A/N: SECOND CHAPTER POSTED TONIGHT. IF YOU HAVE NOT READ CHAPTER 37, GO BACK AND COLLECT YOUR TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS.
If there are any massive mistakes in this chapter or the last one, I apologize.
A small group of sheep clustered in the shade of the ash tree. Andy saw people coming, and leaped to his feet.
"We didn't know you were coming today!" he yelled, beaming, as they all approached. "I mean, we hoped you would, but we weren't sure!"
Charles patted the young man on the shoulder. "You're looking well. Did you have a nice time with your family?"
"Oh yes," Andy practically bounced on his feet. "They're all well. My sister Lisa had another baby though, so Mum kept trying to get me to hold her while I was there. I didn't fancy that - a reddish, screaming thing! And a house full of women, and little kids – I was ready to come back and see you all. Even the sheep! I think we all were."
"'We'?" Elsie asked, looking amused. "I'm sure May has enjoyed not having to sweep out your house while you, Alfred and Jimmy were gone."
Andy's eyes got big, and he stuttered. "Well…I'm sure she has…"
"Wait." Thomas cut him off. "Who else is at our house?"
Even as he told himself that Edward wasn't there, he dared to hope. But surely the king would not have let him go for the day – he would not have been entirely sure, as Andy said, that this would be the day they would arrive home.
Andy smiled, his eyes gleaming. "You'll see."
"I'll stay here for a while," Charles said, kissing Elsie. "The rest of you go on," he whispered to her, "I'm sure Andrew would like to go, too. I expect you back here before sunset," he told his apprentice, giving him the water skins he'd been carrying.
"Yes, Master Shepherd." Andy grinned at Daisy, who grinned back, her face pink. They walked in front of Elsie and Thomas.
Elsie hid a smile. It was obvious Thomas wanted to run, but was holding back so as not to give away his excitement.
I hope Edward is there. He would be so disappointed if he isn't!
She thought it more likely that Ivy or perhaps Phyllis were at the house.
She was right about one of them.
Ivy appeared in the doorway when Andy shouted down the hill. Daisy squealed and ran to hug her friend. May came outside, smiling.
Thomas dropped his water skins when Edward appeared. His mate gestured with his head towards the stream, and the two headed off without a word to anyone. Elsie was not surprised they didn't embrace each other in front of the others, but she did see them wrap their arms around each other as they disappeared behind the goat pen. She smiled.
We won't see them for a while.
"You all must be exhausted after your long journey," May said, waving the others closer. "I hope my sister-in-law didn't frighten you too much."
"Just a little," Elsie laughed. "I hope she didn't hit your brother too hard."
May scoffed, her hands on her hips. "He isn't the brightest man, but he doesn't deserve the way she treats him."
"Do I smell bread? And cheese?" Daisy asked, looking eagerly at the older woman. "Have you and Ivy been baking all day? What if we hadn't got back today?"
"Then we would have wrapped everything, and hoped you'd come home tomorrow," a familiar voice said. Anna came outside fanning herself, her face red. "Oh my, it's warm in there!" She laughed at Daisy's dumbfounded expression and gave her a huge hug. "There hasn't been much going on at the hall. Lady Mary let me come yesterday, and today. I've been learning to bake, seeing as I'll be a married woman soon," her blue eyes sparkled. "I needed lessons badly."
"It's kind of you to be here to welcome us," Elsie said. "And I'm sure you cannot be as bad of a cook as I was." She and Anna hugged.
"Oh, I don't know," the blond woman laughed. "I warned John to expect burned bread and lumpy cheese."
"Really, Anna, you're not that bad." Elsie whipped her head toward the door. Her heart swelled. Sybil brushed flour from her hands. "Not nearly as bad as I was."
Her eyes met Elsie's for only a moment before Daisy knocked her backwards into the door. "You're here, too!? Who else is!?"
Sybil laughed, rubbing her back. "Just me, Anna, Ivy and May. I see Andy came with you from the meadow," she nodded in his direction. He crossed his arms, looking pleased with himself. "Oh, and Edward, of course. He kept tasting what we were baking. May was just about to throw him outside when you all arrived."
They all sat down on the hill below the house, eating and talking nonstop. As much as Elsie wanted to have time with her daughter alone, she knew it was not the right time. Sybil mouthed to her once, across the circle. Later.
