A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! They're all quite good encouragement when writers block strikes. As a disclaimer- the title of this chapter comes from the novel "To The Lighthouse."

Robert sat in out on the dark veranda staring into his half empty glass of scotch. The house was finally silent and he had been left to nurse his drink. Night had come so quickly; it seemed as though he and Cora had just made up and that she had just been lying in his arms. But no, that was last night. Last night he had carried her back to their room…and tonight he was sitting alone, staring blankly into his scotch. Perhaps the trip had been cursed. Perhaps he never should have brought them here. Perhaps this all could have been avoided.

Looking out into the dark gardens once more, Robert sighed and drained the rest of his glass; hoping that at the very least it would take away the awful feeling in the pit of his stomach. It hadn't started this way; the morning had begun on a much brighter note. What disturbed him most of all though, was the realization that no matter how many times he went over the events of the day in his mind, he couldn't change them. Such utter powerlessness was not a familiar feeling for someone in his position, especially when it came upon him so unexpectedly. He was supposed to be powerful, be great, and be strong. He was supposed to be able to prevent anything bad from happening to those around him, especially his family. The morning had seemed so much different, and now, seemed so far away…

Robert had been alone when he woke up that morning. There was no trace of his wife, and so he leaned out of bed and rang for a servant. His nightclothes were still discarded on the floor beside the bed, and he felt a bit uncomfortable at the prospect of meeting one of his mother-in-law's servants wearing nothing but a bed sheet, so he reached down and pulled his pajama bottoms back on. Just as he finished tying them, he heard the door clicking open, and looked up to see Cora.

"Well you're certainly not the servant I was expecting."

Cora furrowed her eyebrows and closed the door behind her. "I hope I'm not a disappointment. I stopped the footman on his way up."

"Of course you're not a disappointment, Darling. I was only joking." He had smiled despite her frown and got out of bed, walked over to her, and leaned in to kiss her cheek. "Let me try again. Good morning, my dearest one."

"Good morning." She held him close for a moment and smiled. Without another word, she wandered to the armoire and began rummaging through their things before pulling out one of her sunhats and looking back over her shoulder at Robert.

"I left you some of my breakfast," she said as she motioned over to a tray on her vanity with some sad looking half-eaten toast. It was certainly not the most appetizing sight.

"Uh, thank you, but I'm not quite hungry yet so I'll just wait until I get downstairs…did you say you stopped the footman on your way up?" Robert asked.

"Yes actually, I did. And breakfast is over…it's nearly eleven o'clock."

"Is it? Well then I'll just wait for luncheon—" Robert looked down at his watch on the bedside table with a frown. It was almost eleven. Apparently he was a late sleeper in America.

"Do you think you could manage dressing yourself? I already sent the footman back downstairs. I have something I'd like to show you."

"Yes, I can manage…did you want to show me now?" He looked at her expectantly but her expression and appearance revealed nothing out of the ordinary for her to show him.

"No, I'll wait for you downstairs in the main hall." She smiled at him before picking her hat up and gliding out of the room.

Several minutes later Robert made his way downstairs to the main hall where Cora was standing by the door waiting. The house was still very quiet, and all he could hear was the faint ticking of the large clock in the corner of the room.

"All ready," he said with a smile as he reached Cora at the bottom of the stairs. "Will Mary be joining us?"

"Mary went into town with my Mother a few hours ago…she has promised Mary a dress, so they're bound to return with twenty by this afternoon." Cora grinned and adjusted her hat before extending her hand out to Robert. "Shall we?"

He took her hand and followed as she led them out of the house, around the side, and through the back gardens.

"Cora, where ever are we going?" Robert asked with a laugh as they stood at the edge of the property.

"If I told you, the surprise would be ruined! Don't you trust me?" Cora asked and extended her hand out to him once again, expectantly.

"With my life, Darling." He took her hand and they continued on.

The path at the edge of the garden didn't stop, but it did become much more rugged and less clear. They were walking through woods now, and looking back, Robert could see the edge of the gardens but the house was now completely out of sight. He followed as Cora expertly navigated them along the narrow path, avoiding various branches and rocks on the ground. The next time he looked back the gardens were out of sight as well. It was actually quite peaceful. He looked at the back of his wife and saw the loose curls coming out from beneath her hat and he caught a slight trace of her perfume as a breeze floated by. Unable to resist, he stopped abruptly, and tugged on Cora's arm slightly to get her attention. She had been walking quite intently, and so she was startled when she felt him pull her sleeve. As she turned around, Robert quickly wrapped his arms snugly around her waist and captured her lips in a kiss much more passionate than the one he had greeted her with earlier in the morning. Cora gasped in surprise and fidgeted slightly before relaxing in his embrace. When he released her, he smiled and adjusted her hat for her, as he had nearly knocked it off her head.

"You're impossible," she murmured, looking up at him with a gleam in her eyes.

"Quite impossible…shall we continue?" He held her hand back out to her and she rolled her eyes playfully before taking his hand and continuing their walk.

