Major Clarkson was not pleased when he heard of Matthew's plan to visit his former law practice in Ripon on Wednesday morning.
"This is very unusual Captain Crawley," he said disapprovingly. "And it is not in the interests of your health. I have reluctantly allowed you some very short car trips, but going all the way to Ripon this early in your recovery is quite another matter!"
"Major Clarkson," Matthew countered. "Something... personal has come up. It is important that I am able to speak to Charles in person."
"And why could he not come here?" Major Clarkson enquired. Matthew said nothing for a minute, and then answered quietly "It is a matter for which I need as much discretion as possible."
Major Clarkson raised his eyebrows but nodded.
"Very well. I want your back strapped for the journey, and I insist that Sister Crawley travels with you, in addition to Nurse Crawley," he said, looking at Sybil and using her new title: she had been promoted to senior nurse a few days prior. "If you experience any pain in the car, please abandon your trip and return here straight away. I would hate to see you re-injure yourself at this point. And make sure that Chauffeur drives carefully!"
Sybil's lips twitched at this, and Matthew realised in amusement that she was looking forward to giving Branson a talking to on that point. He had started to notice that they were quite friendly with each other.
Later that afternoon, in a quiet corner of the recreation room, Mary asked Matthew in a low voice what else they needed to do to prepare.
"Not much, at this stage anyway," Matthew told her. "But you will have to answer all the questions he asks – truthfully – even if some of that is difficult for you. Although at this stage I think that all he'll be wanting is your knowledge of Carlisle's associates and business connections. In any case, you can be assured of his full discretion however, he would never breach client confidentiality."
On Wednesday morning, Mary dressed in a smart blue wool suit, fussing over her appearance more than normally, and having Anna re-do her hair twice. She felt very nervous, and her nervousness only increased when Branson handed her into the car, alongside Matthew and Sybil.
Major Clarkson had been right. The longer trip in the car was not easy for Matthew. And he hadn't realised how self-conscious he would feel in the wheelchair when they got to Ripon. He felt himself going red with embarrassment when Sybil and Branson lifted his chair up the front steps of the Harvell and Carter office, and he had an overwhelming urge to ask them to take him home again.
Pull yourself together Matthew, he told himself firmly. This is about Mary, not you. He made himself think of Mary's bruised face. The self-talk worked, and he felt his focus return. He thanked Sybil and Branson with as much dignity as he could muster, and asked that they return at 11.00am: the appointment was to be an hour long.
Mary wheeled him into the reception area, and the young woman he had spoken with on the telephone said cheerfully when she recognised his uniform stripes, "Ah, Captain Crawley I take it? And Lady Mary Crawley? Please wait here and I'll let Mr Carter know you have arrived."
Mary perched on a chair in the waiting area beside Matthew and looked around with interest. She had never visited Matthew's workplace when he had been here before the war.
The room was quite masculine, with dark panelling up to the wainscot, and wallpaper above. The carpet was a dark green, and the reception desk was highly polished walnut. There was a small table with a vase of fresh flowers in the waiting area which gave the space a welcoming feel, and the windows behind the reception desk looked out to the alley, bathed in sun, at the side of the building.
"Where was your office?" she asked Matthew. "I was upstairs," he said, motioning to a set of glass doors, beyond which she could see a carved wooden staircase.
"Matthew!" how good to see you again my boy!"
A jolly-faced middle-aged gentleman with greying hair, thinning in the middle, walked briskly across the reception area towards them.
"Charles, it has been far too long!" replied Matthew, holding out his hand. "And may I present my cousin Lady Mary Crawley."
Mr Carter studied Mary's face. "A pleasure to meet you, Lady Mary. I can see the Crawley likeness," he said amiably. "Your grandmother, Dowager Countess Violet Crawley is a former client of our firm," he said by way of explanation.
He motioned them through to his office, and once they were inside and he had seated himself behind his desk, he looked across at Matthew with a smile and immediately said, "You're here to ask for your old job back Matthew?"
"Well, I…" Matthew was so taken aback he had to pause for a minute and take a breath.
"What about Roger?" he asked suddenly, thinking of his former colleague who had just been promoted to senior associate when war broke out.
"Ah Roger," Mr Carter's eyes clouded for a moment. "He was killed at Marne, a few months after you were injured. "I'm sorry I hadn't let you know. At the time we had word that you yourself were not likely to survive," he said, his voice lowering.
"Killed at Marne?" Matthew was stunned. So many of them. What a waste. There would be no young lawyers left in Britain by the time the war was through!
"I'm so very sorry to hear that," he said quietly. "Roger was a great mentor to me." Roger had been out of law school a few years ahead of him. "And a lot of fun in the office! I hadn't known he'd joined the army."
"Yes," Charles said, his jolly face clouding again. "He joined up late as his mother was too ill for him to leave her alone for the first few years of the war. He enlisted after she died.
