Matthew sat back on the bench, his eyes scanning the greying clouds that were beginning to cover the estate, a sight that represented his mood and the mood of the family. As he looked behind him, his gaze drifting towards the big house and in particular, the blackened windows that were situated in Patrick's old bedroom, he wondered just what awaited the Crawleys next.

It hadn't been twenty-four hours since the fire had been put out but already, Matthew could see how much stress Robert was under. The fire inspectors were back earlier this morning to conduct a more thorough report and the police had been notified. The cause of the fire hadn't yet been shared with the family and the police had arrived to conduct their own investigation.

He wondered how much longer it would be until Robert called a family meeting to discuss recent events.

From where he was sat, he saw Mary walking on the grass with Isis, Robert's beloved golden retriever, throwing a tennis ball and watching the dog run before bringing it back to Mary. Matthew smiled as he noticed how at ease she seemed to be. How comfortable she seemed.

And then his mind was sent racing as he recalled Violet's whispered words to him the night before.

Mary is still in love with you.

He had certainly not been expecting Violet Crawley to meddle in his love life. He wasn't sure what Violet's intentions had been when she decided to whisper those seven words into his ear last night, but his thoughts had been racing ever since that he barely slept last night.

As Lavinia had slept peacefully by his side, Matthew had tossed and turned all night, eyes closing then opening, trying to tune to the sound of the wind outside the window before Violet's voice filled his head with those words. The second he heard them; he had looked at Mary as if waiting for her to confirm the truth of Violet's words. All night, he wondered if Mary still loved him and then mused if she had felt just as confused as he did ever since they reunited. They had shared a moment back in the bar when he told her that Lavinia wanted space and were interrupted by Robert's phone call about Patrick's death.

His eyes scanned the lawn and his eyes settled on Mary who was walking across it in the distance with Tony and his parents. Their car was waiting for them on the driveway, just in front of the house. He watched as they all came to a stop and appeared to be saying goodbye to each other. Matthew observed Tony's parents get into the car and Tony and Mary chatted a little more before Tony leaned in for a kiss and Mary reciprocated.

Just watching Mary kiss someone else made his insides twist into a knot.

"It's not easy to watch, is it?"

Matthew turned around and blinked, looking up at Violet who appeared out of nowhere.

"Where did you come from?" he asked, surprised.

"I'm quieter than people think." Violet replied.

"Have you been watching me?"

Violet took a seat on the bench next to him, looking over at Mary and Tony, watching as Tony said a final goodbye before climbing into the passenger seat of his parent's car.

"I was always indifferent to the Gillinghams," Violet shared, "Of course John Foyle, the current viscount, was at Eton with Robert. When Tony used to play with you all as children, I noted there wasn't anything remarkable about him."

"Why are you sharing this with me?" Matthew asked.

"Because I know that a man like Tony Foyle won't keep Mary's interest forever. He won't make her happy like you do." Violet replied.

"Violet…I'm marrying Lavinia-"

"Yes. So, you've said. And Miss Swire is a lovely woman. She has many good traits about her but she's not Mary."

Matthew sighed. He knew there was no point arguing with Violet when she was right. Lavinia was not Mary. And Mary was not Lavinia.

"Lavinia isn't Mary," Matthew agreed slightly, "But she also makes me happy, and I love her."

"I'm sure you do love her, and I know that you've created a pretty picture of how happy the two of you will be with a May wedding and all the promises you've made to her."

"Exactly. I've made promises. Lavinia brought light back to my life, Violet. After…that disastrous proposal…I was in a dark place. I was hurt and humiliated. Lavinia was patient and kind. She was understanding…"

"And she is a lovely woman," Violet stated, giving a sad smile, "But Mary is the one who has touched your heart in a way that no other woman will or ever could."

"And how can you be so sure that Mary is still in love with me? She is moving on with Gillingham."

Violet chuckled amusingly.

"She's trying to move on with Tony, but she won't. She had that…thing…with that Turkish man and she tried to move on with Henry Talbot."

Matthew's eyes widened.

"You know about Kemal?"

"Of course. What do you take me for?" Violet questioned with a tut.

Matthew smiled amusingly.

"But the real question is…are you going to be a fool for the second time and marry the wrong woman?"

"Violet, Lavinia made me whole again. She brought me back to myself and showed me how to live a happy life rather than just existing as I did after Mary, and I parted ways. You can't expect me to throw her over." Matthew stated.

