AN: So, I know I already posted a chapter today, but since it's the first day, and I have written quite a few chapters ahead, I'm giving you some extras!
July, 1914
She had been crying all day. Matthew's cold refusal of her had hit her like a punch in the gut. She had never felt such agonizing pain; not even a fall from Diamond or the broken finger she had had when she was a child had been worse than this.
"Mary, please, come down to supper. Be with the family!" Sybil begged. She ran her hands over her sister's matted hair, and ruined dress. "Everything will be alright."
"No, Sybil, no. Not this time. I've ruined everything, absolutely everything!" Mary sobbed into her pillow, her entire body convulsing. She had ruined her own life, she had dashed her family's hopes, and worst of all, she had broken Matthew's heart. How could she have been so stupid- how could she have let her Aunt Rosamund's words get to her? How could she have let Pamuk into her bed? She had been certain, she loved Matthew more than anything she had ever known. And she had lost him. Lost him. Forever.
"You haven't ruined anything Mary- he loves you, and I know you love him. He'll forgive you, I know he will." Sybil assured her. But Mary shook her head, and then buried her face in her pillow. "Oh Mary, I wish you would tell why you're so convinced that you've ruined everything!"
Mary looked up at her sister, whose eyes were misty with tears.
"Oh, Sybil. I would. But it would take hours." Mary groaned, and her sister giggled and then clapped her hands over her mouth. "But it's too late, Sybil. It really is."
"Mary, there has to be something you can do. Mary, if you don't try to fix it, you'll regret it." Sybil insisted. "I'll tell everyone you're not feeling well." And then she got up to leave. "I love you, Mary."
"You too, Sybil." Mary managed quietly. When Sybil had closed the door behind her, she lay on her back, and stared at the ceiling, her sobs slowing, but the ache in her chest did not vanish. If anything it grew larger and more painful by the second. She didn't know how long she lay there, tears streaming down her cheeks, her body aching, her eyes stinging, when she suddenly realized that she was right, Sybil was right. If she did nothing, she would regret it. At the very least she could tell Matthew why she had delayed accepting his offer. There had to be somehow, some way she could make this right- or at the very least there had to be a way she could explain well enough so that he didn't hate her entire family.