A/N: Thank you for all the reviews, etc., since the last chapter. Thanks to those who pointed out typos. Those have been fixed where warranted. :) All of it, especially reviews, is greatly appreciated.
I would like to share that a wonderful reader and reviewer, bijou156, has kindly put together a lovely family tree of Tom's family from this story. I have proudly posted it on my tumblr and there's a link to my post in my profile where you can see the family tree. I can't express how delighted I was when bijou156 sent it. You must go check it out! :)
As always, many thanks to my ever patient betas, Tripp3235, mswainwright and _livingfree (on Twitter) without whom the quality of this story would be much poorer indeed!
Disclaimer: Not mine. All Downton Abbey characters belong to Julian Fellowes and ITV. I'm just playing with them.
Chapter 23
As they were finishing dinner that night, Mrs. Branson said, "We saw Molly Hayes and her boys at church this morning."
Tom could sense Sybil tensing beside him and he reached his free hand under the table to reassure her. "How are they?"
"They're doing well," said Mrs. Branson. "They are free for dinner on Thursday, so I've invited them."
"The boys are rambunctious though," offered Cathleen. She had been with her mother when they saw Molly.
"Will be nice to see her again," said Tom as he squeezed Sybil's hand under the table. He could see that Sybil had her polite smile plastered on her face at the news.
"I understand that you knew Mrs. Hayes from school," said Sybil as she turned to Tom.
Tom smiled imploringly at her. "Yes, she went to the same neighbourhood schools I did. We were in the same grade and had a few classes together the last three years of my schooling."
"Then I look forward to hearing stories of your school days, then," said Sybil.
Cathleen then said, "Joe Maguire asked about you today as well."
Tom was thankful for Cathleen's change in topic. "How is Joe? I haven't seen him in nearly six years." Turning to Sybil, he said, "He's a good friend from when I lived here." Sybil smiled at Tom and squeezed his hand lovingly.
"He was hoping to see you at church," said Cathleen. "But as you are attending the other church until the wedding, he said that he wants to have a night on the town before you become an old married man."
"Cathleen!" said Mrs. Branson. "Hold your tongue."
"But Ma," protested Cathleen. "That's what he told me to tell Tom."
Tom smiled at her. "Did he say where I could find him?"
"At O'Reilly's," said Cathleen as she glanced at her mother who looked at her disapprovingly. "He said that some of the gang's there any night of the week after eight o'clock."
Tom turned to glance at Sybil before going on. "Care to meet old friends of mine after dinner?"
Before Sybil could answer, Mrs. Branson said, "Sybil, dear, if you're keen, I think there will be enough light after dinner to use the machine to start sewing yours and Cathleen's dresses. Cathleen and I cut the larger pieces this afternoon based on the measurements we did of you on Friday and Cathleen's measurements from this morning before Mass. We only have four and a half weeks to finish both of them."
Looking at Mrs. Branson, Sybil put down her fork. "Yes, of course, I'm interested in learning."
"Connor and I can do the dishes," Tom volunteered. "We can go after it gets too dark to work on the machine."
Sybil turned to Tom. "Why don't you go and see your friends tonight, while we get started on the dresses for the wedding. That way you can catch up with them without my being a hindrance on the topics to be discussed, and you won't need to walk me back before heading to Ciaran and Aileen's tonight. I need to write my application letter for the nursing position tonight anyway and I'll come with you the next time you join them." She squeezed his hand under the table reassuringly.
Disappointed that Sybil wouldn't be going with him, Tom squeezed her hand under the table in response. "I understand. I'll head out after the dishes then."
Tom whistled as he walked down the street toward O'Reilly's as the sun had set and the streets were still being illuminated by the twilight. By the time he arrived, dusk had come and gone and the streets were now lit by lamp light. As he entered and took off his cap, Tom saw that the old hang out had not changed much since he was last here six years ago. The same old tables and chairs adorned the establishment, with the fireplace on the far wall lighting and illuminating much of the interior. The enormous proprietor, Paddy O'Reilly, who was about as wide as he was tall, was still behind the bar, though his lengthy beard was perhaps more grey and his apron possibly more stained.
A shout came from the direction of the table beside the fireplace. "Tom Branson."
Tom looked over and saw Joe, Cathal and Des all sitting at the old table. Joe was waving him over before he shouted to the barkeep. "Paddy, one for our Tom who's returned from Yorkshire to the bosom of Dublin." Joe was a fellow with a handsome face and a shock of neatly combed wavy dark hair and was a head taller than Tom. He was dressed in a shirt with no tie and the collar open and his pants were held up with a pair of suspenders.
As Tom headed to the bar to retrieve his brew, Paddy looked at him as he filled a mug from the tap and said, "How long's it been?"
