The summer of 1923 was particularly hot. Cora and Robert rarely ventured outdoors when the brilliant sun shone across the grounds, warming it to a near boiling point. The fear of sun burns along with that of heat exhaustion often kept them in the cooler more inner rooms of the Abbey. Although Robert was suspicious of Cora's reasoning for accompanying him when she'd go on about Easton Beach, and all the memories held in her parents summer home in Newport, for hours on end. He still feels it necessary to listen though, sensing a bit of quiet ache in his wife's visage each time she receives word from her brother about the comings and goings of those she once knew in her hometown.
On one such afternoon, Robert enters the second drawing room upstairs expecting to find his wife catching up on her correspondences. Instead he discovers the mahogany desk and green cushioned chair in the corner of the room vacant. So he curiously departs and moves downstairs in search of her. He pushes open the door to the library only to find Edith, Mary, and little George engaged in independent activities. Cora's absence begins to puzzle him, when Edith turns in her place at one of the desks and answers the question that just crossed his thoughts. "Mamma said if you're looking for her she'd be outside."
Robert places his book on an end table before asking again, "Did she say where she'd be?"
Furrowing her brow, Edith surmises. "I would think near the gardens. It's dreadfully warm out there for her to be outside of the shade."
"I don't think that would stop Mamma," Mary jumps into the conversation while gently rocking George to sleep again. "You know how she misses her American summer's."
A piece of guilt stabs Robert's heart at his eldest daughters words. He wonders if there's an element of admission she's heard from her mother that's being kept from him. He knows his wife's longing for America isn't nearly as intense as it was when she first came to live with him. He senses she feels that Downton is more her home than any other place she's been. However, that certain faraway, aching look in her eye every now and then that gives him cause to speculate her thoughts are halfway across the world.
Shaking away these thoughts and determined to uncover some answers, Robert strides across the room and out towards the main gravel path that winds throughout the grounds. The heat immediately hits him as he steps into direct sunlight, but he soon finds the intermittent breeze rather refreshing. He decides to take up Edith's advice, knowing of a few places that he might find his wife hiding.
Upon pushing open the gate of the gardens, he strolls between the tall hedges. He peeks through the gaping holes in the greenery, hoping to steal a glance of his wife. But as he passes by the yard with a birdbath in the center and then the one with wooden benches, he's surprised she is nowhere to be found. Just as he's about to turn around and cross to the other side of the gardens, he hears a creaking sound in between the birds chirping and the bugs buzzing nearby. It's the noise of wood straining under the pressure of rope. A sound that stirs up memories of an old swing he had built many years ago at the insistence of three little girls.
Robert rounds a few lilac bushes that are intermingled with several other species of flowers whose name escape him. The old oak tree often used by the children for climbing, hiding, and swinging, comes into view. He sees his wife in one of her newer floral print dresses that flutters more freely in the breeze with a slanted white hat carefully tied on her head. Her legs lazily sway beneath her in an effort to gather a bit of momentum on the swing. He watches her for several moments, a slight smile dancing at his lips.
As the swing passes behind the trunk, Robert crosses along the other side. On its path back in front of the tree, he reaches out for the rope with a mischievous smirk.
Completely caught off guard by her husband's presence, Cora nearly tips forward off of the wooden seat. "Robert!" She cries out with a chastising ring in her voice as her widened gaze locks onto his. Her hands wind tighter around the rope, heels digging into the ground to slow the rocking of the swing. Once it stops altogether, she stands on her feet again, pushing him in the chest and causing him to stumble back into the tree. "You frightened me!" She frowns at him, placing her hands in the crook of her hips.
The outburst is so uncharacteristic of her; he bites on his bottom lip to stifle a laugh. Pouting at her with a somewhat apologetic glint in his eyes her mutters, "Oh I'm sorry, my dear." Robert opens his arms, reaching for her. "Tell me how I can make it up to you."
Her face softens and she playfully rolls her eyes before stepping into his arms. "I'm sure you'll think of something," She mutters in his ear, her teeth drawing across the sensitive spot behind his lobe.
"Cora," He protests weakly whenever she proceeds to kiss the underside of his jaw. "We really shouldn't do that here…" He hears himself say, despite his arms bringing her body closer to his.
