This is the result of an amazing prompt submitted to me on tumblr I shall share at the end of the story. I have had many requests to continue this saga, and it is something I am considering, although I don't want another long story to juggle at the moment. :) I do hope you enjoy! For darkblueyank. :)

Own nothing...love it all.


"Good afternoon, Captain Crawley."

His companion turns towards him slowly, his obvious distaste for the chair to which he is confined palpable.

"Good afternoon."

Crawley's response is half-hearted, his gaze only fleeting before he casts it back out the window.

"Will your fiancé be visiting today?"

"Ms. Swire?" Matthew questions automatically. "Yes—I believe she plans to do so."

"She is a lovely person, so gracious and kind to all of the wounded men. You're a lucky man, Captain."

"Yes, I am," Matthew responds, hanging his head. "Luckier than I deserve to be."

"Because of your injury, you mean?" he questions gently. "You served your country with honor and were wounded as a result of an act of bravery. If your circumstances do not matter to Ms. Swire, why should you allow them make you feel unworthy of her affections?"

A mirthless chuckle quickly morphs into a sigh.

"What can I offer her in return?" Matthew retorts. "A life of service to a man who can never be a true husband to her? She deserves better than that."

"Perhaps your unending love and devotion would be sufficient?" he suggests with a shrug. "Unless those are reserved for someone else."

Blue eyes fasten upon him for moment too long.

"Just what are you implying, Commander?"

"Merely that Lady Mary seems to occupy a lot of your time."

He sits up taller in his chair.

"Lady Mary is very kind," Matthew attempts, unable to look his companion in the eye.

"Please, Captain," he nearly laughs. "It's obvious to anyone who observes the two of you together that she is in love with you."

Crawley's gaze widens in disbelief just before he reverts it back to the outdoors.

"The question is do you feel the same way about her?"

"Lady Mary is my cousin," Matthew returns, clearing his throat. "And a dear friend. There is nothing more than that between us, nothing more at all."

"Are you quite certain?" he questions, needing to know.

"Yes. I am quite certain," Matthew affirms, the slight quiver in his tone betraying his lie.

"So you would have no objections if another man expressed an interest in her?" he presses on, stepping in a bit closer. "Someone who finds her maddeningly engaging and perfectly splendid?"

His swallow is audible, his expression conflicted.

"Why would I object? All I want for Lady Mary is for her to be happy."

He nods with a new determination, rubbing the rough stump where his lower arm used to be.

"I'm glad to hear it," he nods, wincing at his loss.

"I take it the man of whom we are speaking is you, Commander," Matthew states, looking at him directly. "That you are the man who finds Lady Mary so engaging. Tell me, what do you have to offer her?"

"I'm not certain that is any of your business, Captain," he tosses back. "Seeing how you are engaged to Ms. Swire and merely a friend to Lady Mary."

He sighs into the space between them.

"Lady Mary will always be my business, Commander. Make no mistake about that. Besides, I'm not certain it was within your right to question my feelings for her or my fiancé, for that matter."

Eyes lock firmly, engaging in a silent skirmish.

"Point taken," he returns with a smile. "But let me assure you my intentions towards Lady Mary are honorable, Captain Crawley, that I ask for nothing more than a chance with her."

He hears footsteps approaching from behind and watches as all color bleeds from Crawley's face.

"There you are, Matthew," Ms. Swire smiles, leaning down to kiss her fiancée on the cheek. "I was wondering where you'd gotten to."

He studies the other woman standing beside him closely, the slight twitch under her eyelids she quickly pushes down, the nervous reaction of her hands that clasp together firmly before she faces him head-on.

"And I'm here for you, Commander," Mary puts in, the depths of her voice drawing both his and Crawley's attention. "Unfortunately, it's time for your riding lesson."

"Unfortunate for you, perhaps, but quite fortunate for me," he tosses back, enjoying the small smirk she cannot resist granting him.

"Try not to fall off your mount today," she quips, making him laugh as two pairs of eyes rounded in shock stare back at them.

"I'm sure the commander does a fine job of riding, considering his injury," Ms. Swire returns shakily, clearly unnerved by Mary's blatant observation of the man's loss.

"Don't encourage him," Mary fires back. "You have no idea how difficult a pupil he can be."

"Lady Mary has actually threatened to give me a hook and an eye patch to reveal my true nature," he grins, watching Captain Crawley shift uneasily in his chair. "She contends that seamen don't adapt well to land."

"I have come to believe the Royal Navy actively recruits pirates and dresses them up as officers," Mary explains, catching her breath as her smile becomes forced.

"Once a pirate, always a pirate?" Matthew questions, narrowing his eyes in the other man's direction.

"Something like that," she replies, a nearly imperceptible flush splashing across her cheeks.

She stares at her cousin a moment too long before finally training her direct gaze upon him, a gaze he is certain the other man feels as strongly as he.

"Shall we, Commander Blake?"

"I'm all yours, Lady Mary," he responds, feeling another man's eyes boring into his back as they make their way towards the stables.


Prompt: Matthew and Charles Blake: Questioning