A/N: Hello everyone! Again, many, many thanks for all your wonderfully supportive reviews etc.

I just wanted to address one review that I received that complained about the characterisation of Mary in this story and the fact that she was a cow. I hope she doesn't come across as completely unlikeable, but honestly I think that canon Mary in series 1 was pretty unlikeable and flaky and prone to messing people around a bit, intentionally or not. Also, I always felt that Mary is actually much more insecure than Matthew is, despite the difference in their demeanour. So all of this, coupled with the fact that they are only second-year university students, means that both Mary and Matthew will act rather silly and irrationally at times!

Finally, I just wanted to say that I've gathered that one of the main reasons people like this fic is because it is light-hearted and smutty. But obviously it's a little difficult to keep a fic going solely on those two things so there may be a bit of tension here and there but I assure you that it is not going to be anything really serious - it will relate to them being silly youths as I said above. Anyway, hope you enjoy! xxx

The snow gently settled on the ground outside as Mary finished off her lunch in the common room, trying to block out the annoying, squeal-filled discussion taking place next to her over which boys in the university football team were the 'fittest'. Anna soon came bounding over with a broad grin on her face. "Why didn't you tell me?" She asked excitedly, gripping Mary's arm.

"Tell you what?" Mary asked with a frown.

"About you and Matthew!" Anna laughed. "Or has it been going on for so long that it's not even news anymore?" She teased.

Mary swallowed uncomfortably. She guided Anna to a corner of the room in case anyone could overhear their conversation. "How do you know?" She asked urgently.

"William saw you two kissing in the main courtyard this morning and asked me about it."

Mary sighed and inwardly cursed Matthew for being so irresistible. She hadn't wanted to engage in any PDAs whatsoever, but Matthew's gentle coaxing and alluring smile had convinced her that tasting his lips for a few moments, as they stood to the side of the thoroughfare, would pass without consequence. She made a mental note to toughen her defences against his boyish charm. "It only happened over the holidays, just over a week ago." Mary explained quietly. "It's not a big deal." She added dismissively.

"Of course it's a big deal!" Anna exclaimed. "It's not everyday that you get a new boyfriend!"

Mary winced at Anna's casual use of the term – calling him her 'boyfriend' seemed so serious and official. It suggested that they were 'a couple' now, and that if she and Matthew were to stop their romantic liaisons it would be classed as a 'break-up'. Given that she and Matthew still didn't know each other much beyond how to push each other's buttons, it seemed prudent to take things slowly without jumping straight into a relationship and all the formalities that it brought. She still needed to discover exactly how one was supposed to conduct oneself in a relationship in the first place, and she didn't like the idea of being thrown into the deep end and forced to work it out for herself. "I don't think we're quite there yet." She emphasised. "We're just casually seeing each other at the moment, so please don't tell anyone that we're a couple, and correct anyone who thinks that we are." She asked.

Anna nodded, although there was a slight frown on her face. Mary knew that she didn't always make sense to Anna, but Anna had learned not to question her requests - a faithfulness for which Mary was very grateful. She didn't have any friends, or indeed family members, as trusting as Anna. "But you're still going to have to get him something nice for his birthday, aren't you?"

It was Mary's turn to grow puzzled. "What?"

"His birthday is on Thursday. Apparently he mentioned something to William about us all going out for dinner. I'm sure he'll want you to have pride of place next to him." Anna explained. "So you should probably make a bit of a fuss over him."

Mary sighed. It was far too soon to be lumbered with girlfriend duties, and the prospect of having their first official public outing together in front of all of Matthew's friends was not an appealing one. Oh God, what if he invited his mother along too? He seemed to be a sufferer of a rather severe case of 'mummy's boy', so it wouldn't surprise her if he invited Mrs Crawley out to dinner. He might even bring her along to go clubbing afterwards, too. "Do you really think that's expected of me?" Mary sought reassurance.

To her dismay, Anna nodded with great certainty. "Whether you're properly together or not, you're still his sweetheart. Plus, he'll be turning 20 and that's quite a big birthday - he won't be a teenager anymore!"

