A/N: Notice that the rating has gone up significantly. ;) This fic will be updated in quick succession since it is a birthday fic for the amazing PiperHolmes and it is at least eight chapters long.
Thanks to Tripp3235 for a quick beta. Same universe as The Journey to Happiness and Branson and Crawley and one where Sybil and Matthew live and I just decided this last night (which is a slight change from an earlier chapter of Branson and Crawley) is that Edith marries Sir Anthony in 3x03. It's AU after all, why not!
Disclaimer: Not mine. All Downton Abbey characters belong to Julian Fellowes and ITV. I'm just playing with them.
Chapter 3 - A Spot of Fun
Toward the end of the tour, the baby started fussing for her dinner, so Sybil took her from Tom and sat down on the sofa to nurse her. Taking the pillow beside her that had been left there for this purpose, Sybil laid her daughter on it before lifting the flap on her dress for feeding. At two months out, she and the baby were adept at nursing now and the baby latched right away.
While Sybil nursed the baby, Tom busied himself with tidying the front room. After taking his jacket off and placing it on the back of one of the dining room chairs, he noticed the crates of dishes and other tableware were placed near the Welsh dresser and he started to unpack and put them where they belonged.
"We'll have to wash those before we put them back in the Welsh dresser," said Sybil without looking over. "Your mother left a note saying that they didn't have the opportunity to wash them before packing."
"Why don't I do that now?" said Tom picking up the crate that held the dishes and taking it to the kitchen.
"You'll need a wash cloth and a few dish towels," said Sybil. "Beth and I were just unpacking them when you arrived."
"I'll get them after I bring the crates into the kitchen." It took Tom several trips to bring all the tableware, so he brought along a large glass of water for Sybil while she nursed. Sybil learned early on that being hydrated helped immensely with her milk supply. After one final trip to the linen closet, Tom proceeded to start washing all of it. He was just finishing up the chinaware when Sybil came in and picked up a dish towel to start dry the pieces.
"Where's Nora?" Tom asked, putting the next dish on the dish towel laid out on the worktable beside the sink.
"Asleep on our bed," said Sybil drying the first dish. "She fell asleep nursing on the second side and is out. She wouldn't even wake up to finish it off."
"Does this mean we're alone in the cottage with no one else requiring our attention?" Tom looked at her suggestively, while he continued to wash the silverware.
"Yes, but I look like a fright after moving furniture and cleaning all day." Truth be told, Sybil wanted Tom more than she was willing to admit. She never felt entirely comfortable being physically intimate with him at Downton, not that it stopped them when she was still in her second trimester, but when Tom had been exiled from Ireland, the headaches and pitted edema from the toxemia that had started soon after had put a stop to it all. Then after the birth, she was too ill at first and then told to abstain for at least a month and as a sleep-deprived new mother who was breastfeeding, the last thing on her mind was physical intimacy.
Her hesitation had Tom leaning over and whispering in her ear. "You've never looked more beautiful to me."
Sybil blushed and glanced shyly at Tom. "Let's finish this first."
"But she might wake up if we wait," pouted Tom, rinsing the soap off the last of the silverware. "We can do this while she's awake, we can only do that while she's asleep."
Sybil paused to think on it a little. They weren't expected to return to the house for a couple of hours yet for dinner and the baby was sleeping soundly when she placed her on their bed just a few moments ago. Tom had been very patient with everything, but Sybil knew that he missed her and she missed him, too. Quickly weighing the options, she said, "I suppose, but it will have to be quick."
Almost before she finished her sentence, Tom placed all the silverware on the spare dish towel and leaned over to kiss her. It wasn't at all like the quick kisses they had been sharing mostly since the birth, Tom put all his longing and love into it and Sybil melted. Pulling away, Tom took the dish and the dish towel from her resistless grasp and placed them on the work table with the rest of the washed china and silverware. Sybil then pulled him to her and kissed him, her tongue seeking his in a dance that instantly inflamed them both.
When they pulled apart, they were both breathing heavily. Sybil looked at Tom and asked breathlessly, "Where?"
Tom picked Sybil up and placed her on an empty spot on the other worktable. Kissing her softly on the neck, he said, "I was thinking here. It's the opposite end of the house from our bedroom, so if we're a little loud, she shouldn't wake up from it."
