As much as a I try to keep these chapters no more than 500 words, it's getting to be more and more difficult :oP Ah well! Now we get to explore some familiar moments from S1 through Larry's eyes. Hmmm...how will he react to this bit of news? And how will he handle it in the future? Sorry for the delay! As always, thank you for reading and commenting!
Political Unrest
May, 1914
"Oh good heavens!"
His mother's outburst startles him so much that pierces his knife right the toast he was attempting to butter.
"Good God, Mama, what was that all about?" he asks, somewhat annoyed as he attempts to pick up his fallen toast.
"It's Sybil!"
He freezes at the mention of her name.
"She's been hurt!"
His head shoots up at his mother's words, and he stares at her with wide eyes. "Hurt?" he practically gasps the word. No…no, not his sweet Sybil. "What do you mean 'hurt'?"
She's so engrossed in the her letter from Lady Grantham that she hardly pays him any heed, despite the desperation in his voice.
"MAMA!" he practically roars, causing the butler to jump. She looks up at him, shocked that he would speak to her in such a tone. He grits his teeth, mainly as a means to keep him from lashing out further. He needs answers. "What. Do. You. Mean. By. 'Hurt'?" he asks through clipped lips.
Lady Merton looks most displeased by her son's question (more likely his tone than his actual question) but she sighs and puts the letter aside to explain.
"Apparently, our dear Sybil was caught in the midst of some sort of…of riot, if you can believe it," she gasps, looking down at her letter and shaking her head.
"Riot?" How on earth did Sybil get caught in the midst of a riot? Perhaps Lady Grantham is exaggerating; it's just the sort of thing his mother would do.
"Oh gracious," she gasps, reading further. "At a rally," she continues to explain. "It was at a political rally in Ripon; the counting of the votes!"
"What?" he's struggling with understanding that he reaches over and despite his mother's protests, snatches the letter out of her fingers and scans Lady Grantham's elegant handwriting to find his own answers.
…Several drunk hooligans are to blame…
…Thank God Matthew was there to help…
…Suffered a head injury; the doctor says she is very lucky…
He can't believe it; good God in heaven, how…why…?
What on earth was she doing at a political rally in Ripon?
…Snuck out without our knowledge…
…Robert is furious…
…Convinced the chauffeur to take her…
He stops reading and his eyes feel like two hot coals, burning through the paper.
The chauffeur.
The damned chauffeur!
It's HIS fault that Sybil was hurt! And he remembers how that grubby little mick challenged him, refusing to lower his eyes to his superior!
Larry snarls and grinds his teeth together. If he ever sees that Irish bastard again, he'll make him pay for the harm he brought to Sybil!
He quickly reads the rest of the letter, wondering if Lady Grantham will reveal the chauffeur's fate, but nothing is further mentioned about the man. Instead, she goes on to talk about how they are all disappointed in Sybil's deceit and even pondered denying her her season, although that idea was quickly squashed, due to the fact that the invitations for her ball have already been mailed.
Thank God for that.
Still…how could she? How could she be so…so…
Stupid?
Right, he thinks, handing the letter back to his irate mother. Well, one thing is for certain.
No more politics.