Mary glanced off to the side. Panic started building in her stomach. She had no idea how to play this role. What constitutes a meaningful gift for a twenty-year-old man who you've just started dating? The only man she'd ever had to buy gifts for was her father, and he was usually satisfied with any kind of pamphlet or book on developing real estate.

Making her polite excuses to Anna, she headed back to her room. A groan escaped her mouth as she shut the door behind her. This was all becoming rather suffocating. By contrast, Matthew's short visit to Downton had been positively lovely. Barring the first few hours where she'd been incensed with him, it had been so nice to spend time with him, flirting and teasing more freely than usual. Of course, they'd had to be more guarded around Rupert and Mary's family - in particular, Edith, who was as oblivious to Matthew's feelings for Mary as Matthew was of Edith's feelings for him. But the few moments they'd stolen alone together in the library and at the dining table after everyone had left breakfast had been great. All she wanted now were more of those moments, where they were free to take their time and let things take their natural course, without having bystanders place labels on them and pressurise them into behaving in a certain way. She didn't want to be scrutinised and have her inevitable deficiencies as a girlfriend to be discussed amongst the entire student body. After all, the judgment of others was exactly what Mary had come to London to escape.

She didn't want to go on formal dates with Matthew, like she'd done with all the other boys; they always felt so forced and artificial. She didn't want presents from him (although the necklace he'd gotten her was carefully tucked under her jumper and had been around her neck since the night he gave it to her). She didn't want sonnets or serenades or any of the rest of it - her upbringing had taught her to accept these attentions from boys with a serene smile and the promise of another rendez-vous, but the truth was that it was all phony and it usually only made her uncomfortable.

No - all she needed with Matthew was a little bit of time every now and then to speak to each other without feeling the need to be affectionate and 'couply' - whatever that was - if they didn't want to be. Gazing out from her bedroom window over the courtyard, which was swarming with gossiping students, she knew that her wish was unlikely to be granted.

...

"Sorry we've run a bit over time today, but we'll finish going through Lord Denning's argument next time." The lecturer announced, signifying the end of an interminable lecture. Matthew had spent most of it trying to resist the urge to reach for Mary's hand or to wrap his arm around her shoulders.

"I was thinking of organising a dinner on Thursday night, for my birthday." Matthew said, as all the students around them filtered out of the room. "Do you think you'll be able to come?" He'd been planning a way to phrase the request so that it didn't sound like he expected her to come, but he didn't think it needed to sound like a formal invitation either. She would want to come to his birthday event. In theory, at least.

Mary looked up at him as she packed her things into her bag. "Of course, I'll be there." She smiled.

Matthew didn't think she knew when his birthday was, but she didn't seem surprised to hear of it so he thought she must have remembered it from the year before. He beamed at her. "Great! Do you think the Turkish place around the corner would be good?"

Mary nodded. "That sounds lovely...Who else is coming?"

"Me, you, Tom, William and Anna...I haven't invited anyone else yet but maybe another three or four people." Matthew replied. To be honest, it didn't really matter who else would be there now that he knew he'd have Mary by his side all night.

"Alright, great." Mary said, then awkwardly shifted her gaze to the students near them before saying, "I should go - I said I'd meet one of the girls in my commercial law tutorial to go over an essay."

"OK, I'll see you later, then." Matthew smiled at her and dipped his head to kiss her. While she didn't back away, and puckered her lips slightly to receive his little kisses, she didn't exactly reciprocate. Now that he thought about it, it had been a while since Mary had properly kissed him - not since his stay at Downton, in fact. Wondering why this could be, Matthew watched as she smiled somewhat artificially at him before turning to leave. Was she not happy? They hadn't exactly clarified the status of their relationship yet - he'd left Downton without being able to properly speak to her, and for the remainder of the holidays they'd communicated only via text or a couple of quick phone-calls, as they had both been busy with their respective New Year's celebrations. Since returning to university a few days ago, though, she had seemed to enjoy their time together as much as he had; he'd been making her laugh, and vice versa, and they were beginning to have more serious conversations too, about their families and the like. So what could be the problem, the cause of her reticence?

