A/N: I'm so glad you guys enjoyed the last chapter. I hope it cleared some things up.

…

Mary felt a twinge of annoyance. She was being woken up against her will. Her displeasure eased off, however, when she felt a warm hand rub over her bare stomach and soft kisses planted on her shoulder. Remembering who her bed partner was, she turned onto her back to give him access to her collarbone.

"Mmm," she hummed. "What time is it?" She asked sleepily, her eyes still closed as she enjoyed the affection she was receiving.

"11am." Came the casual reply.

"What? I need to go home!" Mary shrieked as she sat upright, her shoulder knocking against Matthew's head with the force of her movement.

"Ow! Bloody hell, Mary, I was joking. It's 5am." Matthew said wearily, rubbing the side of his head that had been impacted upon by Mary's surprisingly pointy shoulder.

"Oh," Mary sighed in relief. "Sorry." She said as she lay back down and reached out a hand to help soothe poor Matthew's head. "Wait, it's 5am? What are you doing awake, you freak?"

Matthew smiled at her wickedly as he wrapped his arm over her torso, tauntingly caressing her with his fingers. "I want to make you go over again." He whispered in her ear, in that deliciously low voice of his.

Mary felt herself instantly become wet. Her breaths became shorter. Matthew's hand moved up to grasp her breast, massaging it with his long fingers, while his mouth nipped along her neck. "I don't think it will take much, to be honest." Mary admitted. "God, Matthew." She gasped, feeling his fingers play with her nipple.

"Oh really?" Matthew asked, extremely curious at exactly how little it would take to make her peak. He dipped his head to take her other breast in his mouth, slowly swirling his tongue around it before sucking, enjoying the sound his mouth made on her.

Mary dug her fingers into Matthew's back. She was growing delirious. Her chest involuntarily rose up to seek more pleasure from his tongue and fingers. "Fuck."

Matthew raised an eyebrow at her expletive but didn't stop his attentions. He'd never heard her swear like that before. She must really be enjoying this. He continued, his focus solely on her soft, plump breasts. He heard her groans become more urgent and demanding, and felt her writhe more insistently. Deciding to put her agony, and his curiosity, at an end, he removed his hand from her chest and trailed it down her body until he reached her centre. He paused for a moment before slipping it in. She was soaking. It was his turn to curse now, but it was muffled because her breast was still in his mouth. He began gently moving his fingers around over her. Mary's hips soon began to jerk upwards and her moans grew increasingly desperate until she let out one final, loud curse. Matthew felt her release onto his hand. He was surprised that he didn't release himself, from the eroticism of it all.

"See, I told you." Mary panted.

…

"What time is it now?" Mary asked. Matthew's little wake-up call had worked so well that they'd ended up having another early-morning romp; it had been much more languid than the first two (the second one being after they'd proclaimed their love for each other), but no less enjoyable. She was now half lying on top of Matthew, her back to his chest and his arms around her waist.

Matthew glanced at the bedside clock. "6.30." He replied, burying his nose in her messy hair.

Mary sighed with disappointment. "I should probably go home." She said as she stroked his forearms.

"What? Why?" Matthew's grip on her body unconsciously tightened. "It's so early!"

"I need to get home before anybody wakes up- they need to think I came home late last night and have been in bed all this time." She pointed out.

"Nobody's going to be awake at 6.30 on a Sunday, Mary. The party probably only finished at about midnight."

"Yes, but by the time I get ready and travel home, it'll be much later. Plus, I need to factor in the amount of time it will take to convince you to let me go." Mary teased, angling her head to give him a quick kiss on the jaw. Deciding she liked the way his stubble felt against her lips, she carried on. "You know my Dad never wakes up much later than 8.00, even if we're on holiday." Mary rolled her eyes. It was a bit of a pain having such a hard-working father, sometimes.

Seeing no way to argue against her, Matthew eventually conceded that Mary should probably go home. But he still wanted to spend as much time with her as he could. "I'll walk you home."

