CHAPTER 11 – MATTHEW MAKES NEW CAREER CHOICES
Matthew Crawley's office, Harvell and Carter, March 1913
Matthew was making notes on Mr Johnson's contract, searching for possible loopholes they might have overlooked in the first draft. The task was not urgent and the day was nice and warm, with feeling of spring in the air. He stretched, glad that he decided to take off his coat, when his clerk walked in.
"Someone to see you, Mr Crawley."
Matthew frowned in surprise.
"There's nothing in my diary."
"It's Lady Grantham."
"Well, in that case show her in at once," ordered Matthew, hastening to put his coat back on. "Cousin Cora, to what do I owe - "
He stopped his greeting, speechless.
"I hope I am not a disappointment," said the Dowager Countess, filling the room with her imperial presence.
"Of course not!" Matthew hurried to say and tried to regain his composure while offering the Dowager a seat. "What brings you here, Cousin Violet?"
The Dowager sat regally, her back straight as a board and waited until he took his own sit behind the desk.
"I want you to look whether the entail on Grantham estate can be broken and Cora's fortune given to Mary," she said bluntly, without preamble.
Matthew stared at her.
"Well, will you do it?" barked Violet impatiently and he tried to shake off his shock as he searched for an answer.
"Surely I can't be the first lawyer you asked to review it," he said incredulously.
"No," admitted Violet, "But they were useless. I don't think they even bothered to properly investigate the matter in their respect for Murray's original opinion. I want you to review it again."
"I am not sure I am more qualified on this matter than Mr Murray," hedged Matthew, knowing that it was doubtful he would succeed in avoiding this unexpected task.
He was right.
"But surely you're willing to try?" persisted Violet.
"Of course. But I doubt I'll find anything Murray has missed."
"I will pay you the compliment that I do not believe you wish to inherit just because nobody's investigated properly," said Violet, staring at him sharply.
"No, but - "
"Nor can Murray accuse you of making trouble, when you are the one to suffer most from a discovery."
"You're right that I don't wish to benefit, at Mary's expense, from ignorance of the law."
"Thank you," said Violet, satisfied that she read him correctly. "I knew you'd say that. Putting it bluntly, do you think Robert has thrown in the towel, prematurely?"
She looked at him firmly, waiting for his answer.
"It will depend on the exact terms of the entail and of the deed of gift when Cousin Cora's money was transferred to the estate," answered Matthew cautiously. He found it hard not to quake in his shoes under the Dowager's stare.
"That is all I ask. To understand the exact terms." She leaned back in her chair which suddenly moved under her. "Good heavens, what am I sitting on?"
xxx
Matthew frowned at the documents spread out in front of him.
As soon as the Dowager left his office, he dived straight into the task she had given him. He knew well he would not have been able to concentrate on anything else anyway.
The documents themselves, when one got through the legal jargon they were written in, were pretty straightforward and ironclad. His next resource were legal books with precedents and case studies involving entails and their breaking – and he didn't like what they were plainly telling him.
He had been honest with Cousin Violet. He had no wish to benefit at Mary's expense if there was a slightest chance of relinquishing his inheritance to her. He found it absurd that he, barely related to the family even if they did embrace him as "Cousin Matthew", was to be put ahead of Mary, the eldest child of the Earl, just because it happened that he was a man and she was a woman. What was a fourth cousin, never met before, to that? Their common ancestor had to be found four generations, over 150 years in the past. And yet, all of this – her father's estate, her mother's dowry, all the homes she had lived in all her life – was supposed to go to him as soon as her father died. It was patently absurd and unfair.
So now he had to explain his findings to Dowager Countess of Grantham and hope to Heaven she would believe his conclusions to be honest and not motivated by self-interest. He dropped his head in his hands with a groan. How was he to make her believe it? How could anyone believe that he was not over the moon at the thought of inheriting such vast riches? Matthew guessed that most people would be reasonably overjoyed, but for him both the circumstances and the strings attached soured any potential joy considerably. He just had to find a way to explain it all to Cousin Violet.
Downton Village, April 1913
Fortunately for him, Matthew ran into Mary while coming back from work.
She was just coming out of the post office and Matthew momentarily forgot what he wanted to say at the sight of her bright smile when she spotted him on his bicycle.
