Chapter Ten

Mary pulled on her gloves and stood up from her vanity, smoothing out her dress and checked her appearance in the mirror. She heard the door to Matthew's dressing room open and smiled as her husband entered the room and closed the door behind him.

"Are you ready to go down?" Mary asked.

"Not quite." Matthew replied.

She raised an eyebrow as he walked over to her and pulled her into his arms. She laughed as she wrapped her arms around his neck, holding them tightly together. Matthew bent his head down and kissed her sweetly before pulling back.

"I wonder who our mystery guests are?" Mary mused.

"As long as they don't hold us up for the entire night. I have plans for you." Matthew whispered.

"Oh? What kind of plans?" Mary teased.

Matthew grinned, placing his lips to her ear.

"You'll have to wait and see." He whispered huskily, nipping at her earlobe.

Mary pouted when he pulled away. But she found herself feeling rather eager to get through the dinner and drinks so that she could be alone with her husband. But before she could say anything in return for her husband's teasing, someone knocked on her bedroom door. She rolled her eyes as she turned her attention to the doorway, to see Edith dressed for dinner and looking away from the married couple with a slight blush to her cheeks.

"Oh…I'm sorry…Mama sent me to ask if you're coming down…" Edith mumbled.

"We'll be down now." Mary replied curtly.

Edith nodded and left the bedroom. Mary moved her arms down from Matthew's neck, resting them on top of his but he didn't release her from his embrace.

"I could always send word down to Mrs Patmore and asked for a tray to be sent up to us." Matthew suggested amusingly.

Mary raised an eyebrow.

"You know you have an insatiable appetite for me since we wed?" she asked quietly.

Matthew nodded.

"Would you like to know a secret?" he asked softly.

"Yes." Mary grinned.

He moved his mouth back to her ear so that only she could hear him.

"I have desired you from the moment you stepped into the sitting room at Crawley House." He teased.

Mary let out a moan and pouted once more as he released her from his embrace. Mary watched as he crossed the bedroom and waited for her in the doorway. Rolling her eyes, she followed his lead and left the bedroom, walking along the upstairs gallery and down the staircase until they were stood next to each other and with the rest of the family in the great hall.

"Our guests are just coming up the drive." Cora said with a smile.

"The mysterious ones? I wonder if they truly are mysterious." Violet commented.

"Be nice Mama." Cora requested.

"I don't think anyone's ever described me as nice." Violet added quietly.

Mary smiled amusingly just as they saw a car pulling up outside the front doors. Barrow left the house, heading out to the drive and opened the car door. But to everyone's surprise, their mysterious guests weren't so mysterious at all. Mary felt her heart drop inside her chest as her brown eyes scanned the two guests, the anguish of the last few months prior to her wedding returning in one instant.

"Sir Richard and Lady Carlisle." Carson announced thinly.

Sir Richard looked around the room at the family with a smug look on his face, but Mary's eyes focused on his new wife. Her reddish-blonde hair shining in a tight bun and her kind blue eyes filled with fear. If Mary took more opportunity to study Lavinia, she would have sworn that the woman was trembling.

"I can see that our arrival has left you all stunned." Sir Richard boasted amusingly.

Mary tore her eyes away from the couple and looked at her husband. Matthew stood there, white as a sheet, his fists clenched, and his jaw tightened. He was angry.

But why was he angry?

"How dare you think you have the right to show up at my house?" Robert barked.

"Now, Now, Lord Grantham. Your lovely wife extended us an invitation to dinner." Carlisle replied in mock innocence.

"Had we known that it was you, you certainly wouldn't have been invited!" Robert growled.

Carlisle laughed hysterically. He was the only one who found the situation hilarious. Mary's eyes darted to Lavinia who looked at her apologetically and shifted uncomfortably where she stood.

"I thought your sort did things properly. Are we going to be shown to the dining room? Or shall we send for our car to return us to Haxby?" Sir Richard asked expectantly.

"You can leave!" Matthew sneered.

