Path from Downton Abbey to Crawley House, August 9th, 1913
Matthew was quite happy to refuse an offer of Branson taking him back to Crawley House after he walked Mary home and instead take a further walk himself. It was a beautiful, golden August afternoon, he was not at all tired and his conversation with Mary gave him plenty to ponder. He felt grateful for the solitude to do it at leisure.
He was still rattled by her revelation of her engagement to the previous heir, however unofficial. It was clearly real enough for Mary. When she told him, his first reaction was an immediate thought that there was no surprise she had hated him so much on his arrival – he had been not only destined to get everything which by any reasonable conclusion should have been hers, but also stepping into shoes of the man she had loved and tragically lost.
Apparently it hadn't been the case though and somehow it seemed it even worse. She had hinted before, when they were walking through the village fair back in May, that her life was restricted in ways that made her angry and now, after learning more about, he started to think he understood it better. It made him angry too, to think how little she was apparently valued and how much her feelings and opinions were disregarded. He couldn't comprehend how people so clearly enjoying their own happy, loving marriage as Lord and Lady Grantham could raise their children with such cold and mercenary approach to it. If Mary was to be believed – and he did believe her – her happiness was going to be callously sacrificed to keep the estate and her mother's fortune in the hands of the family, with her just the means to this end. Nobody cared or asked her if she loved her future husband, as long as she married the heir and did her duty to Downton.
The question which suddenly arose from that line of thought was so obvious that Matthew was quite shocked it had never occurred to him before.
Was Mary's sudden change of heart regarding him the result of her family pushing her to accept him as they had previously done with Patrick?
He instantly rebelled against either of them being manipulated in such a way, but unfortunately could not disregard this theory. As much as he had regretted Mary overhearing his petulant remarks about the Granthams pushing one of the daughters at him, but he was no less convinced that he had been right. Knowing now what he did about Mary and Patrick, it had been obvious which daughter had been intended as his bride and it also clearly explained Mary's pointed dislike of him.
He stopped in his tracks, struck by another potential revelation.
If he was right, Mary's initial attacks on him were a result of very rational rebellion against being pushed at a complete stranger just because he happened to be an unlikely heir to the estate. It must have been just as much intended as the message to her family as to him. Would such a woman as Mary fought so openly against being used in such manner straight after getting released from her first unwanted engagement only to cave in later? No, he didn't think so. It seemed more likely to him that the Granthams gave up making a match of them as hopeless and stopped pressuring her. And the resulting lack of that pressure made her feel free enough to allow herself to know him better – and maybe even to like him.
He reached the Crawley House with a smile on his face. Looking at it all in this light, he saw, for the very first time in his complicated relationship with Mary, a reason for a cautious hope.
Dining room, Downton Abbey, August 9th, 1913
Mary barely paid any attention to the general conversation at dinner, analysing instead the implications of her talk with Matthew.
Matthew was a romantic. He wanted to marry for love and companionship and did not believe that a marriage based on connections and fortune alone had much chance of being a happy one.
So the only way to get him to propose to her was to not only make him convinced that he was in love with her, but that she also loved him back.
Could she do it?
She nearly snorted into her fish. Could? Very easily. He was smart, smarter than she thought, but he was still a man and one already attracted to her. Of course she could achieve such a thing.
But would she do it? Should she?
For the first time in her life, Mary felt prickling of her conscience when it came to wooing a man. It was easy to make all kinds of boasts to Edith, but she wished now she had another target in mind. Even the little bit of information she had just learnt about Matthew made her convinced that he was a kind and sensitive man. Was it right to play with him like that?
Mention of Edith and Sir Anthony pulled her out of her musings.
"You and Sir Anthony seemed to be engaged in a very lively conversation at the flower show," noted Granny sharply. "I assume it wasn't about the newest developments in farming this time?"
Edith straightened proudly.
"He was telling me about his new car. It's a Rolls Royce, which he drives himself, without a chauffeur, and he offered to take me for a drive. Can I please go, Mama? I know it would be unchaperoned, but I cannot think what harm it would do, since we would be going over the public roads."
Mama exchanged looks with Granny but nodded in confirmation.
"I think it would be appropriate enough if the drive is short."
"Oh, thank you! I will tell him at the garden party, he promised he will come."
She had her eyes on Mary when she said it and the look of triumph in them made Mary forget all her noble scruples.