There was not much news in Downton. It seemed that the harvest in the autumn would be plentiful. Phyllis and Joseph sent their regards. The wheelwright's wife's sickness was finally easing, but her husband still fretted over her condition.
"She's so pretty," Ivy said, her mouth full of cheese. "I don't know why women carrying children look beautiful, but she does."
"Not all of them do," May countered. "Isobel told me once she was ill almost the entire time she carried Master Matthew. She said she was relieved when he was born that he didn't look grey and worn-out, like she felt!"
Joseph and his father, Master Bill, had been helping John build his house. It was nearly finished. Anna had seen it before they had put the roof on, but not since.
"I know what it's going to look like when it's done, because John told me," she said. "But I want it to be a surprise."
"It's not like you'll be much interested in the house the first time you see it, though," Sybil said. "On your wedding night, you'll be interested in something else."
Elsie raised an eyebrow at her, but Sybil only grinned rather wickedly back. Daisy and Ivy giggled. Both Anna and Andy turned pink, though Anna smiled. Andy looked mortified. He left a short while later to watch the flock.
"Poor boy," May said. "Daisy, he must like you a lot to listen to all of us women jabber on! After being home with women for days!"
"Maybe he does," she grinned, blushing. "We were talking about things he shouldn't hear," Daisy admitted, brushing her fingers through her hair. "Childbirth, the wedding night…we should have waited to talk about all of that until the women's feast, before Anna's wedding."
There was an awkward silence. Anna's shoulders slumped, and she clutched her hands in her lap.
"What did I say?" Daisy asked. Sybil and Ivy glanced at each other.
"There isn't going to be a women's feast," Anna said bravely. Her voice wobbled a little. "I don't blame you, Daisy, for thinking there would be one. You see," she swallowed, blinking rather fast, "My stepfather died two summers ago. But when I wrote to my mother and asked her to come, she…"
Her voice trailed off. Elsie glanced at May, whose face was thunderous.
"It is her loss, Anna, not wanting to see her own daughter married, never mind the feast! The woman has no shame!"
"My sister Gracie would come, but she lives in Shackleton with her husband now. He's a farmer, and they can't travel so far so soon before the harvest," Anna soldiered on. "I…should have known Mum hadn't forgiven me for leaving, not even after her husband died." The hurt in her voice was palpable. "She always did take his side." What she didn't say hung in the air. Over me.
Sybil put an arm around Anna's shoulder.
Ivy shook her head, her face as stormy as May's. "It's wrong of her not to come! But if she doesn't want to be here, you're better off not having her here to ruin a feast, or your wedding!"
Anger rose in Elsie, and she yanked several strands of grass from the ground. Her eyes blazed. The women's feast was an old tradition, given by the bride's female relatives several days before her wedding. For Anna's mother to reject her invitation, and deny her the comfort and company of her own relatives, was beyond the pale.
She did not want to think any more about a woman who refused to come to her own daughter's wedding. Her eyes blazed, and she blew out a long breath. She'd revert to divine form instantly.
"Is there anyone else who might come?" Sybil asked gently. "A grandmother, aunts, or cousins?"
Anna shook her head, wiping the corner of her eye. "My one gran died before I was born, and the other when I was tiny. My dad had only brothers, and they all lived in Painswick. I've only met two of them, and that was a long time ago. Mum had a brother, and his wife Nola was always good to me and Gracie. But after my uncle died, she went to live with her sister. I haven't seen her since before Dad died." She shrugged, trying to smile. "I'll be fine. Not every bride has a women's feast, and not every woman has her mother at her wedding. John will be there. That's all I need."
"Spoken like a true bride," Sybil wiped a tear from Anna's cheek. She leaned closer and said in a loud whisper, "But don't tell him that. We don't want him becoming conceited."
Everyone was still laughing when Charles came up the hill.
"Andrew said he would watch the flock for the rest of the day," he said, sinking down beside Elsie with a sigh. "For which I am very grateful." He smiled at everyone sitting there. "It was kind of you all to welcome us." He gladly took some offered bread and fish from May.
"We were glad to be able to come," Sybil told him. "The family let us have the day off."
"Although," Anna said to her, smiling, "Master George was quite insistent we not return without Thomas. He's missed his friend very much while you all were away!"
