Continued:
Chapter Fifteen
"I don't understand Tom. What is happening? Why are you so upset?" If it wasn't Sybbie, Mary didn't know what could possibly be bothering him so much.
Actually she had something of an idea if Sybbie had woken up and remembered everything.
"Can we duck away somewhere?" Tom had a look on his face that Mary simply couldn't read.
"Of course. Oh there's Mrs. Hughes. I need to ask her something." Mary waved a beckoning gesture to the older woman who had been the head housekeeper in the Abbey for so many years until her retirement.
When she approached the two of them standing there Mary watched her staring carefully at Tom.
"Tom. Do you need anything? Can I help?" Elsie asked and she was replied to by him turning his head away from her so she couldn't see the tears in his eyes.
Elsie looked questioningly at Mary for some help, but she knew Tom couldn't have had enough time yet to have told her what he had just heard downstairs.
Mary looked at her equally questioningly. She watched as Tom couldn't seem to turn back towards the retired housekeeper and walked for the nearest door he could find. He fled away into the drawing room and Mary made her way to follow him until she remembered that there was a quick errand she needed to run first. But Tom looked so upset, and he had turned his back on Mrs. Hughes. Her curiosity was indeed piqued.
Else looked like she had no idea what to do and Mary touched her arm gently.
"Can you do something for me Mrs. Hughes?"
The woman looked grateful for an errand to run. "Of course Lady Mary."
"I know that you are not on duty exactly, but is there any chance you could have one of the maids run a tray up to my old bedroom. George is sleeping in there, he was sick at dinner, and I was thinking he will need something to drink at very least when he wakes up."
"Is he aright? Should I send for the Doctor?" Elsie looked concerned. She also figured out where the vomit on Barrow's trousers had come from.
"He's fine. I think it was just too much excitement for him so soon out of the hospital. He's feeling a great deal of pressure about the accident."
"Of course he is. I'm so sorry ma'am. Of course I will have someone send up a tray for him. Will you go speak to Tom? I'm afraid he overheard something downstairs that may have shocked him quite badly. Make him tell you the truth. You need to hear it as well."
With that statement Elsie turned on her heel leaving Mary standing alone in the middle of the room. Mary only hesitated for a second before she followed the same direction that Tom had gone. Her heart was pounding. Tom had found out that Sybbie was driving. She was sure of it.
She entered the drawing room. The room had a light on in the corner but it was mostly dark and shadowed. The room was too small to entertain the family when they were all gathered so it likely wouldn't be used that night. Tom was seated on one of the chairs along the wall with his head in his hands. Mary sat down next to him and put her hand on his shoulder. He turned to look over at her and his eyes were bloodshot red and the dark circles under his eyes were amplified by the puffiness of them. It had been a rough time for him and Mary knew it.
"What has happened Tom?"
He took a long slow sigh and sat up straight before he answered her.
"Sybbie was driving the car. Not George." He watched her as the news registered. The only thing was, that it didn't really register. He realized that the news was not shocking to her. "You knew. How could you not tell me?"
"Yes. I know." They stared at each other for a time.
"I am so sorry Mary." His eyes showed how sincere he was. That did shock her a bit.
"What do you have to be sorry about? George swore me to confidence on that first night. He lied to the Constables when they questioned him. He made me promise not to tell anyone. He was protecting Sybbie from the wrath that would have followed her from this."
Tom shook his head. As soon as Mary said the words he could sense that George would have done something like that. He would have protected Sybbie to the chance that his own name would have been sullied by the story. Exactly as his father would have done. Exactly the right thing.
"What happened? Did Sybbie tell you? How is she?" The questions flooded out of her.
"Sybbie woke up this morning. She knew who I was but she was still foggy. She didn't remember the accident at all." He looked down at his hands as he spoke. The joy of the morning had faded by the shock of the truth of the late afternoon.
"So how did you find out? Perhaps we can still contain it?" She hoped there might be a chance. George would be devastated to find out that Sybbie's good name would be raked.
"Lena, Anna and Bates' daughter, told everyone downstairs. Everyone heard. I was standing in the doorway and I heard her say it as well."
"So there's no containing it. If everyone downstairs knows, we know how fast news can travel." It was now Mary's turn to sigh.
Tom hung his head and supported it with his hands with his elbows on his knees. He started to sob.
"It will be alright Tom. You know the family will support her no matter what." Mary rubbed his back and she knew he had a lot of pent up emotion.
"I'm so so sorry Mary. I feel so responsible." He tried to catch his breath.
"This is not your fault Tom. How are you possibly to blame?" She was startled by his words.
"Because I let her get out of control. I let her get away with too much in Boston, and now she's nearly a wild child. I love her so much, and she knows it, but perhaps I spoiled her too much with the hopes that I could be two parents for her. I let her get away with murder because I always wanted her to feel loved. She needs a mother figure. I can't handle her anymore." His voice cracked more than a few times as he spoke.
