Chapter 10 – Richard arrives

Sir Richard got off the train at Downton station and took a taxi to the local pub and took a room. He really wanted to stay at Downton Abbey, but he could not count on being welcomed. Besides, this would work more into his plan of saying that he was in the neighborhood to do work. Then after dropping by the abbey to see Mary, he would try to secure an invite.

A-A-A-A

Mary sunk back into her pillow and pulled the covers up to her chin. It was probably late; she should probably ring the bell and start her day. But she wanted to revel more in the past few days' events. Matthew had returned to her and she had told him not only what was in her heart but what had prevented her from telling him three years ago what was in her heart. And he had accepted it; he had not held it against her; he had told her he loved her and that he was going to find a way for them to be together. That made her smile and feel good all over. She did feel bad about Lavinia. Matthew had promised himself to her and that was her fault, for if she had just been truthful with Matthew, he never would have met Lavinia. But Matthew had been right. It was not right for him to marry Lavinia if he was in love with someone else; someone who returned his feelings.

After confessing her feelings to him, they had returned to the Abbey for tea and then time with Albert. Everyone was happy to see Matthew and if they suspected anything, they did not say anything. Papa had been so glad to spend time with Matthew and Mama had been giving her pitying glances. But after tea, Mary had sat with Albert and read him stories and Matthew had stayed with them taking turns to read. Albert was mesmerized by Matthew and again had pointed to his hair and Matthew's saying it was the same. They had all laughed again. Mary had been right, Albert had taken to him right away, even though he was just a cousin.

Matthew had left after that, to go meet his mother. He would only be in the village for another day and then had to return to General Strutt. Matthew had found time to be with Mary the next day; they had taken a walk together, and stolen a few kisses and reveled in being together knowing that they had now revealed their feelings to each other. Mary had tried not to fret about the future; to just enjoy being with Matthew. But it had been difficult, they still had to resolve many things that would not be easy to resolve. In the end Matthew had promised her that he would write to Lavinia and tell her that he would be coming to London to see her. When he got there, he would break with her and then they would be free to be together. There was no one else who knew of their plans, not Isobel or Cora or Robert. Matthew hoped that things would be settled within a fortnight.

It was now a week since Matthew had been at Downton. Mary had received a single letter from Matthew; a letter that reiterated his love and told her that all would be well soon.

Mary smiled as she read the letter again and then hid it. Anna had come in with the morning tea and was opening the curtains. It was time to start a new day. Mary felt very positive about what was to come.

A-A-A-

Sir Richard Carlisle got out of the cab and approached the doors of Downton Abbey which was opened by a severe looking butler. When he said he was there to see Lady Mary, the butler raised his eyebrow, but showed him into the Library while he went to search out Lady Mary. The Library was the quintessential English Library with books dating back at least 300 years. Richard took it all in, imagining one day that a room like this would belong to him. With Mary at his side, he would rise easily among the ranks of the aristocracy and be accepted. He had done what he could to woo her, but she had been reticent, and he was not sure why. Of course, now he knew that she had courted the former heir, Matthew Crawley, and it was rumored to be a love match. But it had fallen apart at the start of the war and birth of her brother the new heir. Surely Mary was not holding out hope to marry him. He was engaged to Lavinia Swire and he was now no more than a country solicitor; surely not enough for a woman like Lady Mary to be with for life.

So, Richard had come to visit Downton Abbey, without an invitation in an attempt to further their possible courtship and secure Lady Mary as his wife. He of course would try to convince her the traditional way, but if she was still not agreeable, he would have to use the delusions of Lavinia Swire to blackmail her into agreeing to marry him. It was not the preferable way, but Richard was a tough man and it did not disturb him to engage in such a practice.

Just then Lady Mary and her mama Lady Grantham were announced by the butler. Mary looked more than surprised to see him, but her mother seemed very pleased.

"Sir Richard, what an unexpected surprise."

Richard smiled and turned his attention to Lady Grantham.

