AUTHOR'S NOTE: With great pleasure I am finally posting the chapter I know many of you were impatiently waiting for. Mary and Matthew will face a lot of further troubles and hurdles in this story - both of mine and Mr Fellowes' invention - but from now on they will be facing them together :) I hope you will enjoy this chapter!
National Gallery, London, May 1913
"Is that handsome cousin of yours in Town for the Season?" asked The Honourable Alice Cateret. "I had so much fun dancing with him at Lady Rosamund's ball in February."
Mary clenched her teeth, but before she could answer, The Honourable Agnes Grey interjected.
"You mean the new heir to the Earl of Grantham? Oh yes, he is handsome, isn't he?"
"That he is," agreed Lady Caroline Spencer, a rather pretty blonde with a sharp nose and grey eyes. "For a solicitor."
"I don't care if he is a solicitor," Alice shook her blond curls prettily. "He is dreamy compared to the men Mummy has been pushing me at recently. Have you met Earl of Dudley's heir?"
Caroline visibly winced.
"The one of buck teeth and bad breath? Oh yes, I had the misfortune of sitting next to him at dinner once."
"That you shouldn't look down your nose at Mary's cousin. Whatever he is now, he will be an earl and his wife a countess and he is simply dreamy."
The Honourable Alice Cateret was very quickly moving down the list of Mary's favourite people. If she didn't stop salivating over Matthew soon, she was going to find herself on the blacklist.
"So, Mary, is he in Town?"
Blacklist it was.
"He is," said Mary reluctantly. "He joined a firm here in London, actually, and he is going to be here until July at least. He was going to come with us here today, but some emergency or other came up."
"Marvellous!" exclaimed Alice. "I guess he is going to show up at some of your family's events?"
"I dare say he will, considering he is going to live with us at Grantham House the whole time we are in Town," answered Mary in studiously disinterested voice. She mentally patted herself on the head for not pointing out that she was the one who was going to meet him at the breakfast table every day of the Season. And forever after, if she had her way.
She was obviously not discreet enough, because she noticed Caroline giving her a sharp look.
Which she pointedly ignored.
Grantham House, St James Square, June 1913
Matthew looked at sprawling façade of Grantham House in disbelief. Even after getting familiar with Downton Abbey it was hard to comprehend that this huge building was intended as a house for just one small family and their servants and kept for the sole purpose of being used for just few short weeks in a year.
Mary shrugged dismissively when he told her some of his impressions as she was giving him a tour of the place.
"You won't think it's so huge when you realise how impractical it is for daily living. These," she said, pointing with a wide sweeping gesture at the grand rooms they were passing through. "Are just for show and entertaining masses of people. So the state rooms are large, but sleeping accommodations are atrocious. If we are hosting guests for the night, we are packed in like sardines. Some years Mama made me share with Edith!"
She shuddered in playful horror, making Matthew laugh. Then they both remembered the latest development in Mary's relationship with her sister and looked down at the floor awkwardly, their mirth disappearing.
Mary could not stand it anymore. Her stomach clenched in fear, but she was determined. She was not going to allow misunderstandings, silence and assumptions to tear them apart this time. She marched to Matthew and grabbed his hand.
"Please go to the library after lunch. Papa is going to his club and Mama and my sisters are going to tea with Aunt Rosamund, but I will plead headache and stay behind. We have to talk."
Matthew gave her a serious look and thankfully nodded in agreement.
Mary allowed herself to breathe.
Library, Grantham House, June 1913
Matthew was standing in the library, looking through a tall window at St James Square outside when Mary entered the room. For a moment they just stared at each other, neither sure how to give voice to the questions and doubts in their heads.
Matthew gathered his courage first.
"What did you need to talk about with me?" he asked.
Mary swallowed and raised her chin.
"I know Edith had a long talk with you before you left for London. I am not sure what exactly she told you, but I gathered from her hints it was nothing complimentary to me. And judging from the fact that you have been successfully avoiding me for weeks since then, it must have been really bad."
Matthew averted his eyes and mumbled something about being busy in London but stopped himself at Mary's disbelieving stare.
"You're right," he sighed, "I have been avoiding you, but it's not because I believed Edith's story."
"Then why?" inquired Mary, clenching her fists.
"She made me think about what I felt and wanted and wonder about my chances of achieving any of that – and as a result my head was such a mess it was just easier to keep away from Downton for a bit."
Mary was not sure if it was a good sign or not, but at least he didn't seem to despise her completely.
"What did she tell you?"
"Nothing worth relying to you."
Mary's eyes blazed.
"I think I should have the right to defend myself."
"I told you I didn't believe it."
"But it obviously still affected the way you think and behave to me!"
Matthew looked at her passionate, anguished face and found himself speaking against his will.
"She told me to ask you about Patrick."
Mary gaped at him, shocked.
"What about Patrick?"
Matthew took a deep breath.
"What you loved about him."
Mary looked away, her face the expressionless mask he hated so much seeing on her. She hugged herself as if to hold herself together.
"I see," she said in a steady, highly controlled voice. "She must have told you that I never cared about him, that I was awful to him, that I was a cold, calculating bitch who only wanted the title and Downton and since I couldn't get it with him, I would do anything to snare you?"
Matthew startled as if slapped, not sure if he was more affected by her awful tone or her language.
"You must know I don't believe any of it," he said firmly. "I know you and it's plainly wrong."
"But it still made you wonder," she said, still in that awful, expressionless voice.
"Maybe for a moment. But Mary, you must believe me, it was not the reason I stayed away. I know it's not true. Edith was jealous and spiteful and misinterpreted things. I saw how much you miss him. I know how much you must have loved him," he finished quietly.
Oh, Edith was most assuredly both of those things, but she wasn't exactly wrong about Mary's feelings for Patrick. Or lack of them. And yet Matthew wasn't wrong about her either.
