walked by Tom towards the direction of the pub, she took his hand and pulled him along.
"Does this mean we're dating for the night?"
He didn't get an answer.
There were a few moments of silence as they walked hand in hand.
"What does your bro- I mean, Kieran, do?"
"He works for a publishing agency. Lots of back and forth from Dublin to London. He goes to New York sometimes,"
"Have you been to New York?"
"No. Have you?"
"A few times when visiting my Grandma-ma. She lives in Ohio, so we took a trip there sometimes. It's a huge city,"
"With lots of idiots."
"London has its idiots as well, Tom. I'm half American, you know."
"But you're also half English," he muttered, and she jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow. "Hey!"
"That's what you get for insulting me!" a quick glance to see her grin confirmed that Sybil was joking, and Tom felt a bit reassured. They stepped into the pub and were greeted by a much more upscale room than the two thought they were going to see. It was also thrice the size of the pub in Ripon they attended after Sybil's shifts.
"How are we supposed to find him in here?" Tom asked, looking around for Kieran.
"I think there's a hostess over there," Sybil said, discreetly pointing over to a small desk with a woman in all black behind it. They approached the table, Sybil looking around the expansive place.
"Has a Kieran Branson arrived yet?" Tom asked the hostess, who immediately nodded.
"Mr. Branson has a booth near where the band will be performing soon. I'll take you over," she led them to a booth directly next to the stage, where a band was setting up their equipment and laughing. Sybil slid into it, Tom next to her, and they finally let go of each other's hands.
"So this is the infamous girl I've heard about. Let me guess, Tommy, you found her while driving?" Kieran asked, drinking his beer.
"Does he know?" Sybil quietly asked Tom, who shook his head.
"Kieran, there's something we have to tell you, but you can't tell anyone," Tom said, but the waitress appeared to take their orders. Tom got his usual pint of Guinness, Kieran ordered another, and Sybil mixed it up with a shandy.
"Let me guess. You're a married woman cheating with the bugger next to you?" Sybil turned red and Tom's hand formed a fist.
"You know the people I work for are the Crawleys, right?"
"Yeah, yeah, influential family, Earl of Grantham. The point?"
"Sybil is his daughter," she blushed a deeper red and Tom glanced away at the band.
Kieran stared at Sybil, letting out a low whistle.
"Well. Does your father know?"
"No," Sybil said. She seemed almost bashful, and Tom thought she looked adorable, all nervous and embarrassed.
"Then you two are in some deep shit. Tommy, don't you know better than this?"
"We love each other, Kieran!" Tom said, and the waitress, who had just arrived, gave them their drinks quickly and scurried away. Sybil bit her lip and took a sip of Tom's beer on accident, wrinkling her nose at the taste.
"That's not always enough. How are you going to explain this to your boss?"
"When the time comes we'll think of something,"
"How old are you?" Kieran asked Sybil.
"Nineteen."
"God, the girl's barely legal! You're twenty-five," he pointed to Tom, "and… how long has this been going on?"
"We became friends when I was fifteen," Sybil said. Under the table she reached for Tom's hand, squeezing it to reassure him. He pulled his hand away to drink his beer, glaring at Kieran the whole time.
"You two have got some explaining to do," Kieran said, staring pointedly at Tom, who set his jaw. This dinner was not turning out how he wanted it to.
"Tom, you told him that we love each other, when you know I'm not sure yet!"
"You do, Sybil, you're just afraid to admit it!"
"I am not!"
"Listen, all it comes down to is whether you love me, or not. The rest is detail."
"So just because I'm madly in love with you means I should run away with you?"
"Yes."
"That's a high price!"
"Sometimes you have to sacrifice things for something better."
"You expect me to just leave my family and burn all my bridges?"
"I'm sure they'll come around to the idea of it,"
"But you don't know that, Tom! My father is a Tory, for god's sake!"
"Your ma isn't! And what about your sisters?" they had pulled into the garage, and Tom turned the car off, pulling the key out.
"If you think Mary will come around to the idea of me running away with the chauffeur, you really don't know her at all."
"And Edith?"
"I really wouldn't know! The only thing we talk about is if she's going to get engaged to Sir Anthony!"
"They'd come around eventually, Sybil. Your family can't hate you forever."
"I'd be leaving everything behind! Do you really think I could just turn my back on the people I've known since I was born? It's not as easy as you make it out to be!"
"It can be!"
"No, Tom, it really can't. There's financial things to work out, and- you know, I'm just going to bed. We're going to talk about this. Tonight was supposed to be fun but you put words into my mouth all of dinner instead," Sybil got out of the car, slamming the door behind her. Tom got out and started running after her to the house.
"Sybil, I-"
"No, Tom. Just leave me. I'll talk to you when I'm ready," she said, ringing the doorbell. He stood there as Carson opened the door to let her in, then walked back to the garage in the dark, kicking stones as he went.
A/N: dun dun dun! If you read Shadow Mentality and Silent Ardor, please look at my profile for an update on my stories. Also, there was a big time lapse between last chapter and this one, if you didn't notice. Since I'm trying to finish this story (the update explains) there will be time lapses to make the events seem more plausible- ex. Sybil probably wouldn't run away when she's nineteen. There won't be a time lapse between this chapter and the next, but expect it for the next few after that.