"I apologize for coming uninvited. I was in the village on business and decided to try my luck with Lady Mary. We have been meeting in London and corresponding and I only thought it right I should meet her parents."

Cora smiled. This pleased her. He did not seem an unwelcome chap and with Mary's history, perhaps it would be a good match. Cora had been puzzled why Mary had not invited him to stay until now.

"Sir Richard, it was our lapse in not inviting you to stay earlier. The war has made strange all our ways and now our home is to be a convalescent home soon and we will be further displaced. Please stay with us now, if that appeals to you. We would be happy to host you, right Mary."

Mary grimaced it was the opposite of what she wanted. Why was her mother encouraging him? Mary guessed she would have to use the time to put a permanent end to Sir Richard's pursuit of her. He was a strong man, surely, he could take it.

"Of course, Sir Richard should stay. It may be our last opportunity to host till after the war."

Richard smiled. Things were going exactly to plan.

"Thank you, Lady Grantham, Lady Mary. I'll have my things brought over later this evening."

Cora called for tea and asked Carson to arrange a room for Sir Richard and have his things collected from the local pub.

After some intolerable conversation with Sir Richard, Mary excused herself and told him she would see him at dinner. She quickly ran up to her room and penned a letter to Matthew. She had no one else to confide in and just writing to him made her feel so much better.

A-A-A-A

Sir Richard stayed for a few days and Mary and her parents entertained him with country walks on the estate and family dinners. During the day he tended to business and Mary helped with the planning out of the convalescent home. On the third night of his stay he announced that he would be returning to London in the morning. Robert had been relieved because frankly he found the man insufferable even as he tried to charm them. Cora was cautiously optimistic that Sir Richard would ask for Mary's hand by the end of his stay and Mary was utterly relieved that he would be gone soon, and she could end this farce of a relationship.

Through out the three days, Mary had successfully avoided being alone with him. Richard had hinted at a future together and Mary had been pleasant but not encouraging. He met all of Mary's sisters and was pleasant to them and he seemed unusually engaged and obsessed with Albert. Richard then asked permission to walk alone with Mary the following morning and her parents had agreed. Mary wished they had refused. She could tell her mother was getting excited at a possible engagement, she herself was dreading the conversation. She found Sir Richard to be an intelligent powerful man, even if he was rough around the edges. But he was rough in a way Matthew had never been. And in a world without Matthew, maybe she would consider him. But with Matthew securely back in her life, even if he was not free yet, Richard had no place in her life.

Nevertheless, the next morning Mary met Richard for a morning walk following breakfast. They walked out toward the village, so they would be in plain sight of others. Richard would be heading toward the train and his bags would be taken by the chauffeur to the station. Richard stopped and looked her straight in the eye.

"Lady Mary, I think I have been obvious in my intentions. I would like to marry you. I think highly of you and I think we would make a formidable team."

Mary winced. She knew this would be coming and she had to let him down easy.

"Sir Richard. That was quite a proposal. And as you may or may not know, I have been engaged before. I was betrothed to my cousin Patrick Crawley and he perished on the Titanic. That was more of a business transaction as he was going to be heir of Downton. But while I was fond of him, I did not love him. You have been a gentleman and I am sure you are right we would make a formidable team. In the past I would have been happy merely being part of a team and having a life. But I'm afraid the war has changed me and I'm no longer looking for that. I am looking for love. And while I like you very much, I don't think either of us could profess to loving each other now or being able to in the future."

Richard took a deep breath. He had to roll this out slowly.

"Lady Mary, you disappoint me. I never fancied you the lovelorn type. You speak of love, have you experienced it before?"

Mary breathed deeply.

"I have, I know how it feels and this is not it. I'm sorry Sir Richard. I wish for you that you find someone who you can love and who will love you in return. But I'm afraid that is not me."

Sir Richard's face grew stern.

"I had hoped you would agree by seeing the brilliance of a match between you and me. However, I now see I will have to sway you by other means. And Lady Mary, I will not be convinced otherwise."

