20 minutes and a round of drinks later he had said the appropriate goodbyes and made his way to the car where his driver was waiting patiently. What a horrible night. He must remember to have a word with Mary about avoiding Barnes in the future. Now that they were signed that shouldn't be too much of an issue, Matthew could deal with him. It was times like this that he wished he had someone in his life to diffuse from these situations with.

Robert had managed to slide into the car and pull off his scarf when a voice sounded from the front seat. "Home Sir?"

"Actually I'm just waiting for a friend to join me and then home yes." He saw his driver nod and turn his attention back to the front of the car.

Robert sighed and slumped in his seat shutting his eyes. The alcohol he had drunk had left him feeling heavy and sleepy, while Barnes had made him agitated, not the ideal combination. God he was tired. It had been a long two days and he hoped that Cora wouldn't be too long. He barely had time to contemplate this when he heard the door open and looked over to find her sliding in beside him.

"Ready to go Sir?"

"Hmmm, yes thanks." They sat in comfortable silence as the driver pulled away from the curb. They both knew better than to talk when in the company of other people, even if it was only the driver.

The journey passed quickly and before he knew it they were getting out of the car and into the cold of the night. He fumbled to unlock the front door and she quickly made her way inside into the slightly warmer house. He switched on the heating which had been off all day (Cora so hated to be cold) before locking the front door.

He watched her for a moment, she wore a lavender colour dress with flashes of silver and wine coloured heels. He hadn't noticed her clothing at the bar, the only thing he seemed to notice was her face. Cora's beautiful face which was glowing under the soft lighting of his lounge room. She really had not aged, still extremely beautiful. Still thin, but soft and lovely underneath that dress he knew.

Dangerous thoughts to be having considering the effects alcohol had on him. Dangerous thoughts to be having considering her predicament.

She however seemed to be eyeing him off in a similar manner. Her eyes slowly made their way down his body and he could almost feel her undressing him with her eyes. He pulled at his tie which was suddenly uncomfortably tight on his throat. It caught his eye as he pulled and he remembered that is was lavender, almost the same shade as her dress. He dropped it and shoved his hands in his pockets, clearing his throat, trying desperately to move to safer ground.

He tried for a casual tone of voice, but it came out more accusatory than he would have liked,

"I thought your gallery was in Surbiton?"

"It is", she nodded her accent still watching him closely, her hands held onto each other tightly in front of her.

"But they know I'm staying in London, so decided to go to a bar there instead." She paused, and slipped off her shoes, keeping eye contact with him as she did. Once they were successfully off and placed beside the couch she stood up straight and shrugged, "If I had known you would be there I would never have gone."

"No its fine, doesn't matter." He walked around her and into the kitchen where he filled a glass with water pulling two aspirin from the cupboard and popping them into his mouth. He really should eat something if he didn't want to feel wretched in the morning. She followed to stand on the opposite side of the marble counter, her face pulled into a gentle frown as she watched him, her arms crossed on the bench.

"Robert, you seem angry, is it…"

Not angry, he could almost laugh. Frustrated might be a more accurate observation, but he was glad she was either choosing to ignore or completely unaware of that fact. Surely she knew, she always had frustrated him endlessly.

"No, it's not you." He sighed heavily, and refilled his glass, "just a long day that's all." He didn't feel like talking about it, in fact he felt like going to bed and sleeping for a week. This week had been the most confusing in years and it was not getting any better as it went was still watching him across the bench.

"I think I'll go to bed if that's alright?"

"Of course"

He could feel her eyes following him as he made his way across the lounge and into his dark bedroom. He hoped to god she wouldn't follow anytime soon or he would not be held accountable for what happened. He walked into the bathroom with a sigh, switched on the lights and decided a cold shower was in order.

When he woke the next morning he was alone.

This caused him to groan and he hoped to god that Cora wasn't mad at him.

Last night had almost proved to be a disaster. What on earth was he playing at? After his shower he had made his way to bed and had fallen into a deep sleep almost immediately. He wasn't sure when Cora had, if at all come to bed. He rolled over to face her side to see it indeed looked slept in. Where she was now was a mystery; it was only 7.30 in the morning.

7.30am, this also meant he was running very late for work, which would mean he would run late all day. He groaned again contemplating the idea of staying home altogether, but knew that would be an absolute disaster.

When he finally made his way into the bathroom after much consideration he found a note attached to the mirror.

Hope you're feeling better today.

I have a breakfast meeting, but we should have dinner tonight

Cora

Well at least she wasn't too upset with him which was a start. He had been rude to her though and desperately needed to make it up to her. He decided he would ring her and arrange dinner as soon as he made it to the office. He would have Nancy book them a table somewhere nice and then maybe finally they would talk.