Downton Abbey Fic: Five Notes... (1/1)
Title: Five Notes... (Full title behind the cut because it might be considered a spoiler.)
Author: corrielle
Fandom: Downton Abbey
Characters/Pairings: Sybil/Branson
Rating: G
Notes/Spoiler Warnings: Vaguely spoiler-y if you haven't seen 2x03 yet.
Summary: What follows are the contents of some crumpled sheets of paper found in the rubbish in the chauffeur's cottage.
Five Notes Branson Didn't Leave in Lady Sybil's Room
1.
Lady Sybil,
I would not renew that old request of mine that once caused such a rift between us, but I would have you know that despite tonight's events, the sentiment behind it is unchanged, and I only hope that you might think kindly of me when I have gone. I fear your last impressions of me will not be to my credit, though I must hope that history will one day bear witness to the righteousness of my actions.
A strong diagonal mark is struck through the preceding lines. Beneath it, in the same hand, are the words:
Too formal. Lacks real feeling.
2.
Lady Sybil,
You, more than any other in this house, must understand why I had to do what I, by now, have done. The purity of your conviction, while it has taken you on a different path than mine has me, recommends you as the rarest of creatures-a person of means who can look to the future and see equality as a worthy goal, not a horror. Were that day here, I like to think that things between us might have been different. But as they are not, I remain, respectfully yours…
The preceding lines are crossed out with three large X's that, together, stretch the width of the page. A final notation reads:
Too optimistic, and smacks of flattery.
3.
Lady Sybil,
You asked me before why I must be so angry, and I should not have been surprised at your ignorance. Even the best intentioned of the oppressive class must turn a blind eye to the suffering of the oppressed, lest they be confronted with the human cost upon which their lives are built. Whatever you may think of me, the indignity that I have brought upon your house is small indeed when seen beside the shame that many I have known and loved from childhood are made to suffer daily for the twin crimes of being Irish and speaking their minds. Read for yourself. Think for yourself. Open your eyes, and perhaps one day you will think every other man of my race a coward for not having done as I have.
The lines on this page are scratched out with jagged, zig-zag marks that nearly tore the paper where the pen changed course. Below, two words:
Too political.
4.
Lady Sybil,
That we have remained friends has encouraged me to hope that we might one day take up that old topic of conversation which we have both promised to leave alone. I fear that what I have done tonight has closed that door forever. I only hope that when you think of me tomorrow, or years from now, you will remember me as a man who would have stopped at nothing to make you happy. I am sure that the memory of you, of your kindness and your friendship, will be a comfort to me in the days to come.
The page is simply crumpled. Another line in a neater version of the same hand reads:
Too frank. Verges on the maudlin. Must remember… asking for understanding, not sympathy.
5.
Lady Sybil,
If things have gone as I intend, I have, by now, been arrested. For the embarrassment I surely must have caused your parents, I am sorry. Your family has shown me nothing but kindness, and that my conscience calls me to repay them in the way I have weighs heavily on me. However, it is the fall from your good graces that pains me most. I must take solace in the fact that I would not believe myself a man worthy of your affection if I had done anything other than what I have. One of your own English poets put it well when he said, "I could not love thee, dear, so much, Loved I not honor more." I know the poet spoke of war, but, in my own way, so do I.
The lines are scribbled out with such vehemence that they are difficult to read. The ink is heaviest over the quotation. A hastily written notation reads:
The sentiment is good, but tonight, I cannot abide quoting a man who was both an Englishman and a monarchist.
Author: corrielle
Fandom: Downton Abbey
Characters/Pairings: Sybil/Branson
Rating: G
Notes/Spoiler Warnings: Vaguely spoiler-y if you haven't seen 2x03 yet.
Summary: What follows are the contents of some crumpled sheets of paper found in the rubbish in the chauffeur's cottage.
Five Notes Branson Didn't Leave in Lady Sybil's Room
1.
Lady Sybil,
I would not renew that old request of mine that once caused such a rift between us, but I would have you know that despite tonight's events, the sentiment behind it is unchanged, and I only hope that you might think kindly of me when I have gone. I fear your last impressions of me will not be to my credit, though I must hope that history will one day bear witness to the righteousness of my actions.
A strong diagonal mark is struck through the preceding lines. Beneath it, in the same hand, are the words:
Too formal. Lacks real feeling.
2.
Lady Sybil,
You, more than any other in this house, must understand why I had to do what I, by now, have done. The purity of your conviction, while it has taken you on a different path than mine has me, recommends you as the rarest of creatures-a person of means who can look to the future and see equality as a worthy goal, not a horror. Were that day here, I like to think that things between us might have been different. But as they are not, I remain, respectfully yours…
The preceding lines are crossed out with three large X's that, together, stretch the width of the page. A final notation reads:
Too optimistic, and smacks of flattery.
3.
Lady Sybil,
You asked me before why I must be so angry, and I should not have been surprised at your ignorance. Even the best intentioned of the oppressive class must turn a blind eye to the suffering of the oppressed, lest they be confronted with the human cost upon which their lives are built. Whatever you may think of me, the indignity that I have brought upon your house is small indeed when seen beside the shame that many I have known and loved from childhood are made to suffer daily for the twin crimes of being Irish and speaking their minds. Read for yourself. Think for yourself. Open your eyes, and perhaps one day you will think every other man of my race a coward for not having done as I have.
The lines on this page are scratched out with jagged, zig-zag marks that nearly tore the paper where the pen changed course. Below, two words:
Too political.
4.
Lady Sybil,
That we have remained friends has encouraged me to hope that we might one day take up that old topic of conversation which we have both promised to leave alone. I fear that what I have done tonight has closed that door forever. I only hope that when you think of me tomorrow, or years from now, you will remember me as a man who would have stopped at nothing to make you happy. I am sure that the memory of you, of your kindness and your friendship, will be a comfort to me in the days to come.
The page is simply crumpled. Another line in a neater version of the same hand reads:
Too frank. Verges on the maudlin. Must remember… asking for understanding, not sympathy.
5.
Lady Sybil,
If things have gone as I intend, I have, by now, been arrested. For the embarrassment I surely must have caused your parents, I am sorry. Your family has shown me nothing but kindness, and that my conscience calls me to repay them in the way I have weighs heavily on me. However, it is the fall from your good graces that pains me most. I must take solace in the fact that I would not believe myself a man worthy of your affection if I had done anything other than what I have. One of your own English poets put it well when he said, "I could not love thee, dear, so much, Loved I not honor more." I know the poet spoke of war, but, in my own way, so do I.
The lines are scribbled out with such vehemence that they are difficult to read. The ink is heaviest over the quotation. A hastily written notation reads:
The sentiment is good, but tonight, I cannot abide quoting a man who was both an Englishman and a monarchist.