Chapter Fourteen

Late August 1941

James lay quietly on the grand bed staring at the intricate ceiling above him. The Doctor had just left, Tom with him, and the pain medication that had been administered had not yet fully taken effect. The pain seemed less in the past few days, but the journey back to Downton had been long and slow. And bumpy.

His broken ribs were throbbing and he just wished the pain would stop. He heard the door crack open and he turned his head slightly. All the pain left his mind as his wife crept slowly towards the bed. He reached his hand out.

"Sybbie!"

She grabbed his hand and pulled herself to him to cover his face with quick kisses and just a few tears.

"James... Don't you ever scare me like this again! Are you alright?" Sybbie sat on the edge of the bed and held his hand so tightly his fingers went numb. She reached across to brush her fingers down his jaw and he leaned into her hand, revelling in her tenderness.

"I'm alright now that you're here, with me." His eyes teared up, the joy at seeing the beautiful face staring at him with such concern melted his heart. It had been much too long since he had stared into her eyes. To feel so loved again.

She leaned down to kiss him gently, tenderly.

"I was so scared. James, I thought you were gone. I had the strangest feeling that you weren't coming home." Tears continued to stream from her eyes.

"I'm just a little battered Sweetheart. But I'm still here. I'm not going anywhere right now. I'm alright." He held her with his available arm as she leaned down to bury her face in his neck. He winced, but she did not see it. "Where's our Georgie?"

Sybbie sat back up to look in her husband's eyes.

"Oh James. We don't know. The Air Force sent a body to us telling us it was him, but my Dad went to look and swears it's not him. Dad would know, Barrow agrees with him and Aunt Mary believes them both. He's still out there, but we don't have any idea where. He could be hurt, he could be captured. We just don't know." Sybbie started to sob. James reached up to wipe a tear from her chin. He tried to get up but cringed and fell back against the pillows.

"Sweetheart. I know he got out of the flyer before it crashed. I saw his parachute deploy. I'm sure wherever he is, he's alive." He stared into her eyes to make her believe him. Her tears did subside a bit.

"Are you sure?" She needed to believe him.

"I saw it with my own eyes dear-heart. He's got to be out there. He's just got to be okay." James took a moment to look his wife up and down. He reached out to touch her expanded middle and she held his hand there, firm against where their child was safely nestled. He was rewarded by a gentle kick against his palm and he couldn't help but smile with wonder. "Are you alright?"

"Health wise we're both doing just fine." Despite everything she smiled at him, at the look on his face.

"That makes me happy." James just smiled lovingly at his wife, just happy to be looking at her face and holding her hand and seeing her smile in return.

Sybbie made her way onto the bed to lay down beside him, and situated herself so that she was wrapped in his arm. He felt so warm and she settled a bit knowing that at least the man she loved the most was safe. The father of her baby was safe and sound for now.

"I do have have some bad news though James." She turned her head slightly to look at his profile. He turned to look at her.

"What sweetheart? What is it? Tell me." His expression was concerned,

"Donk passed away last night. The news of George did him in. My family is in ruins right now I think. If George is gone, there may be no male to inherit the estate."

James defied the pain and lethargy that was settling over him to lean over and kiss her gently on the shoulder.

"I am so sorry Sweetheart. I am so very, very sorry. George will come home. He'll be just fine. Your Grandfather was a great man. His loss will be felt by the entire county. But I'm here now. And the three of us will be fine in time. Trust me on that."

Sybbie trusted him entirely.

Mary entered the death-room of her father slowly at first and then hastened her steps when she saw that Lily was in the room. The tall man, leaning on his cane stood at the foot of the bed. Guarding his master even after death.

"Mr. Bates. If I may have a few moments alone with my sister?" Mary's tone did not suggest he had any opinion on her question other than to do as she asked.

Bates looked at the man on the bed and then nodded at the man's daughter.

"I'll wait outside the door if you need me for anything my Lady." He step-tapped softly to the door and closed it behind him when he left.

