It was a cold morning in London and Mary Crawley stood in the middle of her wardrobe, staring at her shoes, pondering if she should wear heels or boots. Heels would go with the blouse but my feet will freeze. The last thing Mary needed was cold feet. I'll go with the boots.
Mary wasn't a typical 25 year old London girl. She'd grown up wealthy, spending her childhood living in a flash semidetached house with her parents and two sisters, Edith and Sybil. Her parents worked all day meaning Mary grew up with a Nanny and a Butler. Robert, her father and Cora, her mother always wanted the best for their eldest daughter. She was pushed into the elite social circles and had friends in very high places. Many girls would be envious of her lavish lifestyle: her flash car, multi million dollar house and her vase collection of Chanel purses. But Mary had always felt something missing. She longed to fit in, to not be the rich girl who had all of Daddy's money at a swipe of a plastic card.
It was mid-January when Mary decided that she wanted to move out of her parent's home and get a job. Having graduated from Oxford with an English literature degree four years back, she'd decided to travel, spending time in Bora Bora, Monaco, Australia and Thailand. She'd even stopped off in New York to visit her American Grandmother. But something had been bugging her; she hadn't earned the trips. She'd come home for a couple of months, attend events and make appearances at exclusive parties then jet off for a few months on a holiday, sometimes going alone and sometimes going with her rich Oxford friends.
Mary decided her New Years resolution would be to stop living off her Parents bank accounts and to make something of herself. She moved out a week later into a nice apartment in central London, her father giving her a loan for the deposit, claiming that he wouldn't be a good father unless he helped her out. She applied for a couple of jobs but was frustrated, she didn't want to have a career, just an easy job in which would pay the bills and allow her to be 'normal'.
One night Mary and her longtime friend from high school, Anna, was watching Meet the Parents in Mary's flat when Anna suggested Mary to look into wedding planning. Mary had been criticizing the wedding planning during the whole film, trying to convince Anna that she'd do a ''better job of it''. Anna told Mary about her cousin's upcoming marriage and that she was looking for someone to help with organizing the day. Her cousin was working fulltime at a Law firm so she suggested that Mary should talk to her and help with the planning. Mary had been hesitant at first, she'd never met the couple and wasn't sure if she liked the idea of practically being someone's PA, having only experiencing how her parents use to boss their ones back when she was younger. Anna reassured her that her cousin would be ok with it and it was only temporary so Mary agreed. Anna had then called her cousin that night and arranged for Mary to meet the happy couple at a Starbucks near Mary's flat.
That was today. While Mary was getting her boots on her iPhone beeped and a text appeared:
Good luck with the meeting today. Remember you are only helping them organize it, don't stress too much. They are really lovely Mary. You're going to love them.
-Anna
Mary was feeling nervous. She wanted to help and Anna assured her that her cousin would happily pay her.
C'mon Crawley! You can do this, it's only helping someone plan an event, we use to host private events back home every weekend.
Mary grabbed her purse and touched up her makeup in the mirror by the door. This will be fun. She opened the front door of her flat, leading her out into the chilly morning.
Ten minutes later, Mary was standing outside Starbucks. The familiar bell rung as she opened the door and immediately spotted a couple sitting on one of the couches beside the counter. She couldn't quite see their faces, not that it mattered as Anna had only said her cousin has red hair. That must be them, She thought so Mary quickly walked up to the counter, ordered her latte and walked over to their spot.
''Excuse me but are you Anna Smith's cousins?'' Mary asked, worried that she may have got the wrong couple.
''Yes, yes we are. You must be Mary! We've heard such pleasant things about you from Anna. I'm Lavinia. '' A bright faced, ginger haired lady, who Mary assumed must be in her early thirties, stood up and reached for Mary's right hand. ''It's a pleasure to meet you.''
''Nice to meet you too'' Mary responded, shaking Lavinia's hand noticing her Gucci watch. This girl must be rich. She then turned to face the man standing next to Lavinia.
''And I'm Matthew. Matthew Crawley. The groom.''