Violet nodded stiffly.

"And we'll still be friends despite this conversation?" she asked.

"Of course."

Violet nodded and patted him on the arm. She rose from her seat and walked off across the lawn. Deciding that he had spent enough time in the grounds, Matthew too rose from the bench and headed back into the direction of the village.

It had just started to drizzle with rain when he reached his mother's house. He opened the front door and closed it behind him, shrugging off his coat just as Lavinia entered the hallway with a sad expression on her face.

"What's wrong, darling?" Matthew asked.

"My father just called. He's had some bad news." Lavinia replied quietly.

"Oh?"

Matthew hung up his coat and crossed the gap between him and his fiancée. He took hold of her hand and stroked it gently.

"Matthew…the firm have been having financial trouble…"

He frowned.

"Okay…what's happened?" he asked.

"Father says that the three partners had a meeting because their accountant is concerned about the firm's finances, and they need to make some cutbacks."

Matthew exhaled heavily. This isn't what he needed presently. He was trying to process Violet's words from yesterday, his conflicted feelings for Mary and his want of a future with Lavinia, Patrick's death and now he didn't know if his job was in jeopardy.

"What else did your father say?" Matthew asked.

"He said you needed to go in on Monday morning, the partners are all meeting and decisions will be made about who is being made redundant and who is keeping their jobs." Lavinia replied delicately.

Matthew nodded firmly and accepted Lavinia's offer of a sympathetic embrace. As he held her, his mind was racing with panic and anxiety. If he was going to lose his job, he would need to find another one soon. He did have savings, he had inheritance from his father so that would last him a while with his finances, but he wasn't the type to sit around at home all day. He needed a job to keep him busy. Then there was the flat. He rented it at a discount because it was a company asset so he assumed that if he lost his job, he would need to find a new place to live. His and Lavinia's living situation would be at risk. Lavinia had always lived with her father prior to moving in with him and he wasn't particularly keen on living with Reggie Swire for a time.

Then there was his conversation with Violet and the revelation that Mary was supposedly still in love with him. In his head, he knew that he should commit to his future with Lavinia and not let her down, love her like she loved him.

Sighing heavily, he released Lavinia and followed her through to the kitchen to have a cup of tea.

oOo

"So, tell me more about this Tom Branson." Mary requested.

She watched the shy smile form on her youngest sister's face, her cheeks turning pink. The two sisters were sat in the library, with Mary looking through her personal emails and Sybil reading from a textbook.

"He's nice. He has these amazing blue eyes that light up whenever he smiles or laughs-"

"And they light up whenever you're around?" Mary asked, eyebrow raised.

Sybil giggled. A girlish giggle that Mary hadn't heard since her sister was a lot younger than her current twenty-years of age.

"My car broke down one evening and it was pouring with rain. I was miserable, soaked through and tired after a long night shift. Tom's garage was the nearest one to tow my car to get it looked at. So, he came in his van and secured my car to his tow bar and drove me to his garage and had me sit in his little office whilst he looked it over. He gave me a blanket, a spare t-shirt he had laying around to change into and made me a cuppa." Sybil smiled fondly.

"And you instantly liked him?" Mary asked.

Sybil nodded.

"Because it was a long shift and we got to talking, he ordered me a bacon sandwich from the local café for breakfast. He sat with me a long while after he'd looked over my car and went through what the repair job was. He cleared his schedule to ensure my car getting fixed was a priority and drove me home whilst my car stayed in to be fixed." Her sister replied.

"You were safe, weren't you? You can't be too careful getting into a car with strangers." Mary tutted.

"I was texting Emma the entire time. She was home too so it's not like I was going home to an empty flat with my housemate out." Sybil reasoned.

"Still. Don't tell Mama that you got into his car without knowing him a while." Mary cautioned.

"I didn't get any strange vibes from Tom the first time I met him. He was nice and genuine. I haven't met a man like that in a long time." Sybil stated.

Mary smiled. Watching how her sister talked about her new boyfriend made her happy that Sybil had found someone she was truly fond of. She hadn't felt that way in a long time either and she wasn't sure if she would feel that way about someone again.

She had felt that way about Matthew for a long time. Kemal had never filled that void – not that she had gone into her casual thing with him wanting him to fill the void that Matthew had left behind within her. She considered that Henry may have been able to if their relationship had been more consistent and settled instead of the coming and going it had been. She had feelings for Henry, but her feelings never had the chance to blossom into something deeper.

