Downton Abbey (English)

8. Two steps forward or one step back?

Sighing, Mary laid her head back on Toms chest. 'What kind of answer does he expect now?' she asked herself. In order not to answer directly, she let her hand wander lower over his chest and began to stroke his flat stomach as light as a feather. The twitching of his muscles and the deep breath showed her that her touch didn't leave him cold again. Simultaneously with his shaky breath, he grabbed her hand and whispered, "Mary, not now. We need to talk about it!"

Actually, he should have known better. Nobody backed Mary into a corner without living with the consequences. She reacted, as expected, and snapped at Tom: "No! We do not have to talk. I don't WANT to talk and you're not telling me what to do or what not to do." As she explained this to him, she threw back the covers and ended by pointing her arm towards the door. "Go Tom, before I raise my voice so Mom and Dad can hear me!". She couldn't meet his eyes because she knew deep down that she was being completely wrong again.

Shaking his head at himself, Tom got up and put his pyjama bottoms back on. He gave Mary a sad look and said softly, "Mary, I know you too well to ever give you orders. But I also know your feelings and I know how you think. Too bad you don't trust me enough to see the truth in my words. Sleep well Mary, and dream something nice!".

He quietly closed her room door and leaned against it from the outside. He could hear Mary tossing and turning in her bed. He wanted to go to her, but he couldn't take another rejection tonight. So he carefully crept back to his room. He went to bed with a heavy heart and spent a dreamless but also restless night.

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The next morning Mary was still scratchy. She ignored Tom at breakfast and informed Lord Grantham that she was going to the village first and then stopped by her Grannys for lunch. In order to have peace from Tom, she informed her father: "Today Tom is taking care of the horses with the manager and they will decide together whether the new horse manager will be hired or not." Both Tom and her father looked surprised over to her. It was actually planned that Mary would decide about it together with Tom and they both knew that.

"Okay. I'll take care of it." Tom answered resignedly. He was still annoyed with himself. How could he have acted so rashly tonight. He knew full well that Mary bit and clawed when she felt cornered. Nevertheless, the conversation had been important to him.

His only hope for today was that Violet, who he was sure knew something about them both, would give Mary a good head wash. Because only she could do that.

With the end of this thought, he put down his cup, got up and said goodbye to the others.

Mary finished her breakfast in peace and successfully suppressed any thoughts about Tom and her last night. She informed Anna and, with her help, dressed herself for the visit to the village.

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To take her mind off some relationship drama, which she continues to deny existed, she paid a visit to the hospital. There she walked past some of the older villagers and chatted a little. Afterwards she went to the post office and sent a letter to Rose.

With a heavy heart she made her way to her grandmother. She wanted to talk to her about horse breeding and deep down she was looking for a way to get some advice from her. There was no way she could talk openly about Tom, though.

'He's my brother-in-law! Sybil would yell at me, ask if Tom would be my next "victim" and I don't know what else...!' thought Mary on the way to Violet's house. Luckily, though, there was the second voice, telling her in her head, 'Sybil would want Tom to be happy. She might scold me that I'm too cowardly, but she wouldn't cause me any problems.' Confused by her own thoughts, Mary arrived at her grandmothers and used the door knocker. After entering the drawing room, she sat down on the small sofa. She gave her granny a friendly smile and waited for her to start the conversation.

"Hello Mary. How was your trip to London?" she asked.

"Thank you for asking, Granny. My journey was successful. We were able to buy two suitable mares. That means we can start breeding this spring." Mary answered and without realizing it herself, a dreamy smile crept onto her face.

"Well, of course I'm happy for you Mary. How is George?" Violet continued to ask. After all, she still had a lot to do. After Toms letter, her conversation with Mary and the unmissable sparks, she had decided to bring Tom and Mary closer to each other. Although he was a former chauffeur and Sybils widower, she was aware that Tom was equal to Mary. At least mentally. As for where he came from, she had come to terms with the fact that times were changing. In her opinion, Tom had proved that he was a full member of the family. He worked very well for Downton, along with Mary of course, and had clearly demonstrated his business acknowledge. His knowledge of how to deal with Mary, Edith, Cora and Robert also showed her that he was smart. Smiling inwardly, she had to think of how he, again and again, mediated between the different quarrels in the family. The last time very successfully when the board of the hospital had replaced her as chairman with Cora.

"George is developing well! He likes to play with Sybbie and practices riding diligently. He's just getting better at speaking and he's just great," Mary gushed about her son. Violet grinned and considered her next words carefully, "Have you heard from that racer again?" Mary gave a rather unladylike groan, which immediately earned her a reproach from her grandmother.

"No, luckily my last refusal was so clear that he didn't get back to me. I would be grateful to all of you if you could leave me alone with this topic!" she then gave in.

"Then you should look for a suitable man, Mary. You are in your prime and a widow. You can't expect Robert to accept that you reject all men and don't want to marry again. I know that you loved Matthew, but George is 4 years old now and he needs a father." Violet explained now a little impatiently and waited anxiously for Marys reaction.

It wasn't long in coming: "George has a father figure in Tom and I don't need a man. I'm happy the way it is!" Mary immediately snapped. Without realizing it, she had confirmed Violets suspicions about Tom. She would never have seen him as a father figure if there wasn't some sort of relationship between them.

"Well, you must know," Violet said, therefore. The two talked a little longer and Mary went home in the afternoon.

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Meanwhile, Tom had interviewed the landlady, hired her and her husband right away and worked off some unfinished business in the office. Now his thoughts could return to Mary.

How should he convince her of himself? She was an impressive woman and he had to admit that she was the only one for him now, or even longer. 'I have to get Mary to admit how she feels about me. Only then will she be able to accept me as a partner.', he was about to come up with a plan. First, he would take advantage of her interest in him and continue to seduce her. However, he would always give her the opportunity to get out, that was the only way he could convince her. Satisfied with his plan, he made his way to the stables.