Ever since that horrible night after the hunt there was a new closeness between them. Matthew assumed it was impossible to carry a corpse together in the middle of the night and not to form a deeper bond with each other. He was still deeply touched by Mary's trust and the fact that it was him she reached to for help when she desperately needed it. It must have meant something. He was trying very hard not to allow his hopes rise too wildly, but it was futile. He did hope it meant Mary felt for him something stronger than friendship or at the very least was on her way to it.
"Hello," he said, finally remembering that he was supposed to greet her, not just to grin at her like an idiot.
"Hello," she answered in her melodious voice and suddenly Matthew's day seemed brighter.
"What are you doing here?" he enquired. To his amusement, Mary rolled her eyes.
"Another telegram to Aunt Rosamund regarding shipment of meat and vegetables. You would think there are no shops in London, the way she is demanding food from us on regular basis."
"Maybe she yearns for taste of home."
"Maybe she likes not paying for her food," muttered Mary darkly. "Although why would Aunt Rosamund have to watch her expenses is beyond me. Uncle Marmaduke left her a fortune."
"Maybe she keeps that fortune by not spending it wantonly," teased Matthew, earning himself a glare which for some reason he found absolutely endearing. He admitted inwardly that he really had it bad.
He reminded himself that he was a man on a mission today.
"Do you know if your father's doing anything this evening?"
Mary looked up at him in puzzlement.
"Having dinner with his family. Why?"
"Could I look in afterwards?"
"May I ask why?" repeated Mary again with a slight frown. Matthew wondered if she suspected him of wanting to confess the Pamuk matter to Robert after all and that's what made her so uncharacteristically wary. He hastened to reassure her, although his true purpose was also hardly a neutral topic where Mary was concerned.
"Your grandmother paid me a visit this afternoon, and I – well, never mind, but I would like to see him."
Mary looked truly shocked for some reason at this revelation.
"Granny came to see you? Is it all part of the Great Matter?"
Matthew smiled uneasily.
"I'm afraid so," he answered reluctantly. He felt supremely awkward raising the topic of entail with Mary. He hated the thought of any gain of his – and it was an enormous gain – coming to him only at her expense.
Mary frowned.
"I did not expect her to bother you with that," she said in clear exasperation. "At least not yet... I wonder what prompted her to act."
"She did not tell me her reasons," said Matthew carefully. "So, could I come?"
Mary sighed but nodded.
"Please do, I will try to get Papa to see you discreetly. But do not think you're going to be able to avoid Granny for long."
Matthew gulped, not really relishing the prospect of that conversation at all.
Great Hall, Downton Abbey, April 1913
Matthew was standing behind the glass door leading to the great hall, waiting for Mary to let him know the way was clear. He saw the women leaving the dining room in the daily ritual of withdrawing into the drawing room, led by William. He saw them all but found himself looking only at Mary.
Mary, in the most revealing dress he had ever seen on her, leaving an expanse of her back exposed, and hugging her figure in a way which made him swallow hard. He felt a wave of lust more powerful than he had ever experienced before and he was unfortunately not a stranger at all when it came to lust inspired by her. Everything about her was alluring. The way she dressed, the way she moved, the way she turned. He felt as if he was drowning in want for her.
It took him a herculean effort to appear normal when she noticed him and came to lead him to the library.
Library, Downton Abbey, April 1913
"You know," said Mary slowly, hugging herself. "I have accepted the entail long ago. I never liked it, but it's been ages since it truly distressed me. And yet, hearing again how little I mean in it all, it hurts."
"On the contrary, you mean a great deal. A very great deal."
The way he looked at her made Mary shiver.
"I'm sorry, I wish I could think of something to say that would help."
"There's nothing. As I said, I accepted it long ago. But you mustn't let it trouble you."
"It does trouble me. It troubles me very much."
Mary's eyes softened.
"It is hardly your fault, you do realise that? The entail had been created before either of us were born."
"I know," Matthew paced, indeed visibly troubled. "But it does not make me feel any better to benefit from it at your expense. I have looked through every source, and I can't find one reason to base a challenge. And yet it is so patently unfair to you."
"It gives you real credit to look at it like that," Mary said gently, "I'm afraid that for all Granny's and mine protests such matters are still rather common and widely accepted. Nobody was raising any fuss when it was Patrick who was the heir."
Matthew stopped pacing and looked at her with a wry smile.