And now there was Tony.

Tony Foyle.

Who wanted an exclusive relationship with her after only five weeks of being back in her life.

Mary had told him that she would think about it, she had kissed him goodbye just an hour ago. When she was with Tony, she felt good. She felt that she could laugh and smile and enjoy life. They traded memories and stories of their time together as children. They shared chaste kisses when he would drop her off to her front door after a dinner date and never brought up or pushed her for an invitation to stay overnight. He hadn't pressured her for sex. He hadn't pressed her for intimacy.

She wasn't sure if she could be vulnerable with Tony. Or if they would be compatible as a couple.

And then there was the matter of her conflicted feelings for Matthew and Mabel's feelings for Tony. Would it be a good idea to pursue a relationship with Tony?

"Mary? Where has your mind taken you?" Sybil asked.

She snapped out of her thoughts and met her sister's gaze.

"Sorry darling. I was thinking about my own love life." Mary replied.

"About Tony or Matthew?"

Mary rolled her eyes.

"Matthew is marrying someone else."

Sybil sat up a little straighter and looked around the room to ensure that they were alone.

"Darling, I like Lavinia. She's sweet and kind but I saw how Matthew looked at you last night when you were dancing with Tony. He can't switch off how he feels about you." Her sister stated quietly.

"Syb, it's natural for…conflicted feelings or unresolved feelings…to surface after a long time apart. I'm sure he was simply thinking of old times. Besides, Matthew and I have cleared the air and we're nothing but friends now. He's moving on with his life and I'm trying to move on with mine." Mary sighed.

Sybil smiled sympathetically.

"I just want you to be happy, darling."

Before Mary could reply, her parents and Edith entered the room and sat with them both. Mary noted the stressed look on her father's face and frowned.

"What is it, Papa?" Mary asked.

"While the fire inspectors have deemed the downstairs of the house safe for use, upstairs is out of use until the room can be restored and made safe. The the cause of the fire was arson. The fire was set deliberately." Robert replied stiffly.

"Do they know what with?" Edith asked.

"They think photographs, there were traces of paper in the fireplace. They found a t-shirt had been left nearby to the fireplace which caught on fire and spread to the rest of the room." Robert explained.

"And the police? What did they say?" Mary questioned.

Robert rubbed his temples and inhaled deeply before he exhaled slowly, trying to prepare himself to answer Mary's question.

"The police believe that the arson is tied to Patrick's death. They are treating Patrick's death as suspicious."

There was silent pause as everyone took a few minutes to process what Robert had told them. For Mary, she couldn't exactly say she was surprised that Patrick's death was being treated as suspicious, but she did wonder what the police meant by suspicious. Did they suspect murder? manslaughter? Did they think Patrick had ties to shadier characters? She suspected the latter, mainly due to Patrick's habits and his behaviour that she had witnessed firsthand.

"What do they mean by suspicious?" Edith asked quietly, her face pale.

"They didn't elaborate," Robert stated, "They simply said that their investigation has given them some leads and when they have some answers, they will get back to us."

Edith let out a frustrated huff.

"When will they release the body, Papa?" Sybil asked.

"They'll be releasing to the coroner in a few days and hopefully we can plan the funeral." Robert sighed.

Mary zoned out as talk turned to discussing funeral arrangements. The last thing she had heard was the idea of burying Patrick in the churchyard in the same plot Patrick's father James was buried in. Her mind raced with worry about many different things. Given that the house was out of use, at least the upstairs, it meant that she wasn't sure when they would be able to reopen to the public. The family usually closed the house around November until January or February due to the colder weather. They did host events for the villagers, like a Christmas Carolling event to raise funds for the local hospital. They hosted a Santa's grotto at Christmas for the local village children with the funds going back into the house and included sleigh rides through the grounds. She wasn't sure what the future of the house and estate would be following Patrick's death.

She was worried about what the police were investigating and what it would mean for the future of her family. Of course, she could bet good money on her cousin having a seedy lifestyle. She knew of Patrick's addiction to drugs, how he often met with his dealer and had prostitutes and escorts on speed dial. She wasn't sure how much worse it got beyond what she already knew but what she was sure of is that if the police had been given leads whilst they had been investigating Patrick's death, whatever they had discovered would surely not be good.