Patrick
"How long is Matthew going to stay?"
"I don't know darling, I suppose as long as he wants to. Does it matter? There is room enough in this house."
"I don't want him to ruin our wedding."
"Edith, how is he supposed to do that?" He really has no idea how Matthew could ever ruin their wedding. He thinks that Matthew's presence has made many things a lot easier. He is a very good distraction for Mary. The few days Matthew has spent in London to start his new job have been marked by cat fights between Mary and Edith and no matter how hard it is for him to admit it, he thinks that most of them were started by Edith.
"He could propose to Mary before the wedding."
"And that would be bad? Why? Don't you want your sister to be happy?"
"If he proposes to her before our wedding, our wedding will be old news before it has even happened. Everyone will concentrate on Mary." Sometimes he doesn't understand Edith.
"That is not true. And even if it was, I thought we got married out of love, not because we want attention on our wedding day. Which we will have. I am your father's heir after all."
"True", she says and kisses him. Sometimes there is nagging thought at the back of his mind that makes him wonder if Edith really loves him or if she loves the idea of marrying the next Earl of Grantham and thereby making a better match than her older sister. But as usual he pushes that thought aside and continues to kiss his future wife.
Robert
Carson hands him all the letters as usual and he distributes them amongst his family, only keeping his and Cora's letters. He usually takes Cora's letters to her himself because it gives him a few more minutes with her every morning, minutes with her alone that he knows they both enjoy tremendously.
"Edith, Patrick, Mary, Mary, Sybil, me, me, your mother, Sybil again, your mother, a letter from America for your mother, no hold on, that one's for you Matthew, and Edith again." He likes handing out the letters; to him it is like handing out little presents every morning. All three of his daughters are avid writers, a trait they have inherited from both their parents.
"Oh my God".
"Matthew what is it?" He can hear the concern in his eldest daughter's voice. He looks up and Matthew's expression is somewhere between joy and confusion.
"I've been offered a job at a law firm in New York. It is one of the best ones out there. They offer me a senior position. And a lot of money. Here, read it." He watches as Matthew thrusts the letter into Mary's hand.
"Are you going to take the job?" Edith voice sounds a little too hopeful he thinks. He is almost sure that Matthew taking a job in New York would mean Mary going there with him. But maybe that is what makes Edith so hopeful. She wants Mary out of the house after all. And from what Patrick has told him, she doesn't want Matthew to stay either. He knows that it is unusual to let a third cousin stay at his house for over three months, but it is not that far from London and it seems to make both Mary and Matthew happy. And he likes Matthew very much. He is so unassuming and he isn't arrogant, something that cannot always be said about Patrick. He has started to compare Patrick and Matthew and while he likes Patrick very much because he has known him all his life, he sometimes thinks that Matthew would make a better earl, despite or maybe even because of his middle-class upbringing. Matthew is kinder in general, but especially so to the servants and tenants. It has always been important to both Robert and Cora to be kind to everyone but especially to the people working for them. Patrick's father James never thought that to be necessary and sometimes Patrick acts accordingly both towards the servants and tenants. Two weeks ago Matthew suggested repairing some of the tenants' cottages, saying that if the family wanted them to do good work, the family should provide nice homes for them. He wholeheartedly agreed with Matthew, but Patrick was against it, saying that if the tenants wanted to live more comfortably they should pay for the restoration of their houses themselves. He tried to tell Patrick why Matthew was right, but Patrick didn't understand or maybe didn't want to understand. Maybe he should talk to Cora about this.
"I'm going upstairs, bringing your mother her letters", he says and leaves.
Mary
"Let's go for a walk", she says to him and he acquiesces. It has been raining for three days straight now and there is mud everywhere. She thinks that the weather fits her mood very well.
"So, is this job offer in New York permanent or just for a few years?" She hopes it's only for a short duration because she couldn't stand it if Matthew left forever.
"It doesn't really say. Although I don't think that it is likely that I will stay in New York forever. I will won't to come back at some point."
"But you are going?" She prays for him to say no.
"That depends on whether you are going to go there with me."
"How am I supposed to do that?"
"You have a grandmother in New York, don't you? You could visit her. And since you hardly know anyone there and I don't know anyone there at all, it would only be natural for us to meet rather frequently."
"I don't know Matthew."
"There is of course another possibility."
"And which one is that?"
"You could come with me as my wife."
"As your wife?"
"Yes. Then we could live together and wouldn't have to find excuses to meet."
"True."
"So will you?"
"Matthew, do it properly, please. Get down on one knee and everything. Or I won't say it." She watches him roll his eyes at her and smile and then he kneels down in the mud and take her hand. He is going to propose. He is going to propose.
Matthew
She is going to say yes. She is going to say yes.
"Mary, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"
"Yes."
He gets up and kisses her and lifts her up and swings her around and because they are standing in the mud he loses his balance and they both fall down. Her laughter at this makes his heart skip a beat.
"Matthew, let's get back inside, we have to get changed." So he lifts her back onto her feet and holds her hand while they are walking towards the house.
Robert
He watches his daughter and Matthew walk towards the house. They are both covered in mud and holding hands. He walks outside to meet them.
"I suppose you are both going to New York then."
"Yes", they answer in unison.
"Congratulations. And I'll miss you."
"I'll write to you Papa. And you and Mama could visit us. I am sure that Mama would love to go to New York."
Two weeks after he walked Edith down the aisle, he goes to church in a carriage with Mary. He notices that the crowd that waves and cheers at them is much bigger this time. He wonders whether this is down to Mary or Matthew but he thinks that it is probably down to both of them. Mary might be aloof and arrogant towards members of her family sometimes but she is always kind to the people who are socially beneath her. And Matthew has done more good for the village and the tenants in the space of four moths than Patrick has in all his life. Maybe it is for the best that Edith steadfastly refused to interrupt her wedding journey for Mary's wedding and that she and Patrick don't have to see how much more popular Matthew and Mary seem to be.
AN: I know that the proposal is rather similar to what we've seen on the show. That has been done on purpose and I take no credit for it. Just as I take not credit for Mary thinking "He's going to propose" which she says she was thinking when Matthew proposed (I think it is 4.06 but I am not sure).