Chapter 3

A new day had dawned outside and the golden rays of sunshine were gently kissing the grass and flowers outside, slowly sneaking through windows and thin curtains. The day was beginning but downstairs everyone was already a quarter of the way through their working day. Mrs Hughes had already done her morning rounds, supervised the housemaids who were getting the many rooms of the house ready for the Family and made sure the scullery maids had finished making fires and were downstairs by then. The upstairs breakfast would begin soon but Mrs Hughes had a large stack of invoices to deal with before luncheon. The new grocery orders would come before luncheon and a fresh pile of invoices would fill her desk and Mrs Hughes knew that fighting one battle at a time was easier than two together.

Mrs Hughes was not even half way through the invoices when an almost quiet tap on the door of her sitting room brought her from the world of numbers to that of the living. For a fraction of a second she wondered who it can be. She wondered whether it was Jane who was acting very timid after yesterday's dressing down.

"Come in," she answered and the door opened to reveal not Jane nor Anna. Not even Mr Carson but little Lady Sybil with her eyes red and tears flowing down her chubby cheeks.

"Oh Milady," Mrs Hughes stood from her chair and the little girl ran towards her and wrapped her arms around her waist and cried loudly.

"There, there my dear. What is it, hmm?" she asked the little girl who kept on crying. For a moment Mrs Hughes felt the tenderness of the situation creeping up her body. She felt like a mother comforting her dearest little girl. She remembered how she consoled Anna when she was a young housemaid of just sixteen years, found crying in this very sitting room because some footmen had tried to harass her and she wanted her mother. This felt much the same but different at the same time. This was a very little girl with a much tender world and gentle emotions unlike that of a teenager.

Finally the little girl looked up at Mrs Hughes' kind blue eyes and whispered, "I'm running away Mrs Hughes."

"Oh dearie why is that? Come here, let's sit down and you tell all about it to me," she led the girl towards the settee and then sat down beside her.

"I don't want… to be here… anymore… Mrs Hughes," Sybil whispered amidst sobs.

"So why are you running away dear? It would upset your mother very much," Mrs Hughes asked treating the girl quite like a grown up, making Sybil feel important.

"It's Mary and Edith. They keep on saying they don't like me so I wanted to run away. Get away from them. I'll of course leave a letter for Mama telling where I am going and I'll find some work for me," Sybil replied, her sobs easing a little as she explained her childish plan to Mrs Hughes.

"But you know it would hurt your Mama and Papa a lot," Mrs Hughes still played on treating Sybil with the same seriousness as earlier realising that the girl needed some space for her own. Scoldings would not do.

"Yes, probably it would," Sybil's enthusiastic look faded for a moment and the lit up again.

"I know! Can I be a housemaid here, Mrs Hughes? I already know how to make my bed, I asked Anna to teach me. Mary doesn't! You can train me," Sybil's proposition made Mrs Hughes chuckle.

"So you want to be a housemaid here, milady?" Mrs Hughes asked putting on a mock frown to look as if she is actually considering employing Sybil.

"Yes, I think so. Would you take me?" Sybil asked excitedly.

"Well…" Mrs Hughes began to think, "I think I might take you in milady. You'll have to be in Daisy's room, there's no space elsewhere but I think she snore," Mrs Hughes replied quite excited about this little game she was playing. She didn't know at all if Daisy snored but chuckled happily at her white lie as Sybil scrunched her face at the mention of her possible roommate's snoring.

"Can't I sleep next to Anna?" Sybil asked innocently, still believing that she was actually going to be a housemaid.

"There's Gwen in Anna's room," Mrs Hughes replied, eyes twinkling as she watched the rebellious little girl.

"Can I…" Sybil stalled for a moment and started again, "can I sleep next to you Mrs Hughes?"

"Well… what would I say to the housemaids?" Mrs Hughes asked raising an eyebrow, quite amused by the direction of the conversation. But deep down in her mind she pictured the image. The little girl curled up against her in bed. Her little head resting in her arm. She could almost feel the warmth on her stomach and chest by thinking about a child cuddling against her. Long buried feelings surfaced again with a slight vengeance and she felt tears gathering in her eyes. She thought the child would not notice but Sybil was an attentive girl and an instant she saw the Housekeeper's eyes glisten with unshed tears. She reached a little hand to Mrs Hughes' hand and stroked her tiny fingers against Mrs Hughes' fingers, feeling the wrinkles and the hardened places on her palms due to decades of hard work.

"Do you get lonely Mrs Hughes?" Sybil asked in a soft whisper and a single tear escaped Mrs Hughes' eye.

"Sometimes yes, I miss my family and home but Downton is home to me now as much as Scotland is," she replied, smiling at the kind, little child.

Sybil noticed that a change of conversation was in order so she decided to change tracks and turned on a very bright and determined look, "So when do I start Mrs Hughes? Can I start today?"

"Hmmm… alright," Mrs Hughes wiped the trace of the tear which ran along her cheek and smiled.

"What should I do? Make a bed?" Sybil asked excitedly.

"Oh there's much more to learn before that milady," Mrs Hughes replied tactfully, "how about you help me with these numbers?"

"I'd be glad to!" Sybil literally skipped on the spot.

"Very well," Mrs Hughes said as she led the girl up to her desk. She sat down on her chair and took Sybil on to her lap. Immediately Sybil made herself comfortable on Mrs Hughes' lap and leaned slightly against her chest.

"So let's start. I'm working on the ledger. Filling in the some invoices. So do you know how much is this?" Mrs Hughes asked pointing at an invoice for sugar and flour.

"Twenty?" Sybil asked, not very sure about the number. Mrs Hughes nodded and they set to work with Mrs Hughes filling in the ledger and Sybil helping or rather imagining helping Mrs Hughes.

Mrs Hughes relished this precious moment. She always had an affinity to direct her affection towards the youngest Crawley daughter who was also the kindest and disliked the much stubborn and proud eldest. The middle one, she liked quite a lot, being mostly quiet and reserved. But of course she was mean at times too, quite nastily. But this bundle of joy leaning against her chest had not even a streak of unkindness in her and thus ended up being her favourite. Mrs Hughes couldn't help but stroke the girl's head occasionally when she was clever and savoured this beautiful feeling of having a child with her, a feeling she would never be able to describe.

To be continued...

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