A/N: This is the last chapter set in England. The remainder of the chapters will be off English soil. Thanks very much for all the reviews, etc., I received since I last posted. It's greatly appreciated. I love hearing from my readers about the story good or bad. Many thanks to my ever patient betas, Tripp3235 and mswainwright.

Disclaimer: Not mine. All Downton Abbey characters belong to Julian Fellowes and ITV. I'm just playing with them.

Chapter 12

Tom arrived as agreed at nine o'clock the next morning with his valise. The sun was shining after a rainy evening. It was Sybil who came out to welcome him and ushered him into the house. She already had her grey coat on, though still unbuttoned.

"I hope you don't mind if we were to stop at the Dower House in the village," said Sybil while they walked through the front door. "Granny called ten minutes ago asking that I say goodbye before I leave. I would have called you if I had known earlier so that you didn't have to walk all this way."

"It's no matter," said Tom, taking off his cap. Carson took his valise. "I understand your grandmother's wish to say goodbye."

"I'm almost ready," said Sybil while she buttoned up her coat and tied the belt. "I said my good byes to Mary last night and Edith will be down shortly and bring Mama. Papa left for an early meeting in Ripon half an hour ago and gave me this cheque for travel and living expenses until I find a job. Before you say anything, I am not used to holding such a sum of money and I want you to hold it safe for me and we will deposit it in a bank when we get to Dublin."

Nodding, Tom took the cheque from Sybil and tucked it into a billfold he kept in the breast pocket of his jacket without looking at it. Sybil then put her gloves on and took her hat from the table and pinned it in place.

Carson harrumphed in the background when Edith and Lady Grantham descended the staircase.

The Countess arrived at the bottom of the stairs before Edith and bid Tom a good morning.

"Good Morning, Lady Grantham. Lady Edith," said Tom.

Edith acknowledged Tom and Sybil with a nod and said before departing, "I'll go fetch the motor from the garage."

The Countess came forward and hugged Sybil, "You were the first to leave the nest for training three years ago and now you're the first to leave the nest on your new journey. I will miss you so much, my darling."

"I'll miss you too, Mama," said Sybil, returning her mother's hug.

"Have you packed everything that you need?" asked the Countess once they broke apart.

"I have, Mama," said Sybil with a smile. "You know that I have." The Countess had spent the better part of last evening helping her pack after Sybil returned from dinner.

"I hope you'll write to let us know you're safe," said the Countess with a watery smile plastered on her face.

"I will, Mama, as soon as we arrive," said Sybil while she looked lovingly at Tom.

"Now, I've spoken to your father briefly and once we know when you are to be married, we will be coming to your wedding," said the Countess excitedly. "I don't know how big a party we will be, but at the very least, your parents will be in attendance."

"That's wonderful, Mama," said Sybil, overjoyed. This was something she couldn't have fathomed happening in the upheaval of last week. "I couldn't ask for anything more. Don't you think it's wonderful, Tom?"

"That's very kind, Lady Grantham," said Tom, a mite surprised by this turn of events. "We would be honoured if you and any member of the family could attend."

"Mr. Branson, I leave my youngest daughter in your care," said the Countess, turning to Tom. "I hope that you will take great care of her."

"Your Ladyship," said Tom. "I plan to do my utmost to care for your daughter and make sure that she is happy."

Carson interrupted, "Your Ladyship, Lady Edith is out front."

They all moved outside while Thomas loaded up the baggage on the back of the motor, giving Tom a look of disdain.

"Goodbye, darling Sybil," said the Countess, giving Sybil a final hug. "I'll see you in a few weeks."

"Goodbye, Mama," said Sybil while she pulled away from the hug.

Tom then opened the car door and helped Sybil into the back before joining her.


Sybil took Tom's hand as soon as they were settled in the back. Tom could sense from the way she squeezed it that she was anxious. She even turned to look out the back window one last time when the house went out of view, something she did not do when she left for training in York. While they drove to the village, Tom put his arm around her shoulders and said a few soothing words. The trip into the village was short as expected and Sybil tried to commit the view out the windows to memory. She didn't know how long it was going to be before she returned, so she wanted to remember the familiar drive. By the time the village came into view, Sybil's melancholy had lifted and she and Tom resumed more respectable positions.

When Edith pulled up to the Dower house, Tom asked, "Did you want me to come with you?"

"Yes, please," said Sybil. Turning to her sister, she added, "Edith, we won't be long. We have the ten o'clock train to catch."

"Don't worry," said Edith with a smile. "I brought a book with me. After driving Granny around these months, I come prepared." She held the book up to emphasize the point.

Looking at Tom, Sybil said, "Let's go then."

They quickly descended from the car and walked to the entrance where they were shown into the entrance way by the butler. When they entered the Dower House, the Dowager Countess was coming down the stairs.

