Chapter 23
Matthew shook his head, sickened that fate had dealt Cora and Mary a double blow.
This time the moment that passed in silence was long and he was about to move away from the door when Cora's voice held him in place.
"Did you learn all this because you questioned the way she looked? I would think Harold would have noticed if…."
"No, Mama. She is thinner than usual but has told Uncle Harold she has been dieting and her makeup manages to cover any other signs of her illness.
"How then? Cora asked. "How did you discover she was so ill?"
Matthew felt a sinking feeling in his stomach, knowing what Mary's reply would be.
He heard his wife clear her throat twice before she revealed that she had known Martha was terminally ill before she left for America. Her grandmother had told her as much in the letter she sent to her asking that she come to Newport. That was why she accepted her invitation.
"You knew?" Cor a cried out. "You knew my mother was dying and kept it hidden from me all this time?... Oh, Mary. How could you?"
XX
"Mama, please wait. Let me explain," Mary cried out.
His wife's plea alerted Matthew that Cora would soon be at the door and he jumped backward, pressing his body flush against the adjacent wall. The heavy door swung open with such force that it nearly hit him and he stifled a sigh of relief that it didn't.
Now shielded by the door, Matthew could not see his mother-in-law, but he could tell by the sound of her heels clicking on the tiled floor, that she was moving quickly in the direction of the stairs that led to the gallery.
What the devil am I doing? This is the second time I've eavesdropped on one of Mary's conversations. Granted it is because I'm so worried about her, but still. She will be furious if she finds me here…and rightfully so.
His heartbeat quickened and he felt his palms grow damp as he pondered his next move. Then he slowly pushed the door forward and crept to the right to get a glimpse into the hallway.
Just a few moments more and I should be in the….
"Matthew? What on earth are you doing back there?" Isobel demanded, putting an end to his internal dialogue.
Matthew quickly brought his index finger to his lips and said in a hushed tone, "I will explain later …but right now I need you to find Thomas and tell him that Mary would like tea and scones in the drawing room. Then you are to join the two of us there."
Isobel's brows drew together in confusion and she stared at him as though he had gone mad.
"Please, Mother. I do not want Mary to find me here," Then, with what he knew was a pitiful expression on his face, he muttered, "I need your help."
She narrowed her eyes and pressed her lips tightly together, making it clear that she was not happy with all the cloak and dagger. Then she huffed, gave him a curt nod and set off on her mission.
Matthew exhaled the breath he hadn't realized he was holding and extricated himself from his hiding spot with the hope that Mary had not heard him and Isobel in the hallway. Then, he made his way to the drawing room.
There, he found Mary staring into the fireplace with her arms wrapped around her and a vacant look on her face. It broke his heart to see her so distraught and he felt anger rising up inside him toward the family members who caused her anguish.
Martha had no right to demand Mary's silence. Cora should have given her time to explain why she had kept her in the dark instead of storming out of the room.
His fury only lasted for a few seconds, though, as he stepped into their shoes.
Martha's scheme was put in place to spare Cora pain, not give Mary. Cora could not help but feel betrayed, finding her mother and daughter had conspired behind her back the way they did. He would have felt the same way.
The sound of footsteps in the hall brought his head around and he found his mother walking towards him with a conspiratorial look on her face, nodding her head in his direction.
He returned the gesture and then approached Mary, who still had not acknowledged his presence.
"Darling, my mother is here," he said gently.
Mary's head snapped up and she feigned a smile as she crossed the room to greet her. Then, once she had, she kissed her cheek and said, "Isobel, it is wonderful to see you."
"Thank you, Mary. I am very glad that you and Matthew have returned. I just wish it was not to a house in mourning," she replied in a tone as somber as her attire. Then added, "Thomas said you just got back. I hope I haven't come too soon or am interrupting a private moment."
Matthew shook his head as he greeted her with a quick peck and replied, "Not at all, Mother."
At that, Mary moved to the salmon-colored sofa that faced the fireplace and gestured for Isobel to join her while Matthew sank into his favorite armchair.
