Chapter 4

Wherein a glass is retrieved

Matthew arrived back in Downton on the early morning milk train. He arrived at the back door of Crawley House just as Mr. Bird was picking up the bottle of cream the milkman had left on the step.

He smiled at her surprise. "There will be two for breakfast Mrs. Bird" as he went by her.

His mother was equally surprised to find him at the breakfast table sipping a cup of tea. "Matthew where on earth have you been. Taking off without telling anyone where you were going. What were you thinking. I've been sitting here thinking the worst!" Isobel chastised him, her voice getting progressively shriller.

"I'm sorry for that Mother. I had to get away to think. I can't do that here in Downton, all I can do here is brood. Really I'm just back for a change of clothes. I'm gone again tomorrow. I'm working on... I'm working things out and I feel as if I'm almost there. You know there are too many distractions here."

They looked at each other. They both knew who the distraction was.

"They are worried about you at the Great House as well, you were in such a black mood can I at least tell them..."

"Tell them I am in Manchester, staying with a friend, working things out." he paused "there is one thing you can do for me. Can you get a message to Anna Bates for me without anyone knowing?"

"If you have a message for Mary I can.."

"No this ..." he realized it might be better to let his mother think he was communicating with Mary "is better, we have a system worked out."

"Very well, I'm meeting Mrs. Hughes for tea this morning, I'll see what I can do."

Matthew could have sworn she half winked at him.

-0-

Isobel and Elsie were sitting have tea in Elsie's sitting room when Isobel saw Anna going down the hall. She immediately stood up and went into the hall. "Anna"

Anna turned and tilted her head in enquiry. Isobel went up her and embraced her.

Loudly Isobel said "How are you holding up?" and then she whispered in Anna's ear "Matthew has to see you today".

Anna whispered back in Isobel's ear "the church at two" and then more loudly "as well as can be expected, thanks".

Isobel patted Anna on the back and Anna continued on down the hall. Elsie watched from the door to her sitting room, amazed at how her friend cared not at all about propriety..

-0-

Anna sat down in the pew beside Matthew,

"I am sorry to drag you here" he said.

"No that's all right. I come almost every day to pray for John" She looked at him"Is there any news?"

"I don't want to raise your hopes too much but there have been developments favourable to your husband's case. I need you to get some things for me. John thinks that the ticket stubs for the train trip when he came back here may still be in the jacket he wore that day. Can you get them for me? We are trying to establish that he was on the train when Vera died."

Anna nodded.

"The next requests may be a little harder. Can you get me a photograph of Sir Richard without Mary knowing?"

"Yes, he has given her lots and she just shoves them in one of her drawers... wait, why do you need.." she put her hand in front of her mouth " you don't think...".

Matthew took her hand. "It's a possibility. If we can cast some suspicion on Sir Richard then John may be acquitted. There is something more of Sir Richard's that I would like. His fingerprints."

Anna looked at him. "How are we going to do that?"

"We need something smooth he has touched, preferably glass"

Anna though for a minute then she brightened. "I've got it. Every day at 4:00 p.m. precisely Sir Richard takes a pill and has a drink of water to wash it down. For his blood pressure I think. Anyway one of the footmen was late once and Sir Richard threw a terrific tantrum and so now it is Carson's responsibility to serve him his pill and a glass of water at the appointed time."

"But surely the glass gets washed each time"

"Yes, but Sir Richard is coming tomorrow for the weekend".

"Do you think Carson will cooperate?"

"Certainly, he hates Sir Richard" and he wants you and Lady Mary together she thought but did not say.

""What time does he lock up?"

"When there's no company, like tonight, at eleven"

"Can you ask him to meet me at the back door then"

-0-

At the appointed hour Matthew met Carson and Anna and they discussed what had to be done. Anna gave Matthew an envelope containing the ticket stubs and a photograph of Sir Richard Anna had retrieved from the bottom of Mary's cache.

-0-

Mary stood at her window. With no company no one had lingered long after dinner and they had all gone to bed early. But she could not sleep. With each day the approaching day the wedding and the sea monster got closer and there was no sign of Perseus. No seemed to know where Matthew had got to.

