Author's Note:
Thank you to everyone who nominated this story for The Highclere Awards, and thank you in advance for your votes. Your support is inspiring and greatly appreciated. Everything that I write is a reflection of myself in a way, and to know that others enjoy it is humbling.
Previously:
Painswick House, Eaton Square, London, England, September 1922
"So you see, it doesn't matter what any other man is prepared to do for me. It doesn't matter what they can offer, or what they say, or even what they do. I have a husband that I love. I have a beautiful son. And I have no need for anyone else."
Matthew smiled, then kissed her again. Mary turned on to her back, moving her arms above her head as warmth ran from her fingers down to her chest and down her front. She opened her eyes and sighed happily as Matthew kissed her neck and his hands moved down to the hem of her nightgown.
"I love you, Mary," Matthew whispered between kisses, smiling as he was rewarded by his wife's mewls of pleasure.
Haunting Her Steps:
Downton Estate Pig Farm, Downton Village, England, October 1922
"Papa," Mary smiled, coming down the path and joining the Earl at the fence.
"Good morning, my dear," Robert smiled.
"Came down for an inspection, did you?" Mary asked.
"Yes, I thought I'd see how the new lot are doing."
"Much better than the first did originally," Mary said easily. "We learned our lesson."
"I've heard that the first lot are coming along very nicely. If the second are just as good, then we've got a rather successful enterprise here."
"I'm pleased that you approve," Mary smirked.
"Mary, I want you to know how proud I am of you, and how sorry I am if I made any of this difficult for you," Robert said quietly.
Mary blinked and looked at him with a bemused expression. She wasn't used to this type of affection from her father, and she wondered if she preferred it the way it was before, when he was far more stoic.
"Thank you," she replied finally. "And yes, you did make things quite difficult, but nothing I couldn't handle."
"I sometimes wonder if I was this difficult with Matthew," Robert sighed. "I know we fought over his plans at first, but by the time we went to Duneagle, I told your Mama that I saw he was right in what we had to do going forward. I believed in it back then. But when we came back, everything just…"
"Everything changed when he died," Mary said quietly.
Matthew placed his arm around her shoulder, and she leaned her head towards him.
"Yes, I suppose that's true," Robert admitted.
"You probably never realized it, but Matthew always looked up to you," Mary said. "He never talked about it in so many words, but you were the one who brought him here, and changed his life. He always thought you were this towering figure – the Earl of Grantham – and he always believed in you. When he came up with his plans, it was to try and help us all, but I think in some way, he wanted to impress you. He wanted to show you he was a worthy heir."
Matthew chuckled and shook his head. He leaned over and kissed his wife's cheek.
"And all I did was belittle his ideas at every corner," Robert sighed.
"Yes, you did. And that did hurt him. But ultimately, your opposition only motivated him," Mary laughed. "If anything spurred my husband to action, it was being told no."
"Or being told to wait, my darling," Matthew smiled, kissing her playfully.
"Well I'm grateful to him," Robert said, looking out over the fields as they walked back up the path to the waiting car. "I'll get to see my grandchildren grow up on this hallowed ground, thanks in no small part to everything he tried to do, even when I wouldn't see it."
"He'd be pleased to hear you say that," Mary smiled.
"Speaking of children," she continued as they reached the car. "I hope you're ready to entertain this evening."
"You and your Mama are still intent on having the schoolchildren to the house?" Robert asked.
"It's tradition, Papa!" Mary replied. "You know we always host children from the Village on Hallowe'en."
"I just don't see the point of inviting them to the house just to scare them," Robert answered as they got into the car.
"You're the Earl of Grantham," Mary smiled. "They already find you quite scary."
Downton Abbey, England, October 1922
The Village children filed into the parlour, some holding on to their parents' hands, others gazing about in wonder at the large room. Mary sat on a chair with George on her lap, smiling invitingly. Carson, Mrs. Hughes, Anna and Bates stood dutifully by the door, and Cora and Robert stood off to the side with Rose.