"We were really hoping to get you both back. It has been rather dull here without the youthful enthusiasm you both brought, and very hard since we learned of the loss of Roger," he said sadly. "And we had seen both of you as more than capable of taking on the partnership in a few years." He paused a moment and then went on.
"Harold and I are hoping to be able to retire. We are very keen to train up and replace ourselves well before that time.
"If you could join us, and perhaps help us to find some other young blood to replace Roger, we'd be very pleased indeed," he said looking across expectantly at Matthew.
"You, you are offering me my job back, on the understanding I train up with a view to taking on a partnership?" Matthew couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Of course! I mean, I can see that right now you won't be fit for much work, but that will change in the months to come if I am correct in assuming you are now recovering. In fact, if you are up to even just a few hours a week, we'd be pleased to take you on right now, such is our workload and the shortage of skilled lawyers out there."
Matthew was silent for a moment, not quite sure how he should respond especially with his health and how much he might recover still so uncertain. To buy some time, he decided to ask a little more about the work. "Tell me a bit more about the cases you're taking on, Charles, so I can get a better sense of the type of work the firm is doing these days."
Charles began explaining the work: some industrial, with a number of factories having established nearby off the back of the war effort; an increasing estate workload, as the impact of the 1909 Finance Act began to be felt; and bread and butter work in conveyance and contracting. They were predicting that their industrial law work would continue to grow with the continuing rise of trade union influence.
Matthew asked him a whole series of further questions, and Mary listened in increasing amazement. This was Matthew, the solicitor talking; a side of him she had never really seen. And Matthew, the career professional with an eye to the future, checking things out. His questions were careful, considered, and, she could see, were enabling him to build a very clear picture of what a potential role back in the law firm would entail, and where there might be potential for growth and specialisation in the future. He was clearly not going to rush back into this, just because he had had the offer.
"So my good chap. Where does that leave us?" Charles asked finally.
"I am very interested Charles. I'd like to think on it some more, and I'll obviously want to see what you will offer by way of an employment agreement. There are also some other realities about my situation you need to know before you put a proposal to me.
"While I am recovering, I've been told I'm not going to walk again. So if that is a concern to you, then let us stop things right here.
Charles's face fell, but his look was one of compassion, not pity. "No concern at all in terms of your work, Matthew," he said with a serious tone. "My father, who started this firm, was crippled in the Crimean war. Lost part of his leg. You'll have no nonsense from anyone associated with this firm, nor our longstanding clients on that front," he said resolutely. "And," he added, "We'll sort the office out for you of course, along with the entrance, so it's easy for you to move around."
He looked at Matthew again, shaking his head slightly. "I imagine it's not an easy thing for you to bear, in one so young! All credit to you for having the gumption to get on with your life regardless. I'm seeing far too many men who have suffered in this war just giving up, many of whom are facing far lesser challenges than you," he said shaking his head with a frown.
"Thank you for making all of that clear Charles," Matthew said gratefully. "I appreciate it." He was quiet a moment, trying to remember what else he needed to cover, and then he said, "There are two other considerations I have: the first is when I would start.
"While I'd be keen to start with a little work, I do need you to understand it will be quite a while before I can come back fully. I'm only now just starting to regain my strength."
"We'd be happy to come to some sort of retainer arrangement for the first few months if that would work for you," Charles countered. We've got quite a few small cases, contracts and such like, that we could send through to you to work on from your home. We'd also be happy to see you spend some of that time reading to catch up on the law changes of the past four years."
"That could work, I hadn't thought of that type of arrangement," Matthew replied suddenly feeling quite humbled by what Charles appeared to be willing to invest in getting him to return. Working from Downton was something he could probably manage.
They shook hands, and Charles arranged with Matthew to post out an employment agreement for him to consider within the week.
Mary stole a glance at Matthew and gave him a wide smile. She had listened to the unfolding conversation with great interest. She was intrigued by the lively character that Charles Carter was, and she was impressed with how easily and naturally Matthew had slipped back into talking about the law and the upcoming opportunities for the practice. This has to be a very good thing, she thought.
But now it was time to turn to the more urgent matter of dealing with Carlisle.
Matthew took a deep breath. "Charles, that brings me to the second consideration that might influence when I start: the reason why I made this appointment with you today."
Charles looked at him expectantly, and Matthew cleared his throat and said, "We," he motioned himself and Mary, "need some urgent help."
"Start from the beginning," Charles said, taking out a notebook and pen and pulling his chair up to the desk. So Matthew did, with Mary adding in relevant pieces of the puzzle as they went along.
They went over time, and it was a quarter past eleven before they emerged to find Sybil and Branson nursing cups of tea and chatting amiably with the young receptionist.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Matthew said to them both, as they greeted them and got to their feet. Sybil thanked the receptionist for the tea, and they left the office.
When they were all in the car, Sybil asked, "How did it go? Are you going to be able to do something to stop Carlisle?"
