Over the next several days the family settled into something of a routine once more. Robert got to where he knew almost exactly when Mary would knock at their bedroom door at night and, knowing how Cora felt about it, would get up without a word and let her in. At least he didn't get kicked out of bed again for his trouble.

Edith's first tooth broke the surface during these days, and both her parents saw this as the light at the end of the tunnel. However, the baby still slept in their room until Cora was certain she would sleep through the night without pain, and so the couple kept their afternoon 'affair' going. They were more vigilant about being quiet, watching the clock, and fastening clothing carefully. Cora's encounters with Perkins eased a trifle, but the lady often wondered what her maid thought of her, for the two certainly weren't on the same friendly terms as they'd been only a week before.

Nevertheless, for Cora, being able to have the few hours a day alone with her husband made it all worthwhile.

After two nights of Edith sleeping comfortably, Cora decided they might try having her sleep in her nursery. She kept the decision as a surprise to tell Robert during their time together.

Robert sneaked into her bedroom that afternoon, grinning. He'd had a particularly restful nap in the barn.

Laughing, Cora stepped close to him. "You have straw in your hair, darling." She reached up and plucked the pieces of straw out of his curls, letting them fall to the floor when he captured her wrist in his hand and brought the delicate, porcelain underside of it to his lips, kissing it. Robert worked his way slowly up her arm, pushing the sleeve of the tea gown up to make way for his lips and tongue, leaving a trail of goose flesh in their wake. It always amazed Cora how sometimes the most gentle of her husband's touches left her most in danger of her knees buckling under her.

Unable to push her sleeve any higher, having reached the soft skin just above the inside of her elbow, Robert left off his attentions to her arm and turned them to her mouth, taking her hands and pulling them around his waist while kissing her intensely. Eventually he began moving from her lips to her jaw and then her neck, sucking the tender skin there just slightly, enough to make her sigh in delight.

"Robert?" she whispered, her eyes closed. "I have something to tell you."

Placing his hand just beneath her ear and moving it down, he slowly caressed the slender curve of her neck, before hooking his fingers beneath the neckline of her gown and gently tugging it toward her shoulder to give his mouth greater access to her neck and collar bone. "Yes, darling?" he murmured against her throat before continuing.

Tilting her head slightly back, Cora breathed, "I think Edith can sleep in her nursery tonight."

"Mmmmm…" Clearly, he was paying far more mind to what he was doing than to what she'd said. But after another few moments, Robert lifted his head to look at his wife. "Did you say what I think you just said?"

Cora nodded. "Edith will sleep in her nursery tonight."

Robert cocked his head, still uncertain about something. "And Mary?"

Shrugging, she replied, "I don't know. I suspect that once she sees that Edith is no longer in our room that she'll start sleeping in her own room again."

Sighing, Robert lowered his head and slumped forward, resting his forehead on his wife's shoulder. "What if she doesn't?" came his query.

"Robert," Cora said, withdrawing her arms from his waist and putting her hands on either side of his head, lifting it from her shoulder to look him in the eye. "We'll give her two nights at most. Then we will have to have a serious talk with her and insist she stay in her own room at night. We will lock her in with Nanny if we have to." Her eyes danced during this last sentence, so he would know she was being facetious.

Little could she know that Robert would seriously entertain this option if things got bad enough. Nevertheless, he nodded, the corners of his mouth turning up into a small smile. "Alright, sweetheart." He took her hands from his face and kissed them each in turn. "Now, where were we…?"

They quickly undressed one another, having become quite adept at this process over the past month, and Robert began his leisurely exploration of his wife's body with his mouth once more, inching them both over to the bed. Having reached both the bed and her abdomen, Robert helped Cora onto the bed, standing in front of her, his hands running along the insides of her thighs, then slipping underneath her, cupping her buttocks to lift her hips slightly. Then he bent at the waist.

Cora bit down on her lip to contain the cry of delight at feeling his mouth and tongue continue their worship of her body, closing her eyes and clutching at the bedclothes. Panting, she groaned low in her throat, attempting to keep quiet as he pushed her to the edge several times, stopping just short of pushing her over.

As she neared the edge a fourth time, she whispered hoarsely, "Robert, please…."

Robert knew from her tone and the way she writhed in his grasp that she was very ready for him. He climbed up on the bed with her and gently pulled her to the middle of it with him. Looking her in the eyes, searching them, he sought her assent.

"Please, now…." Cora pleaded, her eyes hazy with desire.

Pausing briefly to caress her cheek, Robert flipped her legs up and rested them against his shoulders, then lifted her hips once more to guide himself into her. Closing his eyes, he endeavored to swallow his own groan of satisfaction, then began moving.