Mary gaze became distant, as she started speaking quietly.
"You remember how I told you that I accepted the entail long ago? Well, I wasn't always so reconciled to it. I found it awfully unfair and I am afraid I rather resented Papa's heir bitterly. Not very mature of me, I admit," she smiled at Matthew wryly. "But due to this resentment I was perfectly horrid to him for a long time. Not that he was cowed by it. He did raise to my challenges and stood his ground, but he was never ever nasty to me and God knows I gave him plenty of reasons to be. He was so understanding, rather like you are, how intolerable the situation was for me. And it took me a long time, stupidly long time to realise that but eventually I did – that he was completely innocent in the whole matter and such a decent, truly good person. I don't even know when I fell in love with him, I didn't notice it happening, I was so busy resenting him for circumstances completely beyond his control."
"But you eventually did realise that you loved him," said Matthew in a choked voice. Mary nodded, not looking at him and still hugging herself.
"Finally, yes. But I have wasted so much time with this pointless resentment and other mistakes I made that we were happy for such a short time. This was one of the hardest things for me when he died – thinking of all this wasted time we could have had together."
They stood in silence for a long while, Mary looking through the window without seeing, Matthew looking at her and failing to find any comforting words he dearly wished to say to her.
Mary finally raised her head.
"So you see, Edith was not really wrong in her observations, even if she missed a lot of context for them. I do realise it must have been pure torture for her to observe the man she loved engaged to another woman and the fact that she saw me behave abominably to him for so long must have made it worse."
"You're right," acknowledged Matthew unwillingly, "but I cannot accept the hatred and contempt she seems to feel for you. You did love him, Mary. You love him still so much."
His voice broke down a bit on the last sentence. Mary raised her eyes to his, looking at him intently.
"I did. I do," she said firmly. "But I also love you."
Matthew gaped at her, hardly believing what he was hearing.
"You... you do?" he asked incoherently. Mary gave him a bright, if teary eyed smile.
"Yes," she confirmed, taking his shaking hands in hers. "When he died, I thought surely I cannot ever be happy again, but I got my miraculous second chance. You are my miracle, Matthew. You made me feel love and happiness again."
"Oh, Mary," was the only thing he managed to say before suddenly they were kissing, none of them sure who started it, both lost completely in the feeling of their lips, their hands, so impossibly close and intoxicating.
"Marry me," rasped Matthew when he surfaced for air. "Please say that you will marry me."
Mary laughed, tears falling down her cheeks.
"You must ask properly. I won't answer unless you kneel down and everything."
Matthew looked at her in pure exasperation, but got down on one knee, took her hands in his and asked:
"Lady Mary Crawley," another fondly exasperated look, but so full of adoration Mary's heart threatened to burst. "Will you do me an honour of becoming my wife?"
"Yes!" exclaimed Mary, raising him to his feet and showering his face with kisses. "A thousand times yes!"
Matthew laughed in disbelief and absolute happiness and spun her around the room.
Hyde Park, London, June 1913
"The problem with spur of the moment proposals," said Matthew with a grin, "is that one ends up unprepared. So I had to go shopping this morning to hopefully correct a huge oversight."
"Which was?" asked Mary, grinning herself in anticipation.
"Not giving you your engagement ring," answered Matthew, reaching into his pocket to retrieve a small black box.
"Have you realised you did not actually tell me whether you love me?" she asked, arching her eyebrow.
Matthew gaped at her. Surely he did... didn't he? With internal groan he realised she was, in fact, right – he didn't. As soon as he heard her confession, he just blurted out a proposal, without ever confessing his own feelings for her. He thanked his lucky stars that she obviously loved him enough to overlook it and agree to marry him anyway.
"Another huge oversight to correct then," he said huskily. "Mary, I have been in love with you practically from the moment I saw you laughing at my blunder on the day I arrived at Crawley House. There I was, proudly proclaiming that I will pick up my own wife and won't accept any woman pushed on me just to immediately decide that I would love nothing more than having you pushed on me. And every meeting, every conversation, every look or laugh we exchanged just made me fall for you deeper. When you agreed to marry me yesterday I felt like I swallowed a box of fireworks and I still feel like I'm levitating from happiness."
He opened the box and offered it to Mary.
"I hope you like it," he said with a trace of nervousness. "It made me think of you."
Mary looked and froze from shock.
It was the same ring. One round diamond, surrounded by smaller diamonds like flower petals, set in white gold. The very same ring her Matthew had purchased after Sybil's ball, had kept for all those years of war and finally had given her in 1920. The very same ring she had fallen asleep wearing in 1922 only to wake up without back in 1912.
Matthew's face fell.
"You don't like it," he said with disappointment. "I can exchange it, of course..."
"No!" cried out Mary, reaching for the box. "Don't you dare! It's perfect. I was just overwhelmed for a moment."
"Truly?" he asked, looking at her intently. "Because I want you to have a ring you like, not one you feel obliged to wear."
"Truly," Mary smiled at him. "It's lovely. Will you put it on my finger or are you planning to spend the rest of our walk debating it?"
Matthew laughed softly and took her left hand. The ring fitted perfectly. Mary sighed with happiness at having it back and all it signified.
After a moment, they resumed their walk and their conversation.
"Have you given any thoughts to where we are going to live after we marry?" asked Mary, realising that the answer to the question was possibly more complicated than the last time she had quarrelled with her fiancé about it.
"It depends."
"On what?"
"Well, firstly of course on what you would like," Matthew smiled at her and Mary's heart quickened. "Would you consider Crawley House?"
Mary frowned.
"It is awfully small, but if it were just us, it could do, in the beginning. But as much as I like your mother, I cannot really imagine sharing such a small house with her permanently." She looked at him anxiously, dearly hoping he was not going to take offence. It had always been obvious how fond he was of his mother and how close they were to each other.
