"So I finally get to meet the famous Lady Mary Crawley today, then?" Matthew smirked as he fastened his cufflinks.
"You do have that great pleasure, yes." Bates quipped, and the groom and his best man shared a laugh. "I should warn you, though - Anna has briefed her about you and has given you a dazzling reference. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was trying to set the two of you up."
"Well, then it's a good thing that I've heard enough about Ms Crawley from you to ensure that I stay well away from her advances." Matthew remarked with a knowing smile. Suited and booted, the two men walked out of their flat and made their way towards the church.
...
"If I weren't your maid of honour I would have feigned illness and sacked this whole evening off."
Anna concealed her eye-roll at the dramatic declaration. "I promise you it won't be that bad." She attempted to placate Mary.
"Oh really?" Mary turned to her with a raised eyebrow, a lock of hair wound around a curling tong. "You're making me spend all day with that wet blanket of a best man!"
"You haven't even met him yet!" Anna countered. "Anyway, I've told you all about how lovely he is."
"The reason you've told me all about how 'lovely' he is is because you know I won't like him and you want to try to brainwash me before I meet him."
There wasn't much Anna could say to refute this allegation. Her best friend's cynicism was, in this instance, right on the money. Despite all Mary's huffing and puffing, however, Anna knew that she would never do anything to jeopardise the wedding and would keep quiet no matter what was thrown at her. The wedding rehearsal, however, might be a different story.
...
"The church is beautiful." Matthew said, earning a joyous smile from the vicar who was leading them to the front of the aisle. The modest-sized medieval church was the exact location that Bates and Anna had been searching for to hold their small wedding.
"Ah, and here is the bride's party!" The jolly vicar announced, seeing a smiling Anna approach the men with her parents and Mary in tow.
Matthew instantly peered over to catch a glimpse of the maid of honour. His first thought was that Bates hadn't been lying about her beauty - she seemed to have an air about her that was atypical of young women these days, as if she belonged to an age of elegance that had since passed. Another unmistakeable mark of her appearance was that she had the distinct look of somebody who did not want to be there.
As Anna, Bates and their families exchanged greetings, Matthew extended a hand to Mary. "Pleasure to meet you." The statement was genuine, although perhaps for a different reason to what it suggested. Ever since Bates had first laughingly relayed to him the story of Anna's best friend - the daughter of an Earl who grew up on 1000 acres of heritage land in Yorkshire and had never been to a supermarket in her life - Matthew had been keen to meet her. Anna was the sweetest and most grounded girl you could ever hope to meet, and it somewhat baffled him that her maid of honour would be someone so out-of-touch and apparently conceited.
"Likewise." Mary replied smoothly, her eyes madly scrutinising him beneath her cool exterior. Passing judgment on people that she'd only just met was a favourite past-time of hers, and she had a feeling that this Matthew Crawley would provide her with a decent amount of ammunition to complain about. After all, any best friend of Bates' was likely to be equally dull and devoid of character as he was. Perhaps she could set him up with Edith. He was handsome, which, to her credit, Anna had assessed accurately. He was just a little too 'pretty' for Mary's tastes, though. A rugged, more masculine sort of man was more her cup of tea. But at least she wouldn't be made to leave the church on the arm of some ogre, so that was something.
"So, shall we begin?" The round-bellied vicar clapped his hands together with glee, as if he could barely contain his excitement.
The next hour or so saw Mary and Matthew remaining quiet as they each practised their respective roles as aides to the soon-to-be-wed couple. This meant that Mary had to traipse up and down the aisle a dozen times as Anna wanted to ensure that her pace was perfect, holding a make-shift 'train' that consisted of a white sheet pinned to Anna's waistband. Matthew had the easier task of standing at the head of the aisle and pretending to pass the wedding rings to Bates a couple of times.
