NdA: I'm here again. This story is for my fiancè.. to make her ship Cobert u.u
Like I said before, I'm not English so I'm sorry for my mistakes :) please review and help me to improve my skills! Thank you so much, enjoy the reading!
Also, thanks for the support anyway :)

1/2 chapter - Cobert
Missing moment. Fluff. Drama. Romantic. Happy ending.

brief summary: Robert persuades Cora to attend a fox hunting.. but the happy day is about to turn into a misfortune. Hell or Heaven?

1910

Robert was pretending to read his paper. His eyes were just a little above the edge of the front page, fixed on his wife: Cora was evidently unquiet,yet, he didn't get why.
She had began to do her needlework, just to thrown it aside on the couch five minutes later, she opened her favourite book, turned few pages and putted back in the library, then she checked the old clock four times in around ten minutes while walking up and down in front of the window.

"Are we expecting guests?" it was like talking to no one "Cora?" She jumped a little

"What? No." the woman sighed "I was thinking."

"That I can tell." he tried to make her smile but it didn't work "What's the matter?"

"Well, I've got nothing to do." she whined softly, sitting on the couch near him "The girls don't need me like they used to. No ball to plan.. Sometimes I can organize dinner for your invitees but that's it. I hate slouch around the house." Robert folded up his paper and sat close to her, embracing his wife

"I know you do." he whispered "On second thought, there's one thing I wanted to talk you about." Robert rubbed her back while recollecting his ideas

"Tell me." Cora's eyes brightened

"There's a fox hunting in three weeks time in our neighbourhood's estate. I thought you might come with me." She couldn't believe her ears. Cora gave her husband a shock glance.

"You must be mad! You know I haven't ridden a horse since 1886!" he chuckled while she blushed.

"I know, my dear. In fact I hope your beautiful mare didn't forget about you." he kissed her cheek. Robert had always loved the short times where the estate gave him pauses from work, and even more when that times overlapped with his wife's.. he had missed their moments together, just the two of them, and he immediately thought that it might was the perfect chance to cheer up his wife and enjoy some quality time with her too. "It'll be fun."
Cora pondered for a long time.

"I hate you." she huffed, hugging him with a fake pout.

"I know you love me." he smiled with satisfaction.

"I do.. both."

Robert had given Isil to Cora as a wedding gift. It was the finest white mare foal he had ever seen and he couldn't thought of a better owner than his wife.
Yet, the horses had to grown up a little of course, then Cora was with child and then there was the girls to take care of, and before they realized, time had slipped away.. his wife had never had the chance to ride her mare before nor any other horses.
She was just out of practice.
Cora looked quite hesitating while the hostler was saddling the horse.. what troubled her the most was the side-saddle on Isil's back. Her father, in America, when she was a girl, bought her a pony, but never taught her to ride as a lady. That was her very first time.. How could she had forgotten tell Robert? Well, it was too late anyway.

"It's all settled, milady." the man smiled and handed her the reins. Isil snorted a little "You'd like me to help?" Cora stared at him for she hadn't any idea how to get on that horse without a help.

"You're very kind, thank you." she smiled, trying to cover up her concern and managed to sat on the horse's back without falling on the other side, which, for her, was already a winning; then she figured out where to put her right leg.

"Are you all right milady?" the hostler patted Isil's neck with a tiny smile; he could see she wasn't comfortable at all but he didn't want to be rude or inappropriate.

"Yes, thank you." he bowed before leaving.
Cora sighed in frustration, wondering what took so long for her husband to show with his glorious black stallion. "I'm so sorry if I'll give you hard times." she bent to her horse's neck and hand over a little treat, which the mare appreciated a lot. Cora smiled when its soft nose reached her palm: even through the glove she could feel its warm breath.

"You're a vision, my darling." his wife was stunning in her blue dress and the morning sunbeams gave her pale skin a special light. He chuckled when he saw her cheeks turning red. "Shall we begin?" he asked in an enthusiastic tone. Robert didn't wait for an answer and got on his horse, heading the stable gate with a merry walk.
Cora already felt Isil getting more confident step after step while following her black pal. She was told that her mare was wonderful and trained by the best instructor for almost 20 years, it was the kindest and now that it was a little old it was the perfect horse to learn how to ride. It still had the strength to run as fast as a foal, and to jump higher than Mary's champ, when it was in the mood. Cora was both relieved and scared by those information: that experience could have been the best or the worst, it was up to Isil.

Thanks to Robert's lessons and Mary's suggestions, Cora felt enough confident to ride on her own after one week and a half. She practised every day, of course she never neglected a thing, but every-time she found a free pause, she dressed up and ran toward her horse. The mare even learned to greet her with a loud neigh as soon as it heard her fast steps approaching its box.. Cora soon began to speak about Isil addressing it "my baby" and changed the subject "it" to "she" quite shortly as well.
The girl were all happy to see their mother happy again but they were also feeling rather jealous for she was treating her beloved horse as a fourth daughter.

"She'll make a room for that horse next to ours soon enough." Mary huffed. She was watching her mother riding, as every afternoon, in front of the Abbey. She first walked a little, then trotted and lastly galloped toward the nearest forest, vanishing between the trees.

"Leave poor mama alone. She found her purpose." Sybil scolded her sister in a lovely voice. It was impossible to get angry with those green eyes.
The older sister tried to continue her needlework even though she knew she was bad at doing those thing.. she believed herself much good at riding.. but now with her mother improving time after time she felt her throne to be usurped.

"You've created a monster, papa." she said in a lower voice.