"Welcome, welcome," Cora smiled, motioning for the children to be seated. The kids sat down around Mary, some smiling at her, others nervously avoiding her eyes. Mary laughed to herself at their looks of innocence and wonder as they gathered around. Their parents went over to stand by the wall, each of them shaking hands with Lord Grantham and the Countess, and taking drinks from Kent and Barrow as they circulated with trays.
"I see some familiar faces," Mary smiled at them. "Who among you have been up to the house before?"
Half of the children raised their hands.
"Lovely. Well for those of you who don't know me, I'm Lady Mary, and this is my son, George."
George gurgled happily as the children looked from him to Mary and back again. Some of the children mumbled a hello to her. Others continued to stare.
"Usually when we have all of you here for Hallowe'en, we tell ghost stories, then have a snack. This year, however, we're going to change things a bit."
The children murmured, their eyes bright and suddenly captivated by the promise of a scary story and a treat to follow.
"This year, we'll all need your help. You see, when I was looking for a story to tell all of you tonight, I found out that Downton Abbey, actually, is haunted."
The children gasped at Mary's words.
"That's right. And, seeing as its Hallowe'en, my family and I were very much hoping that all of you would help us convince the ghosts of Downton Abbey to leave us in peace for another year," she said dramatically.
Cora and Robert smiled. Rose bit her bottom lip to stifle her laughter, and the servants all marveled at how Mary was entrancing her young audience.
"Now, what do any of you know about ghosts?" she asked seriously.
A young boy raised his hand. Upon a nod from Mary, he spoke up.
"Ghosts are scary and they make a lot of noise," the child said.
"That's right," Mary nodded.
Suddenly, there were loud stomping noises coming from the Great Hall. The children all turned towards the door, then back at Mary, their eyes wide in astonishment.
"What else do we know about ghosts?"
"Ghosts are cold," a young girl volunteered.
Mary smirked. She was quite sure that was not in fact true for all ghosts, but she nodded along anyway.
The windows creaked open on the other side of the room and the cool night air flew inside, rustling the curtains. The children turned towards the windows in surprise. Kent walked over and closed the windows shut once more.
"That was a very nice touch," Cora whispered to Robert.
"She's planned this all quite well," Robert smiled back.
"So we've heard noises and it suddenly became quite cold in the room," Mary noted. "Do you all think that a ghost may be among us right now?"
The children gawked and looked about. Some of them nodded their heads vigorously. Others shook their heads tentatively in disbelief. Mary bit her tongue to hold in her glee at their reactions. George waved his arms and turned his head to look up at her.
"What about when a ghost is angry? What do ghosts do when they're angry?" Mary asked.
"They make the lights turn on and off," a boy said.
"They throw things around," a girl replied.
The lights began to flicker overhead, getting everyone's attention. The overhead lights went out completely, leaving only several table lamps as the only light in the room. The parents looked up and frowned. Robert smiled. Carson looked at Mrs. Hughes quizzically. Mrs. Hughes shrugged her shoulders.
Several books dropped off one of the shelves, causing gasps from the children as well as some of the adults. A lamp sitting on one of the tables began to shake and wobble, rocking back and forth before settling once again.
"Do you think we may be dealing with some angry ghosts?" Mary asked.
"Yes!" the children replied, some timidly, others with a shout.
"And that is why we need your help. Why, the Earl himself is at a loss at how to fix this problem!" Mary exclaimed.
The children all stared at Robert. Robert opened his mouth in mock confusion and raised his hands helplessly.
The children oohed and aahed.
The adults smiled.
The servants traded knowing glances with each other at their Lord's playfulness.
"I think that the way to keep all of these ghosts happy and so they won't be angry again until next year, is if all of you make a promise. Can you please do that to help us?" Mary asked.
The children all nodded enthusiastically. George squealed merrily in Mary's lap.
