Tom looked around the room with its timbered beams crisscrossing the low ceiling, whitewashed walls of crushed shells and stone, and a huge stone fireplace that during the winter months probably warmed the entire room but now had only the barest of fires whose embers gave the room a romantic glow while erasing any chill lingering from the recent storm. Perched on the small rise just above the harbor the restaurant's windows had a lovely view of the harbor where gas lamps set along the wooden piers illuminated boats gently bobbing up and down and the beacon of the tall white lighthouse beamed out into the darken sky and cast rays of light on the Irish sea.
Seated opposite from him, Sybil stretched out her arm across the starch white tablecloth and her hand clasped his. "This is lovely Tom."
He thought her smile was as bright as any lighthouse beacon. It was a treat for them to be in a restaurant like this since the rare times they ate out were usually at the local pub or the two or three times when out exploring Dublin city they had lunch or tea at a tea shop.
"Quite different from your first night in Ireland" he replied with a gentle chuckle.
The look that crossed her face before she turned towards the window alarmed him that he had ruined the mood and he gently squeezed her hand. Still looking out the window, her voice barely above a whisper she said "Then I wasn't sure what to expect. I was scared your family wouldn't like me or accept me. I remember you standing so close to me with your hand gently rubbing up and down my back giving me encouragement. "
She turned back to face him, her eyes twinkling and her lips curved into an impish smile. "And I remember that night lying in that small bed in that room with your two sisters and thinking soon … soon I'll be lying in a bed with him and wondering what that would be like."
She leaned in towards him as if telling him a secret. "I don't have to wonder about that anymore."
The meal was wonderful. They splurged on an appetizer of Dublin Bay prawns followed by a local fish caught that morning and grilled to perfection accompanied by roasted potatoes and carrots. Proclaiming they were too full neither ordered desert but after their empty plates were taken by the waiter they lingered at the table finishing the bottle of wine.
Delighted that the food had been as good as they hoped they contentedly walked back to their hotel with her arm looped tightly through his.
"I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't remember the significance of today" Sybil softly spoke. "How could I have not remembered?"
Whatever thoughts Tom had of after dinner delights were crushed when he returned from the loo to find Sybil lying in bed dressed in her nightclothes fast asleep. As he eased into the comfy bed he thought she might awake and for a moment it appeared she would when he laid down next to her and kissed her forehead. With her eyes closed she snuggled up against his chest, sighed deeply and then drifted off to sleep once again.
In the darken room, Tom felt a sudden chill. He pulled the covers a bit tighter and moved closer to … he sat upright as he realized he was alone. He looked towards the loo and even in the dim light could tell it was empty. Wondering where the chill was coming from he looked at the French door and noticed it was slightly ajar.
Wrapping the bed's coverlet around him he went to close it but as he approached the door he sensed someone was out on the balcony. Looking through the glass door he saw a figure sitting in one of the wrought iron chairs and it took him a moment to realize it was Sybil.
Stepping out onto the balcony he saw that she was wearing her coat over her silk night robe. "Sybil love whatever are you doing out here in the cold?"
She didn't look at him but continued staring straight ahead to the harbor. The gas lamps on the piers were still lit but their brightness was dwarfed by the brilliance of the lighthouse beacon which shimmered across the blacken sky while casting rays of glimmering light on the sea below. The air was still as if the afternoon storm had blown away any hint of breeze and the quietness was broken only by the gentle lapping of water against the piers and the moored boats.
"Sybil" he once again softly called her name as he touched her shoulder.
At the feel of his hand she turned and looking at him smiled. "You asked me this afternoon if I had any regrets." Then she once again turned her sight towards the piers and the deep Irish Sea beyond.
"There are things I miss Tom. I miss nights like this and sitting outside and looking up at the moon and the stars." She tilted her head back. "Look up there Tom."
He followed her gaze skyward where a perfectly shaped quarter moon looked as if it had spilled a dozen or more stars, all of which gleamed brightly in the surrounding black sky. It was a wondrous sight.
"I never thought how a city can ruin such a view. Dublin is so often too foggy and the fumes from the factories …" her voice trailed off as her head moved from side to side as if trying to memorize the sight above her.
"I confess there are times I miss having a cook" she looked at him and smiled "and I'm sure you sometimes miss that too."