There was no way she could let Edith win.
If she had to make Matthew to fall in love with her to prevent it, she would.
Garden Party, Downton Abbey, August 15th, 1913
By sheer coincidence, Matthew and Sir Anthony arrived to Downton garden party at the same time. Seeing them side by side like this, Mary had to admit that even though Sir Anthony would have been a much easier target when it came to extracting a proposal, Matthew was definitely a much more enjoyable one. In fact, he looked so handsome in his linen suit and blue tie that she had no difficulty whatsoever in welcoming him with a bright smile and an appreciative look.
Which he clearly reciprocated.
Well, it was nice that somebody appreciated the effort she had made to look as enticing as possible today. With her delicate, slightly sheer muslin dress and white lacy hat contrasting wonderfully with her dark hair and eyes, she knew she made an enchanting picture, but it was still incredibly rewarding to see the confirmation of it in such pretty blue eyes of a handsome man.
They barely had time to exchange some pleasantries before Mama joined them with a middle-aged woman and another handsome young man in tow.
"Mary, Edith, you remember my friend Viscountess Gillingham and her son, Anthony Foyle?" asked Cora. "Oh, hello Matthew and Sir Anthony. Sylvia, may I introduce you and Anthony to Lord Grantham's cousin and heir, Mr Matthew Crawley, and our neighbour, Sir Anthony Strallan?
"How do you do, Lady Gillingham? Of course I remember you; you were always so elegant and kind when we saw each other," answered Mary in her most polite voice and then gave a darkhaired man in front of her a playful look. "As for you, Mr Foyle, I remember a very superior young man who found three little girls extremely tiresome to deal with."
Mother and son smiled, she with amusement, he with a slight embarrassment.
"In my defence, you were always teasing me or stealing my things. Although Lady Sybil always brought them back in the end."
"You're not going to recognise her when you see her. She is coming out next summer," said Mary, noting with pleasure that Tony's eyes were ignoring Edith completely in favour of her and adding honestly. "She remains the kindest and nicest of us though."
"It's hard to believe when I see such a beautiful and kind woman in front of me," said Tony gallantly and Mary noticed Matthew's mouth visibly twitching in amusement at such a preposterous statement. He might have a point – Mary would never have described herself as particularly kind and she definitely had not shown many instances of such trait in her interactions with Matthew so far – but she still sent him a quelling look, which only seemed to amuse him further. Mary decided to ignore him for the time being and turned her most charming smile at Tony, who seemed to get immediately and appropriately dazzled by it.
"Thank you!" she said brightly. "I do hope our renewed acquaintance won't change such a charitable opinion of me."
"I'm sure it is impossible," assured her Tony fervently and offered her his arm. "Would you like some ice cream? I seem to remember that you used to be extremely fond of them."
Mary hesitated for a moment, unwilling to lose any time with Matthew while Edith was making such fast progress with Sir Anthony, but soon concluded that Matthew could use a reminder he wasn't the only man who was willing to show her attention. And Tony was not laughing at her.
"Gladly," she said, accepting his arm and showing him the way to the ice cream tent.
She felt Matthew's eyes following them and nearly grinned in triumph.
xxx
Edith sent a resentful glare at her sister's back as she led Tony Foyle away. She did remember him as a darkly handsome teenager who was still nice enough to play with them during his visits and she wouldn't mind getting reacquainted with him. Of course, Mary had to monopolise him straight away though.
She turned towards Sir Atnhony and smiled sweetly at him. He at least didn't fall under a spell of her sister. That alone made him a prince among men.
And gave her a chance to win the bet while Mary was too distracted by another admirer to take care of her own intended target.
"Would you care for some ice cream, Sir Anthony? Or do you prefer lemonade?"
She had to admit that Sir Anthony's smile was genuinely sweet in response.
"Lemonade for me, Lady Edith. But if you would like to enjoy some ice cream, I wouldn't mind keeping you company as you get some."
