Happiness
"And you're sure you don't mind? I feel like I'm imposing." Mr. Branson stood in the Carson's cottage with his hat in his hand, nervously fiddling with the brim. He was speaking softly to Elsie so that his daughter, Sybbie, wouldn't overhear their conversation.
"Of course I don't mind and you're not imposing. I'd love to spend an afternoon with Miss Sybbie. I freely admit that I miss our little tea parties in my old sitting room, and it's lovely to think that she might miss them, too."
"And what about Mr. Carson? He won't mind? I'm sure he had things planned for this afternoon and this was not one of them. I should have asked sooner or put her off until another day when arrangements could be made."
Elsie reached out and patted his arm in a motherly sort of way. "Mr. Carson won't mind at all. Just look at those two. She's been here all of five minutes, and they're already engrossed in something by the window. No doubt, he's showing her his new bird feeder. By the time she leaves, she'll know all about the birds of England and you'll be buying her a feeder for the gardens at Downton," she said with laughter laced through her voice. "Besides, he has a meeting this afternoon in the village. He can spend the morning entertaining her, and I'll get my chance this afternoon."
They both stood still and watched Mr. Carson and Miss Sybbie chatting animatedly by the window, her little laughter and squeals of delight when a new bird arrived causing Carson to chuckle, too.
"Now, you'd best be off or you'll miss your train. She will be in fine hands, and we're honored she asked to spend the day with us. And, should anything arise, we'll simply cross that bridge when it arrives, though I don't think either of us has anything to worry about in that respect."
"You're much too good to us, Mrs. Carson. I am so grateful to you and Mr. Carson for taking such an interest in Sybbie. His Lordship and Her Ladyship are good with her … but it's not quite the same as having someone who loves you to introduce you to the simpler things in life, if you understand my meaning. She'll learn all about the rules of etiquette and social standing from them, but I want her to appreciate the simpler way of life, the one where titles and money don't matter as much as love and family."
"Aye, that I understand, Mr. Branson. Times spent with my Gran are some of my happiest childhood memories. I think that's one of the reasons I enjoy spending time with your lovely little girl. It gives me a chance to enjoy similar adventures but from another perspective."
The young man smiled and nodded, knowing that he couldn't ask for better surrogate grandparents for his daughter than the two people right before him. "Then, I suppose I'd best be off so you can start adding to those memories." He reached down and took her hand for a moment, giving it a brief squeeze in silent understanding and thanks. "Sybbie, come give me a kiss. I'm going to leave now."
Carson and Sybbie turned from window, the birds abandoned momentarily, and she ran to his side, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a big kiss to his cheek. "Bye, Da! Have a good day," she said, not sparing him another moment. She darted back across the room and took Carson's hand, leading him back to the window and firing off several questions in rapid succession.
"Well, that's me in my place," he said as he stood next to Elsie, a large grin on his face.
"Those two will entertain each other for the rest of the morning. It wouldn't surprise me if Mr. Carson decides to skip the meeting so he can stay here with us this afternoon. I'm sure Mrs. Wigan wouldn't appreciate that but neither Mr. Carson nor I care about her opinions. Besides, it's not every day we get this opportunity, especially now that we're retired. It was easier to have little stolen moments when we were at the house every day."
Knowing that his daughter couldn't be in better hands, Tom Branson took his leave, promising to be back as soon as possible and feeling his heart swell as he was encouraged not to rush through his plans for the day.
Once Mr. Branson left, Elsie slipped into the sitting room and stood in the doorway, listening intently to the entertaining conversation between her husband and the little girl who occupied a rather large part of his heart. It made her so incredibly happy to see her husband and the little girl so wrapped up in their conversation that neither of them realized they were being watched by loving eyes.
"But, why doesn't their mommy feed them? Don't they have mommies and da's to take care of them?" The girl rested her head on his shoulder, content to be held in his strong arms. Elsie, too, couldn't think of a happier or safer place than being wrapped up in Charles's embrace.
"They do, but these birds are all grown up now. They've been taught how to take care of themselves. One day, you'll be all grown up, too, and will have a home of your own. You'll make decisions on what you want to wear, what you want to eat, who you might want to visit … those sorts of things."
"Can I still come and visit you when I'm all grown up? I can bring some food for your birds, and we can feed them. Maybe I can buy you a peacock for your flower garden. I read about one yesterday in my book. They're really pretty and colorful, too. If you're really good, Father Christmas might bring you one, but you have to write him a letter and ask very nicely. That's what nanny says whenever I say I want something new."
