Disclaimer: See chapter 1.
Thanks again for the awesome reviews! Now time for some drama, enjoyyy :D
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Sybil found herself staring absentmindedly out of the window of her bedroom, her mind gradually wandering towards Branson, which, she had noticed, it seemed to do a lot lately. She had seen little of the chauffeur over the next few days since he had taken her into town, as her father had been using the car much more recently, and she could think of no more excuses to go to town, or find anyone else she wanted to visit that would require Branson to drive her there.
Sybil was confused about how she felt about him; the way she felt whenever she talked to him was something she'd never had with anyone else. She felt nervous when they spoke, and her insides fluttered whenever he held her hand to help her into the carriage, or even when she caught him looking at her. She looked forward to whenever they would meet, and seemed to pass the servant's quarters more often than usual just to increase the possibility of running into him.
Sybil sighed; okay, she definitely had feelings for him. But what could she do about it? It wasn't like she could discuss it openly with anyone. She decided she needed to clear her head, so picked up her gloves off her dressing table and headed outside. She was barely out of the front door when she collided with a figure entering the house at the same time.
"Oh, I'm sorry" she began, glancing at the hand that held onto her arm, keeping her steady, and up to who it belonged to. When she recognised who it was she faltered, "Branson".
"It's my fault milady" he cut in, clearly flustered, as he made sure she was okay and then took a small step back.
She smiled as he rushed to apologise, smoothing down her dress and quickly readjusting her hat, "Don't be silly, I wasn't paying attention".
Branson had been meaning to talk to Sybil for a while, and now the opportunity had been handed to him he wasn't sure where he would begin. He sighed in relief when she struck up a conversation for him.
"How are you? I haven't seen you for a few days; I hope Papa isn't working you too hard with his constant travelling lately".
Branson's heart skipped a beat as a smile lit up her face. It was the kind of smile impossible not to return and so he found himself grinning back at her, "Of course not, it gives me a chance to catch up with things in town anyway" he replied.
Sybil nodded, and then brought up a subject that had been bothering her for a while, as she finally had the chance to talk to him alone.
"I've heard that Thomas is leaving soon" she began, "to join the division at Richmond I believe?", Are you going too? She added mentally; she was desperate to find out if he planned on enlisting, but daren't ask for fear his answer would be yes.
Branson nodded, "That's right milady, and William enlisted too, yesterday actually … I-", he paused, considering his next words carefully, "There was something I wanted to tell you".
Sybil took in his expression and knew immediately what he was going to say. She took in a breath and stepped closer to him, her hand reached out, but she withdrew it again, unsure.
"You're going, aren't you?" she asked, even though she knew what the answer would be.
Branson's eyes fell upon her concerned face and he nodded, "I signed up a few days ago".
Sybil's breath caught in her throat as he announced the news, confirming her fears. A few days ago? She wondered why he didn't tell her sooner. She should have known anyway, it wasn't like he could stay here for her sake when there was a war going on. This was bigger than her. It was bigger than both of them.
"Oh" she responded, Oh? That's all you can say? She scolded herself. "Wh-When do you leave Downton?", me she thought, when do you leave me?
"I'm to be sent to a training camp in a few days" he answered.
"So soon?" she replied, still not fully taking in the news, "Have you told my father yet?" she added, almost as an afterthought.
"I'm on my way to hand in my notice now"
Sybil nodded her understanding, unsure of what to say next. She just wanted to tell him not to go, that he had a job here. She was here. He didn't need to go to war, there were enough other brave men that could do that instead. But she knew this would be futile so remained silent, contemplating the effect his leaving would have.
Branson, remembering where he had been heading before running into Sybil, gestured to her father's study, "If you'll excuse me milady, I've a meeting with his Lordship".
"Oh, of course" she responded, all the while attempting to conceal her inner turmoil following his admission.
He gave a quick nod in her direction and reluctantly began to head towards where he was to meet with Lord Grantham. Before Sybil knew what she was doing, she called out to him, making him stop in his tracks halfway down the hallway.
"Tom?"
Branson turned around, realising, probably before even Sybil herself did, that she'd called him by his first name. He had no idea what to make of it, but decided not to question it.
"Yes milady?" He asked, waiting for her to continue.
Sybil wasn't sure why she'd called him back. She knew there was so much she wanted to say to him, but had no idea how to put it into words. So she decided to go for something that would guarantee that they would see each other again.
"You'd better not leave without saying goodbye to me, okay?"
He gave her a warm smile and nodded, before turning around and heading up to see Lord Grantham.
She watched him as he left, a million thoughts swirling around in her head. She took a step back and fell down into the nearest chair, a feeling of dread forming in the pit of her stomach as it finally hit her. What if he never came back? What would she do then? She had no idea when she had become so fond of him, and even less clue when it had become, at least to her anyway, something more. It seemed to have crept up on her to pounce when she was least expecting it. She realised now she had feelings for him, and she didn't want him to leave. She felt tears stinging her eyes and hastily wiped them away before they could fall.
She'd finally worked out her feelings and now he was being taken away from her.