"All right, now if you all would raise your right hands," Mary instructed, raising her own hand in demonstration.
The children mimicked her movement, smiling back at her.
"You all must promise to be very good this year, so that the ghosts of Downton Abbey will have no cause to be angry. You must promise to do well in school. You must promise to follow what your parents tell you. And you must promise to be good boys and girls. Then the ghosts will leave us in peace and whenever you see me, or the Earl, of the Countess in the Village, you can tell us about all the good deeds you are doing, and that will let us know that we don't have to worry about the ghosts until next year. Can you all do that for us please?" Mary smiled.
"Yes," the children mumbled.
"I think you'll have to be louder if the ghosts are going to hear you," Mary whispered back.
"Yes," the children said more audibly.
Mary glanced around the room. "No, I don't think that was quite loud enough."
"Yes, Lady Mary!" the children shouted.
"Thank you," Mary beamed. "Thank you all of you. I think the ghosts should be happy with such a brave promise."
The overhead lights turned back on, filling the room with light once more. The children looked up and laughed.
"Now, because you've all been so good and have agreed to help us, Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes will bring you into the dining room with your parents, and you can enjoy your snacks," Mary finished.
Carson and Mrs. Hughes came forward with the other servants and ushered the children and their parents through to the dining room, where Mrs. Patmore had already sent up trays of puddings and candied apples, as well as mugs of cider.
Mary kissed George's head and rose from her chair.
"That was very well done, my darling," Cora smiled, coming over to Mary and touching her arm.
"Thank you, Mama. Well? What did you think?" Mary asked, smiling at her father. "That wasn't so bad, now was it?"
"No, not at all," Robert smiled. "Although I fear that whenever we go to the Village, I'll have dozens of children running up to me now throughout the day to tell me about all of their good deeds."
"And what a pleasure that will be for you, won't it darling?" Cora asked pointedly.
"Of course," Robert nodded obediently.
Rose laughed.
"Well, that's enough excitement for me. I'm going to bring George upstairs for his bath, then retire myself," Mary announced.
"Good night, my dear," Cora smiled.
"Wait," Rose interjected. "How did you arrange for the noise, and the windows, and the lights and the books?"
"Can't you tell, Rose?" Robert laughed. "She had Tom do it all. He's the only one who isn't here."
Mary smiled, then left the room and went upstairs.
Robert, Cora and Rose turned towards the dining room. They were stunned to see Tom coming out of the dining room towards them.
"I'm sorry I wasn't here for the storytelling," he apologized. "My meeting ran late."
Robert frowned. Cora and Rose blinked in surprise.
"You weren't here?" Robert asked.
"No. I just got back this moment. I see everyone has already come through to the dining room for snacks. How did the story go?" Tom asked.
Robert looked at Cora in confusion.
"That was rather horrid of you, darling; to fool your parents like that," Matthew teased, kissing Mary's neck.
"I never said that it was Tom who did all of those things. They assumed it was him," Mary replied, closing her eyes and smiling as she felt his warmth over her.
"They're going to receive an awful fright when they discover it wasn't him at all," Matthew smiled, his hands traveling down her bare skin.
"Well perhaps they'll have cause to believe in ghosts, then," Mary grinned. She moaned softly as heat pooled across her stomach and down to her thighs.
"The same way that you believe in ghosts?" Matthew smirked against her skin.
"Not exactly the same way," Mary sighed in pleasure.
Downton Abbey, England, November 1922
"Well now that the Conservatives are in power, we'll see if anything improves," Matthew said.
"It can't get much worse than what Lloyd George got us into," Mary replied casually.
"You're rather pleased to see them out of power, aren't you?" Matthew smiled.
"I think that there is a great deal that the public will tolerate in its government," Mary reasoned. "But arrogance and rashness is never welcome. We have enough of that in our own lives. Our politicians should be more careful, or at least give the appearance that they are anyway."
"I wonder how this change will affect your Mr. Blake," Matthew smirked.
