After Matthew had left, Mary approached her husband with a small amount of confidence. He was sitting in his armchair, glaring at the fire whilst puffing a cigar.
'Where is Lucy?' Mary asked quietly, taking a seat opposite him and Richard's eyes darted towards her and he removed the cigar from his mouth.
'Lucy has retired to her room.' He said imperturbably and Mary nodded. Richard took in her cool demeanour and instantly became suspicious. However, he decided that he needed to approach the situation carefully; some part of him loved his wife but he just wasn't good at showing it to her. Her quick and sharp tongue riled him so much and it just drove him to beat her, 'you usually cower in my presence but since Crawley's visit you seem to have been more tranquil,' he eyed her carefully as he spoke and she looked him squarely in the eye.
'Richard, first off, Matthew's visit was merely one of business to discuss the financial assets that I would be receiving seeing as my father has just died if you must know. His presence here did not affect me at all, in fact I was glad when he left.' She replied and Richard raised an eyebrow. Mary sniffed and shifted her position slightly before facing her husband again, 'I've been thinking Richard and it is clear that both you and I are unhappy in this marriage. Lucy and you are obviously in love and I do not want to fight you anymore as it only ends in me being covered in my own blood. Therefore I am willing to concede to your wishes, but only to being adulterous, not to being with child.' Mary bit her lip as she watched her husband's gaze return back to the fire.
'I do love you Mary, I just can't express it well enough,' he said and Mary realised that they had not had a conversation as calm as this since before they were married. Mary reached out and touched his knee.
'Divorce me, marry Lucy, someone who wants to be with you.'
'She'd rather be with Crawley,' Richard spat, his anger rising and Mary knew she had to calm him down.
'I don't think she does, I myself am a woman Richard and I watched her. Matthew took an interest in her but she was just merely being polite. Imagine, if you married her then you wouldn't have to worry about her eyes wondering,' Mary said softly and Richard nodded. She had never seen him appear so human and was not used to him not acting in a vicious and animalistic way towards her .
'Mary, I am so, so sorry for everything. I didn't mean for things to get so bad, will you forgive me?' he asked and Mary laughed softly.
'Richard, you have beat me, raped me and you have thrown me through a window. Those three things are completely unforgivable… but grant me a divorce and I shall forgive you, but I will never forget.' Mary breathed and Richard took another puff of his cigar.
'Alright, I will do this… I will file for a divorce because you have been adulterous,' Richard said and Mary nodded.
'Thank you,' she whispered.
'But that doesn't mean you can go running off to Crawley!'
'Richard! I have not encouraged Matthew's affections, nor have I sought them, in fact we have not been around each other enough to even consider something like that! Besides, Matthew would not want a divorcee,' Mary lied through her teeth before standing up and leaving. Richard, however, remained in his seat. Yes he would give Mary her divorce but he would not let her go without a little humiliation.
Mary was surprised to find that Richard started with proceedings almost immediately, after her father's funeral of course. Things were running smoothly with the divorce until she was asked who she committed the adultery with when she stood in court.
'I do not believe that is any of your business Sir,' she told her husband's top lawyer, Mr Collins, as she sat in the witness box.
'Mrs Carlisle, in order to grant your husband's divorce you must tell the court of whom you had an adulterous affair with!' the lawyer slammed his fist down in attempt to intimidate her.
'If you think you can frighten me or intimidate me into revealing who it is I have had an affair with then you are very much mistaken Mr Collins,' Mary scoffed and she suddenly noticed that Matthew was sitting in the back of the courtroom undetected. Her mother, grandmother, sisters and brother in law sat in the front benches, having heard the news and were shocked at Mary's actions. Mary knew she would have to tell them after she was free from Carlisle and she did not fear having to tell them the truth.
'Your honour,' Mr Collins cried in dispair at the judge and the judge shook his head, 'right well Lady Mary you leave me no choice but to match your coldness,' Collins said snootily and Mary rolled her eyes, 'My client, your husband tells me that he lovingly took you in knowing you were damaged goods from an affair you had had with the Turkish Diplomat Kemal Pamuk who died in your arms, in your bed,'
Mary's eyes immediately darted to her husband's in shock and she saw his cruel, cold gaze burning into her and a taunting smile snagging at his lips. Mary listened to the shock and mutterings rippling through the crowd.
'Silence in the courtroom!' the judge cried, banging the gavel down. Mary glared at Collins and Carlisle. If Richard wanted to muddy the water with his tricks then he had made a very wrong move as she had the power to turn this case onto him.
'Is this true Lady Mary?' Collins asked, his eyes glittering with what he thought was triumph.
'Yes, yes it is true. I was young and a man paid me attention, not because I was rich or the daughter of an earl, but because I was beautiful and he made me feel special. I was too naïve to realise that I should have been stronger.' Mary answered, 'but Mr Collins, if you are wanting to fight fire with fire then I'm afraid you have made a very wrong decision. You see I have not committed adultery,' Mary announced and there was another wave of murmers and once again the judge banged his gavel.
'SILENCE! Then if you have not been adulterous Lady Mary, why are we here?' he asked and Mary grinned satisfyingly at Richard who was now looking a little more scared than before.
'You see it was I who wanted the divorce from Richard, but alas, a woman cannot file for divorce on the grounds of adultery alone! My husband has a mistress, she lives with us, she dines with us, she sleeps next to my husband, she is the wife and I am the servant. I was not informed of this when I married Richard but it soon became clear that I was the insignificant one. The reason Richard could not marry Miss Lucy Grey? She was too poor, the divide of social classes would ruin his business. So while he messed around with Miss Grey, who STILL lives under my roof against my protest, I was beaten and starved. I was raped and thrown through a window and I have the bruises and scars to prove it! So you see your honour, my husband said that I could have my divorce if I said I had been adulterous and was with child, yet he has only made things worse for himself by moving the wrong checker on the board.' Mary said, smiling triumphantly at her husband and she listened to the horrified cries in the courtroom. Collins looked at Carlisle in shock and horror, whether it was because of his actions or because he was losing the case Mary did not know, nor did she care.
'If you can prove this Lady Mary…' the judge started and Mary shrugged, not caring who saw, before she began to peel of the top half of her clothing so she was left in her corsets and skirt. Her whole top half of her body had bruises and cuts on it and there was a stifling silence.
'Lady Mary, I grant you your divorce from Sir Richard Carlisle and you Sir, you are to be imprisoned for a span of 1 year, with 8 months intensive probation,' he said banging his gavel once again, 'court dismissed!'
'YOU HARLOT!' Mary heard Richard scream as officers escorted him away. Mary smiled a free smile and began to redress her top half again before being bombarded with her family.
'Mary my darling! How come you kept this from us!'
'I had to marry him, for the sake of the family! But now the secret is out and I do not care who finds out any longer. I will not have a secret from my past take hold of my life!' Mary said smiling and hugging her mother. Sybil, who was heavily pregnant and expecting birth within the next couple of weeks hugged her sister.
'Mary, you are the best eldest sister I could ever have asked for,' she laughed and suddenly Matthew appeared.
'So you are once again Lady Mary Crawley,' he said smiling at her and she faced him, not noticing Sybil rushing the family away.
'It would appear so, of course we must go through the legal system but yes I am once again Lady Mary Crawley.' Mary grinned and Matthew held out his arm for her to take and together, they left the court and joined Cora, Violet, Sybil and Edith on the trip down back to Downton.
I know its short but I'm not getting a lot of reviews on my chapters so this makes me sad :( so they'll be shorter when I'm sad - im actually getting a bit bored of writing this story aswell… its kind of dwindled I think… im losing interest :/