Robert locked his car outside Belgrave Square and took a deep breath. Carrying a shopping bag in one hand he walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. Standing outside on a rainy London evening, he felt a lot of things. He was sad, and he was heartbroken, but he reminded himself that he had to put her feelings ahead of his. She was more vulnerable, and it was his duty to make sure she was okay.
The door opened in front of him and revealed a woman in her forties, wearing her pajamas with her beautiful red hair tied in a messy bun. Her petite body was wrapped in a beige shawl that matched the color of her face. Plain, lifeless, tired.
"Hey" she said as she made way for him to enter.
"Hello, Ros" he said as he took a step in to kiss her cheek. "Were you sleeping?' he asked as he entered her lounge.
"No" Rosamund replied brushing away the pieces of stray hair that had landed on her face. "Do you want tea?" she asked as she walked towards her kitchen.
Robert sighed looking at the state of her living room. Clothes were strewed on her sofas and on the floor, almost emptied boxes of take-away's lying in every corner, bottles of wine had rolled down under the sofa, and the place stench of all those things.
Robert put the shopping bag in his hand on one of the counter's and sighed.
"No" he said as Rosamund turned around. "I brought dinner"
Rosamund sighed and ran a hand in through her hair "I'm not hungry, Robert"
"It's your favourite lasagna. I made it"
"That doesn't help" she replied.
Robert chuckled "Come on, please. I'll heat it up and tidy up the place, why don't you go and take a hot shower in the meantime. You'll feel better"
Rosamund chewed on her lower lip and rubbed her arms slowly. She looked around her living room, realizing the horrifying state that it was in and closed her eyes.
Robert walked towards her and grabbed her shoulders softly "Come on, please"
Rosamund sighed "Okay. I'll just be a few minutes"
Robert smiled "Take as long as you like"
Rosamund headed towards the bathroom and Robert took off his coat, rolled up his sleeves and started tidying up the place. It broke his heart to see his sister in this state. He had never seen Rosamund being anything other than being…Rosamund.
She was his feisty, opinionated, hot tempered older sister that always knew what she wanted and got it, even if it meant fighting with Mama; which was a pretty daring thing to do in the Crawley family. Robert was always inspired by her free spirit and how she always gave her everything to things and people that mattered to her. This trait was something that he could see in all his daughters, especially in Sybil. She was free spirit like Rosamund and could never be tamed. And Robert loved that about her and her daughters more than anything else. Even if it meant a number of disagreements and fights with them, but he was proud that they were their own person and nothing could ever stop them from doing what was important to them. Something that Robert felt he lacked in his personality. Rosamund had always been the adventurous one, the daring one, the feisty one. Robert was none of those things. They were complete opposites which is why maybe they got along so well since their childhood, because they balanced out each other's personalities. Rosamund had motivated him to make many decisions in his life; personally and professionally. Before the tragic incident happened, Rosamund had been in charge of managing events at Hotel Grantham. Fate however had other ideas and then things changed. But she had always been his rock and now it was time for him to be hers.
Rosamund married her university sweetheart Marmaduke twenty years ago. Mama was against it of course, because Marmaduke wasn't exactly the quiet, sophisticated type that Mama liked men to be. He was also outspoken, opinioned and feisty like Rosamund. They made quite an entertaining pair and Robert would always go to them whenever he felt low. They always managed to cheer him up by just their energy. Fate however had been very cruel to them. Just before their twentieth wedding anniversary, Marmaduke died in a car accident. It happened four months ago and Rosamund hadn't been the same ever since. Of course she wouldn't be; Marmaduke was the love of her life. She loved him with so much passion that sometimes scared Robert, it made him nervous about his own marriage because he had never felt those feelings as intensely as Rosamund felt. And he knew Marmaduke felt the same for Rosamund.
It was a terrible loss. Terrible.
The day he died was one of the saddest days in Crawley history. Even Mama managed to shed a few tears that day. The girls were so very shocked by it all. Rosamund had stopped living after that day. For the first few days she wouldn't even cry, and it scared Robert because it was important for her to let it all out. She did that a few weeks later, and slowly everyone started going back to their normal routines. It was bound to happen, unfortunately the world doesn't stop nor care and sooner or later, one has to get back to living their lives.
Robert had always been the closest to Rosamund,and it broke his heart to see his sister like this. The most talkative, fashionable, glamorous woman he knew had shut herself in a house and survived on unhealthy take away's and alcohol. He knew he couldn't do much; he just had to be there for her and make sure she was okay. And that was what he was doing.
Robert cut a piece of the lasagna and made a plate for Rosamund as she exited the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her head, and in her new set of pajamas.
"Right on time" Robert said as he passed her a plate from opposite the kitchen counter.
"Smells nice" Rosamund said she took a plate. She took a bite and raised her eyebrows "Not bad, Robert"
Robert smiled "You've bullied me enough in your childhood for me to learn all your favourite dishes"
Rosamund smiled "It was worth it" she said as she took another bite.
He let her eat in silence as he poured her a glass of water and put on the kettle of tea. After she had eaten, he collected the plates and took them to the dishwasher. He took out a packet of pills from his shopping bag and passed them to her.
"What is this?" Rosamund asked
"It's just something to help you sleep. Sybil gave them to me for you"
Rosamund sighed "Robert, I don't need pills…"
"Ros, look at yourself, you haven't slept in over three days. Just take them for a week, you'll feel better"
Rosamund nodded and headed towards the sofa. Robert followed her with two cups of tea.
"Sybil also gave me some vitamins for you. They're in the bag"
Rosamund sat down on the sofa and smiled "Look at her, I can't believe she's about to become a nurse. I still have to remind myself that she's not fifteen years old"
Robert grinned. That was true; his little baby had grown up too fast "She always knew she wanted to be a nurse. I can't believe she's really about to become one"
Rosamund took a sip of her tea "All of the girls knew. Mary and Edith had always been interested in the business. As a kid Mary spent the most time in your office and Edith spent the most in mine. Now Mary is handling the accounts and Edith is in charge of media. They've all always known" she smiled.
