A/N: It's 1912 so we are at the beginning of the journey. Matthew is still a kind of outsider and Mary isn't 'his Mary' yet. I'm a bit late for Christmas, but I couldn't publish until you like it! Have fun.
Christmas Day, 1912.
'If you excuse me, I'm afraid Lady Grantham is asking for my help.' Robert said with a sigh, glancing at Cora. She was staring at him for a while now, raising her brows insistently.
'Of course.' Matthew replayed with a polite smile and took a sip from his glass, while Lord Grantham left him and reached his wife. He thought for a moment about joining the group of the ladies and cousin Robert on the other side of the room, but sat on the sofa instead.
He looked around and, for the first time, the house seemed to him a warm and cozy place. The big Christmas tree was impressive, sparking and full of refined decorations from the bottom to the top. Garlands hung everywhere, from the stairs to the fireplaces, candles and the blazing fire made the atmosphere welcoming and, strange to say at Downton, almost informal.
He took another sip from his glass and in the end, after he had admired the great hall in all its spendour, his eyes couldn't help but focused on Mary.
She looked bored, obliged to smiled politely and listen to something she cared nothing for, but everything Matthew could see was how marvelous she was, beautiful like a goddess, one of those Greek goddesses living on the Mount Olympus. Her champagne silk dress wrapped her perfect body as a peplum and the fair color of the fabric suited her delightfully, making her skin paler and her hair darker. He had never seen a girl like her before, she just had something he couldn't explain. A mix of charm, grace, pride and snobbishness he wasn't used to. And of course she was intelligent and educated. Her mention about the story of Andromeda and Peruses, that evening, had proved it.
He had stared at her all the day long, since he had spotted her in the church, during the morning function. It had been impossible for him to focused on the vicar's words. Several times he had glanced to the other side of the church, hoping she would have done the same.
Of course he had noticed she hadn't been very friendly to him, since his arrival, like her sisters had, but that was understandable, the situation wasn't easy for her in particular. And it wasn't easy for him too. It all seemed to be so absurd. He, a lawyer from Manchester, a mid-class boy, had become the future heir of Downton. If only he could refused all this and come back to his middle-class life…
When Mary saw her father coming towards her mother, her gaze fell accidentally on cousin Matthew, who looked miles away, lost in thoughts she couldn't imagine.
So she excused herself and stood up from the armchair where she was sitting, listening to the umpteenth exchange of points of view between her grandmother and cousin Isobel, to get closer to him. The conversation had been so boring that she thought she could find a bit of fun teasing her cousin.
Matthew quickly took his eyes off her with great effort and sipped his drink. When he dared raise his eyes again, Mary were walking towards him. She crossed the room slowly, gathering the train of her dress in a hand, looking straight in his direction.
Finally she sat beside him and the embarrassment, as always when she found him alone, became unbearable.
'You look flushed. Are you well? Are you still upset for the day? For the ways things are done here? ' She asked him, with a mocking smirk. But she ignored she was the only cause of his flush.
Matthew tried with every part of himself to resist and look comfortable, but her presence, so close to him, was cause of distress. It had always been and he wondered if one day it would ever end.
He smiled shyly and lowered his eyes. 'On the contrary, it's been a very nice day.'
'Really? Was it like you and cousin Isobel have imagined? A Christmas at the Abbey?' She tried to provoke him again.
He shook his head and with a sigh he answered: 'Not me nor mother would have never imagined to be here at Christmas.' He just could say, while she were looking at him straight in his eyes.
'Neither all of us would.' She replayed dryly.
'Sorry… Of course not… I didn't mean that…'
'Of course you didn't…'
'Another cup of coffee, cousin Matthew, or something else?' Edith asked him, when she arrived near the sofa, alarmed by the presence of her sister so close to him, alone.
'Oh no, thank you. I think I'm fine.' Matthew rose his glass towards her and smiled politely to Edith, who smile back at him and sat on his right.
'Edith, are you looking forward a career in serving? We all do know you have very few chances to get married, but is it really this what you want?' Mary exclaimed half laughing, raising her brows and looking at her younger sister with her usual superiority.
Edith looked furious, but she couldn't reply anything, because Sybil, who also had came close to them on the sofa, changed the subject, preventing a bad quarrel between her two sisters.
'Do you dance cousin Matthew?' She asked, sitting next to Mary.
Matthew felt hot and blushed again. 'Well…' He started.
'Sybil, darling, of course he doesn't. I don't think lawyers are expected to dance. ' Mary explained with a sarcastic snigger.
'Oh... But you have to learn for the Servant's Ball!' Sybil added with her typical enthusiasm.
'For the… What?' Matthew widened his eyes and raised his eyebrows, surprised. He tried to recall something Robert had explained about the traditions of the house, but his mind refused to help him.
'The Servant's Ball. Once a year we dance with the servants.' Mary explained, rolling her eyes, 'It's a tradition. You may think it's a stupid one, but that's how things work here.'
'I may teach you if you like.'
'I… You're very kind to me, cousin Edith, but.. .' Matthew swallowed and passed a finger between his neck and the collar of his shirt, that suddenly have become tighter and stiffer than ever. He definitely wasn't used to these kind of conversations. Were they making a mock of him? Or were they serious? Was it a proper conversation? Were they inviting him to dance? Shouldn't it have been the contrary?
'But you have to dance! It's going to be very funny.' Sybil exclaimed, excited just at the idea of that.
'Funny? With the servants?!' Mary rolled her eyes again, 'Sybil, I know it's your first ball, but please, there's nothing funny, not for us at least, I assure you!'
