Mary stepped out into the London streets from the small jewelry boutique. She knew she would never be forgiven if she returned to Downton without having bought a piece of the latest fashions for her mother and sister. After a day of shopping for her family, Mary had been hoping to buy a hat for herself, and possibly a pair of matching gloves. She was disappointed to see how late it was. Her Aunt Rosamund wouldn't be too pleased if she wasn't home in time to change for dinner. She reluctantly began walking back to her aunt's small estate.
Since the sinking of the Titanic, tension had been high between members of the Crawley family. Everyone was on edge. Lord Grantham was exceptionally ill-tempered, what with the stress of trying to find the new heir for the estate. Lady Mary had engaged in a heated argument with him the night before she left for London. She was furious for two reasons; she was incapable of inheriting the estate, and her father didn't appear to be putting much effort into helping her win what was rightfully hers.
She had known she wouldn't be able to inherit unless she married Downton's heir, Patrick. Mary had never particularly liked him, and she most definitely didn't view him as a potential husband. She had told herself on more than one occasion that she was only going to marry him if nothing better came along. She had regretted ever speaking ill of him since the discovery of his death.
Though Mary had always hoped something better would come along, it never had. It wouldn't be hard to find someone she was more attracted to; it would be impossible to find someone that could give her what Patrick could have given her. She wanted nothing more than to inherit the estate, which was something only Patrick could give her. This childhood desire overpowered her desire to marry someone else.
When she returned to Downton in three days, she knew nothing would be different. There was no way the new heir would be discovered by then, which would mean everyone would still be in dreadful moods. Lost in thought, Mary narrowly avoided running into a man rounding the corner in the opposite direction.
"Oh my-I'm so sorry," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders to prevent her from losing her balance. As soon as she was stable again, she looked up and immediately lost all traces of annoyance she had towards him for bumping into her. The first thing she noticed was his eyes. She had never seen such blue eyes, eyes that have him such a piercing stare. Mary usually fancied dark hair, but his hair was the perfect color of dirty blonde.
Matthew meant to say something else. He had intended to apologize for his clumsiness. He had intended to say it was his fault, and continue on his way. He had not intended to stare at her the way he did. Matthew had seen plenty of girls in his life, and a handful of them had been very pretty. But she was beautiful. Her dark hair matched the color of her brown eyes, and her pale skin suggested she was extremely elegant, too.
Matthew immediately became aware of his hands still placed on her shoulders. He quickly put his arms to his side, his face growing redder with embarrassment.
Mary hated to admit it to herself, but she was disappointed when his hands left her body. It was improper, and she didn't even know his name, but she enjoyed his touch. He cleared his throat before speaking again.
"I'm sorry about that. I should have been paying more attention to where I was going,' he stammered.
"The fault is partly mine. I apologize," Mary said politely. "I'm sorry, but it's late and I must be getting home now."
Matthew didn't want her to leave yet. He walked up beside her. "Perhaps I should accompany you. It might not be very safe for a woman to be walking alone in London this late."
Mary was just as reluctant to let him leave as he was. "Alright," she agreed.
"Sorry, again. My name is Matthew," he said, reaching his hand out to her. She was shocked by how casual he was. Most men tipped their hats when they introduced themselves to her. They also used their last names.
"Mary," she responded, grasping his hand. It was strange to her. She had never shook hands with someone before. She wasn't sure what to talk to him about. It was obvious he was middle class, and she wasn't sure what people like him talked about. "So what do you do for a living?" she asked awkwardly. He was middle class. He had to do something for a living.
"Are you really interested?" he asked, smirking.
Mary was taken aback by his response. Of course she wasn't too horribly interested. She was only curious.
"I am a little curious," she said, deciding it was the politest way to say it.
Matthew smiled and laughed lightly to himself. "So what are you doing out so late?"
"I was shopping for my mother and sisters and I lost track of time," she admitted.
"Sisters? How many of you are there?" he joked.
"I have two. Edith and Sybil is the youngest."
It was a short conversation, really. Rosamund's wasn't very far from downtown London. Matthew was stunned by the house. "You live here?" he asked. Mary didn't want to tell him who she really was. She knew exactly how he would react if he knew about her status.
"Yes," she lied.
"I used to walk past this house on my way to school. You lived here all this time?"
"I've lived here always," she lied again.
"I'm surprised we never met until now," he said, looking back at the house. "Well I best be going. Do you think we might ever see each other again?"
Mary thought for a moment. She knew they wouldn't. She didn't live here, and they were in completely different social classes. "I suppose it's possible," she smiled.
And with that, Matthew left her and she walked up the path to the house. She went up to her room and began preparing to change for dinner. As she was picking out her dress for the evening, she heard a knock on the door. She gestured for the maid to answer it for her.
Aunt Rosamund came through the doorway as quickly as she could while still appearing elegant. She held a telegram in her hand. "This just came. It's from Lord Grantham," she beamed. Mary reached forward to take the telegram from her aunt.
Mary, found new heir. Please return to Downton as soon as possible.
Mary looked up at her aunt. "What is it?" Rosamund asked.
"Papa has already found the new heir to the estate," she said, looking back at the telegram to make sure she had read it correctly. "He wants me back at Downton as soon as possible."