Isobel sat down beside Mary, and taking hold of her hand, said solemnly, "I am very sorry for your loss, my dear. I know how much you loved your grandmother."
Mary tipped her head and replied. "And I am sorry that you have lost such a dear friend. I know you will miss her."
She will, too, Matthew told himself. There will be a void in her life that will be very hard to fill.
Then the two women he loved the most went silent.
Matthew pondered for a moment whether they were reflecting on their loss or just at a loss for words, and then decided that it really didn't matter. Either way, he was confident thar Mary would soon break the silence in the room because Isobel was in possession of information that she wanted and this was her opportunity to get it.
It didn't take long. Less than a minute, he judged Then his wife turned to his mother and said, "Isobel, Uncle Harold only was informed that my grandmother died in her sleep. He wasn't privy to any of the details surrounding her death. I have since learned that you were with her at the end, and my hope is that you will provide me with more than the basic information I have been given."
"Of course, Mary. I would be happy to." Isobel replied with a smile.
She began by recounting the events that took place the night before the Dowager passed on, stating that Violet had complained of some chest discomfort, which prompted her to summon Richard to come to the house to examine her.
"Your grandmother insisted that the pain was due to indigestion brought on by the stew she had for dinner, and although Richard would have liked her to have some tests performed at the hospital to corroborate her self-diagnosis, Violet flatly refused. She said we were making 'much ado about nothing' and declared she would be fine once the bicarbonate of soda kicked in Needless to say, he and I did our best to reason with her, but Violet would not bend. She demanded that Richard go back to the hospital and "take care of the people who were actually ill'."
"Her exact words, no doubt." Mary said.
"Oh, yes," Isobel replied and chuckled.
Mary shook her head and said, "When Granny made her mind up, she rarely changed it."
Matthew felt the corners of his mouth edging upward as he imagined the scene Isobel had painted so vividly in his mind.
"She was not successful, however, in getting me to go with him," Isobel crowed. Granted, she hadn't made much of a fuss when I insisted that I stay on. In retrospect, I don't think that she wanted to be alone."
At that, Isobel's lips began to tremble and her eyes welled with tears.
Matthew rose quickly from his seat and moved to the couch with his handkerchief held out to her.
"Thank you, dear," Isobel croaked, taking it from him and dabbing her eyes with it.
He glanced at Mary as his mother fought valiantly to regain her composure, and his wife's eyes told him they were in agreement about what he should do next.
"Mother, that is enough for now," he said gently but firmly.
"Yes," Mary chimed in. "We can resume this conversation another day . It is clear it is painful for you to speak about what happened."
"No more painful than it is for you to hear, my dear." Isobel replied, waving Mary's suggestion away with her free hand. Then she pleaded, " Please don't worry about me. Either of you. I am fine. Truly, I am..and I am determined to continue."
"Not to put too fine a point on it, but I've found you can be a bit stubborn yourself, Mother," Matthew said while he eyed her over. Then, once he saw she had herself under control, he nodded his head in Mary's direction.
Mary followed suit, and returning her attention to Isobel, said,"Please go on, then."
Isobel nodded and continued, "As I said, Violet believed she suffered indigestion and had drank a glass of bicarbonate soda to relieve it. About a half hour later it appeared she had been correct in her assumption as she was feeling much better….So much so, that she said there was no need for me to sit by her bed...that, in fact, my presence was keeping her awake as I resembled a 'hawk eyeing its prey.' I laughed but her lips remained pressed together in a hard line. However, I could see that her eyes were smiling. Then she pointed to the door. 'Go now,' she demanded. 'You won't be of any use to me or anyone else if you don't get some rest, yourself. I promise I will call you should the pain in my chest return."
She paused, her eyes going to the window where a bird was chirping loudly. Another responded to it, and then a chorus rang out in the distance as their fellows joined in.
Matthew and Mary turned their heads to the sound, both smiling at the bird's chatter.
"I've always wondered what they might be saying," he said.
Isobel's expression turned wistful. "Perhaps they are making idle chit-chat, as old friends who meet often are apt to do, while they peruse the new blooms in the garden."
