Wow. Thank you all SO much for the reviews, follows and favourites. The feedback has been great- I love to know that you're enjoying it and what you're thinking.

I hope you like this part just as much.

...-...

Early spring light escaped into Matthews bedroom the following morning. He stretched his aching muscles and glanced at the clock on his bedside table, confirming his suspicions that he'd slept most of the morning away.

He'd dreamt of her; he was sure of that. He woke with a fluttering feeling in his stomach, yet this could have been alcohol induced. Matthew closed his eyes against the bright light and fond, sweet, fresh memories of Mary took over him; her sweet scent, sparkling eyes and luminous smile. He could almost feel her hand in his, the soft curve of her waist under his palm, he could almost hear her laugh, having joked that he'd have to keep the most respectable dancing distance in the company of her parents and other members of her family. Matthew grinned a little, remembering the mischievous look in her eyes after he practically pushed her as far away from him as possible during their dance when he realised her suspicions were true; they had spectators - the parental kind. He was sure they'd wonder who he was; who was this man dancing with their beautiful, eligible daughter? Oh, he was certain they'd been eyeing him suspiciously, especially after hearing of their match making attempts from Mary.

Mary had told him to relax; told him that everyone had had far much to drink to even care who he was or why he was dancing with her. Then she smirked again; that same smile that was anything but innocent; a dangerous smile for any man to witness "I promise I won't start to 'bump and grind' against you, or whatever it is they call it". Horizontal on his bed, Matthew laughed just as he had done when she'd said it.

Their time on the dance floor didn't last long; she was soon whisked away by an unknown (to him) family member. She turned to him with an apologetic smile and assured him she'd catch up with him later "perhaps we will watch the fireworks together?" She called over her shoulder. Matthew couldn't do anything other than smile and stutter; she'd left his side so quickly- too quickly for him to respond as he would have liked.

Matthew kicked the sheets from his body and flung his legs over the bed. He sat on the edge for a moment or two, assessing his hangover, before gently pushing himself into standing position and staggering from his bedroom. As it turned out, he didn't get to speak with Mary again, didn't watch the fireworks with her; he didn't even have chance to see them. And that was all thanks to one person; the same person who was currently passed out on his sofa.

In the bathroom, Matthew curled his lip in disgust. He sighed heavily before pacing back out into the living area of his apartment. Blonde feathery hair hung over the arm of his sofa and he quickly gave Alex a firm shake.

"What? Where's the fire?" Alex pushed her hair from her face, her mouth dry and foul tasting.

Matthew crossed his arms over his t-shirt clad chest, looking down at her pathetically "there's vomit on the toilet seat." Alex waved her hand in front of her face, dismissing him before collapsing back down under the blanket. "your vomit is currently on my toilet seat".

"Alright, alright. Just 5 more minutes ok?"

"No. I need to use the toilet"

"What's your problem?" She grumbled, "you don't use the seat anyway unless you... Oh. Ew. Ok, maybe I should pee first."

Matthew shook his head "it stinks Alex!" He swiftly moved behind the sofa and into the small kitchen area, pulling a frying pan out of a cupboard. "I'm making eggs" he informed her, before collecting a clean cloth and a bottle of cleaning fluid from another cupboard and pacing back to his space in front of the sofa, placing the items on the coffee table in front of her with some force. "You're not getting any until you've cleaned it up."

...

Mary sat at her kitchen counter, nursing a strong cup of coffee when the doorbell rang. She groaned, leaving the mug on the counter and tightening her ivory silk robe around her before making her way to the front door. She peered through the peep hole and another small groan escaped her as she unlocked and opened the door of her town house. "It's Sunday" she informed Anna who immediately stepped inside.

Mary closed the door behind her "it's Sunday morning and I gave you the day off; something tells me this isn't good news."

Anna winced, following Mary through to the kitchen "it's not."

"Come on then, out with it. Bad news on a Sunday can only mean bad press." Mary lifted her mug to her lips, allowing her eyes to flutter blissfully shut as the hot liquid filled her mouth and glided effortlessly down her throat.

