A/N: the version of the chapter title song by Björn Ekengren is recommended.

Winterlude

December 7, 1916 on

Their days fell into an easy rhythm. Sleep in. A combined breakfast and lunch, brunch you could call it. A long walk in the early afternoon, often through the grounds of the Abbey, avoiding the small groups of soldier patients, never going up to the Great House. Then a nap back at Crawley House, if you could call it that for all the rest they got. High Tea with Isobel and then after they had washed up the three of them would sit in the drawing room. Isobel and Mary would try to make small talk but within fifteen minutes, without fail, Matthew would stifle an enormous fake yawn, stand up, take Mary by the hand and say 'I guess its bedtime', and they would scurry upstairs. As Isobel told Violet over tea one day, 'they haven't made it past seven o'clock yet'.

Matthew did all the cooking. As he told Mary Mrs. Bird had taught him. After his father died there had been no money for a nanny and so he had followed Mrs. Bird around and as he got bigger fell into the role of kitchen helper. He could boil and roast but frying was his forte. Next to salt, grease was his favourite seasoning. It seemed that brown sauce, and in the alternative, ketchup, accompanied everything.

Mary did not help with the cooking but as Matthew assured her, those who sit and gaze adoringly at the cook also serve. She did help with the washing up but only to dry the dishes. Isobel refused to let her put her hands in the hot soapy dishwater.

Each day Anna brought Mary clothes. Day clothes, there was no point in evening wear, she was hardly upright at night. She had dispensed with corsets; with Matthew serving as her maid they were just an invitation to dalliance, and anything with fiddly buttons, as he could do them up, but undoing them he had a tendency to hurry and take direct action when they slowed him down.

Anna also brought messages from the Great House. Invitations mostly, to Matthew and Mary, never including Isobel, to various dinners and such. Matthew answered them all with variations of:

'Lord and Lady Grantham:

Captain & Mrs. Crawley are unable to accept your kind invitation to dine on December _, 1916.

We wish you and your family all the best of the Christmas season.

Yours truly

Matthew Crawley"

During the lead up to Christmas they did dine with the Strallans and had tea several times with the Dowager Countess. After all, as Matthew pointed out, the feud was not with them.

Shortly before Christmas, the Earl intercepted them on one of their walks across the grounds.

"It is good to see you Matthew, we have missed you at the Abbey" and he offered Matthew his hand.

Matthew shook it. "It is a pleasure to see you your Lordship."

"Come now, there is no need of such formality, we two are not at war" remonstrated Robert.

Matthew smiled "Cousin Robert then. I have missed the Abbey."

"Then you must accept one of our invitations."

"You know I cannot while my mother and your wife are at loggerheads"

"Can there be no compromise? I think that Christmas has always been Mary's favourite season" Robert gave his daughter a fond glance.

Mary smiled. It was a magical time for her.

"Then I have the perfect compromise" Matthew said "Mary will spend Christmas at the Abbey as my proxy."

Mary and Robert both looked at him like he was mad.

"Look Christmas means more to Mary then it does to me." Matthew explained. "Growing up it was always a sad time for my mother and I; it was when we missed my father the most. We would exchange gifts and have a simple meal. Mrs. Bird always visited her sister over the holidays so it was just the two us having a quiet day at home. That first Christmas we were at Downton and you had us over I must admit we were quite overwhelmed" and intimidated he thought. "So let Mary enjoy the season and I will partake in her enjoyment vicariously."

Robert considered this. "If you insist"

"I do"

"And Mary, what do you think?" her father asked her.

She hesitated and Matthew answered for her. "She will of course say that it is her duty to stay beside her husband's side but as her husband I would say hang duty, it is Christmas after all. It is only for a few days and we still have January to be together. So will you go Mary?"

"If you insist" she said.

"I do, consider it part of my Christmas present to you."

"Thank you, it means a lot to me" and she kissed Matthew on the cheek.

The three walked along, Robert and Matthew talking about the administration of the estate, until they had to part, Robert heading up to the Great House, and Matthew and Mary towards the village.

"Are you sure it'll be OK?" Mary asked. "You made it sound so sad."

Matthew shrugged. "There's no way around it, my mother tried her best but like I said my father wasn't there. For instance there were gifts a father might get for his son, like a jackknife or a slingshot, that my mother never got for me. So while my friends were showing me their dangerous toys all I could show them in return was a book and a jumper. Last Christmas was the only one I can remember as being happy, but then we were on our honeymoon and I received the most remarkable gifts" and he pulled her into an embrace and kissed her.

Only after she had had the full enjoyment of the kiss did Mary pull away and chastise him "Not in public, half the village must have seen that."

"Then we had better do it again for the other half" and they did.