Chapter 19.

...

Colindale

London

Summer of 1886

...

As the daylight started to dwindle the tension in Tom's shoulders only grew. He sighed distractedly, running a hand through his hair.

His head was swimming unhelpfully and his mouth was uncharacteristically dry.

In the last four years, Tom Branson had made speeches at parliament, campaigned door to door for votes in Dublin and helped arrange monster meetings from Bantry to Kylemore...but still his current situation made him feel nervous, out of place even.

This...this had him out of his depth and there was no point in denying it. He peered through the large front window of the public house, just about making out the light blonde hair of the man whom he was supposed to met.

Sybil seemed adamant that they would find an ally in her cousin, but Tom (although he remembered Matthew Crawley to be the friendly sort from their brief encounter) was yet to be convinced.

Still lost in thought, Tom felt a smaller hand engulf his and urgently tug him straight off the main street and down an alley. Initally alarmed, he whirled around and found a familiar pair of blue eyes glint in scarcely concealed laughter. She gripped his elbows in the semi-darkness. He rolled his eyes, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Jaysus Sybil, are you trying to put me in an early grave?"

Sybil smirked, "I had to return your nasty surprise at some point, didn't I?"

Tom shook his head, remembering vividly the day he'd given her a similarly playful scare, back before he had even suspected anything about the class divides that separated them.

Even then, he should have known that there was no going back on what he and Sybil had.

Leaning into her until their foreheads touched, Tom smiled despite himself. Sybil's nose was just inches from his, the kisses they'd both been longing for all day just a hair's breadth away.

"I wouldn't say there's anything too nasty about this if I'm being honest...a fairly nice surprise actually."

Sybil grinned, sight that made his heart swell and his shoulders loosen. Whatever it took to make their relationship work, Tom promised himself he would try because...Christ, he loved her!

"Oh, do you think so?", she challenged.

Tom chuckled, adopting a jokingly formal tone that undoubtedly would have befit just about anyone who'd have worked in her father's house.

It was strange, he'd been quite on edge all day at the prospect of meeting a member of his fiancé's family, but being here with Sybil now...well, things seemed to feel more natural than he ever thought they could.

"I do indeed, Milady", he replied, wrapping his arms around her.

He leaned in and she stood on her tiptoes, their lips connecting and their bodies melting together. His hand rested below her ear, his thumb caressing her cheek as their breaths mingled. She ran her fingers down his spine, pulling him closer until there was no space left between them and he could feel the beating of her heart against his chest.

Their kiss was soft and chaste. Tom would swear that he could feel the hope radiating from Sybil.

"Matthew's next door", she offered with a quirk of her eyebrows as they pulled apart, flushing and panting quietly.

Tom nodded, his smile faltering somewhat as reality once again struck. "I know, I spotted him up at the bar."

"He's excited to speak to you again."

"...even though I've proposed to his cousin without consulting her father."

Sybil rolled her eyes, straightening the lapels on her fiancé's jacket. "Matthew knows the whole story already. I think he's already quite looking forward to having you as a relation."

Tom nodded solemnly, not wanting to let Sybil down but also finding himself unable to completely hide his admittedly complicated feelings on the matter. Here he was, about to extend the hand of friendship to a man who was the possible heir to a way of life that Tom had been brought up to detest. It was enough to make his head spin.

"I'll believe that when I see it, Love."

"Well, why shouldn't he?", Sybil challenged, her tone going from determined to teasing to downright earnest. "You're clever, perfectly respectable...if not a little pig headed, but you make me so much happier than anyone else ever could."

Despite the concerns that had plagued him for most of the day and ignoring the starkly republican voice at the back of his head that labelled his hope to befriend Sybil's family as hopeless (or even traitorous!) , Tom found himself smiling.

He knew how important her family was to Sybil, and he damn well wasn't going to mess that up for her.

"Have I told you lately that I love you to pieces, Sybil Crawley."

"You might have mentioned it at some point, darling."

...

Grantham House

St James's Square

London

...

The Dowager Countess of Grantham eyed her family members carefully, as though she were the only one present still in procession of their full mental faculties.

"Commoners", she deadpanned, positively bristling at the mere idea. "Coming to Downton?"

To be fair, Violet Crawley was a strong believer in continuing the tradition of hosting Downton's tenant farming population in the Great Hall on Christmas Eve and there hadn't been an occasion in over twenty years where she hadn't opened the servant's ball on Carson's arm.

That being said, brushing shoulders with the sorts of modern victorians who believed in weekends, salaries and, God forbid, day jobs was a little too much for her.

Cora frowned across the table at her mother in law. "Oh come now, Mama. Any friend of Matthew's is a friend of ours."

Undeterred, Violet turned to her son and her granddaughters for even the slightest measure of their support. Upon finding them indifferent to her distaste, she scowled.

"Solicitors, bankers and politicians all running rampant inside our home?", she asked, horrified. "Are we to become a public house? Offering meals and shelter to every passing traveller."

Mary smiled breezily, possibly the only one at the table to truly empathise with the Crawley matriarch's difficult nature. She glanced between her grandmother and Matthew, her lips pursed in faint amusement.

"Oh Granny, you forget that Matthew was brought up middle class and he's perfectly respectable."

Matthew smirked at Mary's back handed compliment and their eyes met across the table. He smiled. She seemed to scarcely suppress an eye roll.

