4Tell Me Honestly.
Lady Sybil Branson regarded her husband with a frown, eyeing his reflection suspiciously in the mirror as she brushed her shoulder length curls out of the way for the night.
"I want you to tell me something, darling...", she requested firmly, pushing herself up out the seat by the vanity and making her way towards their bed. "...and tell me honestly."
Tom smiled teasingly, glancing up at her from where he was laying beneath the covers, stretched out against the pillows and already halfway through his book- a recommendation of Matthew's.
"Am I ever anything but honest with you, love?", he replied.
Only when he noticed the seriousness hidden in her eyes did his smile falter.
Sybil folded her arms, lips pursed in a lack of amusement. She didn't argue with him on his point though. After all, they had a more open and honest marriage than most. Tom Branson may do a lot of things but out rightly lie to his wife was certainly not one of them.
"Tom, was it you who got around Sybbie to start calling Papa 'Donk'?"
She spoke the last word like it was something completely bizarre and unbelievable, almost as though their not yet three year old daughter was spurting out some alien language.
Her husband regarded her for a split second, registering her words.
Sybil's apparent seriousness, paired with the general craziness of the conversation was all it took for Tom Branson's earlier smiles to suddenly turn into chuckles of surprise, amusement and pride.
They were chuckles that eventually turned to full bellied laughter.
Of course their beautiful, adorable and clever daughter, a little girl who was born to a rebellious English Lady and her father's Irish republican chauffeur, would come up with some wonderfully mad nickname for her grandfather!
How could she not?
"Tom it's not funny", Sybil implored scolding, fighting back a smile when she felt herself begin to give in to her husband's giddiness.
Perhaps their daughter's nickname for her grandfather, despite the older man's apparent chagrin at the name's unbefitting nature, was truly a little bit funny.
'Well', Sybil thought, accepting the situation for what it was. 'At least given Tom's surprise and outburst of amusement, she knew that he hadn't been involved in some sort of scheme to encourage their daughter to annoy her grandfather.
Soon, Sybil found herself laughing along...enjoying the light-hearted ease and the comfort between them when they were alone like this.
Being allowed to laugh like this, laugh until your sides hurt and there were tears in your eyes...it was one of the reasons why she had always wanted to escape the restraints of her upbringing, restraints that she and Tom would never force upon their daughter.
"Ahh darlin'", Tom breathed out softly when they both had settled down, he reached his hands out for his wife in a silent request for her to join him in bed.
"Do you really think our Sybbie would ever let someone tell her what to do? We've always said that she's her mother's daughter to the core, haven't we?"
Sybil smirked affectionately, coming around to her side of the bed to slide under the covers next to him.
Naturally and mindlessly they drifted closer to each other until neither of them were at one particular side of the bed but curled together warmly and lovingly in the centre.
"You're the one who insists that Sybbie's her mother's daughter", Sybil amended gently, poking her husband teasingly in the side as she began arranging her pillows for the night.
"...I've always said she was her daddy's girl from day one."
Tom chuckled lovingly, pecking Sybil goodnight before reaching across to the bedside locker, switching off the lamp.
Whether Sybbie was more like her mother or more like her father had always been a debate that he and Sybil had participated regularly in. It had been a playful preoccupation of their's ever since Sybbie was born.
Tom had always insisted that their daughter was more like Sybil while, on the other hand, Sybil had always been determined that she was far more reminded of Tom than herself when she looked upon their daughter.
"Her mother's daughter and her daddy's girl", Tom mused thoughtfully, an amused but overwhelmingly proud expression evident on his face despite the darkness that had flooded the room.
Sybil giggled at her husband in the darkness, settling her head on his chest. "And I'll wager that should make Sybbie twice as likely to ruffle the feathers of her poor grandpapa in the future".
Tom laughed in agreement before comfortingly squeezing his wife's shoulder, drawing them closer together.
As always Sybil found herself silently thankful to whoever or whatever had been watching over her, Tom and Sybbie over the last couple of years.
Sybil knew just how lucky both she and Sybbie were to be here, here with Tom and here with their family.
The fact that she was lying with her darling husband in her childhood bedroom at Downton, with her beloved daughter and family just down the hall...it was something that Sybil would never ever stop feeling grateful for.
Slowly, Sybil felt herself relax as she inhaled the comforting sent of her husband."Well Papa will be glad that you're not trying to stir up some kind of rebellion in the house anyway", she said, sleep starting to colour her voice.
Tom laughed teasingly, eyeing the top of Sybil's head with a goofy smile that she could feel against her hair.
"I'll make no promises to that, Love!"
Alrightie, I know I haven't been updating my multichapters for the two weeks, but I have been very busy. So sorry!
Nonetheless, I really really hoped you guys enjoyed this! Let me know if you did!
Talk soon,
Pearlydewdrop xx
