A/N And here's the next installment. I hope you all enjoy it. The next chapter is mostly written, so I'm hoping that it can be out in about a week. No promises though as I'm currently enrolled in a summer class as well as reading ahead for the honour's programme at my college.
"No, no, it's fine," Matthew assured. "Mary, you don't know how much relief it brings to me to know that you love me. I love you too, so … I wish I could do this properly, (Damn this wheelchair, he thought) but, will you marry me?"
"What?" asked a completely and utterly shocked Mary. She was staring at Matthew in complete surprise, trying to figure out if she had heard him correctly. She desperately hoped that it was true, but it also was something she had not expected to hear from him again.
"Will you marry me?" Matthew repeated, this time a bit more firmly, though he too was slightly surprised at what he was saying. "I'd get down on one knee and do the whole thing properly if I could."
"I don't care that this isn't a proper proposal," Mary said elatedly. "And yes, yes I will marry you!" She leapt up and sat down in Matthew's lap to hug him as best she could. Matthew tenderly returned the hug, but he couldn't help wishing he could feel her presence on his lap. Suddenly Mary leaned back and terror entered her eyes. "What's Sir Richard going to say?" she asked seriously. Even though Matthew now knew her secret, Sir Richard still wielded a terrible power with it.
"We'll deal with him later," gently murmured Matthew as he pulled her back into the hug. "Whatever you do, don't tell him what's just happened." He knew that if Sir Richard found out that Mary had just jilted him, whatever followed would not be pretty.
"But I'll have to," replied Mary in a small voice into his shoulder. She knew that she couldn't be engaged to two men at once, even though she loved one and despised the other.
"Let's just wait. We can get a small wedding organized and done in the local church one day when Sir Richard is up in London. Then we'll go off somewhere rather secluded and telephone him about what we did. After that, life will go on one way or another," Matthew replied, hardly believing that he could come up with such a scheme. As a boy, he hadn't been very good at coming up with sly schemes, but then, his father had been an expert at seeing through them even when his mother could not.
"Oh, Matthew," cried a terribly relieved Mary as she hugged him all the tighter. She then, sat back up and stood up. "I should go back to the dining room. Everyone will wonder where we've gone."
"There's no need of that, my dear," Violet said as she suddenly entered the room. She looked over at the two and a twinkle entered her eye. "Have I interrupted something important?"
Matthew glanced over at Mary and his look asked, "Should we tell her?" Mary smiled and nodded as she sat down in the chair she had been occupying earlier. As the women had now left the room, the men could be entering quite soon and it wouldn't do to be caught by Richard in Matthew's arms. He would know what had happened immediately.
"Cousin Violet, or should I say, Granny," began Matthew somewhat uncertainly, "Mary and I are engaged."
To say that Violet Crawley was surprised would be an understatement, though it was something she'd never admit. "When did this happen?" she asked once she finally get her breath back.
"Just now," Mary answered as she stroked Matthew's hand which was resting on his knee.
"Well, my dear, I must say that this is quite the pleasant surprise. Oh, we must get started with the preparations."
"That's just the thing, Granny," Mary began rather hesitatingly as she wasn't certain whether she should tell her grandmother the entirety of the reasoning behind the rather sudden engagement. "Matthew and I, well, we've wasted so much time that we don't want to wait much longer."
"And that's the only reason?" inquired Violet with one eyebrow raised.
"Granny!" cried a horrified Mary and even Matthew looked slightly uncomfortable. He never, even if he could walk and have kids, would lie in bed with a girl until the wedding night. Surely Violet knew that. Once glance in his cousin's face told him that she did indeed know that as a certain twinkle was in her eye. "It's nothing of the sort," Mary finished, slightly amused and annoyed with her grandmother.
"Good," stated Violet. "I had never given up hope that you two would eventually find your way to each other. Now, why the rush?"
"It mainly has to do with Sir Richard," Mary began slowly. She had no clue how to tell the story and she didn't want to tell it again. At least Granny already knows about Pamuk, she thought. I can't bear having to tell Papa and Sybil, but I'm going to have to.
"What my fiancée means is that Sir Richard intends to print her scandal if she refuses to marry him," stated Matthew. "But there won't be much of a blow if she is respectfully married before the story is printed." He inwardly grinned at the fact that he had just said the word 'fiancée in regards to Mary. That was something that he had been waiting years to say.
