AN: Massive thank you for all the reviews. Please keep them up, they make continuing to write and update so much easier.
This chapter sees the return of some characters from earlier chapters of this story. I hope you remember them, if not, I think I have explained it well enough within the writing for you to recall the key facts.
Cobert love to you all, and please review.
Chapter 28 – June 1889
He takes the champagne to his lips again, trying to shake the feeling of being watched. He probably was being watched, there were enough guests that one of them was bound to be looking at him. The trouble was he had been experiencing the sensation all day, ever since the church, and he had never felt such a thing before. He glances around the room but nothing abnormal shows itself.
Rosamund and Marmaduke are on the far side of the hall, her arm linked through his as it had been since they left the church. Robert was convinced they hadn't let go of each other. They were laughing with some of Marmaduke's friends. His mother was trying to keep the frown off her face, and was doing so by meticulously speaking to every guest, uttering the same proclamations of joy to each one – she still had half the room to go. His father was overseeing the whole event quietly from the edge of the gathering, watching the movements of the servants as much as the guests.
"They look so happy, don't they?" It was Cora, who hadn't drifted from his side the entire day. She sighs. Something in her tone and the sigh startles him, it was sort of resigned.
"Are you not happy?"
"Oh no Robert, you mistake me, I am happy. Very happy in fact. I was just thinking how lovely it is to see them so in love with each other and willing to show the world."
"Well you know Rosamund, never one for doing things by halves."
"True. Let's hope Marmaduke is prepared." She laughs. He turns to look at her, and sees the brief twinkle in her eyes and raising of her eyebrows. She was teasing him, and inferring things that it was not at all proper for a lady to be inferring and she knows it. Maybe it's the champagne, or the way her shoulder brushes his arm as she lifts her own champagne glass. He leans towards her, lowering his voice.
"I think what you're trying to ask, is whether he got enough sleep." She blushes, and he smiles. In the month since the flower show he had been trying to give time to his marriage. When they had first returned to Downton after the honeymoon he had been rather swept along by everything going on, he had forgotten that time needed to go into his marriage too, and not just in the moments alone in Cora's bedroom. She deserved better than a man who ignored her existence. The flower show had shown him that he could kiss her, make her smile, hold her all without being in love with her. He could cherish her, as his companion and his friend without having to be in love with her in that romantic sense.
"Robert, how lovely to see you." The way the accent lilts over his name seems almost foreign, it had been so long since he had had to bear Lady Evelyn's company. He had forgotten that she would be in attendance today. The feeling of being watched was beginning to make sense. She approaches from behind him.
"Lady Evelyn, likewise." She comes to stand in front of him, he doesn't miss how she avoids so much as a glance at Cora.
"You're looking so well Robert. It seems like an age since we last saw each other." She reaches forward and touches the sleeve of his jacket. A feeling of acute anxiety washes over him, his collar feeling incredibly tight.
"I'm sure you remember my wife." He gestures towards Cora, who smiles sweetly back at Evelyn before glancing at him. Her look gives nothing away to Evelyn, but Robert sees the determination rising behind her eyes and radiating towards him. She was not going to be intimidated, and she was not going to let him be intimidated.
"Oh yes, of course. Miss Levinson wasn't it?"
"Lady Downton now, and congratulations on your own marriage Lady Evelyn."
"Thank you." Robert can't help noticing that she doesn't look entirely happy or thankful about it. Her tone is clipped and she tries to direct her attention back towards him.
"Lord Downton and I were sad to have missed the ceremony, but we were in Italy at the time." Lady Evelyn's eyes flick back to his wife. Robert can see the anger flicking behind them, she did not like the intrusion of having a third person involved in a conversation she had clearly intended to have alone with him.
"I can't imagine Italy was very pleasant in March. But then, February was such a strange month to choose to get married. Are winter weddings a tradition in America?" To Cora's credit she doesn't even blink. If Evelyn was expecting to intimidate his wife that easily she was about to be sorely mistaken. She had clearly forgotten the last time she had tried to make her feel small and insignificant. Robert put it down to her American blood and having grown up with her mother, but Cora was not going to be shrunk by a few barbed comments by a jealous woman.