"We hope so," Mary mused. "Mr Carter has contacts he's going to use to find out about Carlisle's business interests, and he and Matthew have split the list of associates of Carlisle's that I am aware of, to follow up with. They'll both work on it, given how little time we have."
"How will you do that Matthew?" Sybil asked. "Well, most of it starts with telephoning people," he explained. "And some letter writing. If it requires visits, Charles will handle that, given that's not easy for me at the moment."
He went on. "My main task will be coordinating what we do and doing the legal research to back up whatever wrongdoing we are able to find. And Eddie is going to help me with that bit as well."
"I'd forgotten Eddie was a lawyer!" Mary said in surprise. "Yes, and as well as that he's got contacts in publishing through his family that will be useful to us too," Matthew replied.
"That's going to keep you both quite busy I imagine!" Sybil said.
"It certainly will. But because we are working to such a tight deadline, it will help us keep focused, and only act on really promising leads. Sometimes these sorts of investigations can go all over the place, but we don't have the luxury of time in this situation," Matthew explained.
"And Matthew, you must tell Sybil your other news!" Mary said smiling suddenly.
"Ohh?" asked Sybil inquiringly.
"Charles is going to make me an offer. It's a little like my old job back, with a bit more. He wants to train me up to replace him as a partner in the next couple of years," Matthew said, his voice unable to hide his enthusiasm.
"And are you going to take it?" she asked
"Well, I'm going to give it serious consideration, if that's what you mean! But I do want to take the time to consider it properly as if I do take it on it will be very demanding, and therefore it has to be what I really want longer term."
Matthew saw Branson glance back at him in the mirror, admiration on his face. He flashed him a brief grin.
"I'm really pleased for you, Matthew!" Sybil said and squeezed his hand. "But," and she paused "if you do end up saying yes, you won't take it all on right away will you?" she said worriedly. "Especially not with what you will be doing on the Carlisle front!"
"Of course not, Sister Crawley," Matthew said teasingly, using her new title. "We talked about me just starting on some small bits of work. Only as much as I can handle, and things I can do from Downton Abbey."
"Well, that's a relief… as your physical therapist and Sister Crawley, she emphasised back, I have to insist on first things first," she said raising her eyebrows at him. "Like rebuilding your strength!"
"I certainly need to do that," Matthew said shifting uncomfortably in the seat. "I just wish there was a way it could all happen quicker."
"I think every patient says that," Sybil said absent-mindedly, still focused on the very real prospect Matthew might become a partner in a law firm. "The people in your firm seem very nice," she said. "The receptionist made us very welcome whilst we waited for you."
"They are very nice," added Mary. "I enjoyed the chance to meet Charles, and he was very understanding about my situation. He comes across as a man that inspires confidence, and I like to see that."
"It's why I greatly enjoyed working there before the war," replied Matthew. "Both the partners have good reputations and get a lot of work from outside of Ripon. It's quite unusual to have a firm of that size in such a small town, and it's their good reputations that have made it possible. And I always enjoyed the variety in the work."
Matthew was lying on his front the next afternoon, trying to settle his back and shoulders that had been aching badly since the car trip the day before, when Sergeant Barrow knocked at the door. "Come in," he called.
"Captain Crawley, how are you?" he enquired.
"Better for lying down. Major Clarkson was right that a longer car trip wasn't a good idea," he said grimly.
Sergeant Barrow grinned. "He's usually right on things like this. Unfortunately! But I hear from Sister Crawley it was a very successful visit... and you've been offered your old post back?"
"Yes! That's the one reason I'm not scowling and grumpy today with this shocking backache," Matthew turned his head to look at him, managing a half smile through slightly gritted teeth.
"Well, I've got news that will give you another reason not to scowl," Sergeant Barrow said.
He pulled the chair up close beside him and lowered his voice. "That chap I told you of, who works in a residence near to Carlisle's, my former schoolmate Sid. Well, it turns out his girl is on Carlisle's staff. And Carlisle is not a savoury character. There have been… liaisons you might say. She's in line to be the next hit, and she knows it. She doesn't want it, and in fact, she's trying to secure a new position before he gets back from India."
"What is her position on his staff?" Matthew asked.
"His personal secretary. She's got the keys to his files. The whole damn lot."
Sergeant Barrow started to grin, and then Matthew was grinning and all of a sudden they were both laughing.
"This is brilliant, Sergeant!" Matthew said. "Can you do me a favour, given I can't get off this bed anytime soon. Make a call now to Charles and let him know the details so he can organise to visit her as soon as he can get to London. Pass me my notebook and I'll find you his details for the operator."
Matthew found him the details, and Sergeant Barrow scribbled them down and stood to go. "Thank you so for this Sergeant! Let's hope it starts to bear fruit… and for more than just Mary's sake by the sounds!" Matthew said with a grin. Barrow gave a brief nod and a smile and left.