Fortunately, Matthew laughed.
"Don't worry, as much as I love Mother, I cannot imagine it either." He shuddered slightly at the thought of making love to his wife with Mother in the next room. Oh God, no.
"We could stay at Downton in the beginning," suggested Mary with some hesitation. In her previous life it had been her who had insisted on it and in the end had convinced Matthew, but she always had some doubts how truly happy he had been with that arrangement. Not that she had let herself dwell on it then – she had been perfectly happy to stay at the house she had been born in and intended to die in after all. But one of her most important resolutions in that miraculous second chance at life with Matthew was to be better to him. To be more considerate of his wishes and preferences, more supportive, less selfish. So when she considered living at the Abbey again, she forced herself to acknowledge that the circumstances made it most likely even less desirable than it had been previously. They would not be co-owners of the estate now... He would see it absolutely as living in her parents' house. It wasn't long since he arrived to Downton and she could see how little comfortable he still felt in his role. "I am sure Papa and Mama would not mind and it is a big house. We could have our own wing if we wanted."
"We probably could," agreed Matthew, but it was clear to Mary that she was right. He was not happy at the prospect at all. "Though I doubt I'll get used to taking you to bed with your father watching."
Mary felt herself blushing and in revenge shot right back at him.
"He's so relieved we're getting married, he wouldn't mind if you carried me up naked."
Now it was Matthew's turn to blush, but it didn't stop him from grinning saucily at her.
"Careful, I might try it."
It took all Mary had in her to stop herself from throwing herself at him and kissing him silly. They were in public...
"I want us to get to know each other, to learn about who we both are without everybody being there," he said, a bit wistfully, and Mary found his words resonating with her. To be alone with him, without Edith's barbs and their assorted relatives meddling definitely did sound appealing. In fact, it was not an unhappy vision at all. She was forced to live apart from him for a year and a half by now; she yearned to have him for herself. But leaving Downton would be a huge concession for her.
"So if not Downton, then where? Would you prefer the city?"
"It would have some advantages, you know," Matthew answered, "although I am surprised you are willing to consider it."
"If you really want to move to London, I will probably not object very strenuously," she said. "However, I am rather fond of Yorkshire. My family owns several other properties, a bit further away. Would you consider one of them if any is available?" That had been Matthew's proposal the last time they had had this conversation. She had not been happy with it then, but she determinedly resolved to be more openminded now.
"A house of our own, but still reasonably close to our family?" said Matthew with a smile. "It does sound like a good compromise. I will ask your father and if anything promising is available, we could arrange a tour of it on the weekend."
Mary nodded happily.
"You do realise that I will have to spend quite a lot of time in London? Definitely more often when Parliament is in session. I do not want to leave you alone for long periods though," he frowned. Mary tightened her grip on his arm in reassurance.
"If you need to spend more time here, I will just come with you," she said. "I really do not object to Town and I am sure I will find plenty to occupy myself here while you're working. For short visits we could stay with Aunt Rosamund and for longer I am sure Papa would give us permission to use Grantham House."
"I guess it would be practical, although I am not sure how comfortable I find Grantham House," admitted Matthew. "You were perfectly right when you said it is designed more for entertaining huge parties than daily comfort of its inhabitants."
"That's true," Mary shrugged, "But getting our own, more suitable residence in London would be probably outside our means, wouldn't it?"
"Depends on what you consider suitable," pointed Matthew shrewdly, suspecting that their ideas of suitability were likely to vary a lot. Mary suspected the same, so she hastened to table this topic for later.
"We don't have to consider it right now. Since you agreed to set up our home in Yorkshire, we can focus on that and consider London options later, when we see how we much time we spend here and how much annoyance staying at family houses really causes us."
Matthew agreed, happy to avoid a potentially aggravating topic. She loved him! They were getting married! She agreed to look at potential houses together! That was plenty enough reasons for him to feel so ecstatic he really felt he could levitate.
Crawley House, Downton Village, June 1913
There was no question to Matthew that his mother deserved to hear the news of his engagement in person. He was reluctant to leave Mary in London – God, he barely could stand being separated from her when he was at work, and they stayed at the same house! - but he could imagine only too well how much Isobel would be hurt to read about it in a newspaper or, God forbid, hear about it from Cousin Violet. A letter from him or a phone call would be slightly better, but still not right. So on Friday evening after work he boarded six o'clock train to York and managed to arrive home just before his mother retired for the night.
"Matthew!" she exclaimed happily at the sight of him. "I did not expect you to come! What brings you here?"
Matthew smiled, sitting in his favourite chair and looking at her fondly.
"I have some news, which demanded announcing in person," he said. Mother looked at him shrewdly.
"Happy news, I gather?"
Matthew nodded, still smiling.
"The happiest," he took a deep breath. "Mary agreed to be my wife. We are engaged."
"Oh, my darling boy!" Isobel stood up, making him immediately raise as well, and grasped his hands in hers. "Congratulations! I know how much you love her."
Matthew blushed.
"Have I been so obvious?"
Mother's eyes twinkled.
"Yes, I'm afraid you rather have been. At least to me," she grew serious. "But tell me, are you very sure? As I said, I know you love her, but marriage is such a serious, unbreakable commitment that I must ask – are you absolutely sure?"
"Yes," said Matthew earnestly. "I am sure, we both are. It's not a sudden decision, Mother. Well, the moment I proposed was spontaneous, but I have been considering the possibility for months. We have been friends for a long time before we developed other feelings, we have had so many talks – I honestly think we know each other better than I ever knew another person except you."
Isobel was touched by her son honest passion, but her mouth twitched in amusement at the words 'a long time'.
"You do realise that you've known her less than a year?"
Matthew's expression turned sheepish and he chuckled self-deprecatingly.
