Chapter 2

Mrs Hughes watched as Mary pushed the pram around the front lawn. How strange, she thought. All these years she had thought that Lady Mary Crawley had no heart. Yet now, as she watched, she could see that Mary really did have a heart, and it had been broken into a million pieces.

…

Mary stirred and reached out, as usual, for Matthew and again found he was not there. Then she sensed that she was being watched. Mary rolled over in bed and saw Tom sitting watching her. All of a sudden Mary noticed that her head was splitting. What had happened last night?

"Tom?" she whispered.

"I think that is the first time you've spoken without being asked a question" Tom said, smiling.

"I just want to know what happened to me. Why are you here?" she almost demanded.

"You….. you were upset and you drank a lot of whiskey and then you went outside to Matthews grave…." Tom trailed off.

"I see" replied Mary and with that she buried her head in her pillow. "You can go".

Tom sighed and left.

….

Tom had falsely hoped that Mary would talk to him again. It seemed not. After that morning she had gone back to how she had been before. She still refused to speak to anyone unless spoken too and spent hours and hours cocooned in William's room. Tom did not know how to get her to respond. When Sybil had… died, he too wanted to shut himself off from the world but he didn't. He had a duty of care to Sybbie and he knew that Sybil wouldn't want him to be like Mary was now. He knew that Mary had devoted herself to William but it would do the child no good to grow up with a mother in that state. Time to try to talk some sense into Mary, it probably would not work but surely it was worth a go?

…..

Mary was standing at the window cradling William when he walked in. She turned to see who had walked in and upon seeing it was Tom she turned back to the window.

"Not even a hello?" He asked.

His question was met with no reply.

He spoke quietly and urgently. "Mary, you need to stop this. Matthew wouldn't want you to feel like this. He loved you a great deal and he would want you to carry on. Please listen to me Mary; William needs you to be the best version of you to be his mother. He needs you to be mother and father to him and you can't do that like this. Please listen to me Mary!"

Throughout this entire speech Mary had remained silent. When Tom stopped she still said nothing. She placed William gently into the crib and looked over to Tom and gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head and left.

Tom sank into the rocking chair and put his head in his hands.

….

"I agree something must be done, but we have all tried talking to her and she will not listen! Violet said.

"Cousin Violet, you are not usually one to give up" Tom said, slightly shocked.

"Did I say I was? It is clear to me that this accident has deeply affected Mary in a way we never thought possible. I do not think I have ever seen her so depressed. Perhaps we should send her to that awful woman in New York?" She enquired.

"No she will not leave Downton" Isobel spoke up after remaining silent for almost the entire ti,e the three of them had been sitting together in the Dowager House.

"And how do you know that?" said Violet, primly.

"Because baby William is now the heir after Robert and Mary will want him to love Downton as much as she does and… and as much as Matthew did." Isobel turned her face away as she wiped a tear away.

"Well then what?" Violet demanded. "Matthew would hate to see her like this."

"I believe that if one person repeatedly talks to her then maybe she will have to respond. I know Mary has been a shell of herself recently, but I do think that she will not be able to stand being told what to do." As she said it, its truth became even more apparent in her own mind and she gave a defiant look as though daring Violet to challenge her as she so often did.

"I suppose" was all Violet could manage. She did hate it when Isobel was right.

"I have already lost my son, Mary is the closest thing to a child I have on Earth. I will ensure she returns to herself. That said, I think Tom should be the one. Having experienced this recently you will be able to help her better than I, at least that's what I hope. I also think that if I fail, I would never be able to forgive myself."

…..

After his discussion with Isobel and Violet, Tom went to find the box with Matthew's possessions. They had been cleared out of Matthew's and Mary's bedroom in the hope that their absence would help Mary to move on, although actually, this had had little effect. Opening the box, he smiled as he saw a picture of Mary, Matthew, Sybil and him at Mary and Matthew's wedding. Oh how could fate be so cruel? First his darling Sybil and now Mary's darling Matthew. He took several objects out of the box – the photograph, a shirt of Matthews and the small toy dog that he knew Mary had given Matthew all those years ago. He then took the objects to Mary's room. He placed the shirt and the toy dog on Mary's pillow and the photograph on the bedside table. He sneaked out knowing that Mary would not be back for a few more hours.

…..

That evening Mary walked into her bedroom and was stunned at what he saw. Oh Matthew, she thought. Why did you leave me? Anna had come in to help her undress; Mary sent her away and undressed herself. She then put on Matthew's shirt and snuggled up to the toy and fell fast sleep.

A/N : I hope you all like so far! Please let me know what you think!