Matthew patted her hand and offered her a smile that was bittersweet.
She returned it and then continued her narrative in an even tone, though she could not mask the sadness in her eyes.
"Violet was right about my needing to rest. It was difficult for me to keep my eyes open at that point. So, I wished her a good night and retired to the room next to hers, collapsing on the bed and falling asleep, fully dressed, mind you, in a matter of minutes. I remained that way until I was roused by the birds welcoming the new day."
At that moment the sound of a tap on the open door brought Matthew's head around and he found Thomas had come with the tea and scones. Taking notice of the grim expression on the butler's face, he wondered how long he had been standing in the doorway.
"Thank you, Thomas. You can leave it..and please close the door on your way out," Mary said, likely wondering the same thing.
Matthew looked on as his wife filled a cup with tea and offered it to Isobel but his mother waved it away, saying she had her fill for the day.
"I've found if I drink more than four cups, I have trouble falling asleep at night," she said and waited until Mary had served Matthew and poured a cup for herself before she continued.
"Where was I? Oh, yes...it was morning," Isobel said, and picked up where she had left off. "I splashed some water on my face, tidied my hair enough to look presentable and went to Violet's room, expecting to find her still asleep as the sun had just come up and when I entered, it appeared that she was. She looked peaceful…so peaceful that I hesitated to move closer to the bed, lest the sound of my footsteps awaken her. Then I took notice that she was holding something between her hands and my curiosity got the best of me."
She cleared her throat, turned to Matthew and said, "Son, would you mind getting me a glass of water. I find my throat is quite dry."
"Of course, Mother," he replied, patting her hand before he rose and crossed to the small table that held a tray with a pitcher of water and four glasses on it. Taking hold of the pitcher, he carefully filled one of the glasses and brought it to her.
Isobel took a few sips and then nestled the glass between her palms, rolling it back and forth as she spoke.
"I moved slowly toward the bed, stepping as lightly as I could to keep the sound down, and as I drew near, I became filled with dread. The light filtering through the window was strong enough for me to see that although a smile played on Violet's lips, they held no color and her skin appeared waxy with a bluish tint to it,"
She turned to Mary, then, with a look of horror on her face. "I am sorry for being so insensitive, my dear. The nurse in me took over. Please forgive me for being so graphic."
Although Matthew had seen her grimace upon hearing his mother's description, Mary shook her head and insisted an apology wasn't necessary.
"Please go on, Isobel."she said softly.
She hesitated a moment and then said, "I moved my eyes to her hands and found she was holding a framed photograph of a very young Robert and Rosamund, the two sitting close together and beaming. It was familiar to me as it was one of Violet's favorites and finding me admiring it one day, she told me that the Faberge frame had been a gift from her late husband, Patrick. I had known that the frame, itself, was very valuable but it was clear to me seeing it nestled in her hands at that moment that the man who had given it to her and the image of her children it encased had been priceless."
Once more, tears welled in Isobel's eyes, but this time she managed to retain her composure.
"Oh, Mother…I am so sorry…so very sorry," Matthew said before turning to Mary to see how she was fairing.
She appeared sad but calm. Knowing his wife as he did, Isobel's assurance that her grandmother had died peacefully with a smile on her face, no less, would have done a good deal to ease Mary's mind and at least some of the guilt she felt for not being with her when she passed.
Mary rose from her seat and bent over to kiss her mother-in-law's cheek. "Thank you, Isobel, for sharing Granny's final hours and being such a wonderful friend and companion to her. I am glad to know that she was with someone she loved in her final hours.
She snapped into action,then, her hands instinctively flattening out the wrinkles that had formed on her black skirt and brushing off any lint she found. Then she fixed her eyes on her husband and said, Darling, I think George and Victoria must be done paying my Papa their visit by now. If Isobel would be kind enough to excuse us for short while, I would like to head up to see him."
Isobel quickly said that they both should go immediately. She would find George and Victoria and spend time with them in their absence.
Matthew nodded, echoed Mary's gratitude to his mother and followed his wife out of the room.