"I must truly sound like a lovelorn fool," he said humorously. "But it honestly feels longer. The way Mary seems to understand me, to know me – it really feels like we have known each other much longer than our actual acquaintance would indicate. I think it is like that because we both really took care to spend time together in a meaningful way; to truly talk with each other. I cannot imagine spending my life with anybody else."
Isobel beamed at him. She still wasn't completely sure about Mary – she was a difficult person to get to know, although obviously she made significant effort to open up to her son – but she loved seeing him so happy, so confident in earning the love of the woman he himself loved so deeply. She pointed to him to get back into his seat, and sat herself, preparing for a lengthy conversation.
"Have you set the date?"
Matthew nodded.
"October eight. Mary said it would give us enough time to plan a proper society wedding," he sighed a bit at that. Isobel suspected he was not enthusiastic about the huge affair a wedding of an earl's daughter to his heir would necessarily demand. "And four months of engagement would be long enough to be respectable, but short enough that we wouldn't have to wait too long." The phrase Mary actually used was 'short enough for us not to go mad', but he was not going to share that with Mother. Or the kiss they shared afterwards.
Isobel's eyes twinkled again in amusement, as if she knew what transpired anyway. Matthew squirmed a bit in his chair, but she took pity on him and asked if they decided on the place to live.
"Not conclusively yet," answered Matthew, relieved at the change of topic. "But we are considering searching for our own house here in Yorkshire. Mary mentioned that one of the houses on the main estate or one of the smaller estates belonging to the family might be suitable."
"It would be wonderful to have you nearby, but won't it interfere with your job in London? Surely it would have been easier for you two to settle there?"
Matthew shook his head.
"In some ways, yes, of course. There is the matter of me learning about running the estate though – it was the reason Robert wanted me to move here from Manchester after all. Besides, Mary prefers the country as a permanent home."
"Will she be alright with your frequent trips for work then?" asked Isobel with some scepticism.
"She said she will gladly accompany me on all the longer ones," Matthew hastened to reassure her. "She likes the city alright, she just doesn't want to spend all her time there. I am sure we can divide our time between town and country."
Isobel shook her head with fond exasperation. Her boy was so obviously in love, heady with securing his beloved's hand and affection. Of course he couldn't foresee any practical difficulties at the moment. But then again, there was nothing which couldn't be resolved in time. She just hoped Mary deserved her boy's adoration.
"There will be a ball to announce and celebrate our engagement, on the fifteenth. You will come, won't you?"
"Of course I will, my darling boy. I wouldn't miss it for the world."
Mother and son smiled at each other, both looking forward to the future.
Lord Grantham's study, Grantham House, June 1913
Robert poured himself whisky and soda and offered a glass to Matthew. After accepting Matthew's refusal, he sat behind his polished oak desk, covered with documents.
"We will of course make an appointment with Murray to go over everything properly and sign the marriage contract, but I wanted to give you a preview so you could think it through before the meeting," he explained and reached for one of the papers, handing it to Matthew. "This is the amount settled for Mary."
Matthew's eyes grew wide when he looked at the numbers, which made Robert chuckle.
"Yes, it is quite generous. Nothing in comparison to the entirety of Cora's fortune, but still a settlement worth of a duke," he scowled at an unpleasant memory it brought to his mind. "Unless we are speaking about one near bankruptcy, of course."
Matthew looked up at him with a crooked smile.
"Considering my lack of any fortune at present, I am not sure I am so much better than a near bankrupt duke."
"My boy, at least you do not have substantial debts, do you?" enquired Robert sternly. To his relief, Matthew shook his head, smiling.
"No, no debts, substantial or otherwise. I own my old house in Manchester and have some investments and savings, but it's at present nothing comparable to Mary's settlement."
"The key word here is "at present"," said Robert gently. "After my death you will have the title, Downton, the whole estate, several smaller properties, the very house we are sitting in and Cora's fortune to help support it all. Mary could do much worse financially than to marry you."
"Still, since Mary and I both hope you will live for many years yet, she might be a solicitor's wife much longer than she will be a countess," pointed Matthew. "And in such case her standard of living would not be exactly what she probably imagined."
"I do not believe she has not considered it before she agreed to marry you, so it's obviously not an obstacle to her."
Matthew smiled widely.
"No, it doesn't seem to be an obstacle to her. And I do hope that in time my situation will improve, and I don't mean by getting my inheritance. I have been working here in London for just few weeks, but I already see it does look promising."
"Does that mean that you will want to live in Town?" asked Robert, frowning a little. He knew it was a possibility, but he still hoped Matthew and Mary would settle at Downton.
"I will probably spend some time here, but I do know Mary would prefer Yorkshire. We would like to have a house of our own though, to have some privacy and opportunity to get to know each other. Mary mentioned that maybe one of the smaller estates would be available?"
Robert brightened visibly. It would not be so good as to have them take rooms at the Abbey, but they would still remain close. And he wasn't too old to remember how being newly married felt like and how little he was pleased at sharing the house with his parents.
"Definitely, my boy! There are several, but I especially recommend a house in Eryholme, on the border with Durham. It has been rented out until last autumn, but it's available right now. The house is from Tudor times, but has been renovated and updated, so should be pretty comfortable and the grounds are beautiful. It may seem a bit remote, but it's in fact but five miles from Darlington."
"It does sound promising," agreed Matthew cautiously. "We would gladly see it when we come back to Yorkshire and make the final decision. How much would the rent be?"
Robert looked at him as if he grew a second head.
"Rent? Why would I charge rent to my heir and son-in-law? I am not charging you rent for the Crawley House and I definitely do not plan to charge you for any place you choose to live with Mary."
Matthew raised his hands in appeasing gesture.
"Thank you for your generosity, Robert. I am merely concerned that the property you're describing was probably bringing you significant income and I would not want the estate to suffer for lack of it."
