"Mandy, we're so glad that you could make it."

Mandy smiled graciously at Lady Grantham as she, Mandy, Edith, Sybil, Mrs. Crawley, and Lord Grantham stood in the entry hall at Downton Abbey the next day. Mandy thought long and hard about whether she should really go, but Thomas's image pushed her forward. It was about time that everything was settled.

"I'm grateful that you invited me," Mandy said, and glanced at Sybil, who smiled at her.

"We hope that you forgive our family, at least certain members of it, for the way they treated you last," Lord Grantham said.

"I don't harbor any ill feelings," Mandy said, and she felt a tug in her gut that told her she lied. "I just want this all to pass, and we can move on with our lives. Maybe this time, we can finally move on."

Sybil came and took Mandy's arm. "Exactly. Now, let us go into the drawing room while we wait for luncheon to be served."

The family agreed, and they all convened in the drawing room. Mandy stood with Sybil and Mrs. Crawley while the two discussed the hospital. She eyed William who was in there serving tea. Mandy was glad to see William, who turned his head from Lord Grantham and gave her a smile, but she wanted to see Thomas. Would he be in the luncheon dining room to help serve? Would he be going about his business out in the main part of the house, preparing for the luncheon? Maybe she would be able to snag him away for a few minutes.

"Um, Sybil," Mandy said, and Sybil and Mrs. Crawley stopped their conversation.

"Yes, Mandy?"

"I'm going to use the washroom really quick before luncheon starts. I will be right back."

"Oh, alright."

Mandy left the room and made it to the main entryway. She walked around the sitting area a bit, the area where she first met Lord Grantham, and couldn't spot any movement. She made her way to where the breakfast and luncheon dining room was, in hopes to find Thomas, but as she passed the library, she heard voices from inside. Desperate to know if any of them were Thomas's, she leaned near the door to listen.

"Matthew, you did what?"

"Yes, I proposed to her, Mary, but she said no."

Neither of those voices were Thomas's. Mandy leaned back and started at the hard wood door. "No, Mandy, don't listen. Nothing good ever happens when you eavesdrop."

"No?" came Mary's voice. Mandy's hand's balled into fists, trying to make herself leave and not listen in... but it was futile. They talked about her. She leaned in against the door, her ear by the door frame where the door would be opened. Her hand took the doorknob absentmindedly.

"Yes, she said no," said Matthew. "She has someone else that I wasn't aware of until that disastrous dinner."

"Someone else? Who?"

"That doesn't matter. All that matters now is that Mandy is out of the picture here, at least with me. The only relationship I can have with her at best is just friends."

There was silence for a moment, then Mary said in what sounded like a weary voice, "Oh, Matthew, if you would have caught on before that she had someone else, a lot of this chaos wouldn't have ensued. You would have not bought her that hairpin if you knew she had another man."

"Mary, you can't place the blame of all of this on me. Was it not you who blamed her for stealing a hairpin that was nonexistent? You had her sacked when she did nothing wrong."

Mandy really wanted to see their facial expressions, but their tone of voice was evidence enough of how they felt. Mary said quite emotionally, "Do you know why I did that, Matthew? Do you know why I wanted that girl out of the house and away from everyone? Away from you?"

Mandy gulped as a thick silence pierced the air. When Matthew did not answer, Mary revealed, "I wanted you, Matthew. From the very beginning, I did. The moment we met, I knew that you were going to be someone quite important to me, and I knew that you would eventually be inheriting Downton, and therefore would be marrying me. You even proposed to me! That girl just stood in the way of it all, and impeded me giving you an answer. I had to do something!"

Mandy stood stunned as she leaned against the door frame. Mary just spilled everything! Mandy was right in thinking that Mary did all that she did just because Mandy got too close to Matthew.

"Mary..." came Matthew's voice.

"No, Matthew, don't. I don't want to be humiliated with your sympathies. I've already been humiliated enough."

