When Matthew woke up on Saturday morning, he pulled on his dressing gown and exited the bedroom, turning up the thermostat when he felt the chill throughout the flat. He walked into the kitchen and saw Lavinia rushing around getting ready for work, a half-eaten slice of toast in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other that she was sipping between bites.
"Good morning." Matthew said with a yawn.
"Good morning, the kettle's not long boiled for your tea." Lavinia replied.
Matthew went about the kitchen to make his tea and prepare his breakfast, watching as Lavinia rushed around finishing hers before she started looking for a hairbrush.
"Darling, we need to talk about the job offer." Matthew stated softly.
Lavinia turned to face him, hairbrush in hand and her eyes flaring angrily.
"No. We don't." Lavinia replied firmly.
"We need to discuss it beyond your dismissal of the idea."
Lavinia dropped the hairbrush and glared at him, her cheeks turning red which made her red hair stand out more than it usually did.
"Matthew, how can you expect me to be okay with a job where you'll be working with your ex-girlfriend every day?" she yelled.
"It's only temporary until I can find something more permanent." Matthew argued.
"And what if you can't? What if Mary doesn't make those enquiries that you asked her to make? What happens when she has you working late at the office?" Lavinia shouted.
"Mary wouldn't…Mary isn't that vindictive." Matthew said defensively.
Lavinia scoffed; her eyebrows raised. Matthew could feel his pulse beating rapidly in his neck, his breath quick as he fought hard to calm down. Since he had returned home last night and told Lavinia that he had asked Mary to make job enquiries with her contacts and had instead been offered a short-term job role, Lavinia had been angry. He could understand that given the offer had come from Mary and would involve seeing Mary eight hours a day, five days a week, would give Lavinia pause.
"Matthew…I am trying to be okay with everything…really I am…but the idea of you working closely with Mary…I have some concerns…" Lavinia sighed.
"I suppose it's understandable. But if I don't take this on until I find something else, I'll be unemployed and unable to provide for our future together. We may have to postpone the wedding because we'll have to buy a place to live first…" Matthew stated delicately.
"I know," Lavinia sighed, "I don't want to put our life together on hold unless it's necessary."
"So, shall I take the job offer?" Matthew asked.
"I suppose."
Matthew gave her a reassuring smile, gently reminding her once more that he would only be working there temporarily until he found another job in his chosen profession. And while Lavinia nodded and seemed to accept his words, Matthew found himself wondering if she truly was accepting of the situation or if she were simply settling the argument. Whatever it was, he saw no reason in discussing it further if it meant causing more upset. As Lavinia finished getting ready for work, she kissed his cheek and bade him goodbye, heading towards the front door and grabbed her coat on her way out.
oOo
It was nearing midday when Mary opened her front door to see Matthew waiting in her doorway. She stood aside and watched as he walked into her flat before she closed the door behind him and followed him through to her living room.
"I wasn't expecting to see you today." Mary admitted.
"I thought I should come in person." Matthew replied.
Mary nodded. She suspected that he wanted to decline her offer in person to reaffirm a boundary between them, to remind her of what was acceptable and what wasn't now that he was marrying someone else.
"Is this about the job offer?" she asked.
Matthew nodded.
"Yes, I wanted to accept the offer." He replied.
Mary felt a little surprised that he would accept the offer. Mainly because she assumed that Lavinia may not be comfortable with the idea of Matthew working with her five days a week. It wasn't that she offered Matthew the job to cause any trouble for him, but she knew that he had responsibilities and he wanted to work to pay for them. It was one thing she had always admired about Matthew, despite being able to live rather comfortably, he always wanted a job to keep him busy and have something to be proud of.
"I-I'm glad…although…is Lavinia okay with it?" Mary asked.
Matthew shrugged.
"I think she's trying to be. At first, she was adamant that she didn't want me to accept, and we went to bed angry last night. But I told her that if I didn't accept and if it took me a while to find something else then our lives would have to be put on hold. I would have to use my inheritance to buy a place, which I was hoping to do after we were married, because the firm would have to sell the flat that we currently rent." He replied.
"I see. I hope my offer isn't causing any trouble between the two of you." Mary stated.
"It was nice of you to offer, Mary, so please don't apologise. I just hope that after a time, Lavinia will be happy."
"I hope she can be."
They shared a look, one filled with confusion and longing. It was hard to pretend that they were nothing more than friends when he looked at her like that. That everything that they had once shared was truly dead and buried.
But again, she reminded herself, that Matthew was with Lavinia.
And she had to give Tony an answer soon.
She let out a cough to clear her throat.
"Right. Well then…I suppose I'll see you on Monday." Mary smiled.
"Yes, bright and early." Matthew smiled.