Robert smiled indulgently.
"Your concern gives you credit but is completely unnecessary. The estate can easily afford it and you two need to live at a level befitting your station as future Earl and Countess. Your stipend will be increased accordingly as well."
Matthew frowned.
"I understand your point," he said slowly. "But I would feel more comfortable to rely on our own money. With my increasing income and Mary's settlement, I am sure we can afford to run our household without taking any additional money from you."
"Your wish for independence is commendable, but I am not sure you are aware how much maintaining appropriate appearances befitting your new social position costs. Servants, entertaining guests, Mary's clothes – all of this does not come cheaply, believe me, I know. If you were my son, you would be Viscount Downton and even without that title, I want you to live like one. Because you are becoming like a son to me and you will be soon not just my heir, but my daughter's husband. It's only right that you will get the means to do so."
Matthew sighed. He knew defeat when he faced one. He would prefer to live more simply... and he cheered up realising he still could. He and Mary would have their own household, where they would be the ones responsible for all decisions regarding the budget and the style of living. Ultimately, even if he couldn't refuse the money Robert was forcing on him, he still didn't have to spend it. They could put it away for their children or for death duties they would face on Robert's passing.
"In what form would we receive Mary's settlement?" he asked, going back to practical matters.
"Cora's fortune is currently invested in shares. I could transfer the ownership of shares to you or cash them out and give you the money, whatever you prefer. But I think shares would be best, since the investment looks very secure and is bound to make a windfall."
"What kind of investment is it?" asked Matthew curiously.
"Canadian Grand Trunk Railway," explained Robert enthusiastically.
Matthew frowned.
"And the rest?" he asked, fearing the answer.
"There are no other investments, we put everything in it. Every forecast seems to be certain."
Matthew blinked in surprise.
"All of it in one investment? Isn't it a bit... precarious?"
Robert dismissed his concerns with a wave of his hand.
"Murray was also advising caution, but I am assured that there is no need for it. Surely expansion of railways in the New World cannot go wrong and so far the performance of the company and the dividends have given us no cause for concern. So, what do you think? Transfer of shares or cash?"
"Cash, I think," said Matthew cautiously, thinking that it's a great pity Mary had not exaggerated her father's recklessness when it came to investing money. All that amazing wealth, Cora's fortune, invested in just one company, however promising?! "I would like to try my hand at investing myself. Although I plan to diversify among different companies, less of a risk if one of them fails to perform for any reason. I unfortunately had occasion to see the outcomes of failed investments some of my clients were facing and it's not a pretty picture."
"Whatever you wish," acquiesced Robert with a frown. "I will instruct Murray to sell the shares and prepare the payment for you. Do you have any particular investment opportunities in mind?"
Matthew sipped his water thoughtfully.
"Some of it for sure into oil," he said. "I already have some shares in a company located in Persia, which managed to locate quite a gusher; the only thing they need is a steady customer or two, and with advancement in motor engines their prospects do seem promising. The company is pretty new though and not yet properly established, so the shares are cheap and easily available at the moment."
"It does seem rather risky endeavour," noted Robert sceptically. "I hope you are not putting Mary's whole settlement into it?"
"No, no," assured him Matthew laughingly. "I told you I am going to diversify. Mary had some interesting ideas actually. She mentioned Marconi's Wireless Telegraph, for example."
"Mary?!" Robert couldn't hide his astonishment. "Since when has she any interest or knowledge of investing into shares?"
"She really has a surprising amount of knowledge on many varied topics," pointed Matthew proudly. He was continuously shocked and annoyed how strongly Robert was underestimating his truly remarkable and capable daughter. "In addition, I suspect, to her wide network of acquaintance with well-connected people. I just hope none of her tips fall into the area of insider trading."
Robert rolled his eyes.
"Yes, one wish to hope so. Forgive me though if I will not be making financial decisions based on my daughter gossiping with her friends." Marconi! As if there wasn't enough scandal connected to this company!
Matthew sighed, seeing that he had no chance to get through.
"Anyway," he said, willing to change topics. "I would like to use part of the settlement to buy a full partnership in Mr Swire and Jack's legal practice. With my own savings I had a hope of becoming a junior partner, but with additional funds I could afford a full equity one."
Robert looked at him with surprise.
"Why would you need it?"
"As a full partner I would have freedom to make my own business decisions, including which clients or cases I want to accept or where and when would I work. I would also partake in the profits on any deal or contract made by the firm as the whole, so even on cases I would not personally supervise, and full voting rights on any decisions concerning the firm. I have every confidence that this partnership could turn out to be very lucrative to me and my family and it also gives me a chance to work and hopefully succeed at something entirely my own."
Robert sighed. His heir was obviously speaking with great amount of feeling and a touching earnestness, so he didn't much foresee a chance to dissuade him from this plan. And yet he wished he could get him so passionate and involved in the matters of the estate; he greatly feared that this partnership of his was going to end up dragging him away from Downton and its concerns and tie him more tightly to his middle class origins and pursuits. He rather doubted it would make Mary happy; for all his dismissal of her input into running the estate he never doubted her encompassing love for it.
"But won't it keep you in London, after all?" he only asked. Matthew shrugged.
"I will have to spend more time in Town, yes. But definitely not all. I can very well work on paperwork from Yorkshire and come here for meetings. Not to mention Mary would probably like to come here for winter and summer seasons and this is when Parliament is in session and I would be at my busiest. I'm sure I can divide my time well enough for neither my legal practice nor learning about the estate to suffer."
Robert remained sceptical but didn't push the matter. Mary's settlement was going to be legally Matthew's to do with as he pleased and in the end he knew he should be glad for his son-in-law to invest it into a respectable business than in gambling or spending on other deplorable habits. He dearly wished Matthew embraced aristocratic way of life more fully and willingly, but he did respect his principles, even if he disagreed with his application of them. Mary was marrying a good, honest man and he was happy for it.
