I can't believe the amount of reviews I have gotten for this story! Thank you all so much and please keep reviewing, I love to hear what you think! Mary is 9 here, Matthew is 10. Patrick arrives at Downton...We see them (especially Mary) growing up in a very short time. Please R&R
The entire Crawley family and the staff stood outside in the frosty morning, awaiting the arrival of James and Patrick. As the carriage was seen rattling up the extensive driveway, Cora gave an unwelcome last minute instruction.
"And I want you to be very nice to Cousin Patrick, Mary. Show him around Downton and play some games with him, perhaps you could even go riding together!"
"Why? I thought you said I wasn't allowed to play with boys!" Mary sulked.
"Mary. It is very important that you get along with Patrick."
"Why?"
Cora considered telling her the truth. She looked into the face of her eldest daughter, growing up fast, and she felt a wave of sadness wash over her. Not yet, Cora told herself, she's too young.
"Just do as you're told, Mary. Hush now," she hissed, as the carriage pulled up to the doors.
The staff stood to attention as a footman opened the carriage door and out came James, a thin, grey, mean looking man with sharp eyes that saw everything. Patrick, on the other hand, could not have been less like his father if he tried. A fat, red headed boy of about eight or nine years old slumped out, his eyes droopy and glazed over as if he was bored with everything and everyone. She had to play with him? This dull looking boy, when she could be playing real, important games with Matthew. Although they had to play in secret now, that just meant that their games became more imaginative, more reckless and daring to make the most of the stolen time. Yesterday, Matthew had climbed to the top of the tallest tree in Downton woods and swung back down again, gleefully swinging from branch to branch like a monkey. Patrick looked as though he would break any tree he tried to climb! Mary looked up at her mother with a pleading look, rewarded only by a swift, hard pinch to her shoulder as she welcomed their guests.
"Welcome to Downton, Cousin James! It's been far too long since we had the pleasure of seeing you. And Cousin Patrick, what a handsome young man you are getting to be!"
Mary swiftly turned an outburst of disbelieving laughter into a long cough, trying desperately to keep a straight face. James peered down at her, raising an eyebrow as if making an inspection.
"And this must be the young Lady Mary, I presume?"
"Yes. You remember Edith too? And our youngest, Sybil."
Her sunny face beaming with joy, Sybil toddled over on slightly unsteady legs, wrapped her arms around James' knees and firmly hugged him. The maids covered their mouths with their hands to hide their tittering at the heir's amazed and uncomfortable face as Sybil's nurse gently prised her tiny, sticky fingers from the expensive grey trousers.
XxX
"So it's agreed then? When Mary turns twenty one, she will be engaged to Patrick?"
The Dowager Countess decided to add her opinion into the discussion. "Of course it's agreed, Robert! It's been agreed for years!"
"Hmmm," droned James. "Now that I'm here and I've had a chance to get to know the girls personally, I wonder if the Lady Sybil mightn't be a better match for him? She seems to be the most... amiable and even tempered of the three girls. And perhaps a better age for Patrick? Lady Mary is a little older than him, after all."
"Odious man," mumbled Violet under her breath.
Having heard his mother's remark, Robert coughed in embarrassment and replied to James' suggestion, a hint of worry tingeing his voice.
"My dear fellow, a month or two older hardly matters, surely? Mary is already a very accomplished young lady and will make a fine wife for Patrick and a wonderful Countess. Patrick would have to wait another six years after he comes of age before Sybil could possibly marry. No, we can't give precedence to Sybil; as the eldest daughter, Mary must be our priority."
The Dowager Countess rolled her eyes in exasperation as James took an overly long moment to consider, furrowing his brow in deep thought.
"Very well. We will announce their engagement on Patrick's twenty first birthday. There's plenty of time for her to mature and to get to know him before they marry. If you would be so good as to have your lawyer send over the estate documents, I would like to have a look at them myself."
"Ah, yes. You mean Murray. Such a helpful man, you'll find him very well informed. Poor chap must have read over those documents a thousand times!"
"What if Patrick doesn't want to marry her?" Cora softly interjected.
Violet burst with frustration at her daughter in law still clinging to the notions of the New World.
"Oh please. Young people are so wrapped up in this romantic drivel! It's a frightfully American notion and we are not American! Patrick and Mary will be married and that's all there is to it."
Violet rammed the end of her cane into the wooden floor, the rap echoing on the wooden floor with a note of finality.
As the adults continued their discussion, going over the details as they signed her life away, Mary listened in abject horror, her ear pressed to the keyhole. She felt cold inside with a feeling she couldn't quite explain. The adults had been acting a little strangely all morning and then when they all decided to come in here to talk, Granny coming up from the Dower House too, Mary decided it must be something very exciting. She couldn't rest until she knew what was going on, but now she wished that she had gone to play as her Mama had told her to do. These thoughts whirling around in her head were cut short as the door opened suddenly and she fell inside, the shocked gaze of all four adults burning through her as she stood up straight, guilt written all over her face. The guilty silence of both the adults and Mary intensified as no one spoke for some moments. Thankfully, Violet decided she should be the first to speak.
"Mary, my dear?" said the Dowager Countess, her corset creaking as she eased out of her armchair.
"Yes, Granny?"
"The key to good eavesdropping is not getting caught."