Robert smiled back. His girls had always been very close to their Aunt Rosamund. When they were younger, Rosamund had spent many days babysitting them when Robert was busy in the office and Valarie had her own plans. Then the girls got older and they started spending a lot of time at the hotel, where Aunt Rosamund's office were their favourite because she would spoil them with treats from the kitchen. The girls were extremely fond of her. In fact all of them discussed all their relationship issues with their cool and extremely approachable Aunt Rosamund. Robert didn't know how he felt about that, not because of the fact that the girls didn't come to him. God knew, he wouldn't know how to give advice on boyfriend issues to teenagers but because they rarely went to Valarie to discuss their relationships. Usually, girls went to their mother but his daughters almost always went to Rosamund. Maybe because Valarie was always so consumed in her own social world that the girls felt that their Aunt was more approachable. He felt happy that the girls were that close to Rosamund, but also sad that they didn't have the warmest bond with their mother. Not like Robert or Rosamund had ever been that close to their own mother, so it seemed perfectly normal on the whole. But they did have that kind of a relationship with their aunt, and Robert would've liked if they had the same relationship with their mother. It was all very bittersweet.
"What are you thinking about?" Rosamund asked, breaking Robert's train of thoughts.
Robert chuckled "I was just having a trip down memory lane"
Rosamund smiled "Yeah, seems like a whole other world"
This time Rosamund got lose in her thoughts and Robert could see her expressions changed. Heartbreaking memories started to engulf her and Robert coughed to bring her back to present. Rosamund shook her head, and closed her lids to hide her glassy eyes. He gave her a moment to recover.
"Valarie says hi" Robert said to cut the tension in the air.
Rosamund slowly rolled her eyes in response and took a sip of her tea "You know" she said gulping down the liquid "She hasn't visited me in over two months"
Robert sighed and pressed the bridge of his nose. Rosamund had never been fond of Valarie. And that topic was something that Robert and Rosamund had argued over multiple times. She was against their marriage; she thought Valarie was too self-consumed and never admitted that she was wrong. Rosamund also didn't appreciate her relationship with the girls. Of course Valarie loved them a lot but her love never came in terms of giving them time. Robert had always defended Valarie, he had to because she was his wife. His defense was that Mama never gave them time but they turned out alright but Rosamund only huffed in response. He had been angry and fought with his sister multiple times over the subject but deep down he knew not all she said was wrong. Some of it was right and it hurt him deeply to admit it, even if only to himself. Of course, his dear sister was a master in exaggeration but there was truth in some of her words and it hurt him. It hurt because even he knew she was saying the right thing.
"She was busy with…" Robert sighed.
Rosamund put up her hand "No need to explain. It's fine, I was just saying"
"Yeah" he said gulping down the last few sips of the liquid.
"Anyways, Edith told me that new media team is great" Rosamund said, changing the topic.
Robert smiled, glad to be talking about something else "Yes, they seem great"
Rosamund smiled "And it's a woman who owns the company?"
Robert nodded, smiling a little too obviously "Yes. Cora Levinson Bricker. They're doing portraits of the family this week"
"Oh" Rosamund replied
"Ros" he said getting up to sit next to her on the sofa. He took her hand "We can't do it without you"
Rosamund sighed "Robert, I…I don't think I can"
"I know. I know but you haven't left the house in four months. Please, just come and see. The place isn't the same without you"
Rosamund sighed "If I come, does that mean I'll have to start work again?"
Robert sat back straighter on the couch, glad to be getting somewhere with this conversation "If you wish. Your office awaits you"
Rosamund smiled in response.
"We have that big charity event coming next month, and I know just the right person to arrange it" Robert said, grinning at his sister.
Rosamund chuckled sadly "I'll think about it"
Cora walked towards her dining table with two cups of tea.
"Here you go" she said as she sat down on the chair.
"Thank you" replied Carson with a smile.
Cora usually never brought work to home but with the work overload, she had to amend that rule for a while. Luckily Carson only lived a few blocks away, and just like Cora he was a workaholic and considered PRIME a family business. And one always has to do everything they can for their family.
Cora raised her eyebrows and chewed her lip "Right, we've settled the rent, now we should clear that account with the Lighthouse Agency" Cora said as she skimmed through the papers in front of her, and ticked a few items on the list.
"Right" Carson nodded "I've sent the accounts from April to July. Let's go over the next three months, and I'll send them tomorrow"
"Perfect"
Carson and Cora worked in silence when the sound of heavy breathing from behind distracted them.
Simon had exited one of the rooms, after spending the last two hours in their home gym, wearing his tracksuit.
"Oh Carson" Simon said as he jogged towards the kitchen "When did you get here?"
Carson who was busy calculating some figures, forgot the sum he was on and sighed "Oh, just over an hour ago, Mr Bricker" he said turning his head towards him.
"Really?" said Simon, still recovering from his breathing "I didn't hear you come in"
Carson looked at him awkwardly when Cora spoke "That's because you had your music on so loud. You wouldn't be able to hear if fifty people walked in" she said shaking her head.
Simon laughed "It gives me the extra adrenaline" he replied thumping his chest.
Cora nodded and got back to work "Yes, where were we, 15th August?" she asked.
Carson looked at the sheet again, slightly annoyed that he had to stop midway "Uh, it was…15th yes, we had calculated ten thousand seven hundred and fifty pounds"
"Right" Cora said as she grabbed the sheet again "So then 18th August, we had catering for the shoot and we borrowed the equipment"
"Yes, that was a total of five hundred pounds and another twenty pounds for the taxi fare for the guest"
Carson continued his calculations very intently when Simon jogged towards Cora from the kitchen "What are you both doing?" he asked as Cora looked at him from her side eye, once again getting interrupted in her careful counting.