Swire House, Regent's Park, London, June 1913
The Swires lived in a large and comfortable house in one of Nash's terraces overlooking Regent's Park – a better address than Mary expected, for all her knowledge of Mr Swire's wealth. The house was tastefully and elegantly furnished and emitted the feeling of comfort and peace. No wonder Matthew had liked to spend time here during the war.
She forcibly shook off the memories of her previous life and focused on the feeling of Matthew's arm in hers and the knowledge that she was arriving as his fiancée and that Lavinia Swire was no threat to her.
She was officially introduced to Mr Swire, Lavinia and Jack and was shocked how young they looked. With astonishment she realised Lavinia was only seventeen, barely older than Sybil, and looking younger still with her round face and delicate features. Jack she last time had seen as a sickly, worn war veteran and Mr Swire at his only child's funeral, barely months before his own death. She fervently wished they all would somehow fare better this time; although in fairness she had no idea how to protect any of them from the war or diseases.
She didn't have long time to contemplate those morbid thoughts since Jack was congratulating her and Matthew on their engagement.
"Lady Mary, Matthew has always been waxing rhapsodic about your beauty and yet I see now he hasn't done you justice," he said with a grin, bowing to place a kiss on her hand. "Knowing him as I do I have no idea how he managed to attract somebody like you enough to talk you into matrimony, but I am certain he must have been born under a lucky star."
Matthew was glowering at her side, but Mary found Jack's over the top welcome quite charming. Despite his mocking words his affection for his friend was obvious and Mary was predisposed to approve of anyone who liked Matthew.
"I'm sure not as lucky as I must have been to earn his love," she answered, sending her fiancé – her fiancé! - an enamoured smile. Matthew visibly swallowed and Jack's grin grew a bit feral.
"Crawley, you are a lucky man," he drawled, releasing Mary's hand and letting Mr Swire and Lavinia to step forward.
"It is an honour to meet Matthew's fiancée, Lady Mary. I am so pleased to see this upstanding young man so happy. My most sincere congratulations on your engagement to you both," said Mr Swire with genuine warmth in his voice and eyes. Mary saw a responding fond smile bloom on Matthew's face and she realised that despite their short acquaintance Matthew and Mr Swire already were well on their way to form the bond which in the previous timeline resulted in the older man making him his heir. It was obvious that it wasn't just Matthew's relationship with Lavinia which made them so close with each other and it made Mary glad that her engagement to Matthew didn't mean he would have to miss out on it.
Her gaze moved to a timid figure behind Mr Swire.
"Hello, Miss Swire. I'm Mary Crawley."
"Of course you are. I mean... I've been longing to meet you, because I've heard so much about you from Matthew... That is..." she stopped, hopelessly flustered.
"Nice things, I hope," Mary came to her rescue with a smile. She couldn't help liking Lavinia when she had been engaged to the man she loved. Now, secure in the fact that it was her on Matthew's arm and with his ring on her finger, she found the younger girl not just sweet, but outrightly adorable.
"What else would she hear from me?" said Matthew with an approving smile, clearly happy at her friendly approach to his partner's shy daughter.
"Only nice things, I assure you!" exclaimed Lavinia in alarm, her small hands fluttering. "He said that you are beautiful, and so graceful, and so clever, and elegant, and I see now he was perfectly right!"
Mary sent her slightly blushing fiancé a teasing smile, promising to revisit the topic later – so he was vaxing so poetic about her to Lavinia well before they got engaged? - and hastened to reassure the younger girl. It struck her again how young she was still and that she, like Sybil, still had some years to grow into the woman she remembered.
"I was just teasing him a little, Miss Swire. But I have to thank you for your compliment and to tell you in return that I think Matthew was perfectly right in describing you to me as the loveliest, sweetest girl he had occasion to meet in some time."
Lavinia's face got nearly as red as her hair when she stammered her thanks.
Thankfully they soon went through to a tastefully appointed dining room, where the conversation turned to the deal which prompted formation of the new partnership.
"You see, my brother Jonathan has been a government minister until recently," explained Mr Swire to Mary. "When Mr D'Arcy was looking for a legal firm to represent him in the negotiations with the government he realised my connection to it – I know quite a lot of cabinet members through Jonathan – and asked me to undertake the task. I gladly accepted but soon realised that I was in a bit of difficulty since my long time partner died and another moved to the New World - I actually had to pay a lot of money to pay off his share of the partnership - and this kind of work demands more than I myself would manage. Government contracts are by their nature more intricate than any other. But then Jack came to my attention and he in turn has recommended Matthiew to me and with their fresh eyes and expertise and my experience and connections I truly believe we can achieve a great deal."
"Hear, hear!" said Matthew, smiling. Jack got up and raised his glass with a flourish.
"I would like to propose a toast for the future successes of Swire, Weatherby & Crawley! May the fortune smile at us!"
They all drunk to that with enthusiasm.
Mary, despite being caught by the exuberance of the evening, found herself puzzling over conflicting pieces of information she received now and had remembered from her past. She wondered if the difficulties Mr Swire mentioned were connected to him ending up in debt to Sir Richard Carlisle and his daughter part in the Marconi scandal. If he were using his brother's connections now to this degree, it seemed obvious that there was no falling out between them – but how could it be possible with Lavinia betraying her uncle to the clutches of the press in order to save her father? She couldn't very well ask about it at the dinner table, but she retained hope she could drag it out of Lavinia at some point in the future. She was curious.
She was also ecstatic by Matthew's partnership with Mr Swire. It seemed likely that the vast fortune Mr Swire eventually had bequeathed to Matthew had been amassed after 1912 – so if Matthew was his partner now, there was every chance he would earn his own by Mr Swire's side and even if they didn't manage to stop Papa from this disastrous investment, they should still be able to save Downton.