"No. Lord Downton and I chose the wedding date for personal reasons. It marked a year since we had first met. In Paris." Robert knows he should step in, he should interrupt this conversation before it goes too far. But there was something strangely gratifying about watching Cora pulling Evelyn apart. Evelyn had treated him very badly, lying to the papers about their engagement and in the process had hurt him emotionally. She had become manipulative and rude, so different from the girl he had grown up with. He watches her now, as she swallows. She looks mildly shaken. He feels a little embarrassed, Evelyn had been in love with him and he had probably broken her heart, to hear Cora utter something that sounded so romantic was going to hurt. The wedding date had been entirely her idea of course, but Evelyn wasn't to know that.
"I'm sure you're making the most of your new home Lady Downton. It's quite something isn't it?" Robert frowns, searching Evelyn's face for an inkling of where she was taking the conversation now. Clearly the comment about Paris was not going to derail her as quickly a Cora had hoped.
"Indeed. It's beautiful."
"Although, you won't have been able to fully appreciate it. Not being able to ride a horse rather limits your ability to enjoy the outdoor pursuits that are so important to living in a country house." Robert can't help but smile.
"Actually, Lady Downton is becoming quite the proficient rider." Evelyn's eyes snap back to him. It wasn't the complete truth. Cora had become a good rider, under his instruction, and she was still improving, but she did not love it, and that ultimately would mean she would never become truly proficient. He found, rather to his surprise, that he didn't mind the thought of that. A year ago, he would have thought it absurd, a wife who wouldn't participate in the hunt. But, as he had continued to teach her he realised it was nice to know that she would likely never ride out without him, and thus those hours she did spend riding would be hours that he was always with her. It would be their time. To laugh, smile and ride quietly through the grounds.
"Well I suppose Lady Downton thought it was best she was able to survey the estate that she was paying for. She wouldn't want to miss anything." Her tone is venomous. Cora flushes and he shakes his head, tightening his jaw. His motives for marriage were not something he was happy about, and Evelyn would know that – she knew him well enough – but to infer that Cora was so scheming was beyond what he was happy to accept.
"Evelyn –" He isn't sure if he is pleased or frustrated that Philip Wakely appears behind his wife and interrupts him.
"Ahh, there you are." He gently places his hand on his wife's back. Robert swallows, convinced that this conversation was about to get even stranger. Evelyn's attachment to him was something he and Cora had openly discussed before, with Cora largely blaming Evelyn's bitterness on her failed love. What they had never discussed was Mr Philip Wakely, it hadn't seemed to matter, given that Cora had so clearly declared her love for him, but Robert feared it did matter in this moment. Four people, who really, would make quite good friends were instead all in love with the wrong people. Bringing with it awkwardness, unease and jealousy. He feared that in marrying Mr Wakely, Evelyn had done something very unwise. She had aligned herself with the man who was in love with the wife of the man she loved. If she disliked Cora for stealing him away from her, he doubted being married to a man who held a soft spot for Cora was going to help. Her jealousy of Cora was likely to continue exponentially. "Lord Downton, Lady Downton." He tilts his champagne glass towards them both, his eyes only briefly settling on Cora. His hand stays fixed firmly on Evelyn's back. "I trust you're both well and that marriage is suiting you as well as it is Evelyn and I?"
"Thank you, Mr Wakely, yes. We were just discussing our time in Italy with your wife." The lie slips so easily from Cora's mouth as Robert still struggles to get control of his anger at Evelyn and the oddity of this entire situation. Her ability to remain so composed was startling, he wagered that even his mother would be impressed.
"Ah yes, I remember now, you were away when we married. We decided on Paris and then the South of France for our honeymoon didn't we dear?" Robert frowns, watching as he turns to look at Evelyn. There was something strange there. The look wasn't false exactly, but it was strained. As if Philip was trying to overplay his hand for fear of giving something away. Probably just trying to work out how to negotiate this awkward encounter. After all, he must have been aware of Evelyn's attachment to him, just as he was aware of Mr Wakely's to Cora. Why was the world so backwards? Why had Cora not fallen in love with the man who was in love with her? Why had he not fallen in love with Evelyn since she had loved him?
"Indeed. Very enjoyable." Evelyn did not sound convinced.
