Mrs. Tom Branson, and the London Tea Room (Part: II)
Disclaimer: Downton Abbey belongs to Julian Fellowes and ITV. This means I own nothing; except the few characters I've created for my own use.
Summary: This is a one shot (in two parts) looking at how Sybil and Tom became reacquainted with their old friend Gwen Dawson. In this variation, Lady Sybil Branson is relaxing in a London tea room, waiting for Tom. While watching the rain, she runs unexpectedly into an old friend. How will Gwen react to Sybil and her new life as Mrs. Tom Branson?
Rating: T (though sadly nothing explicit)
AN: It's called fiction! There was no research involved, I just pulled everything out of thin air; although I did try to make it as realistic as possible! This is canon, through the Christmas episode. The rest are just my ideas of what could/should happen.
~::~::~
"Mrs. Branson, I'd like you meet my daughter-in-law, Gwen Cooper."
Sybil was brought back to the present as Mrs. Cooper began walking back towards the table, cup and saucer in hand. Gwen moved around her mother-in-law and caught sight of Mrs. Branson for the first time and exclaimed excitedly "Lady Sybil!"
"Gwen!"
To say that Mrs. Cooper was surprised would be an understatement, how did these two possibly know each other and who was Lady Sybil? The young woman whom she'd been conversing with couldn't possibly be a Lady, although obviously well-bred she had non of the airs and graces of the ladies she'd encountered in the past.
Sybil rose from her chair and happily embraced her old friend. They had lost touch once Gwen had left service in Yorkshire to become a secretary and the war started. The two were both smiling brightly and then as Gwen pulled out of the hug she noticed that Sybil was expecting.
"Congratulations" she said brightly, then before Sybil could answer with her thanks she turned her mother-in-law saying "wait, did you say Mrs. Branson?"
"Yes dear" Mrs. Cooper replied continuing to be confused.
Sybil tried to control her giggles as she watched Gwen put the pieces together in her mind. She had imagined her old friend would be happy to hear she had married for love and that her husband, Gwen's old colleague, had made a name for himself.
"You married Mr. Branson, Tom Branson?" she asked breathlessly completely shocked, but smiling all the same.
"I did, indeed" Sybil replied, barely holding in her glee.
"Really?... though I'm hardly surprised, he was always so taken with you." Gwen replied moving to settle herself in a vacant chair.
"Yes, well the feeling is mutual... I always knew he was something special" Sybil replied, seating herself down at the table once again.
"So did a lot of the maids downstairs, they were always trying to catch his eye" Gwen said, sipping her tea not noticing that the comment made Sybil uncomfortable. She didn't like to be reminded that she could've easily lost him to someone else who wouldn't fight his overtures.
Mrs. Cooper didn't quite know what to make of the fuss they were making over Mr. Branson. "Do you know Mr. Branson, Gwen" she asked seating herself down once again, setting her cup and saucer onto the table.
"Yes, before the war we were in service together in Yorkshire."
Turning towards Sybil, Mrs. Cooper asked "I thought your husband was a journalist?"
Sybil took pity on the woman who was obviously confused by the whole reunion "My Tom used to be a chauffeur for my father's estate in Yorkshire, he became a journalist shortly before we married"
"So he finally put reading all those newspapers to good use?" Gwen asked laughing.
"Yes, he'd actually been writing the entire time he was working at Downton, but he didn't accept a full-time position until last year".
"Where in London are you two living?" Mrs. Cooper asked politely joining into the conversation.
"We've been living in Dublin actually, we were married there almost a year ago now... my sister Mary is marrying cousin Matthew in a couple of weeks so we've made the trip over." Sybil answered politely smiling at the thought of her sister and Matthew finally making the trip down the alter.
"You haven't been married that long my dear and already expecting" Mrs. Copper said pointedly, looking at Gwen.
"My husband and I were anxious to start our own family" Sybil responded smiling, then added for Gwen's benefit "we waited and dreamed of a life together for so long, we seem to want it all at once".
The conversation continued from there, as the two old friends got reacquainted with one another and caught up on each other's lives since before the war.
~::~::~
Sometime later when everyone's tea had gone cold and their plates of goodies were empty. Tom Branson made his way back into the tea room with a smile on his face, despite the rain. He caught sight of Sybil with her two companions and made his way over to them. Upon seeing his old colleague Gwen sitting with his wife, he exclaimed excitedly "Gwen?".
"Mr. Branson, it's so nice to see you!" she said as he rounded the table and stood behind Sybil's chair.
"This is Mrs. Cooper my mother-in-law" she politely made the introductions.
"Tom, please... it's pleasure to meet you Mrs. Cooper." he said offering her a warm smile.