XX
"I am tired...dead to the world tired," Matthew proclaimed as he toppled onto his bed like a felled tree and let out a long sigh of relief as he sank into the thick mattress. "In fact, I have been longing for this moment since we sat down to dinner. It took every bit of strength I could muster to keep my eyes open and head from toppling into the scalloped potatoes."
Mary chortled as she crossed the room, and upon reaching the bed, placed the jar of hand cream she was holding on her nightstand and climbed onto it in a much more dignified manner.
"Considering you hardly slept at all this past week, I am not surprised that you are so exhausted…and I, for one, appreciate the Herculean effort that it must have taken for you to keep yourself upright at the dining table."
He snorted a laugh and then pointed out that it was difficult to fall asleep on the ship when lying on a cold, damp floor next to a commode.
Mary turned onto her side and he did the same so that they would face one another, draping his arm over her hip and gazing into her beautiful brown eyes, the color of dark chocolate with flecks of amber in the iris.
As she had done countless times before, she reached up and brushed back a lock of his hair that had fallen onto his forehead and then said, "I wish I could have rectified your sea sickness this easily. It was maddening to not be able to help you at all."
Matthew shook his head and gave her hip a gentle squeeze. "You mustn't be so hard on yourself, Mary...and I do not agree that you were of no help. Knowing you were there should I need you, no matter what time of night, helped me a great deal."
Her eyes narrowed into tiny slits in disbelief and cried out, "Hogwash, and you know it."
"You underestimate how much I value your presence," he countered. "I meant what I said. Your mere presence comforts me…You have been my stick to lean on whenever I have needed one. Always."
Her smile told him that he need not say more and when she raised her head and offered him her lips, he bent over and kissed her, forgetting for a moment how tired he was.
She ended the kiss quickly, though, and edged him onto his back. Then lay her head on his chest.
"I'm tired, too," she moaned. "Not from lack of sleep but mental exhaustion. On top of Granny's passing and my worrying about Papa's health, I have an irate mother to contend with. She is furious that I kept Grandmama's illness from her all this time. You must have noticed that she barely said a word to me during dinner."
He had noticed and felt certain that he had not been the only one that did.
Although Cora had no doubt done her best to keep her emotions hidden from the rest of the family, she never could manage a poker face. He assumed that Robert, who had surprised them all by coming down to dinner, had to have seen that something was amiss between his wife and eldest daughter.
A rap on their bedroom door halted any further conversation along with his musings and Mary sprang out of bed.
"I'm coming," she called out as she crossed the room to retrieve her dressing gown.
Matthew pushed himself up on the mattress into a sitting position, his eyes focused on his wife as she opened the door and poked her head out.
Although he strained his neck to determine who she was speaking with, the opening was not wide enough for him to see anything more than the back of her head and he frowned.
He could, however, hear bits of the conversation taking place at the doorway and learned from it that one of the maids had come to summon Mary. "She would like you to come straight away, Lady Mary," rang out clear.
"I see. Of course, tell her I will be there directly," she said and then closed the door.
Her? Well, that narrows it down a bit…Cora? Edith? Victoria? Sybbie would summon Tom if something was amiss and Marigold or Vivienne would call for Edith. Hmmm..Victoria did eat two apple tarts after cleaning her dinner plate ….Perhaps she has a stomach upset and wants her mother.
The sound of the door clicking shut brought his attention back to Mary and he called out, "Darling, is something wrong?"
She leaned back against the door and sighed. "I'm not sure. Mother has asked for me to come to her bedroom. Apparently, whatever she needs to see me about cannot wait until the morning."
And then she was gone.
XX
Five more minutes….All I needed was five more minutes without interruption and I would have been blissfully unconscious. Now I will be overtired and up half the night.
He sighed. I hope Cora doesn't upset Mary. She has to be as spent as I am after the day we've had.
Matthew twiddled his thumbs while keeping his eyes on the clock, even though he could not see the numbers very well. He did manage, however, to follow the second hand and decided that was the one that mattered most in this instance.
