A/N - The italicized dialogue is not mine. It was taken directly from the sixth episode of the first series of Downton Abbey.
She was still so lovely. Even as he had railed against Sybil's disobedience and recklessness, her gentle yet protective gaze had not gone completely unnoticed or unappreciated. Those soft blue eyes, the way her dress shimmered in the low light, the smell of her perfume as she'd brushed past him when they'd left the room - it had all gotten his attention. They'd been together for so long and yet Robert still found Cora so very alluring in so many ways. He'd tried to reflect upon them in a proper, dignified manner, but the way her sparkling gown accentuated the movement of her hips and bottom as she walked away from him had diverted his focus. He would've taken more time to enjoy the unintentionally tantalizing view, but Mary had been impatiently waiting for him to go downstairs and talk to Matthew. He'd gone with her to see his heir and Downton's current knight in shining armor after taking one more look at his wife's bottom. After thanking the young man for coming to his youngest daughter's aid, he'd left him to have a dinner of sandwiches and some time with Mary and went back upstairs to 'revive' Cora. He had hoped that activity would be far less innocent than it sounded as his mind wandered back to thoughts of the sway of Cora's hips as she walked toward the bedroom. Unfortunately for Robert, Cora was in no need of or mood for 'reviving'. She'd insisted that he go and speak to Branson that evening and assure him that he would not be fired. It had taken a lot of convincing, but Robert had eventually gone down to the garage, his mind still ruminating on that departing view of Cora he'd gotten earlier in the evening.
Branson had met him outside and, as angry as Robert was with the chauffeur, he couldn't help but be impressed with him as well. He might be a bolshevik, but he wasn't a coward. The young man had stood tall, looked him straight in the eye, and told him that he hadn't known where Sybil intended to go and, if he had, he would never have taken her there. He'd then apologized and asked that his apology be conveyed to Lady Grantham and to Sybil's sisters as well. It would've been so much easier for Robert to justify the night's events in his mind if this whole mess had been the fault of "Branson, the Revolutionary Chauffeur", but this show of strength and maturity would not have come for a man trying to hide his guilt behind the actions of a young, headstrong girl and Robert knew that. After some searing words of warning, Robert had left Branson a little shaken up from the experience perhaps, but in no doubt of his continued employment. He quickly made his way up the stairs in hopes that Cora might be more receptive to his advances.
"I've done as you've asked, my dear," Robert said with a dramatic sigh as he sat next on the bed next to his wife who was already in her night clothes, "now may I finally come to bed and get some sleep?"
"Thank you, darling. Of course you may come to bed," Cora smiled deviously as she turned back to her book. "though I was under the impression that sleep wasn't what you had in mind when you came in here earlier." As she spoke, she hooked her finger under the neckline of her nightgown and slid it slowly across her bosom. "It's all up to you," she said finally looking over at him. He was watching her play with her neckline and his mouth hung open slightly. She reached over and gently rubbed his thigh and his breath caught in his throat. When her fingertips dipped between his legs and grazed him more intimately, he leaped up.
Robert swallowed hard. "I'll only be a moment, dear" he said. Cora laughed as he rushed into his dressing room.
By the time Bates had reached the dressing room, Robert was nearly half undressed. "Is there a problem, M'lord?" the valet asked.
"Not at all," Robert replied as he pulled off his shirt. Bates noticed the grin on His Lordship's face and that he seemed far more chipper than he usually was in the evenings. The valet thought he knew the cause, but would never have dared to ask for confirmation for fear of being fired. Robert was in his pajamas in no time.
"Shall I turn the bed down for you, Sir?" Bates asked even though he was convinced he knew the answer.
Robert smiled. "No thank you, Bates," he said just as his valet had predicted and tied his dressing gown, "I'm quite all right. That'll be all. See you in the morning." Bates wished him goodnight and left the room. As soon as the door closed behind the valet, the smiling Lord strode into his wife's bedroom without bothering to knock…
…and found Mary sitting on the bed talking with her mother. The playful smile melted from his face. He stood straighter and tried his best to pull together an air of formality. Mary stood and did her best to mask her mortification and surprise at her father's sudden appearance and the lack of ceremony which led her to believe this might be a regular occurrence. Cora sat up straight in the bed, smoothed the sheets over her lap, and began to blush.
After a moment of awkward silence, Mary found her voice. "I hope you know that really smart people sleep in separate rooms," she said giving her father a look of exasperation as she walked toward the door leading out to the hallway.
