Authors note: Hello again, have you all missed me? (if not, please lie and say you have). This little series was created from a prompt I was given a while back, if you follow me on tumblr (gazelle-legs) you will recognize this. I have finally decided to share it here after some encouraging from my partners in crime, lala-kate and miscreantrose. PLEASE NOTE: This first part is actually the prequel to the real story, I took part in the Mary and Charles Secret Santa exchange on tumblr and ended up with lala-kate's prompts, she asked for Charles working up the courage to propose to Mary and everything keeps going wrong.

Now, with that being said I would like to officially dedicate this series to lala-kate and miscreantrose. You two have become my sisters, some of my best friends, and of course together we are The Bacon Mafia. You are two of the strongest and most amazing women I have ever met, and you inspire me daily. Thank you for the support, hugs to you both. I love you.

I hope you all enjoy!

Sunday (after the two disasters)

The knots in his stomach tightened with each tick of the clock on the library wall; had he ever been this nervous? He wondered. He had already secured her father's permission, and he suspected she knew what was coming and had ever since he had written to her weeks ago. He had been at Downton for a week, and had come so close to asking her several times only to be interrupted.

Tuesday

"The lake is lovely this time of year, the water is just warm enough to dip your toes in and relax." Her hand tightened on his arm as she spoke.

Their eyes met, "was that a hint Lady Mary?" he teased.

"What do you think, Mr. Blake?" she said with her brow arched in question.

His gaze traced over the look of happiness on her face, "I think we had better test the lake water."

They were sitting on the bank, she on his jacket and he with his shirtsleeves rolled up and tie off; their shoes were seated behind them and their toes drifted lazily in the water. She stared straight ahead seemingly in thought, and he watched her from the corner of his eye. He saw the small smile he had come to love so much pull at her mouth; this would be the perfect time realized. His hand brushed over the outline of the ring within his trouser pocket.

"We should be heading back, the air is beginning to cool." She said as a slight shiver racked her body."

This was it, he would help her up, and then he would kneel and ask her. He stood to offer her his hand. He must have done so too quickly, because the next thing he heard was her telling him to "be careful" just before he fell backwards in the water. He came up sputtering, and hearing the sound of her laughter.

"Do you need help getting out?" she asked around fits of laughter.

He held his hand out for her, and she took it. Their fingers linking tightly together, she had yet to stop laughing.

"You know, I could pull you in." He quipped. She sobered quickly.

He was standing in front of the fire shaking his head, lost in his thoughts. Tuesday had just been the beginning; Wednesday had proven to be worse. Staring at the flames before him, he sighed and once again mulled over his disastrous attempts at a proposal.

Wednesday

One in the morning. He was downstairs in kitchen at Downton in the early hours of the morning attempting to make scrambled eggs. He had already cut some fruit, and poured two glasses of wine. He remembered that she had told him of her nightly habit. She always crept down to the kitchen for a snack around one; he hoped this would be a pleasant surprise. It seemed almost fitting really, scrambled eggs and wine, the night of discoveries. Surely nothing could go wrong this time.

"Please Lord, let this time go without incident." He prayed.

She could hear someone moving about in the kitchen as she crept down the stairs, and was that humming she heard? She could tell it was man in the kitchen the closer she got; Carson must be awake as well, she thought as she stepped around the corner.

"Carson-"her words were cut off by a muffled cry of pain and the loud clattering of a pan as it hit the floor. No, it was definitely not Carson.

"What were you thinking sneaking up on someone like that?" he asked, his words coming out with a pained hiss.

She hurried to his side; "are you hurt?" her hand touched his arm in question.

"I'll be alright, the pan only landed on my foot for a moment." That 'moment' was now causing his foot to throb in pain.

"You need to sit down, and put something on that. What are you doing down here anyway?" she asked as she led him to one of the stools.

How could he tell her the truth now?

"I had trouble sleeping, and then I decided to make myself an early morning snack." His smile was far too innocent. She did not believe a word of it.

"Oh really, then why are there two glasses of wine poured?" her question shocked him; he had forgotten the damn wine.

Recovering quickly he answered as convincingly as he could, "I noticed the time when I came down, and remembered that you had once said you usually crept down at this time…" his voice trailed off.

Her nod of encouragement allowed him to continue.

"I just thought I would make plenty in case you did and I was right. Sadly, I do believe our feet enjoyed the eggs more than our stomachs." He said as he looked down at the floor.

They both grimaced at the egg now stuck to their feet.

Another attempt ruined, he thought.

He was determined to succeed this time. She deserved the best he had to give. He continued to watch the flames dance and hear their song of crackle and pop. Waiting was the hardest part, he thought. He knew from their kisses that she loved him, but he would never presume she would say 'yes.' Thoughts of their first meeting made him smile. He had not originally appreciated her sharp wit, but now it was one of the things he loved most about her. Something had shifted between them when they had spent that night caring for the pigs. Her resiliency during that night had stunned him, and had altered his perceptions of her. It felt as if that night had only happened yesterday, and not a year ago. The sound of her shoes in the hall pulled him from his thoughts.

"Carson said you asked for me, is anything the matter?" she asked when he just stared at her.

He smiled; "No…no…everything is fine. I just needed to speak with you privately."

She stood before him, unsure of what was going on. She felt the heat of his body as he stepped closer to her, and then the welcome touch of his hands along her back. He was different in this moment, he held her with a new confidence. Something was about to change between them, and she was afraid to be wrong of what she believed it to be. Her hands traced from his cheeks down to his wrists. They were touching completely now, body to body.

Her eyes drifted closed as she spoke, "what do you need to talk to me about?"

His arms tightened around her, "I need to ask you something," his lips ghosted along her forehead.

Her voice was a distracted whisper, "go on."

He stepped back placing some distance between them, though their hands never left one another. She saw his swallow once, and then twice before speaking. She watched as he kneeled down, and felt his hands as their fingers laced together. The look of adoration on his face is one she always wanted to remember. His fingers flexed against hers, holding her tighter. Then, he began to speak.

"Mary, I love you. Will you marry me?" his voice waivered at the end, now he watched her and waited for an answer.

"Yes." Her voice caught at the last moment, and then she was in his arms.

They held one another tightly. Her hands found his cheeks brought his lips to hers, she poured everything she wanted to say into her lips on his, and she knew he understood what she was trying to say.

"I love you, too."

Reviews make me smile, and I do so love to hear your thoughts.