She noticed some one walking down the drive in the moonlight. The figure turned around and looked at the house. It was.. it was Matthew. She was sure of it. What was he doing here? He was heading away. Had he had a late night meeting with her father? Father had not said anything. What were they hiding? She was tempted to throw on a robe and run downstairs after him but she knew he would be long gone before she got there. She leaned her forehead against the cold glass and sighed.

-0-

The next day, at precisely 4:00 p.m. Carson appeared before Sir Richard with a silver tray on which there was a small silver plate holding a small white pill and a highly polished glass containing water. Sir Richard took the pill, drank the water and put the glass back on the tray. Carson nodded at Sir Richard and then proceeded directly to his office.

Once in his office Carson locked the door. He took the glass in his gloved hand and held it up to the light. Sir Richard's fingerprints were clear. He smiled to himself. He took the small white paper sticker Matthew had given him, wrote the date, time and his initials on it, licked it, affixed it to the glass, being careful not to put it over the fingerprints, and then placed the glass in a small box he and Elsie had prepared so that the sides of the glass were not touching anything.

-0-

Mary had wanted to ask her father if he had seen Matthew the previous night but Richard was constantly in attendance on her, she never got a chance to talk to her father alone. At dinner Richard was his usual pompous self and finally she could take no more. She plead a headache and fled to her room.

After Anna had been to help her get ready for bed she had gotten out of bed and gone to look out the window again. And so it was shortly after 11:00 p.m. that she saw someone walking up the drive towards the house. She was sure it was Matthew. But instead of heading to the front door he headed around to the back. She hurriedly dressed. She was going to find out what was going on.

While Mary was dressing Matthew was meeting with Carson. Carson read through the statutory declaration Matthew had prepared wherein he swore that the glass on which he had placed the sticker

had been handled by Sir Richard Carlisle. He took the bible Matthew handed him, swore what he was signing was true and signed the declaration.

Matthew put the small box and the declaration in his briefcase and stood up. He put out his hand to Carson. "Thank you"

Carson shook his hand "Thank you for allowing me to have been assistance"

The two men nodded at each other and Carson let Matthew out the back door.

Carson was just locking the door when he heard "Was that Matthew?"

He turned around and saw Lady Mary "Milady you gave me quite a shock I ..."

"Was that Matthew?" she demanded.

"Ah ... yes"

"Open the door" she commanded.

After he had opened the door, as she was going through it, she said "don't lock me out" and then she was gone.

Mary ran around the side of the house. Matthew was almost to the drive. "Stop" she called as loudly as she dared. He stopped and turned around. She motioned for him to come to her. She did not want to stand out on the drive with him where someone in the house might see them.

Matthew walked up to her. He looked at her in astonishment. "Mary..."

"What are you doing here?" she hissed as him.

What could he say he thought. I'm gathering evidence your fiance is a murderer? When in doubt stonewall. "I can't say"

"Can't or won't?"

"Won't"

She changed tack. "Why do you have your briefcase?"

"I won't say"

"Matthew" she stepped towards him.

He sighed to himself. This was going to hurt. "I'm not here. You haven't seen me" he backed away from her. "Goodbye" He turned and started to walk away.

She watched him go. No she screamed to herself. She could not let him go. She ran up to him and grabbed his shoulder.

He spun around and glared at her. She recoiled at the coldness of his stare.

"Don't!"

"But ..."

The anger which had been building inside him since Anna had told him the whole sordid storey threatened to engulf him. He wanted to grab her by the shoulders, shake her, throw her to the ground. He wanted to hurt her. He wanted her to bleed and plead for mercy. She had betrayed him with that greasy foreigner. She had taken his pure love and soiled it. Then she had taunted him; flaunted herself before him. Never let him alone, never left him free to love Lavinia the way he should have. Then she sold herself to that serpent to hush everything up. How he hated her.

He gained control of himself. He shook her hand off of his shoulder. "I am dead to you. Consider me a ghost:" He turned and walked away.

This time she did not chase after him.