"You sister seems very happy with her choice of husband." Robert finds himself smiling gratefully at his friend. Philip had always been a gentleman Robert had greatly admired. He might not know it, but he was once again proving himself to be a fine individual. Robert's personal anger at Evelyn might not have completely dissipated, but at least it felt like the conversation was returning to safer territory.
"Yes, Rosamund and Mr Painswick are exceptionally well suited. On paper he is perhaps not the most conventional choice, but I'm not sure that matters."
"I suppose it's too late now." Evelyn meets his gaze, before swivelling to face Cora, an arch in one eyebrow. "The Crawley's have rather lowered their standards as regards to suitable spouses. Goodness knows what will happen with the next generation." Before Robert has a chance to exclaim his horror, Evelyn has turned on her heel and walked off. Philip is flushing a deep shade of red. Cora's face is equally flushed, and he thinks he sees anger radiating in her eyes. Robert feels the urge to reach over and take her hand, or hold her, or something. But he doesn't, both her hands are clasped firmly on her champagne flute and to touch her anywhere else would be inappropriate.
"I apologise Lady Downton, for my wife. She does not –" Cora shakes her head gently from side to side.
"Please Mr Wakely. Don't try to defend her, it only makes you look naïve." Her tone is clipped, and her eyes flash with anger again. He had not seen Cora angry, but he sees it now, simmering in her blue orbs. "I don't doubt your wife meant every word she said."
"I still offer my sincerest apologies Lady Downton." He briefly dips his head and steps away. Robert emits a large exhalation of air. Never in his wildest dreams had he ever imagined having such a terrible conversation with two people he had known almost his entire life.
"Cora, are you all right?" He watches her swallow, before slowly taking a sip of her champagne.
"I'll be fine."
"That's not quite the same thing."
"I'm used to it Robert. I am sure there are many others in this room who think Lady Downton being an American is a complete disaster. I suppose at least Lady Evelyn says it directly, rather than covering up her distain behind false pleasantries."
"It's not a disaster Cora. It could never be a disaster. Besides, you are far from the only American who has married into the English aristocracy."
"As may be the case. But we aren't the first choices, are we? We are here out of necessity." It was the first time he had ever heard her sound quite so bitter. She usually shut down all conversation about his motives for marriage. It wasn't a topic of discussion she allowed. She always said it wasn't worth talking about because she would have married him anyway, because she loved him.
"Cora –" She shakes her head.
"Ignore me, sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I am merely angry with Lady Evelyn."
"Which you have every right to be. I swear, if she hadn't walked away…" He clenches and unclenches his fists at the mere thought of it.
"Don't think like that Robert. It's not helpful. Besides, Lady Evelyn is merely deeply hurt, and heartbroken. Time will heal her wounds, and her tongue, hopefully."
"I don't know how you can be so forgiving. She just insulted you, multiple times."
"I can forgive her because I know how hard I would have found it to have to face you if our roles had been reversed." She reaches out her hand to his and squeezes. Robert doesn't know what to say, what was there to say to that? It proved what he had known for months, Cora was far too good for him. Too good for the world he wouldn't wonder. "She lashes out at me because I am an easy target. As far as she is concerned I stole the man she loves."
"Nothing makes such rudeness acceptable Cora."
"No, but it does make it understandable." They lapse into silence. He finds himself just watching her as she sips her champagne and takes a couple more canapes from a passing footman. He stands beside her and he thinks and watches as she calming converses with a few more guests. She was perceptive, that was for sure, and intelligent, but she also manages to display an outward show of confidence that he knew hid a more fragile heart. It was her ability to remain so unfazed by everything that amazed him. He had seen the flicker of anger in her eyes, but she had remained completely composed, unwaveringly level-headed. She had a far better grasp of her emotions than he did. She had adjusted to her entire life at Downton with that same steely determination. He hadn't heard her complain once about anything, not even his mother. Not just Downton either, there was marriage and all that it entailed, she had adjusted well to that too. She was still learning some things, but he didn't doubt she would manage it all. He had been right, she did have all the right qualities to make a good Countess.