"But Mary... now that this is all over, now that I know Mandy will never accept me, let's take this time to start over." He paused. "Before, when you told me you needed time to think about my proposal, I felt that you had feelings for me, but I still went after Mandy mindlessly anyway, knowing that you would eventually accept me. But now that Mandy is out of the way, we can start anew. Please, Mary. Allow me to love you again."

Mandy's heart pounded as she waited for Mary's answer. Her hand gripped the doorknob, and she accidentally opened the door, but when she saw the two in there, she realized that they didn't even notice. Mary was turned away from Matthew, teary-eyed, and Matthew stood behind her with a desperate expression on his face. Mandy held the door open an inch, watching.

"I don't know, Matthew... You still have feelings for her."

"Yes, but they will leave over time." He took a step up to her. "Mary, I feel terribly for what I did to you, but now..."

Mary suddenly turned and faced him, her eyes hopeful. "Can you really love me again, Matthew?"

"I can because I already love you."

Mary let out a whimper and flew herself into Matthew's arms. A smile appeared on his face as he held her, which lifted Mandy's spirits. She leaned away from the door and figured that she didn't need to see any more of their conversation. Contrary to what she thought before, Mary and Matthew had some hope in their relationship. Matthew had said that his feelings for Mary were gone, but hearing his confession, and seeing how happy he was to hold her to him, those feelings were definitely still there.

Thomas suddenly came to mind, and she got back to her mission. She crept to dining room where the luncheon was to be served, and stopped at the doorway. She saw Mr. Carson in there, and then... Thomas. It looked like he was making sure the silverware and dishes were in order at each place setting. Mandy's hands began to numb at the fast rate of her pulse. She could just walk in there and ask to talk to him, or...

"Mandy."

Her heart nearly stopped, and she flinched from the surprise of someone suddenly addressing her. She turned to find Sybil standing there, and the rest of the party passed them into the dining room and seated themselves. "Sybil, gosh..."

"I thought you were in the washroom."

"I was, I was just... I suppose I just wanted to say hello to Mr. Carson and Thomas."

"Well, you can in a moment. Come. You can sit next to me."

The moment Mandy entered the room, Thomas's gaze went right to her. He stood there near the wall next to William and Mr. Carson, prim and proper, but Mandy could see how he tried to stay dignified. She noticed his hands ball into fists—he was tried to keep in his emotion. If only she could skip the luncheon and talk to him and allow his hurting to cease!

Chicken salad was on the menu, and Mandy hoped that Thomas would be serving her. Sadly, though, William served her, and he whispered a greeting, which she returned. She turned her glance to Thomas, who served Lady Grantham. She caught her eye, and Mandy felt obligated to say something. "Thank you again, My Lady, for inviting me."

"We are glad to have you, Mandy," she said, and Thomas moved on. "And again, we are indeed sorry about dinner the other night."

"No don't, be. In a way, I deserved it."

"No one deserves that kind of treatment," Lord Grantham said. "No matter who they are."

"Tell that to Mary," Edith said. "I heard what she said to the poor girl after dinner."

"She was far too harsh," Sybil agreed. "It wasn't like her at all. And Granny... she shouldn't have said what she said, either."

Edith said, "I don't blame Mary, though. I would be upset too if..."

"Girls, please," Lady Grantham interjected. "How is work at the hospital, Mandy?"

Mandy moved around the leaves in her salad with her folk. "It's alright. I mean, keeping track of all the finances and everything, and sorting documents is hard work, but I enjoy it. It's something to do to keep me busy, and to keep my mind off of things."

She made a glance at Thomas, who returned it. He knew very well what those things were. She looked back at Lady Grantham. "Well, I'm glad," the elegant woman said. "A smart girl like you should be doing something with her talents and skills."

Mandy smiled graciously as she sipped her water and felt Thomas's eyes on her. She really wanted to talk to him. Badly. She wondered when this lunch would be over. She wasn't even hungry for the delicious salad since her nerves made her lose her appetite.

The family continued talking, and even when they were done eating, they stayed and chatted about more things. Mandy sat anxiously, her leg moving up and down rapidly. Judging from the glances she constantly made at Thomas, he could tell that she wanted to talk to him. She mouthed at him, 'I need to talk to you.' His eyes widened, and he looked around at the family still chatting. He looked back at her. 'Why?' he mouthed back.

