Elsie looked up, seeing Isobel walking toward her, started to stand but Isobel shook her hand and Elsie sat back down.
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Carson." Isobel said, smiling. Elsie nodded.
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Crawley." Elsie replied. Isobel pointed to the space on the blanket next to Elsie.
"Might I sit down?" Isobel asked nicely. Elsie nodded, smiling.
"Of course." Elsie told her, putting her book down. Isobel sat down gracefully. She turned to Elsie and sighed.
"How are you?" Isobel asked. Elsie sighed and nodded her head.
"I'm well." She said. She looked down at Sybbie and smiled, putting her hand on Sybbie's back. "It's been wonderful having her in the cottage. It makes us feel young, to have a young spirit in the house." Elsie said. She looked back up to Isobel and smiled softly. Isobel nodded.
"I understand. That's how I feel when I have George. He reminds me so much of Matthew. It's like his spirit is alive wherever George is." Isobel said, tears in her eyes. Elsie nodded. She looked up at smiled. Isobel turned around and saw Mrs. Patmore walking toward them with two cups of tea.
"Here we are. I thought you could use some." She told them, handing one cup to Elsie and the other to Isobel, smiling. Both women accepted them graciously.
"Thank you very much." Elsie said, taking a sip of hers. Mrs. Patmore nodded and walked back toward the tent. Isobel and Elsie sat silently, watching the game.
"Do you think he'll ever retire?" Isobel asked, breaking the silence. Elsie sat quietly, thinking, for a few minutes before answering.
"I think so. Soon actually. I think we both will. Now that my sister is dead, God rest her soul, I can retire, and his hands are giving him trouble. Mr. Branson loves to visit us with Miss Sybbie, so we'll have visitors. I don't think it scares him as much as it used to, now he has a life outside the Abbey." Elsie said, watching her husband play.
"You mean now that he, has you?" Isobel asked, drinking her tea. Elsie smiled and nodded, cheeks blushing.
"Yes, I think so. And I feel the same way. We love each other, Mrs. Crawley, and we love to be together, and that is what makes him think about a life outside of the Abbey. And he may have to face it soon." Elsie said. She looked down at Sybbie and smiled, brushing her hair out of her face.
"You love her as well, don't you?" Isobel asked, pointing to Sybbie when Elsie looked up at her. Elsie nodded.
"I do. She's the granddaughter I'll never have. She calls us Grandma and Grandpa." Elsie said. Isobel chuckled at the thought.
"Mr. Carson lets her?" Isobel asked. Elsie nodded, smiling.
"Yes. He wants her to feel comfortable with us, and he knows that's the only way she will be. Tom and I talked about it and he wants to be like our son, like the son we never had, and he wants us to be the parents he never had. Naturally Mr. Carson was against it, but he came around. Now he even calls Tom by his first name, and Tom calls us Mum and Dad." Elsie said, smiling happily. Isobel nodded.
"Quite right, too. You two are more like parents then his parents ever were. And please, call me Isobel." Isobel said, putting her hand on Elsie's arm. Elsie nodded.
"Alright, but only if you call me Elsie. And not in front of Mr. Carson. He'd have a heart attack." Elsie said, chuckling. Isobel agreed, laughing. Elsie saw Charles look at them, confusion on his face. Elsie smiled and waved at him and he waved back before paying attention to the game. "What do you think the Dowager Countess thinks about you coming over here?" Elsie asked, watching Violet watching them. Isobel shook her head, also watching Violet. She waved and Violet looked away.
"I think she thinks I'm a bit mad, but I think she understands." Isobel said, chuckling. "She has a heart in there somewhere, I just don't know where." Elsie nodded in understanding. They heard a groan and looked over to see Sybbie sitting up, rubbing her eyes. Elsie rubbed the girls back, setting her teacup down. Sybbie moved to sit in Elsie's lap leaning back against her. Elsie wrapped her arms around the girl and sighed.
"Are you hungry?" Elsie asked, rocking back and forth. Sybbie nodded sluggishly, still tired. Elsie opened the basket they brought and pulled out a sandwich, handing it to Sybbie. Sybbie took it and ate slowly, watching the game. Elsie turned to Isobel. "Would you like some? I have fruit if you would prefer." Elsie said, taking the bowl of fruit out of the basket. Isobel nodded.
"Fruit, I think." Isobel said, taking some strawberries. Elsie nodded, taking some herself. "George is coming to my house next weekend. We should get together then. Elsie nodded, eating the fruit.
"We have two weeks off and she'll be with us the whole time, so we'll still have her next weekend. Your house or mine?" Elsie asked. Isobel smiled, thinking.
"Yours." She said after a moment. "I would like to see it." Elsie nodded, smiling.
"We love it. Sybbie has her own room, don't you?" Elsie said, tickling the girl Sybbie laughed, holding the sandwich. She nodded, smiling, taking another bite of it. Elsie took some lemonade out of the basket and lifted it up toward Isobel. Isobel nodded and Elsie poured some in a cup, handing it to her. Isobel took and drink, a smile on her face.
"It's lovely." Isobel said. Elsie smiled, chuckling.
"I'll tell Mr. Carson you said so. He made it himself. He was quite proud." Elsie said, taking a drink out of her own cup. Sybbie had finished her sandwich and was coloring on the paper and colored pencils she brought. Isobel and Elsie chatted for a few more minutes, before turning to Sybbie. "Would you like to go see everyone else?" Elsie asked, putting everything away. Sybbie nodded excitedly, putting her paper and pencils away. She stood up and helped Elsie and Isobel stand before taking Elsie's hand and leading them toward the Crawley's.