A thought suddenly struck Matthew. Mary had spent the last three or four years - probably longer - being pursued by young men who were seemingly desperate for even two seconds of her attention. They'd ply her with gifts and shower her with compliments on a daily, or even hourly, basis. Matthew racked his brain to think of the last sweet thing he'd said to her - he remembered, sheepishly, that he'd commented on how 'huggable' she'd looked in her woollen jumper the day previously, before proceeding to wrap her in a tight bear-hug until she'd quietly complained that he was squashing her internal organs. It wasn't his most romantic gesture, on reflection.

He needed to up his game, he thought to himself. He needed to show her how much he appreciated her. He needed, in short, to woo her. They were still in the very first stages of their relationship and he didn't want to let the flame die out. Mary Crawley was a prize and she was in danger of slipping through his fingers if he didn't treat her properly.

...

Thursday evening, and Matthew was pottering about his room when there was a soft knock at the door. "Come in." He called, smiling when Mary entered. She was dressed casually enough for the restaurant that they were going to, but had clearly put some effort in given the occasion. Of course, she tended to be quite 'dressed up' even for trips to the supermarket, but it heartened Matthew to think that Mary may have taken some trouble to look nice just for him.

"Well if it isn't the birthday boy." Mary smirked as she approached him. He had not been able to see her yet today - they hadn't had any lectures together that morning and his mother had visited in the afternoon to take him out for lunch. As much as he'd enjoyed spending time with his friends and his mother, he'd been anticipating his evening with Mary as the highlight of the day.

Mary leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you," Matthew grinned at her, although he was slightly disappointed to receive such a chaste greeting.

"How was your day?" Mary asked.

"Good, thanks - it's a shame I had lectures in the morning but otherwise it's been quite nice. I got a few presents, too." He said vaguely, purposely not revealing that, upon hearing of Matthew and Mary's recent romance, Tom Branson had cheekily gifted Matthew with a multi-pack of condoms.

Mary merely nodded in acknowledgement, a look of polite interest on her face.

"We've got about twenty minutes before we need to leave, so..." Matthew trailed off, edging towards her. He settled his hands on her hips and angled his head, dropping a kiss on her lips.

"Matthew-" Mary smiled, "I think you're over-estimating how much time we have."

"But it's my birthday," Matthew murmured against her lips, smirking. It was a mischievous card to play, but as much as he wanted to treat himself (and he did want to treat himself to her so very much), he wanted to show her how he felt about her. He inwardly performed a little victory dance as Mary succumbed to his attempts, and the kiss quickly deepened. Matthew groaned at the feeling of their wet, warm mouths exploring each other, and Mary's hands stroking over his upper arms and shoulders through his crisp shirt. Soon, her hands were in his hair and on his face in order to hold him closer to her and lock their mouths together. Matthew gripped her waist and smoothed one hand over her buttocks, eliciting a moan of arousal. Edging her towards his bed, he slid his hands underneath her top and caressed her back, his fingers sliding over her silky skin. He didn't want to rush this - he wanted it to be special and less animalistic than their previous pursuits.

His plan went slightly awry, however, when he found himself flat on his back with Mary lying on top of him. She broke the kiss and shimmied down his body, producing the most delicious friction between their clothed bodies, until she reached his hips. His mind was hazy from their heated kisses and he looked down at her with a frown. "What are you doing?" He asked. But his question was answered by Mary's nimble fingers unfastening his jeans and reaching into his boxers. Matthew swore loudly. He glanced back down and saw Mary lick her lips. He hastily grabbed her hands in an attempt to still her. "You don't have to do this." He said, worried that she had misunderstood his request.

"I know I don't have to." Mary replied seductively, shaking her hands free of his. Before he could say anything else, her mouth closed around him, and his head thrashed backwards into his pillow. A series of loud, incoherent words and sounds escaped his mouth over the next couple of minutes, as Mary's head bobbed up and down in his lap, her hands working on whatever part of him her lips and tongue couldn't reach.

He gritted his teeth to prevent himself from expending too soon. This wasn't what he'd wanted, as mind-blowingly enjoyable as it was. Summoning up all his conscious thought and determination, he grasped Mary by the shoulders and moved her away. She looked startled.