She hadn't realised how Rosamund and Marmaduke sustained their dinnertime conversation until they were missing. Lord Grantham and Robert spoke about something regarding the estate and then Lady Grantham would talk about an upcoming event, or some news about one of her acquaintance and between each they lapsed into silence. The steady clink of cutlery the only sound. Marmaduke had brought his stories of London, and Rosamund tales of her friends. It had all seemed so much less stilted when they had been present.
She glances back down at her dessert – a raspberry pavlova – and tries to think of something to say. This was a situation they were going to have to get used to, four of them for dinner, and she ought to at least try and bring some of her own topics of conversation to the table. Before she has a chance to think of something, Lord Grantham directs a question towards her.
"How is your friend Cora, Lady Dascombe?" Cora smiles, she received almost fortnightly letters from Isabella, each one detailing more of her son's accomplishments. Henry (named after his father) was bringing an unprecedented amount of joy to Isabella's life, which was good since she had so little pleasure in anything else about her life in England.
"Very well. Still in London, but she is enjoying motherhood. Little Henry is growing fast."
"You should visit her. I am sure she would appreciate the company." Lord Grantham's unspoken understanding was present in his tone. Everyone knew that Lord Dascombe was not a faithful husband. It was not something the man even tried to hide as far as Cora could tell.
"Lady Downton cannot be travelling about the country visiting friends at the moment Patrick, she has a long list of engagements to attend and I need her help with the bazaar."
"I'm sure you can spare her for a few days to visit a Duchess, Violet."
"Lady Dascombe is not the kind of Duchess Lady Downton should be best mixing with." Lady Grantham's disapproval was not surprising, she was not likely to be enamoured by an American Duchess – what a betrayal of the English upper classes.
"Oh honestly, Mama, Lady Dascombe is perfectly respectable. More respectable than her rake of a husband I daresay."
"You should not speak against your own countrymen Robert."
"Neither should you. Lady Dascombe is the mother of the future Duke of Dascombe, and for that alone she deserves your respect. She is as much a part of the English aristocracy as you are." Cora is surprised by Robert's energetic defence of her friend, it was not like him to challenge his mother – he usually left such things to Rosamund.
"But she is American, she is not English."
"And when Cora gives you a grandson, is that what you're going to say to her? That she is not a part of the English aristocracy despite giving her blood to it?" Cora feels herself tense, Robert's tone has turned sour and his forehead is crinkled in anger. Her cutlery hesitates in mid-air conscious that in his anger Robert might not have completely contemplated where this conversation was leading. She braces herself for the next remark, because she can see it coming. Sure enough Lady Grantham tilts her head in that way she only does when she is about to deliver a blow.
"Well, from what her maid tells me that won't be any time soon. Isn't that right Cora?" The silence is the answer, and Lady Grantham knows it. Cora tries to keep her emotions in check. She knew this would start to happen now, they had been married almost five months and there was no pregnancy. She had not been naïve about her duty. She knew this was a requirement. Lady Grantham had even warned her, not that long ago, that at the six-month mark a pregnancy would become an increasingly important point. The fact Henderson was reporting to Lady Grantham was of no surprise to her either, although this was the first she had heard it being directly eluded to.
"Henderson is spying on Cora for you?" Robert's mouth hangs partly agape. Cora catches his eyes across the table and shakes her head softly at him, trying to get him to back down from the argument. She had always known that Henderson would be reporting to Lady Grantham, but clearly Robert had not. He catches her shaking head and meets her gazes, a mix of confusion and concern floating from his eyes. He directs his next words to her. "You knew?" She simply nods, not wanting to exacerbate either his anger or Lady Grantham's acerbic tongue. "I cannot believe this."
"Oh really Robert, do you really think I wouldn't be making sure that your future and Downton's future was safe in the hands of your wife?"
"Would you have done this if my wife had been a woman of your choosing Mama? Because if your scruples are fixated in your belief that as an American Cora does not understand the importance of having an heir, then I can assure you, that is far from the case." She blushes, not simply from the intimate insinuation he was making at the dinner table, but mainly because she can hear the sincerity in his voice and it makes his heart swell in that uncontrollable way that everything about him does.
"Your mother is merely doing what is best for the family." Robert's eyes flash again, this time at his father. Cora takes her wine glass from the table and lets the red liquid steady her nerves. She did not want Robert falling out with all his family over her.
