When she heard the news, Cora leapt out of her chair and rushed out of the room without a word to her mother-in-law or the gaggle of society ladies around her. After a moment of silence, Mrs. Carter smiled and whispered to Violet, "Gone to whisper sweet nothings to her wounded champion, I imagine. How sweet!" Lady Violet rolled her eyes theatrically, but she couldn't keep her smile fully contained as the edges of her mouth curved ever so slightly.

Robert had dislocated his shoulder when he had tried to help an older village gentleman calm a frightened horse. It had reared and he'd stumbled over a few small stone steps. He'd tried to catch himself with his right arm, but instead he'd dislocated his shoulder and had come crashing down in a heap. Luckily, the doctor had been nearby and had tended to him almost immediately.

Cora rushed up the stairs, a blur of sage green and lace, and ran into her husband's dressing room without knocking and startling Dr. Lenox and Lord Richard. Robert lay with his eyes closed, his arm in a sling, and a cut on his forehead. "I had to give him a light sedative, Your Ladyship," the doctor told Cora as she sat on the edge of her husband's bed visibly shaken.

The doctor and the Lord exchanged amused glances as they watched Cora run her fingers through her husband's hair and stroked his cheek. Robert's eyes opened but he closed them again quickly before Cora noticed. The doctor and Lord Grantham both saw him, but didn't say anything. Far be it from them to intrude on the young man's fun. After all, boys will be boys. They had both done similar teasing things to their wives when they were young.

Robert groaned, pretending to be in pain. Cora leaned close and whispered that she would take care of him and promising to leave his side as little as possible. She looked at his sweet, handsome face and gently rested her cheek on his forehead. Just as she did so Robert opened his eyes again and found himself staring down the bodice of his wife's dress just as he had hoped. He quickly grabbed her and held her around the waist with his free arm while he nuzzled her breasts. Her shriek brought the two others in the room to Robert's bedside. He released his hold on his wife when he saw they were not as alone as he had first thought. "Hello, Papa, I … hadn't seen you there," Robert said with slurred speech.

"No, I imagine you didn't," Lord Richard said jokingly. "You seemed to have been focused on something else entirely." Cora blushed deeply but Robert just grinned.

Dr. Lenox took pity on the shy, embarrassed, young woman and asked the Earl to leave the room before he spoke to the couple about Robert's injury. He figured the poor girl needed as much privacy as she could get after the little scene they had just witnessed. He urged her to sit on the edge of the bed beside her husband for this talk. "The sedative is wearing off. When it's gone he'll be in some pain, but now he's …" Cora yelped and jumped up. Robert had pinched her bottom when she'd tried to sit down and he giggled like a schoolboy unaware of how uncomfortable he was making his wife. The doctor pulled a chair over for her and gave her a reassuring smile. "He's a little silly at the moment, as if he'd had a bit too much to drink. He doesn't mean anything by it. In truth, he may very well have no memory of any of this once he's back to normal."

Dr. Lenox sighed and shook his head as he noticed Robert's new amusement - his wife's dress. Cora felt her skirts move in an manner that felt unfamiliar. She reached back to straighten them only to realize her husband had lifted them up to her waist and was peeking underneath. Horrified, she tugged it back down and stepped a few feet away from the bed, giving him as fierce a glare as she could when she was still so worried about him. "You're no fun," Robert grumbled and pouted at her, "Pretty, but no fun at all."

She sat down in the chair the doctor offered her and listened as he started to explain her husband's injury and its consequences. All the while the injured and obviously well-medicated Robert continued to tease his wife. He eventually coaxed her into going back to his side and leaning down so he could whisper in her ear. "Apples," he said and tried to touch her breast. She had suspected he'd try something and batted his hand away with ease. He tried the trick again, but she ignored him and stayed focused on the doctor who tried his best to continue his clinical discussion with a straight face. "I just want to tell you that I think I'm in love with you, Cora." Robert called from the bed. Cora froze as so many emotions welled up inside her. "I love you," Robert sang out.

"Maybe we should continue this later when the Lord is more himself," Doctor Lenox suggested as he watched Cora try to keep herself from crying. "He may not know what he's saying," the doctor reminded her. She knew he was trying to be helpful, but his reminder only made it all hurt more. Robert had just said the words she spent her nights dreaming he'd say, but he'd said them when he was not in full control of himself. Did that mean his words were all lies, or a truth he could never admit? What if he did know what he was saying?

A single tear rolled down Cora's cheek. " I understand," she said softly. She turned to look back at Robert, hoping for a clue to the biggest question in her life at that point - how her husband felt about her. He waved at her and gave her a silly grin. Another tear dripped down her cheek.

"Don't cry, I love you," Robert said as he tried and failed to get out of his bed, still under the sedative's influence. "I honestly think I love you." Robert said as continued, unsuccessfully, to free himself from his bedding and go to her. Doctor Lenox tried to settle him down as Cora turned to go. Robert called her name but she ignored his pleas and left the room. He looked at the doctor in pharmaceutically-induced bewilderment. "What did I do now?" he yelled at the closed door