"I want to be with you." Matthew clarified, anxious that he might have offended her by rejecting her attentions. He wasn't rejecting her at all, but rather he wanted more of her. Unsure how to convey this through words, he raised her back up to his level and kissed her soundly, before gently laying her down next to him. He spent a lot of time lavishing her neck and upper body with affection, as he gradually removed her clothing, keen to make this experience more sensual than the prior ones. She seemed eager to connect with him, muttering and writhing beneath him, so he eventually gave in to her attempts to undress the both of them.

He moved slowly once he was inside her, kissing her lips and shoulder as he rocked back and forth. She hooked her legs around his waist and encouraged him to speed up - he worried that he wasn't pleasing her, and he decided to follow her lead instead. Within minutes they were climaxing, his head buried in the crook of her neck and her fingers embedded in the muscle of his back.

"Wow." Matthew exhaled into her skin. It had only been about three weeks since they had last done this, but it felt like far too long. He ran his hand along her torso, down to her hip and up again, as he leaned up to look into her eyes. Happiness bubbled inside his stomach at having her with him like this, and he leaned down to kiss her. He felt her small hand on his shoulder, pushing him back.

"We should probably go. You've booked a table." Mary said softly.

He nodded and moved away from her, but not before pecking her lips again. This was the best birthday of his entire life. Even better than when he got a Harry Potter potions set for his tenth birthday, he thought with a smug smile.

...

"Ah, here's the happy couple!" Tom called out as Matthew and Mary approached the table in the restaurant. "I would ask why you're late but I may be too young and innocent to know the answer." He winked at them, and Matthew cast him a disapproving look even though he was smiling inwardly.

"We've saved you seats here." Anna gestured to the two empty chairs in the middle of the table, around which sat about ten of Matthew's friends. Matthew thanked her and began greeting everyone. He cut his greetings short, however, when he noticed Mary moving to sit down. He rushed over and pulled her chair out for her, prompting jealous sighs from a couple of the girls who were envious of Mary (Louisa Alessi being one of them) and exaggerated 'awww's from the boys who were eager to mock their shy friend about his new, already high-profile, relationship.

"So how's your day been, Matty?" Tom asked across the table, his voice commanding everyone's attention. "Did you get any use out of my birthday present yet?" He smirked.

Matthew knew that nobody else had any idea what Tom had given to him, but he blushed profusely nonetheless. "Erm, I - my day was good, thanks." He bumbled, and proceeded to tell the group in unnecessary detail about the quail's egg that his mother had told him to try for lunch.

"Did you two get to spend much time together?" Daisy asked. Matthew had gotten to know her through William - she was a sweet, naive girl who seemed to harbour an unending fascination with other people's crushes and relationships.

"No," Mary answered, "I was busy with other things but I had time to come along tonight, luckily."

The smile that had been permanently stuck onto Matthew's face over the last hour fell slightly. Mary was making it sound very much like the only reason she was there was because she happened to have a gap in her busy schedule of doing things that didn't involve Matthew. He didn't expect her to cancel her plans just to spend time with him, but there was something in her manner - some sort of indifference - that suggested that his birthday wasn't all that important to him.

"Did you get him a present?" Louisa interjected.

Matthew's smile fell a little further when he realised that Mary hadn't even given him a card. Again, it wasn't that she ought to pull out all the stops for him, and he was grateful enough that she was here with him at his dinner, but he couldn't help but think of how much effort he would have gone to had it been her twentieth birthday. Plus, almost everyone else here had given him his present at some point throughout the day. It was just the done thing. Perhaps she was planning on giving it to him later?

"No, I didn't quite get round to it." Mary replied tersely.

"Oh, that's a shame." Louisa said pointedly. She turned to Matthew. "Well, Matthew, I hope you like my present. I went to Milan over the holidays and had these made for you." She passed him a small box. He gave her his thanks, unravelled the ribbon and lifted the lid. It was a pair of silver cufflinks.

