A/N Here's the second part of the Attributes of Love series. I'm planning on having this story covering the first couple of years of Matthew and Mary's marriage, but we'll see what actually happens as Love Prevails took many twists I wasn't expecting. I can probably expect the same from this story.

It was hard to believe that it had been four months since the accident that had taken away his ability to walk. Four long months of pain, anger, and depression. For a brief time he had had the hope of walking again, but that small, fleeting hope had been crushed with his recent visit to Doctor Cotes in London. Matthew was now as healed as he'd ever be, well, Doctor Clarkson had told him that at some point in the near future he'd be able to transfer himself from bed to chair and vice versa. Matthew hoped that that day was near at hand because it would mean one more thing that he could do without assistance. Gradually that list was becoming longer, but it would forever be too short for Matthew's tastes. Gone forever were the days of him simply doing what he wanted.

But, despite all the difficulties of the past four months, the past two weeks had been among the best of his life. It was two weeks to the day that he and Mary had exchanged their vows and since that day, he felt like a different man. He had felt more complete than he ever had, even before the war.

Of course, the wedding night had not been what either of them had expected their wedding night to be like years previously. However, despite the difficulties, it had still been wonderful. They had lain together in the large bed in their new suite of rooms and done what only a husband and wife should do. For the first time, they explored each other and relished the feel of the other. That night had been the best night of either of their lives as they got to know one another in a different way.

They soon found a new routine as a married couple, which wasn't overly different from their previous routine, but there was an aspect of closeness that hadn't been there before. No longer were they wondering if there was still love between them. Gentle caresses and kisses were now a part of their daily lives, though they took care to try and not perform such actions in front of the family.

But, their wedding bliss was marred by the papers and there was no way to escape. They had talked about going abroad for their honeymoon, but with the destruction (and Matthew's adamantness against it), going to the Continent was out of the question. America had also been mentioned, but it was too close to Christmas for the trip to be worth it. Plus, Matthew wasn't yet strong enough for such a journey. So, they were still at Downton when the newspaper arrived.

Matthew had arrived in the breakfast room without his wife, which was an oddity for them, but the moment he saw the headlines, he was extremely grateful Mary wasn't with him.

"Robert," Matthew said quietly. "Look." He pushed the morning paper over to where his father-in-law sat drinking his tea. Simultaneously he tried to avoid looking at Sybil, Edith, or Carson, all of whom would be horrified at the publication. Even though Edith had been the one to send in the letter, he knew that her apology to her sister on the wedding had been genuine and that she regretted her actions.

Robert nearly spilled his cup of tea when he saw the headline and article. Thankfully, it wasn't splashed across the front page, but it was still in the paper and that was enough.

EARL'S DAUGHTER BEDDED TURKISH DIPLOMAT

But, the headline was nothing compared to what he saw as he continued to read.

Lady Mary Crawley, a woman once thought of as among the best of society, has been discovered to be among the lowest of the low. It is a fact that one evening a few years ago, she took a lover, a Turkish diplomat, to her bed. Now, such an event would be a scandal on its own for a young, unmarried, earl's daughter, but that is not all. No, what truly makes the scandal delicious is that it was discovered the Turkish diplomat died in her bed.

It was rumoured to be of natural causes, but we all know that poison is a woman's weapon. The conclusions of such an incident will be left up to the reader.

It is well known that Lady Mary has just recently married her distant cousin, and father's heir. Her husband is a veteran and is permanently disabled. The papers that documented the wedding say that they married for love, but, knowing the dire situation, what is to prevent the only reason of their matrimony to allow Lady Mary to gain a title before her true nature was revealed. After all, that was the only thing to be gained considering the nature of her husband's injury.

In conclusion, whilst it may seem that Lady Mary Josephine Crawley is an upright woman, that appearance is only to be noted on the outside. Inside, she is a lustful, conniving woman.

"That, that …" fumed Matthew, struggling to find a word that could accurately describe Carlisle, but failing to find one that was appropriate to voice. Oh, he could think of several names, but none of them would have been proper to utter, even though they were the perfect description.

"Has Mary seen this yet?" Robert asked in a hushed voice as he looked up at Matthew.

"I don't think so," replied Matthew. "She never looks at the paper until she's in the library. I should probably go warn her."

"Yes," Robert agreed, wondering what was to become of his daughter now that her scandal had at last been published. He hoped that those who were her true friends would stand by her. He let out a sigh and shook his head. This was supposed to be a time of wedded bliss for the couple, not a time marred by scandal. He could only hope that what Matthew had said when he proposed would prove true: the fact that Mary had made an honourable match would abate the blow. But, the stab that Carlisle took at them in the article just might cause some problems.

Matthew wheeled himself as quickly as he could down the hall and nearly crashed into Anna as she came out of the bedroom.

"Mr Crawley, pardon me," she said in a fluster as she quickly curtseyed.

"It's quite alright, Anna," Matthew assured. "Has Mary seen the morning paper yet?"