"Uh, just work" she said she scribbled down a few more details from the next entry.
"A bit too late, isn't it?" he asked again and Cora absent mindedly nodded, while skimming through another list.
"Don't you agree, Carson?" he asked as he slowly patted Carson's back, once again breaking his flow.
Carson got flustered and sighed "Uh, yes…uh,I'm sure"
Cora sighed and looked at Carson raising his eyebrows, sighing and starting again for the second time.
"Simon, why don't you go shower, I won't be long" she said, trying to get rid of him so they could finish their work.
She never really brought work home and she just got reminded of the second reason why she never did.
"Yeah" he said as he stood next to Cora and moved his shoulders in circular motion to stretch "By the way, I have to give my colleagues a treat soon, can I get a hall booked at that hotel on the 19th?"
Cora looked up at him "Do you mean this month?"
"Yup" he said as he started doing lunges next to the dining table.
"I..uh" Cora look at him confusingly "I can ask about the availability, but I can't guarantee, it's only a few days away"
Simon chuckled as he moved on to doing some squats "Oh come on, what's the point of my lovely wife working there if we can't have the privileges"
Cora sighed and gulped down a puff of hair "I only just started, Simon"
"All the more reason. They should show that you're important to them. Wouldn't you agree, Carson?"
Carson who was blissfully ignoring the conversation while tapping the buttons on the calculator, looked up and softly sighed. Giving up, he put his calculator aside and tried his best to smile at Simon "Sorry, what?"
"I'm saying, don't you think Cora should have priority over bookings at the hotel if needed?"
Carson opened his mouth to speak but stopped. Cora meanwhile looked down at the papers, slightly embarrassed to look Carson in the eye.
"I think we should develop our credibility first and then expect privileges, Mr Bricker" Carson replied giving a tip lipped smile to Simon.
Simon took a long breath and nodded "Very well. If it's available, let me know babe, I want to give a cracking party" he said as he walked towards his bedroom to take a shower.
Cora and Carson observed him walk inside his room. Once he was inside, Carson softly smiled at Cora and Cora tried her best to smile back.
"Should we continue?" Carson asked.
Cora nodded as she looked back the papers as Carson started narrating the figures.
The truth was that Cora knew that Carson didn't really like Simon. He never said so, of course he didn't. But Cora knew. Because he had the exact same look on his face that Cora's father used to have while talking to Simon. That forced smile and conversation that always made Cora feel awkward and ashamed. Her father never really warmed up to Simon. Carson reminded her of her father and it only made sense that Carson wasn't particularly fond of him either.
It hurt her of course, it did. And she had argued over this with her father many times when he was alive. But her father was always nice to Simon, despite his reservations. He was always kind to him, spoke nicely with him and wished him well. And so did Carson. So Cora never really knew how to discuss what exactly the problem was that they had with him.
Especially with Carson. Because he never once had said anything to Cora about Simon at all. She knew she was close enough with Carson to have that conversation, since she regarded him as a father, but he never did. And she knew he never would either. But Cora could see it on his face, because his expressions mirrored her late father's. And to be honest, Cora never had the courage to ask either.
She did wonder though. Simon was maybe high energy for Carson, maybe it was because he was a little childish. She didn't know. But the more she thought, the more she started gathering traits that were potentially annoying for quiet people like her, so she stopped counting altogether. She felt horrible doing so. And also because it hurt her how easy it was for her to count traits that put her off.
It was something always at the back of her head but she didn't know how to deal with it without hurting people and making others awkward.
Sighing, she looked back at the papers, to distract herself from her real life problems. As she always did.
"Is this alright?" Mary asked she sat back straighter on her office chair to pose for the camera.
"That's perfect. Could you maybe rest your arms on the chair's arm?" Cora asked as she looked at Mary through the lens of the camera.
It had been a long day. Cora had arrived at the hotel at eight in the morning with Carson and Phyllis to start the first round of pictures of the Crawley family. They were supposed to stay for two days to get done with a few people and then come back after three days to do the next. She had started the first day with Isobel Crawley, mother in law to Mary and Head of Décor for the hotel. Isobel had been very accommodating and Cora found her very nice and kind. She had loved the pictures as well, which was a bonus. She was a little camera shy so it took some effort to get her in the flow but in the end the pictures turned out beautiful.
It was 11AM now and Cora was photographing the eldest daughter of the Crawley family, Miss Mary Crawley. Mary had been right on time, and extremely professional about the whole thing. Cora was internally grateful because after Isobel, Mary was a piece of cake and had an extremely photo genic face.
"The camera truly loves you. I love the pictures" Cora said smiling.
Mary smiled at her, slightly raising the eyebrows "I'm glad. The older one of the website are horrid, I still had baby fat on my face" she replied, tilting her head slightly for another picture.
Cora smiled as she clicked another few pictures "These are great. Phyllis could you tone down the cool light, there's a slight shadow on her face"
Phyllis nodded as she turned the dimmer.
"These are quite warm" Mary said as she felt the heat of the studio light on her face.
"Yes, unfortunately. I just need a few more" Cora said as she moved slightly towards the right to find a new angle.
Mary raised her eyebrows and smiled "No please, take however much time you need"
Cora smiled at her "I'd like a few next to that folder shelf"
Mary nodded and got up to stand next to the shelf.
"Since you manage the accounts, I thought it'll give a nice touch. And you can use some for your CV as well" Cora added as she adjusted one lights, while Phyllis adjusted the other.
Mary raised her eyebrows and smiled "That's a good idea!"
Cora snapped a few more and instructed Mary on how to pose after every few shots.