Pulling away to look him in the eye, she quirks a brow and counters innocently, "Shouldn't we?" He finds his gaze flickering over her rounded lips that suddenly beg to be kissed. Her expression makes him feel the suns rays more fiercely even with the shade provided by the trees leafy branches. Cora takes a few paces back from him, her arms swinging loosely before reaching above her head. "What should we do then?" She muses flirtatiously. She starts unfastening her hat and loosening her gloves before tossing them in the nearby high grass that's in need of the gardener's attention.
"We could discuss the weather," She turns her face to the sun as if gathering all the light she possibly can in this fleeting moment where both of them happen to be outdoors. "Or perhaps," She lowers her focus back to where her husband leans against the tree trunk, "we could admire the latest in ladies fashion." She finishes dramatically, by dragging her hands along the front of her dress until they come to rest at her hips.
Robert feels his throat constrict as she touches herself in all the places her longs to from beneath the fabric of her dress. He makes a move towards her, but she dodges him by stepping around the other side of the swing. She plops down on the seat, watching him complete his circle before standing in front of her.
"For example," She goes on in her sultry tone, "what do you think of these shoes?" Cora extends her leg and leans back in the swing until her foot runs along the front of his trousers.
He's first perplexed by her question, but Robert nearly loses his balance when the front of her shoe lightly grazes his manhood. Somehow he musters a half-hearted response, "They're nice."
Her grin deepens, and Robert suspects she's delighted at making him so hot under the collar. She lowers her foot after several teasing strokes against his inner thigh and then kicks both shoes off into the grass. Her white stocking clad leg reaches for him again, only this time Robert takes her foot in both of his hands. Shooting her a questioning glance he probes, "I suppose you'll want to talk about these next?"
"You suppose right," She tells him while pulling her skirt up to the middle of her thigh to reveal the lace trim of her undergarments. "They're brand new. What do you think darling, money well spent?"
"Absolutely," He murmurs his approval. His hands then glide down to the edge of the fabric and he slowly peels it down the length of her leg. "But my dearest one, I think it's a bit warm to be wearing them outdoors," He arches a brow while tossing her stockings in the same direction of her shoes, hat, and gloves. His hands roam up and down the length of her soft legs, now free of any clothing restrictions.
Her foot presses off of his leg and she rocks back in the swing, purring up back him, "You know how I burn up in the heat, Robert."
There's something about her tantalizing smirk and elongated neck as her head tilts with each motion backward of the swing that causes a stirring within him. And then a gleam of mischief flashing through her pale blue eyes coupled with the heat that's either heavy in the air or simply a result of her flirting that forces him to take hold of the swing's ropes once more. She skids to stop this time, colliding into her husband's waiting arms.
The force is strong enough that Robert stumbles back into the tree somehow with Cora pressed against his chest. Her calculating, seductive expression alters into one of surprise, but he doesn't give her much of a chance to fully react to the suddenness of it all. His lips press against hers, taking her breath away as his arms squeeze her slender form tightly. She responds with similar fervor, bringing her arms up between them to encircle his neck. With this, he gains more confidence in the action, parting his mouth momentarily to flick his tongue along her bottom lip before sucking it between his teeth.
He feels her fingernails dig into the thick fabric of his tweed coat, and he doesn't resist when she moves away to help him shrug out of it. Their lips break contact only for a few moments while they both fumble with various buttons and hooks that would only take O'Brian and Bates a matter of seconds to discover.
"I thought you said we shouldn't do this here," Cora murmurs hurriedly while she peels off the top portion of her dress, a teasing grin splitting her mouth. It pools around her feet and she steps out of it.
"We shouldn't," Robert tells her in between spirited kisses and throwing his shirt and then pants off in the same direction as the rest of her discarded clothes. Taking her face in between his palms he relishes in another kiss that sends an electric current through their veins. Once he breaks the contact he admits hungrily, "But apparently I just can't help myself."
She giggles up at him, interlacing her fingers behind his head before bringing their mouths together. They taste one another, their naked bodies pressed flush up against the oak tree. Robert feels the rough bark scrap against his back as Cora urges their bodies to the ground. But he's too focused on what his wife's naked form is currently doing to his hardening erection to care about anything else.