How long has it been? Five minutes? Ten? It feels as though she has been gone an hour.
He got out of bed, then, and set off to the bathroom to relieve himself, making a mental note to buy new slippers as his feet hit the cold tile floor.
Something must be wrong. It must. Why else would Cora summon Mary at this late hour.
Finishing his business, he strode back into the bedroom, taking notice of the exact time when he passed the clock, and climbed back into bed.
Once settled, he reached over his shoulder to turn out the lamp, knocking his eyeglass case onto the floor in the process.
He let out a growl reminiscent of the sound Horus made when someone tried to remove his favorite toy from his mouth, threw back his bedcovers and hopped off the bed to retrieve his glasses.
"What the devil," he cried out, not finding the case where he had seen it land. "I know I saw it….It was right there, " he said, pointing to an empty spot on the Turkish carpet.
His patience wearing thin, Matthew growled again, this time the guttural sound emanating from his mouth more menacing than any Horus had ever made. Then, concluding that he must have kicked his glasses under the bed when his feet hit the floor, he got down on all fours and lowered his torso until his head rest flat on the carpet to get a clear view.
"Aha! There it is," he exclaimed, and snaked his arm beneath the bed to reach the case.
Just a bit more, he told himself and groaned as his arm stretched farther and farther and then —
He came up empty.
Now what? I can't leave the blasted glasses there.
He took a deep breath, dipped his shoulder beneath the mattress to give him more reach and tried again.
"Aaargh," he cried out as he edged closer to the case. "That's it, you are almost there…You almost have it…It's…it's…right..."
"What the devil are you doing, Matthew?" funneled through the ear he did not have pressed to the ground in a high-pitched tone, startling him so that his hand jerked forward and tapped the case out of his reach.
Matthew cursed under his breath as he flattened the lower half of his body in defeat. Then he began to crawl backwards, taking care not to bang his head on the mattress frame.
The first thing that came into view were Mary's pale pink slippers, one foot tapping on the floor with impatience while she waited for him to rise.
He got onto his knees, grabbed hold of the side of the bed for leverage and stood up. Then seeing his wife staring at his knees, he followed her gaze and rolled down the legs of his striped pajamas until the lines were straight.
Mary looked at him with raised brows and her arms folded in front of her. "Lose something?" she asked.
"My eyeglasses," he replied, swiping one hand against the other to remove any dust.
There wasn't any, and after inspecting his pajamas and finding they, too, were clean, he said, "I must remember to commend the maid who cleans our room on her fastidiousness. The carpet under the bed is spotless."
She blinked and then replied, "I'm glad to hear she is doing such a fine job, Matthew...Now, getting back to your glasses, would you like me to help you find them."
"No, that won't be necessary, Mary. I know the case is under the bed. I saw it there. I'll retrieve the glasses in the morning. Right now, I'd just like to get into our bed and feel you lying next to me. It has been a long time since we have spent the night in our own room."
"We can have the maid hook the case out. You will hurt your back…and as for the two of us going to bed, I am in complete agreement", she said.
He got in first and settled into a comfortable position while Mary removed her dressing gown and climbed into bed beside him.
"Now, tell me everything," he said.
She let out a howl and lurched to the empty side of the bed.
"Was it that bad?" he asked, his eyes wide with alarm.
"No. I shrieked because your feet are freezing."
That didn't surprise him. Though the day had been warm, the temperature had dropped precipitously since the sun went down and he had spent a considerable amount of time walking around barefoot before going to bed, most recently on the tiled bathroom floor.
Matthew apologized, shared that he had lost his slippers somewhere between Chicago and France, and then began rubbing his feet together in the manner of a scout with two twigs in order to spark a fire.
She shook her head back and forth, clearly dismayed by his revelation. "First your slippers and now your glasses. You do need to get some rest, Matthew. It is not like you to be so forgetful."
He could have made a case that he had not been 'so forgetful' since he had not lost his slippers. They clearly had not been packed by either the maid at the Drake Hotel or the steward aboard the Isle de France during their travel home. And as for his eyeglasses, he may have lost sight of them for a minute or two, but not forgotten where he left them. However, he opted to just nod his head in acquiescence. Mary, after all, had been correct in her assertion that he needed sleep.