Just when Robert thought he was going to have to remove his shirt to combat the heat, Cora looked at him and released his hand. "Almost there…"

A moment later they reached the edge of the wooded path and stepped out into a large clearing at the bottom of a small hill. Cora paused at the bottom of the hill and turned to Robert with a mischievous glint in her expression.

"Is this it?" Robert looked around at the clearing of tall grass with slight confusion.

"No, you'll have to catch me first!" Cora cried, as she took off up the hill, running with her skirt blowing in the wind and her hat flapping atop her head. Never one to shrug off a challenge, Robert grinned and took off after her, his jacket flapping behind him as he carried it along with him. He caught up to Cora near the top of the hill and swept her up in his arms. "You've caught me…" She whispered. Robert leaned in to kiss her, but she turned her head and pointed ahead of them. "Look." He carried them a few feet ahead to the crest of the hill. When they reached the top, Robert was met with one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. At the bottom of the hill was the ocean, waves lapping at the shoreline and the sun glittering over the water. Gently, he let Cora out of his arms, and reached for her hand again.

"It's beautiful," he said quietly. Cora squeezed his hand in reply and they made their way down the hill to reach the sandy beach at the bottom. Robert had never actually been to the sea, and he was taken with the sheer expansiveness of it. Never had he experienced the feeling of being quite so small in comparison to something so massive. When they reached the bottom, Cora led him onto the sand and sat down. The beach was empty, and looking down both ways, there was not a single person in sight (later, Cora would tell him this portion of the beach belonged to her mother's estate). They sat quietly and Cora wrapped her arms around Robert's waist. They stayed that way for what seemed like ages, not that Robert minded; utterly in awe, he watched as the waves rhythmically crashed against the shore. It was all so peaceful and soothing. He looked down at his wife and pressed a kiss to her forehead. She looked up at him but said nothing and simply brushed a lock of his hair away from his face before leaning her head back against him.

Feeling Cora pressed against his chest, Robert had felt the familiar pangs of guilt from the day before bubbling up again. He knew he had to explain his behavior from the carriage and train ride so perhaps now would be the best time. Yes, he had apologized, but she deserved an explanation as well. Besides, if he was planning to avoid that dreadful man at all costs for the foreseeable future, she would need to know why. Before he could find a way to begin his explanation though, Cora shifted out of his arms.

"Robert, I'd like for us to talk…"

He breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, this was the perfect opportunity for him to start the conversation. "Of course, there's something I want to explain, actually."

Cora frowned slightly and paused for a second, but didn't let him finish. "Alright, but there's something I'd like to say too. I wanted to last night, but we…" A slight blush had crept up her neck as she remembered what they had been doing the night before instead of talking.

"Robert—"

"Cora, I really need to just come out with it!" He interrupted. He was afraid he wouldn't have the nerve to try and explain again, and he had just wanted all the unpleasantness over with so they could enjoy the day together.

"But, Robert…Oh, all right. Go ahead." She looked at him expectantly.

He took a deep breath and clasped her hands for reassurance before speaking. "I just wanted to mention something that happened yesterday—"

As he started to talk though, he watched as Cora looked over his shoulder behind him with a deep frown and stood up quickly, letting go of his hands. He turned to look over his shoulder to see what Cora was staring at, and was surprised to see one of her Mother's servants running down from the top of the hill, and he realized the servant—James, he thought was his name—was calling their names over the noise of the waves. The man reached them at the bottom of the hill, out of breath and sweating profusely. Before he could speak, Cora rushed over to him.

"James, what is it?"

"I'm sorry Miss Cora…we were looking everywhere for you…" Robert had heard him say, as he stood and joined Cora.

"What is it? What's wrong?" She asked quickly, sensing the tension in his voice. She reached for Robert's hand as he stood beside her, looking curiously at the disheveled servant.

"I'm so sorry, I looked all over before the gardener said he saw you two headed toward the beach…" He was still panting and trying desperately to catch his breath but he looked up at them with a disturbing expression.

"James! Just come out with it!"

"It's…its Miss Mary. There was an accident in town..I...I...think…Mrs. Levinson brought her to the ho—"

"…Mary?" Robert had interrupted him and looked to Cora, whose face was drained of color.

It had taken a brief moment for the man's words to register. Robert felt Cora's grip on his hand tighten, but in that moment, nothing had made any sense. She released his hand a second later and they looked at each other—he would never be able to forget her terrified expression—before they both took off running back toward the hill, without another word.

Robert had trailed a few paces behind her the entire way, calling for her to slow down, but it was pointless. Whether or not she had even heard him, he'd never know. As he ran behind her, in the distance he could still hear the waves breaking back on the shore. They sounded far less peaceful than they had only moments earlier. As he ran back to the house, his thoughts and emotions running almost as wildly as his wife, all he could hear was violent crashes in the distance, ringing in his ears, breaking roughly against the shore.