"He isn't my anything," Mary frowned back at him. "And don't worry, darling. I'm sure he'll write to me and let me know if he's had a change in fortune."
"He and Lord Gillingham have been rather diligent in keeping in touch with you," Matthew sighed.
"I am rather irresistible, you know," Mary teased.
"I most certainly do," Matthew said in a low voice.
"Well perhaps we should go upstairs then, and you can show me just how unrestrained you can be," Mary said, raising her eyebrows to her husband in challenge.
"A brilliant idea," Matthew smiled.
Mary smirked at him and they rose from the sofa. Turning towards the door, Mary stopped and composed herself quickly.
"Mary, do you have a moment?" Rose called as she came into the library.
Mary smiled and sat back down. "Of course, cousin," she motioned to the sofa in front of her. "How are you?"
"Well, thank you," Rose nodded, taking a seat on the sofa opposite Mary. "Cousin Cora has just informed me that they intend to have me make my debut next Season in London."
"Yes, Mama mentioned that to me. That's quite exciting isn't it?"
"Yes," Rose said forlornly. "That is, I know it's supposed to be."
"Rose? What is it?" Mary asked.
"Do you think I'll meet anyone…nice…during my Season?" she asked nervously.
Mary frowned in confusion. "Someone nice?" she repeated.
"Yes," Rose nodded. "This past year, living here with you all, I've met a fair number of…gentlemen. Some have been rather forgettable and I just wonder if I'll be meeting more of the same come next Summer, or if I'll meet someone…nice."
Matthew grinned next to Mary. "Cousin Rose is smarter than we give her credit for. She already knows the Season is full of insufferable toffs."
Mary shot him a warning glare, then smiled back at Rose.
"You can't expect every man you meet to be interesting, Rose, and the Season is no different. There are all manner of boring men out there," Mary frowned at her husband pointedly.
"But the Season is wonderful, Rose, you'll see," Mary smiled. "It's very grand and exciting and you only have one debut, so you should enjoy it."
Rose looked down at her lap and nodded.
"This doesn't have anything to do with your unfortunate band leader, Mr. Ross, does it?" Mary asked.
Rose lifted her eyes and sighed. "I know you think that we weren't well matched, and that it's better that he ended it when he did."
"Yes, I do think that," Mary agreed. "Not necessarily because you weren't well matched, but because you both were taking on a very large challenge, and marriage is hard enough without giving yourself even more obstacles."
"Do you really think that marriage is hard?" Rose asked quietly.
Matthew looked at Mary with a smirk.
"Marriage is a joy, Rose," Mary smiled, glancing at Matthew, then continuing. "With the right man, marriage can be more wonderful than you can imagine. But marriage, even a good one, requires work, a lot of it. You must work to appreciate your husband, and ensure that he appreciates you, and it doesn't come as easily as some would tell you."
"Was it easy with Matthew?" Rose asked.
Mary grinned. "Yes, Rose. With Matthew, it was very easy. But we didn't make it easy on ourselves for a rather long time."
"I remember him," Rose said quietly. "I remember him rescuing me from a rather unfortunate situation in London. He was a good man."
Matthew smiled.
"Yes," Mary nodded. "He was very good. Even he could have his moments though."
Matthew rolled his eyes and placed his hand over hers on her lap.
"I remember him when he came to Duneagle as well," Rose continued. "We didn't talk very much, but I remember the way he was with you. He always looked at you as though he were enchanted. And I remember you looking at him much the same way."
Mary blushed. "Well, I was quite pregnant back then," she smiled. "What you saw were probably just my reactions to the baby."
Matthew huffed and shook his head at her.
"Perhaps, but that doesn't explain the way he looked at you," Rose teased.
"No, I suppose it doesn't," Mary smiled wistfully. She reached up and played with her necklace as her thoughts drifted back to reading with Matthew in bed, and dancing with him in the ballroom at Duneagle.
