A/N: Sorry this took so long to get out but I imagine it's worth the wait.
Matthew walked along the street, leaving the train station, sounds of the steamer headed down the track behind him. He had just seen his mother off. She hadn't been back home five days when yet another emergency from his aunt had called her back. Matthew had a feeling this was probably going to stop very soon as his mother had her limits, even where her sister was concerned.
As he walked, thoughts about the past several days flooded his mind. It had been almost two weeks since the scandal at Downton. Pamuk's death had resulted in an inquest but it was easily determined he died of a heart attack, and since there were enough witnesses to the man's deplorable behavior, everyone accepted it easily.
For a moment Matthew wondered if there would be some international fallout, as the man was part of the Turkish embassy, but with the situation unfolding across Europe, the end of Kemal Pamuk's bedroom antics were the least of their concerns. Everyone, especially Lord Grantham, had breathed a sigh of relief.
Unfortunately, it didn't help matters between he and his wife. He was very proud of her for telling her family everything that happened with Pamuk, and eagerly told her so. Unfortunately, that seemed to be the wrong thing to say as it only reminded Mary of how he was going to tell them himself against her will. Her point being, it was really her secret, not his, and just because she changed her mind did not cancel out her anger with him for insisting it was his duty to bring it to the family's attention.
Sighing, Matthew realized he was passing the local fair which had just set up shop in the village a day or two earlier. Everyone was buzzing about it, apparently it came this time every year. Matthew had wondered if Mary would like to go, but she had spent most of her time at Downton, now spending it with her youngest sister, Sybil, who had withdrawn a great deal since the trauma with Pamuk. Mary felt herself solely responsible, an accusation that Matthew suspected was supported by her mother, who felt Mary's earlier behavior might have fed Pamuk's unsavory lusts. If it wasn't Cora there were others that whispered around the inquest and Matthew now could see the distinction Mary had been trying to explain to him. Men could say someone did wrong by them and it was accepted where women tended to be partially to blame for what befell them.
As Matthew rounded the corner, he noticed a booth setup for knocking down bowls. Smiling, he briefly thought of how his father used to take him to similar booths when he was a kid, and deciding he could spare a few minutes, chose to try to relax and forget about life for awhile.
The first couple of throws he was surprised at how far off his aim was. The last one he came close to the bowl. He was just about to give up the game when he heard that unmistakable voice behind him.
"I didn't know you were here."
Whirling around, he was shocked to see his wife standing before him, looking smart in her gray suit. He didn't know she was there either, otherwise he might have decided to look for her rather than choose the silly game.
"Hello. I, er, have left the train station and thought I'd give it a go." He wondered if she witnessed his poor performance. She looked past him into the booth and smiled; Matthew found himself pulling out more money for the pair of them to play.
"Here, have a go yourself."
Her eyes grew big as she was handed the balls. Matthew took his and went first, still managing to hit absolutely nothing. She didn't say anything to this, and threw her own, managing to come very close to the target. Glancing at him, she said, "So, did Isobel leave again?"
"Yes," Matthew said, throwing another ball, this one hitting the leg below the target and bouncing into the dirt. "Poor mother. She wants to be a good sister, but Aunt Abigail tends to panic at every little thing that happens. Mother normally never jokes about such things, but she said today she understands how my uncle developed such a heart condition."
Mary smiled at that but didn't answer. She threw the ball and knocked a bowl down. The barker whistled and even Matthew shook his head. He said, "I'm afraid I'm not much of a match for you. You're quite good."
"Only when I want to be." She threw her last ball, but missed this time. They looked at each other, then began walking along the path side by side.
"So, how did you end up here?" Matthew could only guess.
"Oh, Mama thought it would be good to get Sybil out, so we came, along with Edith."
"Did Sybil have a good time?" Matthew asked.
Mary nodded, "Some, she's still not quite herself, but she laughed a good deal."
