A/N: This started as a prompt I received on Tumblr with the line "Give me a sign!" from Tumblr user its-because-of-his-lordship, hence the title of the fic. The story grew a bit longer than the drabble it was intended to be, so I'm posting it here instead in two chapters. I hope you enjoy. :)
Disclaimer: I didn't invent Robert or Cora, or any of the related characters. I don't own them but they do live inside my head and sometimes they want to come out and be part of a fic. Sorry!
Robert sighed, watching wordlessly as the ladies withdrew from the dinner table. In the ten months that Cora had spent at Downton as his wife, she had perfected the mask of unbroken complaisance for all social occasions, but the resigned look that had briefly crossed her face as she followed her mother-in-law to the drawing room had not escaped Robert's notice.
"Cora is not happy," he observed out loud as soon as the ladies were out of a hearing distance. Only Robert and his father remained in the dining room.
"She is still adjusting to her new life," Lord Grantham replied easily, pouring a scotch each for the two of them.
With considerably less ease, Robert adjusted himself in his seat and loosened his neck-cloth. "It's more than that," he said after a short silence. "She doesn't show it, but I know she's not happy."
His father took a sip of his scotch, his eyes fixed on Robert.
"Her whole life has changed," he spoke after the short silence, swirling his drink in his glass. "Most women go through something similar when they marry, but for Cora the change has been much greater. She will grow happier once she settles into her life and duties here."
Robert looked at his father, wishing he could share his conviction. Cora had not been unhappy when they had married, Robert was sure of that. Rather than her spirits improving over time, they only seemed to have deteriorated during the last few of months.
"I want to make her happy, father," he said at last, rousing himself from his thoughts. "I owe it to her. We owe it to her," he added, glancing at his father who uneasily shifted in his seat as he took another sip of his scotch. Robert's drink, resting on the table in front of him, remained untouched. "If only she would give me some sign," he spoke again, this time more to himself as he stared down at the amber liquid in his glass. "If she would only tell me what troubles her…If I only knew what to do."
Robert fell silent again, still contemplating his drink without actually taking a sip. He thought about Cora and the way she used to smile at him when they were alone, and sometimes even when they weren't. Now, if she smiled at all, it was always guarded – aiming to please rather than being pleased herself. The sight of it always awakened the guilt Robert had felt ever since he had decided to pursue her for her money, except now he was no longer even sure if guilt was all he felt. What he did know with certainty was that it pained him to see her unhappy.
The two men sat in silence for some time until Lord Grantham cleared his throat to address his son again.
"You know it had to be done," he said, not looking up from his drink this time. "For Downton," he added.
"I know that," Robert replied. For all the guilt he had felt over the past several months, he could never say he regretted what he had done. Not really.
"I know it was a lot to ask of you, but…"
"I would do it again," Robert assured his father before he could finish his apology that was not really an apology. "In fact, I almost wish I could do it again," he added, finally taking a sip of his own drink. "Just to have a better start with Cora," he finished softly.
Lord Grantham looked up at him, studying his face for a moment.
"So, given the chance, you would choose Cora again?"
Robert paused. The thought of choosing anyone else had frankly not even occurred to him. As he briefly tried to entertain the idea, it felt impossible.
"Y-yes," he finally said, a little hesitantly – not because he felt any uncertainty, but because he was startled by the sudden realization that he had rarely been more sure of anything in his life. "I would," Robert said with more conviction. "She is my wife and I…and I…" he halted again. What did he feel for Cora?
"Do you love her?" Lord Grantham's straightforward question took Robert by surprise. Such feelings were usually not discussed so openly between them.
He also found he had no straight answer to give. What did he feel for Cora?
"I…I don't know," he said, feeling a little foolish. If his father had asked the same question some months earlier, Robert knew he would have answered 'no' without any hesitation, but now the question gave him pause. He certainly had not married Cora for love, but many months had passed since then, and now Robert could barely imagine a life in Downton without her in it. In fact, he didn't want to imagine a life in Donwton without her.
"She's very important to me," he settled on at last, knowing that that much, at least, was true. "I hate to see her unhappy," he added, returning the conversation to where it had started. "Especially if I am the reason she is unhappy."
"You?" Lord Grantham asked, raising an eyebrow. "I have never seen you treat her with anything but kindness."
"But as her husband I should be the one to make her happy, and she's clearly not," Robert replied, taking another sip of his drink. "If I'm not the direct cause of her unhappiness, I certainly haven't been the remedy for it either."
"Perhaps you could be."
Robert looked at his father, expecting him to elaborate, but he did not.
"How?" he then asked. "She probably hates me for having brought her here."
"She does no such thing," Lord Grantham said simply, lighting a cigar before he met Robert's eyes again. Robert looked at him questioningly.
"How can you be so sure?" he asked. The conviction in his father's tone had taken him by surprise.
The older man took a drag from his cigar as he looked at his son, a slight smile playing at the corners of his lips.
"Perhaps I have one, small advantage over you," he said at last, puffing out the smoke he had drawn in. "I am able to observe her in the moments when you are not looking at her."
Robert frowned, still struggling to understand. "What do you mean?"
Lord Grantham took another long drag off his cigar.
"It's not for me to say, son," he replied at last, vaguely. "But I assure you she does not hate you."
Robert was not entirely satisfied with his father's assurance that came with no real explanation, but he saw no point in arguing the matter further. Quietly, he took another sip of his scotch and then pushed the remainder of it away.
"I should join the ladies," he said soon after. "I don't think an extended period of time with Mama is likely to improve Cora's spirits."
Lord Grantham guffawed at his words, but then grew serious again. He looked at Robert before allowing him to leave. "You can make her happy," he said simply. "Remember that, and everything else will fall into place eventually."
Robert sighed but he did not argue. Perhaps his father was right. At least he should try before giving up on it. He thought of Cora and suddenly longed to see her face again, even though she had barely been gone from the room for half an hour.
"I'll try, Father," he promised and then promptly excused himself from the table in order to join the ladies.