Mary took a deep breath. This was more difficult that she thought it would be.

"Sir Richard, again I'm sorry. But whatever do you mean?"

Richard's eyes grew steely.

"You speak of knowing love. Was that love with Matthew Crawley, your distant cousin, former heir to Downton? Now serving in the King's army and engaged to Miss Lavinia Swire?"

Mary was taken aback. She should have known that Richard would do his research; he was a newspaper baron after all; a self-made man. He did not get there without tenacity. But she had to be careful in her response. Matthew was engaged to Lavinia; he had not yet broken with her.

"I hardly think that is relevant and I find this line of questioning quite inappropriate. However, you clearly have done your research, but I'm afraid your sources don't know the truth of my relationship with Mr. Crawley. He is a distant cousin; he had been the heir to Downton and my parents were pushing us together for the same reason they wanted me to marry Cousin Patrick. However, while I grew to enjoy our banter, it did not go further than that. And again, all this is not relevant or appropriate."

Sir Richard leaned in and grew even sterner if that were possible.

"Lady Mary don't think you can fool me with your references to what is appropriate. I have been looking at your brother these past few days and watching your relationship with him. He looks exactly like Matthew Crawley. It seems to me that Master Albert is not the 1st heir and son of your parents; rather your love child with Lieutenant Crawley that your parents have taken as their own. I know you thought you could hide it, but I am very shrewd and my sources tell me that you were not simply enjoying your banter with Cousin Matthew, but in fact you two were courting in the London Season of 1914 and that it was very much a love match. Perhaps things got too far, and the good cousin refused to marry you, I don't know. But it is clear as day when you look at that child that he is the son of you and Matthew Crawley. And if you do not want your house to go down in scandal you will marry me and make a home and a dynasty of our own. I will allow you to visit with your son, but you will have my sons and you will abide by my wishes."

Mary thought she had been hit by a motor. This man was clearly delusional. How had he made up such a story and now he was trying to blackmail her into marriage using a made-up story that her brother was in fact Matthew's and her love child. This was crazy.

"Sir Richard, I think you need to hire new sources. While it is true that Matthew and I were courting and yes it probably was more of a love match than a set up, we broke when my mother was expecting Albert and there would be a new heir. The fact that Albert may resemble Matthew is just strong Crawley genes. He is my parent's child; you have concocted a story full of lies and delusion. If you spread or printed such a story, my family could probably press charges."

Sir Richard dug in.

"Say what you want. You know as well as I that even whispers such as these will ruin you and your family. It would be much more pleasant if we were to marry and there would never be any mention of such possibility. We really could build a great empire of our own and I would do all I could to make you a happy and powerful woman. I would even buy a proper house in the country. Once the war is over, many will be available for sale."

Mary continued to be astonished. How could this be happening? It was insane. But she knew he was right, if there were even whispers of this even with a war going on, it would be the end of her family and it would be the end of her. Matthew would be dragged through the mud as well. She could never allow that to happen. She thought she might have stopped breathing. She had no idea what to do.

They had arrived at the train station and Sir Richard looked at her seriously.

"You have my proposal. I will give you time to think about it. But I strongly suggest that you consider joining me on what I promise will be a lifelong adventure."

Mary found that she could not even answer him. She was speechless and just stood there with her mouth open and finally just nodded her head. She felt defeated, she did not know what she was going to do. Richard doffed his hat and boarded the train, a smug smile on his face. Mary turned quickly and started walking back to the abbey. This was a most unpleasant turn of events. She thought she had faced possible scandal with Pamuk. This story was not even true, and it could destroy her entire family.

A/N – I apologize that this story has fallen to the bottom of the pile and there have not been updates for so long. I have now actually plotted out the rest of the chapters until the end. So, it may take a while to write and post, but at least I have a plan for it.

Thank you again for all your follows and favorites and especially for reviews.

I hope you enjoyed this new installment. Please drop me a review and let me know if you are interested in seeing how this all plays out.