Turning the key in the ignition, the engine came to life and Matthew drove down the Downton driveway full of anticipation. He had agreed to go with Mary to see Tony Gillingham, to get some answers or at least hear what the man had to say for himself, but he wasn't hopeful that their meeting with the man accused of Patrick's death would prove fruitful.
Then there was the journey with Mary. After their disagreement the night before, they had shared a moment. A charged moment when she had whispered in his ear and he had felt flustered, feeling the need to walk away before he did something that they both weren't ready for. He had wanted nothing more than to close the study door, brace her back up against it and kiss her with as much passion as he could muster. But he knew that they weren't in a place to do that just yet.
At least, he thought they weren't.
He glanced over at the passenger seat, smiling nervously as Mary met his gaze.
"Thank you for coming with me." Mary said quietly.
"Someone had to ensure your safety, I'm still not thrilled that you're going to see Gillingham." Matthew stated.
"I know but I appreciate the fact you haven't tried to stop me."
"Maybe you would have appreciated a firmer hand."
Fuck.
He hadn't meant to say that.
Another case of him saying something that he hadn't meant to. But the thought of the previous day had been continuously running through his mind. Matthew tore his eyes away from Mary and focused on the road in front of him. But he knew that Mary wore an amused expression on her face, noting the little laugh in the back of her throat that she tried to disguise.
"I see I'm not the only one still thinking about last night." Mary mused.
"No, you aren't," Matthew sighed, keeping his attention on the road, "You certainly haven't forgotten…"
"Forgotten what?" Mary asked with a tone of innocence.
Matthew glanced at her briefly, noting the smirk on her face which made his cheeks fluster. She knew exactly what he was talking about, she had always managed to get a flustered reaction out of him, perfecting it since the night of her eighteenth birthday when she had kissed him for the first time.
"You know what." Matthew smiled.
"Enlighten me."
Matthew chuckled, shaking his head.
"You've always known, from the day you first kissed me, how to make me-."
He trailed off, glancing at her and noted that her smirk only appeared to have gotten wider.
"I know what you're trying to do." Matthew accused.
"What is that?" Mary asked innocently.
"You're trying to distract me, make me giddy…to attempt to make me forget about my worry and annoyance that you agreed to see Gillingham today…" Matthew replied.
"And is my tactic of distraction working?"
Matthew bit his lip, feeling her hand on his thigh. Keeping his attention on the road until he saw somewhere that he could pull over. Indicating to pull up on the left, Matthew steered the car into the layby, that was traditionally used to give way to oncoming traffic on country roads, and switched off the engine, taking the key out of the ignition. He unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to face Mary properly, noting the way she was biting her lip in anticipation.
Matthew leaned closer to her, his face mere centimetres from hers. He could feel her hitched breath on his face, the wild expression in her eyes.
She was nervous that she had poked the bear. And she had. Matthew placed his hand over hers, looping his fingers through hers and lifted it off his thigh and rested it on her own.
"If you choose to play with me, Mary, you must know that there are consequences." He warned in a husky whisper.
"Such as?" Mary asked quietly.
He moved his head closer to hers, their foreheads touching briefly. He released his grip on her hand and squeezed her thigh tightly, causing her to shiver.
"All I would need is a locked room where nobody could interrupt us, and you know exactly what the consequences would be." Matthew whispered lustfully.
Mary whimpered as Matthew pressed his lips to her cheek and kissed her slowly, pressing kisses along her cheek, her jaw, and her neck. He felt her hands in his hair, lightly grasping until he pulled away, noting the way her eyes fluttered, her cheeks flushed. Smiling, he placed a light peck to her lips and pulled away, smirking at the pout that formed from her lips when she opened her eyes to meet his gaze.
"I want you, Mary, but now is not the time for us to play games with each other. When this is all over, when Tony has faced trial for the crimes he's been accused, then we will get together and discuss what we're doing." Matthew promised.
