I really enjoyed writing this chapter, it was fun. I hope you enjoy reading it and thank you for all the reviews so far, you've been great! Please continue to review as it encourages me to write more. I'm sorry if there are any spelling mistakes but I don't have word correct on my tablet :/
What happened in chapter 3:
"I think that you're doing the best you can to keep this family together and clear of scandal." she replied with a comforting smile.
"But is my best enough?..." he sighed.
I hope you enjoy reading!
Chapter 4:
Mary had been sat outside on her bench under the old oak tree most of the day. She had nearly finished reading her novel but she decided to put it down for a while and simply enjoy the fresh air; spring was just over a month away and the sun had made an appearance for the first time that year.
She sat there, thinking and wondering about the baby and Matthew. She had never really seen herself as the maternal type, quite the contrary; deep down she had always known that she would eventually have children that would inherite the estate one day but she hadn't been expecting to get pregnant quite so soon, but now that she had had time to think, she thought that perhaps it would be quite nice, to have a baby to look after instead of living a boring life in which she had no purpose, this was something new, a new chapter in her life and it was all rather exciting.
Robert had been stood watching her for a while from the drawing room window, wondering what he was going to do. Now that he had been to London and made sure that there would be no stories in the paper about the scandal, he felt a weight lift from his shoulders. Of course, now, he had to worry about the baby and what they could do to stop the county from finding out about Mary's affairs... To Robert, it seemed that once he had found an answer to one problem, a harder, more difficult one came along...
"You know, spying isn't considered a respectable pass time for the upper-class." Violet pointed out as she walked up to her son.
"Mama, I didn't know you were coming today." he replied as he turned around to face the older woman.
"Yes well Cora needed my help with something but it seems you are in need of my help too." she answered, staring at Robert with a knowing look.
Robert sighed as he sat down in his armchair, raising a hand to stroke his brow.
"What am I to do about Mary and the baby? She has put me in an impossible situation, not to mention the fact that she wants to keep the child and marry Matthew..." he said, sounding defeated.
"Well then, the answer is obvious!" She replied.
Robert lifted his head up and stared at her, confused.
"She will marry Matthew as soon as possible and they shall announce the pregnancy after the latter... Afterall, the child could have been conceived on their honeymoon, no one shall ever know the truth." she said, as if it were simple.
"And when the child is born months before it should?" he asked, not seeing how her plan could possibly work.
"It wouldn't be months, it would only be a few weeks and we can make something up when the time comes; she could trip or something causing her to go into labour earlier, afterall, you were born a couple of weeks early, no questions will be asked." she replied, smiling at her son.
Robert looked in to thin air, taking his mother's plan into consideration.
"Oh look, there's Matthew." Violet said, making her way over to the window to watch him as he walked over to where Mary was sitting.
"I thought spying wasn't considered a respectable pass time for people of the upper-class." Robert pointed out, turning to face his mother who was clearly watching Mary and Matthew's every move.
"Oh no dear, those rules don't apply to me." she answered with a smug grin on her face.
Robert glanced at his mother and gave her a knowing look.
"Matthew!" Mary exclaimed, standing up to greet him, happy to see him again.
"Don't get up for me." he said, gesturing for her to sit back down, a smile on his face.
"How are you?" she asked, picking her book up and placing it on her lap, making place for him to sit down next to her.
"I'm fine, but I should be asking you that question." he said, smiling as he took a seat beside her.
"Oh I'm perfectly alright, I just wish that Papa would try to understand and be happy for me.." she said, staring down at the floor.
"He will, eventually... I hope anyway." he replied.
"What have you come down here for anyway?" Mary asked, changing the subject.
"Well, your grandmother paid me a visit earlier and it seems that she has come up with a plan that I believe would work and would allow us to marry and keep the baby without anybody finding out." he replied, looking her in the eyes.
"Oh? She hasn't told me about this grand plan." Mary answered curiously.
"Good, because I wanted to be the one to tell you." he said, taking her hands in his.
"You have my attention." she added, looking down at their joint hands.