Edith's smile deepened as they went to the serving tent together.
xxx
Sir Anthony was not wholly sure what he was doing monopolising so much of Lady Edith's time. He was sure such a lovely young girl had to have more interesting things to do than entertain him of all people. He was very well aware that he was old enough to be her father and commonly considered rather dull. Even his dear Maud, who had never let him feel she considered him boring, had teased him affectionately for going on and on about his favourite topics. Dearest Maud! How terribly he missed her still! But it'd been two years since she had passed and he had to admit his most acute emotion now was loneliness. And having the delightful company of such a charming your lady was bringing him so much genuine pleasure that he could not deny it to himself – although he told himself sternly to release her at the first sign of boredom or tiredness of him. The last thing he wanted was to become irksome to her.
Thankfully so far Lady Edith seemed to find him anything but irksome.
"Are you planning to participate in any games?" she asked with a sweet smile and Sir Anthony bravely stopped himself from wincing. He loved country sports of shooting and hunting, and he enjoyed company as much as anybody else, but garden party games of any type made him feel awfully awkward and out of place.
Thankfully he spotted a pole in the centre of the garden with long ribbons leading from it into the bushes and trees. At least this game did not demand making oneself ridiculous.
"I wouldn't mind searching for prizes," he said, pointing the pole to Edith, who rewarded him with a beaming smile.
"This is my very favourite game! Come on then, Sir Anthony, let's go to put our names down as participants."
Sir Anthony allowed himself to be led towards another tent, without any resistance whatsoever.
xxx
Matthew was checking the list of games to sign up for himself when Mary showed up behind his shoulder. He smelled her flowery perfume before he even noticed her.
He wondered if he really knew her just by her scent or if he was just hopeful it was her.
"You're considering signing up for something?" she asked with friendly interest, which still made his heart miss a beat with its novelty. He noted briefly that it had been much easier to build an armour against Lady Mary's charms when she had been uniformly hostile to him.
"I don't have partners for driving a blindfolded team and I freely admit I am abysmal at diabolo, but I thought I could take my chances at following a ribbon."
"This one can be done in pairs," pointed out Mary, sending him a significant look from under her eyelashes.
Matthew gulped. Was she flirting with him?
His brain was sending him serious warnings, but he decided immediately to ignore them. The prospect of a treasure hunt in the company of a charming girl was way too enticing.
"Would you like to partner me then?" he asked and judged from her immediate assent and satisfied smile that he read her intentions correctly.
He put down their names and looked at the list again. Well, in for a penny...
"What about caller competition? Would you like to do this one as well?"
When he was rewarded with another brilliant smile, he knew that something was afoot.
He still put down their names before either of them had a chance to change their mind.
"What have you done with your dark and handsome knight?" he asked as they left the games tent and walked slowly to the starting point of the treasure hunt.
"Do you mean Tony?" asked Mary in exaggerated surprise. Matthew just raised his eyebrows, chiding her for playing coy, and she laughed, rolling her eyes a bit.
Matthew thought that her laugh sounded like tinkling of bells and immediately felt like hitting his head against something to stop his brain from forming such ridiculous thoughts.
"I've sent him on his merry way somewhere," answered Mary dismissively. "It was nice to see him again after all those years, but there are only so many childhood memories one can exchange before the conversation grows tedious."
Matthew was sadly convinced that he utterly failed at hiding his satisfaction at hearing it.
xxx
As soon as they reached the pole with the ribbons tied to it and took their place by the one assigned to them, Mary noticed Edith and Sir Anthony taking theirs. The sisters' eyes met and suddenly the stakes of the party game were raised significantly higher for them both.
The rules of the game were simple: every participant (or a pair of them) had to follow their assigned ribbon meandering through all kinds of obstacles in the garden and get the prize tied to the other end. Whoever was first back at the pole with their prize, won. Due to its simplicity – and the opportunity to get lost in the shrubbery with a girl or a boy one was partnered with – it was immensely popular, but for Edith and Mary there was only one opponent who mattered. They both started to run as soon as the whistle sounded, dragging their respective partner with them.
Mary noted with satisfaction that she and Matthew were visibly faster than her sister and Sir Anthony – in fact she had a feeling that Matthew was moderating his pace to accommodate her – but she soon lost sight of the others as their purple ribbon led them deep into the woods. They were forced to slow down, the ribbon laid over the roots and fallen branches, away from the beaten path – and then, suddenly, wrapping around an old oak tree.
They both eyed its upward course with identical dismay.
"Really?" asked Matthew. "Are all the prizes demanding risking one's neck for the glory of claiming them?"
Mary huffed in irritation.