Cora bit down on her lip once more as he built up a cadence, her hips rolling almost completely by instinct as she lost her ability to control her other faculties in her need to utilize her last remaining shred of coherence to keep quiet while her entire body rocked with pleasure.

Breathing heavily, Robert managed to hold out through feeling her contract around him three times before everything went hazy and he thrust into her one last time with a grunt and stilled against her. For several minutes he remained nearly motionless, one hand running up and down the back of Cora's left thigh lazily, looking down into her flushed face, knowing the pleased grin he saw there matched his own.

Then, realizing it might become uncomfortable to have his weight pressing down upon her legs, he pulled away and lay her legs out upon the bed. He stretched out next to her and kissed her cheek and then her lips.

Propping his up head in his hand, he glanced at the clock, then back at Cora, brushing his fingertips over her cheek, whispering. "Do you think I could just hold you a little while now? We have plenty of time left."

Still panting slightly, Cora nodded and smiled. "I would like that very much," was her whispered answer.

Drawing a blanket up over them, Robert wrapped his arms around his wife and held her, her head resting on his shoulder, one of her legs stretched out across his. Within minutes her steady breathing told him she was asleep. He chuckled inwardly and, although he could have easily followed suit, willed himself to be the sentinel, to make sure they kept to their time.

What Robert hadn't anticipated was for Cora to jerk awake after a quarter of an hour to a horrible shrieking. They looked at one another, equally perplexed, as the noise got louder, approaching their door. Then there was a knock.

"Lady Grantham, please, it's Miss Walters," came a voice loud enough to be heard through the screeching and the door.

"Robert, quick – go!" Cora bounded up and rushed over to pull her chemise over her head, kicking the rest of her clothes into a pile on her side of the bed, grabbing her dressing gown and wrapping it around her. "Just another minute, Nurse Walters!" she yelled as Robert hastened to gather his own clothes, pausing to kiss his wife quickly on the lips before disappearing behind his dressing room door, pulling it closed as silently as he could.

Cora opened the door to her room. "Miss Walters, what is the matter with her?" She reached for the red-faced, screaming baby Edith, resting her against her shoulder and bouncing her gently.

The woman shook her head. "I believe she has an earache, your ladyship. I've been trying to calm her, but it's no use. If I may, Lady Grantham, might I suggest we send for the doctor? He may have something to soothe her."

"Yes, yes, please, let's send for him. Will you take care of that for me, Nurse Walters? I'll keep Edith here with me while you do." She pressed her lips to the baby's head, bouncing her still, trying to hush her with a "shh shh shh shh, little darling."

Miss Walters nodded, "Yes, of course, your ladyship." She tilted her head, hesitating. "Did something happen, Lady Grantham?"

Cora looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Your lip is bleeding, your ladyship," she informed her.

Touching her lip, Cora withdrew her fingers to see that they were indeed stained faintly with blood. "It's nothing. I had a bad dream and must have bit my lip in my sleep," she lied smoothly.

Nodding once more, Miss Walters said, "I'll send for the doctor now, Lady Grantham."

"Thank you, Miss Walters." Cora closed the door behind her and pulled a handkerchief out of her dressing gown pocket and put it to her lip, continuing to shush Edith. Finally, the baby calmed to half her original volume, which was enough for Cora to be able to hear her own thoughts properly once more. She went to the dressing room door and knocked on it. "Robert?"

Opening the door a crack and peeking his head out, he asked in a hushed voice, "Is the coast clear?"

Cora sat on the chaise with Edith, changing the bouncing to a rocking motion that seemed to pacify her somewhat, for her crying lessened further. "For the time being."

Robert walked in half-dressed and sat beside her on the chaise. "What's wrong with her? I tried to listen but she was so loud I couldn't hear you talking through the door." He placed a hand on the back of the baby's head, rubbing her short red curls gently.

"Nurse Walters thinks it's an earache, Robert." Cora sighed. "It means she'll be sleeping in here with us again. For the next few days at the very least."

Her husband nodded, his hand still on Edith's head. "I know. I remember this with Mary." He looked at Cora. "I'll be here with you, my love. You won't have to do it alone."

Tears threatened to fall. Instead of complaining or sighing or trying to give night duty to the nurse, as she fully expected him to do, he said exactly what she needed to hear from him. Cora gazed at him lovingly, whispering, "Thank you, my dearest." She blinked a few times, willing herself not to cry. "You should finish getting dressed now, so you can be gone before Miss Walters returns."

Nodding again, Robert stood and kissed the top of the baby's head, started to lean over to kiss his wife, but stopped. "Cora? What happened to your lip?"