"Thank you for coming to say goodbye," said the Dowager when she reached them. "I had forgotten that you were leaving this morning until my man mentioned it."

"You never forget anything, Granny," teased Sybil. "I think you just wanted to avoid Mama's emotional farewell."

"Be that as it may, I did want to say goodbye before you left," said the Dowager. "I shall miss you very much, my dear. I knew that one day all you girls would be leaving, but I never imagined that you would be the first. Best wishes on your upcoming nuptials."

"I will miss you, too," said Sybil with a smile. "Thank you, Granny."

"And here," said the older woman, reaching for an envelope on a tray on the card table and thrust it into Sybil's hands. "Purchase something for your new home from me. I have no inkling of what you may require in your new life, but thought that you should have something all the same."

Sybil hugged the older woman much to the Dowager's surprise. "Thank you very much, Granny. You really didn't have to give us anything."

"Yes, I did my dear," said the Dowager after Sybil released her. "You are getting married and you're my granddaughter. This is the least I can do for you." She then turned her attentions to Tom. "Young man, you have always been a good driver. I hope that you will be a good driver in your new journey together with my granddaughter."

"You are very kind, Lady Grantham," said Tom. "I will strive to be worthy of her."

"Goodbye, Sybil dear," said the Dowager, reaching out to hug Sybil again.

Sybil hugged the older woman. "Good bye, Granny." Unexpected tears formed when Sybil realized that it may be quite sometime before she saw her grandmother again. She dared not think of the alternative.

After the hug, Sybil took Tom's hand and they walked through the front door opened by the butler toward the waiting car while the Dowager watched from her front door.


When they arrived at the railway station, Tom carried their luggage to the platform and went inside to purchase their tickets for Liverpool, leaving Sybil and Edith to say their goodbyes.

"I'm going to miss you, Sybil," said Edith while they stood on the platform along with a few other travelers. "It won't be the same with just Mary in the house."

"Will you come to my wedding?" asked Sybil. "Papa, Mama and Mary are planning to be there."

"I would like that very much," said Edith with a smile.

"Perhaps you'll find an Irish boy while you're there, so you can escape," said Sybil alluding to their conversation a couple of months ago after the last of the army medical equipment had been shipped out.

Looking at the ground, Edith said, "I'm afraid that I'm not as brave as you."

"You know that you don't have to move anywhere," said Sybil, looking up at her sister. "Just look for something useful to do, like you did during the war. Having a purpose is what matters."

Edith smiled before asking, "Will you write to me?"

Sybil returned the smile. "Of course and I will let you know all about Ireland."

Just then, the train whistle was heard in the distance and Tom exited the station with their tickets.

"Lady Edith, thank you for driving us to the station," said Tom, nodding to her.

"No, thank you for teaching me how to drive," said Edith, smiling at him. "Now I have a skill that I can use, and since we are nearly family, please call me Edith." She extended her hand out to Tom.

"In that case, please call me Tom," said Tom returning her smile while he shook Edith's hand.

Beaming, Sybil hugged Edith quickly. "I'll see you in a few weeks."

"Goodbye," said Edith, while she stood on the platform to watch them walk closer to the train.

When the train rolled into the station and stopped, Tom opened a third-class door on their train, put their luggage into their compartment and helped Sybil in before getting in himself.


The journey from Grantham village to Leeds had been uneventful. However, due to a derailment upline, they waited for hours for their connecting train and didn't arrive in Liverpool until the early evening. Once there, Tom insisted that they first purchase their tickets to Ireland before having a quick dinner of sandwiches. When they started looking for rooms at the hotels by the waterfront after dinner, they discovered that two steamer ships were set to sail to America the following day and they were all full. They continued their search toward the center of the city. After a few fruitless inquiries, Tom left Sybil with the luggage outside while he checked the next inn to avoid having to carry all of it in and then out. Eventually, Tom found one normally unused room at an inn near the city centre only after offering the owner twice the normal charge for it. When he told Sybil about the situation, she was so tired, she just said, "At least we don't have to sleep outside by the docks."

When Tom placed their luggage into the small, musty room, Sybil looked around. "As long as you sleep on top of the covers, why don't we share a bed tonight? We're both exhausted and I find it pointless for you to sleep in a chair again. I promise not to tell if you won't." The room was smaller and dingier than the room they shared the night of the failed elopement, though the bedclothes looked clean, if worn.

"Wouldn't that be impugning your honour?" asked Tom, looking intently at her.

"I trust you," said Sybil with a small smile. "You've honoured my wishes for this long. I'm certain that you won't take advantage of me tonight. I'd rather we both be well rested for tomorrow's journey."

Tom nodded wearily. "At least there's a screen for us to change behind. Do you need help with anything?"

"No, I made sure that I didn't wear anything that required help," said Sybil. "If you don't mind, I'll get ready for bed."