Mary did not remember when she last had such a promising, delightful evening.
Grantham House, London, June 1913
Their engagement noticed was printed in The Times on the morning of the ball Earl and Countess of Grantham were throwing to celebrate it and formally announce to their friends and acquaintance. The ball had been of course planned beforehand, but Matthew and Mary's engagement forced sudden increase in its rank and opulence to make it befit the occasion. The guest list was accordingly lengthened, menus changed and every member of the family sent for emergency appointment at their dressmaker and tailor.
Matthew had to admit that opening the ball with Mary in Grantham House's sparkling, glittering ballroom, surrounded by crème de la crème of English peerage was a heady experience indeed.
He still could hardly believe that she was going to be his wife. He had been in love with her for months, without hope for most of it and it seemed as both interminably long and ridiculously brief time. He hadn't even known her for a full year and yet he couldn't imagine how he had lived without knowing and loving her. And now she was going to be his, this amazing, unbelievable creature, so absolutely magnificent in his arms. He was very aware how many jealous and incredulous stares he must be attracting as her fiancé and grinned smugly in response.
xxx
"So," drawled Lady Caroline Spencer, "engaged again to your father's heir. I guess it's the position which is required and the man holding it interchangeable?"
Mary gritted her teeth behind a pleasant smile. Caroline and she came out together and were, for lack of a better word, friends. Of sorts, at least.
"I much prefer the current one," she said smoothly. "He has much more than his position to recommend him."
"His future position you mean? A solicitor is rather a step down for you. Or five," pointed the Honourable Agnes Grey. Agnes was also their age and unfortunately completely plain, with wide face, beady eyes and mousy hair. If it wasn't for her father's fortune she would have no realistic prospects at all. Not that she seemed to have any at the moment.
"A whole staircase!" tittered Caroline and Mary seriously was rethinking inviting her to her wedding. Pity that she was her third cousin and thus unavoidable. "Alice will be so disappointed. Solicitor or not, she did rather set her cap on him."
"His current position is good enough to me," she stated calmly, ignoring remark about Alice Cateret. Matthew was safely hers, so there was no point in wasting time on worrying about her. "We are going to get one of the smaller estates for ourselves and Matthew is making quite significant connexions in politics here in Town. He might end up pretty high up even before he inherits the Earldom."
Caroline shrugged.
"To each their own, for sure. But I have to admit marital chores shouldn't be too much of a chore with him."
Agnes made a scandalised "Oh!", but Mary just smiled smugly and sipped her champagne.
"Any special prospects for your Season, Caroline?" she asked. Caroline sighed.
"Mama wants me to marry that awful Sir Thomas Elliot, but I cannot stand the man. He is only a baronet, anyway."
Mary winced in sympathy and disgust.
"He is an old booby if I ever saw one. Surely your mother does not consider matters so desperate yet?"
"It is my fourth season and I do turn twenty two this year. Mama would prefer to marry me off as soon as possible and focus on my younger sisters."
"Twenty two is hardly on the shelf," scoffed Mary, very well aware that in her previous life she had married at the tender age of twenty nine. She had had the war as the excuse but still.
"I'm still not getting any younger. But I would prefer my husband to be closer in age to me than to my father."
Agnes was just looking mournfully at them. Neither Mary nor Caroline even bothered to ask her about her prospects for the season.
"Hopefully something better turns up," Mary consoled Caroline magnanimously. "After all Edith managed to attract some suitors recently."
"You don't say! Who?"
"Another old booby, Sir Anthony Strallan," said Mary dismissively. "But she has been also corresponding with Evelyn Napier and he visited us for York and Ansley in March."
Agnes ears perked up.
"Evelyn? But I heard he is seeing one of the Semphill girls."
Mary frowned. She did remember that Evelyn had a failed engagement to one of them in the other timeline, but then he had not been corresponding with her sister at the same time. Even if it was Edith, she hoped he was not stringing her along.
"Well, I do not know how serious it is," she shrugged nonchalantly. "Edith is not exactly confiding in me for some reason."
They all smirked.
"When is the wedding going to be?" asked Agnes. She did love weddings, even if they always made her rather morose in the end.
"October eight. We plan to go to French Riviera for the honeymoon, it should still be pleasant at this time of year."
"September would be better for that," pointed Caroline sourly. Mary decided rightly to write it up to jealousy and pay no mind to it.
"We have commitments for September and Mama insists she needs at least four months to plan the wedding properly."
Their conversation was interrupted by the very welcome appearance of her fiancé, asking her for another dance.
"Isn't it the third time they are dancing together? They really are shameless," muttered Caroline into her champagne flute.
"I think it's very romantic," sighed Agnes wistfully.
"You would," snapped Caroline, passing her empty glass to the nearest footman and walking determinedly in the direction of a cluster of young men. After four seasons she was sure to be acquainted with most of them and one was bound to ask her to dance. She had renewed focus on ensuring a wedding of her own.
xxx
Meanwhile Edith was basking in the happiness of dancing with Evelyn Napier. They had been corresponding to each other for months now, perfectly innocent letters, but so engaging and interesting! He was writing a lot about his fascinating job at the Foreign Office and the complicated political situation in Europe and, what was the most astonishing, seemed interested in her opinions on those subjects! It was the same for Sir Anthony, but however pleasant Edith's drives with him were, she had to admit to herself that Evelyn's handsome face and youthful figure were more tempting. Not to mention his more prestigious title and bigger fortune. Neither were as good as Mary's were going to be, following her engagement to Matthew – and didn't it rankled that her intervention was for naught! – but she was sure that Mary would be much less scathing about Edith becoming the Viscountess of Branksome than Lady Strallan.
"Mary and Mr Crawley look very happy together," noted Evelyn politely, looking at the couple in question. Edith followed his gaze towards them, sneering a bit at the enraptured look on Matthew's face and positively blissful on Mary's.