"Perfect! Will Mr Matthew be coming? I had asked your assistant if it was possible to get him in one of the shots"
Mary nodded "Yes, she told me. I'll just text her"
Mary texted her assistant and asked Cora "Why do you need a shot with Matthew? Won't he be having his own photo shoot later on?" she asked squinting her eyebrows.
Cora nodded "Yes, yes he will. Your hotel has many great things to offer and one of its USP is that it belongs to one single family and they operate it on all levels"
Mary smirked softly at her "Go on"
"The pictures of the couples can add value to it. Especially when we'll add that in the new magazine addition; a few pictures and an article about the successful family business can really help us gain more attention" Cora finished with a smile.
Mary raised her eyebrows again and nodded "That is a very good selling point, Cora. I'm impressed. Are you sure you can't do the PR for our hotel too?"
Cora chuckled at her when Matthew entered her room.
"Hello" Matthew said as he neared Mary and kissed her on the cheek "You look very smart" he added as he scanned Mary with a smirk on his face.
Mary smirked back in her smart black suit and put her hand son his shoulder "You don't look too bad yourself"
Matthew moved back a few steps and put his arms out "Do I? I was instructed to wear black and a silver tie"
Cora turned at the sound of that and looked at Matthew "That's my doing, I'm afraid. I decided with Edith to make everyone wear black in these photoshoots"
Matthew smiled at her "Very wise choice"
Mary chuckled "I remember Jarvis insisted that we all wear off white in the pictures and the color of the dress never even showed"
Everyone laughed in the room.
"Don't worry you're safe with me" Cora said smiling as she instructed Matthew and Mary to stand next in front of the hotel's picture in the background.
She clicked a few dozen photographs of the pair and marveled at how gorgeous they looked together, they truly were two beautiful looking people that were thankfully also extremely photogenic. She asked them for a few smiling one's as well, and some that looked very natural. After a good half an hour, Cora was satisfied with the results.
"I think we're done. They are gorgeous" Cora smiled.
"Can we see them?" Matthew asked as Cora removed the SD card for her camera.
"Of course. I'll edit them a little more for the final version but the raw ones look pretty good too"
"Here I'll show them in the laptop" Phyllis added as she took the card from Cora.
As Phyllis inserted the card in the laptop, Mary's phone rang.
"It's Sybil" she said to Matthew.
Mary answered the video call and Cora moved to the side to pack her lenses.
"Hi darling?" Mary said answering the call.
"Hey, how are you?" The person from the other end replied.
Cora couldn't see her, but she'd seen the pictures of the youngest daughter on the website and thought she was beautiful. Edith told her that Sybil was studying to be a nurse and Cora found that very interesting that she was the only member that wasn't a part of the hotel and wanted to do something else entirely.
"Here" Mary said as she placed her phone against a photo frame on her table and posed for her sister "How do I look?"
"Mary, you look stunning. What's happening there?" Sybil asked, chuckling.
"Matthew and I are in the middle of a photoshoot for the website and the magazine"
"Oh right" replied Sybil "That was today! You look great, Mary. I envy you now; I've been wiping off baby drools off my shoulder all day and look at you"
Mary chuckled "Aw, when can you come meet us, I haven't seen you in so long"
Cora heard a sigh at the other end and slowly walked behind Mary to turn off the studio light before it got too warm.
"I'll try tomorrow, but I can't promise. I took a day off to visit Aunt Rosamund on Tuesday. Oh, who's that?" Sybil asked as she saw Cora walk behind Mary.
"Oh" Mary picked up her phone so that Sybil could properly see "This is Cora Levinson Bricker, she's doing our shoot"
Cora shyly smiled at the girl in the camera "Hello" she said.
"Oh, you're from PRIME!" Sybil replied enthusiastically.
"I am" Cora replied, chuckling softly. She loved how everyone in the Crawley family reacted the same way at the mention of PRIME. It really made her feel proud.
"I've heard so much about you from everyone. I'm very excited to see the pictures"
"I'm so happy to hear that" Cora smiled back at her.
"I'm Sybil, by the way"
Cora smiled "Yes, I've heard a lot about you too"
Sybil chuckled "I hope I get to meet you soon. Bye Cora"
Cora nodded "Me too. Bye"
Cora walked towards the light smiling. Sybil truly was a beauty and sounded very sweet. She packed the rest of her things when Mary continued to talk to Sybil.
"You went to Aunt Rosamund's?" Mary asked.
"Yes, I wanted to see if she was okay"
"Papa went last night. He thinks he's finally convinced her to come back" Mary replied sighing
"I hope so. I hate to see her like this" Sybil replied.
"You should've told me, I'd have come as well" Mary added.
"I had planned with Mama actually and I didn't want to make her comfortable so I thought two people would be enough, but you know Mama.." she sighed "She said she had other plans last minute"
"Typical of Mama. She said the same thing to Edith last month" Mary replied sighing.
Matthew softly rubbed Mary's back, reminding her of the presence of strangers in the room.
Cora tried her best not to look their way. She felt odd, that everyone seem to react strangely whenever Mrs Crawley was mentioned. All of them looked like a closely knitted family but everyone almost had the same reaction to her.
Mary cut the call a few minutes later, fisting her hand in frustration when Phyllis interrupted to cut the tension in the air.
"The pictures are ready if you'd like to see them"
Matthew and Mary looked at the pictures in the laptop for the next ten minutes and Cora stood at the side, hoping they would like it. Especially Mary. She seemed like a tough one to please so she kept her fingers crossed.
"These are amazing, Cora. Can..I can I call you Cora?" Matthew said.
"Of course, and thank you, I'm glad you like them"
Mary raised her eyebrows and Cora looked at her with bated breath.
"I might have to go and give Bates a hug for finding you, these are really great, Cora" Mary said smiling at her.
Cora smiled back, secretly sighing in relief behind that big grin "I'm very happy you do"
"These are excellent. Papa was right, you were just what we needed" Mary smiled and moved to grab her phone again.