Not wanting to be in the room while Sybil changed, Tom said, "I'll go get a copy of the local paper then, while you do that. I want to see what news there is."

"Very well," said Sybil. "Bring the key with you as I plan to lock the door after you leave."

Tom nodded and exited the room.

When Tom returned twenty minutes later with newspaper in hand, Sybil was already changed and in bed reading a book. He had forgotten how beautiful she looked with her hair down. With her hair braided and tied, she looked so young, almost younger than when he first saw her.

"Did you find the paper that you wanted?" asked Sybil, looking up from her book.

"Took a while," said Tom. "At this hour, all of the newspaper stands are closed and I had to go to a few shops before I found one that had some left." Tom lifted the paper in his hand to help emphasize his point.

"Why don't you change and join me in bed?" asked Sybil. "We should get as much sleep as possible as we have a long day tomorrow."

Tom nodded wearily before going into his valise to take out a pair of pajamas. While he changed behind the screen, Sybil couldn't help but watch his faint shadowed outline. She was broken out of her reverie when Tom asked, "What book are you reading?"

Sybil smiled. "Sense and Sensibility. I brought my favorite Austens with me and I had a sudden desire to remember how Marianne eventually fell in love with Colonel Brandon."

"Is this the one where the sisters' father dies and they have to move out to Devonshire?" asked Tom, pulling on his pajama pants.

"That's the one. You remembered." After he had shared some political books with her before the war began, she had insisted that he try her favorite author.

"As you recall, I thought the sister who fell for that rogue was rather unguarded," said Tom, buttoning up his pajama top. "I much preferred the elder sister in that story who was more practical."

"Yes, Mary always preferred Elinor as well, while Edith and I both preferred Marianne," said Sybil.

When Tom emerged from behind the screen, he made a non-committal noise to the last comment, placed his clothes carefully on the other chair in the room and his billfold and change on the bedside table. Taking up the newspaper he had placed on the small table, he brought it with him to the bed. Pulling the other blanket from the foot of the bed to cover himself, he adjusted the pillow so that he could comfortably read the paper.

When he opened the first page, he suddenly realized how comfortable they seemed with one another. He had always thought that he would be nervous and it would be awkward the first night he would share a bed with the woman he was to marry, but Sybil was more than that. They had been friends even before he fell in love with her and now that they were embarking on a new life together, there was none of the nervousness he had expected and in fact, it was rather comforting.

After about a quarter of an hour, Sybil closed her book, yawned. "I'm going to sleep now. If you want to stay up, feel free, but I'm exhausted."

Quickly folding up the newspaper, Tom said, "I should probably get some sleep as well."

When Sybil turned back to Tom after she placed her book on the table beside her, he leaned in for a good night kiss. It was suppose to be a quick kiss but after such a long exhausting day, it deepened quickly as each poured their love for one another into it. Soon hands were roaming and caressing. It did not help that they were both in their nightclothes, on a bed, in a room where no one cared what they did.

In the end, it was Tom who pulled away. He quickly got up and said, "I'm sorry, but I think it'd be better if I slept in the chair."

Sybil looked at him and said, "Don't be ridiculous. It was as much my fault as it was yours."

Still breathing heavily, Tom said, "I'm worried that we'll get carried away, if we kiss again."

Pulling the quilt closer to her neck, Sybil said, "Then the obvious solution is not to kiss again and I promise you that I will not be kissing you again tonight." With that, Sybil laid down on the bed and turned her back to him. When she sensed that Tom was hesitating, she said, "Please get on the bed now and go to sleep. I don't want to oversleep our boat departure."

Tom cursed some silent oaths, got onto the bed covers facing away from Sybil, pulled his blanket over himself and willed himself to sleep.

When she awoke early the next morning just as the sun was dawning in the sky, Sybil found herself being spooned by Tom still on top of the bed covers with his arm protectively over her middle. She had to smile at how comfortable and protected she felt and thought of how wonderful it was that this was going to be her life going forward.

Tom, for all his anger and hot temper, was a caring man who deeply loved her and waited for her for years to make her decision to be with him. Now they were almost there. They just needed to cross the Irish Sea, have the banns read and be married. Now that they had reached this point, the rest seemed so easy. Though she knew that they had to get up soon, she laid still listening to Tom's soft regular breathing signifying sleep and enjoyed the peace and contentment she felt just a little while longer.

A/N2: Firstly, this was my favorite chapter to write. Everything flowed very nicely and the first draft came together rather quickly. Secondly, I felt that at this juncture, Robert wasn't quite ready to say absolutely not regarding attending their wedding and had perhaps brushed off Cora when she spoke to him about it (which is quite possible since they were going through a rough patch at this time), which she interpreted as acquiescence. That his anger at the situation and hence refusal to attend came later. In any case, I'd love to hear what you think of this chapter good or bad, so please do review. :)