Chapter 25
Once that she had soothed her son into dreams, the lady of the house passed the baby to her husband. After the much enjoyed family meal, the family had actually pealed off rather quickly. With the dowager countess going home, Sybil going to bed, and Matthew and Mary going for a walk, Edith had had little to stay downstairs for and Cousin Isobel had excused herself too.
Not that either Robert or Cora minded.
In fact, a chance for the two of them to just be parents of a new baby together for once was a welcomed opportunity.
"I miss this age," Robert released as he remembered his girls childhoods. "Lord, watching the girls develop was one of my favourite parts of a new child coming in to the house – and so it is again. I am just sorry not to be here for you both more, Cora."
"I know your views on this subject and you know mine. Let's not argue, darling, not tonight."
He nodded. She was right; the two of them should not get into to it.
Kissing his son, Robert looked down on the boy the softest expression his wife had ever seen him wear. Part of him was in disbelief this dream of his had come true.
"Goodnight, darling boy," he sighed as he put the little one back in his crib.
"Now, let us get mama to bed shall we?"
A smirk passed between man and wife and they left their sleeping son, peaceful in his dreams. If there was any luck, they would not sleep at all that night.
"Yes."
Dismissing O'Brien and Bates, the two of them agreed silently to serve one another that night.
Cora had to be honest with herself. O'Brien was a lot more careful and gentle with her than Robert was – but to feel his passionate hands all over her was a welcomed relief as they shut the door to their private world and instantly became lost in one another.
She loved being a lady and there was not a lot in the world that made her happier than her children. She was a mother first. But it was nights such as these which made her recall the very real need in her to be a woman too. And when she was in that mood there was only one person on the entire planet who could satisfy her.
And that was the Earl of Grantham.
She thought if the revolution ever did come then he was going to be ok. She was quite the valet judging by the speed she got Robert's clothes of.
XXX
"Oh blast it," Anna sighed as she got to the servants hall.
"What is it?" asked John from where he sat, two mugs of tea by him. He was so very thoughtful, she thought.
"I forgot to ask what time Lady Sybil wanted to be woken for her shift tomorrow. I had better go back up."
John shook his head. "I thought that Lady Mary was still out walking with Mister Matthew."
"She is."
"Well go into see Lady Sybil then. You know what she is like, she is bound to be up reading for a while."
"Still, I shouldn't like to give her time to go to sleep and then disturb her. I won't be a minute John."
"Give your legs a rest woman," he sighed.
Anna smirked. "How masterful."
As if to end the debate the bell board rang. "Lady Mary is back."
He gave a defeated smile as she turned to climb the stairs she had just me down.
The house maid climbed the stairs quickly, deciding to knock on the room of the younger Crawley sister before she went to tend to the needs of the elder.
"Lady Sybil," Anna called gently as she opened the door, sorry to see her young mistress had blown her out her candle already.
She was even more sorry when she heard there was no answer from the bed. The last thing in the world that she wanted to do was to wake Lady Sybil when she knew she had a hard day at the hospital tomorrow.
But it could not be helped.
Yet, as Anna crept closer to the bed, she realised the reason she had not got a reply was not because Lady Sybil was asleep already. It was because she wasn't there.
The lump in the middle of the bed was just that – a lump. A bunch of pillows brought together, and deliberately straightened to give the appearance of someone asleep.
"Lady Sybil?" called Anna almost as if she was going to jump out of her from a hiding place. Yet, she was suddenly very aware that she was the only living being in the room.
So her first job now was not to tent he needs of Lady Mary as she had thought it was but to locate the Lady Sybil. With any luck though, she hoped she was going to be able to kill two birds with one stone, if Lady Sybil was in Lady Mary's room.
But she had a bad feeling about that.
"Milady," Anna said as she entered the elders sisters room having knocked on the door.
For a moment, she wished she did not have to worry her. Lady Mary had made mistakes in her time. Anna Smith knew that to be the truth, better than anyone. But from them she had gained her respect, as strange as it was.
And so it was sad Lady Sybil was so clearly not there. Anna wanted to coyly ask how things had gone with Master Matthew more than anything else. But she had her duty to do.
"My lady, do you know where Lady Sybil is?" Anna asked.
"As far as I know she came up before I did, Anna. She has been a little off colour all day, poor darling."
"I know, she said as much when I helped her get ready for bed."
"Well – " Mary was completely confused. Anna knew where she was. Surely? "Then in that case she is in her room I imagine?"
"I checked," Anna shook her head. "Lady Mary, she's gone." For the first time that day, the mind of the eldest daughter of the earl of Grantham begun to race.
Until now, she had been so very relaxed.
"Anna, where is Branson?"
"He is no longer here, my lady. His mother is sick in Ireland, so he has gone to see her. But I do not know what that – oh, my lady," Anna's eyes went wide with understanding.
It was a sign of how much Mary trusted Anna that she begun to nod. "Go and get one of the male servants to check the garage. Now Anna."
It was late – but it had to be done.
XXX
Cora cuddled into Robert and could not quite believe in the perfect moment she had been allowed to share with him.
She did not know the date in between the South African war and the present one as to when she had once more simply become accustomed to having her husband at her side at night and when she had stopped appreciating it.
She swore there and then as she kissed him that she was not going to make the same mistake again.
No more taking him for granted when he came home for good.
"I could not love you more. Not even had we been a love match from the start could I love you more than I do right now," she said as she kissed him.
He nodded as he run his hand over her back. "I feel just the same, my dearest, dearest Cora."
XXX
"Mr Carson, the car is not in the garage and we have no idea where Lady Sybil is."
