Chapter 10
...
The Gardens of Branksom House
St. James's Square
London
1886
...
Tom could feel his heart race as he let himself be led by the hand into the cool summer night. The music faded as their distance from the house grew, replaced only with the sounds of their mingled breathing and footsteps.
Despite the foreignness of his extravagant surroundings and the tightness of his morning coat...with Sybil, Lady Sybil, Tom Branson had felt better than he had in weeks.
He watched how a mischievous spark lit up her eyes as she shamelessly led him away from the party, the moonlight spilling out on to her hair and dress. Even though it made him feel more than a little corny, he couldn't help but recall some of the lines from Shakespeare that The Christian Brothers had once drummed into his head.
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief, that thou, her maid, art far more fair than she.
While a fifteen years old Tom had only scoffed and rolled his eyes at such words of tenderness, with Sybil such sentiments felt nothing but natural. In all honesty, he had never once believed that he could feel so enchanted by anyone...much less an English Lady.
But here he was...
They had gone several yards from the stately looking house when the reality of their situation once again begun to rear it's head in Tom's mind.
Having been surrounding all evening by people of his beloved's ilk, Tom found himself looking across at Sybil and seeing not only the free spirited woman whom he had fallen head over heels in love with, but the young aristocrat whom all of the other noblemen and noblewomen in the ballroom seemed to see her as.
He was a working class politician and she was an Earl's daughter, could they be any further apart? Would it even be right from him to declare his feelings for her when the world would be so fervently against them?
"Look at you...", Tom said, trying to keep his voice light-hearted and teasing as he finally brought up the elephant that had been in the room between them ever since Sybil had shared the truth of her background with him. "...a proper lady!"
At this Sybil raised her eyebrows questioningly, as though she were admonishing him for calling her such a thing. "Don't be silly! I'm the same person that you've known all summer", she said, squeezing his fingers. "The only difference is I'm wearing a nicer dress."
She glanced briefly back towards at the house, as though to be sure no one was watching at the windows before tugging him gently by the hand across the rest of courtyard and into the gardens, evidently heading towards the opening to a small but dense hedge maze.
Tom followed her, curious to see where Sybil was so purposefully taking them. The more cynical part of him, the part that was trying to prepare his heart for hurt, wondered if she may be taking them to such a private setting to avoid public embarrassment when she renounced their growing attachment.
Was he a love-struck fool? Did she really care for him as he did for her?
However, the romantic him could see clearly the emotions that shone so brightly in her eyes, he recognised them in her because he felt the same ones welling up inside himself.
Excitement. Hope. Passion. Fear. Love.
He smiled affectionately and followed her, trying to put the racing doubts in his mind at ease.
"I missed you", Tom could hardly prevent himself from breathing out.
There it was, out in the open...and that wasn't even half of it...
A worried frown briefly crossed Sybil's face, her grip on his hand grew vice-like and her expression contemplative.
Tom knew that she was even more conscious then he was of the impropriety of such a declaration between two young people whose relationship may never be approved of by either of their families...but in that moment, he couldn't help it.
After a few moments, Sybil's expression became increasingly decisive and she smiled confidently up at him in return. Her actions almost managed to reassure him that she truly didn't care what people would do if the pair of them were to be found out. "I missed you too."
Tom could feel a schoolboy grin makes it way on to his face upon hearing her words. He was delighted, elated and relieved. Sybil laughed aloud (a sound he had truly missed in their time apart). She tugged teasingly on the cuffs of his jacket, her eyes admiring him.
"You say that I'm all dressed up for the evening but look at yourself, Tom. The clothes doth oft proclaim the man!"
Tom glanced down at his own attire in mild distaste. He knew that it would be easier to laugh and go along with her jokes and keep the peace between after their last falling out, but that would not be true to their fiery and passionate spirits.
And besides, the idea of being in any way like the vast majority of men in The Napier's Ballroom made him feel quite uncomfortable, as though he had betrayed the very principles that he had always stood for.
Surely, Sybil could understand that.
"I'm no gentleman...", he said, unable to help but grumble decidedly under his breath. "...and I won't ever be."