His hands run along the sides of her body as she straddles his lap before pinching her nipples to hardened points, which in turn cause her eyelids to flutter closed and a delighted groan to escape her throat. His thumbs need the sensitive points on her breasts, and she gravitates towards the pleasing sensation.
Robert feels the soft skin of her palm suddenly creeping along his inner thigh before curling around his stiff member. Robert gasps as she runs her hand up and down his entire length several times before moving it along the most inner folds between her legs. They both inhale sharply at the initial contact, holding tightly to one another until they finally feel themselves adjust to the sensation. His hands grip her waist forcefully, and help guide her in a forward and backward motion that drives them both wild with desire. Cora's hands press against the coarse bark for support and Robert's mouth reaches up to taste the salty sweat forming in between her breasts.
As she increases her speed, Cora tilts her head back and Robert's fingers thread through her tousled hair while his tongue swirls in the hollow of her collarbone before nipping her skin. He watches her eyelids bat at a rapid pace; her mouth opens slightly as a moan escapes her swollen lips, and he wills himself to hold back until she reaches the highest level of euphoria. Just whenever he thinks he cannot hold back his orgasm any longer her warm center clenches around him, bringing him over the edge and causing him to cry out her name louder than he intends.
Cora lingers in her husband's lap, her face buried against his shoulder as she attempts to steady the ragged breathing that shakes her entire form. His arms wrap around her, holding her into place as though he could stay that way forever. And despite the sweat now clinging to their skin and the immense heat they try so desperately to steer clear of now encapsulating their bodies, he probably could always stay with her in this manner. He feels her grateful kiss brush against his freckled collarbone and she moves away suddenly. His tired arm stretches out to pull her back, but he finds the rest of his strength isn't fully restored yet.
"Cora," He taunts her from his place, "are you going to run off now that you've gotten what you wanted?" She turns with her dress pinned under her arms and concealing the front of her body. A flush now paints her cheeks at his flirtatious tone. Robert gestures for her to rejoin him, not quite ready to leave this place he knows he will no longer forget.
She shuffles back over towards him, not letting go of the dress as she sinks back down on the ground beside him. He slings an arm over her shoulders and she leans into his side. He hears her goading playfully, "Haven't you gotten everything you wanted?"
"Not quite," Robert grabs his earlier discarded jacket and unfolds it overtop of their bodies to finish covering what her dress can't. Their legs tangle together as he draws her nearer to his chest. He rests his chin on top of her head while they lounge with their backs against the tree. The sounds of nature override everything else except for his earlier thoughts concerning her happiness during this particular season. So he breaks through the chirping birds and noisy crickets with a question he's never thought to ask her until now, "Do you miss spending your summers in Newport?"
She turns in his arms until her face aligns with his. He notices a light of surprise crossing her expression, as a soft smile appears. "Why do you ask?"
He glances away and focuses his gaze on the pond at the edge of this clearing. His shoulders lift and he looks back to her before chastely kissing her forehead. "I only wondered because you seemed a bit sad after Harold's last letter about the fair at Easton Beach," His words buzz self-consciously against her skin as he covers up the thought with another kiss.
Cora cuddles closer into his body, and he feels her shrugging uncertainly at this statement. "I don't know…sometimes I do I suppose." Prior to him cultivating an appropriate response to this, she adds sweetly, "But I think I'd miss spending my summers at Downton if I were to go back."
"Oh?" Robert's interest peeks at her conflicted admissions.
"Yes," She decides, sitting up straighter. "The house in Newport doesn't have as many extensive gardens for us to make memories like these." She gestures to their clothes scattered all around them, a hint of mockery evident in her voice.
"Utterly scandalous and inappropriate memories?" Robert chides with a boyish grin that forces several giggles from her.
Once their laughter dies down, Cora looks over to the swing hanging a few feet in front of them. "I suppose we should do something about that swing, now that the girls won't be using it any longer."
"I think we should do something about it," Robert returns mischievously, nudging his wife in the ribs and looking at her suggestively.
"Again already?" She muses.
He leans close enough to whisper into her ear, "We wouldn't want to leave the shade too soon, would we? Otherwise someone might burn up in the heat again." He exhales along the side of her neck, placing warm kisses there in an effort to do just that.