"No, sir," Anna replied. "is there something in it you wish her to see?"

"No, rather, this something I wish her not to," sighed Matthew and then quickly added, "Carlisle carried through with his threat."

"Oh," Anna said wide-mouthed. "I suppose I should go pack then. Mr Carson will throw me out when he discovers my role in the story."

"There's no need for that, Anna," said Matthew calmly before Anna could leave. "Neither your name, nor Lady Grantham's name were mentioned. I doubt he even knew of your involvement."

Anna nodded in relief and moved out of the way to allow Matthew entrance to the room.

"Matthew!" said a surprised Mary, as she put down her teacup. Then, she saw the look on his face. It could only mean that something dreadful had happened. It couldn't have been a breakdown, as he wouldn't have come to her, but it was bad, whatever it was. "What?"

"Carlisle published," Matthew said simply. There was no need to say anything else at all.

"Oh, God," Mary said worriedly. "How bad is it?" She didn't dare voice that she had hoped he wouldn't publish as it had already been two weeks since the wedding, but she shouldn't have allowed that small hope to voice itself.

"Quite bad," answered Matthew with a wince. "Besides staring quite blankly about, well, what happened, he also implied you might had poisoned Pamuk. He also stated that the only reason we got married was to ensure yourself of a title before the scandal got loose."

Mary moved the breakfast table to the other side of the bed and got up, not bothering to wrap herself in her dressing gown. "He wouldn't!" she cried. "Surely he wouldn't go so far as to accuse me of killing him!" She didn't care about the latter part of Matthew's statement as there was a partial truth, but only partially. She would have married Matthew even if he was simply a middle-class lawyer.

"He did," Matthew sighed. "We can only pray that because it has been almost six years, the gossip will die down quickly. The world is a different place from what it was in 1913 and because of the war, a story like this won't be as powerful as it would have been."

Mary nodded slowly. "I'm afraid about what will happen," she said in a low voice. "I don't care what people think in London anymore, but I do care about what the tenants and villagers think of me." Back when the incident had first happened, Mary knew that she put too much in store when it came to her reputation. Now, she didn't care what people who were practically strangers cared. All she cared about was the way those in the surrounding areas thought of her. After all, a Countess needed to have earned a certain level of respect.

"I'm certain everything will work out fine in the end," Matthew said gently. "We will pull through this together. I'll always be here for you. Don't forget that."

"Oh, Matthew," Mary said with a long sigh as she sat down on a nearby chair and buried her face in his lap. "I'm so worried about what is going to happen: to Papa, Mama, Edith, and especially Sybil. I've ruined my family, Matthew. I've ruined my family's name and with it, my sisters' chances at a good marriage."

Matthew gently squeezed her shoulder. "Don't worry, darling," he said calmly. "It won't help any. Just hold your head high and bear the storm. And I'm certain that you haven't ruined the family. Your parents' reputation is far too noble to be destroyed by a simple article in a newspaper. As for Edith and Sybil, they'll find a way. I doubt Sybil cares who she marries and Edith will figure something out. All three of you girls are as stubborn as they come"

Mary nodded in understanding and said, "That may be right, but it's still a blow. And you know I'll try to keep my head high. I just …"

"What?" asked Matthew calmly.

"Sometimes I wonder if I hadn't goaded Edith so much, if she wouldn't have sent that letter," Mary finished.

"Dear, please, don't blame yourself," said Matthew. "I know that probably sounds hypocritical coming from me, but this event of your past is not your fault." Matthew didn't even know how many times someone had told him that it wasn't his fault that William had died, that he was injured, or that so many men in his company had been killed. "You have to believe that, Mary."

Mary sat up and gently swatted him on the shoulder as she briefly let down her composure to allow herself a small smile. "Oh, Matthew," she sighed. "I know you're right, but it's going to be so difficult. How did Papa take the news? Does he know yet?"

"Your father knows," Matthew replied softly. "And he took it as well as can be expected. He's worried about you and I'm certain the same will be said about the rest of your family. And Mary, you were, and still are, there for me during my … my moments of … of hopelessness. I wouldn't be where I am now if it wasn't for you during the darkest time of my life. Let me be there for you during this trial of yours." He didn't care how many times and how many variations were needed to make his point; he would make Mary see that she wasn't alone. It was strange being on this side of a time of need: being the one who gave the comfort rather than the comforted. There wasn't much he could give his wife, but he knew that he could give her a listening ear and a comforting shoulder to lean on.

"Yes," answered Mary. "Yes, I need and I want you to be with me." She stood up and said, "I ought to get dressed. Then, I suppose, we can figure out what we are to do."

"Shall I leave you?" inquired Matthew.

"That would be best," Mary admitted. Truthfully, she wanted her husband to stay with her, but she knew that Anna would feel uncomfortable with Matthew in the room. "I'll join you in the small library when I'm ready."

"Very well, dear," said Matthew as he carefully made his way towards the door. Mary opened it and he made his way out of the room.

