Chapter 18
Mrs Hughes looked at the tiny figure with the long nightgown, clutching a pillow to the chest and walking uncertainly towards. She was surprised and worried about this sudden appearance.
"Lady Sybil what on earth are you doing here in here at this ungodly hour?" Mrs Hughes asked, her voice a bit stern.
"Mrs Hughes…" Sybil began but a sob broke out and she stood in the middle of the corridor several steps away from Mrs Hughes, frozen on the spot, crying loudly and clutching her pillow tightly.
Mrs Hughes slowly walked across to where the young girl stood and gently placed her hands on the little girl's shoulders but Sybil started crying even more, trembling, and the sobs wracking her entire small body. The Housekeeper looked at the little girl, now with pity. She remembered that she too was once a little girl, a fact she's almost forgotten. She slowly dropped on to her knees, held the little girl by her arms and looked gently at the teary eyed girl with kindness flowing ought of the deep blue of her eyes. Sybil looked at the kind woman whose eyes pierced her own, resulting only in another body wracking sob.
Mrs Hughes drew Sybil closer and the little girl buried her face in the Housekeeper's neck and cried. Her tears wetting the unforgiving black material of the Housekeeper's dress. Mrs Hughes held the little girl tight to her and her own heart sank as the little girl's sobs vibrated against her body, slightly subdued by the pillow in between them. She whispered comforting words into the ears of the young girl as they stayed there in the corridor, the darkness around them, only the light from the open door illuminating them, contrasting the dark black on the Housekeeper and the white nightgown of the young girl.
As she felt the sobs subsiding Mrs Hughes gently broke herself from the embrace and held the little girl's head in one hand as she wiped the tears off from the other and smiled at her.
"There you are my dear. Why on earth were you down here at this time of the night? What if you had hurt yourself?" Mrs Hughes asked much more softly now, the sternness of her voice induced by her initial now long gone.
"I wanted to see you. I was so afraid," Sybil whispered with tears forming in her eyes again.
"I am here Milady. Now be a good girl and no more tears," Mrs Hughes said and Sybil smiled through her tears, then proceeding to dry her tears ferociously with her little hands.
"Now let's get a certain young, wandering little lady upstairs to the nursery," Mrs Hughes said taking the girl's little hand in hers.
Her words were barely out of her mouth when Sybil cried, "Noooo."
"What is it Milady? Nanny will be very surprised and possibly angry when she sees that you are not in bed."
"Nanny's ill. Only Sophie's there," Sybil whispered.
"Ah yes. I remember now," Mrs Hughes replied having realised that she had forgotten that sent the young maid up to stay at the nursery because Nanny was ill. She realised that she was forgetting a great many minute things because of the strain of the work placed in her hands.
"Mr Carson's already gone up to bed. And there's no one else down here now. What if I was gone too? What if you would have been all alone in the dark here? Hmm?" Mrs Hughes asked quite worried.
"But you were here…" Sybil whispered.
"Yes, I was. And I would probably have been for quite some time more," Mrs Hughes said rather absentmindedly.
"You weren't going to go to sleep? It's very late in the night now" Sybil asked, now she being the one with concern in her eyes.
"That is a question I should be asking a certain young lady," Mrs Hughes said playfully furrowing her brow.
"I had a nightmare Mrs Hughes. A very, very bad nightmare. I tried to wake Sophie but she wouldn't get up. I tried to go to Mama's room but I guessed it must be locked. I couldn't think of anywhere else. I guessed you might be downstairs. Or at least even Mr Carson," Sybil said, her voice becoming louder now.
Mrs Hughes got on to feet and led the little girl into her sitting room. She sat herself on the settee and guided the girl on to her lap. Her hands wrapped around the little girl and her pillow.
"You could tell me about it Milady, if you think it would help. And then let's get you back up to the nursery.
"Yes of course. That was why I came looking for you. I was terrified Mrs Hughes," Sybil began loudly but her voice died down into a whisper and tears formed in her eyes.
"You are safe now Milady. I'm right here. Always here," Mrs Hughes replied kindly as she tightened her grasp on the little girl who sat sideways on her lap, her little head now protectively tucked under the Housekeeper's chin.
"There was a fire. A huge fire," Sybil whispered against Mrs Hughes' chest.
"Mhmmm," Mrs Hughes urged Sybil to continue.
"And I was out of the house looking at the front entrance. Almost everyone was out but the house was burning badly. But… but… when I looked around I saw that not everyone was out and when I looked at the front door again through the smoke I saw… I saw you, Anna and… and Mama too," Sybil said supressing a sob and Mrs Hughes stroked the girl's back.
"The fire was very high but I could see all of you. Anna was crying and you were holding her Mrs Hughes… just… just like this. Mama was crying too. She was holding her hands to her face and trying to breath but she… but she couldn't," Sybil stopped to cry a little again. Mrs Hughes was overcome with emotion at how terrified the little girl was and she kissed the top of her head giving Sybil the courage to begin again.
"I screamed asking you to come but the fire was too high and none of you were able to even try. I tried to run back into the house but Papa and Mary pulled me back saying that rescuing you were impossible and the fire men had to give up. I cried loudly but I couldn't go back and they put me in an open cart. I think it was the Governess cart and the smoke was thicker. When I kept of watching the front door collapse and then you were not there. The fire was burning and I couldn't see you. I thought you were buried under the fire. All of you. Anna, Mama and you," Sybil finished and cried very loudly. Mrs Hughes' heart leapt out to the little girl. She remembered how she held Becky in the middle of the night when she had a bad dream as they slept together in their narrow bed.
She felt the little girl trembling slightly in her arms and Elsie Hughes' heart melted not for the first time for the little girl in her childish world, who opened her up like a blooming flower after all those years closed away beneath black and a façade of emotions. An imprisonment she had enforced upon herself, for reasons she couldn't help.
"Oh Milady. Everyone is safe. Her Ladyship is probably fast asleep. And I sent Anna up hours ago, she must be asleep now too, probably dreaming of a handsome prince," Mrs Hughes said with a chuckle as she felt the little girl relax in her arms and giggle softly, and she continued, "besides as far as I know, this house has not even had a leaking roof let alone a fire." She felt the little girl let out a slight laugh against her chest and the Housekeeper couldn't help but smile as she tightened her hold on the little girl.
After quite a long pause Mrs Hughes began again, her voice now filled with emotion. "And I… Milady, I am here. Always." She pressed a kiss onto the dark head of hair snuggled against her armed with a pillow and Sybil snuggled even more impossibly close to the Housekeeper that she very much adored.
The night air swallowed the essence of two kind and loving souls as their hearts filled with compassion, always filled to the brim, now overflowed and filled the night and darkness around them. And in the distance, hidden in the night, the trees softly cried.
To be continued…
Thank you so much for your reviews! I'm so grateful. I had finished writing this chapter and thought it to be perfect when something went wrong with my pc and it started installing updates and half of the chapter was lost. But thankfully I was somehow able to bring it back again (fortunately I was quite at the end of the chapter when disaster struck. Hope you like this chapter. I promise to be back with a new one as soon as possible!