"It's wonderful to meet you as well, we've heard an awful lot about you Mr. Branson" Mrs. Cooper replied, kindly.
Turning towards his wife he asked softly "Mrs. Branson, you need anything?" as he slowly rubs her lower back gently.
"No, I'm good... how was your meeting?"
"It went well, sorry it took so long."
"As you can see I was perfectly entertained." Sybil said smiling at Gwen and Mrs. Cooper, who were looking at the obviously happy couple with smiles on their faces.
"Yes... where did that second eclair go?" he asked noticing the empty plate in front of her.
"I ate it, they're my favorite" she said softly, not believing she had gorged herself on so many treats in one sitting. Those eclairs were not small by any means and she had eaten two in less than an hour!
"I know... I told you, you needed two" he said smirking, before kissing her temple. She then stood up and began gathering her belongings.
"Tom darling we should probably go, Aunt Rosamund is expecting us for tea" Sybil said, looking at him, her eyes begging him not to contradict her statement.
"Yes, of course" came Tom's reply, slightly confused. Lady Rosamund has said that morning she wouldn't be back until later that evening having several engagements and a theater performance she was attending.
"It was great seeing you again Gwen" Sybil said politely, there were parting hugs and waves as the couple made their way out of the shop into the dreary afternoon. Tom quickly hailed a cab, not wanting his wife to walk in the rain. They then made their way back to the much smarter part of town.
~::~::~
"Are you going to tell me why you're so upset?" Tom asked as they walked into the hall of her aunt's garish London home. Sybil stomping her feet with every step as the sound echoed around them.
Throwing her coat, hat and gloves down in a nearby chair, she continued to angrily make her way into the drawing room with Tom dutifully following in her wake. But not before he thanked the butler and requested some tea be brought up for himself and Sybil.
Sybil whirled around to face Tom as he entered the room breathing heavily, losing the composure she had been hiding behind for over an hour.
"I just can't believe it, honestly I thought I knew her..." she rambled on with Tom not knowing what the devil she was on about.
"What did she say to you?" her husband asked angrily, not liking in the least that his pregnant wife had been hurt and was obviously upset.
"I was telling her about becoming a nurse and working at the hospital, and do you know what she said?"
"No, that's why I'm asking you" Tom's patience was beginning to wane as Sybil's agitation continued.
"She said 'oh that's so nice you volunteered at the hospital'... like I didn't work there as hard as any other nurse, which I did!" she exclaimed stomping her foot and crossing her arms across her chest as if to prove some point.
"Yes, I know..." he said cautiously moving closer towards her.
"Then she said, how happy I must be not to be working now we're excepting" Sybil then threw her arms wide and continued her rant "that I can, and I quote "go back the daily routine I'm accustom too" and how that "must be so nice", can you believe that!"
Tom simply pulled her into his arms, already knowing why she was upset. She had worked hard to become a nurse and to be respected by her colleagues, giving that up as her pregnancy progressed had been hard for her. Not only that, but Sybil had left behind her old life at Downton because it didn't fulfill her. Her daily routine of being trapped on the estate was not what she wanted out of life. His wife had thought Gwen understood her, but clearly she didn't know Sybil at all. That's what had hurt her the most, her former friend was just another person who didn't understand her choices in life.
Pulling away slightly she continued as he steered her onto the nearest sofa saying "If I hadn't mentioned we'd been married for a year, I swear she would've thought we anticipated our vows and that's why Papa didn't fight our marriage".
"Darling, you know people are going to think that regardless... what's important is that we know we did everything properly" he said quietly as they sat together on the sofa with his one of his arms wrapped around her and the other holding her hand.
"Then I politely steered the conversation towards her, and guess what she intimated?" As she spoke Sybil pulled her hand out of his grasp and turned towards him, her voice becoming increasingly higher pitched and angry.
"Darling relax" he said reaching for her hand again.
"Relax!?... she all but told me she was having an affair with her boss, in front of her mother-in-law!" she said angrily.
"Honestly Sybil, really?" Tom said raising his eyebrows at her, laughing at her ridiculousness.
"Yes!" she said standing up abruptly, "How she was hand picked for the job once the girl before her left unexpectedly, and how she often has work late, but she doesn't mind because her boss is such a kind man and was sooo good to her while her husband was in France"
"Can you believe that?... her husband was fighting for his life in the trenches and she was, was..." unable to form the words, she flung her hand around wildly.
Seeing her naiveté and innocence as undeniably adorable, Tom provided the rest of her statement saying in a teasing tone "getting her jollies?"
"Tom, this isn't funny" Sybil pouted at him as he stared up at her from the sofa, with a twinkle in his eye.
"You're right, it's not funny, but you're reaction is", he reached out his hand and silently asking her to join him.
