March 1925
Matthew watched as his sons excitedly let go of their hands and rushed up the small path and knocked as loud as they could on the front door of Crawley House. He smiled as the door opened and the housekeeper allowed their entry and took their coats from them.
"Mrs Crawley is in the drawing room, Sir. If you'd like to follow me."
But the children didn't even give the poor housekeeper the chance to announce their arrival to his mother, they burst into the drawing room as quickly as they could.
"Grandmama!" George said happily.
Isobel rose from her seat, leaning down to hug her grandsons.
"Good afternoon, George. Good afternoon, Charlie." Isobel greeted with a smile.
Matthew handed his coat and gloves to the housekeeper and kissed his mother on the cheek as Mary took off her garments and followed suit. He watched as his wife sat down, taking slow, deep breaths as she must have felt another wave of nausea wash through her. Whilst they were yet to tell anyone that they were expecting another baby, Matthew knew that this pregnancy was definitely causing more sickness for his wife.
"Luncheon will be ready in a moment; shall we head through to the dining room?" Isobel suggested.
Mary nodded and the five of them walked through to the dining room and sat at the table. George and Charlie fidgeted, being told to keep still quite a bit but Matthew reminded himself that his children weren't used to having luncheon with adults. The children took their luncheon at a different time to the rest of the family. But today, his mother had asked them round for a meal together and Matthew had accepted. It had been a while since they had spent some quality time alone with his mother and he and Mary had jointly agreed that this time, Isobel would be told first of her new grandchild rather than do a joint announcement over a meal like they had done so with Charlie.
"So, what have you boys been up to?" Isobel asked curiously.
"We went to see the pigs again." George replied with a smile.
"And see Granny Violet." Charlie added.
"Did you enjoy your visits?"
The boys nodded before fidgeting again in their seats.
"And what about you, Matthew and Mary?" Isobel smiled.
"Not too much, really. I've been overseeing the transition with the new farmer and his family at Yew Tree Farm, and I need to write to Tom. I don't think he's happy in Boston." Mary replied.
"I've been spending a bit more time at the office lately. I've needed to start making some draft adjustments to my will." Matthew said.
"All this talk of wills over the last few years, Matthew. I think the last time I heard you speak of such a thing was when…"
Matthew shared a look with Mary, a knowing smile as they both met his mother's gaze.
"Oh…are you…" Isobel stammered with a smile.
Mary nodded.
"We're expecting baby Crawley number three in October." She confirmed.
"Oh my dears! How wonderful!" Isobel gushed.
Matthew watched his mother rise from her seat, kissing Mary's cheek before hugging her tightly and then repeating the gesture with him. When his mother eventually returned to her seat, luncheon was brought through for the five of them. Trays of sandwiches and fruit where they could help themselves and a bowl of salad which George and Charlie pulled a face at which made Matthew chuckle.
"Georgie, have some lettuce and tomatoes please." Mary instructed.
"They taste bad!" George insisted.
"If you want to grow into a strong man like Papa, you need to eat your greens." Mary reminded him.
"But tomatoes are red!" George retorted.
"George Matthew Crawley!" Mary chastised.
Mary raised an eyebrow and George rolled his eyes before scooping some lettuce and tomatoes onto his plate. Matthew chuckled quietly as Mary looked at him with a glare.
"What?!" Matthew asked defensively.
"Don't encourage bad habits in your children." Mary stated firmly.
"Well he has a point…tomatoes are red darling." Matthew joked.
Mary rolled her eyes, identical in her expression to how George had been. Matthew found it incredible just how much of Mary there was in their sons. Their sons were his mirror image, the same blond hair and blue eyes, the same build as to what he had been during his childhood, but they had also inherited some of Mary's personality and it made Matthew amused more than anything.
"Matthew." Mary said warningly.
"I apologise, darling. Georgie, listen to your Mama please. When she tells you to eat your greens, you need to do as you're told." Matthew instructed.
George nodded sulkily, picking up his fork and stabbing it into the lettuce and took a bit, pulling a face as he chewed and swallowed. The rest of them helped themselves and ate what they could, with Mary only eating very little. When they had finished, they left the dining room and returned to the drawing room where they read a story to the boys to calm them down a little.
"Have you told anyone else about the baby yet?" Isobel asked.
"Not yet. Edith had another emergency in London with her magazine." Mary replied.
"We're planning to tell the family when she returns to Downton." Matthew added.
"I think it's splendid! I wonder if it will be another boy?" Isobel mused.
"Boy or girl, I'm happy to have another child." Matthew smiled.
Mary smiled back at him. For Matthew, he knew that Mary would love to give him a daughter. She had watched him on so many occasions with Sybbie and Marigold that she wanted to see him that way with his own little girl. Not that she knew he loved their sons any less because he didn't. Becoming parents had been an eye-opening journey for the both of them. During her pregnancy with George, Mary had been a little hesitant about what kind of mother she would be, and Matthew had taken it upon himself to reassure her that she would be a wonderful one. And she truly was. She loved George and Charlie with every fibre of her being. She checked on them every single night before she turned into bed, kissing their foreheads, and wrapping their blankets a little tighter around their little bodies. She would sit with them and read stories to them every single day and greet them so happily when the children came down to the library after afternoon tea was finished. She would often ask Nanny to prepare the boys for the morning walks and have George and Charlie accompany her when she would survey the estate. She never denied George's request to see the farm animals at the farms she would visit because she knew how much George loved animals.
