That night, Matthew and Mary had taken dinner in Mary's room, accompanied only by Anna. Mary and Anna had always been close, but they had grown to be incredible friends through the incredible turmoil in each of their lives. When Mary's bedroom door closed the great wall between lady and maid all but crumbled; and the two women frequently poured out their hearts to each other. During the quiet meal, Matthew and Anna tried to take her mind off the inspector coming tomorrow; they could both tell that she was nervous. The conversation ran dry eventually, and instead of trying to start a new one, they lapsed into a peaceful silence. Matthew broke it as Anna got up to start preparing the room for night.

"Thank you," he said softly.

"What for?" Marry asked, confused.

"For telling me. I understand now."

"Oh, you can't imagine how it feels to have that weight off my shoulders, to know I'm not hiding anything from you. And here you are, still sitting here, still talking to me."

"After all that's happened, after all I've lived through, I'm not sure finding you guilty of murder would stop me from loving you."

Mary smiled.

Long after both had retired to bed, Mary lay awake staring at the top of her canopy bed. She couldn't sleep; her mind was working at full speed, refusing to slow down enough for her to drift off. Wishing she had Matthew with her – he had moved into his own room down the hall – Mary climbed out of bed and wrapped herself in her favorite red silk dressing gown, intending to go down to the library. As she stepped out into the hall however, something made her stop. A muffled noise, a sound she couldn't quite make out was coming from the end of the hall. She looked around, not even sure if she heard it. There it was again, louder this time. She walked towards the source. Someone was moaning. Someone was crying. Someone was shouting. Matthew was shouting. Mary began to run down the hall as his cries became louder and louder, and she didn't pause at his door. Bursting straight in, the sight inside broke her heart.

Matthew was running across the horrid field, shouting and firing his gun. The sound of bombs exploding and shells flying shook the earth and pounded in his ears. He felt as if he could barely see anything, just William by his side and the glimpses of scarlet red silk that kept flashing between the oncoming men. Men fell around him and he heard their awful cries, almost falling over as a shell landed perilously close to him. Dirt flew everywhere and the soldiers all around him started to blend together, all in the same uniform of caked on grim and blood.

Matthew was writhing in his bed, drenched in sweat as tears covered his face and ran down his neck. His eyes were open but un-seeing, and he was yelling at men to stop, to watch out, to run, and fresh tears continued to flow as he watched friends die in his mind.

Just as he made it through another line of Germans the silk appeared again. But this time, it draped and swirled around a tall figure with long dark hair that blew about her face, catching the wind and twirling in every which direction. Her beautiful features were clouded with worry and she was calling to him, reaching out for him.

"Please, Matthew wake up!" Mary cried gripping his heaving shoulders. "Darling wake up!"

He tried desperately to reach her, pushing forward with a new fury as he tried to hear what she called. Just as he reached out to grab her hand, a shell landed next to him and exploded with a deafening bang. The last thing he saw was William jumping in front of him.

"William no –" he screamed before his body convulsed painfully and he jolted awake.

"Oh God…" Matthew moaned as he rolled towards Mary, squeezing his eyes shut as he began to sob. It was Mary's turn to comfort, and she didn't hesitate for a second.

"Hold on darling," she whispered and ran to the window, opening it and letting the night air in. The cold breeze felt good to his overheated body and he opened his eyes, watching her as she hurried around the room. She turned on a low lamp, dimly illuminating the grand room, and went over to the wash stand to retrieve a cloth. She came and sat down on the bed next to him, murmuring soft, comforting words. She whipped his face and neck, washing away all the sweat and tears. As his breathing slowed and his vision cleared, he couldn't help but be stunned that the beautiful woman from his dream was over him, cleaning him. Her long dark hair was down and slipped beautifully over her shoulders, and the dressing gown she wore was the exact red silk that he had seen in his dream. Her skin seemed luminescent in the low light and this time her delicate features were molded with a gentler worry, coupled with tender care. Her velvet voice fell over him in sweet waves of relief and soothed his damaged nerves. When he was sufficiently cooled, Mary put down the cloth and simply held his hands as he watched her. Finally, in a horse whisper he told her,

"It was different this time. You were there. You were there and you were calling me and I couldn't get to you and then I did but the shell hit before I could, I could…"

"My dear, I am here now and we are safe. Both of us."

"Mary? Mary, will you, will you lie with me?"

"Oh course my darling." She smiled and slipped out of her dressing gown, draping it over a chair by the door.

"Would you like me to turn the light off?" she asked as she hovered by the switch.

"No, leave it on please."

She walked over to the bed and climbed in next to him, settling down by his side. He pulled her in his arms and held her tightly, hiding his face in her hair. She could feel his tears once more.

"Shhh, darling," she sang as she reached up to stroke his hair, "shhh, darling, go to sleep."