Loved it!

That was lovely- a fantastic end to a wonderful fic. I love Edith sticking up for Mary, while also sticking to her guns over the dress, and Violet was amazing- as always.

Thank you so much for sharing.

A beautiful ending - worthy of a fairy tale. Thank you very much.

There is nothing hotter than a rageful Matthew, especially when it is directed at Richard. What a great end to an engaging and enjoyable story. Thank you for sharing it with all of us, its been a balm to my wounded soul after all the angst and heartbreak of series 2.

I love how Violet just told Richard off at the end. She also makes some fairly valid points about how sort of stupid the story would be to reveal now, but would Fellowes listen to her if he could? Who knows?

Oh, that ending! :D I believe any man who hits a woman is evil incarnate, but you did a great job fleshing out Carlisle's true cowardice in that regard. LOVE how the family all got involved - and it was Violet who ultimately delivered the final blow, even as Carlisle was sneaking out with his tail between his legs. LOVED that Mary gave back her ring. I could practically hear the epic music at that lovely M/M "ending" kiss. And such a wonderful epilogue. Unrequited love may not be fashionable, but it was a great read. :D Congrats on not only creating, but maintaining a S2 AU that was such a creative twist on the S2 plot points. Keep writing! :)

It's really good! Please continue! X

This story was really good. Normally I don't read such long ones, but this one did catch my attention. I have just one question. Is there a sequel? You should SERIOUSLY wright one with Matthew and Richard fighting. Just don't end it here! I hate cliff hangers! At least e-mail me with what you think would have happened at (I don't really like Mark Twain's writing, but it's good enough.

Oh goodness, Richard is a prideful, controlling man. You took what we saw of him in the show - him threatening to destroy her if she made a fool of him, him trying to have her every move watched by Anna - and fleshed it out to what he would be like at his extreme if she were to make such a fool of him.

Matthew is going to be FURIOUS.

EEEEK! what happens next? I must know! x

Does Robert own a few shotguns at home? That can be brought with haste? Like, now?

love it, love you.

Can't wait for more. Literally, CANNOT wait.

x kissthespider26

Can't wait to read what happens next! Carlisle is a bastard! How dare he hit Mary. It's time for him to be GONE. But this is just a wonderful story. Keep up the good work:-)

omg you simply must update this quickly! :O abusive!richard strikes again! Btw, I love it. I love your fanfic. Everything's as it should be.

This is such a masterful chapter! The final scene between Carlisle and Mary I was constantly changing my perspective. You did a fantastic job of putting the reader in both Carlisle and Mary's heads and showing both perspectives. The final sentences are utterly shocking precisely because we've seen Richard's feelings and justifications and ultimately limitations... Yet the slap is still shocking and brutal. It would have been easy to make Mary the root for duo and Richard the one note villian. You did something else you made him complex and vile and yet understandable. I don't even have words for how much I adored that entire scene.

Thank you. This flows so well from the last chapter. You have provided a very complete vision of how Richard would handle a "break." Badly. He is so out of step. So full of himself. I can see him expecting last minute guests to be accommodated. Totally in character. You did such a lovely job conveying Mary's grief for James. Mary is willing to think some good of Richard but his disdain for James is the final straw. We knew that Richard was menacing but he is violent, too. Glad you placed her "champions" outside the door. So much for his "publishing the story". He is finished on so many levels. Very satisfying.

May I be the extremely immature person in the back row and shout FIGHT! FIGHTT!

That is all.

Well, not all. It's great to see this story's still going, and going well. Can't wait for the next chapter!