Elsie burst into laughter and joined the two of them at the window. "I don't think Mr. Carson needs a peacock, Miss Sybbie. But," she said, leaning down and whispering loudly in the girl's ear, "maybe if you and I both asked Father Christmas to bring Mr. Carson a kitten, he might leave one under the tree. Then, you could come over and play with it from time to time."
"Ohhh, I love kittens, but not when they use their claws. That's not very nice."
"They don't mean to be rude," Mr. Carson added. "They just get very excited. That's why it's always good to use toys when playing with little kittens. They can attack the toy and not your little fingers." He tickled her side and held her tightly as she squirmed in his arms.
"Then, we'll ask for plenty of toys, too," the young girl announced with so much excitement that it was contagious. In her mind, she was already picturing the small kitten that would arrive on Christmas morning and possible names for it as well.
Charles looked at Elsie over the top of Sybbie's head and raised his impressive eyebrows. You did that on purpose was the intended message being sent silently.
Perhaps, but look how happy you've made her … and me was the instant reply.
"Mr. Carson, I think we should go into the village and look at the toys in the store. It would help me to know what to ask for when I'm writing my letter. Do you think we could do that now? Then, when we get back, you could help me." Sybbie was so polite and sincere in her request that it was hard for the former butler to refuse.
"I don't see why not. I needed to go into the village anyway. I need to cancel an appointment, and we can kill two birds with one stone," he replied.
Sybbie's lip began to tremble and her brow creased with worry. "I don't want to go with you if you're killing sweet birds. Why would you do that?" She began to wiggle in his arms and reached out for Elsie to take her.
"No, no, lamb! He didn't mean it like that. It's just a silly expression. It's a way of saying that you're going to take care of two chores at the same time. The birds are the chores, you see?" Elsie said, running her hand over the girls' dark brown locks and down her back soothingly. "Mr. Carson would never kill an animal. I promise you that. Do you understand?"
She thought for a moment, rationalizing it in her mind before nodding her head. Suddenly, she leaned back into Carson's arms and kissed him sweetly on the cheek. "I'm glad you don't kill birds. Do you think we can get some sweets at the store?"
Elsie smiled, the gentle girl reminding her so much of her mother. "I have an idea. Why don't you two go into the village and run your errands? When you return, maybe Miss Sybbie will help me bake some biscuits. I have everything I need but if you pick up a bar of chocolate, we might could add a little of that into our dough. What do you think?"
"Chocolate biscuits? And I get to help? Please, Mr. Carson, can we go now so we can get back to help make biscuits?"
He kissed her temple and lowered her to the floor. "Let me get my hat, and we'll be off. You ladies go into the kitchen and make certain you have all the ingredients. Now you've got me craving chocolate biscuits, and I'd hate to learn we didn't have everything," he said with a twinkle in his eyes.
As soon as Charles and Sybbie returned from the village, the young girl ran into the house and wrapped her arms around Elsie's legs. "We brought two chocolate bars. Mr. Carson said we could use one in the biscuits and maybe nibble on the other one while we wait."
"Oh, he did, did he? And was Mr. Carson good while he was in the village? Did he get all of his errands accomplished?" Elsie put her hands on her hips, trying to look as serious as possible.
Sybbie reached up her arms silently asking Elsie to pick her up and hold her. When she was snuggled into Elsie's arms, she cupped both the older woman's cheeks in her tiny hands and giggled. "He was, though Mrs. Wigan wasn't very happy with us. She had gone to a lot of trouble for some meeting today. She said something about apple tarts and Bakewell's, but I didn't understand it. Mr. Carson didn't look happy either, but I don't think it had anything to do with the tarts."
Elsie looked up and just happened to see the massive eye roll Charles gave as the little girl prattled on and on about their trip to the village. He crossed the room and gave Elsie a kiss on the cheek causing Miss Sybbie to giggle and hide her laughter behind her hand. "Mrs. Wigan was not happy, though I'm sure the others at the meeting will be thrilled with her tea time treats. I'm afraid there will be no getting out of next month's meeting, unless my wife writes me a note excusing me for some noble reason."
"Depending on how good you are between now and then, that might be arranged. Then again, with your luck, she might simply postpone the meeting to a more convenient day for you."
"I don't think she liked it much that I was with Mr. Carson in the village," Sybbie added, crinkling her nose and thinking back to the exchange they had in the village with the postmistress.
Elsie turned back to the little girl in her arms. "Oh, and why is that, lamb?"
