The next morning Cora awoke to strong sunlight gleaming through the open curtains on the windows. Blinking her eyes open drowsily, she felt more rested than she had in a long while. And she was rather embarrassed to have made such a fuss about the bed yesterday, as it was the most comfortable mattress she had ever slept on! Cora stretched and felt her muscles tighten sorely as she rolled over, but she chuckled to herself upon remembering why she was so sore. Sitting up, she looked across the room to see Robert perched on the settee with a cup of tea and the morning paper.

"Good morning," she called, stretching her arms above her head. Robert turned around with a wide smile and stood instantly.

"I sent for breakfast but I didn't want to wake you," he explained as he carried over a breakfast tray from the sitting area. He handed it to her and then sat beside her, stealing a croissant from the edge of the plate. Cora only rolled her eyes playfully as she sipped her tea.

Cora looked over at the bedside clock and realized she had slept rather late. She was so used to not sleeping at all, being this rested was a most welcome feeling from the insomnia that had plagued her at home. Grinning contentedly, she leaned over to kiss her husband—an impetuous gesture that earned her a surprised chuckle and enormous smile from him as she wound her arms around his neck. Robert gladly reciprocated and gripped her waist, pressing his lips more firmly against hers for a long moment.

"O'Brien and Barrow will wonder what happened to us," Cora laughed, finally leaning back and turning to her breakfast. Over the last several weeks, it was no secret in the house that communication between the Earl and Countess had been strained at best. Cora had heard the whispers, and she knew the family and staff were all holding their breath to see what would happen between them. Now this was certainly a change. O'Brien and Barrow were more likely to think they had killed each other rather than what they had actually been doing last night. They would have to decide upon some reasonable excuse so as not to create any gossip—they never slept this late, not even when Robert was in her good graces.

"Actually, they won't," Robert replied, taking one more sip of his tea and stealing another bite of her croissant. "I had a note left at the front desk instructing them to take the early train back to Downton this morning."

"You did what?"

"I just thought perhaps we could use some more time alone. I did promise to take you shopping and we are only staying for one more night. I think we can take care of ourselves."

Cora grinned and nodded. She was both surprised and incredibly pleased by her husband's utterly brilliant plan. "They're all going to think we've gone mad when they see our servants return without us."

Robert only shrugged his shoulders and smiled again. "I said we decided to return to Downton this afternoon. I'll just telegram and say we missed the train later, so then we can stay here alone tonight."

They both dissolved into a fit of laughter at his devious little plan before soon finding themselves wrapped up in each other's arms again, most happy the servants would not be interrupting their morning fun.

Robert quickly removed the breakfast tray from the bed before returning to Cora's waiting embrace. Turning them until he was hovering slightly above her, Robert paused and pulled his lips back from Cora's neck, studying the delicate and familiar features of her face for a long moment until she blushed and looked at him through lowered eyelashes.

"What is it?" She murmured softly, looking back up at him.

Robert shook his head and kissed her once more before meeting her gaze. "Nothing," he replied quietly. "I love you, Cora. So very, very much."

Blushing wildly at his words and intent gaze, Cora only wrapped her arms around her husband's broad shoulders until he rested himself beside her, his face pressed against her neck. It felt almost like it did when they were first married—when they were unsure and cautious of one another, wanting to say so much but never quite gathering up the nerve to do so. Cora ran her fingers through Robert's hair until he looked up at her again, his eyes soft and tinged with a quiet sadness he had tried so very hard to keep inside.

"I love you too, Darling," Cora whispered, letting her lips graze the rough skin of his cheek before finding his lips once more and pulling herself more deliberately against him. Robert chuckled softly at her obvious gesture and happily obliged, rolling them over once more and reaching down to pull her nightdress up over her head. She readily let him remove the garment but stilled his hands when he began taking his own clothes off. Cora took great care in undressing her husband. She removed each piece slowly and methodically as if she was following an intricately detailed plan. Though it took every ounce of self-control for him to not tear his own clothes off, Robert allowed his wife to do as she wished and before long he had been most ceremoniously stripped of all his clothing as well.

She wanted to be gentle with him. The previous night had been a wild storm of things left unsaid and emotions that had been swirling above them like a large storm cloud for quite some time. It had been a release they both needed. Now, though, she wanted to savor each moment and remember each feeling. Each time he touched her was a reminder that he was still with her and that they were going to be alright. She wanted each movement recorded in her memory as a reminder of that. But most of all she wanted to treat him with more care than she had as of recent. She may as well have been throwing rocks at him because each of her barbed comments had hurt him—and had hurt them. So now, she wanted it all to stop. Running her fingers over the jut of his chin, she wanted him to forget all the times she had sat silent and ignored him. Letting her hands trail down his bare back as he kissed her, she wanted to erase each time she had hurled an insult his way. And as she wrapped her legs around his waist and they joined together she wanted so very much for him to remember, with absolute certainty, how much she needed him and how much she loved him.