"Do you think the reason for the fuss now is the fact that I am barely related to you all or from the middle class?"
"Both," she grinned at him, but immediately grew serious. "Granny shouldn't have asked that of you. What if you actually found a way to challenge it? She would be forcing you to act against your own interests. That wasn't right."
Matthew looked at her with equal seriousness.
"I regret I didn't find any way to challenge it. It would have been even more wrong for me to accept the inheritance if there was any doubt about it going to a more deserving person. And I cannot imagine anybody more deserving of Downton than you."
Mary felt herself blushing.
"Deserving or not, you still shouldn't have been asked to investigate the way to lose the money you have been promised to expect."
"I don't need them," said Matthew dismissively, "I have always expected to live on my wits and make my fortune that way and I would not mind going back to that. Inheriting your parents' fortune one day would most probably be nice and enjoyable in some ways, but it comes with enormous responsibility for the estate and the people relying on it. I don't have to explain that to you, of all people. It's a very mixed blessing for me still."
"So you would prefer for me to deal with the trouble?" asked Mary teasingly, glad for an excuse to lighten the mood.
"We both know which one of us is more competent on this subject."
"Oh, I don't know," Mary said musingly, "You seem to be a quick learner. Look how nicely the cottages project is coming along, all thanks to you. I have a feeling you're going to be great at running and reforming the estate."
"I can't imagine doing it without you," said Matthew with surprising intensity. He took her hand, "Mary, I - "
He was interrupted by Carson, coming to inform them that Lord Grantham went to bed. Matthew dropped her hand hastily and Mary mentally cursed. Judging from Matthew's expression he was probably doing the same thing.
The moment was definitely broken though and under watchful eyes of Carson they reluctantly made their goodbyes.
"Will you come to dinner tomorrow?," asked Mary, walking him to the door. Matthew regretfully shook his head.
"No, I must go to London for the rest of the week. I have several meetings to attend and I will be catching up with Jack. I will most likely return on Sunday."
"Oh," Mary didn't bother to hide her disappointment. She rather hoped he would pick up on it. "I suspect you will be tired from the journey, but if not, would you come to dinner then? I'm sure my parents would be delighted to have you."
"I would be delighted to be here," answered Matthew with smouldering eyes, taking her hand once again. "Until then, Mary."
"Until then," answered Mary, watching him pick his coat and hat from Carson and leave.
Brown Hotel, London, April 1913
Matthew nursed his brandy, looking at Jack thoughtfully.
"You're sure I am who you need for the job? Surely there are more qualified candidates.
Jack leaned forward with an earnest look.
"There might be, but thankfully for you I happen to like you and since this job will take many hours and many frazzled nerves, I want to spend them with someone I can actually stand. Besides, you have always been rather brilliant with takeovers and this one will be massive."
"If it goes through," warned Matthew caustically. "It's the government we are talking about, the Parliament will have to approve the deal."
"That's true," acquiesced Jack. "But even if it doesn't it will still be an invaluable experience for us and an amazing opportunity for networking. Your new connections could be useful for that part; heir presumptive to the Earl of Grantham might be more persuasive for those toffs in House of Lords than a bunch of lawyers and managers from an oil company located in Persia."
Matthew got up to pour himself more brandy from a decanter on the sideboard.
"I see why you really want me so much," he grumbled.
Jack grinned and raised his glass in a mock toast.
"Part of our payment will be in shares, you know. If the deal goes through and the government delivers on Churchill's promised orders, this can end up very lucrative for us."
"If," scoffed Matthew, "Right now the company is on the verge of bankruptcy. They are starting to produce crude oil, but they don't have any buyers lined up. No wonder they want to pay with shares with their cash flow as it is."
Jack shrugged.
"What's the worst outcome for us though? We will spend some hectic weeks or months, working our arses off and potentially end up with reimbursed expenses and a bunch of worthless shares, true. But if the deal comes through and the company picks up, we might make a windfall."
"I would have to resign from my job though, wouldn't I?"
"You would hardly starve without it. Doesn't Lord Grantham pay you a stipend anyway?"
"He does," sighed Matthew, sitting back in the armchair opposite Jack. "But I hate relying on his money."
"You really are middle class, aren't you?" asked Jack with a fond smile. "I would have no scruples in accepting more money from Pater, alas, I am not the eldest son and have to fend for myself."