He chuckled as he sat down in the chair next to her. There had been many burnt or undercooked meals in the beginning of their married life but she had certainly improved and he even looked forward to a few of the dishes she cooked.
"There are certainly times when I miss having a maid. I don't mind dusting or sweeping but I confess I hate scrubbing floors."
"And-" she took a deep breath. It was a moment or two later before she spoke again. "I … I … I do miss my family or at least I miss … I miss how they … we … once were. I sometimes see a small child with someone who I think is their grandfather and I realize my child will never …" she paused as she took another deep breath "never spend rainy afternoons sitting on their grandfather's lap reading books or chasing after a dog while their grandfather walks behind them waiting to catch her when she falls."
"Sybil I-" he stopped as she reached over, her hand searching for his and then grasping it tightly.
"I honestly thought they'd come around Sybil. Even after all he said and that we had to flee that night I still thought-"
She squeezed his hand a bit harder as she stared straight ahead.
"I imagine Matthew is married to Lavinia and Mary has finally married Sir Richard and-" her voice quivered for just a second and she paused but when she spoke again her voice was strong and clear. "I loved them but they made their choice and I made mine."
Turning to him she stroked his face. "I was bored at Downton. I was bored with my life there. The war and you showed me that I could be something different from what my family expected of me. And just because I sometimes miss something from my old life or my family doesn't mean I regret my decision. I could never regret loving you."
The new morning ushered in bright blue skies and with that glorious sunshine came a warmth that beckoned Sybil and Tom to the beach just a short stroll past the western pier. Luckily it was low tide leaving a wide stretch of sand on the cove-like beach. Leaving their shoes and stockings higher up on the beach, Tom rolled up his pants and he and Sybil, thankful her skirt only came mid-calf, acted like two children walking along the hard sand at the water's edge and darting away and laughing as the waves washed ashore. Several times one or the other, usually Sybil who wasn't quite so nimble these days, didn't move fast enough or misjudged how far the sea water would rush up the sand resulting in a swirl of icy cold around their feet.
"Oh Tom there's another one" Sybil pointed at a particular seashell, her voice and finger commanding he stoop and pick it up and add it to the others they had collected.
Sybil raised her brow and with an exaggerated sigh and a tilt of her head said "I'll put them in a jar and set it on that high side table in the sitting room and that way we can always remember this wonderful trip" in answer to Tom's question as to what she wanted with the shells.
Lunch was sitting on a bench on the pier eating fresh fish and chips while around them was the normal hustle and bustle of the little port. Fishermen unloaded their catches sometimes fending off sea gulls squawking as they darted from lamp posts and masts, sails flapped against their rigging, sea water loudly lapped against the pier and there were the occasional barks of seals that lumbered around the harbor.
"It's been a wonderful break" Sybil said between bites of warm fried cod.
"Aye it has been" Tom agreed. "It's nice to get away from the city and work and just be by ourselves with no cares or worries."
Sybil wrinkled her brows and forehead as she looked at him. "Are you worried about something?"
He slowly shook his head. "It's nothing in particular love." He rolled up the paper that had held his fish. "Sitting here where it seems so tranquil it's … it's hard to believe we're fighting for our independence and I fear things are going to get much worse."
Sybil's thoughts flashed to that young lad, his chest and arms riddled with shotgun pellets, in the hidden room above the furniture workshop. Should she tell Tom what she had been doing for Dr. Byrne, for Fergus, for … Cillian. She looked at his handsome face and could see the worry in his eyes. No she couldn't give him anything else to worry about. Besides with the baby coming in a couple of months …
Being on a tiny peninsula one had to leave Howth by way of another small town called Sutton. From Sutton one could take a road leading north that skirted the sea or the road towards Dublin that ran along Dublin Bay. In another month or two the road to Dublin would be full of motor cars heading to and from the coast filled with people enjoying a summer day at the beach but today there wasn't much traffic. Most lorries had already made the trip to the city filled with the morning's catch of fish so the lorry Tom was driving stood out among the few motor cars.
Sybil, leaning against the window, had fallen asleep almost as soon as they left Sutton leaving Tom alone with his thoughts. He glanced over at her once again and marveled how this wonderful woman had fallen in love with him. Last night had been the first time she had talked about her family since those first weeks in Dublin.