Matthew walked towards Cora and whispered "She never says that to anyone" he said and gave Cora a smirk and a thumbs up.
Cora laughed at that and gave him a thumbs up as well.
A few hours later, after finishing John Bates' photo shoot, Cora walked towards Robert Crawley's office. She had arrived early in the morning and had gotten to work as soon as she came in. So she never got the chance to meet him. The last time she met him was the day she signed the contract and before going he had given her a bouquet of lilies to welcome her team to the hotel team officially. She thought it was a very sweet gesture. That was almost ten days ago and now she was heading towards his office to ask him something important but also to meet him since she had been here for a good few hours and thought she should say hello.
Cora knocked on his door. Thankfully Mrs Hughes was nowhere to be seen and strangely nor was Mr Carson and Cora just smirked at the thought of them walking around the hotel together.
"Come in" she heard Robert's voice from the other side of the door.
Cora turned the knob and stepped inside the office.
She saw Robert look up at her in surprise, she saw how his eyebrows went up slightly and then he instantly smiled at her, a very genuine smile that Cora's face mirrored.
"Oh hello" Robert said standing up "Please come in"
Cora walked in with a big smile on her face and only then she realized that he had company. She had completely overlooked that someone had been sitting on the opposite side of the table. She looked at the chair to her left where Isobel Crawley sat smiling up at her and observing a little too wide of a grin on her face, and possibly on Robert's face too.
Cora felt the hair on her neck stand up and her ears turning pink "Oh..I'm sorry. I didn't see you had company" she said as she stepped back a step.
How could she have not seen an adult sized human sitting in a room? Was she blind? She internally wanted to slap herself. She saw Robert look at Isobel, with a confused face. It seemed as if he forgot that someone else was in the room too.
Isobel chuckled as Robert gulped softly "No need. I was just leaving. I was telling Robert about your superb photography skills this morning"
Cora smiled at her and looked at Robert who nodded raising his eyebrows.
"I heard it was a success" added Robert and Cora smiled brighter.
"Oh absolutely. She got me to pose properly" Isobel said as she grabbed her bag from the table getting up "she can do anything"
The three of them laughed as Isobel Crawley left the room.
After she left, Cora gulped "I'm so sorry, I didn't know you had company, or I would've come later"
Robert chuckled and instructed her to sit down "Not to worry. We were wasting time chit chatting anyway" he said smiling.
Cora smiled back, he somehow managed to always make her feel less embarrassed and she really appreciated that.
"I'm sorry, I didn't welcome you when you arrived, I was in a conference" Robert smiled.
"Oh" Cora sat back straighter on the seat "No need, you're a busy man"
'"Have you settled in fine? Are the rooms alright?" he asked.
Cora looked at him in surprise. They had been given rooms on the eighth floor that was private and was reserved for family and friends of the Crawleys. It had private room service and other facilities. It was more than just alright.
"They're wonderful, thank you. You didn't need to give us private family rooms really, we'd have been fine in the normal ones" Cora added smiling at him.
"Oh nonsense! Of course we had to and we're very happy to. You let me know if you need anything else"
Cora chuckled "If I have any issues, I'll take it up to Mr Bates, don't worry"
Robert replied "You're my special guest, I shall make sure you're comfortable myself"
Cora felt fluttering in her stomach and looked down, trying to control the blush on her face. He really made her feel silly. No wonder she got nervous every time she had to meet him. He didn't flirt exactly...he was just very charming, and genuinely so. And that was something that Cora really appreciated.
"How can I help?" Robert asked dragging Cora back to reality.
"Oh, um, I wondered if I can go up to the rooftop at sunrise tomorrow?" she asked.
Robert squinted his eyebrows. His face clearly showed that he wasn't expecting that. He sat back straighter in his chair.
"By all means, but why so early in the morning?" he asked, curious at the strange request.
"Have you ever woken up at sunrise to admire the view?" Cora asked, with a soft smirk on her face.
Robert tried to think as Cora smiled at the way his expressions changed.
"I don't think so, no" he replied chuckling, after thinking for a few seconds.
"You should"
Robert looked at her for a second and then smiled "Okay, if you say so"
"But I'm not asking permission to go up to admire the view" she added and Robert raised his eyebrows.
"Oh" he said.
"We have to take some videos for the website's promo next week and I wanted to take some aerial view shots. Golden hour is either at sun rise or sun set. Since it's a hotel, there are bound to be lots of people in the gardens, pools and near the lake so I want to shoot when there are little to no people, and sunrise is the perfect time to do so. We're not really shooting tomorrow, I just want to see how it looks and if we should add videos from that angle."
Robert looked at her with his mouth slightly open. He had been listening intently and that made Cora smile.
"That…that is good thinking" Robert said after a few moments of adding it all up together.
Cora chuckled "So, do I have the permission?"
"Definitely! I'll get someone to open the lock before so you can do it in peace"
Robert rolled over for what felt like the hundredth time that night, struggling to go to sleep. He had had a long day and he just wanted to sleep for a few hours but was struggling to do so. Giving up, he sighed and lied on his back and stared at the ceiling. He was sleeping in his room at the hotel. Not that it wasn't common for him to do so; he had spent a good many nights in his room here for work or long days, but the reason for this night had been different. But then again, the same reason wasn't unusual either.
Earlier that night, he had had a fight with Valarie. It was silly really. It started with how the girls told her that they feel that Valarie should've visited Rosamund more often and then somehow progressed to how Mama had told one of her friends that Valarie doesn't attend family meetings and how Valarie felt exposed that Mama would choose to talk about these things publicly. Robert only said that he was sure that it was someone else because everything aside, Mama never talked about family problems with strangers. But it sounded as if Valarie had called for a fight. That triggered her and she ranted on about how she wasn't valued in the family and that Robert never had her back. That in response had triggered Robert because he truly had done nothing but stand up for Valarie in front of all his family members, all his life. The argument lasted about a good hour, and by that time Robert was drained of all the energy he had left in him. Upon hearing no response, Valarie had told him to get lost and nine hours later, he was in his hotel bed, begging his body to sleep.