A few hours and several tangled sheets later, Robert and Cora found themselves out on the town. They had reluctantly agreed to leave the hotel room in favor of spending the afternoon together doing some shopping. It was actually quite nice being outside together, walking arm in arm down streets where no one knew them or the pain they had been dealing with. There were no looks of pity or concern, only each other and their arms entwined as they wandered through countless shops and streets, exploring the city and enjoying their time alone. They had spent much of the afternoon in that fashion, purchasing small things for the girls and even a few clothes and blankets for the baby. By late afternoon they were nearly ready to head back to the hotel, but Cora had one last stop in mind. It was nearly four o'clock by the time they arrived at Liberty department store and made their way in. Cora had not been specific in detailing what precisely she wanted to purchase but Robert happily followed along with her, that is, until she brought them to the men's clothing section.

"Cora, darling, I think you're in the wrong part of the store," Robert chuckled, looking around at the stacks of ties and men's trousers that surrounded them.

Cora rolled her eyes. Sometimes he was ever so dense. "No, we're in the right location. I want to get something for you."

"But I thought you said you wanted to get something for yourself?"

"Well I suppose it is as much a present for me as it is for you," she mused, glancing around for the specific area she wanted. Her eyes lit up when she found the right location and she nearly took off running, forcing Robert to walk swiftly after her. When he did catch up to her he was rather surprised to see where her attention had been pulled.

The men's nightwear section.

With the skill of an expert shopper, Cora glided around the area for only a few minutes before finding precisely what she wanted. Beckoning him over, Robert arrived to see she was holding up a new pair of pajamas. They looked as though they were made of an expensive chocolate colored silk and they were far nicer than the plain ones he normally wore at home. Reaching out to feel the material he smiled and nodded his approval. Cora grinned with satisfaction, knowing he liked her choice.

"You need something new," she explained.

"They're very nice," Robert conceded, though still a bit confused as to why she felt such an urge to purchase him new nightclothes. It was not as though she had ever complained about his clothing in the past, and he had not exactly gotten much use out of his nightclothes in the last twenty-four hours, anyway. Nevertheless, they were nice pajamas—though he did not know very much about current styles or fancy fabrics. He always left those things up to Cora, whose taste was reliably impeccable.

Cora nodded in agreement. "I thought a gift was in order. To celebrate."

"—Celebrate?" Robert looked at her confusedly for a moment until he realized what precisely she was celebrating and he felt slight blush in his cheeks. For as many years as they were married she still had the uncanny ability to unnerve him at a moments notice.

"To celebrate your return," she murmured quietly, checking to make sure there were no other shoppers around. "You can wear them when we get home." She reached for his hand and squeezed it quickly in understanding before handing him the pajamas and setting off to find a salesperson, leaving Robert blushing sheepishly.

After their little foray into men's nightwear, Robert was quite ready to leave the store. He quickly paid for their purchases, though it was an exorbitant amount of money for one pair of pajamas, and guided her out of the store before he lost all of his self-control. He had a rather tenuous grasp on himself as it was, after the night they had spent together. Stepping out onto the street once more, they exchanged a look and both knew they were ready to head back to their room.

Robert took the parcels from Cora in his left hand before offering her his right arm. Taking it, she grinned up at him as they walked down the street back toward the room where she hoped that he could perhaps assist her with a quick shower before dinner.

As they neared the hotel, Robert reminisced on what a happy day they had spent together. He gripped Cora's arm a bit tighter as he had a slightly more unsettling realization, though. They had come so close to losing this, to losing each other. He couldn't let it happen; he would absolutely not let it happen. Stealing a glance at his wife, he knew he would do anything to maintain her happiness. They had a long road ahead of them, the whole family had long roads ahead of them, but when they walked like this, arm in arm, it didn't feel nearly as difficult. It had taken him longer to come to this place, but it was finally becoming clear that changes were happening, big and small, and they were going to, no matter what his feelings about the rapidly modernizing world. Besides, all the changes had not been so terrible. If he had Cora with him, he could take each change as it came their way. Together, they would handle it all just as they always did.

Perhaps he could even be convinced to have a shower installed at Downton.


A/N: Thank you all for reading and reviewing! All your reviews were so sweet and I really appreciate them. Perhaps it will not be my last attempt at an "M" story :)