I know it's been quite a while since I updated this. I have a lot of vignettes I've written and sometimes it's hard to decide which story to put them in. I debated whether to put this here or in Outtakes. As always reviews would be appreciated.
"They've retired to the drawing room." William's announcement drew a couple of sighs from those sitting around the table in the servants hall.
Bates looked at Tom. "Guess that's the end of our chat." In reply Tom nodded his head as Bates stood up quickly followed by Anna. While Tom and Bates had engaged in conversation with Anna pleasantly chiming in now and then as she sat reading a magazine. Obrien was also at the table sewing a button on a blouse but her only contributions had been an occasional grunt or snort to which no one reacted. As the housemaid said to his lordship's valet "I'll walk upstairs with you" Tom stifled a smile for it was apparent to him if no one else that Anna was smitten with the valet.
Tom lingered at the table as he watched the two of them leave followed by the ever sullen Obrien. It still amazed him that the family needed help in preparing for bed. He shook his head at the thought that one couldn't get into their nightclothes on their own.
It was that rare night that neither old lady Grantham nor Mrs. Crawley had attended dinner at the Abbey so Tom had no reason to remain in the servants hall. The day had been quite pleasant, warmed by a bright spring sun, so he wasn't prepared for the chilly air of the night as he stepped into the courtyard which was dimly lit by a pair of lamps on either side of the entrance door. Yet up above in the sky a bright crescent moon emitted enough light for Tom to find his way to his cottage. As he walked through the stable block he heard muffled laughter coming from the shared quarters above the stables where a couple of grooms and stable hands lived while from one of the stable stalls came the soft neigh of a horse.
His cottage, which in the days when the stables had employed thirty or so men had been the house of the lead groom, sat not far from the garage and the stable block. It was separated from them by an unkept field of shrubs and bushes that grew haphazardly among several trees with a dirt drive that led past his cottage and on to the stable master's house which was probably another mile or so down the drive. He paused where the path to his cottage veered off from the drive and looked up at the sky once again marveling at the beauty of the night time sky so vivid here in the countryside. It was a sight he took in most every evening as he returned to his cottage, taking a few minutes to stare up at the heavens. It was a scene that was ever changing from one night to the next.
His cottage seemed unwelcoming sitting alone and dark at the end of the path. He lit a small fire in the fireplace to take the chill out of the large room that was a combination sitting and dining room. Some nights he returned to the cottage exhausted and fell into bed, other nights, like tonight he felt a bit restless and not yet ready for sleep. Having his own cottage had been one of the draws in deciding to take this job. As someone who had grown up always sharing a bedroom with his brothers the idea of having an entire house for himself had seemed like a bonanza. It was certainly a step up from the tiny room with a shared bath that he had at the old widow's house in the job before this one. He was glad to be away from the other servants and certainly having a small room in the attics like they did had no appeal to him but he'd come to realize at times it could also be quite lonely.
His last afternoon off had been a miserable day with a cold windswept rain keeping him in the garage but today was one of those wonderful spring days with a bright sun warming the air. It was he decided an afternoon to be spent outside. Still learning his way around the estate he took an unfamiliar horse path recommended by one of the stable lads. After a short walk through some woodlands the path opened onto a meadow with a view of a broad expanse of rolling fields. The horse path turned continuing on the edge of the woods and so after stopping to take in the panoramic scene Tom continued walking on the horse path until he came unexpectedly to a crudely built wooden bench that offered a place to sit with the bonus of a lovely view of gently rolling hills, some with sheep grazing on the new spring grass, bordered by stone fences and grand trees full of newly green leaves. It was a tranquil setting so typical of Yorkshire.
He settled onto the bench taking a few minutes to look at the view before pulling from his bag an apple and a book. He must have dozed off because the next thing he knew he felt a heavy breath on the back of his neck and a sound he couldn't quite identify accompanied by a pleasant giggle. "What the feck-" he muttered as he quickly stood up while rubbing his neck. He found to his surprise the heavy breath and neighing was coming from a horse while the giggle was from Lady Sybil.
"Lady Sybil" he managed to say.
"Here I was riding pleasantly along on this delightful day and suddenly the most annoying racket fills the air" she said causing Tom to look around as if trying to find the source of this racket. "And imagine my surprise to find it's the snoring of the chauffeur."
Tom stared at her and indignantly replied "I wasn't sleeping I was reading a book."
An amused Sybil raised her brow and giggled once again. "Rather hard to read a book that's lying face down on one's lap while one's head is leaning back with their eyes closed."
Before Tom could think of a snappy reply Sybil added "must be a pretty boring book."
Tom looked at the book now lying on the ground. He bent over to pick it up and dusted it off.
"So what has you coming out here? I mean surely you didn't come all the way out here for just for a nap?"
Seeing the glint in her eyes Tom laughed. "Are you saying this isn't a perfect spot for a nap? Although I must admit I wasn't expecting a horse to wake me up."
"Oh so you admit you were napping!"
"I'll admit to nothing other than enjoying my afternoon off in the sunshine with a good book and surrounded by beautiful scenery."
