"Mama! Papa!"

Robert nuzzled his head farther into his wife's neck, refusing to believe that their daughter was knocking on their door yet again. Only moments before, Cora had climbed into bed after getting Edith settled in her bassinet, and Robert had just now wrapped his arms around her, simply to be close to her, to feel her steady breathing against him.

Mary's voice rose, becoming more adamant, her staccato knocks sharper. "Papa, pleaseeeee let me in! I had another nightmare, and I can't sleep!"

Cora pressed her lips to the top of his head, kissing it, then whispered, "You know she'll simply stand there and knock until you open the door, darling. You might as well do it before she wakes the whole house."

Briefly squeezing her tighter to him, he rolled over and got up with a groan, mumbling under his breath that Mary "gets her stubbornness from her mother and her granny" and "the master of the house can't sleep, but let's not wake the rest of the house, nooooo…."

Opening the door, Robert stood in his long night shirt and looked down at his little daughter, his hands on his hips, stubble darkening his jaw and dark patches staining the skin beneath his eyes. His height of six feet, two inches might have intimidated some children, but not his Mary. She looked right back up at him, her bare toes peeping from underneath her floor-length white nightgown, her arms at her sides, her long brown hair wild, and her cheeks streaked with tears.

"Papa, I need to sleep with you and Mama. My room is too dark and too quiet, and I don't want to wake Nanny."

Robert stopped himself from snorting in disbelief. He was no more fooled by Mary's desire not to wake her nanny than he was by Cora's not to wake Edith's nurse – even if he knew Cora's concern for the nurse's sleep was genuine, albeit not her sole reason for wanting Edith with them at night. In some ways, he admired and took great pride in his tiny progeny's early proficiency at rationalization and near Jesuitical skill at debate. But not when it was used against him.

"Don't you have a night light burning, Mary? And don't you want Mama and Papa to have some sleep as well?" He had difficulty keeping the exasperation from his voice.

A shadow briefly crossed the little girl's face, as if she were choosing between two weapons: reasoning and begging. She seemed to choose a combination of the two, for Mary lifted her velvety brown eyes to him pleadingly, saying, "We can all sleep together, Papa. Your bed is big enough for all of us. I like sleeping with you and Mama."

Robert sighed and looked over at his wife. Her blue eyes were soft, her smile slightly amused. Then he looked down upon his daughter, her face turned up to his expectantly, her hands clasped together now. "Two against one, I suppose." He picked her up and kissed her flushed cheek, closed the door and put her down on the bed next to his wife.

Mary clung to her mother's arm and Cora glanced over at her husband, mouthing to him, "I'm sorry, darling."

Tucking himself under the bedclothes beside Mary, Robert shook his head, saying in a low voice, "It's not your fault. Let's try to get some sleep, my dear." He smiled at her, then ran his fingers through his daughter's unkempt hair before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

The next thing he knew, Robert felt a solid kick to the small of his back, sending him rolling off the bed and onto the floor with a thud.

"Bloody hell!" he yelled out involuntarily.

"Robert!" Cora hissed, awakened by his expletive and unaware that he now lay on the floor.

Picking himself up, he stood beside the bed, looking at his wife in some annoyance.

"What happened?" she whispered, now seeing that he'd been on the floor.

Pointing at the sleeping little girl who lay at a perfect perpendicular angle to her mother, Robert whispered fiercely, "Your daughter kicked me out of bed!" He rubbed his behind, upon which he'd landed rather hard.

Cora looked like she was fighting back giggles. "Dressing room?" she inquired.

Nodding, Robert crossed the room and opened the door for his wife, who kissed Mary's head before sliding out of bed and proceeding him into the dressing room.

Keeping her voice low, Cora said, "Darling, I'm so sorry."

Robert pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers with one hand, closing his eyes, in a gesture reminiscent of his father when he felt a headache coming on. "What for, Cora? At least you didn't kick me out of bed."

Cora dropped wearily into a chair. "Oh, Robert. I'm sorry that we're having to do this. I know that we should insist that Mary stay in her own room, but my heart just can't bear sending her away when she implores us like that."

Removing his hand, Robert stared at her. "Has it ever occurred to you, Cora, that she does that to play on your emotions, so she can get what she wants? She has the pair of us perched upon her tiny fingers like puppets." He didn't sound upset, however, merely tired.

Nodding, Cora said, "Yes. It did occur to me. What on earth are you teaching her?" She gave a low laugh.

The corners of his mouth turning up slightly, Robert remarked, "You would be amazed at how much she comes up with all on her own, Cora. She's an incredible little thing."

"Well, of course she is, my dear." Getting up, she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, stroking the back of his hair. "She has you for a papa."

Robert slid his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. "Oh no, sweetheart. If she's incredible, it's because of her mama." He leaned down and placed his lips on hers, kissing her tenderly, pleasantly surprised when she deepened the kiss, slipping her tongue into his mouth.

They hadn't had their afternoon together that day. After Cora found out that Perkins heard them and thought the worst of her employer – to the point of telling her husband what she suspected – she'd decided that they could no longer meet in the afternoons. The plan wasn't as foolproof as she'd thought it would be, apparently. Since his meeting with Perkins, Robert had carefully avoided the maid. Cora tried to act as if she knew nothing, but it made for incredible tension, Perkins looking at Cora with a mixture of sadness, embarrassment, and disappointment, Cora endeavoring not to blush or blurt out the truth – which she wasn't sure Perkins would believe at this point anyway. Until Cora knew what to do, she didn't want to risk adding anything to Perkins' disillusionment with her mistress, mistaken as it was.

