Cora wandered the halls of the abbey looking for her husband. It was almost time for the dressing gong. His mother was to dine with them this evening, and the Dowager was not one to tolerate tardiness. She had not seen him since tea, which was most unusual because they normally went for a short walk before getting ready for dinner. He had not been in the dressing room, and he hadn't taken Isis out because Cora had found her asleep in front of the fireplace in the library.
She continued to walk the bedroom gallery and was just about to pass by what had been Sybil's bedroom when a muffled noise made her stop. Noticing that the door stood slightly ajar, she pushed it further open and stepped in. She had not set foot in this room since that awful night a few months before, memories both happy and sad immediately assaulting her. She turned her head toward the muffled sound and saw Robert perched on the side of the bed with his head in his hands, his shoulders heaving as he sobbed. The sight of him so distressed clenched Cora's heart. Hurrying to where he sat, she knelt before him and placed her hands on his knees.
"Oh, my darling," she whispered. "What's going on?"
She watched as Robert slowly lifted his head from his hands, his bloodshot eyes finally falling upon her. "I feel as if I'm living in a nightmare, Cora," he choked, his breathing still uneven from crying. "I came up here to show Sybil something that I had read in the newspaper this morning. I knew it would make her laugh. I keep forgetting she's not here." Tears once again flowed down his face as he whispered, "If this is some horrible dream, please wake me up."