Carlisle's attention diverted to Matthew and Mary inhaled deeply, her heart pounding nervously against her chest.

"I wondered when you were going to speak up. A trained little puppy dog, aren't you Crawley?" Richard sneered.

"Leave this house or I'll have the pleasure of throwing you out!" Matthew warned.

"Richard-"

But Carlisle waved his left hand fast in front of Lavinia's face and she instantly fell silent. As Mary met the sad blue eyes once more, she felt her heart break for Lavinia. She would never have guessed in a million years that Carlisle would marry her when their engagements had ended. The way that Lavinia looked, broken and miserable, Mary felt sympathy for the woman. If she and Matthew hadn't kissed that night everyone became ill with the flu, she would be standing in Lavinia's place right now. But would she have been so terrified? Lavinia was a kinder person than she was. A softer woman.

The one thing she did truly know, was that Lavinia didn't deserve any of this unhappiness that she was being subjected to.

"Carson, would you please call my car back around?" Carlisle requested.

"Yes Sir." Carson said thinly.

It took merely minutes for Carlisle's chauffeur to return to the front of the house with the car. Sir Richard tipped the top of his hat to the family and turned on his heel.

"Lavinia! Come along!" Carlisle ordered.

But Mary kept her eyes on Lavinia, her eyes looking desperately at her.

"Help me." Lavinia mouthed silently.

Mary frowned as Lavinia turned her back on the family and followed her husband back to the car. They heard the car pull off down the driveway and disappeared out of sight.

"My Lord? What should I tell Mrs Patmore about the dinner?" Carson enquired.

Robert took a few moments before replying.

"Tell her that we don't have guests after all, but we'll be taking dinner momentarily." Robert stated.

Carson nodded his head and the family walked through to the dining room to ponder over what had just happened.

oOo

That night, Anna had readied Mary for bed and closed the door behind her as Mary climbed into the bedsheets. She toyed with the end of her braid, lost in her thoughts of Lavinia and how much she must be suffering being married to Sir Richard Carlisle. How could Lavinia end up being married to Carlisle of all people? One thing Mary was certain of, Lavinia feared Sir Richard after her involvement in the Marconi scandal.

The door of Matthew's dressing room opened and closed as her husband crossed the bedroom and climbed into bed next to her. He held out his right arm and she snuggled into his chest, wrapping her arm across his waist as his other hand took hold of it. She sighed contentedly as felt his fingers trace patterns on her shoulders, the sensation soothing her.

"What are you thinking about?" Matthew asked quietly.

"Lavinia." She replied honestly.

She heard Matthew exhale sharply.

"It's all I've thought about since dinner." He sighed heavily.

"I feel for her. Why would she agree to marry Carlisle? She doesn't like him. I believe she's scared of him." Mary mused.

"Lavinia has never caused a moment's sorrow in her whole life. When we parted ways, I wanted nothing but the best for her, but Carlisle is far from that." Matthew said bitterly.

"You were angry when he showed up here." Mary noted.

She felt Matthew nod and he let out another sigh.

"I'm angry at myself. This is all my fault." Matthew said quietly.

Mary leaned up over him, looking down at him in confusion. Why would he blame himself for all this?

"What do you mean?" Mary questioned.

"If I hadn't…broken her heart…she wouldn't be trapped with Carlisle now…" Matthew answered carefully.

Mary stiffened in his embrace which only caused him to frown at her. But Mary felt annoyed with him for what he had just said. Of course, she knew that it was natural for Matthew to feel guilt about hurting Lavinia but that had been months ago, and they should be putting the past behind them now that they were finally married.

"What is it?" Matthew asked.

The words came out of her mouth before she could stop them.

"Do you regret marrying me and throwing Lavinia over?" Mary questioned.

She watched as Matthew sat up and his jaw stiffened. Mary felt her heartbeat faster, her body wanted to shake angrily but she stopped herself.

"Why on earth would you ask me that?" Matthew growled.