"So, you mean to get married and tell him afterwards?" questioned Violet, who looked to be both sceptical and supportive.
"That, or the morning off," finished Matthew. "After the papers have gone out he'll have to wait until it's time for the evening edition to print it. If he prints the story, it won't be about an unmarried woman."
"I do love a good scheme," agreed Violet, her face almost breaking into a wide smile. "And here comes your mother and sisters, Mary. Are you going to tell them?"
"Yes," Mary agreed, "but Sir Richard mustn't hear about it."
"Hear about what?" inquired Sybil as she entered the room. She had just gotten off of her nurse's shift, which explained her absence at dinner. Sybil turned towards Matthew and asked, "Is everything all right? I know you left dinner in a hurry."
"I'm fine," Matthew assured his cousin and for the first time, he was fairly certain his answer was genuine. Sybil nodded in understanding and sat down on the sofa next to Violet.
"What's so important that Sir Richard can't hear?" Edith asked as she and Cora entered a few moments behind Sybil.
"Matthew just proposed to me again," said Mary, "and I accepted."
"Why, Mary, that is wonderful!" cried an elated Sybil as she ran over and gave her sister a hug. She quickly turned and did the same to Matthew. He was starting to get used to the slightly awkward positioning it involved for a hug. It certainly had been easier when Mary had sat on his lap, but that wasn't very appropriate for the rest of the family.
"That's wonderful darling," Cora said gently. "Have you told him?" she asked gesturing her head slightly in Matthew's direction.
"Yes, Mama," Mary replied quietly. "I've told Matthew about that night and also why I was being forced into marrying Sir Richard."
"And I've told her it isn't her fault," Mathew added. "By the time Richard gets wind of this, we'll be married and off somewhere."
"When do you plan to marry?" Cora inquired.
Mary turned and looked at Matthew, who gave a shrug. He hadn't thought of a specific date. Granted, he hadn't even thought of proposing until the words were halfway out of his mouth. Now that he thought about it, he was certain that his earlier words about marrying quickly were true. Not to mention, it sounded like Mary wished to wed at the first possible opportunity. The sooner, the better in his mind.
"Fairly soon," Mary said at last. "What with everything including Sir Richard. The sooner Matthew and I wed, the sooner I can be free of Richard."
"I am so thankful that you do not have to marry that man," Cora sighed in relief, "and I know your father will agree with me." She turned towards Matthew and added, "You don't know what you've done with saving Mary like this."
"I actually think I might," Matthew said. "Even if Sir Richard decides to print this story, it won't be overly powerful as the scandal happened so many years ago and she will be married before the story is printed. Of course, there still will be those who will change their opinions, but anyone who is a true friend to your family and your daughter will choose to see her as she is now, rather than what she once did."
"What are you talking about, Mama?" inquired Sybil. Whatever this event was, it certainly had involved her oldest sister and must have been quite something for it to be the reasoning behind Mary's engagement to Carlisle.
"I will tell you, but later," promised Mary. She was dreading the necessity of now telling her father, sister, and future mother-in-law, but it was essential that they know before the wedding and before Sir Richard printed the story, which he was bound to do.
At just that moment, Robert and Sir Richard entered the room. The atmosphere in the room grew rather cold and formal very quickly. That scumbag, thought Matthew angrily. He was altogether relieved that he wouldn't have to put up with that man as a relative, but the sooner he no longer associated with the family, the better. He wished that Mary and he could get married the next day, but that was an impossibility, even in the changing world.
"Mary, my darling," Sir Richard said as he walked towards her.
Mary slowly got up and with a discreet glance in Matthew's direction that clearly told him that what was to follow was play-acting, turned towards Sir Richard. "Hello, Richard," she replied sweetly. "How was your cigar and brandy with Papa?"
"As well as could be expected," Sir Richard replied rather curtly. "It looks like your conversation with your cousin went well."
"It did," said Mary, still in her sugary-sweet tone. "Thank you for inquiring." Ugh, how she hated this facade she had to keep up. Hopefully it wouldn't be necessary for very long because she knew that sooner or later, more likely sooner, Sir Richard would see through the plan and ruin it.