"If you will still have me, we shall marry -very soon- and then we would announce the news about you being pregnant, the baby would arrive early but we will make up an excuse... Aunt Violet is persuaded that no one will ask any questions." he told her.
Mary sighed in relief. "I'm glad Granny's on our side." she said.
"Once we are married my darling, everything will fall into place and Robert won't stay mad at us for long, I am his heir and you are his eldest daughter and if this baby is a boy, it will secure Downton's futur and Robert won't be able to argue with that." he said, smiling fondly at Mary.
"No, I don't believe he will." she replied, smiling back at him.
Matthew felt so happy, Mary was so beautiful and she was carrying his child, the timing of it all could have been better but now he knew that this was finally happening, his dreams were coming true. He now had an important question to ask her, a question on which his happiness depended.
"Mary, my darling, would you still have me as your husband?" he asked nervously, turning a little red.
Hearing the words, Mary couldn't help but smile. This was all she had ever wanted but she wanted to tease him just a little bit longer.
"I won't answer unless you get down on one knee and ask me properly." she said, smiling at him cheekily.
"He's getting down on one knee!" Violet exclaimed as she watched from the window.
Robert jumped out of his armchair and joined his mother at the window.
"Is he proposing to her?" he asked as he watched.
"Well either that or he is demonstating his newest exercising positions." she replied sarcastically.
"Lady Mary Crawley" he began, taking her hands in his, "would you do me the biggest honor of becoming my wife?" he asked, looking up into her deep brown eyes and taking a deep breath.
"Yes!" she replied as soon as he had finished his sentence. "Yes!" she repeated before standing up and putting her arms around him.
Matthew couldn't have felt happier, had she really just agreed to marry him after all this time?
He pressed a long warm kiss to her lips before taking her into his arms and spining her around. The sound of laughter filled the air.
"Good, good, at least he's sticking to the plan." Violet said, turning to face her son.
"Mmh... I hope this plan of yours works." he replied.
"What's going on in here?" Cora asked as she walked over to greet her mother-in-law.
"It seems Matthew has just proposed to Mary." Robert answered as he gestured towards the window where Matthew was still holding Mary tightly in his arms.
Cora gasped in shock but the surprised expression on her face soon turned into a delighted one. "Oh, how wonderful!" she exclaimed as she stared out of the window and watched the newly engaged couple.
"I suppose so." Robert sighed.
"Robert, don't be so miserable, be happy for them. We have been waiting so long for this to happen and it finally has so be thankful!" Cora said, sounding rather annoyed.
"Mhm, I have to agree with Cora, misery isn't a very flattering look on you..." Violet added.
Cora had invited Matthew and Isobel over for dinner that night, expecting Mary and Matthew to announce the good news.
They had been placed next to each other at the table which suited them both.
After desert had been served, Matthew looked over at Mary and she nodded back at him.
"May I have everybody's attention please?" Mary asked as she stood up and placed her napkin on the table.
Cora looked over at Robert and smiled before turning her attention to her daughter.
Mary looked down at Matthew who smiled up at her before she began to speak.
"Matthew and I are engaged." she revield, turning back to Matthew and smiling.
Everybody congratulated them with a smile on their faces before Tom stood up and toasted.
"To Mary and Matthew" he said, lifting his glass up to them.
"To Mary and Matthew" they all said together, before sitting back down and talking to the couple about wedding arrangements.
"We would like to have the wedding in spring, before the bump begins to show." Mary told Isobel who seemed thrilled for them both.
"The weather should be nice then too." Isobel pointed out.
As they all stood up to leave the dining room, Robert asked Mary and Matthew to stay behind.
Cora smiled and nodded at him as she closed the door behind her.
"What is it Papa?" Mary asked, wondering why he wanted them to stay.
Robert poored himself a brandy before turning to face them.
"I have had time to think now, and I don't think I've been very fair to you." he began which intruiged the newly engaged couple.
Robert took a seat and sighed before looking up at them.