"Six years," said Tom. "Just got off the boat on Holy Thursday." Tom reached into his pocket for some money and asked, "How much is a pint these days?"
"On the house, just this once," said Paddy as he handed Tom his mug. "Welcome back!"
"Thank you," said Tom as he took the mug and headed to the old table.
When he got to the table, Joe motioned Tom to take the open seat beside him. Tom sat down after hanging his jacket on the back of his chair. "So I've been gone for six years and little has changed. Where's Colm and Gavin?"
Des looked up from his mug and said, "Gavin's missus won't let him come on Sundays and Colm was killed at the Somme. Damn the British Lords and their wars. Why couldn't they have just left us alone." Des was the smallest of the group of friends with auburn hair neatly combed and a small mustache that made him look slightly older than his years. Tom was shocked by Des's attitude toward the British. He never liked them but six years ago, he wouldn't have openly cursed them.
Joe clapped Tom on his back. "Obviously you got the message I gave Cathleen. Good to see you. Don't mind Des. His missus is tight with the purse strings among other things." Joe waggled his eyebrow at this juncture before continuing on. "So he's a bit of a grump these days."
Tom looked at his buddies. "Sorry to hear about Colm. What possessed him to join the army?" Colm was probably the gentlest among his friends.
"You know Colm, always dreaming of seeing the world beyond Ireland," said Joe. "He wanted to travel and he joined up right away in hopes that we'd get home rule. He survived Loos and Hulluch somehow and he helped capture Ginchy, but he was shot and killed when they were securing the town or so Tara said. I wouldn't put it past the bastards in the British Army to lie through their teeth." Joe paused at this juncture to take a drink of his ale and Tom recalled that Tara was Colm's girl when he left and if he joined the army, they had probably gotten married because otherwise, she wouldn't have known. After Joe put down his tankard, he continued, "Let's talk of better things. Cathleen said you're back for good and you brought an English girl back with you."
Tom smiled. "Sybil was a nurse during the war and we're getting married at Rathgar Christian on the fifth of June at five in the afternoon. We'd love to have you all at the wedding."
"Rathgar Christian?" asked Cathal who suddenly joined the conversation. "Why not the local parish? We all married there. Well, maybe not Joe since he's still sowing his oats." Cathal was about Tom's height, a head of pale hair, but a bigger build and a ruddy complexion from having worked in the family bakery since he was but a wee lad.
"They have a residency requirement and since I've been living in Yorkshire for the last six years, I'm no longer considered a resident and while Sybil's lived in Yorkshire all her life, it was just easier," said Tom, completely avoiding the issue of their differences in religion.
"So what's Sybil like?" asked Joe. "She must be pretty since you never went out with a girl who wasn't and Cathleen was gushing all about how she was going to be a bridesmaid."
"I would have brought her today, except that Ma needs her to help with the dresses for the wedding. She's beautiful and intelligent and kind," said Tom with a dreamy look in his eyes. "She's perfect."
"That's no way to describe her," said Des after he took a swig from his mug. "Does she have the right curves in the right places? Does she know how to dress? Does she cook and clean well?"
"Obviously your view of the perfect wife is different from mine, Des," said Tom with a chuckle. "Yes, she has the right curves in all the right places and she dresses impeccably and she's for women's rights."
"Women's rights?" said Des as he looked into his mug. "What good is that if you're hungry or your flat's a sty?"
"Sybil's trying and my Ma is helping," said Tom defensively. "When Sybil puts her mind to something, she'll master it in no time."
"I'm sure she will," said Joe, coming to Tom's defense. "Otherwise, we'll see Tom coming here to eat his dinner in the future." All his friends had a good laugh at his expense.
"I'm willing to bet a shilling with each of you that by the fall, you'll all eat out more often than I will," said Tom, a little annoyed that his friends didn't have the same faith in Sybil.
"You're on," said Des, who put his shilling on the table.
"I'm in," said Cathal as he pulled a shilling out of his pocket.
"I'm out," said Joe. "Since I eat out most nights. But I'll keep the money for the bet. What is the exact bet?"
Tom looked at all his friends and with his finger on the table. "From October to December, I'm willing to bet that I will eat out less from Sybil's cooking than either of you would from your wives' cooking." Tom then put two shillings down on the table to seal the bet.
Des looked at Cathal. "This will be like taking money from a babe." Cathal nodded in agreement.
"So, does she go to rallies and the like for women's rights?" asked Joe, suddenly intrigued by this girl Tom had brought back with him.
"She's attended a few before the war started," said Tom with a smile. "But with the war, a lot of that was put on hold."
"Will you let her go after you're married?" asked Des with a smirk. "That's what's important."
"I don't see why not," said Tom with a look for Des. "I'd even go with her. As I said before I left for Yorkshire, votes for women are coming and it can't come soon enough for me."