He was so deep in thought that he didn't quite perceive what the lorry almost blocking the road ahead might mean. It wasn't until he was within a few yards of the lorry that he realized it was an English Army vehicle. Realizing he was going to be stopped Tom silently prayed that it would be a cursory check for he knew, he had instantly known by the feel of it as soon as he had driven a few feet, that there something heavy hidden in the compartment underneath the seat he and Sybil were sitting on.
Five soldiers surrounded the front and side of the lorry and one motioned for Tom to step out of the cab and he did so slowly and deliberately for he had heard too many tales of guns fired by nervous soldiers on just as nervous drivers.
"Delivering furniture?" the man barked as he read the writing on the side of the lorry.
Tom shook his head. "We work for the furniture shop but we just used the lorry to visit Howth." Then looking up at the lorry cab and a now awake Sybil he continued "It's our first anniversary and I took my wife to Howth for a little break."
"Then you won't mind us having a look in the back" the soldier said as he motioned for two of his men to follow him while the other two stood with their rifles pointed at the lorry.
A moment of panic raced through Tom for he hadn't checked the back of the lorry. They had placed their small suitcase in back of the seat and not in the back. He unlocked the back of the lorry hoping that his fear and nervousness was not apparent as he started to open the door.
"Open it slowly" the soldier barked as he and his men stood with their rifles trained on Tom and the lorry's back door.
To his relief the lorry was empty except for some ropes and blankets used to secure furniture from moving around. But although it was apparent the lorry was empty one of the soldiers jumped into it and pounded on the walls.
Satisfied that it was empty the soldiers moved towards the front of the lorry. One of them opened Sybil's door and curtly told her to get out. Tom leaped to help Sybil out but another soldier, using the butt of his rifle, told him to stand still. "She's with child" Tom cried out knowing that Sybil needed help to get out of the lorry.
Nodding at him, the first soldier lifted his hand to help her. Tom watched in amazement and admiration as a steady and calm six month pregnant Sybil excited the lorry. Thinking that all those years of being Lady Sybil had prepared her for this Tom would have laughed out loud if the situation wasn't been so dire.
"Did you enjoy your trip to Howth?" the soldier asked rather sarcastically but his eyes widen in disbelief when Sybil replied in her posh upper class English accent "I had a lovely time at the seashore. It was quite beautiful as is most of Ireland."
"You're English" he blurted without thinking.
"I am. I am Lady Sybil Branson, daughter of the Earl of Grantham" she replied in a tone that would make Violet Crawley proud.
"Oh Tom that was just horrible" Sybil said as they motored away from the check point.
He glanced at her and smiled. "You were absolutely wonderful. I don't think your grandmother or your sister Mary could have done better."
"If I had been my grandmother those soldiers would now be on their way to the gallows" she laughed in reply. But the laughter soon fell away. "You hear so many stories Tom of soldiers …" she looked out the window "It's the first time I've been scared Tom really scared."
She leaned over and laid her hand on top of his. "It really is a war isn't it?"
He let Sybil out in front of the furniture shop and the doorway to that led up to their flat and then drove around to the back of the store. The warehouse doors were closed when Tom glided the lorry to a stop in the alleyway but obviously Sybil had told Fergus they were back for Tom had no sooner stepped out of the lorry than the warehouse door opened.
"Back her in" Fergus called out to Tom.
Doing as Fergus said, Tom backed the lorry into the warehouse and then jumped out of the cab. "Is Sybil here?"
"She went on up to the flat" an unconcerned Fergus replied. "How did the lorry drive?"
"I don't know exactly what you're involved in Fergus but I don't like being used." Fergus was surprised by Tom's anger.
"This side of Sutton we were stopped by an Army checkpoint" Tom continued. "Luckily they didn't search too carefully but then that hidden compartment isn't easy to find."
"Tom I don't know what-" Fergus began but Tom quickly cut him off.
"I'm a very good mechanic Fergus. I work on these lorries. Not that I was searching for them but it didn't take me long to find their secrets."
"Look Fergus I'm grateful for the work you've given me and Sybil in return for the rent free flat. But I won't be involved in something I don't know about. I won't be used and I certainly won't endanger Sybil."