A/N: Thank you for all the suggestions for With Love From Dublin, keep them coming! Um, Duchess, you might want to send more because most of the ones you've sent were already planned for the epilogue. :)

Thanks also for all the reviews, etc., since the last chapter was posted. As always, all of it is greatly appreciated.

Many, many thanks to my wonderful betas: Tripp3235, mswainwright and _livingfree (on Twitter) (in absentia for the remainder of the story due to school work). Without these wonderful people, who listen to me gripe and have the patience to slog through chapter after chapter despite their busy lives (even on vacation!), the quality of every aspect of this story would be much poorer indeed! :)

To provide a time reference for the weekly readers, we pick up in this chapter the evening of Thurs. June 5, 1919 around nine o'clock in the evening.

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

Chapter 42

After Mary sent them on their way, Tom drove Sybil to their new home in Mr. Connolly's car. When Edith had been surprised to hear that they were honeymooning at home while the bridal party waited for the service to start, Sybil merely replied that it was enough to enjoy a few days in their own home with only each other as company. It had been furnished by the generosity of family members who only had their happiness in mind. What more could they ask for.

At the threshold of their flat, Tom insisted on carrying Sybil over it. "It's only right though it's not the first time I've carried you anywhere."

"I don't clearly recall the first time," said Sybil, referring to the Count in Ripon in 1914. "Though I do remember a strong, comforting presence. Matthew told me about it later. I never did thank you."

Tom picked her up and carried her over. "I think marrying me is thanks enough. I'm very glad that you defended me that night." He put her down gently on the other side. "I heard through the staff later in the week that you were very vocal about keeping me on. In fact, threatening to run away if I had been sacked. It was then that I started to fall in love with you." He then went to pick up Sybil's suitcase from the hallway just outside the door, and he closed and locked the door to their new home. No one was going to barge in on them tonight, but he wanted to be certain.

Putting down her bouquet on the work table by the door, Sybil started to remove her veil. "I remember thinking that it was utterly unfair that you should be sacked for my deception. I also threatened never to speak to Papa again." Sybil smiled at the thought and hit a snag with the veil. Looking over at Tom, he immediately came over to help her out after placing his jacket on the back of one of the dining table chairs. Tom was surprised and happy to see Sybil mention her father without an onslaught of tears. Apparently, her resolution during their last conversation before today to focus only on the happy times was working.

He pulled some pins out of the way to release the veil. "I'm very glad he backed down and kept me on." After placing the veil carefully beside the bouquet, Tom helped Sybil remove the mob cap that adorned her head.

"I couldn't be sure that he would, but I'm very glad that he did as well." Sybil removed her gloves while holding still so Tom could remove the mob cap and place it beside the veil. Sybil struggled with the pearls, so he started to carefully remove the pearls from her neck. When Tom did this, Sybil removed the matching earrings.

When Tom was done, Sybil placed the gloves and the earrings beside the veil and the mob cap. After he placed the pearls on the table, Tom leaned down to kiss Sybil on the spot where her neck met her shoulder and he placed his hands upon her hips. That spot of exposed skin had been tantalizing him since she walked down the aisle.

"Oh, Tom," said Sybil, sighing at the sensation.

Tom made his way with kisses up her neck all the while murmuring, "You are so beautiful. I was mesmerized when you walked down the aisle today."

He kissed her throat and Sybil sighed again. "You were so very handsome yourself standing by the altar."

Once he made it to her lips, Sybil placed her hands on either side of his face so that she could hold him in place while they kissed. His arms encircled her waist when he pulled her closer to him. They had waited so long that the freedom to do it now seemed bring on a slow burn. Neither of them wanted to hurry this up.

Tom deepened the kiss and his tongue slipped into Sybil's mouth. It was quickly met by hers and the dance of tongues kindled a smouldering flame that threatened to overwhelm them. When their lips finally parted, Tom leaned his forehead on hers. Sybil said breathlessly, "I will need your help with my hair, my dress and my corset, tonight. I hope you don't mind."

He leaned in for another kiss. "I don't mind." His lips met hers again. When they kissed this time, Tom felt for the buttons on the back of the wedding dress and silently cursed his mother for putting so many there.