Thus, when Cora pressed herself against Robert, he snaked his hands over her bottom, cupping it through her nightdress, evoking a gasp of pleasure from her. "Are you tired?" she whispered against his lips.

"No more than usual," he chuckled softly, hitching up her night dress to caress her abdomen and slip his hand beneath the waistband of her drawers and between her thighs while continuing to kiss her mouth, her neck, her collarbone.

Purring her delight, writhing in his grasp, she followed suit, raising his night shirt to press her hand against his already hard arousal through his underthings. He groaned against her neck, nearly losing his concentration, but quickly regaining his bearings and pushing his fingers into her, drawing lazy circles there, his other arm wrapped securely around her waist to keep her upright.

"Robert," she breathed, panting. Cora moved her hands around to his backside and squeezed tightly.

He shocked her with his bark of pain. "Ow!"

Cora drew back and looked at him in confusion, his fingers having gone still inside her.

"I'm sorry, Cora, that's where I landed earlier when Mary kicked me out of bed." He gazed at her expression, all of a sudden becoming amused at the situation, the corners of his mouth twitching.

"Papa!" A tiny voice pierced through the dressing room door. "Papa, are you hurt? Mama, are you in there too?"

The corners of Cora's mouth twitched as well. "Speak of the – well, speak of Mary." She began to laugh, seeing things as he must have seen them, taking in their ridiculous circumstances, how tired they both were, how they stood there together, his fingers not having moved from their place, his arousal still pressing against her hip, their daughter knocking at the door during the only real time they'd had to themselves in over a day.

Seeing his wife full of mirth lead Robert to laugh as well. He carefully removed his hand from her drawers and pulled her nightdress down as they laughed together.

"Mama, Papa, what is so funny?" She began knocking.

Robert pressed a kiss to his wife's forehead, then one to her lips. "You'd better go, before she wakes the baby. I will have to wait a moment." He indicated the front of his night shirt, which protruded a bit from his body.

Cora blushed and giggled a little. "Wait for me. I'll be right back." His eyes lit up, but her face grew serious. "I mean for a talk. I don't think that is a good idea to try again tonight." Kissing his cheek, she walked past him to the door of the dressing room, slipping to the other side.

Sitting gingerly on the bed he kept made up in there, Robert waited, his excitement waning and exhaustion tugging at his eyelids. Just as he was about to give up and lean back upon the pillows, Cora entered the room and sat beside him, taking his hand.

"Mary's not asleep, but I told her she had to be a good girl and lie there while we talked or else I'd send her back to her own room for the rest of the night."

"As if you would," Robert mumbled.

For the first time in a while, Cora's voice sounded severe. "Do you think any of this is easy for me either, Robert? I'm trying to balance everything here, and I count on you to help me. I know you're tired and frustrated, and that you're speaking from that, but please watch that it doesn't turn into a habit." She looked down. "I don't want to be the one to kick you out of bed."

Robert turned to her, his face contrite, picking up her hand and kissing the back of it. "Sweetheart, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean…." He sighed. "I know how difficult it is for you, and I want to do everything I can to support you. I apologize, darling." Now it was his blue eyes which pleaded, and Cora could see where their daughter got that look.

Just to put a finer point on it, Cora said, "I told you that anytime it was too much, you could sleep in here. Perhaps there's no need for the two of us to be without sleep…."

"No, Cora. That's not necessary. I'll be alright." He kissed her hand again. "We'll be alright. I promise. Even if we have to go back to the old arrangement where we never had any time to ourselves." He looked down to where he held her hand, rubbing the back of it gently with his other hand.

Cora gazed at him, hearing in his tone and seeing in his countenance that this wasn't a complaint, simply a statement – one that made him sad. She attempted to lighten his mood a little, remarking, "You'll still have your naps in the barn while people think you're out on the estate. The stable boys seem to like the bit of extra income from their 'hush money.'"

Robert nodded, but didn't smile. "Yes. Helpful, but not everything I need." Looking up, he searched her eyes, repeating, "It's not everything I need."

Her eyes swam with tears now. Not of exhaustion or frustration, but of overwhelming emotion. He needed her. And she needed him.

Even if they had to steal a few hours every day.

Even if Perkins knew.

Taking a deep breath, Cora whispered, "Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad if we had our afternoons together again. I wish my lady's maid didn't think so ill of me, but maybe we'll think of a way to remedy that. In the meantime, my love, let's resume our 'affair.' As you said yesterday, we aren't doing anything wrong. And I have to admit it was quite a lot easier to bear everything else, having those hours with you to myself every day." She smiled at him, pressing his hand.

Robert beamed. "Are you sure, Cora? I don't want you to be uncomfortable with the arrangement –"

Cora interrupted him by putting her lips to his. After a short interlude, Cora remarked, "Just don't rip anymore of my tea gowns, please?"

Chuckling, Robert nodded, then took her by the hand and led her into their bedroom, where little Lady Mary waited to be tucked in by Mama and Papa once more.