"I am not Cousin Robert's son at all," pointed Matthew.
"True but being his heir, you profit all the same. It's not about charity, you know. Lord Grantham has an image to maintain, and his heir's standard of living is part of it."
Matthew laid his head on the back of the armchair and stared at the opulent moulding on the white ceiling.
"It's just getting to me, you know? I have always been satisfied with my place in life and my standard of living. I earned enough to keep Mother and I in comfort and could reasonably expect that I would only earn more and be able to support my future wife and family easily."
"And how has that changed?" asked Jack curiously, "Your prospects have only improved, to put it mildly, not worsened."
Matthew sighed, keeping his eyes on the ceiling.
"But the wife I would choose now is used to much higher standard of living."
There, he said it. It was the first time he admitted out loud to anybody that he wanted Mary to be his wife.
Jack leaned back into his armchair and took a slow sip of his brandy.
"But I still fail to see the problem. Haven't you told me back in October that her family wanted you two to marry from the first moment? They seem hardly likely to object to your status and prospects."
Matthew wearily put his arm over his eyes.
"They would not object, no. In fact, they would all be delighted. Our marriage would keep the estate and Cousin Cora's fortune in the family and give Mary a title of Countess of Grantham one day."
"But...?"
"But Cousin Robert is a healthy and active man in his forties. He might well live into his eighties, which I sincerely wish for him, but it does mean that it might well be forty years before I am an Earl or have ownership of any money. And for those forty years I and Mary would have to live on her father's charity, because however much I can earn in my practice it's not likely that I would reach the level of Mary's expected standard of living."
"I told you it's not charity," argued Jack. "They definitely do not see it as one, but as your right. Besides, you would also receive Lady Mary's settlement on your marriage and it's bound to be substantial."
"Great," grumbled Matthew, "So I could live on my wife's money as well as my father-in-law's."
"Legally it would be your money, as you well know."
"It doesn't make a difference."
"So you are not going to marry Lady Mary then if that's how you see matters?"
Matthew raised his arm off his face and glared at Jack.
"I will marry her if only she takes me."
"So I fail to see the point of this wallowing."
"I just wish I could have more money I can truly call my own, preferably one I earned myself."
Matthew sighed again and drunk the rest of his drink.
"Well, then you really should join me to work on this deal," Jack circled back to their original topic of conversation. "If it works out, you might get your wish."
"Would Mr Swire even agree to add me to the team in any meaningful capacity?"
Jack laughed.
"Reggie? Absolutely. After all the stories I have been telling him about you for the last six months he considers you a friend already. Actually, he is throwing a dinner party tomorrow and he would love to extend an invitation to you."
"How long have you been planning to snare me into this?" asked Matthew suspiciously. Jack grinned unrepentantly.
"Since before I moved here, actually. I knew I could get you to agree."
"But wouldn't I have to move to London as well?" hesitated Matthew, more tempted that he wanted to admit, but unwilling to leave Yorkshire behind.
"For the negotiations, yes, we would need you here. But it's temporary, you could stay with me and go back to Downton on weekends. The Crawleys will come to Town for the season anyway, so they will be here May to July."
"And afterwards?"
"You know I've been considering using your new connections to our advantage. If you stayed with us, you could deal with our toff clients in the North, working and visiting them there when they are in their country seats for summer and autumn. They would probably like to deal with somebody more like themselves and you could discuss business over port and cigars more easily than by luring them to our offices. You would need to come to London occasionally outside of the winter and summer seasons, but I'm sure your wife would appreciate a shopping trip."
"She's not my wife," pointed Matthew distractedly, pondering the possibilities offered by Jack. It all did sound both manageable and awfully tempting.
"Yet," dismissed Jack with a wave of hand. "You would be much more morose if you thought your suit hopeless."
Matthew had to admit, if only to himself, that he didn't think his suit hopeless anymore. One did not carry corpses and keep it secret for a woman who did not give at least some indication of caring about you.
"So," asked Jack hopefully, "what says you?"
"Let's see what Mr Swire thinks about it," hedged Matthew, "But if he confirms he wants me onboard, I think I would like to join you two."
Jack whooped in delight and got up to pour them more brandy in celebration.