After they broke apart again, Sybil turned around for Tom to work on unbuttoning her dress. The buttons went from the back of her neck all the way to the small of her back. By his quick count, there were at least fifty buttons to undo. So he started from the top and placed a kiss on the exposed skin revealed by each button. At first, he thought it might take him until the morning, but when he released each button and added the kiss, the sighs of pleasure from Sybil just heightened his arousal. Once he reached the fifty-second button, he recalled the curse he had silently made and blessed his mother briefly before banishing her from his mind.

When she stepped out of the dress, Tom draped it carefully on the back of the sofa, soon to be followed by her underskirt. Once he was done, Sybil pulled him in for a kiss and his arms automatically encircled her waist. This time, it was she who surprised him when her tongue sought entrance to his mouth. When Tom moved down her jawline, Sybil sighed in contentment. "What about your clothing?"

Tom worked down the bare skin above the chemise under her corset. "Would you care to help me with them?" he murmured.

"If you would care to stand straight, I will," said Sybil, running her fingers through his immaculate hair. She had been wanting to do that since she saw him by the altar that afternoon.

Tom then slowly kissed his way back up her neck, her jaw line, ending at her lips while his hands wandered over the soft curve of her buttocks and cupped one. The feel of her fingers through his hair with her fingernails lightly scraping his scalp was divine.

After another long kiss, Sybil pulled away in order to pull apart his tie. Once the knot was undone, he pulled her in for another kiss while she pulled the tie from his neck. Reaching behind her, Sybil tried to put the tie over the back of the sofa and failed. She managed to put part of it there but gravity had other ideas, once she let go to put her arms about his neck to deepen the kiss and the tie slid to the floor.

While they kissed, Sybil reached down to unbutton his vest, but managed to get the buttons of his shirt instead. When she realized this, she giggled into the kiss which broke them apart.

Tom placed his forehead against hers and looked into her eyes. "Should we take this to the bed where we can be more comfortable?" His voice husky with emotion.

"We still need to take my hair down and loosen the corset," said Sybil, smiling.

"I think we can do that on the bed where I can sit behind you," said Tom, leaning in for another kiss.

When they broke apart this time, Sybil looked at Tom. "Lead the way."

Tom took her hand and led her from the main room into their bedroom where they could still see the sun getting ready to set in the west.

When Sybil sat on the edge of the bed facing the window with Tom beside her to take off their shoes, something in her mind clicked that this was it. They were married now and there was no pulling back tonight. When she was done before him, she looked at his profile while he untied his laces. How handsome he is and how much I love and adore him. Then the thoughts of what her mother wrote in that letter came to mind. "...if you are eager for the act, then ... relations will likely become enjoyable with your husband." She was most definitely eager for him.

Once Tom was done, he looked over to see her watching him. He smiled at her, breaking her reverie. Sybil blushed at being caught. "Can you help me take out the pins and loosen the corset?"

"Of course."

Sybil climbed further into the bed while Tom turned and knelt behind her to get a better view. As he took each pin out and unfurled the mass on the back of her head, the excitement within him started to build again from the intimacy of the act. No other man would be allowed to do this for her from this day forward.

Once he pulled the last pin out and added it to the pile on the nightstand, he lightly kissed her shoulder and sat down on the bed. Next, he pulled at the bow on the corset that Anna tied on that morning.

Sybil looked back at what Tom was doing. "You'll need to loosen the laces along the length enough so that I can unbutton it." So Tom pulled at the Xs the laces made until none were taut but not loose. With each pull, Tom added another kiss on the exposed skin on her shoulder, making Sybil think that she could never have a corset unlaced without thinking Tom's strong hand pulling at the laces again. Sybil turned around to look at him after he was done and he was awed by how beautiful she looked with her hair down and completely unfurled.

When Sybil moved closer to finish her work on his vest and shirt, Tom pulled her in for a kiss that lasted a while. Once they pulled apart, they were both breathing rather heavily again and there was slightly more urgency than before. At this point, they worked together to unbutton his vest and shirt. Sybil from the top while Tom worked on releasing his cuffs before starting from the bottom. Soon the combined effort was able to release both together and Tom got up to take the vest off first and laid it carefully across the back of the chair in the bedroom, then he pulled his suspenders off his shoulders before taking the shirt off and put it on top of the vest. While he was there, he took his pants and socks off, too.

While Tom was disrobing, Sybil started to untangle her hosiery from her garters and rolled them off one by one and placed them in her shoes. The garters came off right after that and were placed on her nightstand.

