A/N: not much to say here, but the responses to the last chapter were quite funny! Lots of you are eager to see M/M get it on now that Lavinia is out of the picture. So I'll leave you to read!
…
Robert and Cora's anniversary party couldn't have arrived soon enough for Mary, for two reasons.
Firstly, her training for her new role as a junior researcher had been exhilarating, but challenging; she'd been out of a working environment for months now, and after Matthew's glowing reference, John Cole had decided to throw her in at the deep end. By the time the fortnight drew to a close, Mary was a very tired young lady.
Secondly- well, Matthew. He'd texted that morning to check what the dress code was, so he was definitely coming tonight. Alone. He wouldn't know many other people at the party, besides a handful of her father's colleagues whom he'd met once or twice before (but found rather dull (because they were)) and her family, so Mary assumed he'd try and spend as much time with her as possible. Which she would have no problem with. For as long as she'd known him, he'd been attached, and she wondered how he'd behave around her now that that was no longer the case- especially in light of what happened last month. Would there be any difference at all?
He'd not mentioned Lavinia to her at all- she'd not even heard his voice since she eavesdropped on his conversation with her father two weeks ago. She'd been up in Liverpool (the furthest north she'd ever been. It wasn't as bad as she'd expected), staying in a hotel with very bad phone signal, meaning the most contact she was able to have with anyone was the odd text here and there. Matthew had enquired after her training and general matters, but Mary presumed that he hadn't wanted to bring up the topic of his break-up via unreliable text messages.
She placed another bouquet on the dining table and looked at her watch. 2.13pm. Only four-and-a-half hours to go until guests would start arriving. Feeling chills run through her body, she realised she still needed to practice her performance one more time before getting ready.
…
Matthew handed his coat to the man in the hallway. He'd never seen him before, so he presumed he was some sort of butler that the Crawleys had hired for the evening. Matthew shook his head amusedly as he walked towards the living room. The things people spend money on.
The house looked beautiful. The lighting was dim, every table had a bouquet of either white or yellow roses on it, waiting staff meandered around the house bearing trays of canapés and champagne, and the quiet classical music playing in the background added to the luxurious atmosphere. The finely-dressed guests themselves provided decoration to the party. The large doors between the living room and dining room, and between the living room and drawing room, had been opened, to allow the traffic of guests to flow more easily. The house was already full- he was only thirty minutes late! Is nobody fashionably late anymore? Matthew's tardy appearance, however, had nothing to do with him wanting to seem 'cool', and entirely to do with Mary.
Firstly, he'd changed his suit three times before leaving his flat. He told himself that he needed to look smart in order to fit in amongst the other guests. But if he was being honest with himself, it was because he wanted to look good for Mary.
Secondly, he'd sat on his bed for ten minutes and had a mental debate about how to behave around Mary. She must know by now that he and Lavinia had split up- Robert definitely would have told her. If he stayed with her all night and teased her as he usually did, would she think he was flirting? If he made an effort to speak to other guests, would she think she was deliberately ignoring her? Eventually, he decided to let her conduct towards him be his guide.
Matthew surveyed the room, but it all seemed to be a blur of well-tailored suits and designer cocktail dresses. He eventually noticed Robert standing in a circle of middle-aged men, and tentatively made his way over. Thankfully, Robert spotted him approaching and welcomed him with open arms, eagerly introducing Matthew to the men surrounding them.
After shaking what seemed like twenty hands and trying to remember everybody's names, Matthew glanced around the room again- until he saw her. Mary was standing on the far side of the room, with her Aunt and a couple of other women Matthew didn't recognise. She looked even more gorgeous than usual, he noted. Her strapless black dress had a fitted bodice, but the skirt jutted out and had some netting underneath it, almost like a non-costume tutu. Her hair was tied up in a stylish bun, with a black ribbon tied in a bow acting as a headband, framing her face perfectly. Her lips and cheeks were sweet shades of pink, but her eyes were smoky and sultry. She must have felt the intensity of his stare (although 'leer' might have been a more appropriate description) from across the room, as she turned around to meet his eyes. She smiled shyly at him and raised one hand to daintily wiggle her fingers in a wave. He smiled back at her, his response restricted by the men around him. She pointed her head towards a space in the corner of the room, asking him to join her there. He nodded, excused himself from the conversation (not that those men would have even noticed his absence) and walked towards her, stuffing his hands in his pockets to prevent any nervous twitches that might appear.
