A/N: Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed the last two chapters. This is the last chapter that was pre-written, so from now the updates will be a bit slower.

I'll keep everything else for the A/N at the end. Now, enjoy….

Ch 3

Anna stared at the door, or rather at Mary standing in the doorway. She fervently prayed to God that Mary hadn't heard Matthew's words.

Mary raised an eyebrow at her and she cleared her throat.

"Oh, Mary come in. Matthew, this is Mary Crawley. She has been handling this post ever since Patrick left. You should ask her your questions." Anna said and turned towards Matthew.

He was standing there, slack-jawed, facing Mary and looking eerily like a fish out of water.

XXXX

Anna was about to defend Mary Crawley to him, when she was interrupted by a knock on the door. Matthew looked behind her to see who it was….. and he felt the whole world pause around him. For standing in the doorway was the most beautiful and elegant woman he had ever seen. From her chestnut hair that framed her lovely heart-shaped face and reached her shoulders, her dark eyes that looked like pools of silken chocolate, her smooth alabaster skin to her tall frame that she carried with a grace fit for princesses; he had never known such perfection to exist. For a moment it seemed to him that she was the only person in the world.

He was broken out of his reverie by Anna's introduction.

Matthew cursed himself inwardly. He hoped against hope that Mary hadn't heard his rant.

"Hi! Miss Crawley, I am Matthew, pleased to meet you."

"You can call me Mary, Mr. Crawley. I hope you are settling down well."

"Matthew, please. I actually had some questions about these files, you see-"

"I think you should better wait for Mr. Carson to ask you questions. After all, he is your boss and I wouldn't want to push in."

With that Mary left his office, confirming to Matthew that she had indeed heard his rant.

XXXX

Mary left Matthew's office, fuming. Who did the man think he was? And to think, she had thought he wouldn't be as big a moron as Patrick. Also, what had Anna said? Matthew would help him! Like hell he would. It was clear from his speech that he was adamant to hate her. Well, she had no problem with that because guess what? The feeling was entirely mutual.

As the anger receded, all the hurt Mary was feeling came to the forefront. For a moment she had considered Anna's words and had given into the fantasy that maybe she and Matthew could actually work together and make her visions for Downton come true. But in a split second all of that had come crashing down when she heard him. Her eyes pricked but she blinked back her tears because she knew it was unprofessional to cry in the office and also because she didn't want to give her farther or Matthew Crawley the satisfaction.

Shaking her head, she went to the washroom to wash her face, affixed the mask she wore for the world and got back to work.

She saw Matthew standing outside her office. Not bothering to offer him even a polite smile, Mary stood there waiting for him to speak.

"Mary, I'm really sorry. I was just joking." Matthew cringed at his own words, knowing he was making things worse.

Mary raised her eyebrows, enraged by his audacity and said, "You are right. This whole thing is a joke." With that she stormed into her office and shut the door.

She opened her phone and there was a text from Sybil.

Did you meet Manchester guy? What is he like?

Mary typed out a response

He is an idiot but is very full of himself. He thinks he is Perseus but is really just a sea monster.

Sybil's reply came immediately

Oh god, you and your obsession with Greek classics! But really, is it that bad?

Mary rolled her eyes and snorted at that.

Worse. You can't even imagine Syb.

It sounds like you need bucking up. Pizza and Bridget Jones night tonight?

Sounds like a plan.

Meet you soon and please don't kill Manchester Guy. I love you too much to see you go to jail.

Her spirits lifting after talking to Sybil, Mary quickly scanned the layout and rolled her eyes at the thought that she would have to take it to Matthew for final decisions.

Sticking her notes on the required places, and taking a printout of the altered layout Mary took a deep breath and ventured towards Matthew's office.

XXXX

Matthew sat at his desk and studied the first file on the stack. They were a collection of political articles for the next issue of the monthly magazine that Downton Chronicles had started publishing from two months back. He looked at Mary's intense notes detailing why she thought a particular article was suitable or unsuitable for the issue. He was impressed by her reasoning. He was increasingly becoming aware that Patrick's evaluation of Mary was inaccurate and Anna's version was closer to the truth.

As if she had heard his thoughts out loud, Mary knocked at his door.

"May I come in?"

"Yes, of course. Please come in."

"I have brought tomorrow's outline for you to check. After making your corrections, we have to send it to Carson for approval."

"Oh, sure. Would you mind staying here while I go over it? I would like to discuss the changes with you and here your opinions."

Matthew could see Mary's mask slipping for a moment and her surprise was evident.

"Umm, sure." she answered after a moment, her mask back in place.

Together, they went over the original layout and Mary's alteration. Matthew suggested a couple of changes and they debated about them. He asked her questions about her own alterations and they launched into a lengthy discussion.

If anyone had walked into the office at that moment, it would seem to them that these two had been working together for years, that was how comfortable they seemed with one another.

After they were done, Mary stood up and took the final layout to send to Carson.

"Mary, wait." Matthew called out.

Mary turned to face him.

"I really am sorry for everything I said. I got caught up in Patrick's words when I should have really waited to meet you before forming an opinion. It's now very clear to me that he was wrong." he said in a breath.

Mary stood still and looked into his eyes. His intense blue eyes that seemed to hold the key to his soul. They looked sincere. Never in her life had anybody apologized so sincerely to her.

She offered him a small smile. Not the polite smile she wore for the world, but a real smile tinged with melancholy.

"Thank you for that."

"I really mean it Mary. I liked working with you today and look forward to it."

"Me too. Goodbye Matthew, and if you have any questions about the files, you can ask me."

With that she left his office. Matthew stood there for minutes. It was only after several people passed by the door and looked at him with a puzzled expression that he realised he was wearing a stupid grin on his face.

All in all, he had had a pretty great first day.

XXXX

Going back to her office, Mary took out her phone and sent two texts; the first to Carson and the second to Sybil.

He's at least not a moron. It seems like he'll do.

Don't worry, I won't kill Manchester Guy. He's not that bad.

A/N: So here we go. M/M have finally met and there are sparks flying.

As I Said, this is the last of the pre-written chapters. I have an idea of where I'll take the story but if there's something you want to see please let me know.

Also, please review the story. Reading reviews are like Christmas treats!