Since the light was fading fast from the setting sun, Tom lit the candles around the room and closed the curtains before pulling the covers off the bed while Sybil started to undo the top button on the corset. She got as far as the first button before she had to move off the bed covers and into the bed.

When Tom knelt on the bed beside her, he pulled her into a kiss. Soon corset buttons were off of Sybil's mind as her arms wrapped about his neck and Tom pulled her closer to him by the waist so she could feel his desire for her. As a result, they could no longer stay upright and Tom gently laid her down on the bed with her head on the pillow.

Once he pulled away, the way Sybil looked at him with her hair fanning on the pillow, her lips slightly open and the top button of her corset unbuttoned was an image so erotic, he captured it into his memory to be replayed in the future.

When he regained his senses a moment later, he asked, "May I?" Despite that now she was his wife, unbuttoning her corset was something far too intimate for Tom to consider doing without permission.

Sybil nodded since she lost her power of speech in the haze of sensations. She had never seen Tom's bare chest before and the sight was mesmerizing. Tom lowered his head to kiss her creamy white skin revealed by the opened top button just above the chemise before working on the next one down the line. He spent time revelling each piece of skin revealed beneath the gossamer thin chemise with each opened button. Finally, when the last button was released, he moved the corset off the front of her body to reveal her lovely pert breasts with small dark nipples and the milky white skin of her flat stomach beneath the thin chemise and slightly thicker matching silk knickers.

At this juncture, Tom's desire was highly evident from beneath his drawers. Sybil's eyes could not help but be drawn to the sight of it in the flickering candlelight. What she did not expect was her own visceral reaction.

Tom drew her up by her arms to move the corset out of the way and to remove the chemise to finally reveal her beautiful nude torso. He took the opportunity to pull her in for a kiss and then to cup a bare breast with one of his hands. The feel of her aroused nipple bare against the palm of his hand hardened his desire so acutely that Tom was worried he wouldn't last. While this was not his first time, he could count his experiences on the fingers of one hand and it had been well over six years since his last encounter.

Sybil, surprised by the erotic feel of his work-toughened hand against her breast, broke the kiss. "I'm sorry," whispered Sybil. Tom shushed her before laying her back down on the bed. Tom then worked to remove her knickers before getting off the bed to remove his own drawers.

She watched with fascination when Tom's arousal was revealed. Drawings in physiological texts did nothing to prepare her for the real thing. She had a desire to touch it, but was too shy to ask, so she focused her eyes on his face instead, which was filled with want and desire.

Now both fully nude, Tom then climbed back onto the bed and over Sybil. With his hands on either side of her head. Tom hovered above her briefly before he leaned down to kiss her. "God, you are so beautiful," murmured Tom against her skin when he started to trail kisses down her jaw, over her neck, down her body. He paid special attention to each of her breasts, sucking and nibbling to tease each dark nipple taut, much to Sybil's delight since each kiss brought delicious waves of pleasure that coursed through her body. Tom moved to kiss her stomach and finally, after moving her knees up, to reveal her core. Tom found it already wet with want when he started his exploration.

While Tom explored this most inner sanctum, Sybil ran her fingers through his hair and massaged his scalp while trying to stay as still as possible. In between gasps of pleasure, Sybil bit her lip to keep from loudly voicing her reaction to the pleasure Tom was eliciting. The last thing she wanted was to attract unwanted attention from their neighbours. She eventually closed her eyes to savour it all.

Tom then pushed one finger slowly in, which elicited another gasp of pleasure from Sybil with a corresponding grasp of her fingers upon his scalp. Using his finger, he worked to gently expand the opening to help decrease the pain and increase the pleasure for her first time. "Oh Tom." With a little patience and work, he was able to eventually add a second finger into the warm, wet sanctum. Once he was satisfied with the size of the opening, he proceeded to kiss and explore the area with his tongue much to Sybil's delight. Having read the copy of The Perfumed Garden someone had mysteriously left on his desk had been utterly helpful and he silently thanked them with each noise of pleasure that came forth from Sybil at his touch.