"What do you mean Tom? How is she out of control?" Mary now had her arm around Tom's shoulder in full support as more than a few of his thoughts came into the room as he spoke them out loud for the first time.
He told Mary all about their last few years in Boston. Sybbie had started staying out late and not always telling the truth about where she had been. She had been sneaking off with her friends at all hours of the night doing God knew what. It wasn't that she wasn't a wonderful daughter and friend to him, it was that she had stopped listening to him as though he was the parent.
And there were the rumours of the older man. That was the one Tom had the most trouble accepting. His precious little girl had grown into a woman without him entirely realizing it and though he had not met the man, he had heard from acquaintances that he was older and had been married before. Sybbie had refused to discuss him with her father and so Tom was going solely on hearsay and assumption.
Mary listened carefully to him as he spoke. She hadn't known any of this. Tom's letters were usually positive about new articles he had been working on for the Boston newspaper, or how well Sybbie was doing in school. He had never mentioned any issues.
She asked him, "Why did you never mention this?"
"Because I didn't want anyone to know that I was failing as a parent. After I left Downton, I suppose it was my pride. I never wanted your parents to know that I couldn't handle it on my own." He had better control of his voice now, but a few tears still flowed down his cheeks.
"Oh Tom." Mary looked at her brother in law with such sympathy. "So, what you are saying is that she is independent, strong-willed and has a hard time following the instructions of her father? Does this not remind you of someone?"
He actually sat back up and looked Mary in the eye with the smallest bit of a grin. He rolled his eyes at her and looked to the other side of the room. His eyes were glassy with memories.
"I do see the irony in it Mary. I don't know how your father handled three of you. My respect for him has grown over the years." He looked back to her and smiled. It felt good for him to talk to someone who knew.
To this Mary laughed out loud. "It's very strange to hear you say that. A long way from the Tom Branson who was so radical in his thoughts when he first arrived here. The Tom Branson who stole away my baby sister."
They both sat quietly for a few minutes. The years had changed them both. Tragedy had changed them both. But not so much that they weren't both very much the same people deep inside. Only better for having pushed through the issues of their earlier years.
"We should probably go talk to Sybbie before the news gets back to her." Mary had relatively fresh memories of Bates rushing her son's room that awful night. He had apologized a dozen times for his actions but Mary still knew there would be fallout once everyone knew the truth.
And poor Sybbie shouldn't have to deal with that. Not yet anyway. She had made a mistake, but it was an accident. Once she had recovered a little more she could attempt to justify her actions of driving the car that morning. From what Tom had explained, it didn't seem so far fetched anymore that she would jump in the car and drive away. The girl was as impulsive as her mother had been. And Mary was thankful that she seemed to be recovering. Tom wouldn't have survived losing Sybbie too.
They both turned as the door squeaked open. Lord Grantham strode into the room once he saw who was in there.
"Tom. Mary. I thought I heard voices coming from in here. Is everything aright?" He looked worried.
Tom looked to Mary and wasn't sure how to begin to tell the news that he had discovered not so long ago. Mary rubbed his back gently one more time and turned to tell her father the truth about what had transpired that day from Sybbie's awakening to the revelation of the truth about who was driving.
To say he was shocked was an understatement. He was silent for a bit before he replied to them both that George would require an apology from him. And he reassured Tom that they would support Sybbie no matter what. Her recovery was the most important thing right now.
Robert also tried to convince Tom that they should attempt to bring Sybbie back to the house for her recovery as soon as she was able and it was possible. Mary agreed too and promised to be around a bit more to guide Sybbie in whatever way she could. She couldn't help but think of the change in her cousin Rose when she had come to Downton as a teenager. Within a short time, she became a different, more responsible person, while still maintaining the personality that they all loved about her.
She didn't divulge the entire truth to her father though. She kept the news of Sybbie's recent behaviour to herself in her promise to Tom that Sybbie would be more than welcome to stay as long as they could have her.
Robert offered Tom a welcome place in their home as well. The younger man didn't commit wholeheartedly but gave his word he would think about it. He was still enough of the old Tom Branson that he shied away from living at Downton, but Sybbie needed the guidance and he needed the help.
The three of them stood up when Tom insisted he needed to be getting back to the hospital. Mary offered to go with him and he accepted with the knowledge that she would help him talk to Sybbie. He was grateful. Robert asked if Tom had eaten and when he said he hadn't the older man let him know that he would go downstairs and ask the kitchen to pack a basket with some dinner for him.
