Ch 6

Mary stopped crying, but Matthew still didn't let go. He held on to her till she gave a gentle push. As he withdrew his arm, she looked up at him, still holding his other hand.

"I'm sorry to have ruined your shirt." she said.

Matthew looked down, and sure enough there were wet tracks on the front of his shirt where Mary's head had rested.

"Well, it's salvageable. It's not like I have a date." he joked.

Mary snickered at that.

"You should thank me for that." she said.

"Why?"

"I saved you from an hour with Edith. Come to think of it, a 'thanks' is far too less a price for that."

"Oh, really?"

"Absolutely. You'd be bored to death, and that's if you don't decide to kill yourself first."

"It can't be that bad. After all, she is your sister and I haven't killed myself after working with you."

"Are you honestly comparing me with Edith?" Mary raised her eyebrow.

"Ah! There it is."

"What?"

"The eyebrow raise. That means you're back to yourself and we can get to work."

Mary narrowed her eyes, "You think you have got me figured out, don't you?"

"Oh, not at all. I wouldn't dare to think that. You surprise me every day. Why, if someone had told me that Mary Crawley would be crying in her office, I would have personally escorted them to a hospital."

Mary finally let go of his hand and swatted his arm playfully.

"If you say one word about this, I will personally get you killed."

"Well, if I am dying because of a Crawley sister anyway, I might as well go on that date with Edith. What do you say?"

He looked at her with a crooked smile and she couldn't help the smile breaking out on her face.

Matthew was doing cartwheels in his mind. He had made her grin! Like, actually grin. It wasn't one of her polite smiles or even the genuine small smiles that he so loved. If he had thought she was beautiful before, he couldn't think of a word to describe what she looked like now.

She shook her head at him.

"Ok, enough of that. Let's get back to work, shall we?"

"Yes, lets. And Mary, we are okay, right?"

She just smiled and nodded and made a 'shooing' gesture with her hand.

He was about to retort, when someone knocked on the door.

XXXX

Charles Carson had known Mary's parents from before she was born. He was a frequent visitor at their house, having married Elsie Hughes, the Manager of Robert's huge household and had seen Mary closely as she grew up.

Having no child of his own, he had grown to look at her like his own daughter and perhaps that was why he had been outraged at Robert's decision to pass Mary over. Things had not improved when Patrick was proved to be a moron and he was prepared for this Matthew Crawley to be no different. However, over the last month or so, he had been surprised to see that Matthew was an able man. What made Carson really like him, though was the fact that Matthew had actually listened to Mary and had treated her with the respect she deserved. From the beginning, Mary's assessment of Matthew had been favourable too and Carson had rested easier than before.

Now, standing outside Mary's office and watching her laughing with Matthew, Carson felt hopeful after a long time. He hadn't seen her laughing so freely in front of anyone other than her closest family and him. Maybe, something could come out of this.

He looked at the message his secretary had sent him, and quickly made a decision. He strode forward and knocked on her door.

XXXX

Mary and Matthew looked back to see Carson standing at the door.

"Oh, Carson do come in." Mary said.

"Yes, I was just leaving." Matthew said.

"Oh, don't bother. I was actually hoping to talk to both of you."

"What is it?" Mary asked.

"We are interviewing candidates for the political correspondent vacancy. I think it would be best if the two of you conducted the interview together. After all, whoever gets the job will be reporting to the both of you on a regular basis."

"Are you sure you don't want to be present, Mr. Carson?" Matthew asked.

"Absolutely. Mary has sat in on many of these interviews." Carson replied.

Matthew let out a relieved sigh.

"Oh, very well then." turning to Mary he said, "You'll lead the interview, and I'll follow behind, right?"

"Of course. Did you really think I'd let you take control?" Mary replied with a smirk, raising an eyebrow.

Matthew shook his head in faux exasperation.

Carson noted the exchange with apparent indifference but inwards, he was amused at their behaviour.

"The interviews start in a couple of hours. I'll take care of whatever you were about to do and ask Anna for help if required. You two should start preparing."

"Yes, Carson" Mary replied.