"Lovely, lovely!" The vicar exclaimed as the couple finished the mock exchanging of rings. "What happens now, is you take your bride's hand - yes, like that, jolly good - and the two of you face your loved ones and beam with supreme jollity - come now, you can manage a wider smile than that, Mr Bates!" His hearty laughter was contagious for all of those present, barring Mary, who was growing rather fed up with the unnecessarily chatty vicar and the prolonged rehearsal. Who on Earth needed to practice smiling at people? "And then you begin to make your way back down the aisle, and the violins will be playing in the background - that reminds me," he interrupted himself, "will you be needing any of the church musicians for your first dance?"
"No, thank you." Anna replied politely. "We thought we'd have one of John's friends, William, play for us - he plays the piano very well and can sing too, so he's prepared something traditional for us."
"Oh, of course, you did mention that to me." The vicar tapped himself on the head as a reprimand for his forgetfulness. "Is the young chap here? I should like to meet him."
"He'll be arriving early on the wedding day, so you can meet him then. He's a little tied up at the Emirates stadium at the moment." Bates smiled.
Presuming that Mary wouldn't know what Bates was referring to and trying to be helpful, Matthew turned to her and said, "Emirates is Arsenal's football grounds. He's watching a football match."
His assistance didn't have the desired effect, however. A look of offence on her face, Mary gracefully arched an eyebrow at him. "Yes, I know." She replied tightly. He clearly thought she was some kind of prissy brat who didn't know about anything that was unrelated to make-up and clothes. How dare he make assumptions about her based on her appearance. She may have been doing the exact same thing about him, but that wasn't the point!
"While we have your time, Vicar, we were hoping to run our vows past you and suggest some amendments?" Anna asked. The vicar happily accepted and ushered the couple over to one of the pews to discuss the matter, while their respective parents took the opportunity to catch up and natter about the wedding day, leaving Matthew and Mary alone to make small talk.
"So...did you find the church OK, then?" Matthew ventured, struggling to think of anything to say to this woman. He doubted that they'd have anything in common at all. In the interests of his best friend, however, he hoped that they could get along well enough to ensure that the wedding day ran without a hitch.
What a ridiculous question! He was speaking to her as if she was an utter idiot and, having been subjected to such assumptions all her life on account of her good looks and sense of fashion, it was something that made her blood boil. "No, actually, I'm still lost trying to find it - I've been circling the M5 for hours now." Mary bit back.
"Right, sorry, silly question." Matthew apologised. She was wittier than he'd thought she'd be, but still undoubtedly arrogant. A lengthy awkward silence followed. "Anna tells me that you work in fashion." He tried again.
"In a sense, yes. I analyse the sales figures for our corporate group and make decisions on what products we should sell based on my findings." Mary replied. Usually, she wouldn't go into so much detail about her job - she doubted that even Anna knew exactly what she did - but for some reason she felt the need to prove herself to this uppity blonde man and make clear that she wasn't some bimbo that he could talk down to.
"Oh, that sounds interesting." It didn't actually sound particularly interesting to Matthew, but it did make him a bit more intrigued by her.
"Well, you're a tax lawyer so I'll take that comment with a pinch of salt." This was intended to be a rebuke, so the small chuckle from Matthew made her turn her head more fully towards him.
Against all odds, there was something about this woman that Matthew actually found quite amusing. "I must tell Anna to stop mentioning to people that I'm a tax lawyer - it doesn't endear me to people."
Mary thought that being a tax lawyer was probably the most endearing thing about him, from what she'd seen so far, but she bit her tongue. Perhaps it would be best if they just stopped talking altogether.
"I suppose it'll be quite sad for you not being able to see Anna as much once she's married."
Mary sighed internally - could this man not just leave her in peace? "What makes you say that? Is Bates going to increase his strangle-hold on her and lock her away from her friends?" Mary had never kept it a secret that she didn't like how possessive was over Anna - she'd always felt he was holding her back.
Suddenly, Lady Mary became a lot less amusing. If there was one thing that put Matthew Crawley on the offensive, it was people bad-mouthing his friends, especially Bates who had been by his side through some terrible times. "Bates would never interfere with Anna's life like that. I'm not sure where you're getting your opinions of him from but I don't think you know him very well." He said firmly.
"I'm perfectly capable of forming my own opinions, thank you very much." Mary replied equally firmly. The two stood looking at each other for a few moments, almost in a staring contest, neither wanting to back down. Only the sound of the vicar spluttering with loud laughter caused them to divert their gaze.
