Sunday, 8 July 2018
5:45 am
"Glad I'm not the only one who worries a lip." She startled him in his chosen sun lounger facing east, bare feet anchoring his legs into a makeshift easel for the paper tablet he'd been focusing on. "Why are you up so early?" she yawned.
Checking his lip for blood, he explained, "Chewing on something Ham shared after you all went to bed."
She was behind him now, bent forward with her hands burrowing into his fleece-covered chest, "Oh Lord," kissing his temple, "I'm afraid to ask."
Afraid because of what she'd learned all had been speculated about yesterday whilst she, Cora and Maggie had innocently gone into town for luncheon and window-shopping as the men's conversation had turned to organizing a Cricket match on the grounds of Highclere Castle – for charity.
The Abbey had actually come up at the ladies luncheon too with Cora asking Elsie if she'd like to swing by for a tour. Elsie declined for now; she was quite hopeful of Charles sharing firsthand what all his preservation efforts had been decades ago. And she knew Beryl wanted to join too given her fondness for ITV's DOWNTON ABBEY series.
"I was well asleep before you crawled in but I noticed your tossing all night."
"Sorry to disturb your slumber, love."
"It's chilly out here; come back to bed?"
"No, it's wonderful light. Great for sketching."
"I'm no artist, Charlie, but those look like ledgers more than sketches."
He frowned then, flipped back a few pages showing her his sketch of the sunrise that reduced the flowers in the foreground to silhouettes. "Here."
"You're good Charlie, it's lovely," she yawned again.
"Thanks."
"But you're also sleep-deprived. Care to share what Robert bent your ear about?"
"Have a seat," he gestured toward the lounger next to him but she instead nudged him to share his lounger and cuddled against him.
"Go on."
"We spoke more about the Cricket idea. It would be traditional – classic Cricket Whites, not the coloured uniforms common today."
"So, your fondness extends beyond being a spectator?"
"Indeed, though you'll recall we have a couple of larger problems: no designated charity and not enough players. I'm not settled on the charity yet, but do you think we could lure some of the blokes from London down? Like Bill Mason, Joe Molesley, whomever Isobel picks – Richard, hopefully?"
"Well, find the right charity and make it a weekend with the wives/ girlfriends. Oh, maybe tours of the Abbey for them… with enough notice, you'd find some takers."
"I'm glad you think so."
"Definitely better than recreating the Brighton to Hampshire biathlon you and Robert had done years ago."
"You never know, we might do that again too, but after." She just rolled her eyes. Men.
"What else, Charlie?"
"Is this a pseudo counseling session?" he joked.
"Whatever it takes to get back to bed," she squeezed his side then.
"Ham needs to have ulcer surgery." She sat up then, alert and concerned. "It's evidently routine but it needs to be whilst Sybbie is here on holiday, before Sybil arrives." They'd learned yesterday of the reason for the piecemeal Branson family holiday. Tom was actually interviewing for a job in London. He was going to ride back with them later in the day and stay at Rosamund's though Charles offered up his flat until Tom was to fly back on Wednesday. If all went well with Tom's interviews, when Sybil arrived she would actually be on a house-hunting mission. All this they were asked to keep quite from Sybbie, just in case the interviews didn't go well.
"Ham is going to be laid up for a few days and between taking care of him and checking in on Maggie, he's concerned it might be too much for Cora to also take care of Sybbie. He was giving me the head's up that Tom is going to ask me to watch Sybbie for four or five days."
"Oh, time to step up as the Godfather."
"Yes, and now you know why I was tossing and turning through the night, and writing lists this morning."
"What? You aren't thinking of saying 'no.'"
"I am."
"Charlie, no, do it. It would be good for you. Sybbie's not an infant. You'll be fine."
"But what would I do to entertain her?"
"Seriously? You live in central London. Take her sightseeing, ride double-decker buses, go to the Zoo, your favourite bakeries, take her to your pool, or a park, or or or...there are endless possibilities."
"I didn't hear mention of take her to my favorite Scottish lass's."
"She does like Igor for some mind-boggling reason. Of course you should come over, I'll undoubtedly be working but I'll help however I can."
"What about sleeping over?"
"Sybbie showed us to our room on Friday morning, Charlie. She knows we're together, but ask Tom what he and Sybil are comfortable with and adhere to that – or negotiate! Just say 'yes' when he asks."
"I love having my own personal therapist."
"You should."
2:40 pm
They'd been on the road to London for just ten minutes when Tom nervously broached the subject. "Mr. Carson, Mrs. Carson – oops, sorry."
Elsie and Charles made eye contact via the rearview mirror and smiled; the slip up sounded nice. Tom outlined his proposed ask and clarified, "Take all the time you need, I'm not asking anyone else."
Charles's joyful and proud answer pleased Elsie, "Of course I'll babysit for you; I thought you'd never ask."