Not wanting the evening to turn completely into a political argument, Joe asked, "Cathleen also said you were working at The Dublin Times? Isn't chauffeuring good enough for you? When did you have time to become a journalist?"
"I'm actually a columnist there. I have my first column coming out on Tuesday," said Tom full of pride.
"Fine. Columnist," said Joe as he pushed Tom on the shoulder. "When did you find time to find a girl and become a columnist?"
"Some of us are just more talented than others," said Tom as he pushed Joe back. "What have you been up to aside from 'sowing wild oats'?"
"Nothing much," said Joe. "Still working at the depot."
"Still working at the depot," scoffed Cathal. "He's the supervisor there now. Been for the last two years. Slave driver at that or so Dan says." Dan was Cathal's younger brother who took over Tom's position at the depot when he left for service.
"Doesn't surprise me," said Tom with a wink at Joe. "Joe was always the laziest as a worker and a slave driver when he was the one in charge. No girl for you?"
"He's been through all the good ones in Dublin and they all found him wanting," said Des as he chuckled into his mug.
"Don't think I'm ready to settle down yet," said Joe, ignoring Des. "Unless your girl has some sisters who'd be interested in an Irish lad."
"Sybil has a couple of sisters all right," said Tom. "But I doubt either of them would be interested in the likes of you. They barely tolerate me." The thought of Joe with Lady Mary or Edith almost made Tom chuckle out loud.
"Are they coming to the wedding?" asked Joe.
"Far as I know," said Tom as he look at Joe. "Why? Were you hoping to snag one of them at the wedding?"
"I might," said Joe as he squared his shoulders to show his profile to Tom. "I am much more charming than you are."
Ignoring Joe's last remark, Tom asked, "How's the baking business Cathal?"
"Doing all right," said Cathal. "My old man wants to expand into other neighbourhoods since business has been good the last few years, but the fight for independence is worrisome. Told him that we should wait a few years. Aoife wants to move with the expansion into a nicer neighbourhood."
"Aoife?" asked Tom with a raised eyebrow. Cathal had a couple of sisters but neither were called Aoife.
"My missus," said Cathal with a smile. "I guess I didn't meet her until after you'd left for Yorkshire. Been married five years now with two little ones and another on the way over the summer. Which reminds me that I better go. She gets anxious when she's big like she is. I just came tonight because Joe mentioned you'd be here. We'll be at the wedding if we can find someone to watch the little ones." Cathal drained his mug and stood up.
Tom stood up and extended a hand. "Good seeing you, Cathal. Where should I have Sybil send an invitation?"
Cathal shook Tom's hand. "Have her or your Ma drop it off at the bakery when she's there next. Good seeing you, Tom. I'll look out for your column on Tuesday." Cathal then left the establishment after returning his mug to the bar.
Tom sat down and asked his remaining companions, "Where'd he meet Aoife?"
"At the bakery from what we heard," said Joe as he had a faraway look. "Fell head over heels for her and married her in six months. Been a dull married man since, which is why we need to take you out for some carousing before you become one of those."
"Let me talk to Sybil," said Tom. "We have quite a few things to get in order before the wedding. Just took possession of our flat on the first and we're still looking for furniture. Just painted it yesterday."
Des elbowed Joe. "Listen to him. 'Let me talk to Sybil.' He's one of them already."
Tom gave both his friends a look. "Would one of the Saturday nights suit? The only one that I don't think will work is the one before the wedding as Ma is having Sybil's family over for dinner."
"Des, Gavin and I can be free any Saturday night and we might be able to convince Cathal to come, too," said Joe as if to challenge Tom. "Bring your girl with you the next time you're free to come to O'Reilly's and give us a date for the night on the town."
"Done," said Tom as he slammed his mug down to reinforce his point.
The three friends continued to talk about various topics after, including the fight for Ireland's freedom, the Spanish flu and Des's family life until much later than Tom had originally planned. It felt good to talk to his friends, but he got a sense that they may become less happy with him if Sybil's true position in life was ever revealed.
The following morning after taking care of the breakfast dishes, Sybil posted her application letter and went to the same furniture stores they had gone for their bedroom set to look for pantries and work tables for the kitchen. By the time she needed to get Tom from his office, she had found two options that would be within the sum that Cousin Isobel and Matthew had sent. After she picked Tom up, they looked at the two options and decided on the slightly more expensive and ornate one and ordered it. They found that it will be available in three weeks, which fit perfectly into their schedule as it will be in place before Sybil's family arrived.