The determined silence resumed.
"So is it you who's going to be making the best man's speech?" Mary eventually asked with a tone akin to cold disbelief.
Matthew looked up with a frown. "Of course it is." He replied tersely. He knew she was trying to deride him and make him feel inadequate. In truth, he had been practically wetting himself at the thought of having to stand up in front of a room full of people, on the most important day of his best friend's life, and make a speech that was both moving and humorous.
"But isn't the best man's speech supposed to be, you know...funny? And entertaining?" She said pointedly, deliberately insinuating that he was as dull as dishwater. He'd found her comment about being a tax lawyer funny, for crying out loud!
"As if you have such a difficult job being maid of honour. All you have to do is turn up in the dress that she tells you to wear and carry her bloody train for thirty seconds!" Matthew blurted out, finally snapping. There was only so much haughtiness that he could tolerate. He did feel rather sheepish, though, when Anna, Bates, the vicar and the couple's parents all turned to stare at him in surprise. Offering an apologetic glance towards them, he steadfastly ignored Mary's self-satisfied smile.
"Maybe that's enough for today." Anna announced. "I think we've covered everything, plus we've got the rehearsal dinner to attend!"
As the small group bid farewell to the vicar and filed out of the church, Bates murmured to Matthew with a smirk, "Told you you'd love her."
...
The rehearsal dinner that evening was a small affair, with only close family and a few friends in attendance at a cosy local restaurant.
The couple of the evening sat in the middle of the horse-shoe shaped table, separating Matthew and Mary who sat on either side of them. They'd greeted each other with nothing more than a polite, cursory nod and smile before taking their seats and spending the meal speaking to other people. That is, until after dessert when Anna and Bates decided to leave their seats and spend the remainder of the evening mingling with people further down the table.
Aware that he should probably say something to Mary - he needed to at least double-check the protocol for the wedding day - Matthew glanced over in her direction with a view to initiating conversation. Her attention was, however, monopolised by the young man seated next to her, whom he believed was Anna's slightly younger cousin.
"...my personal trainer keeps telling me I spend too much time in the gym but, you know, I can't seem to keep myself away when I see the great results that I'm getting." The brown-haired man said, patting his abdominals as if to suggest that they were rock-hard.
"Yes, of course." Came Mary's bored reply. She reached for her glass and drained the remaining wine out of it, immediately looking for the waiter to replenish it.
"One of my exes didn't like me spending so much time on my body," The man continued, blissfully unaware of the disinterest of his audience, "but I always told her, 'Look, Tina - appearance is important'. I get the impression you'd agree with me." He finished, not bothering to conceal how his eyes roamed her body. Matthew, who was observing this from the corner of his eye, started laughing into his wine glass.
This caught Mary's attention. Sharply turning to face him, she quirked an eyebrow at him. "Something funny?"
Matthew cleared his throat before innocently shaking his head. "No, not at all."
But the gleam in his eye revealed that he was in fact laughing at Mary's current situation, as she'd suspected. "That's a shame. I was hoping you'd managed to find something amusing to say in your speech on Saturday." She replied pointedly, having sussed that this was a weak spot of his. It worked. The subtle smirk on his face instantly disappeared and he shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
"Mate, if you need some help with it then let me know," Anna's cousin offered confidently, "I'm really funny." He modestly added.
"Great, thanks." Matthew drily replied, frowning as Mary grinned mockingly at him.
"Guys, we've got a bit of a problem." Bates announced, he and Anna returning to their seats hurriedly.
"What is it?" Mary asked with concern.
"William just called - he was leaving the football match when he fell down some steps and fractured his wrist. He's just in hospital getting treated but he won't be able to play our first dance anymore."
"Shit." Matthew sighed. "Well, can't you use the church musicians instead?"
"No." Anna shook her head sadly. "We called the vicar and he said that they just accepted another wedding reception. He doesn't know what to suggest."
Mary scoffed. "He's useful, isn't he? Aren't vicars supposed to know stuff about weddings? What else do they do?"