"And that's just it, isn't it, Mary?" Rose said. "You didn't meet Matthew during your Season. So perhaps the man I'm meant to be with won't be at my Season either."
"It's possible that he won't be," Mary nodded. "But it's also possible that he could be also. Remember, Rose, I met Matthew after my Season, but only because we didn't know he was Papa's heir beforehand. If he knew his true lineage prior to coming here, it's entirely possible that I would have met Matthew during my Season."
"Do you think so?" Rose asked. "Do you think that you would have fallen in love with him had you met him back then?"
"I don't know," Mary replied. "I certainly would have been intrigued I think. But I also would have made him work a bit."
Matthew laughed and kissed her cheek.
"Rose, don't think of the Season as an exercise in finding a husband. I used to think that way but it was entirely wrong. The Season is your time to announce to the world that you've arrived, and there's something very thrilling about that. So enjoy all of it, the clothes and the pageantry and the balls and the invitations. But nothing says you have to rush into anything at all. I didn't, and things worked out quite well."
Rose smiled and nodded. "Do you think you'll ever remarry, Cousin?"
"Hmm," Mary laughed. "I don't know, Rose. I know many people want me to, but I'm quite happy with my life as it is, and we don't know what the future will bring, but I'm certainly not thinking about it for now."
"Thank you, Mary," Rose smiled, rising from the sofa.
Mary smiled and the young girl left the room.
"She's not nearly as confident and self-assured as she lets on," Matthew noted. "It's a bit refreshing to know she actually doesn't think she has all the answers at her age."
"No one ever thinks that," Mary replied. "She just maintains that attitude for appearances."
"Do you really think you would have paid me any attention if we had met during your Season?" Matthew asked, moving closer to her.
"Well, that depends," Mary smiled. "Would you have extended me an invitation?"
"Most definitely," Matthew smirked, raising his eyebrows playfully at her.
"How do you know for sure? We didn't exactly hit it off at our first meeting."
"No, we certainly did not," Matthew laughed. "But that was because I was an ass, and rest assured I was completely besotted from that very first meeting."
"Really?" Mary asked, intrigued. "When I was such a bitch to you?"
"Well that part was not particularly endearing, no," Matthew frowned jokingly. "But I will always remember hearing Molesley announce 'Lady Mary Crawley' had arrived and the feeling of being absolutely overwhelmed when I saw you."
"Why, darling, you never mentioned this," Mary smiled.
"Then you opened your mouth and I felt something entirely different," Matthew said sarcastically.
"Matthew!" Mary scolded him. "I was only reacting to what an ass you were, as you put it."
"Fair enough," Matthew laughed, kissing her cheek once more.
Mary closed her eyes and leaned towards him, smiling as he kissed the spot below her ear and at the junction of her neck and shoulder.
"Did you enjoy your Season? Was it everything that you told Rose it should be?" he asked.
"I did, yes," Mary nodded. "But perhaps not as much as I should have. It was very much about finding a husband. I know that Papa and Cousin James were already thinking about matching me with Patrick, and I wasn't particularly pleased at that idea. I suppose that's why I probably thought more highly of the gentlemen that I met than I should have."
Matthew nodded, running his hand along her arm soothingly as he contemplated her words.
"One's debut Season can be a strange beast," Mary said quietly. "I think I would have been better off being more focused on enjoying it all, rather than evaluating each suitor."
"I don't know, darling," Matthew answered. "I'm quite pleased with how your Season went, actually."
Mary laughed and smiled at him. "It did work out quite well for you in the end, didn't it?"
"Most certainly," Matthew grinned.
"I'm going to go upstairs," Mary said lightly. "The dressing gong will ring in a while."
"You'll need to ring Anna to help you dress," Matthew said, standing with her and walking next to her towards the door.
"Yes," Mary nodded. "I'll need her to attend to me…later."
Matthew smiled at Mary's implied meaning and followed her up the stairs to their bedroom.