Hope you find the time to continue with this delicious M/M story. Its much too good to leave uncompleted. Thanks so much

I hope you are going to continue this story. It's one of my favorites. I love your vision and interpretation of how Matthew is coping (or not) with his emotions in the months after Lavinia's death.

Some of the little details that I liked in this chapter - Matthew's sigh at Isobel, to let her know that he was not a happy camper. It was a moment that felt so real, with Matthew being both endearing and exasperating. And at the dinner, when Robert makes the insensitive remark. I felt for Matthew as he sat there, knowing that Robert would make an unkind remark even though Robert is a kind person. I hope that, with time, those sort of remarks will no longer wound Matthew, and he will be able to let them go by.

Matthew needs to make a plan to catch Mary by herself for a private conversation. They each need to start being honest with the other
Maybe he could catch her at their bench one day and keep her there until she told him the truth. Thanks for another wonderful update. You're the greatest!

Excellent chapter. Really enjoying this glimpse into a time period we did not get to see much of.

I do hope Mary tells him. You have written a wonder version of Mary that should be impossible for Matthew to resist. He must try a bit harder to find out what secret she is hiding! I do hope you go on with the story.

I think you should continue this story, because in canon DA we're not sure how M&M moved forward. So, let your imagination be your guide! (& ours too...)

I love your 'take' on things between M&M :-) You're capturing their characters, their banter, their emotions, even their inner minds so very well. Thanks for a great story to follow!

Thank you so much for this story. I had always imagined what happened between the time of Lavinia's death and the Season 2 Christmas episode in which Matthew had obviously decided to start speaking to Mary after the scene at Lavinia's grave. This story gives us some idea of the development or "unthawing" of his heart toward Mary. Many thanks. I loved it.

I just found this story, and I have to tell you how much I like it. As the chapters go on you can see Matthew starting to see the world again. I loved the train scene and the scene at Williams grave. Great job.

Poor Matthew, he needs to get a grip on things. If he were alive today, he'd be on anti - depressants. But maybe, just maybe, things are shifting somewhat. He seems to be appreciating Mary's friendship now rather tan pushing her away. Thanks for the update. I'm really enjoying your story.

I'm so glad you updated this, so I could find it! I really like this, it's a nice (and painful) trip in Matthew's guilt ridden mind in all these months. What a hard time that must have been, before he finally allowed himself to hope again. Thank you for this :)

Your writing is fantastic. I love this story. It's a time period that we did not get to see and it was so important. Can't wait for more!

They met at William's grave. Your head canon and my canon head are totally BFF's.
I love the moment when Mary realizes Matthew does not have his stick anymore. How they sneak back to Crawley House and how they can't help but share memories.
Matthew's maudlin moods fascinate me. I could read about him and his thought process all day and night!
"If you ever were..." Oh Mary. Love on Any Terms! Yes, such brilliant lines and unconditional love.

This story is riveting!

What a train ride! (again you awoke my head canon feels!)
I really enjoyed the discussion they had about "odd" things. And Matthew's context mentioning his father. That was an amazing moment, so vivid and honest and filled with pain that changed because of the war.
Mary giving a massage on a train was absolutely in character. I loved that defiance. Although I would have enjoyed more detail about her skills as she did so much research. And I'm sure Matthew needed such a loving touch more than he could ever admit or realize. Her line about "being middle class" was a great ice breaker and the line "I don't like riding trains alone" which he thought earlier got vocalized. That is a great step forward. Progress! Great story. Great writing!

I absolutely love this story! (It gives me such nostalgia feels for my story "First Steps"!) What a treat it is to find. It is so welcoming to read about Matthew point of view. My absolutely favorite thing is to get inside his beautiful mind. (Thank you for this!)
All of the trauma, and issues and thought process its a wonderful slice of the heaven and hell that torments him. Being at the cricket match at this point in time was a master stroke.

I loved how he revisits the "I think it is black and white" realizing that its a very grey area...the only truth being come hell or high water... he loves Mary. Does he think he deserves her or is good enough for her? No. Does he love her. Yes.
Grey area indeed.