Dining Room, Downton Abbey, April 1913
They were sitting down to dinner when Matthew finally rushed in, hurriedly making apologies for his lateness and explaining about a delayed train. Mary smiled at him when he fell into his usual chair next to her, looking flustered and a little out of sorts.
"How was London? I trust you concluded all your business there successfully?" she asked. Matthew's wide-eyed look in response to her casual question startled her.
"Yes, very successfully," he answered, but she had impression he avoided her eyes. She frowned a bit, disconcerted. Unfortunately, at this point in her previous life she had paid very little attention to Cousin Matthew and consequently had no idea if anything special had happened in London. Come to think of it she didn't even know if he had gone to London then.
The dinner went on in a normal fashion. Only Matthew, his mother and Granny were present outside of the immediate family, so the chatter was rather informal and of little substance. Matthew still seemed distracted, although he made an effort to participate in general conversation. Thomas and William served dessert plates, when he visibly braced himself and said loudly that he had an announcement to make, blushing when he noticed significant glances at himself and Mary.
"While in London, I have accepted a position in a partnership with my friend Jack Weatherby and Mr Reginald Swire."
The clatter of Mary's fork dropped on the plate sounded clear and loud like a bell in a total silence which fell over the room.
"My boy," asked Papa in confusion, voicing the immediate question on their all minds, "does that mean you will abandon us for London?"
"Temporarily, yes," answered Matthew and hurried to add, "But only for a few months. We will be working on a big potential deal for a primary customer of ours, but the idea is, if the deal goes through successfully, for me to buy into the partnership properly and become the firm's representative in the North. I would still have to occasionally travel to London on business, but most likely not more than two or three times a month."
"A partnership! How marvellous at your age!" exclaimed Isobel with a proud smile. Matthew blushed a bit.
"Well, seems that Jack has given me quite a glowing recommendation and the enquires Mr Swire made with both my old firm at Manchester and Harvell and Carter in Ripon supported it sufficiently."
"Congratulations, Matthew! You must have deserved it then!" exclaimed Sybil excitedly.
"Yes, congratulations, Matthew. It is unexpected, but of course we are proud of you," assured Papa, although still with a bit of hesitation. "But do you think you will still have some time for the Estate?"
"Absolutely," answered Matthew immediately. "I expect to be quite busy for the first few months, but you all will be in London for part of it anyway. And if everything goes well and I am established in my role by autumn, I should be able to devote similar amount of time to Downton as currently."
Papa visibly relaxed.
Mary could not. She was not sure what was more distressing – such a serious divergence from her timeline, so completely unexpected – or the fact that Matthew was going to be spending months in London while working closely with Lavinia's father – and most likely getting quite well acquainted with her before Mary had time to secure his affections! She had not expected a necessity of worrying about Lavinia until at least 1915 – or worrying about her at all, since she planned to be long married to Matthew by that point – but at present Matthew did not show her any regard which might not have been explained as strong friendship with a side of attraction and was thus free to get attached to Lavinia instead. She knew of course that Reggie Swire had been his dear friend for some time before he had met his daughter – that's why he visited him in London at his leave when he had been determined to avoid Downton – but where did this sudden partnership idea come from? What did change in this timeline for Matthew to make such a serious career change?
"Congratulations, Matthew. I'm sure you deserve it, but it does seem quite sudden. How has it come about?" she managed to ask finally.
Matthew looked at her intently.
"Do you remember our conversation at Christmas?"
"The one about how you are more of an industrial lawyer than a country solicitor?"
Matthew smiled in response.
"The exact one. Well, Jack already mentioned back in October that he would like me to join him in London if he managed to establish himself there and with this potential deal coming up he and Mr Swire needed additional help with my specialisation."
He had mentioned the possibility during their discussion on Christmas, but frustratingly it did not explain what prompted him to accept it now when he presumably had refused in the former timeline. Mary bit her lip and picked some torte with her fork.
"And why have you decided to accept his offer?" she pushed.
Matthew looked at her seriously.
"I wanted to do something of my own," he said intently, "something which was a result of my own achievements, not just a coincidence of birth or family connexions. I am not scorning them – I know most people would be envious of my privilege and good luck and rightly so – but I wanted to feel I earned and deserved some of my own fortune."
"And rightly so!" exclaimed Sybil, listening carefully from her place on his other side. "I think anything which is a result of our own actions must bring more fulfilment and feeling of achievement than something merely given to us."