"You can't walk me home." Mary replied.

"Why not?"

"Firstly, because it would take too long. And secondly…" Mary said provocatively as she turned her body around and moved down the bed, "I'm about to make you weak at the knees."

Matthew could only stare open-mouthed as her head disappeared beneath the covers.

…

"I think my mother will be happy about us." Matthew called from the bathroom. He'd tried to persuade Mary to shower with him ("Only to clean ourselves, of course" he'd said with unconvincing innocence), but Mary insisted that they didn't have time. So they settled on each quickly freshening up before Mary got her taxi (she'd planned on getting the tube back, but Matthew had urged her to let him get a cab with her. He looked so determined about it that Mary couldn't say no. Besides, she quite enjoyed him looking after her).

"Your mother?" Mary queried. "But we've never met."

"I know, but she's heard a lot about you." Matthew said as he walked back into the bedroom, his hair in a much better state than it had been. "I think she suspected that something was going on between us before even I realised it. That woman can track a scent like a blood-hound."

"What have you been telling her about me?" Mary smiled as she finished buttoning up her cardigan.

"Lots of good things" Matthew smiled back, walking over to place an arm around her waist and kiss the side of her head. "And now I have even more good things to tell her." He said suggestively.

"Ew, Matthew, do you realise what you just said?" Mary asked, rather disgusted.

"Er, yeah, sorry about that. That was meant to be a compliment." Matthew walked away to find his shirt. "Do you think your parents will be happy?" He thought it was a silly question- of course they'd be happy! Robert and Cora adored him and already treated him like a family member.

Mary stilled. In all the excitement and passion of the night, she hadn't thought about what her parents would say. This was her first relationship in years- and, in all honesty, she was only eighteen when she'd had her first boyfriend, and nobody had taken it very seriously. She remembered the conversation she'd had with her mother about how 'men like Matthew' were unsuitable. Crap. "We can't tell them about us now; they'll know that something happened last night. It'll be weird." She said.

"Well I know that." Matthew laughed as he sat down on the bed. "But we'll tell them soon, won't we? There's no reason to keep it a secret. Not amongst family, at least."

Mary couldn't bear to look at his darling, eager face. She needed to convince him that sharing this wonderful new development in their relationship wasn't a good idea. At least until she could test the waters and convince her parents that she didn't need to be with someone wealthy or privately-educated. "Actually," she began, "I think we should keep it quiet for a little while."

Matthew's brow creased in confusion. "Why?"

"Well, I think it's a good idea for us to settle into our relationship a bit before we tell anyone. You know how interfering my mother can be." She argued convincingly (she hoped).

Matthew remembered Tom citing similar reasons for him and Sybil keeping their affair a secret. "But surely your parents wouldn't want to interfere if they were happy with your boyfriend." Matthew asked.

"You don't know my mother." Mary said drily. "Plus, I…think it'll be good if we had a chance to get used to being with each other, without any prying eyes."

"But I'm already used to being with you." Matthew said so affectionately that Mary's heart swelled.

"Well…I just think I'll feel better if we hold off on announcing it- that way, we can just enjoy each other's company without having to worry about anyone else." Mary said, well aware that enjoying each other's company would in fact be much more difficult if they had to sneak around. Thankfully, this seemed to pass by Matthew.

"Alright, if that's what you want." He smiled, rising from the bed to give her a hug.

…

The new couple chatted easily in the cab on the way home, with Mary pushing thoughts of her parents to one side. She asked the cab-driver to stop at the end of her road, just in case any of her family, or the few guests who had stayed the night, saw it pull up outside the house.

"I guess I'll see you later." She said shyly as she turned to Matthew. This new kind of intimacy was still unfamiliar to her, and she felt unsure what to do in moments such as these.