Mary stared at the man on the bed for some time before she spoke. He seemed as though he might just be sleeping and Mary secretly hoped he would just open his eyes and it had all been some horrible mistake.

"I am so sorry for your loss Mary. For both of your losses. I can't even the imagine the pain you are feeling right now." Lily spoke but her voice was hoarse.

"My grief is cut in half at least. It seems George was not the body they sent us. He's still out there somewhere. We have no idea where, but he's not confirmed dead. So that's something I suppose." Mary looked so tired as she stood at the foot of the bed. She glanced briefly at Lily and sighed.

Lily looked as terrible as Mary felt. The younger woman looked up at her newly discovered sister and sighed herself.

"This has been a day to forget." Lily looked back at the man on the bed. "I am sorry for all of this Mary. My entire world has been set on fire right now and I don't know to whom to apologize first."

Mary went around the bed and surprisingly gave Lily a warm embrace.

"None of this is your fault Lily. But I'm glad in death my father is now free of secrets. And to find out I had an unknown sister and to find out it was you was the best part of that secret. I always thought how strange it was that you resembled Sybil so much but I countered it with the fact that perhaps I was looking for a resemblance. I miss her to this day. We all do. To find out that I still have two younger sisters brings me happiness on this dark day."

Lily smiled up at the beautiful woman who she had always considered a sister, but now knew for a fact actually was.

"Tom and I don't want any of this. Not even for our son. I will sign anything that gives the estate back to you. Mark my word on that. This is yours Mary." Lily gestured generally at everything around them.

"Tom agrees with you. He threw the Will in the fire and said much the same thing. I appreciate that Lily. You have no idea how much. You and Tom are again proven to be the wonderful members of this family that I have known you to be for years now." Mary kept her hand on Lily's shoulder as she spoke.

"Good." Lily was proud of her husband for doing that. They thought the same about the situation.

"Speaking of Tom, he's worried about you. He thinks you haven't eaten at all today and insisted that I accompany you to do so. I'll ring down for Anna to bring us some dinner. Shall we eat in the green room?" Mary gestured for Lily to stand up.

The gravid woman struggled to her feet with Mary's help and made her way to the foot of the bed. She took one look back at the man resting there and sighed. Mary rubbed her back.

"We'll get through this Lily. We have been through much as a family over the years and we always come out on top as best we can. This is something you will learn about us, regardless of the circumstances, we always get through it. And now you are one of us. If there is anything you need, you will be taken care of. And your children will never want for anything. I will see to that."

"Thank you Mary. I appreciate that. And if there is anything I can do to help, just let me know." Lily attempted to smile as they left the room and Bates returned to his place beside his fallen friend.

"You can take care of yourself and that baby so we can keep Tom from worrying about you. We need him desperately right now and I fear for him with all that will need to be done in the next few weeks. And we must find George."

"We'll get him home. Whatever it takes." Lily put her arm through her older sister's, grateful for the gesture as the women made their way down the hall.

All the sounds were muffled around him as his consciousness returned to him. It was as though his ears were full of dirt. His mouth too he realized as he licked his lips, begging for some moisture to appear. His ears cleared a bit and he heard the sound of a metal cap twisting off a canteen. He heard the water slosh and suddenly he felt relief as cold water poured into his mouth.

It stopped before he was sated.

"More." He tried to say but his voice failed him with a hoarse whisper. He heard someone shush him.

More water did appear though.

He shivered. He was cold. He couldn't remember where he was or what had brought him to where he currently was.

He swished the water around in his mouth and swallowed slowly.

"Where am I?" He finally found his voice but was promptly shushed again.

"Please I beg, be quiet." A woman's voice whispered in his ear, heavily accented in French.

He tried to look in her direction but it was quite dark wherever they were and his head was pounding so he lay it back and closed his eyes.

He heard the explosions going off around them and felt the rubble fall from above. He reached up to cover his face but the woman had positioned herself over him to keep the worst of the mess off of him. He was grateful.