Cora gave him a weary smile. "I was trying so hard not to make noise earlier, when we were…. I bit my lip so I wouldn't cry out. Apparently I bit down more than I realized."

"Oh," he said, before leaning forward again and pressing a feather-light kiss to her bottom lip, then a soft kiss to her forehead. "I'll see you in a little while, sweetheart." He retired to his dressing room, leaving Cora to wait for the nurse's return.


Perkins eyed the pile of clothes on the bed. Lady Grantham had sent for her to help her dress for the doctor's arrival, and the lady's maid had been rather surprised to find her mistress in quite this state of undress, wearing only her chemise and dressing gown. It made her heart ache, knowing what she knew, thinking that Lord Grantham must have said nothing to his wife – or, worse, that he had and Lady Grantham persisted with the affair.

However, she said nothing to her ladyship, assisting her in silence, then clearing things away after her mistress left for the nursery.

Making one last inspection of the room, Perkins spotted something on the rug. Picking it up, she shook her head. It looked like straw. How did that get in here? she wondered. I suppose whoever has been coming in here from the outside tracked it in. Tutting under her breath, she tucked the straw into her pocket and left the room.


The doctor confirmed that Lady Edith had an earache and that there was very little to be done except to keep her as comfortable as possible. Keeping her upright would alleviate some of the pain for her and help her sleep, but it also meant that she would have to be almost constantly held.

It was a formula for quite a lot of sleeplessness.

And so it proved to be. For the next several nights, Cora and Robert took it in turns to hold Edith while she slept, so each of them could get at least a few hours of sleep. Cora hadn't actually expected this; it had been a pleasant surprise. That first night she had been endeavoring to think of a way to keep something warm over Edith's ear while she slept – damp washcloths tending to grow cold too quickly – but the baby's shrieks made her incapable of rational thought, and she found herself close to tears.

Robert, seeing this, rang downstairs, then told the answering maid to bring up a hot water bottle.

"Darling, it's too big to hold over her ear," Cora nearly sobbed out, exhaustion threatening to overwhelm her.

Walking over to them, Robert kissed her temple. "Just wait and see. And I want you to get some sleep too. Hand her to me, Cora."

As much as she trusted her husband regarding most things, Cora hesitated to give Edith to him. But, after another minute of the baby screaming in her ear, the mother was ready to try anything and passed their daughter to Robert.

Cora climbed into bed as a knock came at the door. "Thank you," Robert said to the maid and took the hot water bottle. Sitting up against the pillows on his side of the bed, he held a still screeching Edith on one shoulder and balanced the hot water bottle carefully on his other. "Sweetheart, will you hand me that thin blanket there on the other side of you, please?" Cora complied, watching him. Robert draped the blanket over the hot water bottle and his shoulder, then shifted the baby, laying her upright against his chest, her head and aching ear upon the hot water bottle. Within seconds she'd calmed down, putting one of her little hands on her papa's neck, her eyelids drooping and her breaths becoming even. In a few moments she was asleep.

Half in disbelief and half in awe, Cora gaped at her husband.

Grinning, Robert turned to her with a little chuckle, whispering, "You needn't look so incredulous, Cora. Now, please, get some sleep. I have a feeling another little girl will be making her appearance as usual in a few hours."

Nodding dumbly, Cora tucked herself beneath the blankets and fell asleep even faster than Edith had.

Sure enough, like clockwork, Mary's knock came at the door exactly when Robert expected it. Supporting Edith with both hands, he got out of bed and opened the door for his eldest. Mary sauntered in without a word, but looked daggers at the baby in her papa's arms. Robert followed her over to the bed, helping her climb in with one hand, holding the still blessedly sleeping Edith with the other.

"Mary," he whispered as softly as possible. "You're going to have to be very quiet and go right to sleep if you can. I don't want you to wake Mama or the baby."

"Why are you holding her?" The little girl's whisper was accusatory.

Robert sighed heavily. "Edith isn't feeling well, Mary, and she can't sleep unless one of us holds her. Your mama needs to sleep too, so I'm holding the baby while she does. Now, if you're not going to go to sleep now, I'll have to send you back to your room."

Mary shook her head vehemently, her brown eyes widening with trepidation. "No, Papa," she whispered loudly. "I'll go right to sleep, I promise."

Sitting on the bed next to her, Robert kissed her on the cheek. "Goodnight, my dear Mary."

Sliding her arms around his neck to embrace him, Mary jostled the baby, waking her. Edith screamed.

Mary immediately clapped her hands to her ears and yelled, "Papa, I didn't do it on purpose!"