And when October came and she would give birth to their third child, Matthew had already made a silent vow that he would be by her side for the entire experience. He wouldn't be sat downstairs or outside the room and only join her after hearing her call out for him during her pained screams. The moment the time came, Matthew vowed he would be there for whatever she needed, because she had given him the greatest gift there was, and he found himself forever in her debt for making him the happiest of men.
oOo
A few days later the family found themselves attending the wedding reception of Carson and Mrs. Hughes. As Robert raised his glass and made a toast to the bride and groom, every guest in the room followed suit. They all took a sip of their champagne until they heard a familiar voice in the doorway behind them.
"To the bride and groom."
Mary turned and the family copied her action. In the doorway, Tom stood, holding Sybbie on his hip still dressed in their travelling clothes.
"Tom! And Sybbie darling! What are you doing here?" Mary asked happily.
Mary kissed Tom on the cheek and her brother-in-law returned the gesture.
"How did you know where to find us?" Matthew asked, shaking Tom's hand.
"I went to the house and the hall boy on duty told me where you were," Tom replied, kissing Edith and Cora on the cheek before turning his attention to the newly wedded couple, "And it means that I can congratulate you in person, Mr. and Mrs Carson."
"Oh! Are you back for a holiday?" Mrs Hughes asked happily.
"Oh say you'll stay!" Mary pleaded.
"That's just the point. I can stay as long as you want me." Tom stated with a smile.
"I don't understand. What are you saying?" Edith asked.
"Just this – that I've come back, and I'd like to stay for good. If Lord Grantham will have me." Tom replied.
"Of course we'll have you! We'll be delighted." Cora stated with a wide smile.
"I echo every syllable." Robert concluded.
Robert took Sybbie from Tom's arms, giving his eldest granddaughter a kiss before placing her on her feet to hug her cousins. Charlie and George and even Marigold were excited that Sybbie was back to stay, and Mary felt such happiness when Tom declared that Downton was his home and where he and Sybbie both belonged.
After eating a little and drinking a little, Mary asked Matthew that they return to the house. They congratulated the happy couple once more, thanked them for the invitation and complimented the ceremony and took their sons and left the village. The walk back to the house seemed longer than usual. Perhaps it was because Charlie was rubbing his eyes and crying that he was tired, perhaps it was because Mary was tired and nauseous and could only walk slowly. But when they finally reached the Abbey, both the boys were tired out that Mary instructed Nanny to give the boys their dinner early and put them in the bath as soon as possible. Mary handed her coat and gloves to the hall boy and walked up the stairs to her bedroom where she flopped down on the bed ungraciously. Matthew followed her, chuckling at the sight of her laying on the bed like a starfish.
"Would you like a foot rub?" Matthew offered.
"Please! This baby is making me ache all over. I hate getting tired so easily." Mary grumbled.
Matthew walked over to the bed, sitting on the edge and took her shoes off carefully. Mary moaned in satisfaction as she felt Matthew's hands delicately easing the pressure in her stocking clad feet.
"I suppose now that the wedding is over, and that Tom has returned, we can tell the rest of the family our news." Matthew mused.
"Let's tell them over breakfast tomorrow. I wonder if Edith is going to talk about Bertie Pelham at all." Mary sighed.
"He helped her with her magazine when her editor left in a hurry. You should compliment your sister on her achievements instead of clashing with her. After all she's been through."
"Edith and I have never been close, Matthew. If I changed the way I behaved towards her she might start to suspect that I know something I shouldn't."
"And have you ever thought about just telling Edith that you know the truth about Marigold?" Matthew suggested.
"And say what? That I think she's a hypocrite for calling me a slut for what I did with Pamuk all those years ago, only for her to get pregnant by a married man and have an illegitimate child?" Mary snapped.
Matthew dug into her foot arch a little harder which made her jolt. He apologised softly, that he hadn't meant to hurt her or apply that much pressure to her foot.
"Darling, your sister has been through a lot of pain and humiliation. First, she was jilted by Sir Anthony Strallan. Then she falls for her married editor and continues her affair with him after I asked him to call off their dalliance at Duneagle. Then Michael Gregson goes missing in pursuit of gaining a divorce and is murdered all the while Edith discovers she's pregnant by him and leaves the country to have the baby and then give it up to save her reputation."
"You make it sound like her life is one of Shakespeare's tragedies."
"You know the pain of childbirth, Mary. You have never been separated from your children and you have never lost the one you love so horribly. Yet you fail to show Edith some compassion for her sorrow." Matthew chastised.
"I did lose you once through both our own stupidity. Whether it be a miracle or a blessing that we found our way back to each other, one thing I can assure you of is that I know the pain Edith felt at losing the one she loved." Mary stated firmly.
Matthew looked at her apologetically and Mary sat up, leaning back on her hands.