"They do a lot of things, actually." Matthew retorted, wanting to damage his bruised ego by asserting his knowledge on the topic, as childish as it was. "Besides preparing for all the ceremonies they conduct, many are highly involved in the local community-"
"So basically, we need options for music." Bates interrupted, sensing that Matthew and Mary had the capacity to engage in rather lengthy debates.
The quartet pondered the issue in silence for a few minutes. "I have a couple of friends who sing traditional music - they do stuff like William Byrd and Palestrina." Matthew suggested hopefully.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realise that Anna and Bates were getting married in a Catholic monastery in the 16th century." Mary responded, taking satisfaction in the look of surprise on Matthew's face. He obviously hadn't expected her to know what he was talking about.
"The wedding is in less than two days and Anna and I have enough to think about. Can we leave this with you two to sort out?" Bates asked out of desperation. He'd already caught a glimpse of how much they could bicker but he didn't really have any other choice.
"Of course you can, don't worry." Matthew said reassuringly, casting a challenging glance at Mary.
With thanks, Anna and Bates stood and resumed their mingling. Anna's cousin also swiftly resumed his earlier activities in earnest.
"I'm in a band, you know." He said impressively, after ten minutes of talking her ear off about his supposedly many and varied talents. "We have a really unique sound so we're getting a lot of exposure."
"What are you called?" Mary asked politely.
"'The Screaming Harlots.'"
Again, Matthew spluttered into his wine. Mary looked to him again, but this time she was looking to him for help. Surely, if he was anywhere near as gentlemanly as Anna kept saying he was, he would rescue her?
Matthew recognised the pleading look in her eyes. He had already considered stepping in to help her out, but had decided against it. Now, though, he could see that she had reached the end of her tether. Moving over so that he occupied Anna's vacated seat, he draped an arm over the back of Mary's chair. She turned to him, a questioning gaze that was tinged with warning. It appeared that she had quickly deduced his tactics.
"I'm sorry, I don't think we've been properly introduced." Matthew addressed the younger man, extending his right hand. "I'm Matthew."
"Chris." The young man replied, casting a curious glance at Matthew's position. "Do you two know each other? I thought you were Bates' flatmate."
"I am, and Mary and I got to know each other through him." Matthew replied, lifting the arm that was on the back of her chair to wrap around her shoulders. Mary simply smiled and nodded. She was willing to play along with this to the extent that it made Chris leave her alone, but if Matthew tried any funny business with her then God help him.
"Wait, are you two...together?" Chris asked.
"Six months and counting." Matthew beamed. He looked to Mary. "Isn't that right, erm...darling?" He forced the endearment out of his mouth.
Mary gave him a look that he would have laughed at if it hadn't made him slightly fear for his life. "That's right." She addressed Chris.
"Oh...I see." Chris said, physically backing away from where he'd been drooling over Mary.
"Sorry." Mary said gracefully. She was used to turning men away, but she did feel guilty at the disappointment in Chris' face, especially as he was her best friend's cousin.
"It's fine." Chris said casually. "Anyway, I need to go. I'm going back to Nottingham after the wedding for the new term so I need to pack." He said, pushing his chair back.
"A new term? Are you in university?" Mary asked incredulously. Chris nodded before he turned to leave, and Mary fumed as she felt Matthew's body shake with stifled laughter. His face was contorted as he tried to stop himself from cracking up. She narrowed her eyes at him.
"Shut up." She murmured.
"I didn't say anything!" Matthew said through his sniggers. "It's flattering in a way, isn't it? Attracting younger men? Lots of women would love that." He teased.
"Those women tend to be middle-aged, not in their mid-late 20s." Mary was finding it difficult not to smile now - the mirth on Matthew's face was contagious.
"Are you not even going to thank me?" He asked cheekily. Considering how hostile they had been to each other, he felt he should be given some appreciation for his intervention.
"For what? Your approach was pretty unoriginal." Mary countered.
Matthew blew the air out of his cheeks as a sign of mock-defeat. "Maybe. But it was effective, at least. If I'd left you alone any longer he would've lifted his shirt up to show you a tattoo of Rihanna on his pecs."