Cora sat up and rubbed her eyes. She took in the situation and sighed. "Robert, give her to me. Is the bottle still warm?"

Passing her the shrieking baby, Robert felt the water bottle. "It's warm, but it won't be much longer. I'll go down and get another one." He helped Cora arrange the hot water bottle on her shoulder, although it didn't work quite as well since her shoulders were so much smaller. Finally they got it balanced and the blanket draped over it. Edith didn't seem to find as much relief from it as she had when it was warmer, however.

"I'll be back in just a while, Cora," he said, his eyes apologetic for leaving her with the crying baby.

"Papaaaa! Take me with you!" Mary stood up in the middle of the bed, her hands still planted firmly over her ears.

Tying his dressing gown shut and slipping his feet into his bedroom shoes, Robert rolled his eyes and caught Mary up in his arms, carrying her with him out the door.

"Papa, baby Edith is so loud," Mary observed unhelpfully while her papa carried her downstairs.

"Well, Mary, you do have the option of staying in your own room. It's quiet there." At his request the servants had left the hallways lit dimly in case they needed to get something from the kitchens; he was happy now that he'd thought of this.

Mary appeared to think about this for a minute. "But the water bottle will make her quiet again, won't it?"

"I certainly hope so, my dear. For all of our sakes." Robert rubbed his forehead.

Sneaking her arms around his neck, Mary placed a wet kiss on his cheek. "Then I will stay with you and Mama." When they entered the kitchen, Robert put Mary down on the table, filling the kettle to heat water, then locating a second hot water bottle in which to pour it when it was ready. Mary watched him thoughtfully, her short legs swinging off the edge of the table. "Papa, are you tired?"

Robert peered at his little daughter with bleary eyes. "Mary, Papa is so far beyond tired that he doesn't know what he is anymore."

Mary screwed up her eyes and shook her head. "I don't know what that means, Papa."

Laughing lightly, Robert passed a hand over his bristly chin. "Yes, Mary, Papa is tired. Very tired indeed."

Preparing the hot water bottle, he carried it and his daughter back upstairs. He aided Cora in adjusting the new water bottle and the baby against it, Edith finally falling back to sleep. He had offered to stay up with her longer but Cora insisted on taking her turn, having had several hours of decent sleep – thanks to him, as she pointed out.

Too fatigued to argue with her, Robert pulled the covers over himself and lay his head down on the pillow. "Papa, I'm tired too," Mary whispered loudly, crawling under the covers next to him. Robert put his arm around his little girl. "Goodnight, Mama," she said closing her eyes.

"Goodnight, Mama," Robert echoed softly, smiling at his wife before closing his own eyes and drifting off.


The next five nights fell into a similar pattern, the four getting increasingly cranky for numerous and varying reasons – lack of decent sleep being the obvious reason shared by all.

Robert and Cora, however, had had to go back to having no time alone together. Edith's feeding schedule had gotten off because of her earache, and Cora never knew when Miss Walters would bring the baby to her to nurse. Robert took the time to nap a little longer in the barn, but it wasn't always very good sleep, and the interrupted nights wore on him. Worse for him, though, was how much he missed being alone with his wife. He barely found a moment just to hold her.

Cora slept whenever she could and as much as she could. She knew that if she didn't sleep enough, she wouldn't be able to nurse Edith properly. Robert possessed this knowledge as well, and he tended to let Cora sleep as long as possible, even though she often admonished him for not waking her earlier so she could take an equal turn holding Edith upright.

He did his best not to allow his weariness to translate into irascibility or complaints, although it was difficult not to. He snapped at Mary during their lessons the morning after the sixth night of this. He'd fallen asleep as she was telling him a story, and she stamped her foot in frustration. "Are you not listening to me?" she cried out. He didn't move. "PAPA!" she yelled.

Robert's eyes popped open. "Mary! Don't shout at me like that ever again!" he bellowed.

Chin wobbling, Mary stared at him. "You weren't listening to me! You fell asleep because – because of that baby!" Bursting into tears, she ran from the room, calling plaintively for her nanny.

Dropping his head into his hands, Robert heaved a great sigh. "Bloody hell," he muttered.

The good news that day was that Edith's earache appeared to be gone. She had slept completely through the night, not needing a new hot water bottle at all. When Miss Walters and Cora determined that she was on her regular feeding schedule again and seemed to be napping comfortably in her own crib, they agreed to try her in her own nursery that night.

In celebration, Cora and Robert fell asleep holding one another. And when Mary knocked on their door as usual, they tucked her between them, shared a long kiss over her head, and gazed at each other lovingly in the soft glow of the one nightlight left burning until a deep slumber fell over them both.