XxX
Her Mama had explained everything. In those few moments, Cora had watched her daughter shoulder the expectation of a world which Mary could not yet fully comprehend. A world of loveless marriage, entails, male dominance, financial issues, the estate, the honour of Downton, her two failed pregnancies after Sybil. The doctor had said there was no possibility of any more children. Of course, Cora didn't tell all of this in so many words but all the weight of it fell on the shoulders of this little girl of nine years old. Mary did not cry or scream or whine as Cora expected she would. Mary simply stood there, allowing her Mama's words to wash through her as she explained that one day, she would take her place.
"So you see Mary, it's not so bad. One day you will be the Countess of Grantham, just like me and just like Granny was before me. You'll get to throw parties and go hunting and entertain..."
"That sounds nice, Mama."
And it did sound nice; getting to wear pretty dresses and go to parties, everyone having to do what you wanted because you were in charge. Mary squashed down the niggling feeling that she was just a pawn in someone else's game, just an insignificant part of a long line of women who had married the Earl of Grantham. Cora was surprised at Mary's composure; it wasn't like Mary to keep her emotions to herself!
"Well then," Cora said, still slightly taken aback. "Perhaps you could take Patrick out riding this afternoon."
XxX
Mary swept into the nursery with an air of authority, smartly dressed in black breeches and hat, her riding crop hanging loosely by her side. Her Edith and Patrick looked up in astonishment from their game. Mary looked so grown up all of a sudden.
"Come along, Patrick. We're going riding."
Clearly his father had told him to be nice to Mary; his bored look had lessened somewhat as he stood up and gave a smart bow to her.
"Certainly, Cousin Mary. I would be delighted."
"But we're playing chess!" Edith protested, tears threatening to spill.
Mary simply rolled her eyes at her sister, leading Patrick from the nursery without another word.
In the stables, Mary deftly mounted her beloved chestnut pony, patting his neck lovingly as she sat atop him in her leather side-saddle. One of the stable lads was roughly hauling Patrick into the saddle of Edith's pony. Luckily, the horse snorting happened to mask a similar noise made by Mary at the same time. They trotted off, Mary carefully keeping her horse's stride just a little quicker than Patrick could manage. As they reached a glorious expanse of field, Mary took a deep breath of the pure English country air, pulled on the reins of her pony and waited for Patrick's to plod up to her.
"Let's race!"
"Well, I don't really..." Patrick stuttered, but she was gone.
Mary whipped her pony into a gallop, the bumpy ride loosening her hair, icy cold wind streaming in her face. She could see her breath and her horse's breath like white misty clouds winding up into the winter air, her cheeks reddening from the cold and exertion. The wind in her hair and face seemed to blow all her cares away; the speed of the horse was exhilarating. She laughed out loud at the wondrous freedom of it all, laughing even harder when she glanced behind and saw that Patrick's pony had decided it had wanted to come along for the gallop anyway, despite its portly rider's protests.
XxX
Matthew was on his way home from school, his brown satchel bumping merrily at his side as he walked on the frosty grass, the sparkling fronds crunching delightfully under his boots with each step he took. As he admired the way the sunlight made the countryside shimmer, he heard sounds from the next field, horses harrumphing and galloping hooves. And a girl's laugh...that was Mary's laugh, he was sure of it! Perhaps he could catch her before she rode home and he could tell her all about that little robin's nest he had found in the playground during break time! Clutching his satchel to him, he ran and ran and then stopped dead as he saw her riding with another boy, clearly enjoying his company if her merry laughter was anything to go by. He bit his bottom lip as he watched them ride round the field. Matthew suddenly found that he didn't want to see Mary today after all; perhaps he could tell her about the robins nest another day. Not wanting to be seen, he snuck quietly away. He wrapped his thick black winter school coat more tightly about him, trying to keep out the cold that he hadn't noticed before.
XxX
Mary was puzzled. Usually Matthew was such a happy boy, always inventing new games and adventures for them. But today, he seemed different, she thought, not knowing he was having similar thoughts about her. He had politely turned down all her ideas and now they were just sitting there, doing nothing. Matthew decided to broach the increasingly uncomfortable silence growing between them.
"Who was that boy you were with yesterday?" he asked innocently.
"Oh, that's Patrick." Mary made a face. "He's who I've got to marry when I grow up."
"Oh."
Mary decided to change the subject. She didn't want to talk about Patrick; it felt wrong somehow, something private.
"What are you going to do when you grow up, Matthew?" she asked brightly.
"I have to be a doctor like Father," he groaned.
"You don't seem very happy about it!" laughed Mary.
"Well, you don't seem very happy about marrying Patrick!" Matthew snapped.
As Mary's laughs died, dissipating into the cold December air, he regretted his outburst. "I'm sorry, Mary. I just meant that, well, wouldn't it be marvellous if we could choose for ourselves?"
"Oh yes," she breathed, her mind filling with images of travels to exotic lands, flame coloured birds and elephants' impossible trunks and... "But I can't. I'm going to be the Countess. It's all decided."
Matthew gave a hum of dissatisfaction.
"But you Matthew, you can do anything! Anything you wanted to. What would you like to do?"
"I want to do something where I can read lots but where I can help people as well. But there isn't really a job like that," he said with a sad smile.
"Yes there is! You can be a lawyer."
TBC