"I am disappointed in the both of you, and you did betraye my trust" he said, looking at Matthew. " But if I told you that I hadn't ever made mistakes then I would be lying. I see now that the two of you are happy together and I have no doubt you will make good parents. And I say this, not as the Earl of Gratham, but as your papa; you have my blessing." he said, looking over at his daughter.
"Oh Papa, you have no idea how much that means to us!" Mary exclaimed, overwhelmed as she walked over to her father and kissed him on the cheek.
"Thank you." Matthew said, shaking hands with his future father-in-law.
Robert nodded and Mary and Matthew turned around to join the others in the drawing room. As the door closed behind them, Robert sighed and smiled to himself before taking a sip of his brandy.
Spring had arrived and it was Mary and Matthew's wedding day.
"There, how's that?" Anna asked as she made the finishing touching to Mary's hair.
"Perfect, thank you Anna." Mary said as she admired her hair do in the dressing table mirror.
"You look wonderful!" Cora said, feeling very proud of her daughter.
Mary looked over at her mama and smiled before standing up. When she did stand up, her dress spread out around her, she looked just like an angel.
"Beautiful." Sybil said as Mary stood in front of the body length mirror.
"Thank you Sybil darling, for always being so sweet." she said as she turned to face her sister and kissed her on the cheek.
Edith looked up at Mary and felt nothing but jealousy but she tried not to let it show.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
"Wait! Who is it?" Sybil asked, rushing over to the door.
"It's only me M'lady, Nanny Hulmes, I've got Miss Lily with me." said the voice on the other side of the door.
"Oh, i'm sorry" Sybil said as she opened the door. "You can never be too careful!" she added.
"Mama!" said the little four year old as she ran into Sybil's arms.
"Hello darling!" Sybil replied, crouching down to her daughter's hight. "Don't you look lovely!"
"I've dressed her and done her hair, m'lady but Lady Mary asked me to bring her here before taking her downstairs." said the older woman.
"Thank you Nanny, she will go downstairs with us." Mary said, interrupting the conversation.
As the nanny left the room, Sybil turned to her eldest sister.
"Come here darling." Mary said as she reached out her hand for her niece.
Sybil watched her sister in confusion but Mary just looked at her and smiled.
"Look what I've got for you." Mary said, bending down to the little girl's hight.
She held her hand out to Lily and in it laid a beautiful diamond butterfly clip.
"Oh!" Lily exclaimed. She ran her little fingers over the hair clip and her eyes lit up.
"This was mine when I was a little girl, you can wear it in your hair now." Mary said, fascinated by her niece's reaction.
Lily looked up at her aunt and smiled, she had never been given anything like this before and she had never worn anything in her hair.
"Here, let me put it in for you." Mary whispered as she placed the clip in her niece's shoulder length curly hair.
"Mama look!" said the little girl as she ran over to show her mother her new hairpiece.
"You're the most beautiful bridemaid I have ever seen." Sybil whispered as she stroked her daughter's hair and smiled at her elder sister in gratitude.
Cora felt overwhelmed, when had her daughter's grown up? She could remember when they were all that size and she remembered the first time Sybil had had her hair tied up, she was the youngest in the family and she had been so happy to finally have her hair tied up like her sisters. She was so very proud of them all, she couldn't have wished for a better family.
"We better go down, we're already late..." Edith said as she stood up and made her way to the door.
Mary looked at her mama, took a deep breath and smiled. She couldn't believe that she was actually getting married to Matthew.
"Come on darling." Sybil said as she out her hand for her daughter to take.
Once they arrived at the church, Mary started to feel quite nervous. On her way there she hadn't expected the whole village to turn up just to catch a glimpse of her dress. She could hear everybody talking in the church as she walked up the path with Robert.
When she arrived in front of the church doors, she took a deep breath and looked at her sisters.
"Don't worry, it'll be fine, once you've walked down the aisle and you're stood next to Matthew, all your nerves will disappear, mine did." Sybil whispered, laying a hand on Mary's arm noticing how nervous she was looking.
Mary looked her youngest sister in the eyes and smiled in appreciation.