"These are marvellous, thanks so much, Louisa. I really appreciate it." Matthew smiled broadly at her. In all honesty, he hardly really knew Louisa that well, but she had gone out of her way to speak to him over the last few months and she seemed very nice and friendly. It still surprised him that she had bought him such an expensive gift, though. It also highlighted the fact that Mary was now the only person who hadn't gotten him anything.

"You're very welcome." Louisa beamed back. "Twenty is a special age, and you're a special guy, so I wanted to get you something special." She laughed prettily - why she laughed, Matthew wasn't entirely sure, but he smiled and thanked her again.

"So anyway," Tom piped up, hoping to diffuse the awkward atmosphere that had settled over the table after Louisa and Mary's hostile exchange and Louisa's display of her obvious infatuation with Matthew, "let's order, shall we?"

Everyone began perusing the menu and discussing the dishes. Matthew tried asking Mary what she wanted to order, and whether she wanted to share a starter, but she was not particularly forthcoming. Her behaviour wasn't quite as stand-offish as their disastrous first 'date' where she'd walked out halfway through the main course, but it was still a far cry from how he was used to engaging with her.

As dinner progressed, Mary seemed to open up a bit, much to Matthew's relief. She was chatting animatedly with Anna, across the table, by the time the main courses were cleared away. He joined their conversation and was glad to find that Mary continued making jokes and let him bicker with her about whether the X Factor had been running for too long or not. The fun was short-lived, however...

Mary excused herself to go to the ladies' room - she was gone for less than ten minutes, but when she returned her expression was stony and she sat rigidly in her seat. He asked her if she was alright and all he received in reply was a curt "Yes". Dessert was brought out, along with a birthday cake for Matthew that Tom had arranged, and everyone sang to him. He cut the cake, and William insisted that Mary should feed him a piece. She shook her head, but more people called out for her to feed him, apparently taking much amusement from this idea. Eventually, she relented and broke a small piece of cake off onto a fork, holding it up to Matthew's mouth. He smiled at her and didn't break eye contact as he took the cake into his mouth, but Mary's gaze was somewhere else and she didn't appear to be enjoying this moment as much as he was.

"Kiss!" Tom cried out, and more cheers and whoops followed. Evidently, his friends had ordered and consumed far too much wine. He wasn't going to begrudge their antics, of course - any excuse to kiss Mary Crawley would suffice. He quickly swallowed the mouthful of cake and took Mary's lips in his, his hands squeezing her waist and pulling her against him. Spurred on by the wolf-whistles and cheers and the wine flowing through his own veins, Matthew continued kissing her for far longer, and far more inappropriately, than he would have otherwise dared to kiss someone in public. It was only when he felt her hand slap against his chest that he jumped back, to meet her angry gaze. Her eyes appeared to be welling up and he worried that she was about to burst into tears. He had no idea what was happening, but the next thing he knew was that Mary was grabbing her handbag and coat and pushing past him, out into the night.

...

Mary marched defiantly down the street, determined not to let herself break down. She had never cried over a boy and she definitely wasn't going to let tonight be the first time. But then the conversation she had overheard replayed in her mind and the tears that she had fought down threatened to overspill again.

The evening had been mixed - she had felt a little thrill at being Matthew's special guest on his birthday, and he had looked good enough to eat. She'd felt slightly uneasy when they'd been in the throes - it had been different to the other times they'd been together and she hadn't been expecting it. He'd been gentle, almost loving, with her, moving slowly and kissing her affectionately as well as passionately. She wasn't used to this kind of sex and didn't know how to respond to it, so she had hurried him along instead. In spite of being somewhat unused to this manner of intercourse, though, she decided that it had been quite wonderful and it hadn't frightened her as much as she'd have thought. It had felt romantic rather than merely lustful and, for the first time, she had felt valued by her bed partner.

The night went downhill when they arrived at the restaurant, however. The jokes, prying questions and searching glances were exactly what she'd been fearing. She was being placed under the microscope and it made her feel extremely uncomfortable. As was typical of her in such situations, she put her guard up and sought to play down any notion that she was Matthew's girlfriend. Her mood had only sank further when she noticed that Louisa was present, and her blood boiled as she watched the vixen give Matthew a gift that he gushed over. Mary actually had bought a present for Matthew; she'd spent the last couple of days racking her brain over what she could give him that would be as thoughtful as the necklace he'd given her for Christmas, searching through numerous websites and visiting countless shops before settling on something. The only problem was that she hadn't known how to give it to him, and she sure as hell wasn't going to be forced into presenting it to him under the scrutinising watch of Louisa Alessi and co.