"Robert, please, your mother wants to secure your future." She meets his gaze across the table, but he shakes his head.
"No Cora, she is using underhand tactics to be manipulative." His eyes slide to his mother who remains, as is her custom, completely unfazed by the conversation. "And I do not approve. We have been married only five months, there is plenty of time to secure the entail." He returns to his food, and Lady Grantham thankfully takes the warning look her husband gives her and they lapse once more into silence. Along with the clink of cutlery this time though is a very thick atmosphere. The room and the table felt infinitely smaller now the air was heated and smouldering with rage.
"Cora, have you heard from your parents recently?" It is Lord Grantham once again, directing a question in her direction. Cora had rather hoped the remainder of the dessert might pass in silence. There was something so much easier sometimes about silence, compared to trying to find something to talk about for the sake of it. She knew Lord Grantham was simply trying to be polite, but she feared his wife would find another opportunity to upend his plans.
"Yes, I get a letter roughly every week."
"How is your father?" It was inevitable that this was where the topic would go. It was not something she was particularly happy discussing. She tried to keep thoughts of her father as far at bay as possible. She had surrendered herself to the inevitability of his death, and she knew she was going to have to face it head on when she and Robert went to America for the last part of his life. This being the case she had tried to keep it only on the edges of her thoughts whilst at Downton – the time to face it would be when it came.
"His account and mother's account differ somewhat. He tends not to mention much about his health in his letters. But I think, on the whole, he is much as to be expected at this stage."
"Do you have a rough idea of how long he has left?"
"There was a suggestion at one point that he might just make it to the new year, but I think that has changed now. November or December seem more likely." Lord Grantham nods slowly. For the first time since she had married Robert she thinks she sees something bordering on concern in his eyes, or maybe it is pity?
"You hadn't said." That is Robert, from across the table. She looks down at her plate, reluctant to meet his gaze.
"Mother only wrote to say that the other day, and it is still largely uncertain. I think things have been fluctuating rather swiftly since they have been home." She places her fork back onto the plate, her dessert now finished.
"You should have said." His concern is palpable, his eyes radiating that look that she had only seen when she had cried in front of him. It was a look of concern mixed with fear. She wasn't sure, but she thought that he was scared of what it might do to her when her father died and how, in turn, he would cope with that. Although he had offered to take her to America and be with her, she knew that he wasn't sure what any of it entailed. He offered her these things because he knew this was what he should do and what was expected, but that look in his eyes sometimes made her think that he was more scared of what was to come than she is.
"I didn't think it was important yet, until we know more." She watches as he opens his mouth to say something, but his mother beats him to it.
"Quite right. We can't start falling to pieces at every slight change in his situation. After all, the outcome isn't going to change." The words are not meant harshly, Cora knows that – above all else Lady Grantham was an unwavering realist – but they find their mark nonetheless. The tear-jerking thoughts she tries so hard to keep hidden make an appearance in her mind's eyes, but she blinks them away, the control she had gained over her emotions on this matter rising within her. Besides, Lady Grantham was only advocating the strategy she had been using herself.
"Robert has said you intend to travel back to America, when the time comes?" The lift of Lord Grantham's tone at the end of his sentence denotes it as a question.
"Yes, Papa, Cora and I both intend to go." Lord Grantham nods, clearly this was not news to him, he was simply confirming what he already knew, and trying to piece together a picture of how the next few months might play out.
"Is Cora not capable of travelling on her own?" Cora feels her chest heave beneath the tightness of her corset. Her mother-in-law really was on form this evening. She takes a steadying breath and reaches for her wine. It would do no good to outwardly display her annoyance, that would only serve to fuel Lady Grantham's displeasure. There were some things worth arguing about – getting her share of her wedding day had been one of those – but this was not. This was not her decision to defend, it was Robert's. After all, she had offered to travel alone.
"It would be more suitable for us to travel together, and I would like to be there to support Cora. Papa has agreed that he can spare me from my duties here."
"Has he now." Cora watches as Lady Grantham arches her eyebrows at her husband. "He had not told me that." The tension in the room is returning to the palpable state that it had been in earlier. Lady Grantham stands, and the dinner is thankfully at an end. Cora rises almost reluctantly, the time alone with Lady Grantham in the drawing room would not be pleasant with her in this sort of a mood. Her anger at her husband was bound to be directed at her in the interim. Or better still, she would find a topic she could actually be angry at Cora about and start on that.
