He was a cad, a thoughtless lout, and a coward.

These were odd thoughts for a man still in the arms of his wife, after she had entertained him good and properly in a room alight with flickering candles.

But it was a truth that was futile to ignore, and Robert Crawley never shrank from the truth of things.

Cora's head rested on his chest, her fingertips drawing lazy, exploratory circles across his skin.

She sought to please him, to make him happy.

She loved him.

It terrified him.

And more frightening still...he thought he might love her back.