He was unfazed. "I always keep the bed made up in the dressing room, so at least I pretend we sleep apart. Isn't that enough?" he replied gesturing in the direction of door he'd just come through. He began smiling again as he noticed Cora's pretty blush.
"No," Mary said flatly as she glanced at her embarrassed mother, "Never mind." A teasing smile crossed her lips as she looked at her father and then her mother again. "Goodnight," she said with a smirk.
Robert grinned teasingly as he took off his dressing gown. Cora, her cheeks still burning with embarrassment, closed her eyes and sighed. She looked away from him as he practically hopped into bed and threw his arms around her friskily. She tried to get free as he held her very tight and covered her cheek with kisses. "My blushing bride," he said as he nuzzled her neck.
"Oh, you would be amused by this," she fussed as she tried to push him away. "Aren't you the least bit upset that your daughter knows that we sleep together?"
"Well how on earth did she figure she got here in the first place?" Robert scoffed. "I don't remember any magi coming to call after her birth nor were there any storks sighted on the grounds, so I think it can safely be assumed that she came to be in the usual manner."
"Robert! She's just a young girl! She doesn't know anything about that sort of thing." Cora gasped and did her best to look scandalized as she tried to put the whole Pamuk business out of her mind for the moment.
Robert gave his wife a look. "Cora, Mary's a grown woman now and I have a feeling she knows a little more about 'that sort of thing' than we'd like to think she does." Cora looked appalled and a little nervous at the insinuation as Robert continued. "I've seen the kind of tripe she and the other girls read. Elinor Glyn and so on. Disgraceful! I think Rosamund's the one that sends it to them but I'm not entirely sure." He let his wife go and settled back against the headboard. He noticed Cora's relieved look, but figured it was only due to her being released from his tight hug and thought nothing more of it. His daughter's actions with a certain Turkish diplomat, now deceased, were still a mystery to him, much to Cora's credit. "And why should we be made to sleep apart just because some fashionable people who set the trends have made unhappy marriages? Everyone keeps another bedroom just so that no one knows which among our set is both influential and miserable." Cora shook her head and smiled as she snuggled closer to her husband. "I can't imagine that every couple of a certain position in western society sleeps in separate beds. I don't care how many rooms they've had made to look like they're occupied at night. I'd wager that far more gentlemen than you'd expect are creeping into their wives beds every evening despite what the "really smart people" are rumored to do or what their children might think of it. Mary will just have to cope with having an unfashionable but happy father because, while I will keep the socially obligatory bedroom, I refuse to punish myself every night by denying myself one of my favorite parts of my day - cuddling and talking with you before we both drift off to sleep." Robert smiled and kissed Cora's forehead.
Cora giggled. "Sleeping without me is a punishment?" she asked.
"Yes, one of the harshest I've ever known," Robert said. "I do so enjoy feeling you near me at night and being able to hold you close. You get very snuggly in your sleep, you know," he said grinning as Cora swatted his chest lightly. They both laughed. "I was lucky enough to have married a beauty who turned out to be the woman of my dreams and no societal whim will keep my from you. This trend was clearly designed to more easily accommodate those who have affairs. I don't want one, won't have one, and I hope the same is true for you, so this silly nonsense about sleeping apart simply doesn't apply to us. We are too happy with each other, " he paused, the words still difficult to say even after so many years, "and too much in love." He kissed his wife sweetly as she pressed herself against him. "I was so very lucky when I married you, Cora - luckier even than I realized at the time. I hope each of our daughters is as lucky in their choice of partner as I was. In this matter I think it's better to be lucky than 'smart'."
They held each other affectionately for a while until Cora could find her voice. She wanted to keep the mood light but, whether he'd meant to or not, Robert's words had made her tear up. She decided that Mary should be the one to tell Robert about Matthew's proposal. Tonight Cora wanted to focus on her own marriage. As soon as she was able to, she laughed. "Whatever would I do if you were smart?" she teased.
"Oh, stop it. You know what I meant," he said as Cora's hand drifted lazily across his chest.
She looked up at him playfully. "Are you going to punish me now and make me sleep alone?" She asked as she continued caressing him.
Robert smiled mischievously. "I can think of much more enjoyable ways to discipline you, my dear, and I assure you that none of them involve us sleeping separately." They passed that night as they had so many others - wrapped in each others arms.