"You're late." Mary teased softly. "You can't be like this at work, surely, or else your clients wouldn't rave about you as much as they do."
"I have many other things to offer, besides punctuality." Matthew feigned offence, before saying more seriously, "I do seem to be rather late, don't I? I'd presumed 6.45pm was a suggestion rather than an order."
"You should know us better than that by now, Matthew." Mary was beyond relieved that conversation was so easy between them. "Plus, if you'd been any later you might have missed my performance."
"Performance?" Matthew's question was answered by the music stopping and Robert tapping his champagne glass to summon his guests' attention.
"Would everybody kindly step into the drawing room? Our daughters have something to share with us." Robert announced, prompting much murmuring as everyone, Mary included, walked towards the next room.
…
Robert and Cora were delighted to see their guests enthralled, first by Sybil's rendition of 'I Could Write a Book' by Frank Sinatra (a song that Robert had tried singing to Cora as an attempt to woo her before they became a couple, Sybil explained, to the amusement of everyone present), and then by Edith's performance of a Chopin waltz for the piano (which Cora had learned while pregnant with Edith, and which Robert had loved listening to).
As much as Matthew was impressed by the talents of the younger Crawley sisters, he couldn't stop himself wondering what Mary would be doing. He didn't think she could sing or play an instrument; but then again, she was always surprising him.
The applause died down following Edith's performance, and Matthew craned his neck to try and get an early glimpse of what Mary was going to do. She finally made her way to the centre of the room, with a muscular young man in skin-tight clothing following closely behind. Who is that? Matthew immediately felt jealous. Was Mary seeing someone? His adolescent emotions were interrupted by Mary addressing the audience.
"As many of you know, my father is a ballet-enthusiast." Mary began, pausing for the murmurs of agreement. "During the first few years of their marriage, he frequently tried to convince my mother that she was, deep down, also a ballet enthusiast." Mary paused again as the audience's refined laughter tapered off. "The one ballet which eventually made her agree with him was Swan Lake. My partner and I will be performing a modern adaptation of the main theme." She repositioned herself as the muscular man stood behind her, his arms elegantly draped around her middle, their bodies mirroring each other. The music began.
Matthew was mesmerised. He'd never seen anybody move so gracefully and with such poise in his entire life. Not only were her movements exquisite, but there was so much emotion oozing out of her, from her beautiful face, to the tips of her delicate fingers, and right down to her pointed toes. She seemed so fragile, yet so strong at the same time.
Once the music stopped, it took a little while for the guests to realise that the performance was over- it was like Mary had cast a spell over the whole room so potent that nobody realised when it had broken. When it arrived, though, the applause was thunderous. Matthew suspected that many of these people had presumed Mary Crawley was only good for attracting men and putting outfits together. He was glad to see her being showered with appreciation in this way, and made sure he clapped and cheered the loudest in the room.
…
Matthew spent the next hour trying to get within at least a four-metre radius of Mary. All three sisters, as well as their proud parents, were being given a lot of attention by admiring guests, but Mary was receiving the most attention of all.
Dinner had been served, buffet-style (much to Cora's irritation; but then Robert had rationally pointed out that she had a choice between sixty guests with a buffet-style dinner, or fourteen guests with a sit-down dinner. She'd opted for the former). Matthew had a feeling he'd accidentally been given some gourmet baby food- the majority of it was mushy and frothy. Trying his best not to seem rude to the couple he found himself stuck talking to in the drawing room, every now and then he'd avert his gaze to peruse the room, looking for Mary.
Not seeing her anywhere, he quickly gobbled down the rest of his flavoured mush and made the excuse that he wanted to go for seconds. Striding into the dining room, he spotted Sybil sneakily stealing away a bottle of whiskey from the bar area that had been set up for the evening. Smiling at her attempts to be discreet, he walked over to her.