Matthew smiled fondly at his youngest cousin.
"We are obviously in agreement here, Cousin Sybil."
Papa fidgeted in his chair at the head of the table, clearly a little uncomfortable with the turn of the conversation.
"There is plenty of fulfilment in handling the role one was born into," he said gravely. Matthew bowed his head to him.
"I have no doubt that you are right. You are handling a lot of responsibility and it must bring you both fulfilment and satisfaction. But as we previously discussed hopefully it will be decades yet before I am forced to step into your shoes, so I must seek mine elsewhere," he said earnestly. Robert smiled, pacified.
"And what is that mysterious deal, which is going to take you from us for months?" he enquired in good humour.
"Unfortunately, it will have to remain mysterious for a little bit longer," answered Matthew apologetically. "It is at a quite delicate stage yet and thus confidential. But I hope I will be able to tell you all about it very soon."
"You said that you will have to stay in London. Do you want me to order Grantham House opened for you early?" offered Robert generously.
"Oh, no, I couldn't ask that of you," answered Matthew immediately. "I will stay with Jack in his flat, he insisted on it, and I am sure I will enjoy catching up with him. But I hope I will be able to visit you in London when you will all come for the season."
"You must join us there then," said Cora graciously, with a glint in her eye which Mary noticed but found too useful now to protest it. "You will have few weeks first to spend with your friend, you cannot refuse us your company when we will be in Town too."
Matthew thankfully accepted the invitation, either truly grateful for it or finding no polite way out. Mary did not care which one, as long as he would at least be under the same roof as her for the whole season. She just prayed he would not spend the preceding weeks being wooed by his boss and future partner's daughter.
The dessert finished, Cora gave signal for ladies to come through, leaving Matthew and Robert to their port and cigars. Mary immediately went in search of a quiet corner and picked one of the books laying on a side table, without looking at the title. She had no will to be forced into conversation with anybody, she needed to think.
Settled on an armchair in the corner, holding her book like a shield in front of her to ward off any attempts to draw her into conversation or cards, she soon concluded that there was very little chance she would ever discover what exactly changed and caused Matthew to diverge from a path known to her. He could and did offer explanations regarding his motives, but it did not point towards what was different in comparison to last time. The only changes in circumstances she was aware of was her friendlier behaviour and Matthew's involvement in cover up of the Pamuk incident and neither of those should have any bearing on his career choices. When he had proposed to her in 1914 he had not mentioned considering a new job and when he had recovered from his war injuries he had been happy to return to work in Ripon part-time and to focus on Downton, so it did not look like the prospect of being married to her played a role. Frustrated with going in circles she soon decided to abandon this line of thought and focus on potential consequences of the change.
The most immediate was of course his departure to London for the rest of April and May, followed by their stay together at Grantham House for six weeks of June and July. She needed somehow to get him to propose to her before the Season was over and she had to return to Yorkshire, leaving him to Lavinia's clutches. Providing of course he had not fallen in love with Lavinia before Mary even got to London.
She barely stopped herself from groaning out loud. Matthew, despite being so rational and careful in his business dealings and while commanding his soldiers, was terribly impulsive when it came to matters of the heart. He had proposed on impulse both to her and to Lavinia, he had withdrawn his proposal to her and renewed his engagement to Lavinia after his recovery also without much thought or consideration. With such track record Mary was really apprehensive what he might do this time, especially when separated from her and seeing sweet Lavinia regularly.
Mary grinded her teeth in frustration.
She was not sure if she was more annoyed or relieved when Papa and Matthew joined them shortly after. Matthew started immediately towards her, hesitating when he saw she was reading, but continued when she lowered her book in silent invitation.
"It will be quite a tremendous change for you," she noted when he took his sit on a sofa next to her. Pity that he kept a respectable distance while doing so.
"Yes and no," answered Matthew readily. "I've never lived in London or worked on a deal of this scale before, that's true, but living in a big city and working with Jack on a takeover is going to be a return to familiar habits. I will miss Mother and you all though."
"I just hope you won't be so enthralled by city lights and new acquaintance that you will forget us," said Mary, striving for indifference of tone, but afraid she was failing miserably.
Matthew sent her a knowing look.
"There is no chance of that happening," he answered softly.