Sybbie took a deep breath and sighed dramatically. "She said I should be back at home in the nursery with the nanny and not …" she paused, trying very hard to remember the word the scary woman had used. "Not … in … con …"
"Inconveniencing," Charles supplied. He watched as Elsie's cheeks turned red and her eyes hardened quickly. Even while still in the village, Mrs. Wigan had awakened the famed Scottish dragon of Downton Abbey. He placed a soothing hand on the small of her back and began to rub small circles. "No need to start breathing fire. I let her know, in no uncertain terms, that Miss Sybbie and I were having a wonderful time together and we were on a mission for you, my dear. She was also reminded that the Crawleys and everyone in that household, are family and as such could never be an inconvenience."
"Well, she should be thankful she said those things to you and not to me," Elsie added. "And I hope she will stay well clear of me on Sunday."
"I don't think you'll have any problems with her on Sunday. She's scared of you, anyway." Charles couldn't help but tease his wife just a little. It was a longstanding joke between them two of them. Since Mrs. Wigan had been widowed, she had found countless ways to try to impress Mr. Carson, even after he began courting Elsie and their marriage had been celebrated. "I'm actually surprised she went so far as to get apple tarts for today's meeting. That was rather bold."
Elsie leaned into his side and grinned. "Bold but futile. I hope she enjoys all those tarts." She kissed Charles on the cheek then leaned in to kiss Sybbie on the cheek, too. "Now, unless I'm mistaken, you two were going to help me make a batch of chocolate biscuits … unless of course you had too many sweets on the way back from town."
"We only had two butterscotch pieces each and a stick of peppermint as we were running our errands," Sybbie offered, then quickly covered her mouth. "I wasn't supposed to tell," she offered quietly and looked up at Mr. Carson with wide eyes.
Charles and Elsie both laughed. "You didn't tell me, child. I knew the moment you came back from town that you'd had sweets. Your hands were a little sticky and your breath smelled of butterscotch. Mr. Carson smelled of peppermint," she said, giving her husband a wink. "And you did bring back a chocolate bar to share so I can't be too upset, though I get the first piece since you two have already snacked."
The rest of the afternoon was spent happily in the kitchen. The unlikely trio worked together to bake batch after batch of biscuits, eating at least one from each set to ensure their quality.
"No more for either of you," Elsie said as they each snagged a cookie from the third batch. "You'll both have tummy aches and won't want your supper. And I'll not be responsible for either of those things."
"But, who will eat them if we don't," Sybbie asked, trying to sound innocent as she gave a two-eyed wink to Mr. Carson, who, in turn, gave her a two-eyed wink back.
"You two will be the death of me! I'll wrap up a few for you to take with you, but you mustn't eat them until tomorrow. And, we'll wrap up a few for your Da, we'll keep some here for your partner in crime, and two each for Master George and Miss Marigold. Does that sound fair?"
Sybbie snuggled into Elsie's lap and rested her head on her chest. "Yes, except I won't have any to eat while George and Marigold eat in front of me. That's not very fair, is it, Mrs. Carson? You always say that we're supposed to share, and I'm sharing my biscuits but it's not very nice to make me watch them eat theirs in front of me."
Elsie hugged the child a little tighter so she couldn't see the wide grin on her face. "If I didn't know any better, I'd swear you were going to be a member of Parliament when you grow up. Alright, I'll pack an additional four!"
"Wow, four extras? You must really love me."
"I do love you very much but those extra two are for nanny. It wouldn't be nice for her to watch you three eating cookies and she gets none."
"You're so smart! I'm glad you think of everything and everybody."
Charles leaned over and gave Elsie a quick peck on the lips. "You really do, you know. You have the kindest heart of anyone I know."
"You two will not smooth talk your way into any more cookies, though I appreciate the sentiments. I love you both very much, too."
Once all the cookies were cooled and divided into their appropriate groups, Charles carried Sybbie into the living room and settled down with one of her favorite books. She was getting sleepy after such a busy day, so Elsie held her while Charles read to them in that soothing voice of his. He had barely made it halfway through the book when she nodded off to sleep in Elsie's arms. And that was how her Da found her when he returned to the Carson's cottage.
"They're just through here," Charles said, leading Branson through the house and into the sitting room. "She's had a rather big day, but overall, I think it was a very good one."
"She was no trouble, then?"
Charles turned to stare at him, reminding Branson of the days when Mr. Carson commanded the household with just a look. "No trouble at all. In fact, we have, both of us, enjoyed having her. She brings a certain happiness into our lives."
Branson watched as Elsie gently woke the child from her nap and helped her to sit up properly. "And you most certainly bring happiness to hers. I'm grateful to both of you for loving my daughter the way that you do."
"No thanks necessary, Mr. Branson. It' what families do."
A/N: Thank you all for your continued support and love for my stories. You guys are the absolute best! ^_^