"It might be easier if I just hide that under my jacket." He offered with a smirk. She jumped in fright before realising that it was Matthew, and not her father or one of those tiresome businessmen.
"That would be a great help, actually." Sybil smiled, handing him the bottle, not realising that Matthew had been joking.
"I wasn't being serious, Sybil. Where are you taking it, anyway? Are you leaving?"
"Upstairs, silly! 'The youngsters', as Daddy calls us, have started a little party in the upstairs drawing room." Matthew noticed Sybil was beginning to slur her words.
"There's an upstairs drawing room?" Matthew asked in disbelief. The house didn't look that large from the outside, but it seemed to be like a building-version of Mary Poppins' handbag.
"Yes, come with! We've been wondering where you've been all this time. Everybody's up there- Mary, Edith…" Sybil continued to list the occupants of this mysterious new room, but Matthew stopped listening once he heard Mary's name. So that's where she'd been.
Glancing over his shoulder surreptitiously, he took the bottle from Sybil and slid it under his jacket, gesturing to her to lead the way.
…
"Matthew!" Mary exclaimed, making her way towards him as he entered the room. She hadn't had this much to drink in a while, and she was thoroughly enjoying herself.
Matthew managed to stop glaring at the young man Mary had been dancing with, who he knew to be James Chamberlain (James had been relentlessly pursuing Mary for months, only to be repeatedly rejected by her. But apparently he thought he stood a better chance with her now that she was drunk, and had cajoled her into dancing with him to the Franz Ferdinand track that was playing). His expression immediately transformed into one of mirth has he realised that Mary was rather tipsy.
"I've been looking for you," She said, poking his side, "but then Sybil told me to come up here and said that you'd find us eventually. I was looking for you everywhere! You must be like some sort of chameleon. Are you a chameleon, Matthew?" Before he had time to stop grinning and reply, she continued, "And why is it pronounced 'Matthew'? Shouldn't it be 'Mat-thew'? Like, 'Mat'. And then, 'Thew'. Why do you have two 't's in your name? Why do you need both? You're so greedy, Matthew." Mary pouted angrily and pushed him gently with one hand before turning away. Matthew was lost for words.
…
An hour later, Matthew was feeling rather merry himself. Partly because of all the alcohol, and partly because James Chamberlain was apparently still unaware of his limits and had passed out in one of the armchairs. Matthew turned to Mary, who was reclining on the sofa, next to him, and humming a song that Matthew was sure didn't exist.
"We're running low on alcohol." Edith declared. One of the other boys offered to go downstairs and steal some more, but Sybil announced that she no longer had any need for alcohol because was leaving.
"Where are you going?" Mary startled everybody by sitting bolt upright as she asked excitedly. She sounded like a child who'd just been told they were going somewhere special.
"To meet Tom." Sybil said casually, not realising what she'd just revealed.
"Who's Tom?" Mary asked. For some reason, Matthew started laughing. He found this situation very amusing indeed.
"Oh, shit. Forget I said anything." Sybil said hurriedly. She gulped as she watched her big sister stand up slowly, steady herself, and stare between her and Matthew.
"What's so funny?" Mary asked Matthew. He immediately stopped laughing and shrugged exaggeratedly, as if he had no idea what was going on. Mary turned back to Sybil.
Sybil sighed. It was probably better to tell Mary about this now, while she was in a more pliable mood. "I've been seeing Tom, the security guard."
Unexpectedly, Mary started to giggle. "Isn't your friend Tom a security guard?" Mary said to Matthew. He pretended he'd only just realised the coincidence and nodded, smiling stupidly up at her.
"That's the same Tom." Sybil explained. Mary's expression became serious.
"You're going out with that Tom? Tom Bradford?" Mary cried.
"Branson." Matthew corrected, before wondering why he'd even bothered.
Sybil's fear of her older sister's reprimands was heightened by her drunken state. She looked like she was about to cry. "Are you mad at me?" She asked timidly.
Mary softened. She walked over to her baby sister and wrapped her arms around her. "No, I'm not mad." She mumbled into Sybil's shoulder. "Just surprised. I'm actually proud of you, you know, for doing what you want. I'm happy for you."