"But I'm sure Edward played with him if he got the chance," Elsie leaned back on her hands.
"He did play with him," Sybil said, as she and Anna exchanged grins. "As well as Anna and I sometimes. But we're not his best friend."
Swallowing his fish with difficulty, Charles raised his eyebrows. "Thomas is his best friend? Master George is a tiny boy, and furthermore, he's heir to the king!"
He was a little shocked, and wondered if his son had overstepped himself at the court.
"There's nothing improper about it," Anna said quickly, seeing what he was thinking. "That little boy took a shine to Thomas since he could walk. His Lordship and Lady Mary don't mind. And Thomas knows his place, he knows he's a servant." Her eyes were warm. "He's very fond of Master George, your son. He treats him like a little brother. On a cold day at the palace last autumn, he carried him up and down the stairs twenty times because George kept asking him to!"
Charles relaxed a little. "It sounds like he spoils him."
"That's what I told him," Daisy piped up. "He just told me, 'There'll be plenty of time for him to have to grow up and do unpleasant things! It's better to let him be a child while he can!'"
Her father stared at her. "This is Thomas we're talking about, yes?"
"Yes," she giggled. "I know, it surprised me that he was such a softie, too."
"It's not that much of a surprise, not really," he said quietly. "He was that way with you. When you were a baby. You probably don't remember. Nothing made him happier than to make you laugh. He would pull the most horrible faces, and you'd giggle all day. I…didn't know he was still like that."
"That's so sweet!" Sybil sighed, Anna along with her. Daisy was astonished, and speechless.
"Was he really like that?" Ivy asked, incredulous.
May nodded. "I remember seeing Daisy under that tree, just there," she pointed up at the tall one shading the house. "Thomas, dangling a cloth over her face and pulling it away." She sighed, her own expression soft. "I still remember the way she laughed. I think," she chuckled at Daisy, "you laughed so hard, you gave yourself the hiccups!"
Elsie leaned over to Charles, her hand on his shoulder. "That is the sweetest story I've heard in a long time." Privately, she was not really surprised that Thomas had a gentler side to him.
He tries to hide it.
Charles, still smiling, brushed crumbs off of his hands. "Where is Thomas? I would have expected him to be here, getting his fair share of this lovely meal. And Edward too – Andrew told me he was here as well."
There was an awkward silence.
"They took a walk," Elsie said. "A little while ago." Charles looked at her.
"I hope they didn't go too far. It's a warm day. The two of them, Anna, and Sybil, will have to return to the hall tonight." He got to his feet. "I'll go look for them-"
Grabbing his wrist, Elsie held him in place. "I'm sure they're fine," she said quietly, looking up at him and giving him an intense stare when he raised his eyebrows at her. "They're fine," she repeated. "When they get hungry enough, and thirsty enough, they'll come back. I'm sure they didn't go far."
He stared back at her, a little gleam of understanding in his eyes. "I'm sure you're right," he said finally, and sat back down.
"The more you say that, the better things will be for you," she teased him.
May snorted and shook her head. "Now you're beginning to sound like my sister-in-law."
Anna and Ivy stayed for a little while longer before leaving for Downton. Ivy needed to go home, and Anna wanted to visit with John. She would go back to the king's hall that evening with the others.
May and Daisy went back into the house. "It was really good, everything you and the others made," Daisy said, her dimples showing, "But I'd like to show Anna how to make really good bread before she gets married."
"I'm sure you'll get the chance, if not before, then after the wedding," Charles stepped through the doorway, picking at his teeth with a wooden toothpick. "You'll see her a lot after. She'll be living in the village then." He looked around the room. "Everything still looks the same. Thank you, May."
"You're welcome," she said. "To be honest, I'm glad to have you all back, and the lads too. Petunia drives me mad. Oh, did Anna tell you?" she set aside an oil lamp on the hearth. "Alfred came back yesterday, but he's spending time with his Aunt Sarah today. I can't think why," she shook her head. "He told Anna that he'd be back here at dawn."
"Good," Charles's eyes lit up at the sight next to the hearth. "Marvelous, there's more cheese left over!"
"Still hungry?" May was exasperated. "Poor Elsie, trying to feed you, much less anyone else!" She bent down and picked up the bucket. "I want to give the floor one last scrub before I leave. The girls did a good job baking, but the cat came in here, and made a mess trekking through the flour. I'd rather I clean it up. Your wife'll be doing it again, starting tomorrow."