Sybil meanwhile savoured Tom's ministrations and felt a build up start within her while his tongue worked every part of her core. Nothing in her wildest imagination had made her think that this could feel so good. Moans and gasps of pleasure came forth since Sybil was unable to contain them any longer and she instinctively arched her back and moved her hips to avoid losing contact with Tom's tongue. Just as she was about to hit a peak, Tom stopped and climbed over her body to kiss her mouth, his tongue eagerly seeking hers and she could feel his hardened desire first on her thigh and then against her wet opening. She kissed him back with equal fervour while she started losing herself in the act. Next, Tom leaned slightly to one side and guided her hand to his hardness. When he kissed her, he mumbled between heated breaths, "Help me … inside you."

Sybil grasped him and heard Tom gasp at her touch, breaking the kiss. Under Tom's tender ministrations, she was eager to be joined with him. Once aligned, she felt Tom enter and fill her. Her slick wetness helped him slide in with a little effort. The initial pain lasted no more than a few, brief seconds and was quickly forgotten in the arousal he had brought forth before entering her. Her arms moved to about his neck again and her legs instinctively wrapped about his waist to get as close to him as possible.

When he filled her warm and tight wetness, Tom felt as though he was already nearing the edge and was unable to contain voicing his pleasure. "Oh, Sybil. Oh God!" Tom pushed up to look Sybil in the eye when he started moving, slowly at first to avoid reaching his release right there and then. Her pupils were dilated in arousal when she looked at him and smiled before she closed them to savour the pleasure coursing through her body. Seeing no pain reflected on her face, he then lowered himself back down to focus on the task at hand since every part of his body that was in contact with hers felt like it was on fire.

When he gained speed, Sybil felt the build up start again inside her, blotting out any pain she may have felt upon his entrance. Soon, Tom was ready and he started to speed up his movements. Sybil gasped when he hit a good spot. "Oh Tom! Please don't stop!" Tom held on for as long as he could while he moved faster. With one final thrust, Tom felt himself shudder and reach his high, "Oh God," and the next moment, Sybil gasped when she reached hers and her core gripped him rhythmically to help him release and spill into her. Tom collapsed on top of her to ride out the high. Making love had never felt this good.

As the sensations started to subside, Tom rolled them gently to one side to take his weight off of Sybil. When they both recovered their breaths, Tom looked at his beautiful wife and smiled. "Was it worth the wait, Mrs. Branson?"

Sybil smiled at him and, suddenly shy, looked down at his chest. "Utterly and completely."

Tom used his free hand to lift her chin up to look at her. "I love you so much, Sybil." He then leaned in and kissed her tenderly.

When they broke apart, Sybil smiled. "I love you, too, Tom."

After they untangled their limbs, Tom found a towel for them to clean up before he climbed back into bed and pulled the covers over them. When Tom spooned Sybil under the covers, he didn't resist the temptation to kiss her neck and soon he felt himself harden again. This lead to other explorations and soon they were kissing and caressing again. Having already discarded their clothing before, it was much quicker to get to the heart of the matter this time.


When the sun shone through their south-facing bedroom window the next day, Tom was asleep on his back with his arm draped over Sybil's shoulders while she was asleep lying on his shoulder. They had fallen asleep after a third time near dawn like that and had barely moved. Sybil opened one eye and then the other, and seeing the sun, she realized that it must be very late morning or even possibly early afternoon. Tom did not wake when she shifted to look up at the clock which read half past ten. Realizing the time, Sybil shifted until she could kiss Tom properly. The last time she had slept so late was the night after the failed elopement.

After a few kisses, Tom finally responded by holding her close to return her kiss. When Sybil broke the kiss, she smiled. "It's half past ten. Don't you have to return the car to Mr. Connolly by noon?"

Realizing the time, Tom rolled them over until he was on top of Sybil. "Oh, I think we have enough time for one more round before we have to get ready and return the car. He's only a few minutes away by car." He kissed her soundly and she giggled. Sybil then broke the kiss. "But it will take me about an hour to get ready after last night."

Not skipping a beat, Tom said, "Then we have another twenty minutes to ourselves." He leaned down to kiss his wife again and soon they were occupied for the next thirty minutes with kissing, caressing and other such activities.


When they pulled up to the offices of The Dublin Times a minute before noon, Tom turned off the engine before he handed Sybil down from the car. Sybil wondered how she looked since she ended up with only a half hour to get ready when Tom remembered having to fill the petrol tank and wipe down the car before returning it. When they left their flat, Tom had assured her that she looked beautiful, but Sybil wasn't as certain as she rushed through getting ready.