Thankfully, the close attention soon subsided and Mary had been able to enjoy herself, even engaging in some of her and Matthew's trademark arguments about inconsequential subjects. Her cheery mood quickly dissipated, though, when she left the table to use the ladies' room. As she walked through the door and was about to turn around the corner to where the cubicles and sinks were, she heard two female voices that she recognised.

"They're cute together, aren't they?" Daisy said excitedly. "Such a good-looking couple!"

"I wouldn't get too excited about them, Daisy." Louisa replied sagely. "I don't think they're as genuine as they'd have you believe."

"What do you mean?" Daisy asked, sounding horror-struck by the idea that a relationship could be anything less than completely sincere.

"Well, let's just say that any man would be a bit of a fool to say 'no' to Mary Crawley, and Matthew is no fool."

"I don't understand." Daisy said, sounding confused.

Louisa sighed with faux-impatience, as if the point she was making was obvious. "If you ask any guy on campus to tell you three things about Mary Crawley, they'll tell you the same things - she's beautiful, she's well-connected, and she's good in bed."

"But that's not why Matthew's going out with her." Daisy said, almost questioningly.

"You don't think so? Come on, Daisy - he's a law student hoping to enter the world of the privileged and we all know he's not very well-off. He could use someone like her to get him through the door. Plus, he's quite inexperienced sexually and she could teach him a thing or two." At Daisy's gasp, Louisa continued, "You may think it sounds bad, but I'm afraid to say that's how young men operate."

"Matthew's not like that, though!" Daisy insisted.

"I heard Tom tell William that he'd given Matthew nothing but a bumper-pack of condoms for his birthday. Now, I might be wrong but I'd think that Matthew's best friend would know better than anyone the reasons why Matthew has started dating her." Louisa replied secretively. "In any case," she continued, "why on Earth would anyone want to date Mary Crawley for her personality?" She scoffed. "She's the least caring person on the face of the planet - she came to Matthew's birthday party as his girlfriend and didn't even get him a present, for crying out loud."

"I did think that was strange." Daisy said softly.

"Exactly." Louisa replied confidently. "She's simply not girlfriend material. Can you imagine trying to snuggle up with her? It'd be like hugging a block of ice!" She laughed loudly, and Daisy reluctantly laughed with her. "Matthew himself said once that she was difficult to talk to other than to argue with, because all she does is antagonise people in an attempt to make herself feel smarter."

"Matthew said that?" Daisy asked, aghast.

"Yes - words to that effect, at least." Louisa said. "So the only logical conclusion is that he's after her status and her sexual prowess."

"It's just a bit strange, though - William saw them kissing the other day, like an actual couple." Daisy persisted.

Louisa sighed again. "Of course he'd do that. It wouldn't surprise me if he tried to kiss her in public as much as he could - it heightens his profile, doesn't it? People are already talking about him around campus more than they ever have before. And he has to show her some affection and keep her satisfied or else she'll soon walk off and find some other man to fool around with. She's very high maintenance, you know - Matthew said that, too."

"So how long do you think they'll be together?" Daisy asked, clearly convinced that Louisa was a leading authority on this topic.

"As long as it takes for Matthew to get the status that he needs. Then he'll go in search of a real girlfriend." Came the reply, and it was clear that Louisa had herself in mind for this role.

Mary had never trusted Louisa and she knew that there was animosity between them that might prompt Louisa to say unkind things about her to other people. Yet, what she had just heard struck a chord with her - what Louisa had told Daisy exactly matched all the things that Mary had been most afraid of, her deepest insecurities. That all she had to offer, all anyone would want from her, were her looks, her wealth and her reputation for being easy - a reputation that was undeserved, she felt, given that she'd only given herself to four boys, including Matthew. It was probably her own fault for failing to stem the rumours that circulated about her, but she had enjoyed the attention and had been unable to shake the idea embedded in her mind that it was always good to be talked about, unless it was wholly negative. She knew that Louisa would have carefully chosen what to tell Daisy, knowing that Daisy found it difficult to keep secrets and would be shocked enough by the revelations to want to discuss it with other people. Not that it will make any difference, Mary thought bitterly, everyone probably thinks the same things anyway. That's why they seemed so intrigued by the relationship.