"I'll get water," Daisy offered, taking the bucket. "You've done so much already." She headed outside. Charles and May chatted, their voices carrying through the open door. She pulled on the rope at the well and poured some of the cool water it brought up into her bucket, careful not to spill too much.
Picking up her heavier burden, she stopped at the sight below her, further down the hill.
In the shade of some shrubbery, Elsie and Sybil sat side by side. Daisy couldn't hear what they were saying, but it was the way they moved that caught her attention. Sybil leaned her head on Elsie's shoulder, and their arms were around each other. Elsie reached over and tenderly moved a long dark strand of hair out of Sybil's face, making the young woman smile. Daisy felt the hair on her arms stand up.
Like Freya and Remme.
After a moment, she went back into the house.
"My dear child," Elsie whispered, "I have missed you."
"And I you," Sybil murmured, "It's strange. At home, we sometimes spend years in the lives of mortals without seeing each other. Here, I don't see you for days, and I miss you all the more." She laughed under her breath. "I am glad you saw Tom."
"He always appears when I least expect it," Elsie kissed her on her temple. "But he's always welcome. And so are you. Always." She hummed a little as the afternoon sun cast shadows behind them. "In the divine halls," she said in a low voice, "Time does not matter like it does here. Or maybe the mortals do more with the time they have, little as it is."
They walked in the meadow as the sun gradually sank west. Sybil had read Thomas's letter to Edward (with his permission), but she was curious as to what had happened on the way to Staithes.
"If he had not been following me, I would have had to take my true form," Elsie sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Of course I never would have let those evil…men do anything further to me, but Thomas didn't know that. He was badly beaten before Freya and Ve rescued him."
"I am so glad he's all right," Sybil replied. She squeezed her mother's hand. "And that you and he are friends now."
"Yes," a warm smile appeared on Elsie's face. "He and Charles, I think, are on their way to repairing the bridge between them as well."
"So the journey was a healing one." Beaming, Sybil swung their hands between them. "For you and Thomas, and for him and his father. And for Charles, to confront his fear of the sea." Her beautiful eyes grew contemplative. "I am glad you know about his father. What happened to him. If Tom had not told you, I would have. I thought of telling you before you left, but there wasn't the opportunity." She glanced up at the fluffy white clouds that moved lazily through the sky. "Peace reigns in the family. What else could I want?"
Thomas and Edward returned to the house as she and Sybil were coming back. Both young men were ravenously hungry and thirsty. Charles noticed his son's rumpled tunic and hair, but said nothing about it. Edward's face was flushed. The shepherd did not think it was due to the sun.
May had gone home, so six people sat outside for a light meal before the setting sun. More than once, Elsie and Charles met each other's eyes while the younger ones chattered and laughed.
Both were immensely happy to have their children at home, but also sad that all of them would be leaving soon.
Sybil, Thomas and Edward left soon after they ate. They needed to meet Anna in Downton and walk back to the king's hall before moonrise. Charles would take Daisy back to the village in the morning.
The first stars were appearing above the house. The low rumble of Charles's voice could be heard as he softly said his prayers inside. Elsie smiled as Daisy joined her.
"We saw some beautiful sunsets while we were away, but none better than this one," she said, sighing. "I am glad to be home. Even though Thomas had to leave earlier, and you tomorrow. At least we'll all be together at Anna and John's wedding."
Daisy nodded. Elsie tilted her head in her direction.
"You've been very quiet since supper. Are you feeling all right?"
"Yes," Daisy said. She swallowed, wondering how to say what she thought. What if I'm wrong?
What if I'm right?
She was not sure what she would think if that were true.
"Is something wrong, Daisy?" Elsie's voice was gentle. The girl took a long breath.
"No. Not…not exactly." She turned to look at her stepmother. "I was wondering…I don't want to make you angry," she stopped, her big eyes fearful.
"I doubt you could," Elsie replied, her hands folded. Something was obviously on the girl's mind.
"Is Sybil your daughter?" Daisy asked, her voice just above a whisper.
Elsie blinked. She felt a chill down her spine.
If she can see it, who else can?
She opened her mouth, then closed it. It would do no good to deflect the question. She did not want to lie, either.