Once satisfied that his feet were warm, he informed her that he had defrosted, patted the spot beside him and said, "I know that you are tired, but please tell me what Cora needed to see you about."
Mary came to his side, and after testing the waters, relaxed and settled down with her head resting in the crook of his shoulder.
Much better," she said, patting his midsection with her left hand.
Then she finally answered his question.
"All is well.,.Well, as well as it can be under the circumstances."
"And…that….means?" Matthew drawled.
"That...means...Mama received a wire from Uncle Harold about an hour ago stating that Grandmama was ill and that the two of them would like her to come to New York for a short visit. She…my mother, I mean…brought Papa up to speed regarding Grandmama's condition, told him that she and I had a falling out because I had kept it from her, and then announced she was booking passage to America."
Matthew's eyes widened, "Really?"
Mary nodded, "I know it is hard to believe...and the rest of what my Mama told me is even more incredible." She paused a moment and took a quick breath before she rattled off the remaining details. "Apparently, Papa took all the news in stride, made a strong argument for her to reconcile with me and then insisted that he accompany her to New York. His exact words, according to my Mama, were..." She paused again, this time with her eyes narrowed and lips pressed together in concentration as she searched for the right words. "Just give me a moment, Matthew. I want to say it properly."
He told her to take her time and not to worry if she could not remember Robert's words verbatim.
She did, however, and a moment later and cried out, "I've got it...His exact words to my mother were, 'You bore my mother's criticism, sarcasm and interference for 44 years. Under the circumstances, I can put up with yours for a couple of weeks."
Matthew was speechless for a long moment, feeling a bit as though he had fallen through the looking glass. Then he turned his head to Mary and fixing her with an incredulous stare, said, "Your father is going with her?""
Mary nodded and said, "I know stranger things have happened…just not any that I can recall at this moment.""
At that, the two of them both broke out into peals of laughter, which Matthew concluded was not only due to Mary's wit but their mutual exhaustion.
Then, wound up like two tops, they began conversing about their day, as a husband and wife are apt to do.
XX
"Papa looked well, didn't he? And his spirits were high...quite high considering he has just recovered."
Matthew agreed with Mary's assessment of her father's health and then addressed his frame of mind.
"I think his high spirits come down to you, Darling. The way he bounded out of that chair when he heard your voice made that clear."
His wife argued the point, stating she believed George, Victoria and he played a part, as well. Then she said with a catch in her voice that seeing her Papa had lifted her spirits, too.
Matthew didn't respond and she offered nothing further for the moment, which led to his collecting his thoughts.
He saw his father-in-law in his mind's eye pulling Mary into an embrace and saying, "My darling girl, I am so happy…so very happy to have you back."
"I am very happy to be back, Papa," she replied
Then, Robert caught his eye over Mary's shoulder and smiled. "It is good to have you home again, Son."
The next few minutes or so had been spent happily conversing about the time they had been apart with all three of them doing their best to keep the conversation light.
But Matthew had known the elephant in the room could not be ignored indefinitely.
"Papa, I am sorry that Granny is gone...and I want you to know that I bitterly regret not being here for her and you when you needed me."
He had seen the tears welling in her eyes at that moment and no doubt Robert did, too, because he pulled her into his arms for a second time.
"Mary, you could not have known my mother was ill. She was not even aware of it. I understand your need to mourn her, but I do not want you to berate yourself. Your grandmother would not want you to. You did nothing wrong. "You were her favorite, you know…although you never heard me say that…either of you."
His musings were broken then by the sound of Mary calling his name, and he left his recollections in a safe place for future reference.
"I'm sorry, darling. I was wool gathering."
Mary chuckled, "I have not heard that expression used in quite some time."
"I rather like it," Matthew replied. "Now, what were you saying?"
"I said I was thinking about Granny and what my father said to me when I offered him my apology, and…,"
"And?" Matthew said after she offered nothing further but a sigh.
