Fic: A Girl in Black (23/?)

[mrstater]

Title: A Girl in Black (23/?)
Author: mrstater
Fandom: Downton Abbey
Characters & Pairings: Mary Crawley/Richard Carlisle, Cora Crawley, Sybil Crawley, Robert Crawley, Matthew Crawley, Anna Smith, John Bates, Taylor
Chapter Word Count: 5614 words
Chapter Summary: Mary attempts to get over the hurdle between her and Richard--both literally and figuratively

Comments

[glorious_clio]

YOU ARE SO EVIL WITH THE CLIFFHANGERS AND SUCH.

As it is, I like this story more than the two episodes of Downton I've managed to catch this season.

*bounces* Can't wait for the next chapter!!

[mrstater]

I am really, really evil, aren't I? I'm sorry. I just took that rule about always making people want to read the next chapter too literally. ;)

Thank you so much, darling. I could not be happier that you like this fic so much. :D

[anonymous]

I know you wrote/planned this before 3.05, but OUCH. TOO SOON.

I just hope Mary's baby is ok. And that this forces her to actually TELL PEOPLE ABOUT IT.

And I'm glad she told robert off. Someone needs to just slap him already, seriously.

[mrstater]

Ack, I'm sorry about the pregnancy/birth troubles in relation to 3x5. That did make it difficult to write, and I thought about warning for it, but I didn't want to spoil.

Thanks so much for reading. It was rather satisfying to have Mary tell Robert off. Though of course he said a few things she needs to hear, too. ;)

[erolyn2]

I just realized that got posted as anon for some reason, but that was me. Sorry. :-P

[epea_pteroenta]

Oh no. No no no. I wanted the opposite of this.

If Mary wasn't successfully punishing herself in the story, and had been for many chapters, I'd give her a massive shake. As it is... *shakes head*

Ugh, I read it with a sense of dread and now I want the next chapter or, preferably, the epilogue. Because that will be happy, right? I need something happy!

Beautifully written of course and as usual I (masochistically) love your take on Matthew, but NO. NO NO NO.

Sorry for the terrible review. I just... want some happy Downton, you know?

Oooh ooh I should say that I LOVED the metaphors and particularly this line:

"Let her be as stained on the outside as she is within. Let the picture in the attic be unveiled."

I guess I just like all references to madwomen in attics and my Victorian feminist literary studies. And all these issues and connecting them with Mary. Aaaaahhh wonderful. Catnip to me. ;)

[mrstater]

It worked out to be kind of unfortunate timing that this pregnancy trouble and a chapter with a big dose of Sybil came up this week, of all weeks. Sorry it was a little traumatic, but...trust me. :) Glad you liked the bit with Matthew!

[gilpin25]

What a mix of feelings in this one: I'm in equal parts admiring (sort of, lol) and aghast at Mary's pride and sheer bloody-mindedness in the face of impending doom, because even after her failure to get Richard to listen to her (aagh), she refuses to crumple into a tearful heap and instead decides a hunting we will go! The part when she tells Cora it's all her fault for making sex sound so good is quite wonderful for the sheer nerve of it - I did hope Cora might lose it altogether at that point, lock Mary and Robert in a room together and throw away the key, and take herself off on a world cruise for a well-earned rest. ;)

You'll be glad to hear I was so into this I nearly yelled Listen to Anna! at the screen at one point, much like how in the previous one I was shouting at Richard to listen to Frida. Obviously nobody takes any notice of me or Anna, but dear me how those failures to compromise and understand on both parts seem to have come back to bite them at the end of the chapter. One way or another, this feels like a huge

[mrstater]

By sparks are you referring to the romantic variety? Only Richard better get back to Downton post-haste to prevent that, hehehe. I really did enjoy writing that moment, where they both have valid points--in fact that was really the joy of this whole chapter, writing all the different family dynamics and some people being clearly right and some partly right and as you said, they all just need to be locked in a room to sort everything out while Cora goes on holiday, LOL. Of course mostly I just love writing them all being so dramatic. So much for stiff upper lips, huh? ;)

And I'm glad that despite all the dire warnings Mary received that the ending still came as a surprise. I promise not to keep you dangling on that cliff for too long--though it may be next Friday as usual before I get to finish it up. I have a good bit of the dialogue for the next chapter written, though!

Thanks so much, as always. :D

[vladnyrki]

Once again, a great, gritting chapter... More than Mary's and Richard's stubbornness, more than the cliffhanger at the end (that was mean), more than the great scene with Cora (I agree with gilpin, she should take long, well deserved vacations after the whole thing), it's the idea that M/R's story just cannot blossom in the confines of Downton, much like in the series. In that sense, your AU is a faithful representation of the show. Robert, the father, doesn't want Richard. Matthew, the heir whose word is gospel, doesn't want him for his fiancée's sake. Cora can't fight fully without revealing the truth, which just cannot be. Edith adds fuel to the fire with glee. And Sybil is still too young and idealistic to be of any help. Only Anna is an ally, but there isn't much she can do. With Richard's gone, Mary is really in a dead-end, and her joining the hunt is a masterstroke : it's a way of denying her condition, of retelling the past, as if joining the hunt in December would erase the consequences of her not joining in November, and it'

[mrstater]

it's an unconscious way of following Frida's suggestion, a way to childishly reclaim her right to be selfish

Yes. That is exactly what I hoped would come across here, and I can't tell you how chuffed I am that it did.

I really enjoyed writing this one. In some ways it seemed to write itself, because it was really a matter of pulling together all the threads that have been woven before this point. You're so right--it seems like a big thing in the R/M circle that the relationship can't flourish at Downton--nor can Mary, really, and I think there's a sense of that even in the series, though I doubt JF intends it, that Mary rather stagnates there. Much like the estate? So it's no coincidence that the London chapters have been the happiest ones for her and Richard where they've been able to be the most honest.

I hope you enjoy where the cliffie leads, even though you've been spoiled. ;)

Thanks so much for your lovely comments, m'dear!

[vladnyrki]

You're so right--it seems like a big thing in the R/M circle that the relationship can't flourish at Downton--nor can Mary, really, and I think there's a sense of that even in the series, though I doubt JF intends it, that Mary rather stagnates there. Much like the estate?

I noticed that too: I think it's intentional. I'm wondering whether Mary isn't finding her marital life a huge letdown: every time Matthew approaches her she shrinks. I don't think sainted Matthew is a patch on the Turkish gentleman in the bedroom department...