Once it had been quiet for some time he heard the woman shuffle around him and eventually he heard her whisper again,

"They are gone. We must go now. You must walk and follow me. You can trust me." Her voice was beautiful, soft yet strong, full of emotion, and George hoped the face matched the voice. He had no choice but to trust her as his situation was still a complete mystery to him. He was starting to remember his last conscious thoughts and those were of falling to the earth after his plane had been shot to the point of total destruction.

"James? Where is my friend?" George asked the shadow leading him to who knew where.

She turned around to face him, and even in the darkness George could see that the woman was an astounding beauty.

"You were alone when we found you. The enemy was on our wake so we had to go. You will be safe with us." She turned back around and walked a little quicker gesturing for him to follow.

They went up some stairs, and out a narrow door and into a dusty alley. It was dark, George couldn't tell if it was night time or if the smoke in the air was blocking out the sun.

It was then that he realized he had practically no clothes on. His air force gear had been removed and he was just in a pair of shorts. No wonder he was cold. The young woman turned back to him and saw him rubbing his arms.

"What happened to my clothes?" He asked her as she stopped to help him rub some warmth back into his limbs. He couldn't help but notice how soft her hands were.

"I took them. Put them on another man. A dead man. Hair colour like you. The enemy was just behind us so they would have killed you in those clothes. I saved you."

"I am grateful. Thank you." He tried to smile his most charming smile at her but she turned her head away, as though listening for something. There were gunshots in the distance.

She took his hand and lead him through the small village by using back alleys and old lane ways. They got to the edge of town and she started to run, him in tow, towards an old dilapidated barn. When they got to it, she rapped three times on an old post with a rock and then the two of them ducked inside. She kicked an old hay bail aside and lifted up a worn trap door and gestured for him to go down.

He went down the stairs and stood at the bottom, unsure of how to proceed. She bumped into him.

"Move." She muttered.

He side stepped and tripped over something, falling sharply on his back. The trap door shut and he tried to adjust his eyes to the new darkness. He groaned and covered his face as a lantern was lit silently in the room they now occupied.

Eventually his eyes adjusted and he sat up in shock. The room was much larger than he could have imagined and there were at least a dozen people sitting there. All silent. All looking at him with suspicion. He looked up to the woman who had lead him there and stared as she and another man got into a whispering match in french. He could understand them a bit, his old french lessons were triggering familiarity with the language.

Finally they stopped arguing and the man and his saviour looked down at him.

"I have just spoken words that make us trust you. Do not make me a liar." The woman sounded stern but then winked at him.

Another woman from the shadows threw a bundle at him and he caught it with ease. It was clean clothing. It looked well-used but he didn't care at that point. He stood up and dressed quickly. Someone else left a pair of boots for him and another man gave him a blanket. By the time he was hunkered down against one of the walls he was finally warming up.

The woman who had lead him there sat down beside him and handed him a warm tin cup full of weak tea, he drank it down gratefully. She refilled his cup from an old battered teapot. In the faint light he studied the woman's face. Her features were both delicate and sharp but that equated to beauty. She was young. Perhaps not much younger than himself. He was just a tad smitten with her already. And terribly intrigued.

"Where are we?" He finally managed to ask her.

She turned to him and smiled a half-smile, brushing a strand of jet black hair off her face. He felt his heart skip a beat in his chest.

"We are in occupied France." Her face cringed.

"Where are we specifically? Right here?" He asked, taking another sip of his tea, both hands wrapped around the warm cup.

"This is Deschamps farm. This is a small branch of the Resistance. We will do our best to get you home if you will help us with something." Her face turned away from him for a second and then looked back into his eyes.

He could see the strength of her character by the look on her face just then, her dark eyes both desperate and confident at the same time.

"Anything. I owe you for saving my life." He smiled assurance, his light blue eyes glimmering despite the dim light,

"What can I do?"

to be continued...