Against her will, this made Mary laugh out loud.
Bates suddenly approached them with an intrigued smile. "What's going on here, then?" He asked, noticing that Matthew's arm was still around Mary's shoulders.
"Nothing." Mary said instantly, feeling Matthew's arm slip away from her. "Anna's cousin was making moves on me so Matthew pretended he was my boyfriend to make him go away."
"Oh, I'm sorry about that. Chris should know better." Bates apologised.
"Don't worry, it's not a big deal." Mary said.
"No, it is." Bates insisted. "He should know that the maid of honour is supposed to hook up with the best man, not the bride's cousin!" He laughed, clapping Matthew on the back as he left to get another drink.
Matthew didn't find Bates' joke particularly funny, but he took offence to Mary's disgusted expression. "I'm not that bad, you know." He said bitterly.
"No, it's not that-" Mary began. As annoying as she'd been finding him, he didn't seem like a bad guy and was more sharp-witted than she'd expected. "It was more the concept of a man and woman 'hooking up' purely to follow a tradition that disturbed me."
Inexplicably, Matthew felt a little relieved to learn that he didn't completely repel her. "I agree. I'm not the biggest fan of wedding traditions in general, to be honest."
"Really?" This took Mary by surprise. The prim and proper tax lawyer seemed like a stereotypical stickler for tradition. But, as Matthew revealed in his response to her, he could be rather non-conformist. They chatted for another few minutes, sharing brief anecdotes of their respective mini-rebellions against their parents or teachers.
"Anyway, we should probably start thinking of what to do about the first dance." Matthew said eventually, seeing that most people were making their way out of the restaurant to go home.
"Leave it with me. I have a good stereo and a decent collection of music for this sort of thing. Plus, I know Anna's tastes." Mary said assuredly.
"Are you sure?"
Mary nodded. "In any case, you should be spending all your time writing your speech." She stood up and reached for her handbag. "I'm expecting you to keep me captivated." With that, she swiftly turned and glided away from him.
Catching himself staring at her retreating form, Matthew shook his head clear and gulped down the last of his drink.
...
The day of the wedding finally arrived. The bride and groom spent the morning getting ready with their respective cohorts. For once, it was Mary who dressed Anna, the swapping of roles a unique occurrence in their friendship as it was Anna who was most gifted in hairstyling and make-up. Mary breathed a sigh of relief when her work was given an enthusiastic seal of approval by the bride and her family. In the meantime, Matthew and Bates enjoyed a relatively relaxed morning before making their way to the church, greeting some of the guests as they arrived, and awaiting the bridal party.
After what seemed like several hours for the anxious groom, the congregation arose and eagerly watched the blushing bride make her entrance. Matthew was obviously keen to see what Anna looked like, but he found himself equally - if not more - intrigued to see the woman who was carrying her train. They had barely spent twenty minutes speaking to each other, and most of that had comprised of arguments or snide comments, yet she had consumed his thoughts since they'd parted on Thursday night.
It felt wrong to think so, but he was sure that Mary looked more resplendent than the bride. The feminine, champagne-coloured dress fit her figure perfectly and contrasted wonderfully with her rich brown hair and eyes. She intermittently smiled sweetly at the guests while walking down the aisle, her main focus being on carrying Anna's train and ensuring that nothing went awry.
Taking her place behind Anna as the ceremony commenced, Mary stole a glance at Matthew, who was positioned almost directly opposite her. He was in a three-piece suit, his boyishly unruly hair was coiffed, and his eyes - those magnetic blue eyes - quickly averted themselves to look away from her. Had he been staring at her? Quelling the unexpected flutters in her stomach, Mary too forced herself to pay attention to the ceremony. She flushed as she recalled the unprovoked dream that she'd had the night before, wherein he'd featured heavily. Banishing the racy memory from her mind, she once again sought to concentrate on her best friend getting married. Her eyes had other ideas, though, and she found herself frequently gazing at him, unconsciously admiring his handsomeness. The only thing that made her stop was that Matthew caught her staring twice. Although she was sure that she could feel his gaze on her, too...