Sybil burst into tears at this and clutched her sister. "Oh, Mary! I love you so much!" She proclaimed dramatically.
"I love you too, darling!" Everyone in the room looked awkwardly at each other. They'd never seen any of the Crawleys be so openly affectionate with anybody. Matthew peered sideways at Edith. She was still sat alone, looking more morose than usual. Poor Edith.
Mary pulled back from her sister's embrace. "Well I think we should all go to meet this Tom Bradford."
"It's Branson. And you've already met him." Matthew pointed out.
"Yes, Matthew, I have. But not in his capacity as my sister's boyfriend." Mary said, as if Matthew had asked her what two plus two equals.
"Is it alright to just leave the party?" One of the boys asked.
"Yeah, it'll be fine. They're all having a good time without us, anyway!" As if on cue, there was a bout of raucous laughter from downstairs. "I'll tell Mum and Dad that we've decided to go out for a walk."
"That would be lovely if you could all meet Tom! It's such a nice night outside, too!" Sybil said excitedly. There was general assent in the room. Matthew laughed inwardly, knowing that Tom was highly unlikely to deem a group of drunken socialites gate-crashing his date with Sybil as being 'lovely'.
"Perfect! I'm going to go and get changed. Let's meet outside in ten minutes." Mary ordered the room.
Edith perked up at the opportunity to refuse to obey her sister. "Actually, I've got an important presentation to do at work on Monday, and I would like to be awake enough tomorrow to practice it. So I shan't be joining you." She said haughtily.
"Oh boo-hoo." Mary said sarcastically before turning on her heel and leaving to go to her room. Edith tried to ignore the sniggers in the room as she sipped her drink defiantly.
A few minutes later, Matthew stood in the downstairs hallway with Sybil, a now awake James Chamberlain and a young couple (the girl, Isobel McIntyre, was the daughter of an old family friend of the Crawleys, and she'd brought along her boyfriend, Seamus. Matthew got along with both of them very well), as the other youths had decided either to go home or go out clubbing in Chelsea.
Matthew loosened his tie further. All that drinking had got him quite heated up.
"Are we all ready to go?" Mary's voice suddenly came from behind him. Turning around to answer in the affirmative, he felt he needed to loosen his tie even more. And maybe run through a cold shower. Mary had changed out of her dress into nothing but a flimsy black cardigan (with nothing underneath), tight denim shorts and flip-flops.
"Mary!" Sybil laughed. "Are you really going to go outside like that?"
"What's wrong with this?" Mary asked indignantly. "It's still warm outside. This is how most girls dress nowadays, isn't it?"
"Yes, I suppose, but it's not like you to dress like this." Sybil explained.
"Well it's not like you to date security guards, but I jumped on board with that, didn't I?" Mary teased, enjoying Sybil's look of panic as she checked to ensure her parents weren't around.
"I like your outfit very much, Mary. You should dress like this more often." James piped up, attempting to sound seductive but ending up sounding slimy. Mary rolled her eyes and moved towards the door, brushing past a scowling Matthew.
…
Mary, Matthew, James, Isobel and Seamus continued their walk along the Thames. They'd walked from Belgravia to Victoria Station, to meet Tom, then on to St James' Park, and now they were approaching Westminster. While Tom had been surprised to see Sybil accompanied by her sister, his best friend and three other random people, it hadn't been too intimidating for him, given that they were all still quite tipsy and happy. He was glad to see that Mary (whom he didn't know very well) was fairly laid-back about his relationship with Sybil, and he accepted her assurances of secrecy with gratitude. He and Sybil had made their farewells as they stepped into the station- they were staying over at Tom's place tonight, although Sybil had told her parents that she would be staying with her friend Josie.
As the group arrived at Westminster Bridge, Isobel called out amongst the general chatter and said that she and Seamus would be crossing over the bridge and retiring to her flat near Waterloo. After saying their goodbyes and exchanging phone numbers with Matthew (but not James, much to Mary's amusement and Matthew's delight), the young couple walked away.
"I'm hungry." Mary complained, causing Matthew to laugh. "What?"
