Author's note
As always, thank you so much to everyone who has read/followed/reviewed/favourited the story so far! I really love to hear from you - please do keep telling me what you think, it really inspires me!
This chapter sets up an extended STEAMM arc for this story, a festival on Tumblr celebrating all three Crawley sisters and the men they love. This time, we focus on Sybil and Tom, as they travel to Downton Abbey for Mary and Matthew's engagement party and share some memories …
I am dedicating this chapter to my friend mimijag, a fellow S/T shipper/author, who is celebrating her birthday today. Bonne anniversaire, mon amie!
Chapter 13 - Back to the old house
Sybil waved towards a large, expensive car as they came out of Downton station. "Look, Papa sent the car for us - that will make things a bit easier!"
Tom started to feel uneasy at the open display of privilege that was starting to unfurl before him. While Sybil was completely down to earth in their day to day life, so much so that he was barely aware of her background as an earl's daughter, he could already see that the world of "Lady Sybil" was going to make him, a working class Irishman made good, quite uncomfortable. He decided to grin and bear it, for her sake - after all, no-one can choose their family! - and he was looking forward to understanding more about where she came from.
He was also a little nervous about meeting her parents again, particularly her father who had not been very welcoming the first time they met. Sybil had told Lord and Lady Grantham that she and Tom had moved in together already, so there would be no surprises on that score at least, but he did wonder how he'd be received by them on this visit.
A grey haired man in a plain dark suit stepped towards them, opening the door of the car –
"Welcome home, Lady Sybil. Please allow me."
She smiled at him and handed over her bags - "Thank you, Taylor. This is my boyfriend, Tom Branson."
Taylor nodded - "May I take your bag, Mr Branson?"
Tom handed over his bag wordlessly - at this stage, the path of least resistance seemed simplest. They slid into the back seat of the shining Rolls Royce, Sybil taking his hand and lifting it to her lips, eyes shining as she kissed his knuckles. He could see she was excited to be back in Yorkshire and started to relax, knowing he was there because she wanted him to be.
As the car purred through the village, she got quite animated, pointing out the landmarks along the way. Although she had been away at boarding school for much of her childhood, she clearly felt a great sense of attachment to this place, showing him the village church, the cottage hospital and the local pub.
"So tell me again - who I am going to meet tonight?"
"Well, let's see. I don't know everyone, but I think Evelyn Napier is coming, he's an old family friend. Grandmama and Aunt Rosamund will be there, I'm sure - they wouldn't miss a family party!"
"And how about Edith? Is she flying in?"
She smiled - "I hear she's met a new man - Anthony something - so she will be bringing him, I'm sure. Nice to think of her with someone - she has been such a workaholic the last few years, she just hasn't made much time for her personal life."
Taylor turned the car between two tall stone pillars, and entered into what seemed to be a private estate. From the way Sybil was looking around eagerly, Tom thought they must be getting close…
"Look, darling - you can see it now – there's Downton Abbey!"
He was struck dumb as they came round a bend in the drive and he caught his first glimpse of Sybil's magnificent childhood home. For the first time, he got a sense of the background she had striven to get away from, working hard to make her own way in the world and not relaxing into the easy life of the monied upper classes, as she could easily have done if she had been a different person. It's a fecking palace! I'm surprised her father isn't standing outside with a shotgun to see me off the premises.
The car pulled up outside the front of the house and Taylor came around to open the door. An older man, tall and perfectly turned out, headed towards them as they stepped down onto the driveway.
"Carson - lovely to see you again!" Sybil extended both her hands in a friendly greeting, looking at him as if he were a favourite uncle. She turned towards Tom - "Tom, this is Carson - he's been with our family since before I was born. Carson, this is Tom Branson, my boyfriend."
"Welcome home, Lady Sybil, and my pleasure to meet you, Mr Branson. His Lordship and her Ladyship are waiting for you in the drawing room. I'll arrange to take care of your bags."
"Carson, thank you, that would be very kind." Sybil gave him another smile, taking Tom's hand as they walked through the massive double doors and into the house. "The drawing room is this way."
Tom couldn't help pausing as they crossed the entrance foyer - the imposing main staircase looked like something from an architectural history book, while the walls were well stocked with Old Masters that would not be out of place in a minor museum collection. He felt the weight of all those Earls of Grantham on his shoulders, silently making him feel that he wasn't welcome, and would never belong here, and unconsciously squared his shoulders. Sybil chose to be with me, so her family can take a flying leap if they don't like it!
She pushed open the door of the drawing room. Her mother was reading on the couch while her father stood behind her, stroking the ears of a golden Labrador. His rather stern face broke into a smile as he saw them - "Sybil - good to have you home. We didn't expect you so soon."
In the meantime, Cora got to her feet, walking quickly towards them and pulling her daughter into her arms - "Darling! I'm so glad you're here - it's been too long." She pressed a kiss onto Sybil's forehead, looking at her fondly, before turning her attention to Tom.
