As they battle to rebuild their own and others' lives & livelihoods in a country irrevocably changed by war, VAD Nurse Mary Crawley & convalescing Captain Matthew Crawley are swept into a web of scandal & corruption that threatens to rip the Crawley...
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Early on in her night shift the following evening, Matthew asked Mary about William for the first time.
"Not good news, I am afraid," she told him gently. "He is unlikely to last the week."
A tear rolled down Matthew's cheek. "He saved my life," he said. "Did you know that? The shell... He called out "get down!" and pushed me down to the ground. That's all I remember.. till waking up here."
Pieces of the puzzle clicked into place. The war office notes had said Matthew had been found with William lying on top of him.
Mary couldn't speak. She looked down at her lap, thinking of the kind and friendly young man who now lay dying of his injuries.
Finally, she lifted her head and said steadily, "Honour his courage, Matthew, and stay alive. Fight for your life! Then his act of courage and selflessness will not have been in vain. That is what he will want."
Matthew gave her a searching look, and he was silent for a moment.
Mary was still thinking about what must have happened, a vivid image of William lying across Matthew on a bloody battlefield in her mind.
That's probably why he didn't break his neck or end up with a head injury, Mary suddenly realised. It also explained why William's lung damage was so severe. He would have felt the full force of the blast. And she knew he had been found with his gas mask partly off, whilst Matthew's, thankfully, had stayed on.
"Mary..." she was suddenly aware Matthew was asking her something.. "Could you..."
"Would you like to give him a message?" she asked gently. He nodded, and she took up a pen and paper from the drawer of the bedside table.
Between each painful, shallow breath, Matthew got out a few words, that Mary managed to stitch together into a message. After a bit of to and fro to check the sentences with him, she read it back to him to make sure it was right.
"William you saved my life. Nothing I can ever do can thank you enough for that. And I will fight to stay alive in your honour. In the months we have served together, I have come to love you like a brother. You gave me courage when I needed it so that I could lead the men. You went well beyond your duties with the help you gave to me and to Alex. You were a friendly presence in the hell we were in. I am very sad with what is happening to you. Whatever comes, know that you have my respect and love always, your affectionate friend Matthew."
A tear rolled down Mary's cheek when she finished reading it back. "Have I got it right? Is that how you want to say it?"
Matthew nodded. He was shaking slightly and his eyes were bright. "Why am I living and he is dying Mary?" he said.
"God only knows, Matthew," she said gently. "But do what you are saying to him, and fight to stay alive, that is what William will want."
He began to cry then, pain, exhaustion and grief stripping away any vestige of emotional restraint he might normally have possessed. Mary held his hand and stroked it until he fell asleep.