He rolled towards his bedside to check the time. It was nearly five in the morning. He moaned internally. His body was tired; he needed to sleep but he his brain didn't allow him to. One thought after the other, and that had cost him his whole night.
He didn't know what to do with his relationship with Valarie anymore. He had tried his best to make her understand but she was also so focused on her little bubble of a world that it was almost impossible to do so. It angered him, it hurt him but he didn't know what to do. Valarie was his father's choice and he respected that choice. They were good friends in the start as well, he sighed thinking about what all had gone wrong. It hurt him, and more than that it hurt him that his girls were affected too. Their relations with their mother reminded him a lot of how his Mama had her relationship with his grandmother. It felt too much on the surface and he wished it was different. But the funny thing was, that the girls got used to it. It hurt them too, but they filled the gaps by spending time with Rosamund.
Mama gave up as well, because she was convinced that it may be possible that this relationship between Robert and Valarie get better, but it surely won't get any worse. And that was enough for Mama to find another distraction.
Then Rosamund got married, and his best friend cum older sister naturally gave most of her time to her husband. In the end, if anyone was left alone, it was him. And even though he was used to his life with Valarie, there were times he wished it had been different.
Times like tonight, which meant hours of endless thinking. Mama had been right, it was very overrated. Sighing he looked at the soft morning light creep through the window. He sighed once again, only a few hours before he had to start his day.
He moaned once again, and turned to one side, with the last hope of getting some sleep, when suddenly he remembered something and a soft smile formed on his sleepless face.
Cora breathed in the crisp morning air on the roof of Hotel Grantham. She had come up at 5 in the morning, when the morning lights had softly started to creep in. She took another deep breath and looked at the sky. She loved the feeling of soft wind on her face, and the wind gently breezing through her hair. The sun was shyly coming through from behind the soft clouds and Cora was grateful to see the golden light highlight the entirety of the hotel. The view truly was amazing; she could see the vast gardens in front of her, and the lake towards one end where swans would swim. She smiled looking the view, and upon hearing the chirping of the birds. She loved waking up in the morning. It was her favorite time, when the world was sleeping and everything seemed so peaceful and quiet. It was quite therapeutic for her, and spending a morning like that on a roof top with a beautiful view made it all the more lovely. It was a little chilly for her, and she had forgotten her coat in her room but it was alright. Waking up to such a view was worth it. She took snaps of the stunning view in front of her. She had brought her drone as well to test how it would all look, but there was no need. It all looked pretty stunning to start with. She smiled thinking how gorgeous the videos would be. She started to take a couple of picture of the lake when she heard footsteps behind her.
She looked behind to see Robert Crawley walk towards her with a big toothy smile on his face, and a tray and a bag in hand. He was the last person she had been expecting, so she was surprised, very pleasantly so.
"Oh, hello. This is a surprise" she said smiling at him.
He chuckled "Well, you told me to admire the view at sun rise. I'm only following instructions" he said as he walked towards her.
"Are you often this prompt at following instructions?" she asked smirking.
He chuckled and softly blushed at that "Let's just go with the answer yes"
Cora chuckled at him.
"I hope I won't disturb you, I come bearing gifts" Robert said as he moved the tray closer to her.
He had brought two cups of coffee and a few croissants for them for breakfast, as well as a throw rug for them to sit on.
"I can see that" Cora chuckled "Thank you so much"
Robert placed everything on the floor and walked up to stand next to Cora. He looked up and admired the view in front of him. He sighed looking at the expanse of it and that sight warmed Cora's heart.
"I was right, wasn't I?" Cora asked him, excited to know his opinion.
Robert smiled "You were, absolutely right. This is beautiful. I never realized it looked this grand at this time"
Cora softly giggled at that "That's because you can see no people in the gardens"
"Thank you for telling me about it" said Robert, as he looked at her and gave her a smile.
"No problem! Did you come all the way from your house to see this?" Cora asked, still surprised by his sudden appearance.
She saw a hint of sadness on his face but it quickly disappeared "I stayed here today. I often do. I couldn't sleep and then I remembered how enthusiastically you talked about views at sunrise so I thought I must check it out" he replied.
Cora nodded "I'm glad I did"
Robert had shyly walked towards the roof at five in the morning. He didn't know what he was doing; carrying a tray and a throw rug like a silly boy, but after an exhausting night, the idea of fresh air, and good company thrilled him. He had talked to Cora only a few times but he felt like a positive person after every conversation they had had time and at that moment, he was terribly craving some positivity in his life. Earlier that day she had told him that she'd be at the roof around this time, so he crossed his fingers, ordered breakfast and made his way to the roof, only hoping that she'd be there and not mind him intruding her assignment.
She was surprised to see him but she reassured him that it was a surprise of a pleasant nature with that big smile that she greeted him with. He admired the view in front of him and felt proud knowing that he owned such a beautiful place, and he was thankful to Cora for making him realize that. He thanked her and she told him she was glad that he came.
Robert looked at the gardens again when Cora asked a question "That archway there? It's so beautiful. Do you have weddings there?" she asked.
Robert smiled, thinking back to its history "A wedding, yes. My father had that made twenty one years ago for my sister Rosamund. Her back then fiancé Marmaduke had proposed her there and Rosamund had insisted she wanted to get married at that part of the garden. It was a strange request really, but Papa had agreed to it after she kept insisting, and we had the wedding there twenty years ago. He built that to mark their special day"
Cora listened intently and smiled at him.
Robert shook his head "Sorry, that was a quite a long story. The answer is no, only one wedding had ever happened" he replied chuckling and feeling silly.