"It's time to go in." Robert said, looking down at his watch.
"You remember what you have to do, once I have walked into the church with aunt Edith, you follow us in front of aunt Mary, okay?" Sybil reminded her daughter before pressing a kiss to her cheek and straightening her dress before giving Mary one last look and entering the church.
Mary hooked her arm around her father's and he patted her hand confortingly.
Matthew had been waiting impatiently at the front of the church with Tom by his side as his best man. He had never felt so nervous in all his life.
"You're making me nervous!" Tom said.
"Sorry." Matthew said, turning to face Tom."We've been through so much, Mary and I and now we're finally getting married, it almost doesn't seem real..." he added, staring into thin air.
"Well it is and it's about to begin." he said as he gestured towards Sybil and Edith who had just entered the church.
Matthew took a deep breath and straitened his shirt. The music began to play and his heart started to beat faster and faster. He figured little Lily had just entered the church due to all the 'awing' coming from the guests.
Mary walked into the church and began walking down the aisle with her papa by her side. Suddenly, she didn't feel nervous anymore, she felt happy, so very happy; she had finally found her way to the right path, the one that led to happiness and freedom and love, she had escaped the evil sea monster and was about to marry her Perseus.
Matthew took another deep breath before turning around and then, he saw her. Her eyes were locked on his and he couldn't take his eyes off her, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen; her eyes were sparkling as she smiled, her dress was perfect, she was perfect. She looked as delicate and as pure as the white lilys she carried.
As she arrived in front of the alter, next to Matthew, the last of her neves left her. After all, why had she felt so nervous? She was about to marry Matthew, the man she had loved for as long as she could remember, she couldn't have felt happier.
"You look beautiful." Matthew whispered in her ear as he leant over.
Mary turned to face him and smiled knowing that in a few minutes, he would be her husband and she his wife.
Once the vicar had welcomed everyone and had said a few words, it was time for Mary and Matthew to share their vows with one another.
Matthew turned to face Mary and took her hands in his.
"It wasn't exactly love at first sight, we have had our share of problems, you and I and we haven't always seen eye to eye." he began, taking a breath before continuing. "But somehow, I believe we were meant to meet each other because without you, my life would have no meaning and would certainly be rather dull. You complete me in every way... the love I have for you is impossibly strong and eternal. I promise to hold you, care for you and love you until the last breath leaves my body and my darling, if their is a life after that, I will love you then." he vowed, looking into her beautiful teary eyes.
His vows were perfect, she wasn't sure that her's were quite as good, she had struggled to write them, she never was a very good writer. She decided to forget what she had written and speak only from the heart.
"I was once mistaken when I called you a sea monster." she began, closing her eyes and taking a breath. "I now wonder how I could have been so wrong. You saved me in every way possible. You are the light at the end of the path, a path that leads to happiness and love. And now that I have found those two things, I am complete... I am complete because of you, because you didn't give up on me when everybody else did. You have helped me through the hardest of times. You are my Perseus and I love you." she vowed, tears rolling down her cheeks.
After hearing her vows, Matthew stared at her for a moment, realising how lucky he was and how proud he was of her. She had gone through so much on her own but now he would protect her and make sure that no harm ever came to her. He never knew that love this strong existed.
After a long ceremony, it was finally time for those all important seven words, the seven words that would change Mary and Matthew's lives for ever. The seven words that would unite them until death.
"I now pronounce you husband and wife."
"About time." Violet said quietly.
Mary held her breath for a second, the world just seemed to stop, it was just her and Matthew now. All her dreams had just come true.
Matthew took her into his arms and kissed her passionatly on the lips.
"Oh fancy." Violet said, shocked, looking around trying to distract herself from the romantic scene.
Mary couldn't have cared less about propriety at that very minute. This was their moment, their time.
"I love you." she whispered.
"I love you too, my darling." he whispered back.
End of chapter 4! Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Please review as it only takes a minute and it really helps me and encourages me to write. If you have any suggestions or ideas for chapter 5, feel free to let me know :)
Thanks again !:)x