Carson left the room, the hope in his heart growing exponentially having witnessed Mary's ease with Matthew and their comfortable rapport with each other. Perhaps, Mary's dreams for Downton and his dreams for Mary would finally come to fruition.

XXXX

Mary and Matthew had interviewed close to 15 people in the last 5 hours, and were exhausted when it finally ended. There was only one suitable candidate in Matthew's mind but he wasn't sure Mary would agree with him.

Thomas Branson had made a strong impression on him, but given his strong opinions about the aristocracy that he made perfectly clear, he wasn't sure Mary would pick him for the job.

"So, I think we both know there was only one person worth our time." Mary said.

Matthew was pretty sure they were thinking of different people.

"Umm, yes. Who are you talking about?"

"Thomas Branson, of course. All the others were bumbling idiots."

He was stunned. Would Mary ever cease to surprise him?

"Why, Matthew? You look shocked! Don't you agree?"

"Yes, I do. But, given that he ranted about your class most of the time, I am rather surprised to hear that you say so."

"Well, he was the only one who wasn't afraid to make his opinions known. He has a strong voice and that's what we need for our paper."

"For once Mary, you will hear no arguments from me."

"That's a shame. I love good arguments."

"If you like good arguments,…"

"Yes?"

"We should see more of each other."

Mary rolled her eyes and smiled, shaking her head.

"So, Branson it is, then?" Matthew asked.

"Yes, Branson, it is."

"Good, let's inform Carson."

They left the conference room together, feeling more relaxed than they could ever remember feeling.

XXXX

Mary and Matthew walked into Carson's office together, but she froze when she saw who was sitting inside.

It was Robert Crawley, the owner of Downton, and Mary's father with whom she hadn't spoken in 3 months, ever since he had made it clear that he wouldn't give her the job.

"Ah, Mary! It is so good to see you. And Matthew, how are you settling in, my boy?"

On hearing her father address Matthew as 'my boy' made all the bitterness and hurt that she had felt at first come up to the surface again. What was she thinking, being friendly with Matthew? He had taken what should have been hers and had also replaced her in her father's eyes.

Matthew groaned inwardly. He could see Mary retreat into her cold shell like she had this morning and he hated it. He had to make her see that he was not the enemy and that he believed in her.

"I am settling in fine, sir, thanks to Mary. She has been a wonderful help. Honestly, I don't have to do much because she has everything under control."

Mary's head whipped up to look at him. The bitterness and pain giving way to a warmth that was washing all over her. Never had anyone spoke about her with such pride, except for Carson. She was thoroughly confused. How could Matthew evoke such conflicting emotions?

"That's good to know. Now I'll leave you alone. I wouldn't want to interrupt your work."

With that Robert left.

"So, what happened at the interview?" Carson asked to alleviate the tension in the room.

They gave him a report and told him about Branson's appointment, Mary becoming more comfortable as she spoke of work and Matthew breathed normally again.

XXXX

A week went by without any extraordinary drama.

Tom Branson was fitting in well.

Carson saw that work flowed more smoothly than ever before.

And the two people responsible for this kept discovering more about each other with each moment they spent together, and those moments were growing with each passing day.

On Monday, Mary learnt that Matthew loved the Queens (the greatest rock band ever, duh!).

On Tuesday, Matthew learnt Mary had a long-standing crush on Leonardo di Caprio (but I loved him since Romeo + Juliet, and not Titanic like the others, thank you).

On Wednesday, Mary discovered Matthew used to be a boy scout (Really, mother, why would you post that photo on Facebook?).

On Thursday, Matthew found out all about Mary's cheerleading days (Sybil, darling this is the last time you are coming to the office).

On Friday, they discovered their mutual love for Salman Rushdie (he has a way of portraying the truth, doesn't he?).

On Saturday, they realised they would be spending the next day apart and that they were both unwilling to do so.

And finally, Mary realised she was falling in love with Matthew Crawley.

XXXX

A/N: Phew! What a ride this chapter was! I had half a mind of dividing it into 2 chapters, but then thought otherwise.

Please review, they work magic on my confidence!