"She managed to convince him she loves him, not just his prospects, so I guess she has a cause to celebrate," she noted caustically. Evelyn startled in surprise at her tone.
"You don't think she loves him genuinely?" he asked incredulously. He could not claim any profound knowledge of Lady Mary, but all his encounters with her showed him clearly that she only had eyes for Matthew Crawley. If he had noticed any wavering at all, he was very much aware he would have tried to pursue her himself.
Edith scoffed.
"The only person Mary is capable of loving genuinely is herself," she stated bitterly. "Her goal has always been to get control of Downton and Mama's fortune, because she believes it should have been rightfully hers as Papa's oldest child in absence of a brother. She does not care whether it's Patrick or Matthew who gives her that, as long as she gets her claws into what she wants."
"I don't think you should speak about your sister like that," chided Evelyn with a frown. He was truly shocked not just by Edith's opinion about Mary, but even more by the fact she was willing to express it publicly, potentially besmirching Mary's reputation.
Edith shrugged carelessly.
"Why not if that's the truth?"
Evelyn reminded silent for the remainder of their dance and left her with polite, if rather cold farewell soon after. Edith noticed him dancing his second dance with Mary, seemingly in a deep, serious discussion.
He did not approach her at all afterwards.
It took Edith until they were retiring at the wee hours of the morning to catch her sister alone.
"What have you said to Evelyn?" hissed Edith, clearly distraught. Mary smiled slowly. Oh, that was delicious.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" taunted Mary. Edith clenched her fists in a mix of distress and fury.
"Tell me!"
"Turnabout is a fair play, isn't it?" said Mary coldly, narrowing her eyes. "I seem to recall similar conversation with you about your little chat with Matthew. Well, you didn't seem keen to confess the particulars to me then, so I see no reason to be forthcoming with you now."
"Is it your revenge then? To destroy my chance at happiness?" Edith's lower lip was trembling.
"You did everything in your power to destroy mine," pointed Mary with even more coldness. But then she shrugged and decided to be honest. "Be it as it may, I didn't actually have to say anything. What we were discussing was how appalled he was at your cruel attitude towards me."
"What?" said Edith voicelessly.
"He didn't appreciate your comments during his dance with you and thought I deserved to be warned about your malice in case I have not suspected. Since it was hardly a surprise to me, I just assured him I was aware of the complexities of our sisterly relationship and could deal with you, without giving him any further particulars. So you see, that one is fully on you."
Edith wanted desperately to believe that Mary was lying, but the smug look on her sister's face made it clear to her that she was not. It really was her own unguarded tongue that put Evelyn off her.
Fleet Street, London, June 1913
Sir Richard Carlisle was reading The Times. He always started his morning at the office with rival newspapers and a cup of coffee. He was lazily glancing over society pages when a particular announcement made his grasp on the newspaper so tight it crumpled it.
"How in hell can I be too late already?!"
He read the announcement again, sneering. Apparently Lady Mary was capable of picking up her wedding date promptly when properly motivated.
"The engagement is announced between Lady Mary Josephine Crawley, eldest daughter of the Earl and Countess of Grantham, and Mr Matthew Crawley Esq., heir presumptive to the Earl of Grantham, son of the late Dr and Mrs Reginald Crawley of Charterhouse Square, Manchester and Downton Village, Yorkshire. The wedding will take place at Downton on October 8th, 1913."
Of course they put his prospective title in the announcement.
He cursed under his breath again. He was so convinced, so sure, that he had enough time to woo Lady Mary Crawley before she got entangled with that despicable cousin of hers.
What had changed? How?
He gasped when a possible answer came to him.
If he himself travelled in time in some inexplicable way, couldn't Matthew bloody Crawley do the same?
He shook his head, telling himself that he was jumping to conclusions, but the theory did not want to leave him. It would explain the inconsistencies he had no other explanation for so far. Like this completely unexpected engagement and even more unexpected twist regarding Lady Mary's dirty secret.
It took him more time than he intended to gather any intelligence about circumstances of Pamuk's death. It was all so well hushed up he didn't even learn it had happened for weeks. He didn't have any connections to the family other than Lady Rosamund and none whatsoever within the household. To his surprise, there were no rumours mentioning Lady Mary in particular. But he was persistent and very good in his business of uncovering scandals and secrets, and he did strike gold eventually.
The footman was cautious, but vulnerable. He never attended any secret clubs closer to home, where he could be spotted by somebody who knew him, but anonymity of London made him bolder. And when he was both plied with drink and threatened with exposure, his tongue got loosened enough.
His tale was astonishing. An attempted rape prevented by murder and covered up by a lover. A potential scandal of international proportions and criminal implications. Oh, it would sell newspapers, it would sell a lot of them. But the stakes were extremely high and proceeding with caution was paramount. The accusations too serious to be printed without a much better proof than drunken gossip from a disgraced servant. Sir Richard had not raised to the heights he did by being reckless. He was very well aware of libel laws and skirted skilfully around them for years. And here the proof just wasn't there for him to feel secure. He did hire people to acquire a copy of coroner's report into the death, especially concerning its cause and circumstances – although lack of any police investigation suggested either natural causes or an exceptionally good cover up. He would learn which one, but it was going to take time. A time he thought he had, an assumption which the blasted engagement announcement proved wrong.
Then again how much did Lady Mary know about the laws concerning libel and baseless accusations? After all publishing that story was not his main goal. It was highly unlikely she would seek legal counsel over a threat of exposure. Maybe he would be able to take advantage of the situation even without full knowledge of the facts.
Because as soon as he realised what had happened to him – that he had woken up somehow ten years into his past – he focused on one goal and he was fully determined to achieve it.
He would make Lady Mary his this time. By any means necessary.