"Mary, will you slow down?" Mary turned to see Mr. Blake trudging up the hill behind her, attempting to move twice as fast as she is.
"I'm sorry Charles, I didn't know I was being followed."
"I wouldn't say I was following you, just thought I might be of help, given what just happened and all", said Charles.
Mary took a deep breath and looked back down the hill towards the estate. The weather mirrored her feelings today, gloomy and cloudy. The ground was covered with dew, even though it was mid-day. It occurred to Mary that she hadn't been outside in a few days. It must have rained earlier.
"Yes, well I'm not really in the mood to talk about it but you're welcome to accompany me if you'd like", said Mary.
Mr. Blake's response was clear as he started walking past Mary in the direction she was headed. They walked in silence for a while.
"I didn't think my feelings would change you know. I thought I'd made my decision and it wasn't an easy one", said Mary.
"Yes and obviously even harder to back out of", said Mr. Blake, chuckling to himself.
"Don't laugh" said Mary as she gave him a disapproving look. " I didn't mean to hurt him so much but he wouldn't leave it alone. I don't think he'll be around much anymore though. I said what I had to."
"Yes and said it loud enough the entire household could hear." They heard a noise in the distance and looked towards the house to see a car pulling down the drive. "Gillingham will get over it. He'll go back to Mable and all will be as it should be", said Mr. Blake.
"Charles, please, you know that wasn't easy", said Mary.
They continued walking in silence. Mary had this look about her. She was cold, challenging and seemingly unfeeling but she was also smart and witty and did what she thought was best. She was also beautiful. It was hard to come up with the right thing to say at times but this time was different. Charles knew it was somewhat pathetic they were back at this point again. He didn't want her to think he was waiting around, he was stubborn like that, but he also knew what his chances were.
" Mary I don't think I need to re-iterate my feelings for you. You know where I stand and why I'm here. I know what you are feeling and you may deny it but I'll wait until you don't have to anymore."
Mary wasn't entirely surprised to be hearing this although she didn't think he would phrase it like that. He was stubborn after all. Mary turned and walked towards a big tree to the left of the path as it had started to rain. Charles followed her. To her surprise, Mary found she was not in the mood to argue with him about anything, let alone this. "Please don't, Charles. Don't wait. I don't know what I want and I can't tell when that time will come. I don't want a repeat of what just happened with Tony", said Mary.
"Oh believe me I won't linger around as long as he did. Just say the word and I'll walk away", said Charles.
"He just had to get a joke in", thought Mary but she said nothing. Charles watched as the rain dripped off her eyelids and the edge of her nose. "Just say the word", he said again. Mary wasn't sure what she wanted to say but just as she started to open her mouth, Charles kissed her. He pulled away and said, "Just think about it." Mary watched as he turned and walked back in the direction he came, back towards the house. She had no idea what time it was or how long she stood there staring after him but by the time she came out from under the tree she was soaking wet.
Mary walked through the door only to find Edith pestering her with questions. "Mary what did you say to Mr. Blake? Mama said it was a terrible idea to have him and Mr. Gillingham in the house at the same time. And where have you been? You're soaking wet," said Edith.
"Oh really. Thank you for letting me know", said Mary as she started up the stairs, desperately hoping Charles hadn't left yet. She needed to tell him she was suddenly sure what she wanted.