But what bothered her the most, what hurt her more than anything else, was knowing that Matthew had said those things about her. Louisa wasn't a nice person, but Mary doubted that she would completely fabricate quotes, especially when there was a chance of Matthew hearing of it and being asked about it. Again, she supposed it was foolish to have hoped for anything more from Matthew - she had initiated the no-strings-attached arrangement with him, so who could blame him for wanting to continue to sleep with someone whom he found attractive? Still, it was quite crushing to know that everything he'd done - the surprise visit to Downton, the necklace - were done superficially, just to keep her interest enough that she'd let him keep bedding her and raise his profile.

"Mary!" Matthew's voice shouted from behind her. She heard rapid footsteps and his heavy breathing, and she quickened her pace. She couldn't quite out-run him, and he caught up to her by the time she'd reached their accommodation block. "What is it?" He asked, grasping her elbow to halt her and turn her to face him.

She pulled her arm free from his hand and glared at him. "I don't want to speak to you." She said firmly, turning to enter the building.

"Please," Matthew pleaded, holding her hand. He sounded very worried, and Mary felt bad for him for a moment before she remembered why she was so angry. "Please just tell me what I did wrong."

Mary didn't move away, but she didn't answer him either. It was difficult to know how to explain. As furious as she was, she found the issue extremely embarrassing and belittling and she didn't particularly want to have an in-depth conversation about it.

"Was it that I kissed you in public?" Matthew prompted softly. "Because I know you don't like doing that and I'm really sorry - honestly, I didn't realise how upset you'd be-"

"It's not that," Mary interrupted, "well, it's not just that." Matthew watched her, waiting for her to continue. "I'm upset because you've been leading me on."

Matthew's eyes grew wide. "I've been leading you on?" He asked, seemingly flabbergasted.

"Yes," Mary replied, her eyes narrowed - she didn't like his tone. "Are you suggesting that it's me who's been leading you on?"

"Well," Matthew spluttered, apparently torn between being honest and appeasing her, "I'd say that if anyone has been leading anyone on, it'd be you leading me on, yes."

All Mary could do was expel a grunt of incredulity and turn to leave again.

"Wait, wait!" Matthew sounded panicked again. He jumped in front of her. "What I mean is, it just seems like you've been hot and cold with me recently. One minute you're happy to kiss me in the courtyard and the next minute you're pushing me away. One minute you're joking around and flirting with me and the next you're running out of my birthday dinner!" He gestured somewhere to his right, in the direction of the road where the restaurant was, and where, presumably, his birthday dinner was continuing without him. Again, Mary felt momentarily guilty.

"That's only because I've been uncomfortable with this whole 'relationship' thing! Everyone's suddenly probing into our business and talking about us and...expecting me to feed you cake, for crying out loud, and it's too much!" Mary cried.

"I'm sorry about that, but I'm not in control of it." Matthew apologised sincerely. "I wish I could do something about it - I'll tell my friends to stop making comments, hopefully that'll help-"

"Oh yes," Mary scoffed, "I'm sure you hate all the attention you're getting."

Matthew frowned and tilted his head at her questioningly. "What do you mean?"

Mary crossed her arms and fixed her steely gaze at him. It was the stance that she confronted Edith with whenever she borrowed and subsequently stretched out one of Mary's designer dresses. "Don't play dumb, Matthew. I know you're only pursuing me because you want to have sex with me and-"

"What?" Matthew exclaimed. "That's ridiculous, I don't want to have sex with you!" He said emphatically. Mary raised her eyebrows at him and he quickly backtracked. "No, I mean - I mean, of course I want to - I do enjoy that, very much, but that's not all I want from you." He insisted.

