A/N: Wow I can't believe all the reviews for the last chapter! It so warmed my heart and inspires me to continue this series. Thank you all. As I said previously I need to rename this and I think the new name will be The Crawley Girls so the next chapter will be posted under that name.
"But I wanted a brother not another sister." Five year old Mary stomped her foot before throwing her stuffed horse across the room in protest. She then stood there her arms folded across her chest glaring at her younger sister.
Four year old Edith wasn't quite sure what to make of the news. Other than her cousin Patrick she hadn't really been around boys and he wasn't much fun to play with since he always wanted to be the boss. Which if she thought about it was much like being with her sister Mary. Maybe with a new sister she'd have someone who would play what she wanted to play.
"Can we trade her in for a brother?" Mary asked hopefully.
"It doesn't work that way Lady Mary" the nanny replied. Like every member of the household staff, she knew the family, especially old lady Grantham, had wanted a boy since his lordship needed an heir but she very much doubted that was the reason for Lady Mary's disappointment.
The nanny glanced across the room at Lady Edith. This was the third family she had worked for and in many ways she found this job to be the hardest due to the constant bickering between the sisters.
"When can I see her?" Edith asked. Maybe if Mary was disappointed or annoyed that the new baby was a girl, she wouldn't be interested in the baby.
Before the nanny could reply Mary groused "Well if she looks like you did she's skinny and pale and bald and will be crying."
The nanny shook her head. "Now Lady Mary you were too young to remember what Lady Edith looked like." Turning to the pale little red head she added "You were a very pretty baby."
It wasn't until the next afternoon, after tea time, that Robert appeared in the nursery.
"Papa … Papa" Edith jumped out of her chair and ran towards her father. "Can we see her now?"
His heart warmed by how excited she seemed, Robert scooped her up in his arms. "Would you like to see your new sister?"
"Oh yes Papa" she exclaimed, her head nodding up and down as if to emphasize her words.
"Granny says her name isn't English" Mary declared.
Robert smiled indulgently at his oldest daughter who even at this tender age was a force to be reckoned with and so reminded him of his mother. "No it isn't ... it's from the ancient Greeks."
"But isn't she English like me and Edith?"
"Yes she's quite English. Just like you two" quickly answered Robert after seeing Cora cringe a bit hearing this from her oldest daughter. He just didn't think now was the time to remind Mary that her mother was American making her and Edith technically half American.
"So why does she have a Greek name?"
Robert was a bit perplexed why Mary was so concerned about the baby's name. "I just thought it was a pretty name."
"But aren't there any other pretty English names?"
Robert looked over Mary's head to his wife who was sitting in her bed, his face pleading for some help.
"Well Mary we already used the prettiest English names when we named you and Edith" Cora stated.
"So even though we call her Sybil she'll still be English?"
"Of course dear. Just like you and Edith."
Mary folded her arms over her chest as she looked down into the bassinet. "She is very pretty and she deserves a pretty name."
"Would you like to hold Sybil?" Edith smiled and joyfully bobbed her head up and down in reply to her mother's question.
Motioning for Edith to come sit beside her, Edith used the upholstered bench at the foot of the bed to carefully climb up onto her parents' big four poster bed. Sitting on top of the covers beside her mother she peered down at the bundle in her mother's arms.
When Edith had her first look at her new sister, who appeared to be sleeping, she quickly noted that the baby didn't look pale or skinny. She was disappointed to see her head was covered by dark hair which resembled both her mother's and sister's unlike her own pale red hair.
As Edith gently patted the top of the baby's head, Sybil yawned and started moving her tiny arms causing Edith to giggle. Edith was delighted when Sybil grasped one of her fingers. When Sybil finally opened her eyes, Edith gasped as she caught sight of the baby's bright blue eyes.
Glancing up at her mother, Edith murmured "she looks like you Mama."
Edith thought that was a good thing for maybe it meant this sister would be nicer than Mary.
"When will she be able to walk?" Edith looked at three month old Sybil sitting in her mother's lap.
"Babies can't walk silly" Mary piped up.
"I know that" Edith snapped back at her sister. "I just want to know how much longer it will be before she can walk."
Cora looked down at her gently cooing baby in her lap and smiled silently praying that this one would be much easier to handle than her older sisters.
Lady Sybil Crawley, all of eight months, was now crawling and wreaking havoc in the carefully ordered world of the Downton nursery. Mary and Edith, through their actions more so than words, had established boundaries with each knowing their own toys and even their own play areas. Little Sybil of course clearly had no concept of toy ownership or territory and considered everything within her reach fair game much to the dismay of both Mary and Edith. And with her prowess at crawling Sybil was able to cover all of the nursery making everything on or close to the floor within her reach. What prevented total disaster in the nursery was that Sybil even at this early age displayed the characteristics that would later define her.
She seemed to treat both Mary and Edith equally, following or maybe pestering whichever one was doing something or playing with something that caught her attention. She would grab a toy out of curiosity rather than meanness.
But what really endeared Sybil to her sisters and made it so hard to stay mad at her was that she had a smile that lit up her face and her hardy laugh, and she laughed often, caused even Mary and Edith to laugh. It was a sound that had been sorely lacking in the nursery.
A/N: I know I'm doing something that I didn't ever intend to do - writing 3 stories at one time. But with the heaviness of Sybil's Child and The Betrayal I need to lighten things a bit and this story does that for me.