"Well, I have decided Papa was right in that Granny would not want me to berate myself because I was not here when she passed away. If she could speak from beyond, she probably would tell me to stop acting like a ninny or something along that line."
Matthew smiled, happy to hear Mary's guilt had been assuaged.
"I can see her rolling her eyes at you before she said it, too. No one could roll their eyes with as much precision as Violet…although you come close."
Mary raised her head and glared menacingly at him.
"What? It was mean as a compliment," he said and waggled his brows at her.
She rolled her eyes, proving his assessment had been correct, before laying her head back down.
Then the topic turned back to Robert and his appearance at dinner.
"Papa saved the day, really," Mary declared. "Until he showed up, my mother looked as though she had just bit into a lemon."
Matthew snorted a laugh and agreed that Cora had looked tense, especially when her eyes veered to Mary and him.
"She was none too pleased with me, either, Mary. That was obvious, although she was doing her best to hide it from Robert."
"No doubt to keep from aggravating his ulcer," Mary speculated. Then, "I'm so glad it all ended well."
"I am, too," he replied. "I don't know how many dinners I could take with your mother giving us the evil eye."
He found then that his back was not comfortable in the position he was in and asked Mary if she would move off of him so that he could adjust his pillows.
She obliged his request, then teased that she had been quite comfortable and hoped there would be no further adjustments needed.
"I will do my utmost not to disturb you, again," Matthew said with dramatic flair and settled into his niche with a smile.
"Perfect", he said and gestured for Mary to come back to him.
She scooted over to his side and before getting back into her original position, asked, "Are you quite sure you are done now?"
He chuckled and nodded his head. "Positive."
She smiled at him and after laying her head back down, touched upon Tom's phone call from Catherine during dinner.
Everyone at the table had stopped speaking and turned their heads to the sound of Tom's screaming, "Quarantine!" from the next room.
Upon returning to the dining table, he had explained that an influx of patients with mumps at the hospital had necessitated all employees be quarantined there so the disease would not spread further for 12 days.
"I didn't realize an adult contracting the mumps could be so dangerous.," Mary said.
"Nor did I," Matthew replied, but since Tom never had the mumps, Mother said he would be putting his health at great risk if he did not stay away from anyone who might be infected with the disease or had been in contact with someone who had."
Their brother-in-law, Evelyn, had then added weight to Isobel's warning by stating he had known a chap who caught the mumps when he was 35, who had to be hospitalized for a full month.
That had made Tom's eyes go wide and he said, "Well, that's that, then."
Matthew liked Evelyn a great deal and wished, as Mary did, that he and Edith did not have to leave in the morning. However, Evelyn had explained that he had to be in London to vote on an unemployment insurance bill that had been brought to the floor. If voted into law, it would reduce the age at which a person entered the National Insurance scheme to 13 and the claiming age to 16.
It was a matter of importance, considering how many boys had taken on the role as head of their household since their fathers had been lost in the Great War.
His thoughts went back to Tom, then, as he had noticed that although he had returned to eating his meal, he appeared dejected, picking at his food and leaving a good deal of it on his plate, and he voiced his concern to Mary.
"I'm sure he was thinking of how much he will miss Catherine," Mary offered as a reason for their brother-in-law's lack of appetite.
Though he had no doubt that was true, Matthew believed there was more to it and said as much.
"I wonder if he is anxious about taking care of Daniel while Catherine is away. This is the first time he will be taking on the role of his parent and he might be doubtful that he is up to the task. After all, Sybbie hasn't been a toddler for quite some time and Tom raised her from birth. He is stepping in as the little tyke's father."
The two of them were silent for a long moment, and then he felt Mary's head nodding.
'I wonder if that was what Evelyn and Tom had been speaking in hushed tones about just before dinner came to an end. He, of all people, would certainly know first-hand how it feels to be a parent to a child that you did not sire ..and he has been wonderful with Marigold," she said.
Matthew voiced his hope that the two men had been conversing about fatherhood and agreed that Evelyn would be of great help to Tom.