"I know you and Edith will never see eye to eye, but I want you to try and make some peace with her. She's found some happiness with Marigold in her life, but she will never be truly happy while she has to pretend that the girl is nothing more than her orphaned ward. Just maybe, acknowledging the struggles she's been through and offering her your support, it might just make her feel a little better." Matthew encouraged.
She softened at his words and grasped his tie before pulling him to her and kissing him softly. Matthew pulled back, raising an eyebrow at her.
"You are too skilled at softening my roughness." She chastised playfully.
"I believe you think I'm too skilled at lots of things." Matthew said huskily.
Mary grinned, pulling him in for another kiss as he gently placed her on her back and hovered over her. She untied his tie and threw it on to the floor as her hands went to his jacket and waistcoat, shedding those from his body until she felt him roll her stockings down her legs.
"How much time do we have?" Matthew groaned.
"I don't care…" Mary breathed.
Her fingers quickly made work of his shirt buttons, discarded the garment as her fingers went to his trousers as Matthew pulled her up to a sitting position and lifted her dress over her head. Next came her undergarments until they were both bare to the touch and their skin ignited the others hotly. Mary kissed him, groaning when she felt him touch her centre teasingly until she felt slick with need and ground her hips into his and then wrapped her legs around his hips.
"Now Matthew…" She whispered against his lips.
Matthew growled as he pushed inside her, rocking his hips gently as he kissed her heatedly. He slid in and out of her deliciously as Mary gasped and moaned in pleasure. She felt his hand slip between them, finding her nub and press down and circle it slowly, teasingly until Mary felt herself being pushed over the edge. She clung to Matthew, not caring or sure about how sweaty they both were as Matthew placed his lips to her neck and nibbled at her pulse point until he reached her collarbone and nibbled. She jolted in surprise, her back arching off the bed as Matthew grunted in pleasure.
"Mary…oh Mary…" Matthew panted.
Mary held on to his shoulders tightly, squeezing her legs around his hips as she pushed against him, rolling him over until he was on his back, and she was straddled upon him. She smiled down at him as he grinned back up at her, his hands holding her hips as he felt just how deep he was inside of her.
"I rather like you like this…" Mary said in a teasing whisper.
Matthew growled, bucking his hips up hard which caused her to gasp aloud.
"I rather like it when you are like this…" he said back at her.
Her hands pinned his shoulders down to the mattress as she moved on top of him, feeling him throb and push deeper inside of her as she moved faster and faster.
"That's it, my love, take what you need…" Matthew encouraged in short breaths.
Mary cried out as she felt her husband hit that pleasurable point inside of her as she was pushed over the edge a second time. Matthew thrust his hips up into her almost forcefully, his breath quickening until he gasped and let go, spilling inside her.
Mary collapsed on top of her husband, catching her breath as she listened to fast beating of his heart inside his chest. She smiled contentedly as she felt his lips kiss her forehead.
"That was rather nice." Mary smiled.
"More than nice. It was thrilling…" Matthew breathed.
"Do you ever wonder…"
"What?"
"If you'll ever get bored of me?" Mary asked quietly.
Matthew placed his hands under her face, cupping her cheeks as he pulled her face up to meet his gaze.
"How could I ever get bored of you?" Matthew questioned in disbelief.
"I don't know…Five years of marriage is still relatively new…but already my body has changed from when we first wed…it will change even more in the months ahead…and I won't look the same…and I wonder if making love will change between us…" Mary answered shyly.
She groaned as Matthew forced his lips on hers, kissing her heatedly.
"It will take a lot more than your body changing for me to not want to make love to you. If anything I quite like the way your body changes…" Matthew said reassuringly.
"You like a bloated belly that makes your wife look like a pig?" Mary questioned bitterly.
Matthew shook his head, continuing to cradle her face in his hands.
"You don't look like a pig when you're pregnant, my darling. If anything…I like the way your hips have slightly widened since you've given birth to our sons…"
Mary frowned, trying to shift away from him. She knew that her hips had gotten wider…it was an after effect of childbirth…but she didn't need to be reminded of that. Matthew moved his hands from her face to her hips, holding his hands on them firmly that she was sure he would leave fingerprints on her body.
"Your hips are lovely and perfect for me to hold on to when you're on top of me or if I take you from behind…" Matthew whispered huskily, shifting his body so he was sitting up.
Mary wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Holding your hips as I make love to you makes me ache for you at just the thought," Matthew whispered into her ear, "I love the way your body changes when you're pregnant, Mary. It makes me so aroused."
Mary whimpered as he lay her on her back.
"B-but m-my whole body changes…surely you don't feel…aroused…by everything…" she stammered.
She gasped as she felt Matthew kiss her hotly over her stomach, down to her navel and alone her pelvic bone, hip to hip until he kissed down her left thigh.
"Perhaps I need to convince you more thoroughly…" Matthew teased.
She called out his name as she felt his mouth at her centre, her hands closed into tight fists around the bedsheets as Matthew spent the next while showing her just how much he loved her body, whispering what the little changes to it did to him whenever she had given birth to their children. And Mary silently vowed never to doubt her husband's attraction to her ever again.