Mary nodded as Matthew pulled back and buckled his seatbelt before he switched the engine back on and resumed their journey to Tony Foyle's ancestral home.
oOo
When they pulled up into the driveway of Tony's ancestral home, Mary noted the façade was covered in scaffolding but that there were a lack of workers doing the ongoing repair works that Tony had told her months ago that his home needed. As she unbuckled her seatbelt, she looked at Matthew nervously.
She knew why she had agreed to come and see her ex-lover. She knew that she needed to hear Tony's side of events and at least hope she could get some explanations of what had been happening over the last few weeks. She hoped that it would be the start of gaining some closure to the confusion and humiliation that she felt for trusting a man who the police believed was responsible for her cousin's death. For liking Tony, for trying to move on with him when he had been charged with numerous crimes in addition to the manslaughter charge that he was facing. If closure wasn't an option until after Tony was declared guilty or not guilty by a jury, she hoped that she could at least get some clarity from Tony.
"Are you ready?" Matthew asked.
Mary shrugged, unsure if she really was.
"I don't know. I suppose it's best to just get it over with." She sighed.
Nodding, Matthew unbuckled his seatbelt and exited the car. Mary followed suit and slammed the car door behind her. As she joined Matthew and they walked slowly up to the doors of the house, Matthew squeezed her hand supportively.
"We aren't staying long." Matthew stated firmly.
"I don't intend to stay long. Just long enough to hear whatever it is that Tony has to say and then I want to go home." Mary replied.
"And what will you do if he's just wasting our time?"
"I'll walk straight back to the car. I was very clear with Tony when I ended things with him, I don't want to hear woes of how difficult life is without me by his side. I just want to hear from his perspective what he's been accused of."
"But you said yourself that it makes sense that Tony is responsible for Patrick's death," Matthew argued, "Whatever it is that was burned in Patrick's room could've only been done by someone staying at the house that night. Tony was a guest."
"I know it makes sense, Matthew, but it also confuses me. Am I so foolish to trust a man who can hide another life from me? Maybe being here will achieve nothing but more confusion for me to feel. But I just feel that this is something that I must do…even if it doesn't make sense for me to do it…" Mary argued back.
"You aren't a fool-"
"You have to say that."
Matthew stopped her and pulled her to him, spinning her around so that they stood face to face.
"I don't have to say that." he stated affectionately.
She gave him a small smile before they continued walking to the front doors. As Mary reached out to touch the knocker, the door opened and there stood Tony in the entryway.
He looked different from the last time she had seen him. Tony's face looked pale, with heavy purple bags under his eyes which indicated that he hadn't been sleeping properly. His cheekbones were more visible in his face, which Mary guessed was due to the weight loss from the stress of the past few months. Tony was dressed scruffily, his face unshaven and bristly, not quite a scruffy beard but the beginnings of one. His dark eyes were filled with defeat, a loss of purpose to get up in the mornings.
"Mary…thank you for coming…" Tony said gruffly, stepping aside and gesturing for them to enter the house.
But Mary stood still, refusing to move.
"M-Mary, please come in." Tony pleaded.
"No. I'm content to listening to you from this side of the doorway." Mary said.
Tony nodded sadly, his eyes welling with tears.
"Mary…I didn't do this…I c-couldn't do this…"
"It's easy to deny that you're capable of such atrocities, I just want to know, why?"
Tony shook his head.
"I never lied to you, Mary. I... I am a nice man…I never lied to you about my feelings…about what I wanted for us…I couldn't take another person's life…I've never been involved with drugs…" he pleaded.
"It makes sense that it was you, you were staying at Downton the night of the fire, the fire that got rid of something connected to Patrick. The police say they've got a case against you for the drug connections-"
"All fabricated! The night of the fire, I had been in my room for a few minutes before I heard the shouts 'Fire'. I wasn't the only person staying at Downton that night!" Tony insisted.
"So, who was it then? Your parents?"
"I don't know. It could be anyone. It could be someone who attended the party and hid somewhere in the house for all I know. But after everyone had gone to bed, I got a text from Mabel who asked to see me."