After dropping Tom off at his office, Sybil walked back to Mrs. Branson's and they followed the normal routine for the afternoon. That evening, Mrs. Branson needed Sybil's help again with the dresses for the wedding after dinner when Tom brought up going to O'Reilly's, and it confirmed for Sybil that either her future mother-in-law didn't approve of Tom's friends or didn't think she should go to O'Reilly's, but she dared not ask.
That evening, Sybil worked again on her wedding dress with Mrs. Branson and Cathleen. As Sybil walked Tom to the door as he left for the evening, she said, "I don't think that your mother will let me meet your friends at O'Reilly's."
"I should have figured," said Tom as he stopped them and turned to her. "Not too many women darken its doors."
"If you wish to go without me in the evenings," said Sybil as she looked up at him. "Please don't let me stop you. It must be boring to be sitting watching three women work on dresses."
"It's never boring to watch you," said Tom, with a smile as he reached out to caress her cheek.
Sybil ducked her head and smiled, blushing at the thought of being watched by Tom.
"But I did promise that I would let them know which Saturday night I would spend with them before the wedding," said Tom as he stroked her cheek.
"Go tomorrow night then," said Sybil, putting her hand on top of his. "There's plenty of work to be done on those dresses before the wedding. Perhaps I could meet them somewhere else."
"Do you have a preference which Saturday night I spend with them?" asked Tom.
"None, but I think your mother might," said Sybil. "She talked of having a family gathering later this month, possibly for Cathleen's birthday which apparently falls on a Saturday this year."
"But nothing this Saturday evening?"
"Not that I'm aware of," said Sybil. "So if you want to spend this Saturday night with them, after our day looking at furniture and rings, feel free. I know you want to spend some time with them."
"Not as much as I want to spend it with you," said Tom as he leaned in to kiss her.
After the kiss, which left her slightly breathless, Sybil said, "We'll be spending both Saturday and Sunday together, I think you should go. Besides, I don't want to be known as the wife who keeps her husband from spending time with his friends even before we're married." Sybil then took a step back to put a respectable distance between them.
"You could never be that," said Tom as he stepped closer and stroked her cheek again. "Because it would be my choice to spend my time with you."
"Do you think you could leave work earlier on Thursday night?" asked Sybil. She had been debating all day about whether to ask him.
"It's possible, if I work later the next two days," said Tom. "Why?"
"Your mother mentioned this morning that Mrs. Hayes and her children would be arriving at five o'clock," said Sybil. "I was hoping that you'd be here with me."
"Of course," said Tom as he took her hand and stroked it. "I'll aim to be here fifteen minutes before that."
"Thank you," said Sybil as she looked at the floor. "I didn't think I could meet her without you."
Tom then stepped forward and pulled Sybil into a hug. Sybil laid her head on his shoulder as he stroked her cheek. "You know Molly isn't as bad as you make her out to be. Yes, I loved her once, but I don't any more. I love you now. You have nothing to fear."
Sybil felt such comfort in Tom's embrace and in his words. She wished that he could hold her like that forever. After a few moments, she looked up at him. "My imagination is probably getting the better of me. However, I will feel more confident meeting your former sweetheart if you were by my side."
"There's nowhere else I'd rather be," said Tom as he kissed her forehead. "I'd better go. I was out too late last night and I had some trouble concentrating today."
"I'll see you tomorrow," said Sybil as she kissed Tom before pulling out of his embrace. "Sleep well."
"Goodnight, my love," said Tom as he opened the door and walked out.
Sybil waved good bye to him before she closed the door.
When Tom came for breakfast on Tuesday, he brought with him a copy of the Tuesday edition of the Dublin Times. Cathleen and Connor fought to find Tom's column. They found it in the opinion section and it was called "Should Dublin consider a Limerick Soviet?" It was a fiery opinion piece on whether Dublin should consider imitating the general strike in Limerick that had ended a little over a week ago. After Cathleen read it aloud so everyone could hear it, Mrs. Branson said, "Well that's something that'll stir the populace."
"What gave you the idea to write about the Limerick revolution?" asked Cathleen.
"I thought it was a peaceful and effective way to get the point across," said Tom. "I do hope that more people would consider going that route, especially Dublin."
Over the next few days everywhere that Mrs. Branson went someone asked her if it was her Tom's column in The Dublin Times.
A/N2: Now that you've met Tom's buddies in Dublin, what do you think of Joe, Des and Cathal? You'll meet Gavin when they go carousing. Think they will mix well with Sybil's family at the wedding? Next up is Molly's dinner, which coincidentally occurs on Thursday, May 8, 1919 (for readers reading later, posting date of this chapter is Wednesday, May 9, 2012).
As always, please feel free to point out typos and grammatical errors (though with a wonderful copy editor on my beta team you will find quite a few less). Sometimes no matter how hard you or your betas look, these things get missed. As always, I'd love to hear what you think of this chapter good or bad, so please do review. :)