Tom greeted the receptionist when he took off his cap, "Good afternoon, Miss O'Donnell. You remember my wife."

Miss O'Donnell smiled at the newlyweds when she got up from behind her desk. "Of course, Mr. Branson. Congratulations! How was the wedding yesterday, Mrs. Branson?"

"It was lovely, Miss O'Donnell," said Sybil, smiling at being called Mrs. Branson. "Thank you for asking."

Turning back to Tom, Miss O'Donnell smiled at him. "Let me get Mr. Connolly for you. He had been by a few minutes ago wondering where you were, but I told him you'd be here by noon as promised."

When Miss O'Donnell disappeared into the offices, Tom and Sybil stood at one side of the reception area. Tom looked at Sybil and had to fight the urge to kiss her. After the last fifteen hours, Tom wanted to do nothing more than to kiss her, to hold her, to caress every part of her. It was as if last night had broken the dam and all the years of waiting to be able to love her in every way came rushing to him at once. When his body reacted to these thoughts, Tom had to suppress them quickly when Mr. Connolly appeared behind Miss O'Donnell.

"Mr. Branson. Mrs. Branson," said Mr. Connolly, smiling broadly. "Right on time, too. Did the car serve its purpose?"

"It rightly did, sir," said Tom, handing Mr. Connolly the keys. "Thank you very much for loaning it to us. I filled it with petrol and parked it just outside the doors."

"Yes, it was very kind of you, Mr. Connolly," added Sybil.

"If I can't spared my car for my star columnist on his wedding day, then I don't know how to run a paper," said Mr. Connolly, smiling. "We'll see you back in the office on Tuesday afternoon, then, Mr. Branson?" A telephone rang in the background.

"Absolutely, Mr. Connolly," said Tom, returning the smile. "Thank you again for the use of the car."

"Telephone for you, Mr. Connolly," said Miss O'Donnell. "It's Mr. Fitzgerald from the ink company."

"Think nothing of it," said Mr. Connolly, pointing to his office and started walking in that direction.

"It's already routed, Mr. Connolly," said Miss O'Donnell.

"Good day, Miss O'Donnell," said Tom, putting his cap on his head.

"Good day, Mr. and Mrs. Branson," said Miss O'Donnell.

Sybil nodded in acknowledgement before they left the newspaper office.

Outside the office, Tom held out his arm and Sybil took it instinctively. Tom looked over at his utterly beautiful wife. "What did you want to do next? We have the next four days to ourselves."

Sybil looked up at her handsome husband. "I'm a little hungry. How about we buy some lunch?"

Tom's stomach growled at this juncture. "I'd have to agree. I was so busy yesterday afternoon that I forgot to eat the sandwich Ma gave me. I think it's still in the jacket pocket at Ma's." Tom grimaced. "All I had yesterday was a small breakfast, and then the wedding breakfast after the ceremony and I didn't eat much of that either."

"Why didn't you say something?" asked Sybil. "We could have had some bread and butter, since deliveries started this morning."

"I think I need something more substantial than bread and butter," said Tom, grinning. "Is there somewhere new you'd like to try?"

"No, not really," said Sybil. "Do you have some place in mind?"

"I thought I'd show you this public house that I found that has very tasty food," said Tom, smiling at his wife. "I've been going there for dinner when I have to work late."

"Very well then," said Sybil, returning his smile. "Let's go."

They started walking down the street in the afternoon sun toward their lunch destination.

So Sybil and Tom's journey to happiness was now complete and they started the first full day of their married life by having lunch.

A/N2: So was it worth the wait? I made you read over 150K of words before we got here, so I want to know if it was worth the wait. :D Last up, the epilogue!

As I mentioned in the last few chapters, once this story is done, I'm thinking of writing a few select scenes from Sybil and Tom's time in Dublin (as time allows) and posting it under my With Love From Dublin one-shot to make it into an anthology. Thank you to those who have provided suggestions already. Just wanted to add that more prompts likely means more scenes.

As always, please feel free to point out any typos and grammatical errors. Sometimes no matter how hard you or your betas look, these things get missed. Also, please feel free to point out cultural misnomers or anachronisms, I live in Canada and I know that our terms are often different than those in the UK and Ireland. As always, I'd love to hear what you think of this chapter good or bad, so please do review. :)