"Mabel?" Mary asked.
Her mind traced the memory of the night of the anniversary party for Tony's parents. She remembered Mabel and Tony arguing, how Tony had told her that they'd been together but had different ideas of their relationship. How Tony had cut ties with Mabel and wanted a relationship with Mary. Her disagreement with Mabel that night when Mabel had come to her out of jealousy.
"Mabel was angry with me because I had ended things with her and chose to start something with you. She was still there the night of the fire, but I don't think she could've started it." Tony explained.
"Have you told the police this?" Matthew asked.
"I have. They didn't believe me." Tony replied.
Mary stepped a little closer to the door, processing what Tony had told them. She wasn't sure if he was telling her the truth and it appeared that she would have to do her own investigative work to get to the bottom of the circumstances surrounding Patrick's death.
"I think we should go now, there are some things that I have to do." Mary said quietly.
"Like what?" Matthew asked.
"I need to speak with Mabel and if she corroborates Tony's story." Mary replied.
"She will. I don't have a way to contact her, the police have taken every single device that I could use to communicate with." Tony stated desperately.
"I'll hear it from Mabel's lips before I believe anything." Mary said firmly.
Tony nodded sadly and it made Mary's heart sink. It was clear that her ex-lover had been through an ordeal, the stress of his arrest, charge and bail conditions showed on his face. The bags under his eyes, the unkempt appearance of him and the look of tiredness that seemed to be there constantly. And whilst she did feel pity for him, she also knew that there was a possibility that he truly was responsible for Patrick's death.
"I'll be in touch soon, Tony, if I need to talk to you again." Mary said.
"Get in touch with Alex if you need to."
Mary nodded and turned her back on him, walking back to the car with Matthew. They remained silent as they buckled their seatbelts and drove away.
The car journey back to Downton Abbey was a quiet one.
Mary looked out of the window most of the time, watching as the scenery flashed by. Every now and then, she felt Matthew reach out and squeeze her hand before he had to change gears. She squeezed his hand back, occasionally catching his gaze.
When they pulled up outside the house, Matthew and Mary exited the car and stood in front of it, both trying to determine what they should do after the visit with Tony.
"What do you make of what Tony said?" Matthew asked.
"I don't know, I think I need to speak with Mabel to hear her version of events. If necessary, I'll speak with the police to see if there is anything they can divulge but I don't expect to get much out of them." Mary replied.
"Will you keep me informed?" he requested.
"Of course."
Matthew paused in front of his car, smiling down at her.
"I'll be returning to London tomorrow; I can't put off my job for much longer. Evelyn has been very accommodating so far, but I can't take the mick." Matthew said quietly.
"I'm happy for you. Have you found a place to live?" Mary asked.
"I have. It's a room in a house share with other professionals. I've signed a six-month contract and I'll move in next week." Matthew replied.
Mary nodded.
"I suppose I'll see you when I see you then." She sighed.
Matthew nodded, reaching out to hug her goodbye when Mary wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Their embrace was short as she pulled back.
"Thank you for coming with me today." She said quietly.
"If you decide to investigate this by yourself, don't do anything stupid. Keep me informed and I'll help you however I can." Matthew stated.
"I will." Mary promised.
She moved closer to him, placing a lingering kiss to his cheek. His head turned and his lips met hers, pulling her to him. Mary groaned into his mouth, her hands running through his hair as his ran under her coat, gripping her hips tightly. She felt one of his hands move from her hip and around her backside, squeezing it lightly as he kissed her deeply, feeling heady and lightweight as she gripped his shoulders.
When she pulled away, their foreheads met, both breathing hard.
"Where's that locked room when you need it?" Mary breathed.
Matthew chuckled, placing a peck to her lips.
"I'll see you soon. Be careful." Matthew breathed.
Mary nodded, uncurling her arms from around him and headed into the house, with one last glance over her shoulder and returned Matthew's smile.