"You're just so high-maintenance." He goaded, playfully nudging her.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Mary tried to remain uppity but couldn't help her grin. "We've been walking for at least an hour! Aren't you guys hungry?"
"I am, actually. I didn't have a proper lunch because I expected dinner to be filling, but all I got was a plate of paste and foam." It had actually been rather delicious, but Matthew delighted in lightly mocking Mary's background whenever he could (but never in front of her parents, of course). He pretended to run away when he saw Mary's little fist coming at his arm.
James, meanwhile, saw his opportunity. He was as close to being alone with Mary as he had ever been. That Matthew fellow was his only obstacle, but it was clear that he wasn't properly bred. He didn't even appreciate foamed mushrooms!
"I know a good place near Belgravia that does late-night food. I can walk you back home and we can stop by there on the way. We'll have to head that way anyway, seeing as it's near where we both live." James offered Mary, making sure he emphasised the fact that Matthew wasn't from the same area as them.
Matthew's jaw clenched. He'd been hoping that James would leave soon so that he can Mary could talk freely. But now the pervy rascal was trying to get rid of him!
"Actually, James, you can go without me. There's something I want to speak with Matthew about- alone." Seeing that James was about to protest, Mary changed tactics, "Oh, and on your way back, if you could pop by my house and let my parents know not to wait up for me, I'd really appreciate it." She finished flirtatiously, flashing him a beautiful smile that she knew he wouldn't be able to resist.
"Sure, Mary." James replied, trying to flash her his own dazzling smile. Matthew openly scoffed. "I'll see you soon. I might stop by tomorrow and see if you need any help clearing up." James charmed.
"Oh, that's not necessary." Mary said. James nodded awkwardly, kissed Mary on the cheek and left, without acknowledging Matthew.
"Bye James!" Matthew shouted, in an overly-friendly manner. Mary erupted into a fit of giggles. "The company you keep…" He said to her once James was out of ear-shot, shaking his head.
"Shut up, you know I don't want him to be my company." Mary retorted. "He just likes to follow me around and gawk at me."
"Well, you can't blame him for that." Matthew said, his voice low. Mary blushed profusely.
They continued walking in silence for a little while, both acutely aware that the level of sexual tension between them had ramped up several notches.
"What do you want to do?" Matthew asked eventually. He presumed that they wouldn't want to walk all the way back to her house, but there weren't any cabs around and they'd need to leave soon if they wanted to catch the last tube.
"I don't know, I'm quite tired of walking." Mary said. "Maybe we should each head home?" She asked, not really wanting to do that at all.
"I'm not letting you go home on your own at this time of night." Matthew said protectively, making Mary blush again.
"Well if you escort me home, by the time we reach my house there'll be no tubes running for you to go home." Mary paused, thinking. "You could stay the night, we still have plenty of space."
Matthew considered this. He didn't want to leave Mary now, but at the same time he wasn't sure he'd be able to bear sleeping in a room mere metres away from her, knowing that nothing could happen because her whole family, plus a few party guests, was under the same roof.
He reached into his pocket to check he had his wallet. "I have an idea." He said, striding purposefully ahead. Mary tailed behind him, confused.
Eventually, they reached a grand building. "This is the Corinthia." Mary stated, remembering attending Isobel's 21st birthday here recently.
"It is indeed. Why don't we just stay here for the night?" Matthew said, surprised at his own forwardness. He obviously still had a bit of alcohol in him.
Mary's eyes lit up. The idea of spending the night with Matthew in a hotel was enticing, to say the least. "I don't have my purse with me." She said, still not wanting to respond too eagerly to a man's invitations.
Matthew smirked. "It's fine. I know you're a working girl now but I'm not going to let you pay for it. It's on me."
Mary smiled at him intriguingly before turning and walking swiftly through the front door of the hotel.
Matthew blew the air out of his cheeks before following her eagerly. Does this mean what I think it does?
A/N: things look like they're about to steam up, don't they? :P Let me know your thoughts! Oh and if you're curious, the dance I had in mind that Mary did was similar to what Holly Valance did in Strictly Come Dancing last year, for the Halloween programme (it's on Youtube)