Anna presently arrived and soon she was helping Mary get into a simple deep blue dress. "Anna, did you hear the news?" Mary asked while the maid was lacing the corset.

"Yes, milady," Anna replied. "Mr Crawley told me right before coming into your room. And Mr Carson mentioned it when I was downstairs just a few minutes ago."

"How did Carson take the news?"

"Quite badly, milady," said Anna, reaching for the dress now that the corset was done. "He was horrified that someone could say such ghastly things about you. I'd like to think he would enjoy some choice words with Sir Richard Carlisle."

Mary chuckled ever so slightly at the idea of mild-mannered Carson sharing some words with Carlisle. Such an image was amusing, even though the chances of it were rather slim. Even Carson, no matter how much he hated the man, would be able to say anything, directly at any rate. He had told her he didn't much like the man and Anna's report of Carlisle asking her to spy on her certainly played a role in Carson's disapproval. Looking back, Mary was quite proud of Carson's morals and was immensely grateful that she was out of any relationship with Carlisle, even though it very easily could have costed her her reputation.

Before too much longer, she was ready for the day, or as ready as circumstances would allow, and she made her way down to the library where Matthew and Sybil were already gathered.

"Mary," Sybil said in a low voice, "You heard about the paper this morning, correct?"

Mary nodded mutely. "Does the entire family know?" she asked.

"Most likely," Sybil answered. "Papa went to go and break the news to Mama and Edith went into the village to let Granny and Cousin Isobel know as well."

With a sigh, Mary sank into the nearest chair. Matthew made his way across the room to his wife and situated his chair next to her. Sybil sat down on the other side of her sister and the threesome stayed that way for several minutes. Then Robert and Cora entered the room, shortly followed by Edith, Isobel, and Violet.

"What are we to do?" inquired Violet once everyone was in the room. "We simply can't allow that man to print such libel without consequences."

"It isn't libel, Granny," Mary said painfully. "It's the truth, well, parts of it are. Carlisle certainly embellished parts of it. I assure you that I had no intentions of murdering anyone nor did I marry Matthew to gain a title. All of you can attest that it was for love and protection: two very noble reasons."

"That may be true, but it still doesn't mean he can simply get away with it," stated Violet. "Matthew, you're a solicitor, surely you know if there's something that can be done."

"There isn't anything that can be done about the parts of the article that are true," Matthew answered rather slowly, "but, if we can prove that Pamuk died naturally and that Mary didn't marry for a title, the story will lose some of its power. If parts are proven to be libel, people might just suspect that the rest of it is libel as well."

"How do we do this?" asked Robert.

"I don't know," Matthew answered. "I've been out of the law firm for four years and my specialty is industrial law. However, there might be someone who still specializes in this type of law at Harvell and Carters. I'll send the firm a note and see what can be done."

"Thank you, Matthew," Cora said in a low tone. "And Mary, remember that we're here for you. That fiend may have published, but he won't destroy our family."

"I hope you're speaking the truth, Mama," sighed Mary.

As the family began to leave the library, Edith came up to where Mary was seated and whispered, "I'm sorry. I didn't know how far my actions would go. If you want to take back your forgiveness, you can. And I assure you, that there wasn't anything to do with poison in my letter."

"Edith," Mary said, "I know your apology at my wedding was sincere and I cannot take my forgiveness back. And I know you wouldn't have expanded the situation in the letter. Either Vera Bates did it or Carlisle is a bigger problem than I thought."

"I would suspect it to be the latter," replied Edith and she took her leave.

Now, it was only Mary, Matthew, Sybil, and Isobel in the room.

"Son, do you think it's best to take legal action?" wondered Isobel.

"Considering parts of the the article are libel, yes," Matthew answered firmly. "If it can be proven, there will be some charges that can be made against Carlisle. It's going to be treading on eggshells as the libel is interwoven with the truth, but I'm certain something can be done."

"We all hope so," Sybil said quietly as she got up to leave. "And Mama's right, we'll stick together as a family until this passes. It's always easier to weather a storm as a group than individually."

Once Sybil had left, Mary turned towards her husband. "Do you honestly think that will work?" she asked. "The rumours have been circulating London for years, ever since it happened. Trying to prove that parts of it are libel will surely cause the sparks to ignite, if they haven't already."

"It's our only chance darling," said Matthew. "And the sooner we try to quench the flame, the better."

Mary sighed and slowly nodded. She didn't want to go through what was about to happen, but it was going to happen, whether she wanted it or not. Matthew reached across and squeezed her elbow in a comforting manner. And then she knew. Mary knew that whatever was about to happen, she had her husband and family on her side. They would stand by her, even if all their reputations fell down. Was that the true meaning of family? Did the love that came with a family prevail and eventually conquer all trials? If it did, Mary knew that there would always be someone she could turn to.


Stephanie: Thanks for the review. I hope your vacation has gone well. I have lots of plans for Mary and Matthew in their married life, some of them are happy and others aren't. But don't worry, there shouldn't be very many more overly depressing scenes.