Sybil ran her hands through his hair and closed her eyes to savour the sensations of the kisses. "Good idea." She then started unbuttoning his waistcoat. Taking the pocket watch chain end from one pocket, she was able to take the waistcoat off and placed it in on the crate beside her so as not to break his pocket watch. She was much less careful with his suspenders and pulled them off his shoulder in a more frantic manner. When his trousers dropped, she immediately reached into his pants to caress his already hardened member.
"Sybil, please." Tom's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he pleaded, while he reached with one hand under the front flap of her dress to caress her breast before Sybil shied at his touch.
"Not those, please," said Sybil, breaking the kiss. "You'll get much more than you bargained for."
Taking his hand from her breast and placed it on his shoulder, Tom moaned while she held him in her soft, yet firm grip. "Not too much." With his other hand, he reached under her skirt and caressed her bare thigh underneath. Pulling her closer to the edge of the table, he moved his hand to her crotch and found her knickers. Pulling them to one side, he stuck a finger into her centre, while rubbing her nub with his thumb to help moisten it.
Sybil moaned at the sensations he was generating. "Oh Tom." He patiently continued for longer than usual until she was just about to go over, and then he pulled his hand out from under her skirt and licked his fingers. Something changed when she saw him savour the taste of her and she quickly divested him of his pants and pulled him in for a deep and frantic kiss. Her need to be one with him had never been so great.
Meanwhile, Tom removed the hand from her shoulder and started hitching up her skirt, very thankful that the breastfeeding dresses were full skirts rather than pencil skirts. When he had most of it at her waist level, she kicked off her shoes and he pulled out of the kiss and pulled her knickers off with a little help. Once they were discarded on the floor beside him, there was no more waiting. He lined his engorged member up against her wet centre and pulled her forward onto him. When she fell forward, he entered and filled her. "Oh God." The months of abstinence was doing him in. It felt different than before, but not different enough for him to not want to continue. While he didn't need to focus his concentration, every nerve in his body was on fire.
Instinctively, Sybil wrapped her legs around Tom's waist when he filled and completed her. She then pulled him close and leaned in to kiss him with as much passion as she could muster. Tom was utterly distracted by the sensations their contact brought forth after such a long abstinence and returned the kiss fleetingly. When he did kiss her, he could taste the sweetness of her mouth and the enlarged breasts pressed against him.
When they were done kissing, he used the edge of the table to hold her in place while he started to move in and out. Knowing he wouldn't last nearly long enough for her, Tom reached down in between them while he pounded into her and frantically rubbed her nub to help her to climax sooner.
Normally inhibited by neighbours in Dublin or the servants and family at Downton, Sybil moaned loudly with every sensation in the empty cottage, which drove Tom to the brink faster than even he expected. "Faster, Tom, Faster. Oh!" Sybil panted. Tom complied as much as he could, but he was hitting the edge and with one last thrust, he shuddered and spilt into her. Still frantically rubbing her nub with his thumb, Sybil came soon after with a loud moan. Then Tom slowed the rubbing while her centre rhythmically clenched his member to milk it out and she collapsed forward onto him.
When they finally came down their respective highs and their breathing returned to near normal, Tom asked, "Was that quick enough for you?"
Sybil smiled shyly at her husband and nodded. "I've missed this. Thank you for being so patient with me the last few months."
Tom caressed her cheek lovingly. "As much as I wanted you, I love you more. I'd never ask you to do something you didn't want to do." With that, he slipped out of her and placed her on the ground. Tom looked around for something to wipe with but as they were in the midst of moving into the cottage, there wasn't any laundry or used linens.
Noticing Tom's actions, Sybil reached over behind the crates to a cleaning cloth that had been left there earlier. Pulling it from its hiding place, she wiped him before wiping herself. She then dropped the cloth on the floor and put on her knickers again, while Tom dressed. "Think we can finish putting away the dishes and have a quick bath at Downton before dinner?" Sybil wondered aloud.
"We can if we hurry." Tom pulled the suspenders over his shoulder and picked up the waistcoat to put it on.
"Let's hurry then." Sybil washed her hands before picking up a dish towel. "I already look like a fright from moving furniture all day, I don't want to smell like a wanton woman when we have dinner. Granny is coming and I don't want her to know what we'd been up to just now."
"But we're married and have a baby," said Tom, picking up a dish towel after washing his hands. "Surely she's aware of what we do."
Sybil shot him a look. "Still I don't want her to know that we did it this afternoon."
"Very well. Let's just dry all these pieces and be on our way."
A/N2: So they took a well-deserved break in the kitchen. ;) Thanks for reading! Happy Birthday, Piper! I wanted this chapter to be posted particularly on your birthday, my friend! :)