Matthew, on the other hand, had to rein his affections in. He constantly wanted to kiss her, hold her hand, put his arm around her. "I guess you will." He said quietly, leaning in to lovingly press his lips against hers. He watched Mary get out of the cab, walk down the street and open her front door. When he was sure she was inside safely, he asked the cab-driver to drop him off at the nearest tube station. He'd forgotten how expensive cabs were these days. He sure as hell wasn't going to be driven all the way to Clapham. The cab-ride coupled with the hotel made this one very costly weekend. But it was worth it.

…

"Ah, Mary, there you are. What time did you get home last night?" Robert asked as he walked into the kitchen and saw Mary pouring herself some cereal.

"I don't remember, really. It was after everyone had gone to bed." Mary said coolly.

"You look very tired. Did you not sleep well?" Robert looked at her concernedly.

"No, not very well. I suppose I must have had a bit too much to drink." Mary replied, thinking that her father would be far less shocked at the knowledge that she'd been drunk than he would be at the knowledge that she'd spent the entire night banging his legal adviser in a 5-star hotel.

Robert chuckled. "I just got off the phone with Matthew".

Mary paused her chewing momentarily. Why had Matthew called her father? Why was her father bringing it up with her? "Oh?" She asked uninterestedly after swallowing her Special K.

"He wanted to apologise for leaving without saying goodbye. He said he had a fabulous night last night- said he'd remember it for the rest of his life!" Robert exclaimed, obviously proud that he'd hosted such a memorable party.

"Did he really?" Mary smiled slyly into her cereal bowl. "That's nice of him to say."

"He is a lovely young man, isn't he?" Robert said fondly. "Did he stay out with you when you went for your walk last night?"

Mary picked up on the affectionate tone in her father's voice. It was the tone he always used when speaking about a boy, right before suggesting that Mary should go on a date with said boy. Was her Dad about to suggest she should date Matthew? Please God.

"Yes, he did. He paid for me to get a cab back home, in fact." She said, hoping to endear Matthew to her father even more.

"Oh, what a gentleman. You know, I was always sorry that your mother and I couldn't give you girls a brother to look after you, but at least I found Matthew, eh? He can be a brother to you all." Robert smiled.

Mary's heart dropped so far she thought it had fallen out of her body. A brother? Given what they'd done mere hours earlier, that was disgusting, as well as disappointing.

"Mmm." Was all Mary could say, stirring her cereal around. Clearly she didn't have to worry about her father suspecting anything romantic between her and Matthew- he'd see it all as sibling affection.

"Anyway," Robert said, seeing that his daughter wasn't in the mood for conversation, but attributing it to tiredness. "I should get back to my study." He patted Mary's shoulder on his way out.

…

Mary went up the stairs to Sybil's room and knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Sybil called.

"Hi, are you busy?" Mary asked as she opened the door.

"No, no. Just stalking people on Facebook." Sybil replied, patting a spot on the bed next to her for Mary to sit on. She set her laptop down next to her. "What's up?"

"Nothing much, really. Just a bit hungover from last night. Did you have a nice time with Tom?"

"Yes, it was lovely." Sybil beamed. "He was quite embarrassed about his flat but it was really cool! His life seems so low-key and laid back. It's amazing." Sybil said wistfully. "And he did everything he could to make sure I was comfortable- he even woke up early to make me breakfast!" She recalled, her face lighting up at the memory.

Mary smiled at her younger sister. Although Sybil had always been a cheery person, it was heart-warming to see her so genuinely happy because of love- Mary had recently discovered what that feels like, after all. "He seems like a good guy. I mean, I didn't get to speak to him much last night, but Matthew always speaks highly of him."

Sybil nodded vigorously, glad that she was now able to talk about Tom with her sister. "It's worked out so nicely that he and Matthew are best friends. It was a rather funny scene when Matthew found out about us!"

Mary laughed lightly before becoming more sombre. "Sybil, why have you been so worried about Mum and Dad finding out about him?" She asked seriously. "Do you think they'd be angry if they knew?"