After Lady Mary and Anna had had no luck finding Sybil in Edith's room, they had had to plan their next move. The two of them had accepted they had to go to a higher authority, but Mary had not wanted to go to the Earl of Grantham. If she could save her sister in the eyes of their father then she was going too. She was also going to try to shield the first peace her father had since he had gone to the front.
And so it had made a lot of sense to her to go to the butler.
Once that some of the halls boys he trusted had been sent to search the grounds, he sent Anna to get Mrs Hughes from her sitting room.
Lady Mary and Carson were thus, alone in his pantry. As much as she didn't wish to tell her sisters secret to the entire house, she knew she could do a lot worse than tell the truth to the man who had been as a second father to her.
She could trust him with her life if she had too.
"Carson, I do not want you to think badly of me but for some time now I have been in possession of some information about my sister that I can see now I should have told someone else," she said as she sat down.
He held his hand up. He knew what she was going to say. How could it be anything else?
"Is this about Branson?" he asked with a knowing look.
"When did you find out?"
"Last night," he admitted to her.
"So there is no sick mother in Ireland?" she guessed and he shook his head.
"I sent him away as soon if learnt the truth. I did not want him to be here, or to disgrace Lady Sybil any more than he already had."
"As much as I do agree with that of course, I think it is the two of them who are to blame."
"Lady Sybil is a young girl who has been influenced by a –" he did not know – but it felt to him like something evil. He knew in his heart Branson was not that but he felt as if the two of them had certainly been very misguided – and they had to put a stop to this.
If his lordship had stayed at home, he was sure all this none of this would be going on.
But it was.
XXX
Tom Branson was not sure if he believed this was happening to him and Lady Sybil. After all they had gone through and all the time he had waited for the two of them to do this... they were twenty minutes n down.
"What are we to do? Can you mend it?" asked Sybil.
As he looked around, he wasn't sure. Apart from the torch they had had the foresight to pack, it was pitch black. He had also thought to pack a can of petrol – but the fact was until he could fix the car there was not a lot of good that was going to so.
"It will get the two of us as far as Ripon, but we are not going to be able to cover the ground that we had hoped to tonight," he said as he turned to see her and saw the fear in her eyes. "it is going to be a slow journey even there."
This was the boldest thing she had ever done and he had always known he was going to have to support her through it.
"Love it is all going to be ok," he laughed as he kissed her forehead and was glad to see he could still put a smile on her face.
"I know it is - I just so hoped we were going to have a better beginning than we have had so far," she said as she shook her head.
"Darling, we could go back instead of on," Tom did not want to say it but he felt as if he was obliged too. He did not want to force her into it and he was not going to kidnap a young girl who was not as sure of herself as she should be.
The only way the two of them were going to work and go on with this was if they were agreed.
A light came into her eyes that told him they were onwards. Leaning up, she kissed his lips.
"Ripon it is," as he got into the car. "Are you sure it is going to be able to get us that far?"
"No, but we can't just abandon it. Where can we stay were we get there?"
"We do not want to pay too much - we have to preserve the money that we have," she said as she bit her lip and then he was relieved to see her face light up. "I know just where we can stay for the night."
XXX
"She is not in the grounds and the car is gone. Lady Sybil cannot drive so there is only one conclusion we can draw," Carson said to Mrs Hughes, Anna and Lady Mary.
"She is with Mr Branson."
"Until it can be proved otherwise that is the theory we have to run on. Lady Mary, I know this is not what you want but I have no choice. I am going to have to ring the police," Carson sighed.
She nodded. As soon as they had come back with out there sister she had known he was going to.
"We will have to tell Mama and Papa first," she shook her head as Carson nodded gravely. "I so don't want to destroy the little peace he has had since he has been home. This time should be happy."
Suddenly, she felt very angry at the sister she had always, always been closest to. If Edith had done something like this to disturb their father in a very funny way she would find it easier to accept. But Sybil?
The little love sick fool... she was as angry with her as much as she pitied her.
"My lady, I know. But we can no longer protect your mother and father."
Lady Mary nodded.
"Mrs Hughes, why don't you go and get Miss O'Brien. She must go into his lordship and her ladyship. Unless you would like to tell them yourself, Lady Mary," but she shook her head.
"I do so wish I had that courage. But I don't."
XXX
Cora had been asleep, holding on to her husband when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "My lady? My lady?" a soft voice said to her.
"O'Brien?" she asked as she was instantly awake. She did not have to be told some thing was very, very wrong if she was being awoken in the middle of the night. "Is it Lord Robert?" she panicked.
"No – no, milady, its Lady Sybil."
The earl of the Grantham sat up, being careful to make sure he and his wife were covered by the quilt. "Lady Sybil? What's wrong?"
XXX
The young secretary rolled over in her sleep warmed bed and gave a little moan. What was that infernal tapping? She had always worked a long day and it had seemed if anything even longer since the war had begun. She was a girl who needed her sleep.
Everyone was so eager to get a telephone these days – there was no currency like news since the past few months.
Shutting her eyes as she settled back into the bed, she yawned. The bed she was in then was the most comfortable she had ever slept in. The small flat she had been renting ever since she left service was the one place she had been every really able to call home.
She had been drifting off when there was more knocking.
It couldn't be the door... not this late at night... and yet it was.
Getting up, she wrapped a shawl around herself and walked out to her small living room nervously... "Hello," she called as she reached the door, not opening the door. Nor would she until she knew who it was.
"Gwen!"
"Oh my word, Lady Sybil," she said as she instantly opened the door now she knew who it was to get an even bigger shock. "Branson!"
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