Matthew Crawley's car sped along the quiet lane. He hummed along with the motor – normally he was not one to hum, but this was a happy day.
His wife, Mary, was in bed at the cottage hospital holding their baby son, his family was waiting for him back at the house, and the sun was shining.
Suddenly, a large freight van appeared from around the corner.
Matthew jumped, and the car swerved off the road.
As the car spun, out of control, across the dirt, Matthew saw his life flash before his eyes. He glimpsed boarding school, happy times with his mother, finding Downton, meeting Mary, and then losing her. Then, war, the trenches, Lavinia Swire and her untimely death threw themselves at him.
Just as he saw Mary's face as she passed him the baby, the car flipped down the embankment and he felt the jolt as he collided with a tree.
He collapsed across the seat, stunned.