"I heard you." Robert didn't even bother raising his eyes from his paper "She's happy. So should you." he turned the pages. Mary nodded to herself, rolling her eyes.

"You think there will be owls?" Robert looked quite surprised to his wife, wrapped around his arms with a sleepy face. They were on their way to their friend's estate to attend the hunting and, like every time they took the carriage in early morning, she was nestled to him half-awake.

"Why, my dear?" Cora looked up to the window, little worried for the cloudy sky.

"Yesterday Isil got scared by some bird of prey and I fell off." she covered her mouth with her hands to suppress a yawn.

"Are you hurt? Why didn't you tell me?" Robert's voice was a mix of concern and anger.

"I fell on my own feet, somehow, and Isil run back to me in a minute. It wasn't that big deal.. I was just wondering." she mumbled, sitting sedately. Cora remembered the time she fell off and passed out, just around two weeks ago; Robert threatened her not to go back on the saddle before a couple of days and she had to follow his lead not to be grounded as a little kid.

"If you don't feel comfortable enough-"

"I'll be fine." she sighed "If I'll get tired I'll tell you." Cora repeated the term of their agreement since then and that seemed to calm him down.
Robert was starting to regret his decision but now that Cora was so happy it was impossible to let her down: he couldn't bear her sad face and her bright smile turning off. Besides, she would have certainly loved to embarrass all the wives drinking their tea and gossiping (perhaps about how inconvenient was to ride for Lady Grantham as well now) while she was the only one on the saddle enjoying the day and the company of all their husbands.

"Thank you." Cora was tasting her biscuit with a cool smile. She didn't mind all the envious mumbling she could perfectly hear about how inopportune was for her to be on the saddle, at the contrary she enjoyed it.. as Robert predicted.
He on the other hand was standing few feet apart from her, swaggering around while receiving compliments on how beautiful and talented and brave his wife was. Lord Grantham and his Lady were the victorious ones that day, even before the hunt had began, they were the topic conversation that was running from mouth to mouth.
Cora was quite surprised by all those rumours: weren't their daughters riding as well? Why had Mary never risen such a tumult? Was it due to her age?

"I hope you like mug, milady!" Cora turned her head just before hail the master's house with a nod. Mug? Why would he say such a thing?

"I think it'll rain soon, my dear." Robert moved closer to his wife, eyes glancing the cloudy sky. Both their horses were nervous. The treat didn't work so well that time, for Cora was the most anxious one: in three weeks it had never rained and she didn't know what to expect. "Don't be scared or Isil will feel it."

"Easy for you.." she wined, reaching with restless eyes the horn.

"It'll be slippery.. trust Isil and stay close to me." Cora nodded and cleared her throat.

Fifteen minutes after the hunting began, Cora felt confident enough to ease her mind and really enjoy the riding. She and Robert were almost at the end of the group, talking, laughing and teasing each other on their riding skills. They didn't care much about the fox, they just followed the others when the patchy storm of dogs and horses changed direction.
The countryside looked even more stunning on the back of a horse, despite the fresh wind and the grey sky it was like a sunny day of spring.. it was just lovely. She admired, perhaps for the first time, the soft green hills, the scent of the lavender and yarrow, she yelled laughing her husband's name even when she saw a tiny waterfall gushing through a rock so he wouldn't miss it.
Cora was so happy and marvellous he couldn't do nothing but smile and laugh to every single surprised gasp she made. It was like seeing her for the first time. It was like having the young and cheerful Cora he married twenty years ago.

"You were right, darling, I adore it. We're in heaven." her voice was broken for the trotting of Isil, Robert laughed even for that.

"Let's join the others so we can rest a little." they started a little race unto the group, which settled in a small clearing, and Robert let her win just to be sure he could see that smile all day long.
The hunting started again with a horn sound and a distant lighting roar. Cora felt a shiver running down her back, but she forced herself to smile back to her husband and followed him.
Lord and Lady Grantham were at the tail of the group, making sure that Cora's inexperience wasn't dangerous to her while she was jumping over a little fence or brush or even running trough a stream.
By the time they were about 40 yards away form the others, it began to rain.
Robert often licked the drops away from his top lip just to make her laugh for his funny face and Cora was making fun of her own wet hair. They were happy.
Cora laughed even when Isil, which almost tripped on a root, splashed into a poodle and covered them both with mug. She was shivering, but she was amusing herself, she loved that time with her beloved Robert, her mind was free like it hadn't been for years.. so free that she wasn't pay attention to her trustful Isil's behaviour.
The mare was becoming more nervous as the storm was approaching and the birds flying tree to tree making her ears turn several times, along with the frightened eyes.
Cora was laughing at Robert's last joke about her dress and that didn't help either. Isil got frighten by a lighting that stroke the sky in front of them, the mare reached protection under the nearer tree, neglecting her owner on its back and run away in fear.

"Cora!" Robert managed to hold his stallion, which just reared up for the bustle, and jumped off his saddle in the moment he saw that his wife wasn't on her horse anymore. The brushes had beaten strong her face and she had fallen off.
Robert rushed toward her in the very moment he saw her laying face down near the bole. Robert kneel down and held her up, dying with concern when he realized she was unconscious, with a big cut on the left side of her forehead.
The storm broke down upon them.
Robert yelled when he saw his horse alone, stirring its clogs, and at the first rumble eloping as well.

"Arat, come back, champ!" the horse was just too frightened and far away to obey.
They were alone. He was alone.. with his wife needing help. Oh that was hell.