"And how are you? How are you doing?" Matthew hadn't asked her this in quite a while.
She stopped, not looking at him. "Oh, Matthew, there isn't anything to be upset about. The inquest worked in our favor, Pamuk is now over and we can let things get back to normal."
Matthew wished she would look him in the eye. "But do you want to get back to normal?"
He wasn't sure what normal was, but if she had an idea to it, he wanted to hear it. Instead, she looked sad. "Normal for us, I do."
He nodded, hoping her word 'us' referred to the two of them rather than the entire Crawley family. As they left the fair, Mary pointed out a flyer posted to one of the signs. It stated an upcoming town hall meeting was that Saturday. "I hadn't realized it was already time for this. Papa didn't mention it."
Mathew nodded, glad to speak of anything with her. "Do you go every year?"
She nodded, "Yes, I know it's not fashionable for a woman to do, I've quite enjoyed the chance to do something that matters, not to mention the time I have with Papa."
Matthew thought for a beat on her words, but before he could respond she commented, "They must have missed you this afternoon, at work I mean, since you left early to take your mother to the station."
"Yes, but it has been slow this week, so no one seemed to mind." Matthew wondered if it was more for the fact he was the next Earl of Grantham that led them to treat him with such consideration.
"Do you enjoy your time at work?"
"I think so," Matthew said, then remembering how she felt about it, he quickly added, "I know my work seems very trivial to you."
"Not necessarily," she said. "Sometimes I rather envy you, having somewhere to go every morning."
His eyebrow arched at her admission. He could still remember how she would refer to his job, even after the wedding. "I thought that made me very middle class."
Being reminded of her words didn't please her. "You should learn to forget what I say. I know I do."
She picked up her pace so he matched it. "Were you planning on going to Downton tonight?"
"No, I'm sorry, I should have told you. I've mentioned it to Mrs. Bird to make us dinner. While I love spending time with the family, I just have had my fill of Edith for a good long while."
At this he had to laugh, and she glanced at him. "I'm sorry, Mary, I just am surprised at how much you two goad each other. I've never had siblings so I don't know what's it like, but I do watch my cousins some and even all five of them together don't get on each other's nerves as much as you and Edith."
She didn't seem to like the conversation, her head raising at his comment. "We've been doing it as long as I can remember, part of surviving in such a household I guess."
"I'd always wanted a large family. My mother and father didn't have any more children after me but I always longed for siblings, hoping some day to be the big brother."
He could feel Mary's eyes on him, but he chose to keep his gaze forward. She asked, "Did you want to boss them around?"
"No," he replied. "I wanted to take care of them. I like to take care of people."
She didn't answer. The rest of the walk back to the house was silent. As they went inside, Moseley took their coats and told them dinner would be ready very soon. As he walked away, Mary turned to Matthew and said, "If work is slow, I suppose you won't be retreating into your study to do whatever it is you do in there..."
He laughed at this. "I never meant it to seem like a big secret. Sometimes I bring paperwork from the office or go over other legal matters."
Mary regarded him for a moment, then after a beat said, "You really do enjoy your work. To be surrounded by it so much."
He guessed she was teasing, so he grinned at her. "I know it makes me sound like a dull boy, but I do find myself drawn to it. If I have nothing from the office to bring home, I will go over the entail documents as they can be massive."
This got her attention especially. "Oh, you have...those papers here?"
"Yes, copies of them," he said, surprised at her interest.
"I see." She walked down the hallway and looked in his study as Matthew watched her.
"Mary, do you...want to look at them before I put them away?"
She took awhile to answer. "What?"
For the first time, he guessed Mary might never seen the actual documents that had dictated her life for so long. "You've never looked over the documents before, have you?"
"No, I...I have asked but Papa and Murray told me I wouldn't under...no, I haven't."
Mary attempted to seem nonchalant but her eyes were burning a hole into the papers. Matthew offered, "If you want, we can go over them. The language is dense but I am a solicitor after all, so if you have any questions..."
