Another suitor

Chapter 5

Larry had to sit down, he just couldn't take all this. He still couldn't belive how his whole world had changed so quickly and drastically.

"Mama, who is he?" Sybbie's little voice asked, hiding behind her mother.

"Sybbie, he is a friend, I used to play with him when I was small, just like you." Replied Sybil, watching Larry. "Now you go and play with your daddy, I have to speak to Larry."

Little Sybbie skipped out of the room, as she left, the atmosphere got tense. Lord Grantham was the first one to break the silence. "I must go, I am sure you have plenty to talk about." With that, Robert left the room.

"Larry, this must be a shock to you, but I can explain everything."

"I think I deserve an explanation" Larry's voice started to tremble, "and you must know why I came here."

"Everything started months after the summer party" Sybil smiled to herself, fondly remembering the way she fell in love with Tom, and everything they had gone through. "I fell in love, eventhough I took my time to discover it. We went to Ireland and got married. When I found out I was pregnant, we came back. We only planned to stay at Downton until the baby was born,but some complications came and now we can't go back." Larry's mouth had dropped open by the time Sybil had mentioned Ireland. "A few weeks after Sybbie's first birthday I found out I was going to be mother to a second child and I could not be happier with my live."

"Ireland..... sorry but I can't understand. Why didn't you write to me? Ask about me?"

"Larry, why are you here?"

"I came to ask for your hand in marriage" Sybil couldn't belive the words she had just heard. Her voice was frozen.

"Bu-but Larry, you know I don't love you that way. I love Tom, he makes me the happiest women alive, and is the best father any child could have."

"Oh, so his name is Tom!" Larry was shouting now ,"and where did he come from? I don't remember any Tom you used to spend your childhood with, an he is Irish!"

"You can't understand, you never did, but you should know the truth..." Sybil could not finish her sentence, at that moment, Tom entered the library. Larry's eyes went wide open, as he made the conection that linked Sybil's husband to the old family chauffer.