'You always have to be a spoilsport, haven't you?' Edith exclaimed, gazing at her with increasing anger.
'Oh, please, Edith, don't' start again…' Mary rose her brows and shook her head, as she was scolding a child.
'Why do you always have to be so unpleasant? It is funny enough, Sybil, you can trust me.' Edith said to both Sybil and Matthew.
'Funny for you maybe… But I'm pretty sure it will be funny for cousin Matthew too.' Mary turned towards him and looked at him strictly in his eyes. 'I bet you're going to be perfectly comfortable among the servants.' She added.
'I… Dance… Actually.' He finally explained, with a certain pride, when the girls became quiet again.
'Oh really?! Good! The maids will be pleased to dance with the future Earl of Grantham.' Mary teased him again, remarking the word 'maids'.
'And what about you?' Matthew asked her, 'Would you be pleased to dance with… Me?'
'I don't think so…' Edith muttered, and then lauder, looking at her cousin, 'I'd be delighted to dance with you cousin Matthew!'
'Oh… I…I'm honored… Cousin Edith.' He answered, taken by surprise by the strange offer.
'And of course you have to dance with me too, cousin Matthew!' Sybil echoed her older sister.
'Of course Sybil. I will certainly dance with you both.' He nodded to her and smiled.
'Really? Oh thank you!' The youngest sister replayed with excitement.
'Oh, please...' Mary rolled her eyes again.
'What?' Edith asked her, this time determined not to stay silent, 'You always fell so superior to us, don't you?… I think you do really deserve all this situation. You deserve to lose the inheritance, you deserve to lose the estate, you deserve everything had happened. That's the right punishment to be always so nasty and arrogant and selfish.' She said it all loud enough to be heard by the few people around her, but not by those on the other side of the room.
Mary glanced at her sister with hate and anger, but said nothing. She just stood up, 'If you excuse me, I need a bit of fresh air.' She quickly left the room, and almost running, she reached the main entrance and opened the heavy door. Once outside, in the cold air, she took some deep breaths to calm down.
Matthew stood up too, excuse himself and followed her. When he reached her, Mary was staring at something undefined in front of her, her arms crossed over her chest. She didn't turn when he arrived.
'I'm sure cousin Edith didn't mean what she said… You should come back inside… It's too cold to stay here.' He said kindly, but Mary didn't move or say anything. He stood there, a few steps behind her, wondering what to say or do, for some moments more, while she just stood there, motionless.
'For God's sake!' He murmured to himself, and then, finally, he took off his jacket and said louder, so that she could hear him, 'Just take this...' And put it gently on her shoulders.
It had been a moment, but he had never had the chance to be so closed to her since he had arrived at Downton. So close to smell her expensive French perfume, close enough to see she was slightly shivering with cold. Or was it anger? Maybe both, he thought.
She didn't thank him, didn't turn to look at him, didn't say anything and Matthew took a few steps back, once again embarrassed and unsure about what to say or do next.
'My Christmas Day would be very different in Manchester…' he started, because he didn't want to leave her 'Only me and mother and a few of old neighbors… We haven't got any other relatives… Apparently you are all the family we've got… That I've got… I think, somehow… I've found a family here…'
Mary shook her head with a snigger of disgust on her face, which he couldn't see. 'And a house, a title, an estate, an inheritance… Everything is going to be yours, yes, I'm afraid the family is part of the package… ' She blurted out.
'Sorry, I didn't mean…'
'Oh please, you always don't mean what to say, do you?' She answered back, angered.
'Please, cousin Mary, I don't want to quarrel with you… Can we just enjoy the day and forget about our troubles , just today… Just because it's Christmas Day? I had the most wonderful Christmas I had ever had in years today. I don't want to spoil the memory of it.'
Mary sighed loud, but still she didn't move or turn towards him. And then suddenly, it began to snow again.
Matthew smiled, 'I can't remember a Christmas with all this snow.'
But Mary seemed not to care about the snow, and Matthew, after a few seconds went on, 'When I was a child, my father used to tell me that when snow falls everything can happen…' He paused and looked around. The lights from the inside illuminated the gardens in front of them. Everything was covered by a blanket of pure white snow. Big flakes were falling slowly and silently in the dark of the night. Matthew took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a moment and smiled at the memory of his beloved father.
For a few minutes more, nobody spoke, than Mary, turned and faced him, and unexpectedly broke the silent. 'You never told us about your father.'
'He died a long time ago.' He answered, feeling that usual lump raising in his throat when he spoke about him.
She looked at him, and noticed that his eyes were glistening. She wanted to say something polite, but her mind was empty. She just smiled at him without sarcasm of anger, then gathered the train of her dress, and started to walk back inside.
He looked at her gracious way of walking for an instant and then he followed her. Once inside the entrance hall Mary turned towards him, took his jacket off and gave it back to him. 'I'll dance with you, cousin Matthew, if you really want it. It won't kill me after all…' She sighed loud and started to walk towards the great hall.
'Just because it's Christmas, cousin Matthew… Just because it's Christmas…' she added.
He stood there for a moment, thinking about the little smile she had given him a few minute before, maybe her first real and sincere smile, without sarcasm or bitterness.
Was it true or was she just putting on an act? He couldn't say, he didn't know her well enough to say it. But the memory of that smile stayed with him for a long time.
'You don't know how much I wish it was Christmas Day every day, cousin Mary.' He thought to himself and then he followed her again into the great hall.
Thanks for reading! As always, reviews are welcome.