"No, thank you for telling me. I think it's romantic" she replied and Robert smiled at her.
"I think so too…. now anyway" he chuckled.
"Is your brother in law also a part of the hotel?" Cora asked, still staring and smiling at the archway.
Robert felt a sharp pain in his chest and he sighed "He was. He died a few months ago"
He noticed Cora's smile disappear and how she stood back straighter "I'm sorry"
"It's okay, you weren't to know" he replied, trying to make sure she didn't feel awkward.
"Over there" he said changing the topic "that lake was my favorite as a kid. Every time I had a fight with Papa or Mama, I would go there and feed the swans until I felt better"
Cora smiled at him at then turned on her camera. Robert looked at her as she headed a few steps back and got on one of the water tanks on the roof.
Robert chuckled "What are you doing?" he asked as Cora climbed up four feet tall tank.
"Go stand near the railing" Cora instructed him.
Robert looked at her puzzled. Was she seriously going to do his photo shoot now? In his loungers?
"What?" he asked again.
Cora chuckled, confusing him more "Just go stand, trust me" she said and Robert nodded at her and followed her instructions.
"Look here. Smile, a little bigger" she asked.
Robert followed; it was easy for him to grin at this point because the whole situation looked quite amusing to him. What on earth was she doing?
Cora snapped a few photos and sat down on the tank to jump off. Robert immediately ran to help her. He gave him his hand and she instantly took it and jumped back down.
Cora chuckled as she brushed off the dust from her pants.
"Now, may I ask what you were doing?" Robert asked, still half amused, half confused by the situation.
Cora rolled her eyes and showed him the pictures in the camera. Cora had captured a picture of Robert standing in front of the lake. Robert had tried to take such a picture but he was never able to capture the whole lake. But Cora managed to do so. In her picture the entire lake was captured in the shot with Robert and his toothy grin. The sun light was on Robert's face and it reflected back on the lake, where the reflection of the sky could be seen in the water.
Robert opened his mouth and almost gasped at the beauty of it all.
"I just.."
"It was too good of a memory to forget. I wanted to capture the entire lake with you in the picture" she smiled at him and Robert smiled back.
He couldn't remember the last time anyone had been that thoughtful for him. She truly was one of a kind; and somehow, always fed his soul with positivity and worthiness every time he met her.
"Thank you for this" he said.
"You're most welcome" she replied.
Robert looked at the size of the lens and the various functions on the camera. "Can I try? I've always wanted to learn this" he said.
Cora looked at him quite amusingly and smirked "Really?"
Robert nodded and Cora started explaining him functions in the camera. If he was honest, he just now wanted to learn about this. He was never good with gadgets but at this moment he wanted to know and learn about everything that she was passionate about.
Robert gulped as he observed her from his peripheral vision, she looked so excited talking about what she loved, and her happiness was contagious. And it made him happy and excited about things he had never even heard of before.
"Got it?" she asked, breaking his thoughts.
He didn't really, but he understood where one has to click to capture the picture and that was enough for him. He took the camera from her and moved it around, looking at it very intently, making Cora laugh.
"What?" he asked.
"It's not a bomb. You can do it" she said and he chuckled.
Robert carefully looked inside the eye view of the camera and captured a picture of the sky in front of him. He looked back at the captured image satisfied and took a few more. It was fun.
After a few minutes and a taking about fifty images of his roof and surrounding view, he turned around to see Cora sitting on the throw rug, taking a sip of her coffee.
"Smile" he said and Cora smiled a big smile, looking more amused at his excitement than happy. He managed to capture a very happy, very smiley picture of Cora. Satisfied, he sat down next on one edge of the rug.
"Having fun?" she asked, as she took another sip of her coffee.
He chuckled "Very. Look how adorable this picture is, Cora"
He saw a blush creep up on her cheeks as she took hold of the camera and smiled at the picture "Adorable, you say?" she asked.
"Yes. Adorable, Cora." He thought for a second "Adoracora"
Cora giggled loudly at that, making him smile too. He took his cup and had a few sips of his coffee.
They talked for the next half an hour, simply laughing and giggling at nothing and everything while enjoying their coffee and croissants. Robert couldn't remember the last time he had felt this carefree and this joyous. He had to remind himself that he had only met her a few weeks ago, but it felt like he'd known her for years and somehow he felt that gap that he was thinking about earlier, fill itself. He had found a new friend, and he was extremely happy about that.
"I'm excited for my shoot tomorrow. Well today" Robert said as he munched on the last few bites of his croissant.
Cora looked at him "Really?"
He nodded "How many do you have?"
Cora crossed her legs and moved to face him, looking as if Robert had asked a very serious question and that put a smile on Robert's face.
"I have yours, Edith's, and Violet Crawley" she said.
Robert raised his eyebrows "I don't envy you"
Cora chuckled at him.
"And the next?" he asked.
"Oh, I'm only here for two days, I'll be back next week for the rest. I have a shoot in Wattford the day after tomorrow" she replied.
Robert raised his eyebrows and smiled "You keep pretty busy"
Cora smiled "Yes, this month has been quiet hectic. I haven't been home on most days"
Robert smiled sadly at her "I can say the same"
Cora looked at him, opening her mouth to say something but then stopped midway. He knew what she wanted to ask; why he stayed at the hotel? And to be honest, he couldn't answer that without taking her back almost three decades and narrating the entire story. But she didn't ask, and he was thankful.
Robert, however, did have a question. Because he really wanted to know if someone in the same position had the same experience.
"Does your husband….does he mind?" he cautiously asked "When you have weeks of travel and long work"
Cora sighed and picked up the last bit of her croissant and popped it in her mouth, as if biding time to answer strategically "He does…but Simon is mostly busy with his own thing" she replied.