The two walked back through the hallway and Mary opened the front door to let him out, they shared a brief glance before Matthew said goodbye and left. As Mary closed the door, she leaned her back against it and wondered if offering him a job was a good idea after all.
oOo
On Monday morning, Mary entered the office to see that Matthew was already there waiting for her. Edna greeted her with the usual cup of tea, and she went into her office and took off her coat and bag, and then turned on her desktop.
"Morning." Matthew said brightly.
"Morning. I've sent some emails over the weekend about job openings. I'll let you know if I hear anything." Mary replied, sipping her tea.
"Thank you. I appreciate the help, Mary."
She smiled and turned towards her computer screen, logging into her desktop and loading up the emails she hadn't yet looked at. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Matthew go into his own office and load up his computer, which had been freshly bought due to the police still having Patrick's. As Mary sipped more of her tea, she heard Matthew muttering as he tried to get his computer to work.
"Do you need a hand?" Mary called.
"Please."
Getting up from her seat, she crossed the corridor to Matthew's office and stood behind him. Looking at the screen, she saw that the system was starting an update and was only on three percent.
"Looks like you'll be a while," Mary said, leaning over his shoulder to use his mouse, using her other hand to point at the screen, "Estimated completion, one hour and twelve minutes."
"I guess it's just one of those things," Matthew sighed, taking a breath, "So, what now?"
Mary clicked on the computer screen and as she did, she noticed how Matthew stiffened under her arm. She frowned but tried to stay focused on the screen until she stopped clicking and moved her arm from around his shoulder.
"You still wear the same perfume?" Matthew asked.
Before she could answer, his reflection in the screen told her that his question wasn't supposed to be asked aloud. His eyes were alert with panic and worry.
"I do," she confirmed, "I've always liked it."
"Mary, I'm sorry, that wasn't –"
She smiled reassuringly as she stepped back, and he swivelled his chair around to face her.
"Matthew, it's fine."
"I shouldn't have-"
"Shall we just forget about it?" Mary suggested, "While we wait for your computer to update, why don't you use a tablet, and we can discuss the Christmas events for Downton in my office."
With a little look of relief, Matthew nodded his agreement. She smiled and turned around and went back to her office, joined by Matthew a few minutes later who had made himself a fresh cup of tea and was logging into the tablet.
"Papa wants to do the usual for events from the end of the month to Christmas eve. The Father Christmas visits, the sleigh rides in the grounds and the carolling events." Mary stated.
"From what I recall, Downton was always beautiful at Christmas." Matthew commented.
"I suppose it's been a few years for you, hasn't it?" Mary asked.
Matthew nodded.
She knew that Matthew hadn't been back to Downton for Christmas since their last one together as a couple. She had been back but when she would ask if Matthew and Isobel were joining them, her father would always give her a sympathetic look and shake his head.
"I'd love to bring Lavinia for a Downton Christmas; I think she'd like to see the place look magical and festive." He replied.
"Of course. We'd love to have you all."
They spent the rest of the morning setting up the booking portal for the Christmas events before they took a break for lunch. Mary had expected him to eat his lunch alone, but Matthew joined her, and they talked more about their memories of Christmases at Downton, from Matthew's first one when he and his mother moved to the village after Reginald's death before moving on to particular memories of them all as teenagers who would have snowball fights on Boxing day and stay outside in the snow until their fingers were numb under their gloves.
Mary didn't bring up their first Christmas together as a couple.
But the look in Matthew's eyes told her that he was thinking about it just like she was.
As they finished their lunch, Mary's office phone rang. She picked up the receiver and pressed it to her ear.
"Hello Papa. Is everything alright?" she asked.
"Patrick's body is being released later today. We can hold the funeral with Mr. Travis at the weekend." Her father replied directly.
"That soon?"
"Mr. Travis has kept his calendar clear as much as he can. The police will be escorting the body to the funeral directors who will bring the body to Downton for burial."
"Okay. Is there anything you need me to do?" Mary asked.
"No. Just make sure that you and Matthew are here for the funeral. Your Mama will call you later once the details are finalised." Robert stated.
Mary ended the call and sighed heavily.
"Is everything alright?" Matthew asked.
She rubbed her forehead and looked at him tiredly.
"Patrick's body is being released later today. Papa says we can hold the funeral as early as Saturday and requests we come home this weekend." Mary replied.
Matthew nodded.
"I don't think Lavinia can come, she's on nights this weekend."
"Of course."
"I'll still mention it to her though, just in case she can swap shifts." Matthew suggested.
"We understand if she can't. I know her job isn't as flexible, especially on short notice." Mary said.
"How are you getting there?"
"I'll drive."
"Shall we travel together? Save the planet and all that?" Matthew suggested.
"We can do. But will Lavinia mind?" Mary questioned.
Matthew paused, his fingers scratching delicately on his knee as he pondered. Mary felt a little worried that him spending so much time with her, regardless of the circumstances, might make Lavinia a little angry.