Violet huffed. "Yes well, he's one of us now. There's quite a difference."

Robert shuffled his shoulders uneasily, taking a long sip from his wine glass.

He never particularly cared for conflict, something that, as a member of the Crawley family, he unfortunately saw quite a lot of.

"Either way, Mama", Cora reasoned softly. "It will increase numbers for Robert's hunting party and ensure an even number of men and women in the ballroom come evening time."

Watching as his wife rather cooly interceeded before opinions got too heated, Robert couldn't help but smile. He had always appreciated Cora's ability to ease the tension in any room...even one where his mother was present.

"And this is the kind of society you will expose your three unmarried daughters to?"

Feeling as though she should say something, Sybil came to the defence of 'Matthew's' plans.

While she wasn't familiar with her cousin's entire party, it being made up of a number of Matthew's old university friends as well as Tom, Sybil was admittedly every bit as responsible for the whole scheme as her cousin.

"Oh Granny, I think that Papa and Matthew's plans are perfectly reasonable", Sybil implored, ignoring Matthew's knowing smile that was directed at her. "It has been known for people of different classes to mix and frankly, I'm looking forward to it."

Matthew chuckled discreetly into his wine glass, earning him an subtle scowl from Sybil. Neither noticed, Violet glance between them suspiciously.

Isobel Crawley nodded approvingly, delighted either by the forward thinking nature of her young cousin's statement or by the possibility of taking a jab at Violet's conservatism.

Either way, she was the picture of unwavering support.

"Bravo, Sybil. I couldn't have said it better myself. Too many people forget that we can learn so much from one another on both sides of the class divide."

Violet turned away from Matthew and Sybil and glared pointedly at Isobel, quite accustomed to her eternally diametrically opposed friend's ways.

"You would say that, wouldn't you?", she rebutted drily.

...

Hyde Park

London

...

Easily falling into step with one another, Mary and Matthew took a turn about Hyde Park.

In the hours before luncheon, the park was quietly bustling with afternoon walkers and Hackney carriages. The sky was blue, bluer than blue, and the sounds of squaking pigeons about to take flight was never too far away.

Matthew smiled at Mary over his shoulder, their companionship feeling more effortless than he could ever recall it being in the months since their engagement ended.

"I was surprised you came to my defence last night, Mary."

"We are supposed to be friends now, are we not?", Mary replied, eyeing him teasingly. "Is that not what friends do? Take up arms for one another."

Chuckling quietly, Matthew nodded. "Indeed, but I do believe that taking up arms against your grandmother is quite a different story."

Looking pleased, Mary laughed aloud and ploughed on.

"I'm actually rather looking forward to it. I think I'd like to be acquainted with some of your old school friends. The people who made up your life before all of-", she trailed off, gesturing around vaguely to their surroundings. "-all of this, I suppose."

"Should the scores of England's eligible bachelors feel threatened?", he returned jokingly.

Mary laughed aloud, a sound that still made Matthew's heart pick up its pace.

"Not on my account", she admitted before smirking."...Sybil and Edith may be a different story."

"How so?", Matthew challenged, playing along. Vaguely, he wondered what Mary would think if she knew just how interested her younger sister was in one of 'his' friends. Decidedly, he put those concerns aside. They'd cross that bridge when they came to it...or rather, Sybil and Tom would. "Are you above middle class men, Lady Mary."

Matthew tried to keep the faint twinge of hurt out of his voice, breathing a sigh of relief when he realised that Mary hadn't seemed to notice,

"Oh Matthew, you seem to forget that Edith is rather desperate for almost anyone's attention and Sybil finds the working classes...bizarrely fascinating."

"She cares about the good of the common people, that's hardly a fault."

Mary nodded, seeming to accept his explanation. "I suppose Aunt Rosamund did always say that Sybil would be happy in a cottage."

Matthew chuckled at the statement, knowing the accuracy of it. "And what about you?", he asked, almost sounding casual. "Would happiness be completely out of the question, living such a life."

"Me?", Mary gasped, feigning amazement as though she truly believed the question was asked entirely in jest. "In a cottage."

They were both far too clever not to recognise the weight of the question.

Matthew shrugged, trying to keep the vulnerability from his voice. This uncertainty between them, he knew it would always be there for however long his fate as heir to Downton was in hang. "Well, maybe not a cottage."

Mary grasped lightly at his elbow, turning him to face her. "Would you think badly of me if I told you I wasn't sure", she asked, biting her lip.

It was the most honest answer she could offer him, they both knew it.

Smiling, Matthew shook his head. "I'm quite sure that I could never think badly of you, Mary."

A Little History...

Home Rule was greatly facilitated by the 1884 Franchise Act which increased the Irish electorate nearly six-fold, and the 1885 Electoral Act which created single seat constituencies. Most of the new voters were Catholics and nationalists, steadfast in their support of Home Rule, which became the dominant political issue in British and Irish affairs after 1885. To grow the grass roots support for the party, Parnell resorted to organizing "monster meetings," huge open-air demonstrations at sites of historical significance throughout Ireland, these were attended by hundreds (if not thousands) of people.

A/N: Hope you all are doing well these days. Please leave me a review and let me know what you thought of this chapter? Are you enjoying the story so far? What would you like to see in later chapter? Let me know!

Pearlydewdrop xx