Robert looked at her and nodded. He saw the same hesitation in her tone as he had in his. He didn't need to know more than that to know that perhaps her experiences might have been similar. He thought back to the name. Simon Bricker.
"Simon Bricker" he said it out loud "I think I've met him, but I've been trying to recall ever since you told me but I can't seem to"
Cora smiled at him and dusted off the crumbs stuck to her hand "You might have, he is very social"
Robert nodded and sat straighter, looking back at the sky, where the sun had fully risen.
"How long have you been married?' he asked.
"Eighteen" she replied, mimicking Robert and sitting straighter to see the sunny sky "You?"
"Twenty six" he replied and Cora raised her eyebrows, impressed.
He looked at her and she looked back at him and they both dryly chuckled. Their hesitation after their previous conversation clearly indicated, that it had been quite an interesting journey for both of them.
"Arranged?" he asked "As silly as it sounds in todays' world"
Cora chuckled "Kind of, kind of not. We met through my mother and decided on our own of course. My mother was naturally thrilled that her daughter's choice was the same as hers. You?"
Robert smiled "Same story, really, but my father set us up. She was a family friend and you know how British are about all that. Parents, huh? They always get their way in the end, don't they?" he joked.
Cora chuckled dryly and an almost sad expression came upon her face "But they don't always get it right, do they"
Robert, who was too busy looking at her lost expression, blurted out what was supposed to be an internal query "Why, don't you love him?"
Cora immediately looked up at him and Robert cursed himself internally for crossing the line "I'm…I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said that" he looked down, hoping he could find his grave and bury himself in it.
After a few seconds Cora rubbed her face with her hands in circular motion while Robert continued to look down "Yes" she said.
Robert looked up at her puzzled "What?"
"Yes, I do love him.." she said still rubbing her face and her temple.
"Of course, I…"
"I love him very much. But not in the way" she cut him off "not in a way I thought" she said sighing, feeling a little chilly after saying it out loud. Her expressions looked just as confused as her words sounded, but she looked as if she was lifting a heavy weight off her chest. And Robert let her.
Robert thought back for a second, trying to understand the meaning behind her words "Like the kind of love in books or movies?" he asked cautiously.
"No, the way love ought to be. That kind of love." she replied, lost in her own thoughts.
Robert looked at her and nodded. In words it didn't make sense, but to Robert it made total sense. It totally made sense to him. Because he felt the exact same way for Valarie. He loved her. He had loved her. He still loved her. But not in the way he had thought; or he had envisioned love to be. He found himself asking the same question many times himself. He chuckled dryly, almost mocking his current state of love life.
"That kind of love is rare. It is very rare. And nowadays, it doesn't exist" he said, opening up about his qualms and bittersweet feelings towards marriage for the first time. He felt like both Cora and he were opening up about their true feelings for the first time, and it felt uncomfortable, but also long overdue. Even if it was just to admit it to themselves.
Cora turned to him "Does that mean you don't love your wife?"
Shots fired.
Robert looked at her and she looked back at him. He was slightly taken aback because he had never ever said such things aloud and now he was, to an almost stranger.
"You can't take that long to think" Cora added, and turned her head to one side and gave him a soft smile.
Robert thought for a moment "We are happy" he said "In our own weird way, we make it work and stay happy. We've made a life together"
Cora sighed and looked back at the sky "That's not an answer"
After a few moments of silence Cora chuckled.
Robert looked at her "What?"
"You know what else is weird?"
Robert raised his eyebrows awaiting the answer.
"That we barely know each other, and we are sitting on a roof top at six in the morning, talking out our extremely private affairs while eating croissants" she laughed out loud and so did Robert.
He agreed, he had never imagined himself to open up in such a way to someone else, especially to someone he'd known less for less than a month. They continued to laugh.
"We don't even know each other's middle names!" said Robert, continuing laughing.
Cora giggled "Lucky I don't have one" she said as Robert laughed again.
Just as every dream ends, that little strange picnic session ended as Robert's phone rang. His wife Valarie had video called and he instantly stopped laughing. Cora looked at him, waiting for any reason behind his immediate seriousness.
"It's my wife" he said and Cora opened her mouth and awkwardly got up "I'll get my things" she said as she walked towards the corner to collect her cameras.
"Shit" Robert cursed internally.
He answered the video call "Hey" he said.
"Hey" Valarie replied "I thought you'd come home last night" she said. Robert knew it was her way of apologizing.
"I didn't think you'd want me to, after our argument" he answered dryly.
"You should know better..wait, where are you?" she asked as she got a glimpse of the sky behind him.
"At the roof" he replied.
"What on earth are you…wait, is that? Robert, are you having a picnic on the roof?" she asked, rather furiously.
He could see Cora freeze at the sound of his wife's voice, but she quickly grabbed her things and put them in her bag.
"I am yes" he replied, getting angry with the way she was embarrassing him in front of Cora.
"With whom?!" Valarie asked loudly.
Things were getting extremely awkward.
"With whomever, Valarie. Is this how you'll apologize for your behavior last night?" Robert replied from behind gritted teeth.
"I have been up all night, feeling sorry about the way I talked to you, and you are having a picnic! Robert how could you be so selfish?" Valarie yelled through the call as Robert saw Cora quickly rush toward the stairs and down, out of his sight.
His magical day had ended.
LOL because about 10 hours ago, I abandoned by assignment to write this chapter, and I told my friend that I will keep it under 6k words. She said okay, and when I told her that just my first scene is over 2k, she laughed and said I never believed you in the first place. So voila, now we have almost 11k words, HAHAAH! (my hands hurt like hell, no kidding)
But here you go, the long (pun intended) awaited chapter 5. I hope you guys enjoy! Please let me know if you guys liked it in the reviews so that I know my hand cramps were worth it.
Hope you're all staying safe and at home!
Sorry if there are typos (It's 6AM and I just finished this, I don't have the energy to re-read)