"I'll speak with her. I'm sure it won't be a problem given the circumstances." He answered hesitantly.
"Matthew-"
"Don't worry about it, Mary."
Nodding her head, Mary leaned back in her chair and started clicking away on her keyboard, deciding that lunchtime was officially over.
oOo
The funeral was over.
Patrick had finally been laid to rest and the wake had just finished. Mary stood in the doorway to the library, watching as parents said their goodbyes to the last of the mourners and met Matthew's gaze. Nothing was said between them as they shared a matching warmth in their eyes, and it only last a moment before her parents interrupted them.
"Well, at least it's all over." Cora sighed.
"And now we're left with a police investigation." Robert grumbled.
The cause of Patrick's death had now been revealed to the family. Patrick Crawley had been found to have overdosed on what the police described as a 'cocktail' of drugs mixed in with alcohol. Mary had known that it would be the most likely cause behind her cousin's death. However, the police were still investigating because they had found evidence that Patrick was connected to some dangerous people who may have been responsible to mixing the drugs in with alcohol.
"Do the police believe they will catch Patrick's murderers?" Edith asked hopefully.
"I hope they do. They may not have murdered him in a way the police usually see, but someone mixed those other drugs together for Patrick to take. From their investigation so far, Patrick is known to purchase just one drug, not any others. The coroner found five illegal substances in his system during the autopsy." Robert replied.
"I still can't believe it!" Edith declared.
Mary rolled her eyes. If anyone had been struggling to adjust to Patrick's death, it was her sister. Edith was probably the closest one to Patrick who had no idea who he really was.
"So, what now?" Matthew asked.
"We co-operate with the police and support each other. That's all we can do." Robert replied with a sigh.
"And we be safe." Cora added.
Safety would have to be the most important factor going forward, Mary believed. The police hadn't released any names to the family that they believed were connected to Patrick, she guessed due to the secrecy surrounding their cases outside of investigating Patrick's death, so the family would have to be cautious about anyone new that they interacted with and who could potentially be suspicious. She hoped that Edward would be safe at Eton when he returned on Monday. She hoped that Sybil would be safe in York as she trained to be a nurse. She hoped that Edith would be safe in her job as a journalist. She hoped that the rest of the family, her parents, grandmother, aunt, Isobel, Matthew, and Lavinia would be safe from harm.
Her parents hugged them all and announced their intention to turn in early, the whole week had tired them out. Whilst repairs were being made to their family wing, they had relocated to an unused wing on the opposite side of the house on a temporary basis. Edith followed them not long after, stating that she had to call her new boyfriend, Michael…something, Mary wasn't paying enough attention to catch his last name. Sybil and Edward decided to play a game of air hockey in the games room whilst Matthew and Mary decided to enjoy the silence of the library and read.
As they all went their separate ways, Mary picked up the book she had started reading on Friday evening as Matthew picked up a sci-fi from the bookshelf.
"Untouched. I suppose Robert hasn't had much time for reading lately?" he asked.
"I don't think he has, so don't spoil it for him." Mary teased.
He sat down next to her, merely inches away.
"So…how is Lavinia?" Mary asked.
"She's alright, she sends her sympathies and thoughts. She regrets not being able to get out of work for the funeral." Matthew replied.
"We understand. Sometimes things are unavoidable." Mary smiled.
"She keeps talking about the wedding, hoping it will take my mind off things."
Mary's smile faded as she nodded stiffly.
"Has it helped?" she asked.
"Sort of I suppose. She wants to get married in May and she doesn't want something overly complicated." He replied.
"I'm sure whatever the two of you plan, it will be lovely."
Matthew nodded.
"And how is Tony?"
"He's fine. He's away presently with friends but he's back next week to oversee some new contracts." Mary replied.
"Oh? What contracts? I wasn't aware he worked." Matthew commented.
Mary nodded.
"He's trying to restore his family's ancestral home but it's in a bad way. The contracts are to secure builders and roofers to ensure the house is structurally sound before they do anything else." She stated.
"It sounds like a big responsibility."
"I suppose. We're fortunate in a way that Downton pays for itself."
"It's lucky that the estate has you to ensure that the events held here are run successfully, I hope you know that." Matthew said softly.
Mary smiled gratefully and shifted her focus to the book in her hands, struggling to pay attention to the little black words on the paper because her thoughts weren't picturing the characters, the settings or anything else from the book. Her thoughts were filled with the mixed messages that she was getting from Matthew. His words were one thing, but his body language said something entirely different. Sometimes his words and body language would speak the same, sometimes he would speak what he was thinking when he knew he shouldn't have voiced it aloud.
It only made her indecisive about her future.
And it made it harder for her to resist the temptation to give into her feelings.
But she continued to sit next to him, pretending to read the words on the page in front of her as she struggled to decide just what it was she wanted to do.