"She just isn't the same person I knew before the war" Sybil pouted in a huff, crossing her arms over her chest flopping down on the sofa next to him.
"It changed a lot of people darling, and not always for the better... but not all the changes were bad" he said reaching out to gently stroke the place were their baby was growing.
She looked at him with a bright smile and laying her hand over his said, "no they weren't".
"Shall I tell you how my meeting went?" Tom asked, trying to move the conversation towards happier thoughts.
"Yes, please tell me!" Sybil said, grabbing onto his hand and turning towards him.
"Well they don't want to publish any of my past articles."
Running one of her hands up his chest in an effort to comfort him, she replied "oh darling I'm sorry, that's their loss, you've done such brilliant work".
"They don't want any of those old articles, because they want me to write new ones" Tom said smiling up at his wife, loving her defense of his abilities and belief in him.
"That's wonderful, they want you to be a contributor while we're here?"
"No, they've given me a column" he said smiling at her widely with excitement.
Sybil looked at him confused, saying "what... you have a column back in Dublin wouldn't that conflict?"
"No, because they've offered me a job here in London" he said excitedly grabbing her hands.
At this statement Sybil pulled her hands out of his saying, "What?"
"Yes, as well as a pay raise and promotion to editor."
"What!?" his wife exclaimed putting distance between them on the sofa, looking at him in anger and frustration.
Tom was too excited by his news to realize his wife had gone from proud to angry in a manner of moments and continued his excitement for their future in England by saying, "I thought, if you wanted... before we went back to Yorkshire, we could look at houses tomorrow... we have money enough saved for a sizable downpayment on a nice place."
"So that's it?" she said heatedly, finally breaking through to him that her mood had changed.
"What?" he asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Wasn't coming back to England a good thing?
"No discussion, nothing, you're telling me you've decided we're moving back to England." her voice rising in frustration.
"What's there to decide?... it's more money..." he asked, but she cut him off saying, "you know I don't care about money."
Tom's impatience returned as he said "we both know we can't stay in Ireland, not the way things are, not with our child."
"Yes, but you could have at least discussed it with me... instead of just dictating" Sybil exclaimed jumping up from the couch to face him.
"I thought you'd be pleased..."
"Well I'm not" she countered hotly.
"I couldn't exactly say to them "I'm sorry I need to discuss this with my wife"" he said sarcastically.
"Why ever not!... I'm always having to say "I'm sorry I need to discuss this with my husband"..." came her rebut.
"I had to tell them right then and there, I wasn't the only one interviewing for the position and it was too good to pass up."
"Interview, you knew this was an interview?" she said angrily as the truth of recent events became all the more clearer.
"Yes, you want to know the truth?" he said angrily, sitting up straight and pointing his finger at her saying "I told my editor back in Dublin that I was thinking of staying in England."
"What!"
"Things have gotten more and more dangerous, I didn't want to worry you with the baby, but I've been questioned more than once by the police for what I've written"
"What?" she said more softly, tears welling in her eyes as her emotions began to over whelm her.
"I wasn't going to stop writing the truth, so I knew I needed to find a place where I could do it safely... being here in England is the best option" he said more calmly as he noticed his wife for the second time that day was on the verge of tears.
"Did they hurt you?" she asked softly, looking at him with a pained expression.
"No darling... don't you think you would've noticed?" he said smiling at her obvious concern for his safety.
"Yes, I suppose" she said, looking down at her hands as she played unconsciously with the ring he had placed on her finger.
"You're right, I should've said something to you... I just didn't want to worry you, or excite you about the possibility of staying here unless I was sure..." he said conceding to her point. They didn't have your typical marriage, they were friends, partners and in most instances he would've happily discussed such drastic life changes with her.
"I do love our life in Dublin you know, aside from the danger and constantly worrying about you" she said returning to sit beside him on the sofa.
"I know, but I also know you miss your family."
"You're right I do, but that doesn't mean I'm not happy" she said, grabbing hold of his hand, pleading with him to believe her. She knew all he wanted in life was to make her happy and she so wanted him to know he had succeeded.
"You love them and you wouldn't be the woman I love, if you didn't" he said leaning towards her, kissing her gently.
Pulling out of the kiss, Sybil asked hopefully, "do you think we could find a place with a garden?"
"We'll ask the solicitor tomorrow, shall we?" Tom looked at her carefully trying to asses her mood, which was ever changing these days.
"Yes, and I don't want anything too large, something cozy" she replied moving closer into his arms.
"Whatever Mrs. Branson wants, Mrs. Branson gets" he said forgetting they were in her aunt's house as he pulled her onto his lap and kissed her holding her close.
THE END