Anna stepped around the kitchen counter, pouring a mug of coffee for herself and placing the pot back. She leaned against the opposite counter, watching Mary carefully as she spoke "well, there's good news too; everyone is saying how great you looked yesterday. Some are even going as far to say that you and Pippa stole the show"

Mary rolled her eyes "it was a wedding, not a show; Kate looked beautiful." She gestured for Anna to pass her the pot of coffee and she quickly refilled her mug.

"You should see the things they're saying about Beatrice and Eugenie and their hats" Anna sniggered, trying to put off having to tell Mary her other news

Mary simply shrugged "you should have heard the things Sybil was saying about them" she smiled a little at the memory. "Come on Anna. Just tell me, I'm sure they've written worse things about me than whatever this is"

Anna took a deep breath to prepare herself "they're saying you had sex with a random man in the cloakroom at the royal wedding" Mary coughed, almost spitting her mouthful of coffee back into her mug.

"What!?" She placed her mug back onto the counter. "There's not even an ounce of truth... Where did they even?" Mary sighed. "This is never going to end it is? Now they're just blatantly making stories up."

"I'm so sorry Mary."

Mary shook her head "it's not your fault Anna. Is it printed yet?"

Anna shrugged a little "they called me for a comment half an hour ago. I told them it was false of course. It's just an online gossip magazine. It'll probably blow over and not be picked up by anyone else."

"Hmm" Mary didn't sound convinced "I hope so..." Mary let herself think of Matthew, wondering where he had gone after they danced. She'd looked for him before and after the fireworks with no luck. "I really do hope so... I think I met someone last night" she added her confession quietly, almost surprising herself with her honesty.

...

Matthew sat opposite a groggy Alex at his small kitchen table, each with a plate of eggs and toast. " You had better be able to keep that in your stomach."

"Relax, I feel fine. Thank you for last night; I don't remember much from about midnight, but I do remember you dragging me into a taxi and throwing me on your sofa." She smiled a little and if Matthew didn't know her any better he'd have sworn he saw a little embarrassment in her eyes.

"I had to get you out of there before you made a fool out of yourself. You were practically rolling around on the table."

" I was doing my coyote ugly impression"

"You couldn't even walk"

Alex rolled her eyes "you're just annoyed that I ruined your chances with Lady Mary"

Matthew scoffed at her suggestion, "I barely had a chance with her anyway."

"Did it not go well? I thought you might have at least got her phone number?"

Matthew shook his head "we danced a little, talked a little... Laughed a little" Alex grimaced at his slightly dreamy look. "And then before I knew it, I was taking you home. I don't know what got into me anyway; maybe the champagne gave me more courage than I'm used to. She is totally out of my league."

Alex shook her head "nah, you're far too good for her. I told you that; her reputation is hideous."

...

"What do you mean? You think you met someone?" Anna sat on the stool next to Mary, her voice showing obvious excitement; she'd been Mary's personal assistant and friend for 9 years and this may have been the first time she'd heard her say anything along the lines of actually liking someone. Of course, there was her ex boyfriend from 8 years ago, but since then Mary had kept herself extremely guarded and private; she was photographed with men, had dinner with them, even engaged in casual sex from time to time. Funnily enough, nearly every story about her personal life since the scandal had been untrue; she allowed the press to think she was dating these famous men she was photographed with from time to time. She'd learnt that the more she commented and denied the rumours, the more they cared about them and the more stories they printed.

Mary sighed "a man approached me last night... In fact he had William introduce us. He was..." She searched for an appropriate word, "charming and totally unassuming."

"And?" Anna could barely contain her excitement, this guy sounded promising.

Mary shrugged "and nothing, we spoke a little; he was amusing, and not in a 'oh god' kind of way, but in a good way; we shared some banter. I asked him to dance-" Mary held her palm up to silence Anna, "yes I asked him to dance and we did for a little while. He held me at arms length; of course my father's eyes were burning the back of his head. I got called away, promised to watch the fireworks with him but then he just disappeared."

"Like a modern day Cinderella story" Anna rested her chin on her hand.

"Don't joke Anna. I don't know where he went. He seemed interested... I think I was interested."

"And you've got no way of contacting him?"

Mary sighed in defeat "none at all"