A very sweet portraying. Thanks for the story.

Read on 04 September 2023

The anticipation!

So achingly beautiful, to be together again finally, thank you.

I've hurt my jaw from trying not to cry too hard! god this is absolutely beautiful.. regardless of what happened in canon *cough*the Talbot disaster*cough*, I don't believe she could marry again.. Mary and Matthew forevaaahh

God this is heart wrenching.. I've hurt my jaw from trying not to cry too hard. But in canon she married that idiot Talbot and was to have another child. I guess if she's happy then I should be too but I really think that she couldn't marry again, not after experiencing such a great love...

Reading this for the dozenth time, I think. I cry every time, without fail. It's such a gentle sadness, a gentle slip between past, present, and death. It consumes me, it is so beautiful. The presence of Mary, and all characters mentioned but also departed, are so big and so real that I feel this very intimate glimpse into her mind, her memories. It is painfully lovely. Certain lines get me each time..."but Tom was gone these twenty years"..."that only more sharply reminded her of the man they never knew"..."because she could never resist those eyes"..."her voice was miles away, in a green room at Downton"...God. GOD. It gets me even more than a year later.

This is stunning. I can imagine every part of this. Strong Lady Mary who has braved the storm for 95 years and is ready to be with Matthew, again. Now they'll never be apart, "never again." Beautiful. Thank you for this.

Oh gosh, this is absolutely beautiful.
"Her hair was white and her skin a web of memories, but she was every inch the Lady Mary she had always been."
That's the moment I fell in love with this fic. And it just got better.
The ending... Oh wow. Beautiful. Matthew, and then Sybil - classic Sybil - absolutely beautiful. Well done.

Bawling my eyes out. Just been a basket case these days. This story is so touching, and as always, beautifully written.

Ahhh, with tears in my eyes. A lovely story. Although, in my own heart, I want Mary to find love. Yes, I believe that we can love again, even after great loss. The loss of Matthew is still quite devastating, but I want more for Mary (emphasis on 'more') - & not just a 'pretty boy', I want someone challenging! Thank you for your version, for making her a long life, filled with family.

i definitely just cried over this. such a bitter sweet story, i loved it!

Really beautiful story as always. Sob! I can totally imagine Mary having a very long life (but so sad without Matthew). So glad their son survived WWII. Such a cute comment for Sybil at the end. Uggh, I hate canon so much now! I'm more mad at DS than JF though, that's for sure.

this is so beautifully written...like all your stories, they speak more to me than the canon of JF.

So bittersweet and so wonderful. I love the line "You braved the storm for us all", so true of Mary. Especially with what has happened now, she is in the midst of the worst storm of her life I think.

Also love Sybil's input, made me laugh :)

Thanks for sharing!

I'm sobbing. I haven't cried over Matthew since Christmas Day and hardly then because I was so angry at Dan. You captured this beautiful shift in Mary, this quiet change in the last night of her life...I felt the weariness, the awareness of time having passed. I'm so, so sad and so appreciative of you writing this. Ugly gross sobbing though.