"I believe you." Mary replied, and Matthew looked relieved albeit a little startled by her quick acceptance of his argument. "Because you also want to enhance your standing at the university and use my contacts." She continued, and watched his expression fall again.

"What? Mary, where are you getting all of this from?"

"It's fine, Matthew," Mary said as nonchalantly as possible. She loathed letting people see her upset but it was difficult to keep the bitterness out of her voice. "I understand - it's the same reasons that all the other boys are after me so it would be silly to think that you were any different."

"Mary," Matthew said determinedly, stepping forward and looking at her so intently that she was forced to meet his eyes. "That is utter bullshit. I want to be with you for you, not because of your connections."

"Well you're certainly not with me for my personality." Mary argued. "Otherwise you wouldn't have called me antagonistic and high-maintenance."

Matthew ran his head through his hair in exasperation. "Again - where on Earth are you getting this from?"

"Are you saying you've never said that about me?" Mary challenged. She didn't want to reveal her sources or the circumstances of her overhearing it, as that could give Matthew an opportunity to discredit them as unreliable.

Matthew glanced around him, seemingly racking his brain. "I...may have." He said, rubbing his temple. "Yeah, I think I did." He said regretfully. "It was a while ago, though."

"But you still think those things about me." Mary stated.

"For God's sake, Mary, you are high maintenance and you are antagonistic. You get your shampoo imported from Brazil and you argue with me about absolutely everything - you're arguing with me now!"

"Well if I'm so awful then why would you want to be with me?" Mary asked, feeling herself grow teary-eyed again. She had heard some pretty awful, bitchy things said about her in her lifetime, particularly during school, so she was surprised that Matthew's opinion affected her so much.

"Because I like how high maintenance you are - I think it's quite endearing." Matthew was now smiling at her fondly. "And I like arguing with you, it's fun - this argument aside." He added drily. "I used to think you were difficult to get along with but that never stopped me from trying, because I always knew there was something else there and I wanted to get to know you better. I still do."

Mary surveyed him sceptically. He was so bloody sincere that it was near impossible to stay angry with him for longer than twenty minutes.

"Plus," Matthew took her silence as an opportunity to continue, "those things - which I said months ago - pale in comparison to all the things you've said about me over the years." He was smirking, presumably to show her that he wasn't holding a grudge about it.

"That's different - I never said anything that you didn't know about. I either said it to your face or loudly enough that you would overhear it." Mary said defensively. Having grown up in the midst of back-stabbing girls, including one Edith Crawley, Mary had vowed never to become one of them and had adopted her direct, straight-talking manner from an early age.

Matthew nodded his head and looked at her apologetically. "You're right, I shouldn't have spoken about you behind your back. I haven't done it since and I promise I won't do it again."

Mary's expression softened at this and she unfolded her arms. "Fine." She shrugged, not wanting to appear too willing to forgive.

She concealed a smile at the sight of Matthew's entire face lighting up. "So are we OK?" He asked eagerly, stepping even closer to her and running a hand down her arm.

Mary knew that he was asking whether they could go back to 'seeing each other' or 'being a couple' or whatever it is that they had been since the holidays. She accepted his apology and suspected that much of what Louisa said had been embellishment, but the fact remained that Mary was still unsure of herself and her ability to handle being in a relationship. Undoubtedly her sudden exit from Matthew's dinner would quickly spread around the student body, if it hadn't already, and she and Matthew would be subjected to more intense scrutiny. "Erm, I'm-" she hesitated, too self-conscious to say what she wanted to say. I'm insecure, I'm afraid of how much I seem to like you, I still don't fully understand why you want to be with me and I find it difficult to trust people. "I just-" she tutted at herself for being so incoherent.

"You want to take things slower?" Matthew asked. He was looking at her as if he was reading a book. He just seemed to understand.

Mary nodded. "Yes, I think so."

"That's fine." Matthew replied, a small smile on his lips. "I'll wait for you."

...

A/N: as always, please let me know what you think! I never get my stories beta-d and I don't discuss them with anyone when I write so I have no clue if I'm being completely mad, boring or just a bit rubbish. So your thoughts are always welcome! Thanks so much for reading xxx