Cora in her half delirious state, early the next morning, shoves against the weight around her waist before turning her head into her pillow and lying on her tummy, maybe that would make the pain disappear. She groans as the pain stabs into her stomach and reluctantly peels her eyes open. She knows there is now no chance of her returning to the peaceful sleep she so desires once she's awake. She slides her hands out from beneath the pillow and takes them to her waist, desperate to remove the sheet that's obviously disrupting her sleep.
Her hands fall on the obstruction at her waist and she blinks twice, since when was her sheet warm, and had fingers. Her eyes fly to where her hands rest, on her husband's and she gasps. Suddenly the pain of his thumb pressing slightly too hard against her stomach is insignificant against the importance of the moment. Firstly, she wonders at his presence in the house at all, wasn't he still in London? Secondly, why was he in bed with her? Had he drunk a little too much and come looking for her? Had he wished to spend the evening of his return 'doing their duty?' All she did know was that if the latter had been the case he would have returned to his room the moment he found her awake, but he hadn't. His position next to her, his arms around her waist created an image Cora had dreamed of, and begged for since the moment she had walked down the aisle. They breathed love. His position seems to suggest that he had come home and specifically come to her bedroom with the desire to hold her in his arms as she slept. But she brushes the thought away before it has a chance to embed itself permanently in her mind. Robert doesn't love her, she shouldn't let herself hope. As for the former question, she supposed the business in London had been quickly sorted and Patrick, seeing no reason to stay away, had persuaded Robert to return home.
She turns carefully in her husband's arms as a glance at the clock tells her it really is too early to be awake and she doesn't want to wake him. Before she can so much as think about sleeping her husband's sleeping form steals her thoughts away. She's never seen him asleep before and it really is such a perfect sight, the only thing missing is his sapphire blue eyes that captivated her from the first moment she saw him. His breathing is slow and steady and she marvels in the gentle rise and fall of his chest. She can see the muscles of his arms and torso through his very thin shirt, the top two buttons of which are undone. This puzzles Cora, usually when he comes to her for his weekly visits not only is his dressing gown pulled tightly around him but all the buttons on his shirt are always done up, and in recent months had stayed that way throughout their intimacy. Curiosity overwhelms her and she gently reaches up to touch the tiny triangle of his chest exposed to her, she's touched him before of course, but not unless he'd given her permission to do so, and in recent months, as she began to want their encounters to be over as quickly as possible, she hadn't bothered. She's not sure if she imagines the sigh that breaks into his pattern of breathing or whether he does breathe a little deeper as her fingers grace his skin. She moves her hand slowly over the fabric of his shirt, it's silkiness nothing compared to the perfect feeling of his skin under her fingers. She stops as her hand slides over the pulse of his heart, she draws a heart there with her finger before trailing her fingers to his muscular upper arm. His arms have always been her favourite part of him, they held her steadfast when they'd danced at her season and since they'd been married her hands had graced them many a time. Her hand comes to rest on his, still resting on her waist, and she thumbs his fingers and circles each of his knuckles. Her hand jerks from his as his finger wraps around hers and a throaty chuckle comes from the man beside her, she feels a blush rise to her cheeks and stares squarely at his chest, only to blush more as memories from how she traced her fingers over his muscles a moment earlier occupy her thoughts.
"How long have you been awake?" She murmurs more to herself than to Robert, but she knows in the silent room that he's heard her.
"Long enough."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Long enough to have been privy to your examination of my chest and arm." She blushes scarlet and turns to look towards the far end of the room.
"If I'd known you were awake I wouldn't have done it."
"Cora, look at me." She does so reluctantly. "I'm pleased you did it and just so you know, I liked it. You are delightful, and even more so in unguarded moments." He presses a gentle kiss to her forehead and Cora smiles shyly up at him. She slowly runs her hand over the exposed skin at his chest again and gently undoes the next button before easing her fingers over the newly exposed skin. Then she starts remembering herself and pulls her hand away, embarrassed, she shouldn't be so forward she thinks, it's not her place to be so and she's not convinced Robert likes it.
"Why did you come home last night. I thought you weren't returning until this morning."
"I wanted to see you." He tilts her face so she is looking at him and takes her hand placing it on his chest again. "And, don't move your hand, I like the feeling of your hands on my skin." Cora stares at his face and those eyes she loves so much as she digests the words she's just heard: he came home because he wanted to see her. He came home because he missed her. The second remark fills her with pride, if he likes what it feels like surely she can be more experimental. Before she has a chance to put her new found idea into action Robert's lips have found hers and she opens her mouth to his persistent tongue, which slips inside and joins hers in a dance. A moment later she pulls away, unsure how far Robert wants to go at this time in the morning, he returned to see her, but what of her? Her body or just her? "Is something the matter?"
"No, I just...Robert when you say you wanted to see me why was that? To just see me, or because you missed...this?" She hopes Robert's understood and when he pulls her against his chest she believes he has.
"To just see you Cora. To see your smile and your beautiful face. You're important to me, whatever anyone else says. I want you to be happy and I didn't think I was achieving that by staying away from you and refusing to give you things you asked for. That's why I came in here last night to sleep with you. I wanted to see your beautiful face, but I also wanted to make you happy when you woke up. And from now on, I'll sleep with you every single night just as you wish." She smiles up at him and winds her hands gently into his hair, pulling his lips down to meet hers, it seems Robert had made some realisations in London. Perfect realisations. She smiles against his lips, her hand swiftly opening the remaining buttons on his shirt, as his hand that had spent all night on her waist slips beneath her nightgown and massages the flesh it had been cushioning during her slumber and would no doubt cushion for some years to come.