"I will speak with Tom, too, Mary. Although I have never walked in his shoes, as Evelyn has, I know he will be an exemplary father to Daniel…and I will make a strong case to convince him I am right."
"You always do, darling," Mary said, patting him playfully on his stomach with the palm of her hand.
They spoke of Violet then, as the conversation at dinner had, not surprisingly, veered to her passing.
Cora, who had been deep in thought and noticeably absent in the conversations taking place up to that point, had livened when asked about her mother-in-law's memorial service and gushed that the church had been packed with people from the village who came to pay their respects. Many even had brought flowers from their gardens, roses in particular, and placed them on the altar.
That had moved her to near tears.
Her description had been so vivid that Matthew felt as though he had been present at the service and by the time Cora was done speaking, he could tell Mary did, too.
Violet had remained the topic of conversation and when the meal ended, everyone at the table shared a memory that she left them with.
Edith, quite animated after Evelyn had cajoled her into having a second glass of wine, reminisced about the time Downton served as a convalescent home for the wounded officers during the Great War.
"Granny hated the house being filled with strangers, especially during dinner when the men's raucous behavior in the next room made having a quiet meal impossible. "On one of those occasions, she said, 'It is like living in a second-rate hotel, where the guests keep arriving and no one seems to leave.'
Then Mary piped in, "How about the day you and I were a double bill in one of the shows that we put together to lift their spirits. Granny was sitting next to Papa in the audience and when I introduced us as "The Crawley Sisters", she did a double take that was so fast that I thought it might leave her with whiplash.
"Now I have heard everything," she told Papa in her own inimitable style and scowled.
Mary and Edith broke out into laughter, and it warmed his heart to see it. How different their relationship was now than when he first met them, and all for the better.
Evelyn came next, recalling the time he ran into Violet in London during one of her visits with Rosamund. The Dowager had casually mentioned to him that it must be her day to run into members of Parliament as she just had a long conversation with Lord Ponsonby. Violet then shared that the Viscount had gone on and on about Edith…how lovely she was…accomplished…even-tempered, etcetera, before he asked her outright if she was still on the market.
Everyone at the table broke out into laughter and Edith blushed, insisting she had no idea Lord Ponsonby had any interest in her whatsoever.
At that point, Evelyn said Violet's final words to him were that 'he should not let the grass grow under his feet' where Edith was concerned' and he had proposed to her the following day. Then with a cheeky smile, he added that there was no way he could have lived with himself if she married someone from the opposition party.
Matthew began to chuckle and he felt Mary's laughter vibrating on his chest, where she remained happily ensconced with his left arm wrapped around her shoulder.
They settled down then, letting out a collective sigh before maneuvering their bodies into a position conducive to sleep.
They still were entwined, though. They fell asleep that way often, and even though he found his arm numb at times in the morning, it was still his favorite position.
His hand glided up and down Mary's arm and he relished the feel of her soft skin. Then he felt hers slip beneath his pajama top and begin drawing what felt like figure eights on his stomach.
Mary's touch as well as the sweet scent of lavender that emanated from her skin soothed his weary body, while at the same time igniting a primal urge within him.
He heard Mary gasp as the bottom of her last figure eight touched upon something familiar.
Her head popped up like a jack in the box and hand pulled back as if it had landed on a hot stove.
"I distinctly recall your telling me that you were tired…dead to the world," she said in the manner of an opposing council accusing him of committing perjury.
Matthew flashed her a devilish grin, grasped hold of her hand and guided it back.
"I've risen from the dead before, Mary. Remember?
Then, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her.
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AN: Sorry for the delay. I had COVID again and a lot to catch up on. With just one chapter and epilogue left, I am excited and sad at the same time.
This, surprisingly, was one of the hardest chapters to write. Although it didn't require a lot of research, I worked doubly hard to ensure that every character was in character and the storyline would flow smoothly into the final chapter.
You have my word that you will have a good idea of where Matthew and Mary and those they love are headed when the story comes to a close, and there will be an epilogue.
As always reviews are appreciated.
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