Chapter 2
Ever since realising she was pregnant Cora had to stand her husband's exaggerated happiness most hours of the day. She couldn't deny she was pleased about having another baby, but she fully knew why her husband was so delighted. Although he very much enjoyed Matthew's company and had accepted him as heir, this still put a twist into the game. Suddenly her husband had another chance to win back Downton and everything that came with it and naturally she should be overjoyed for their sake. But she just couldn't be. Her pregnancy came as a chock to everyone, and most of all it made matters complicated for Mary and Matthew. Matthew's proposal had made her deliriously happy, and when Mary even admitted that she thought she loved him, well what more could a mother ask for? Now, on the other hand, she wasn't sure things wouldn't go as planned between them. Especially not after Mary spending so much time alone with Rosamund, that could never lead to anything good. On top of everything she was anxious about the baby's health, and her own, considering her age. It made her ever so delighted when Violet told her she was in need of a new lady's maid, since her old one was leaving her post to get married. This gave her something to talk about in public other than her pregnancy and she was more than open to the idea of that.
She hadn't spared much thought to anyone around her lately and it wasn't until after Sarah left the room she realised how quiet her maid had been recently. She figured it was no doubt out of respect and she couldn't resist smiling to herself. Oh, how glad she was she had hired Sarah and kept her all these years. It didn't really matter how much Robert complained, she couldn't go through one day without her maid by her side. Not only was Sarah bold, she always meant the things she said and wasn't too scared of letting Cora into her head. She knew, of course, that she was disliked amongst a lot of people but she couldn't have cared less. Being an American she had faced so many weird looks from other people a maid no one liked couldn't possibly hurt her. Maybe I have been too gloomy around her lately, she thought to herself as she got up from her chair and went for the bed. After all it was hardly Sarah's fault things were the way they were.