It was a matter that he wished to be nothing but completely forthright with her about. Tom wanted to make sure Sybil knew that he could, and would, never be like the men her parents would have intended her to be with...not ever.
"For god's sake, Tom. I'm teasing you!", Sybil replied, frowning slightly. Her voice grew a little sharper and her cheeks reddened. "And besides I'm sure you could have easily fooled anyone in that room tonight. Look at you!"
At this, Tom's complexion only darkened further. Suddenly, he became very aware of how they had both been so adamant to keep their relationship a secret over the last few weeks.
Now though, he didn't care who knew that he loved Sybil. He would tell the whole world if he could. He would shout it from the rooftops...but why then was it so bloody hard to tell her?
Was it because Tom knew how easily Sybil could break his heart?
He saw the way she had looked over her shoulder all the time when they were together...was Sybil ashamed of him? Was she really so afraid of what her posh family would say if they knew how happy she was to spend her hours with a fella like him?
"Is that why we're hiding in the garden?", Tom responded sarcastically, bitterly... feeling positively terrified of her answer. "Is that why we're here whispering in the bushes, because of how well that I fit in?"
...
The Ballroom of The Napier's London Residence
Branksom House.
St James Square
London
...
Viscount Branksom sighed deeply over the rim of his whiskey glass, glancing sideways at his dear friend of over forty years. "I'm afraid tonight is mine and Evelyn's last in London for the season. We have a meeting tomorrow at noon with some of our tenants on the estate. Evelyn is very hands on about those sorts of things, you know? "
Robert Crawley frowned at the revelation. "Oh what a pity! I do hope nothing is the matter."
Viscount Branksom's eyes wandered vaguely to a pillared corner at the other side of the ballroom where his and Robert's eldest children stood talking with a friend of Evelyn, a Turkish fellow, as they had been for the better part of the evening.
He watched Mary and Evelyn, noticing the blatant lack of affection between them. It was fairly obvious to all with eyes that there was to be no engagement to be celebrated in either the Crawley or Napier household anytime soon. "Oh I don't think it so much of a pity. It seems Evelyn and Mary were not meant to unite our families."
Robert's eyes followed the path of his friend's. He sighed, understanding perfectly the other man's meaning. "I'm afraid that you're probably right", he replied, taking a mouthful of his own drink, a great deal deeper than it's predecessor.
"I was wondering if you wouldn't mind doing me a favour, Robert?", Viscount Branksom said after a few moments apparently spent deep in thought.
Curiously, Robert turned away from his eldest daughter and her companions, returning his attention to the other man. "Well, of course", he responded dutifully. "Anything for an old friend."
"Would you mind very much if Kemal Pamuk were to stay on with you at Grantham House. He seems rather interested in experiencing the rest of the season and given that we are returning north tomorrow, I would rather close up Branksom House before the summer is out. "
Robert, having half expected a task that was a lot more taxing, smiled reassuringly and patted Viscount Branksom on the back. It was the least he could do for an old friend that he had once hoped would one day be a father in law to his eldest daughter.
"Consider it done."
A/N: Hello everyone! I hope you are all good. I'm so sorry for the late update. Life has been absolutely crazy recently! I really really hope you enjoyed this chapter and would absolutely love to hear from you all. It would honestly make my day and it is such a great motivation for my muse haha!
Thanks, as always for reading!
BTW: in case anyone was wondering, Tom is quoting Romeo and Juliet in this chapter and Sybil was quoting Hamlet. Because who doesn't like a little Shakespeare?
Oh and a short note about The Christian Brothers Secondary School that I mentioned :
The O'Connell School is a secondary and a primary school for boys located on North Richmond Street in Dublin, Ireland. The school, named in honour of the leader of Catholic Emancipation, Daniel O'Connell, has the distinction of being the oldest surviving Christian Brothers school in Dublin, having been first established in 1829. It is now under the trusteeship of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust. The school was for many years dubbed the "working man's Belvedere College" (in reference to the nearby fee-paying school of that name, and due to its good reputation). James Joyce transferred from O'Connell School to Belvedere after being offered a place there.
