The Crawley house was quiet that morning; Matthew dressed in silence and had breakfast without a word. He and his mother walked quietly to the chapel. He nodded vaguely at the few who offered condolences to him. After the service he stood soundlessly beside the grave as the crowd dispersed.

Mary walked slowly across the emptying cemetery, coming to stand beside Matthew. "You must tell me if there is anything I can do, anything at all."

"Thank you, but I don't think so." He paused, swallowing the emotion that was threatening to erupt. As she turned to go, he continued, "that night when we were dancing, Lavinia came downstairs… she heard, she saw everything."

"How terrible for her, I'm so sorry." Mary wasn't sorry for letting him kiss her, she couldn't be sorry for that, but she was sorry Lavinia had seen. She was sorry that she had hurt Lavinia's happiness, she had deserved better.

"Because of what she saw, she thought we should cancel the wedding, that I belonged with you, not with her. She gave up because of us. She said to me as she was dying, 'isn't this better?' I know it's a cliché, but I believe she died of a broken heart because of that kiss and we were the ones who killed her."

She understood, she understood why he was so tormented, "oh Matthew," she breathed.

"We could never be happy now, don't you see. We are cursed you and I, nothing can be done about it. Let's be strong Mary and let's accept that this is the end."

He was rejecting her. Their kiss had given her a slight hope, a hope that they could go back, but he didn't want her.

She nodded, "of course it's the end, how could it not be?"

Mary became aware of Sir Richard coming to stand behind her, asking to walk her home. She looked up at him, he was her future. He could be a comfort, if she let him be. At that moment she was glad to have him to lean on.

Tuesday was to be much the same. Dress in the same dark suit, walk to the same local church, see many of the same people. It felt different to Matthew. He couldn't feel guilty about Robert's death. He felt angry, of course, it had come too soon, but at least he and Robert had parted on good terms.

He glanced around the church, trying to ignore his cousins along the bench beside him- quiet tears ran down Sybil's cheeks, Edith was all but lost in her weeping, Mary though, Mary just stared blankly. It wasn't fair to them, it wasn't fair to anyone. Robert had been always been fair, had always been looked up to. Matthew wasn't sure he would be able to live up to that as the Earl.

Today he shook hands with the minister and spoke to townspeople as they left the cemetery. He may have felt broken inside, but he did his duty. Soon it was only family left; Branson was standing by Sybil, talking quietly.

Nobody had seen much of Branson since he and Sybil announced their engagement, but nobody seemed ready to approach him today either. Matthew approached them, a conversation he had with Robert on his mind.

"So will you go to Dublin now? Wasn't that your plan?" Matthew asked Sybil.

"In a week or two, Mama has Edith and Mary so I see no reason to delay. Although I do wish father and I could have parted friends."

"Sybil, I don't think your father would have wanted to leave in a quarrel, he only wanted to know you were sure of what you wanted."

Sybil, looked at Tom and then back at Matthew with shinning eyes, "I am sure."

"Then he would have given you his blessing, that I am sure. I wish you both luck."

Matthew may have doubted his fitness to be the earl, but as he shook Tom's hand firmly, Tom knew that Matthew would be able to live up to the position.

Things will get more AU in the next chapter, I just wanted to get through the funerals before going too far.