This is a continuation of The Ghost of Lady Sybil, my Halloween story. Read it first, if you haven’t already, for the drabble to make sense. Where the story left off, it had been a year since it was discovered that Sybil was squatting in an abandoned Downton Abbey. This drabble jumps to the date that Sybil and Tom arranged at the end of the story and gets a little into how hard the adjustment was wearing on Sybil.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Branson."
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Goddard," Tom said, taking his hat off as he came into the house. Mrs. Goddard closed the door behind him. "I hope you are well."
Mrs. Goddard sighed. “As well as any working woman can be.”
Tom smiled. “You look well, in any case.”
Mrs. Goddard narrowed her eyes at him. “You are quite the flatterer, aren’t you?”
"Can’t I pay a compliment?"
"You can save them for your young lady," Mrs. Goddard replied.
Tom blushed slightly and looked down.
Mrs. Goddard smiled, watching him. “Actually, Mr. Branson,” she said quietly, “Before I let Miss Crawley know you’re here, I wonder if I may have a word.”
"About what?" Tom asked, a tiny hint of concern in his voice. "Is Miss Crawley not getting on well?"
"No, it’s not that exactly. She’s a sweet girl and seems to get along well with the other boarders. It’s only that … well, she usually takes a tray in her room for dinner instead of joining us in the dining room. Now, it’s not fancy or anything, but I find that the girls appreciate the time together to discuss their day. It helps them get through the week and offers a sense of family when they are away from theirs or if there is none at all. If she prefers her solitude, there’s certainly nothing wrong with that, but I can’t help but think that she would like to join us but doesn’t dare step out of her shell. I believe the company and friendship of the other young ladies would do her good. I wonder if you could talk to her—just in case she needs a little encouragement."
"I’ll see what I can do," Tom answered, "but her life has been defined by solitude. Any change will take time."
"I understand," Mrs. Goddard said, "hers has been an uncommon existence and perhaps she fears judgment, but she needn’t. The girls here are all kind and discreet, and some have their own odd experiences. Sometimes it just takes knowing that there are people around to help. But never mind me, I’ll let her know you’re here."
Tom nodded and walked over to the parlor to wait for Sybil. Mrs. Goddard’s words hadn’t really surprised him. He had assumed that Sybil would have an adjustment period after she left Downton Abbey, which was why he was glad that she’d given herself a month to settle in before her nursing course started. Nevertheless, over the course of the year since her discovery, he’d often had to remind himself of her reticence to talk to and relate to new people, at least in part because she had little trouble relating to him.
Tom wasn’t sure what it was, but for all of the challenges Lady Sybil Crawley had faced since her story became known, talking to him had never been one of them. Likewise, for Tom, talking to her had always been easy. For all the social foibles that had developed over a decade in hiding, Sybil seemed to have an unnatural intuition when it came to getting along with and understanding him better than anyone he’d known.
He turned at the sound of her voice and couldn’t stop himself from smiling at the sight of her. ”Hello,” he said sheepishly. He looked down and noticed the simple, but becoming dress she was wearing. It was one he knew she had made for herself. “You look lovely.”
Sybil smiled, as her cheeks blushed slightly. “Thank you.” After a beat, she added, “Mrs. Goddard made us sandwiches for us to take to the park.”
Tom lifted up a small paper bag. “I bought some sweets at the bakery.”
"I’ll just go get the basket and my hat and coat."
Tom nodded, and a few minutes later they were on their way, all their food in the basket, which he carried on one arm while she tucked her hand into the other. She’d smiled sweetly when he’d offered it and said lightly, “Now we look like a proper couple.”
"Is that all right … I mean to say, is that what we are?"
"Is that what you’d like?" Sybil asked in response.
Tom nodded, feeling a bit self-conscious, which was a rare sensation for him. “But that doesn’t matter so much as whether it’s what you would like.”
Sybil smiled. “I think you are meant to ask my parents’ permission first, but since I have none, I shall grant it myself. Not that I know anything about courtship or even making friends. I think Mrs. Goddard worries a bit on that score, making friends. I’ve noticed her hovering over me more so than the other girls in the house. She asked after you and offered to make us lunch—I can only assume that means she approves of you.”
This last made Tom laugh. “I’m glad to know you think so because I’m not sure I would have guessed that she liked me all that much.”
Sybil squeezed his arm. “Well, I wouldn’t say she likes you as much as I like you, but enough that she’s spurring us on.”
"I like you too—more than like, if you don’t mind me saying. You do know that, don’t you?"
"I do, but then you tend to wear your heart on your sleeve."
Tom winked playfully. “Do I? Well, only for you. At least, you’re the only who seems to know what it’s saying.”
Sybil blushed and pulled him along. “Go on, we’re almost there.”
Once they’d arrived at the park, they found a quiet spot under a large shade tree. Tom set out the blanket that Mrs. Goddard had packed and they began tucking into their lunch. With Tom filling the silence with stories from his job at the MP’s office, which always provided interesting anecdotes that Sybil found amusing. She liked hearing of the everyday lives of the people Tom helped through his work for the MP. It made her feel connected to them, other people whose lives had been made better by Tom’s efforts.
After a while, Tom broached the topic of making friends again, trying to tread carefully so as not to pressure Sybil to do more than she felt ready to do.
"You mentioned that you thought Mrs. Goddard is worried about you not making friends," Tom said. "She, well … I hope you don’t mind, but she mentioned to me that you weren’t joining the rest of the boarders at dinner."
Sybil brought her hands together on her lap and looked down. “I’d like to, I just … “
Tom leaned over to her and took her hands into his. “Don’t force yourself to do something, if you’re not ready for it, but don’t let fear keep you from experiencing new things.”
Sybil sighed. “I know. They all seem very nice. I just don’t know what I’d say. I doubt they’d be very interested in my life, or else they’ll think me an oddity.”
"You have no trouble talking to me."
Sybil blushed and looked into his eyes. “You seem to be the exception.”
Tom smiled. “Well, as much as I appreciate that, you have nothing to lose if you try. And who says you have to carry the conversation? Maybe they all want to talk to you. You’re about to join the ranks of working women—maybe they have advice for you about what it will be like to study and work.”
"Maybe or maybe they have advice on how to handle a beau."
Tom laughed. “Either way, you win.”
Sybil looked down again. “I will try. It’s just easier sometimes to stay where I am. I’ve been thinking for sometime that for years I stayed at Downton because I was too young to be on my own and had nowhere else to go, but that was only at first. In the last years, I stayed because … because it was easier than facing the world, as eager as I felt sometimes to do so.”
"But you did step out eventually, and you not only survived but you managed to thrive. Making it through that initial gauntlet means you can make it through anything."
Sybil squeezed Tom’s hands playfully. “I wouldn’t have done it without your help.”
"And I’ll be here to help you through this as well, though I reckon you won’t need me as much as you think you will."
"Will Mrs. Goddard allow you to join us for dinner?"
Tom laughed. “Likely not, but you can tell me all about it the next day.”
Sybil leaned over and placed a light kiss on his lips. “Thank you.”
Tom smiled and leaned in for another kiss. “Thank you.”