"Of course they would, Mary!" Sybil laughed, humourlessly this time. "He's the complete opposite of what they want us to date. He's so intelligent and well-read, he writes articles in his free time and tries to get them published, but Mum and Dad won't care about that, will they? All they'll focus on is the fact that he didn't do A-levels and his father is a builder. Any prospective suitors of ours may as well send through their CVs and bank statements straight to our parents. Nothing else seems to matter." She finished in an uncharacteristically bitter tone.

"I know." Mary said forlornly.

Sybil eyed her sister curiously. "What's worrying you? Is there someone…?" She trailed off, but her meaning was clear.

Mary debated whether to tell Sybil the truth or not, especially now that she was with Matthew's best friend. But she knew that Sybil always put loyalty first- plus, Mary could really use the advice of someone who knew exactly what she was going through. "Yes, there is." She began quietly. "Matthew." She stated simply.

To her surprise, Sybil merely smiled knowingly. "I thought so." She said.

"What?" Mary asked.

"Just from the way the two of you were around each other last night. You spent the whole night either by his side or looking for him, and he was the same with you. Did anything happen after I left with Tom?"

Mary winced slightly. She and Sybil were close, but she was still a private person and didn't much want to share illicit details with her baby sister. "Yeah…well, everyone else left, and we…ended up staying in a hotel. In the same room." Mary tried to convey her meaning with her eyes.

Sybil clapped her hands over her mouth to stop herself from squealing. "Oh my God! Mary!" She giggled. "That's so cute! Well, not cute, but you know…"

Mary couldn't help laughing. "I am really happy about it." She admitted shyly. "But, like you, I don't want to tell Mum and Dad."

Sybil tilted her head sympathetically. "I'm sure they won't object to Matthew. He's a lawyer, he works at a fairly high-powered firm, Mum and Dad have known him for months and they love him! Dad said the other day that Matthew's like the son he never had."

"Precisely! That's the problem!" Mary said frustratedly. At Sybil's confused expression, she continued, "Dad told me just now that he's glad he met Matthew because now me, you and Edith have an older brother. That's how he sees Matthew's relationship to us!"

"But isn't that a good thing, in a way? It means they see him as part of the family, which he sort of would be if he was your boyfriend. So it wouldn't be a massive adjustment for them to make." Sybil reasoned.

"I'm afraid I don't agree, as much as I'd like for you to be correct." Mary sighed. "Think about it - Matthew is gorgeous, successful and gentlemanly. If any 'well-bred' guy with even half of one of those qualities walks by me, Mum and Dad immediately start praying that we'll fall in love. Matthew's been around for ages, he became one of my best friends- and nothing. Not even a hint of 'why don't you and Matthew try it on?' I know he was with Lavinia, but a boy being attached has never stood in the way of their match-making. If Dad saw Matthew in the same way he sees people like James Chamberlain, he wouldn't view him as a brother to us- he'd view him as a potential suitor. Dad knows that Matthew's mum is a midwife with the NHS, and his dad was a teacher in a state school before he passed away. In short- Matthew is out of bounds."

"You don't know that." Sybil weakly reassured.

"I do, actually. Mum explicitly said to me a while ago that Matthew, and all men like him, would be inappropriate partners for me." Mary explained the whole conversation to Sybil, whose jaw dropped open in astonishment.

"Jesus Christ. Are they really that narrow-minded?" Sybil shook her head in anger. The sisters sat in silence for a minute, each lamenting their lack of freedom. "I know we're lucky to come from a rich family and to have been so well provided for," Sybil broke the silence, "but sometimes I think life would have been so much easier if we were from a 'normal' family."

"I definitely agree with you there." Mary said sadly.

…

A/N: oh no! Will Mary let her parents be an obstacle to her relationship with Matthew? Given the title to this story, I thought it would only be fairly to give Mary her own conflict (between being a good Crawley/doing her duty and following her heart) now that Matthew's conflict (between his duty to Lavinia and his feelings for Mary) has been resolved.