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————— {❧} The sun beat down upon the cobblestone streets of the town and illuminated the beautiful countryside that surrounded it. It seemed that despite the sorrowful mood that had overcome Downton with the death of Patrick, the weather insisted that the tone become less melancholy as the sun shone with the arrival of their new cousin from his humble abode in Manchester. Sybil did not know much about him, as it was a sore matter to talk about around the dinner table; but from what she had overheard from listening in on conversations between her mother and father, he worked in a law firm and his own mother would come with him to Downton. Sybil was a curious little bird, and so she could not resist the desire to conveniently walk into town on the day that her new cousin was to be making his arrival. She knew that Mary had already rode in that morning, but as the afternoon sun beat down on her, she wanted to have a look at the new heir to their father’s fortune herself before he showed his face at Downton.
Stealthy. You must be stealthy.
Sybil innocently held her basket of lavender on her arm, having picked them on her walk. She had walked through the village until she came to Crawley House: now alive once more with others. She could feel her mother’s disapproval in her mind already, but she was never one for obedience and bounded forward into the small garden. She would come under the pretence of offering a gift – that would work, wouldn’t it?