"I suppose we have time before dinner," she said, trying her best to remain noncommittal, though Matthew could see right through her. He was forced to hide a smile.
Leading up to and throughout dinner, Mary listened to Matthew as he explained what no one else would. It was rather complicated, but Matthew had a knack for drilling down to the heart of the matter, outlining the broader points but making sure to ask anything specific she may have. After dinner they adjourned back to his study, and after a couple of hours Mary finally exhausted her list of questions. Her husband answered anything she asked with great patience, never once showing signs of frustration or annoyance to what must be simplistic and maybe even idiotic questions.
"So, my dear," Matthew said, sitting back with his brandy. "What do you think?"
"Well," she said, remebering about what stood out most to her, "I had no idea that the only way to break the entail we'd need a private bill in Parliament."
He nodded, "Even then only if the estate was in danger, which it's never been."
"But in all of this," she started to say but stopped. "Never mind."
Matthew sat up straighter. "No, go ahead."
Glancing across the papers in front of her, she now understood them much more. But in understanding them, she also realized that her life had become a liability for the estate. That was how her grandfather wrote it. "I know my family wanted a son, which they never had. Since then it's been my responsibility to follow what was written even before I was born. It's as if...Oh, I don't know what I'm saying. I'm so tired."
She got up, her stiff joints telling her she had sat for too long. If she was tired, Matthew must have been truly drained, but he showed no signs of it. He was still staring at her, but put his glass down. Walking over to her, he asked, "What were you saying? 'It's as if' what exactly?"
He was closer to her now. She had forgotten what it felt like to stand so near him. Walking to the door, she tried to change the subject. "Nothing, Matthew, I told you not to listen to what I..."
"Mary," Matthew said, following her to the door. "What were you going to say?"
Giving in, she said, "It's as if I don't matter in the great scheme of things. I was just a hindsight provision put into a document written long before I was born."
"No, Mary, no, you matter a great deal." He was so very close to her now. "A very great deal."
Mary could lose herself in his eyes. The room was dark where they were standing but his eyes were practically incandescent. If she had been further away from him, she could shake off his words more easily. But he was so close and getting closer. She tried to say something, but no sound came out of her mouth when she tried.
"Mary," Matthew said, leaning into her. His breath was on her face and she felt herself leaning forward.
Their lips met briefly. Mary's heart skipped a beat and before she could think, Matthew leaned in and kissed her again. Having no control over her body, Mary's mouth welcomed him while her arms circled up over his shoulders, at last caressing his hair with her fingers. As the kiss deepened, his arms slid down her side and one hand reached around to massage the lower part of her back, matching the pace of the kiss. Mary barely managed to hold back a groan as she leaned in for more.
Eventually, Matthew pulled away. When she realized what had just happened, she straightened herself trying to appear as casual as possible. Matthew's eyes now were different, they had become darker and much more intense. The desire in his eyes was unmistakable, but unlike what she experienced with Kemal, she knew her own look matched her husband's.
Matthew spoke first though he was hoarse, "I should think you need no further proof how much you do matter, Mary."
"Matthew, I...I..." She really couldn't form a sentence. Matthew stepped closer to her and took her hand, bringing it to his lips. She leaned in, wishing his lips were back on hers. Before she could stop herself, she asked, "I suppose we aren't exactly friends yet."
A laugh escaped his lips, which she could swear she felt in spite of her gloved hands. "We are getting there. Very soon, I think."
She giggled; really where did this behavior come from? She wasn't used to acting like this. Deciding he was holding far too much power over her, she took back her hand. With distance between them, she could gain control of her body again. Smiling at him, she said, "Yes, I'm sure we'll be very good friends. And you've given me something to look forward to. Goodnight, Matthew."
She managed to walk away, and was surprised at how steady she was as she did so. The night had certainly taken an most unexpected turn, but one, Mary realized, that was very welcome.