"I think perhaps we will forgo the split tonight." Lord Grantham has risen, dropping his napkin onto the chair behind him. Cora meets his gaze as he gently tilts his head towards her and widens his eyes. He was doing this for her, saving her from the wrath of his wife. Her heart warms a little towards him again. There was something gentle about Lord Grantham. He was subtle with his affection and his actions. He complemented his wife's bolder and more obvious actions. She was also beginning to think that he managed her in his way. He didn't control her, and he very rarely spoke against her, or told her off, but he managed her. It was the same tactic Cora herself had developed with her own mother and was now attempting to use on Lady Grantham.
She is expecting Robert to come to her as they move through to the drawing room but he takes a seat nursing his drink near the fire, glaring after his mother who excuses herself to the library to find a book. Cora wouldn't be surprised if she was simply going to calm her annoyance at being managed by Lord Grantham. She would be back once she was calm. She is about to try and strike up some conversation with Robert, assuming Lord Grantham might go after his wife when the older man gestures to the settee, offering her a seat beside him.
"I hope Lady Grantham doesn't unsettle you too much Cora?" She lowers herself onto the settee beside him. It was unusual for Lord Grantham to broach any subject with her, let alone a topic that might be the beginnings of a conversation in which they attempt to understand each other better.
"Not at all."
"She likes to be in control."
"She has that in common with my own mother." Cora smiles as Lord Grantham smiles, he almost laughs, she thinks.
"She's been struggling with the lack of control she has had over the marriages of her children." She glances at Robert, but he's still staring into the fire. Clearly, he was not paying their conversation any attention.
"She only wants the best for them."
"Perhaps. But she has been rather rude to you on occasion. I fear I have let her get away with it. I've never been very good at telling her off." He laughs softly, but the sound is tinged with a sigh. Cora furrows her brow; Lord Grantham was holding something back. She can sense an undercurrent to his thoughts. Maybe he felt he had said too much? Maybe he thinks is isn't masculine to admit that he struggles to control his wife? It was ironic, since Cora thought he showed great intelligence in his management of her. "Please know, she doesn't truly dislike you. She's just cross she didn't get her way. But she will come around."
"I'm not sure she will ever be content with the fact the future Countess of Grantham is an American, but maybe she might come around to me." Lord Grantham smiles in acknowledgement before his face turns reflective again. His gaze lost in his thoughts.
"Marriage is so complicated. I fear I've never really understood how to do it properly." Cora is startled as he laughs half-heartedly again. She had not expected the conversation to continue.
"I haven't been married long, but I would reckon there isn't a right or a wrong way. Everybody is different; thus, every marriage must be different."
"Yes. But I think maybe there are some things a marriage can never recover from." It was clear that was not something for Cora to comment on. Lord Grantham was reflecting on his own marriage, and he was not likely to divulge the particulars of it to her. His face is contorted in emotional pain and Cora wonders what it was about his marriage that he regretted.
In the months she had lived at Downton she had decided that the marriage of Lord and Lady Grantham was content. She might have stretched to calling it happy. They didn't love each other, not like Rosamund and Marmaduke, but they respected each other. She also thought that they were both faithful to each other, she'd had no reason to suspect that either of them had any extra-marital relationships, not that this was to say neither of them ever had or that they weren't just very discreet. She had been thinking more lately about how her marriage might develop, what it might look like if she failed to manage to make Robert fall in love with her. On her best days she imagined it as something like Lord and Lady Grantham's; a marriage based on respect and a good partnership.
"Marriage is a long business Cora, don't forget that. So much can change. Feelings can change at any time." He reaches out his hand and pats her knee. His eyes seem to be trying to convey a greater meaning but she doesn't like to dare think he was suggesting that Robert might fall in love with her eventually, even if it took years. It was fine to hope, and to try with her actions to draw out his feelings, but she knew it was impossible to force the matter and too much hope would lead to a greater disappointment. Particularly if he found another woman he loved one day. She swallows away that thought and nods meekly up at Lord Grantham.