A/N: Sorry this isn't another chapter of The Betrayal but I go to the lung clinic this week and I needed to think of something lighthearted.
"What is that sound?" Violet tapped her cane on the floor as she looked at Cora.
Sitting on the red sofa across from her mother-in-law, Cora sheepishly looked down at the saucer she held in her lap. She knew she needn't answer for any moment now the source of that thumping noise would be evident when her youngest daughter come barging into the library.
Sybil, skipping into the room, came to a halt next to the sofa where Violet was sitting. Giving one of those smiles that lit up her face, she called out "Good afternoon" before continuing on to the table set with the tea makings.
Cora, ignoring Violet's eye rolling, asked "where are your sisters?"
"Oh they're lollygagging" she merrily replied before picking up a plate and loading it with three chocolate biscuits.
"Lollygagging?" Violet mimicked her youngest grandchild.
Sybil turned towards her grandmother, her face quite serious. "It means they're-"
"I'm quite aware of what it means Sybil."
"It's a rather funny word isn't it Granny." Sybil giggled.
"Sybil is expanding her vocabulary Mama" Robert looked lovingly at his daughter.
Before anything else could be said the lollygagging Mary and Edith entered the library. There was no more discussion of Sybil's vocabulary as the conversation turned to those mundane topics so typical of afternoon tea. That is at least how it went until Sybil asked Carson for some ice cream.
"Sybil we don't have ice cream at tea" Cora quickly stated.
"But Mama I have the collywobbles and I think ice cream would settle them."
"Collywobbles!" it was as if Mary, Edith and Robert were in a chorus.
Violet looked at Cora. "I take it that's another expansion of Sybil's vocabulary?"
In a house as large as Downton, the nursery was a shockingly small windowless room with three small beds, little more than cots really, taking up almost all the floor space. Mary as the eldest and befitting her self-importance occupied the bed that ran lengthwise against one wall while her sisters occupied the two beds that jutted out into the room from the opposite wall. While Mary had her own nightstand crammed between the iron headboard of her bed and the far wall of the nursery, her sisters shared a nightstand that sat between their two beds.
Now that Sybil was considered old enough to sleep in the same room as her sisters, the night nanny slept alone in the adjoining room always on call to soothe away nightmares or sudden illness or, more likely, subdue or quell any outbreaks of discord among the Crawley sisters. She was also charged with ensuring after lights out the girls actually slept but as the elderly nanny was often loudly snoring before her charges closed their eyes the girls sometimes softly talked far into the night. Sometimes that talk wasn't so soft.
It was a usual night in the Downton nursery with the nanny asleep, the sound of her snores drifting through the partially open door, and each of the girls seemed ready to drift off to sleep when Sybil began talking about the strawberries and cream they had had for dessert. It was a surprising topic to bring up since just the week before Mary and Edith had gotten into a tussle when discussing their favorite desserts, something which may have seemed liked a rather innocuous topic but even that proved fertile for conflict between ten year old Mary and nine year old Edith.
"Anything chocolate" Sybil had declared. "Or anything with chocolate sauce or chocolate filling."
"Well that certainly covers a lot" Mary laughed.
"Well it's hard to name just one thing" Sybil replied.
"Charlotte Russe" Mary said.
"Charlotte Russe?" Sybil looked confused.
"We've never had Charlotte Russe" Edith countered.
"I have" Mary retorted.
"Where did you have Charlotte Russe?" Edith demanded.
"I have been to tea parties Edith. Parties you haven't been to."
"You-" Edith began
"Trif-fle" Sybil suddenly blurted out interrupting Edith. Sybil at even five years old was quite perceptive of her sisters' penchant for arguing over even the simplest of things.
"It's trifle darling" Mary corrected her.
"Well it's good especially with lots and lots of cream" Sybil stated "and with that spongy cake."
"How about Mrs. Patmore's orange and almond cake" Edith said.
"Oh I love that too" Sybil clapped her hands in delight.
Mary laughed. "Is there any dessert you don't like Sybil?"
It took Sybil a moment or two before she responded quite solemnly "Well I don't think I've tried them all yet Mary."
"I like Lemon Tart" Edith volunteered.
"That's rather bland" Mary remarked. "Bland and sour just like you."
Pillows were thrown. Hair was pulled. Needless to say it was a night the nanny's sleep was interrupted to quell the fracas between the two older Crawley girls.
"Yes Sybil those strawberry tarts were delicious" Edith dutifully answered her sister.
"I picked those strawberries myself" Sybil proudly proclaimed.
"You told us that when we ate them at dinner." Mary yawned but whether in boredom or sleepiness she wasn't sure but would guess boredom.
"So why do you think they're called strawberries when they're red?" Sybil asked. "Blueberries are blue and blackberries are black so why don't we call strawberries redberries?"
Mary rolled her eyes thankful that in the darkness her little sister couldn't see her. Perhaps if she didn't respond and Edith remained quiet Sybil would go to sleep.
"It just isn't right. They're not even the color of straw so why call them strawberries?" But Sybil clearly wasn't finished with the topic much to Mary's dismay.
Mary glanced over to Sybil's bed where her five-year-old sister was now sitting up with her back resting against the headboard and her little arms folded across her chest. Although the room was too dim to actually see, the only light being a faint glow from the wall sconce through the open doorway, Mary knew the look on her sister's face. It would be a look of equal parts passion and curiosity.
"Well there's lots of red berries … raspberries and … and" Edith grappled trying to think of another red berry. "Red currrants and those gooseberries we had last week" she practically thundered in triumph.
"Gooseberries!" Sybil squealed before breaking out in a hearty laugh.
"Gooseberries" she repeated. "Who was silly enough to name them gooseberries? They're not even the color of gooses."
"Geese" Edith corrected her sister.
"Gooseberries are the color of geese?"
"No silly. If you have more than one goose they're called geese."
"I don't think I've ever seen a red geese"
Mary wanted to scream listening to her sisters' conversation although it might have been just a step of from their usual inane banter. Like the conversation whether it would be better to be a bird or a lion (really of all the animals in the world a bird?) and just a couple of nights ago it had been what wild animal would be the most fun to ride. Although she hadn't participated in that stupid conversation Sybil had declared "Oh Mary you should ride a giraffe since it's tall and graceful like you."
Well of course I'm graceful especially compared to you two Mary thought. Sybil was too excitable to be graceful. Sybil mostly moved in hops or skips and even sitting down she couldn't keep still what with tapping her toes or squirming around. And Edith … well Edith was just too … Mary tried thinking of how to describe Edith's movements. Sneaky. Clomping. Mary covered her mouth to keep from giggling out loud just thinking about Edith being graceful.
"and another thing" Sybil was continuing "raspberries are red so how can you have a black raspberry?"
Mary sighed. Who knows how long this conversation could go on she thought. Once Sybil had something on her mind well she … and lately Sybil had been into words and spending far too much time in the kitchens. Although there was that great word Sybil had learned from listening to Mrs. Patmore. What was it? Blunderbuss! Mary giggled. That was a perfect word for Edith.