"Yes." She was unable to keep one question from escaping. "How did you know?"
"I saw both of you this afternoon," Daisy said, a line between her eyes. "Sitting together on the hill. It reminded me of seeing Freya and Remme, after we got home. They're mother and daughter, too." She hesitated, digging a toe into the ground. "Does Papa know?"
"Yes, he does." Elsie replied steadily.
"I wondered then, too," the young girl continued in a rush, her heart sinking. "When they left for the hall. She hugged Papa, and I thought he'd be annoyed. He doesn't just hug everyone, that's not his way. But he seemed happy when she did."
"He wants to get to know her better," Elsie glanced toward the road. "He is happy that she accepts him. Like I was happy when you accepted me." She smiled at Daisy, but it faded at her gloomy expression. "I am sorry I didn't tell you before. My family…is not the closest," she said, trying not to think about how much of an understatement that was. "And some of my relatives can be cruel. I didn't want the way they have done things in the past to affect this family. Your family. Our family."
"Oh." Daisy was quiet for a moment, letting it all sink in. She had never thought about Elsie's family. Mother never talked about them.
Maybe she doesn't want to talk about them. "Where is Sybil's father? If you don't mind me asking," she twisted her fingers together.
"He has no part in her life. He never has. And I am glad of it." Daisy had never heard such a bitter edge in Mother's voice before. She felt sorry for her, and a little for Sybil. She knew Elsie would not say it if there was not a very good reason.
He must not be very nice.
Maybe he's cruel, too.
Her papa had always been loving. Daisy may have been young, but she knew not everyone was as fortunate as her and Thomas. Anna isn't.
But equal to her sympathy, there was a hint of anger that Mother, or Papa, hadn't told her about Sybil. And she felt something else that she couldn't explain.
"Sybil must be happy," she said, sounding a little sour herself, "She has a real father now. Mine."
There was no mistaking her resentful tone.
"Daisy," Elsie put her hands on her shoulders. "Look at me. Your father loves you and Thomas dearly. You both are the reason he went on after your mother died. Yes, he's fond of Sybil, and she him. But you are his daughter, his blood. He'll always have a place in the center of his heart for you."
Daisy's chin wobbled. She hated to sound like a child, but she couldn't help herself. "What about you? You have a daughter."
"Yes," Elsie drew her into a hug. "I do. I had one daughter," she whispered in the girl's ear. "And now I have two." She let go of Daisy and met her eyes. "If you want me."
"I wish you would have told me about her before," Daisy brushed her eyes with the back of her hand. "It feels unfair, because Sybil knew about us, but we didn't know about her. Thomas doesn't know, does he?"
"He doesn't, but he will soon. Please don't tell him." Elsie hoped she had not begun anew with Thomas only to have everything fall apart with his sister. We've always been close, since the day we met.
Daisy studied her for a long time, her eyes reflecting a candle from inside the house. "I won't," she said finally. "I guessed on my own. He might, too. Especially because he sees Sybil every day."
"True." Elsie hesitated, then spoke up. "I am sorry for not telling you sooner. Your father and I had our reasons, believe me. We didn't mean to hurt you. And I asked Sybil to not say anything to you, either. No one here knows about her, except your father and the priestesses."
"All right," Daisy said. "I forgive you." Elsie let out a sigh of relief when she put her arm around her. "And all right," she half-grinned, "Of course I'll be your other daughter. But it still isn't fair," she declared. "Thomas is your only son." Her voice was dry. "No doubt he'll be your favorite."
"Which is what he's always wanted, naturally," Elsie shivered a little as a breeze blew over the hill. She was glad to hear Daisy chuckle.
Charles called to them from the doorway. "Are you both coming in? I'm finished with my prayers."
"Yes," Daisy answered. She hurried to her father and gave him a long hug, then scampered inside. Charles looked at Elsie.
"We'll talk after she goes to sleep," she said under her breath. "And before you go to watch the flock." He wound his arms around her.
"Talk? Or…talk?" He gave her a devilish grin. She rolled her eyes.
"You know very well there'll be no…talking, when the children are home," she kissed him on the lips. "Tonight, it's just plain speech. Tomorrow night…well, neither you nor I will be watching the flocks, if I have my way."
"I would be a very stupid man if I didn't let you have your way," he said. She shook her head, and they both went inside.