"Of course someone had to get creative in planting them," she muttered. "Must have been one of the hall boys. You bet I'm going to have a word with Carson about it."
She looked at Matthew with challenge in her eyes.
"Well?" she asked. "What are you waiting for?"
All reasonable objections Matthew could raise, from the risk to his fine summer suit to a bit more serious one to his limbs, died on his lips in face of that look. With a heavy sigh and a fervent wish that the branches he used for climbing turned to be sturdy and reliable, he started to climb. He hadn't done it since his boyhood days, but thankfully it seemed his body remembered what to do well enough.
His luck held until he was just several feet from reaching the prize, wrapped in bright pink paper and teasing him through the leaves, completely out of his reach – the branches were too thin to support his weight, bending alarmingly whenever he tried to place his foot on one.
As he feared, Mary did not take this communication well. To his amusement, she even stomped her foot.
"I'm afraid we are forced to accept defeat," he said apologetically. "The prize must have been indeed placed by a hall boy, light enough to get so high."
Mary's eyes flashed and, to his shock, took off her hat, grabbed a low hanging branch and started climbing herself.
"I am lighter than you," she only said in response, when she passed him by and reached to unhook the prize.
"How have you learnt to climb trees like that?" asked Matthew in amazement, admiring both her prowess at it and her lovely form just next to him on the tree. He tried very hard not to stare at her legs, placed as they were at the same height as his face, but it was simply impossible.
"Patrick claimed I wouldn't be able to, being a girl," answered Mary triumphantly, showing him the prize securely grasped in her hand. "I loved proving him wrong."
Matthew laughed, finding it perfectly fitting what he learnt about her so far.
His laughter cut off abruptly at her sudden cry of alarm.
"What is it?" he asked, nervously eyeing the branches she was using for her support. They were both dangerously high.
"The skirt of my dress got tangled into something," hissed Mary. "Could you please unhook it? If I pull too hard, it may rip completely!"
Matthew gulped at the prospect of such an outcome and chided himself sternly for his first thoughts regarding it. It wouldn't do for Mary to return in such a state to the party and with servants and guests all over the place it would be impossible to get her back to the house discreetly enough. No, he had to do everything to minimise the damage.
Holding himself up with one hand, he reached with the other for the little branch trapping Mary's skirt. The delicate material somehow got helplessly wrapped around it and it took him significant effort to dislodge it without tearing it.
He estimated that the very thorough view of Mary's slender, shapely legs he got in the process slowed him for about half of the time it would have taken in any other circumstances.
Finally successful, they both got down without any further troubles or any injury other than some green stains on their clothes. They grinned at each other in triumph and, hand in hand, raced back towards the pole.
xxx
Edith and Sir Anthony jogged at slightly more sedated pace following their orange ribbon – and promptly stopped when it crossed the stream, eyeing it with dismay.
"Is there a bridge somewhere close?" asked Sir Anthony, seeing none in the vicinity.
Edith winced with vexation.
"There are two, in each direction, but both very far. We will never win if we have to reach one first."
"There is not much else we can do though," pointed out Sir Anthony apologetically. "The stream is much too wide to jump over."
Edith though was busy checking several protruding stones speculatively.
"Sir Anthony, I really think that if you could give me a hand and help me keep my balance, I could walk over the stones to the other side."
He appeared sceptical but agreed and, to his surprise, it worked very well. With a hoot of triumph, Edith ran towards the prize, hidden under a bush and returned to him so she could cross the stream back. In her happy haste she was less careful than in her previous attempt and slipped on the wet stone in the middle of the stream. When Sir Anthony perceived that she was falling, he lurched towards her to grab her – but, overbalancing, he ended up sitting up to his waist in water, with Edith in his lap, her dress equally wet as his suit.
They both stared at each other in horror and, getting out of the water as soon as they could, started apologising to each other profusely.
Sir Anthony calmed down first.
"Whoever's fault it was, there is nothing to be done about it but return to the house as soon as possible. You must change before you catch a chill and maybe Lord Grantham could lend me a change of clothes as well so I could get home without getting the car's upholstery wet."
Chagrined and embarrassed but with eyes twinkling with amusement at their predicament – which they were both sure would be a very entertaining anecdote later, when they stopped blushing over it – they went back as quick as they could.
xxx
To both couples' chagrin, despite all their efforts and sacrifices, the game was won by Sybil.