Matthew was having trouble keeping a smirk off of his face. Mary certainly was excellent at pretending when she wished too. Now, all that had to be done was to keep up this act for the next few weeks and then it would be over. Ideally, he would love it if he could get Mary out of Carlisle's clutches and be married to her by Christmas. He was fairly certain that it could get pulled off. Naturally, it wouldn't' be anywhere near as grand of a wedding as she deserved, but he had a feeling that that didn't matter to Mary, not anymore at least. When it came to figuring out how fast a wedding could be planned, he had thought that Violet and Cora would both be against it, but instead, both of them seemed to be supporters, even though it meant that Mary didn't get the grand wedding she deserved.
Thankfully, Sir Richard had business that took him back to London the next day, but not after he cornered Mary. "You stay away from your cousin, hear?" he said, his face extremely close to hers. "Lavinia is going to be coming at some point soon to take care of him and your duty towards him will be done."
Mary couldn't help but retort, "Suppose he doesn't want her back. She's probably thought of that considering how he sent her away."
"He needs someone to look after him," repeated Sir Richard. "And you'll be too busy with our new life."
That was the last straw for Mary. Even though she had cared for Richard to a slight degree it no longer mattered to her and her cousin (now fiancé's) happiness was all that was extremely important to her. She knew that he didn't want Lavinia in his life anymore, at least not in a romantic sense. Perhaps someday they could all be friends. "I know you're used to having your own way," she stated. "But-"
Before she could continue, Sir Richard interrupted her in a very low, stern voice. "I'll say something now that I hope I'll never have to say again. If you think you can jilt me or in some way set me aside, I tell you now, you have given me the power to destroy you. And don't think I won't use it. I will tell Matthew Crawley and what will he think of you then? I want to be a good husband and for you to be happy, but don't ever cross me. Do you understand?"
Mary nodded in understanding, but she knew that nothing he said meant anything to her anymore. No matter what happened, she'd be happily married to the one man she always had wanted to marry. And Richard's threat of telling Matthew didn't hold anything. He already knew the story and had still given his proposal. For a brief time she had wondered if Matthew's main reason for proposing was to save her from Richard's clutches, but she also knew that there was love involved and that was a great comfort. It was even greater than the knowledge that she wouldn't be stuck with Sir Richard for the rest of her life. (How did he manage to get a knighthood? she briefly wondered.) Even though she knew Richard still had a certain degree of power over her due to the story, she had Matthew, Granny, and her Mama on her side. Of course, she didn't know what Edith's stand was and she still needed to tell Sybil, her father, and Isobel before the story was printed. Perhaps Matthew and I should travel to America for a few months after the wedding, she thought, knowing that in many ways, it would be easier to be in a different country when the news was printed. At the moment though, future planning beyond the wedding didn't matter, but her thoughts were interrupted by Richard's reply and thankfully he hadn't noticed her brief moment of distance.
"Good," Sir Richard replied and he gave her a kiss. "Now, I'll see you in about two weeks time. I'll be kept busy in London with the Armistice tomorrow and then there will be various other things I need to get finalized before our marriage this summer."
"You better not miss your train then," Mary said. Sir Richard gave her yet another kiss and got on the train.
"Stay away from your cousin," he repeated. "You don't have to do everything for him anymore and soon you won't have to do anything."
"Very well, Richard," Mary said in a defeated tone, though it was entirely faked.
Thankfully, neither of them had the chance to say anything more because at that moment, the train whistle blew and the train slowly began to chug away. Mary kept up the pretence of waving until she saw Richard leave the window, then she quickly dropped her hand and hurried away from the station. Hopefully, she was rid of that man for the most part. It wasn't for good as she knew he'd be furious when she married Matthew and would most likely do something drastic. At the moment though, all she could really think of was wedding plans. Yes, it wouldn't be her dream wedding in terms of decorations, but it was her dream wedding in the ways that mattered. She was going to marry the one person she had ever truly loved and that was enough for her.
The Armistice was the next day and weddings took more than a few days to prepare, but she hoped that she and Matthew could tie the knot before Sir Richard returned in two weeks.
Stephanie: Thanks for the review. I'm glad you're enjoying the AU so far and there is going to be a lot more of it.
Guest(s): Thanks for your reviews. To whoever liked Matthew finding out about Carlisle while still in the wheelchair, I'm glad you enjoyed it. It was actually quite interesting to write as well. Also, to the other guest reviewer, I have a feeling Carlisle will taken care of rather quickly, though I'm not quite certain how yet.