As Robert parted their company Tom stopped him quickly and asked if the basket could be made up for two. Lord Grantham assumed he meant food for Mary as well and nodded his approval as he headed toward the stairs that would take him to the servants hall and hopefully the staff hadn't quite all left yet. He wanted to talk to as many of his staff as he could about trying to keep the news about Sybbie being the driver within the walls of his familial house. He would protect his granddaughter to strongest ability he could manage. But, he needed to do some damage control as quickly as possible.
Tom told Mary he would go get one of the cars around from the back and he would meet her outside in a few minutes. She agreed and thought she should go tell her husband where she would be going. He would notice her absence if anyone would. Most would think she would be with George.
As Mary pulled on her jacket with the help of Tony, Mrs. Hughes came into the front foyer and handed Mary the basket for Tom. The older woman looked differently at Lady Mary but she did not divulge her thoughts as the oldest daughter left through the door quickly and rushed out to the waiting car.
"Is there anything else I can do for you Lord Gillingham?"
Tony stared at the closed door for a moment and then assured the older woman that everyone would be fine and she should go enjoy what was left of Christmas day.
The wished each other Merry Christmas and headed in opposite directions.
As Tom and Mary entered the hospital room of his daughter, they heard a voice speaking. They went further into the room to see a nurse was leaned over the girl on the bed and was speaking to her but the conversation stopped as they approached.
"Tom. Sybbie was just asking for you." She smiled warmly at the man and greeted Lady Mary formally.
Mary noticed that Tom smiled warmly at the nurse as well and suspected they had gotten to know each other in the time he had been holding his vigil. She approached Sybbie on the opposite side from Tom and the nurse and leaned close to her niece.
"Sybbie? It's your Aunt Mary. How do you feel?"
The girl on the bed quietly murmured, tired.
Tom greeted his daughter and let her know he was there and she should be fine to go to sleep. He would be there when she woke up again and not to worry about anything. Tom and the nurse hovered over the girl until they both knew that her breathing had reached the regularity of a patient asleep.
Mary asked the nurse how much Sybbie remembered about the accident and the younger woman let her know they hadn't really discussed it yet. Nurse Becker gave them an update of the day since Tom had left to go tell the family about her status and recovery progress that morning.
They discussed telling Sybbie about her being the cause of the accident, but Lily, as Tom was calling her, which intrigued Mary just a touch, insisted it was a bad idea to stress her so early in her recovery. She was adamant and spoke forthrightly to Lady Mary about her opinion. Lily had seen many patients come through the hospital and she knew what would be the best for them.
Mary was quite shocked at first at how outspoken the nurse was with her, but soon admitted that the woman made sense. She appreciated her honesty. Mary looked at her closely. The nurse looked familiar but she couldn't quite place from where she might have known her. She was too young to have been a nurse at the hospital during the great war, but her face was familiar. It wouldn't come to her, but there was something about Lily that she respected instantly. And even admired her. Not just anyone had the courage to speak to her as Lily had just done. The nurse wasn't rude by any means, but she certainly got her point across. It was decided that they would wait to tell Sybbie about the details of the accident until she was stronger. And they would keep her visitors list to a minimum for the next while.
Mary recognized the intelligence of the nurse and noticed again that there was a spark between her and Tom whenever they met their eyes. Could it be? She knew that Tom only trusted people who deserved it, but there was inkling of something more between the two. She would have to keep an eye on them. It had been seventeen years, perhaps Tom was finally ready to put Sybil in the past.
He had been a good father to that girl, despite what he thought his shortcomings were. And he had mourned Sybil for too long. He had nothing left to prove of his devotion to her sister and he needed someone to make him happy. Perhaps there was something here. Mary smiled as she watched them discuss Sybbie's ability to move her legs and arms while Tom had been gone.
He looked so happy. A look that hadn't been on his face in a very long time. He so deserved to be happy.
Mary let them know that she was going to go visit the Bates to say hello and see how they were doing with their own little girl who had been injured. And Mary was desperate to talk to Anna. She missed her former lady's maid and wished to speak with her about so many things.
Lily and Tom barely looked up as she left the room. They were deep in conversation. As she left the bedside, Mary looked back at them and watched as Lily tenderly touched Tom's arm. She left the room wondering if and hoping that something was brewing there. Tom needed a strong, caring woman in his life.
After Mary had been gone for a few minutes, Tom reached down and picked up the basket to show Lily.
"You brought breakfast. I wonder if you would like to have dinner with me as well?" He smiled warmly at her.
She smiled back and looked shyly down at his hands. She thought he had wonderful hands. Strong, yet sensitive. Like him.
"That sounds perfectly lovely. Thank you." She tried to reach for the basket from him and as their hands grazed each other there was an audible spark of static electricity.
He laughed and then she did as they set over to the small table by the window. Both of them were blushing, but afraid to let the other see...
For now.
To be continued... :)