"You're the one who is showing so much guilt about Lavinia. How am I supposed to know that you don't wish things were different?" Mary accused.

Matthew glared at her and kicked back the covers.

"I don't understand how you could ask me such a thing when you know that you're the woman I've desperately longed for." He said angrily.

"And I don't understand why you would blame yourself for Lavinia's marriage to Carlisle! We don't know the circumstances, Matthew. We might haven nothing to do with it!" Mary tried to reason.

"I don't expect you to understand." Matthew said bitterly.

"Because I'm so unfeeling?"

"I never said that-"

"But you meant it." Mary accused.

Matthew stood up from the bed, his face turning to anger as he pulled on his dressing gown.

"I think I'll sleep in my dressing room tonight." Matthew stated.

"If you think that best!" Mary said bitterly.

"I think it would," Matthew agreed, "Before either of us say something we won't be able to retract."

Mary nodded, biting her lip as she laid back down, pulling the covers up to her chin and rolled on to her side facing the windows. She heard Matthew walk to the dressing room door, but he didn't open it straight away.

"Mary?" he asked quietly.

She didn't turn her head; she merely closed her eyes to stop herself from crying in front of him.

"Mary, I don't want to go to bed angry." Matthew said quietly.

"I think it's a little late for that." Mary said quietly but her voice heavy with emotion.

"Mary…"

She felt his weight on the empty side of the bed, but she didn't open her eyes or turn to look at him. When she felt his hand on her shoulder, she still didn't look at him.

"Darling…please…" Matthew pleaded.

She opened her eyes and the tears fell down her cheeks, wetting her pillow. Mary tried to resist is comfort, but he rolled her on to her back and his once hardened face softened when he looked down into her wet eyes and saw the pain there.

"My darling…I'm so sorry…" Matthew apologised.

Mary let out a shuddered breath as she wiped her eyes.

"I hate this, Matthew," she cried, "We're supposed to be the happiest we've ever been. And Carlisle is ruining that!"

Matthew gently stroked her cheek, catching the stray tears with the tip of his thumb.

"I know, darling, I'm sorry."

He pulled her into a tight embrace, and she wrapped her arms around his chest and pulled him on top of her. They stayed like that for a while, their hearts beating in unison until Matthew looked down at her and pressed his lips to hers. Mary accepted his kiss, closing her eyes and opening her mouth to him and kissed him desperately. Their anger faded into need for the other and their argument was briefly forgotten about as they lost themselves in each other.

After they had made love, they clung to each other in the aftermath, both calming down from the high they had found together.

"I'm sorry. I never meant for you to question if I regretted marrying you." Matthew apologised.

"I'm sorry for asking you in the first place." Mary said quietly.

"Mary?"

She looked up at him, her brown eyes filled with curiosity.

"I don't regret what has happened between us. I don't regret the end of my engagement to Lavinia, nor do I regret marrying you or building a life with you. You are the future that I want, and I will love you until the last breath leaves my body." Matthew assured her.

"Oh my darling…me too…me too…" Mary said lovingly.

Matthew smiled at her and kissed her forehead.

"But…"

"But you feel guilty about the situation that Lavinia has found herself in?" Mary assumed.

Matthew nodded.

"I do feel responsible if she is in an unhappy marriage to Carlisle. When we parted ways, I never would have thought she would find herself married to that man." He replied.

"Before she left, she mouthed something to me, it was as if she were asking for help." Mary stated.

"But how can we help her? We're not in a position to. Carlisle has the investments in the Canadian railway, and we have to go and view Eryholme in a few days. Besides, legally, she belongs to Carlisle now." Matthew sighed.

"I'm not sure. Perhaps there may be an opportunity in the future for us to learn more of her situation." Mary mused.

"Let's not dwell on it tonight. We need to sleep." Matthew sighed.

Nodding her agreement, Mary kissed him once more before settling into the crook of his arm and lay her head on his shoulder. Letting out a loud yawn, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.