He was a little surprised, but not unpleasantly so, when she offered him a similar welcome, wrapping him in a hug and kissing his cheek. "Tom - it's lovely to see you again! Welcome to Downton Abbey - I do hope you will enjoy your stay."
Robert came towards him, having just hugged Sybil, and put out his hand rather diffidently - "Good afternoon Tom, good of you to come." They shook hands and then a slightly awkward silence ensued, which was broken by a light step outside the door.
"Sybil?"
"Mary! When did you get here?" Sybil hugged her sister, then pulled back to smile at her. Knowing her so well, she could see the slightly manic glint in Mary's eyes – it was clear she was in full on party planner mode. Sybil smiled inwardly, wondering how the staff were coping with it all, given Mary's well known desire for everything to be 'just so'.
Matthew, smiling his quietly confident smile, strode over to shake Tom's hand – "Great to see you here, Tom. How was your journey?"
As Mary started to talk excitedly about plans for the evening, Matthew's arm moved around her waist and Sybil smiled to see the way he watched her with rapt attention, not wanting to miss a thing she said. The love between them is so obvious, she thought, finding herself blushing a little as she wondered whether other people watched her and Tom in the same way.
"Where's Edith?"
"Sound asleep, I think – she arrived first thing this morning so is trying to shake off her jet lag in time for the party. Her guest will arrive later this evening..."
"I'm dying to meet him! What's he like, do you know?"
Mary looked puzzled – "Oh, I was sure I told you! Silly me. Edith is dating Sir Anthony Strallan – our neighbour from Locksley. Would you believe he was one of the investors in her Abu Dhabi deal? She met him for the first time in years in New York when he was over for a board meeting, and apparently they hit it off, big time. Isn't it funny – she goes halfway round the world, and ended up falling for someone from just across the way!"
Cora piped up - "Darlings, this is going to be such a wonderful weekend, all of you home together. Sybil, you might want to freshen up and relax for a while before everyone starts getting ready for the party. I've asked Mrs Hughes to get a tray ready for you, in case you are hungry. Tom, Sybil will show you to your room – we've put you..."
Tom saw tension pass across Sybil's face. "Thank you Mama - Tom and I will both be staying in my old room. You know we live together now and I am a grown woman, not a child."
Cora, clearly taken aback at her daughter's assertiveness, blinked and then decided to make the best of this unexpected situation. "If that's what you want, darling – I'll ask Carson to arrange for Tom's things to be brought there."
Sybil was surprised that her mother gave in so easily, but she could see her father was not happy so she decided to get out while the going was good. "Come on Tom, let's go."
Tom trailed up the staircase behind Sybil, finding himself very aroused when he remembered the way she had calmly taken control and stood up to her parents without causing a scene. They walked down a long corridor and she stopped at a door, turning towards him -
"Here we are Tom, our room – come in!"
She took his hand to pull him inside, and he immediately experienced a frisson of excitement from being in her girlhood room with her. He could see from her sparkling eyes that she was having similar thoughts -
"Oh Tom, being here with you - it feels a bit naughty, doesn't it? Can I tell you a secret – I've never shared this room with anyone before… I'm so happy you're here, darling."
She turned the key in the lock, hearing it click into place. Then, she moved towards him, a seductive smile on her face. She pulled him closer, wrapping her arms around his neck and putting her lips to his for a kiss. His hands were sliding up her back under her shirt when there was a knock on the door.
"Lady Sybil?"
Sybil pulled away from him – "Hold that thought" – and opened the door to admit Carson, who was holding Tom's bag with an expression of disapproval on his face, no doubt because of the breach of protocol caused by an unmarried couple sharing a bedroom. He was accompanied by a trim, middle aged woman with a warm smile, who was carrying a tray with a tea pot and some sandwiches.
Sybil greeted Carson, and introduced Tom to their housekeeper, Mrs Hughes.
"I understand from her Ladyship that Mr Branson will be in here with you, Lady Sybil?" said Carson, while Mrs Hughes came in and put the tray on the table by the window.
"Yes, that's right, Carson – we must move with the times, mustn't we?"
Carson's look of disapproval deepened – clearly the idea of "moving with the times" was anathema to him. However, as always, his behaviour was impeccable – 'Very good, milady."
The corners of Mrs Hughes' mouth lifted into a little smile, and she looked fondly at her colleague – "Come along, Mr Carson – we have a lot of things to help Lady Mary with for tonight. Lady Sybil, Mr Branson, do ring if you need anything else, won't you?"
They stepped back through the door and pulled it closed, and Sybil locked the door again before turning back to Tom. "Now, where were we?"
He grinned from his position by the window and beckoned her over – "Right about here, I think. Come here to me, milady..."