She nodded her head as she soaked in the view. "It is lovely here." After a couple of minutes she looked at him. ""Well I guess I should let you get back to your" she paused for a moment or two "book."
Looking so lovely in her dark blue outfit which made her eyes oh so blue Tom found he didn't want her to go. Somehow talking to her out here instead of in the garage or the motor car made it seem more like they were equals than servant and daughter of the manor. "Do you often come riding out here?"
"Actually I don't really ride that much." She sighed as she made herself comfortable on the wooden bench. "Today was one of those days I just had to get away."
He wondered as to what could possibly make someone like her feel that way and curious as to whatever could make a bad day for her.
"You'd think by now they would have grown out of it but no they just never change."
"I'm guessing you're talking about your sisters."
She nodded her head. "I'm so used to it that I often can tune them out when they start bickering but today-" she rubbed her hand across her forehead.
"What was so different today?" Tom asked.
It took her a minute or two to answer. "Nothing really. I swear they could bicker about the color of the grass." She shook her head "when I was little I'd sometimes use their bickering to escape knowing the governess or nanny would be tied up with them." She emitted a light chuckle "sometimes when it was a really nice day outside and I wasn't to escape I wasn't beyond getting them to bicker, it was quite easy actually."
"But now" she continued "we're no longer children and the bickering sometimes seems mean and harsh."
She turned her face to look at him. "Do you have brothers and sisters?"
"Aye" he replied. "An older brother and sister and two sisters and a brother younger."
Her eyes widened. "My that's a big family."
He laughed. "Not in my neighborhood. Some families had eight or nine children and the McDougals on the corner and ten."
She smiled at him. "At least you never had to want for someone to play with all those children around."
"And almost impossible to have a moment alone" he stated.
"Sometimes one can have too many moments alone." He was startled not only by her words but also the melancholy evident in her voice. "I was only eight or so when my sisters decided they were too old to play with me. Not that they were ever the type to chase rabbits or jump in mud puddles or climb trees. I could sometimes still cajole Edith into some adventure as I liked to call them but invariably she'd skin her knee or twist an ankle or-" Sybil shrugged her shoulders.
"My brothers and sisters and the neighborhood kids would have loved having a place like this to play." He looked out at the fields.
"And what would you have played?"
"Oh stick ball of course and tag and" he chuckled "we used to line up cans in the road and try to knock them over with a ball. On a hill like this we'd probably see who could roll down the hill the fastest. Just stupid stuff we'd make up."
"And you'd do all this without bickering?"
"Well we might fight a bit over who got to go first but not really. Besides my mother would box our ears if we started bickering."
Sybil wasn't quite sure what that meant but it was probably too late for her mother to do so.
Tom continued "we had school and then chores after school so what little time we had to play we wouldn't waste it bickering."
Sybil quietly muttered "maybe that's our problem we have nothing but time."
After dinner Sybil wasn't quite ready to retire to bed. She pulled a heavy shawl over her nightgown and quietly left her bedroom. The roof had always been one of her favorite places. She loved being able to see for miles and miles on a clear day and at night sometimes the stars seemed almost within reach.
Long ago she had brought a wooden crate up here to use as a bench. She sat down on it and pulled her shawl a bit tighter around her for up here there was a light wind. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back letting the wind blow gently across her face. Opening her eyes revealed that tonight was one of those nights that the stars faded in and out as clouds moved across the sky.
After watching the stars for a few minutes she turned her head to look out across the lawns towards the village. In the dead of winter one could see the roof tops of the village as well as the spire of the old stone church but now with the trees full of leaves only a few lights, lamp posts most likely, twinkled among the trees.
Despite living so close she'd never spent much time in the village. She could remember walking to the sweet shop where she'd spend minutes deciding what small treat to buy but mainly the village was a place to catch the train or to drive through on the way to Ripon or Thirsk or York. She remembered how much she had envied those children she had seen playing in the school yard.
She had laughed today listening to Branson telling her tales of his childhood, of his adventures with his siblings and friends. He too had laughed at some of the stories she told of her childhood. It had been an unexpected but delightful afternoon. What was most surprising was how easily conversation came with the chauffeur.
Tom felt as bleak as the weather. He should have been in Ripon by now but the slashing rain had slowed his driving to a crawl. There were times he thought he should just pull over to the side of the road and wait for the rain to lessen but … he looked in the rear view mirror to see his passengers … in all honesty he wanted to get this drive over with as soon as possible.
"I do hope you're planning on getting a new hat" Mary practically spit out the words.
"And just what is wrong with this hat?" Edith whined.
"Really Edith you shouldn't be allowed in a millinery."
"As if …"
Tom wished the patter of the rain would drown out the conversation between his passengers. No wonder Sybil was forced to escape from them. Then again maybe he should be happy about the bickering for it had led to that wonderful afternoon.
He looked again in the rear view mirror at his passengers.
"Just what makes you think you're an authority of fashion?"
"Well I certainly am …"
He wished his mother was here to box their ears.
He sighed deeply. How could Sybil be related to these two he wondered.