The ceremony passed happily, and the guests cried and cheered as the Bates' shared their first kiss as husband and wife. Matthew gave his now ex-flatmate a congratulatory slap on the back, while Mary kissed Anna on the cheek (being careful not to smudge her make-up). Following the couple's lead back down the aisle, Mary nonchalantly held onto Matthew's arm as tradition dictated.
"Glad that went well, they look so happy." She remarked, keeping her eyes fixed steadfastly ahead.
"Mm, it was lovely." Matthew hummed. "Why did you keep looking over at me during the ceremony?" It was a brave, abrupt question. He reckoned that, as long as he posed the question first, he held the higher ground.
"I just wanted to make sure that you still had the rings with you." Mary bluffed as smoothly as she could, startled by him raising the topic. "Why did you keep looking at me?" She asked accusatorily, turning the tables on him.
"I, er, thought I saw...I thought there was something in your hair," Matthew stammered, "but, erm, there wasn't." He coughed awkwardly, inwardly cursing as he could practically feel his ears turning red. The self-satisfied smile on Mary's face didn't help either. He was sure she had been treating him as eye candy too, but she seemed more adept at concealing this fact than he was.
Once outside the church, the congregation spent some time taking initial photographs and congratulating the couple, before they headed round the back where a small marquee had been set up for refreshments before the reception. Politely excusing themselves from their respective conversations, Matthew and Mary made their way into the reception hall, as Mary had told Matthew that she would play him the music that she'd chosen for the first dance.
The wedding cake was already set up in the corner of the room, making Mary gasp when she noticed it.
"It's pretty, isn't it?" Matthew remarked.
"It looks delicious. And I'm starving." Mary said greedily, approaching the small table. "Do you think I could have a bit of the icing?"
"What? No! Mary-" Matthew followed after her.
"Honestly, Matthew, nobody will notice." Mary rolled her eyes. "What happened to your rebellious side? Look, there's a bit of excess icing right here..." Tentatively, Mary dipped her index finger into the soft buttercream on the bottom tier of the cake. Licking her lips, she lifted her finger to her mouth, with Matthew looking on disapprovingly. "What flavour is this?" She asked, smelling something unexpected.
"I think I heard Anna say that it was passion-fruit." Matthew answered, wondering why on Earth he'd remembered that.
"Oh no, I'm allergic to passion-fruit!" Mary looked to him in alarm.
"You're allergic to passion-fruit?" It was such a ridiculous allergy that it made Matthew laugh, much to Mary's displeasure.
"Yes, I break out in a rash if I consume even the tiniest bit of it, alright?" Mary said firmly. "Now help me get rid of this!" She brandished her sugar-coated finger in front of him.
"Just wipe it on a tissue."
"There aren't any here!" Mary panicked. "Here, you have to eat it." It was the only solution her worried brain could think of. If she attended the wedding reception with a rash all over her body it would be rather embarrassing. "Eat!" She implored Matthew, who was looking very hesitant.
"OK, fine, calm down!" He said exasperatedly, taking her wrist in his hand. Slowly, he lowered his head and parted his lips, moving them to cover the tip of her dainty finger. Her skin was soft and delicate and he felt as if he could taste it along with the sweet icing. The temperature in the room seemed to rise several degrees.
Mary's heart had been beating rapidly in her state of panic, but it raced for an altogether different reason as she felt Matthew's warm mouth over her skin. A shiver rippled down her spine when his tongue briefly skimmed the tip of her finger, licking off all the whipped sugar. His deep blue eyes glanced up at her as he straightened, clearing his throat. The contact had only lasted a few seconds, and only involved a centimetre of her finger, but it had been enough to make her feel oddly light-headed.
The abrupt arrival of the catering staff spared her the trouble of having to speak, and she took the distraction as an opportunity to mumble something about the flower girl and exit the room, leaving a flustered Matthew in her wake.
...
A/N: this was originally intended to be a one-shot but, as seems to happen these days, I rambled so much that it got too long! So will probably just be one more chapter. Can't decide if I will include any smut or not...let me know what you think! xxx