She smiled back as she walked towards him. He put his arm around her waist, while his other hand came up to stroke her hair. They exchanged a long, loving glance before he kissed her, gently and sweetly. Then, he led her to the large armchair by the window and sat down, pulling her onto his lap. Sybil nestled happily into his arms, resting her head on his shoulder as she gazed out at her landscape of memory. She nibbled on a sandwich while Tom poured out the tea.
"Tell me about what your life was like, here in this room – I really want to be able to imagine it."
She started to tell him about her life as a girl – how she, Mary and Edith had been good friends as children, but that as they grew older Edith had started to look beyond Downton Abbey and at an early age had set her sights on a demanding career which had taken her far away, meaning that Sybil wasn't as close to her as she was to Mary. She spoke about her life at Bedales, the boarding school in Hampshire where she had spent her teenage years, and (after some hesitation) she mentioned that she had her first boyfriend there, Tom Bellasis.
He quirked an eyebrow at her at this revelation – "I see, Lady Sybil – so it wasn't just hockey sticks and midnight feasts?"
"Ha ha, I wasn't in an Enid Blyton story. There were boys at the school too, and Tom was really sweet. We were friends long before we became a couple when I was 17 – his parents were friends of the family so I've known him all my life. Once we went to University, things just naturally faded away, but we are still friends – in fact, he'll probably be here tonight."
"Oh really – one of your exes, at the party? You didn't tell me that before."
"Yes, because it's no big deal. Why, are you jealous?"
Tom returned her smile, placing a kiss on her lips. "No, darling – except for the fact that this other Tom of yours was your first love – they say you never forget them. Did he ever come in here with you?"
"No, never – it really wasn't that kind of relationship."
"I like to imagine you then, Sybil – a beautiful girl in the Upper Sixth, sitting and dreaming of her first love in this chair. What were you dreaming about?"
"I didn't even know what there was to dream about, really – that must sound silly. I was just so innocent – I knew the facts of life of course, but I'd never had any practical experience of them. I suppose I dreamed about kissing him, and about him holding me, a bit like you are now, but that's far as things ever went."
He pulled her closer and kissed her again, and this time the kiss deepened quickly, his tongue pushing into her mouth. She felt his fingers run along her jawline and down her throat, stroking that pressure point between her collarbones he knew she loved him to touch. She sighed into his mouth and ran her fingers through the short hairs on the back of his neck.
They happily spent the afternoon in the armchair, talking, kissing and caressing, while a gentle breeze stirred the curtains and a shaft of sunlight brought out the blond in Tom's hair.
Tom stirred first, realising they had been asleep for almost an hour. Sybil was still curled up in his arms and he smiled as he looked at her. With her wavy hair in a messy braid, her long lashes lying on her cheeks that were rosy from sleep, and wearing a simple white shirt, she looked like the schoolgirl who had sat dreaming by this window years before.
But then again – as he looked at her beautiful face and her shapely figure beneath her shirt, he could see the woman he was so deeply in love with too. His finger went under her chin, gently tipping her face up to his for a kiss, and she came back to wakefulness immediately, purring with pleasure as she returned his kiss.
This time, it didn't take long for things to heat up between them, and soon he was picking her up in his arms and carrying her to the bed, where they lay down facing each other. He had had an idea, and whispered into her ear for a few minutes. She smiled as she listened - what he was suggesting really excited her, too, so she decided to go with it.
With practised hands, Tom quickly removed Sybil's clothes and rolled over behind her, sliding his arms around her waist and starting to stroke her naked body all over. She closed her eyes, concentrating completely on the feeling of his hands on her skin and sending her mind back in time.
Imagine if Tom Branson had been my first love, and he had been in here with me then....
Her hand slid down past her stomach and she began to fantasise. He focused his attention on her breasts, teasing her nipples to soft peaks with his fingers, as she caressed her clit...
Imagine if Tom Branson were doing this to me, for the first time...
The pictures that came into her mind as she stroked herself were vivid and intense, and she felt herself becoming wetter and more aroused as he murmured softly to her, telling her how he wished that he had been the first person to love her, and what he would have loved to have done with her in this room if they had been together then...
Sybil closed her eyes and her hand began to move faster. She felt herself approaching orgasm and her breath became ragged. He knew her body so well, he knew that she was close now, and he kept whispering to her about how incredibly beautiful and sexy she was, how much he had wanted her since the first moment he saw her, and how his desire for her was even stronger now that they were living together.
As he said – "Sybil, oh darling, I can never get enough of you, I never want to stop touching you," her whole body started to tremble and she felt her core contract under her fingers again and again as she came.
"Oh Tom, oh my God!" she screamed, not caring who could hear her as she bucked her hips against him, sparks bursting behind her closed eyelids. Tom tightened his hold on her, burying his face in her neck and breathing her in...
A/N -
Next time, the engagement party, with more of the other two STEAMM ships! :)