"Well, shall we move on to the library?" Lord Grantham said, and the family went to the library. Mary and Matthew were not in the room any longer. Everyone sat down on sofas, besides Mandy and Lord Grantham. She eyed Thomas as he prepared tea on the other side of the library. She took a couple steps to him, but she heard near her, "Miss DeMont." She turned to find Lord Grantham standing there.

"Yes, My Lord?"

"Forgive me, but may I have a word?"

"Alright."

He beckoned her over to where no one could hear, near to where his desk was over by the window. "Miss DeMont, I would like for you to know something."

"And what is that?"

He took a breath as he held a glass with an half-an-inch of whiskey in it. "Well... Lady Grantham invited you here today because she knew that Mary wouldn't like it. That's why we don't see her here with us."

Mary was certainly in the house, though, and with Matthew. What were they up to at the moment? Did the family even know that Matthew was there? "Oh, um... why tell me this, My Lord? I mean, I already know Lady Mary doesn't like me in the least."

"It's just a way for her to get over it all. Plus, Lady Grantham knew you would want to come back, anyway."

She stared at him for a moment, trying to read his expression. "Why?"

He leaned in a little and said in a low tone, "Because she got a little piece of information from Mrs. O'Brien regarding you and a certain footman." He made a pointed look at Thomas, who she looked at as he gave a cup of tea to Mrs. Crawley. She gasped and looked back at Lord Grantham when she realized... "O'Brien knew about me and Thomas?"

"Yes. She informed my wife that said footman made a little offer to you. I must say I was surprised when I was told about it because we all thought Thomas was... you know, different. Apparently he's not like that anymore."

Mandy couldn't believe this! O'Brien must have been eavesdropping when Thomas proposed to her, and she went and blabbed to Lady Grantham who told Lord Grantham!

"Have you given him an answer?"

"Um... yes, but..."

"Well, what was it?" he asked excitedly.

"I, uh..." She eyed Thomas again and their gazes met. She looked back at Lord Grantham. "I rejected him."

"Rejected? Why?" A look of realization hit his face. "Oh, it was because of Matthew, wasn't it?"

"Yes, and... when I told Thomas that, it tore him apart. After thinking about it, I realized that I did the wrong thing."

Lord Grantham blew air out his mouth in exasperation. "Heavens... This must be torture for both of you, then, being here at the same time, in the same room."

"Yes, it is. I'm aching to talk to him, though."

Lord Grantham twirled his glass around a bit, making the gold liquid in it spiral. "Hm... I'll tell you what." He leaned in and said quietly, "You go outside into the main entry hall, and I'll have Thomas follow you, making him think that you're leaving early. Then you can talk to him. I'll keep everyone in here."

She stared at Lord Grantham with wide blue eyes. "Are you serious? But..."

"Go on. I'll make your excuses."

She pressed her lips together, and before another second passed, she walked out the door, passing Thomas, who looked after her. She entered the main entry hall, her heart pounding at her ribs. She would have to thank Lord Grantham profusely for this later. She waited a minute, then...

"Mandy,"

Her breath caught up. She turned to find Thomas standing there. "Thomas."

"His Lordship said that you're leavin' and that I needed to assist you out. What's going on?"

Of course he would figure out that this was just a ruse. "Yes, he did that on purpose just so we could talk. He knows about... your proposal."

His brows creased. "How does he...?"

"O'Brien. Need I say more? She probably heard us that night and told everyone."

He huffed through his nose. "I thought as much. No wonder she was giving me odd looks. Alright. What do you need to talk to me about? Here to break my heart again?"

Her heart plummeted. "Thomas, no... I'm..."

"Don't you dare say you're sorry again," he said hotly. "I've heard it enough."

"I wasn't going to, even though I am sorry. I just wanted to say that... Matthew... he proposed to me the other day, but I said no."

Thomas became silent as he took in that new information. His hands clenched together at his sides. "That was a stupid move on your part. You could've been heiress to Downton."

"Well, I don't want to be heiress to Downton," she quipped. "I'm just a normal girl from America who came here against her will and was pushed into this life. I didn't ask for this."

"No one asks for anything, Mandy," he shot back. "Do you think I asked to be different? Do you think I asked to be miserable all my life because of it? No! Things just happen." He paused. "Like I didn't expect to fall for you."

"I didn't expect it either, if you remember right. I was shocked out of my mind. But soon, I came to love you." Emotion caught her throat and she said with difficulty, "And I didn't expect to love you so much that I would come back to a house who suffers because of me."

His eyes began to redden. "Then why did you come back? Why did you come back and torture me even more?"

"Because I wanted to accept you, Thomas."

He started and stared blankly at her, shock filling his features. "W...what?"

She could've revealed that to him in a much different manner, like how she rehearsed it in her head, but it was already out. "You heard me."

"But I thought you said no to me because of Mr. Crawley."

"I did, and I realized my mistake. I wasn't really in love with him, I just loved talking to him, being around him, and I loved him showering his affection on me. There really wasn't anything on a deeper level. I guess with him... I loved the idea of being in love, so I thought that I was."

Thomas stared at her, processing that. "You... don't love him?"

"No. I cared about him, yes, but I never loved him." She took hold of his arms and looked him in the eyes, desperate for him to believe her. "I love you, Thomas. I've always told you that. I love you and I want to be with you, no matter what happens to me, or to anyone. I'll marry you, Thomas. I don't think I can be happy without you, either."

Tears filled his eyes and he swallowed hard.

"I'm serious," she said, tears gathering in her own eyes. "And I don't care if I'm miles or years or realities away from home—I still want to be with you."

She suddenly found herself in a warm embrace. His body shook as he dug his head into her shoulder. She wrapped her arms around his back and snuggled into him, feeling his warmth and smelling his scent that she loved. She didn't realize how happy and relieved she would feel after telling him all this, after accepting him... after finally realizing that she loved him all along.

"You'll really marry me?" he said into her shoulder and she could feel his hot breath on her bare neck.

"Yes, I will."

He let out muffled, gleeful laughter and held her tighter. After a few long moments of the warm embrace, he looked back at her, and she met his blue eyes. She really wanted to kiss him. His mouth nearly met hers when they heard footsteps on the main staircase. They separated.

"What's all this?" Mary asked, looking at them with wide eyes.

"Uh..." Thomas began. "M'Lady, we..."

"No need to explain. I heard and saw all of it."

Mandy felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment, but she stood tall and dignified. "Well, now you know, My Lady."

Mary stepped down to them and looked at Mandy. "Golly, I should've known about this before, Mandy—I could've been nicer to you."

"That's all in the past. Will you be nicer to me now?"

The corner of Mary's mouth quirked up. "I think so. I can accept you, now that I know that you are not after Matthew, and I know that he is willing to love me again. I don't believe you and I can be friends, though. Yet." She walked on to the library, but turned her head to them. "You both better scurry if you don't want me to tell everyone in there what I just witnessed." She smirked and walked on.

"Well, I suppose that's the best that I'm going to get from her," Mandy said as soon as Mary was gone. "You know, I heard her and Matthew talking in the library earlier. I think they'll rekindle the relationship that they had before since they both still love each other. After all this, I'm happy that they'll have their happy ending. Or beginning, whatever it is."

"I'm happy about it as well, mainly because I don't have to worry about Mr. Crawley goin' after you. Actually, I don't want another man to even look at you."

Mandy smiled and took his hand and they stood right in front of the servants' entrance door where they were hidden from the main entry hall. "And I don't want to look at another man because of you."

She stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck. The moment her mouth met his, he wrapped his arms around her and immediately responded. Mandy felt her legs weaken and emotions rise as he kissed her desperately and held her to him. The happiness that she felt took over her whole soul, and knowing that Thomas was happy as well, and not hurting like he had been half of the time she knew him, made her even happier.

And... she knew that she needed to tell him eventually where and when she came from, but she didn't want to think about that. In fact, she didn't even want to tell him at all.