prompt: soft looks across a long table

(pre-canon)

Mama was not happy with them. It irritated her that they got along so well. That wouldn't be a problem in itself, but the lack of attention they gave to other things was unacceptable for her. So, it shouldn't have come as the greatest surprise that Mama had taken measures into her own hands when changing the sitting arrangement for tonight's dinner.

Cora was in sheer confusion when she studied the sitting plan that was spread on a sideboard in Mama's empty sitting room. She only wanted to check which gentlemen she had to entertain tonight. The murmur of multiple conversations travelled to her from the great hall. The guests for tonight's dinner party were arriving, emerging from one carriage after the other by now. They were catching up on this and that while nursing the aperitifs the footmen handed out. Cora's jaw hung open loosely. The cardboard in front of her was a single riddle. The arrangement of the name cards must have been a mistake but Mama didn't make mistakes. It took Cora a while but it slowly dawned on her that putting Robert on the other end of the long table instead of in front of her was exactly what Mama's plan was.

Cora huffed. It was unbelievable. Why was it always that Mama wanted to punish Cora? It seemed she wanted to make it impossible for Cora to enjoy anything. Cora had to take a deep breath – touching her hand to her confining corset – to not let it get to her.

She left the sitting room and joined the animated crowd in the hall. She sent a kind smile to every other guest while her eyes actually only searched for her husband. She wanted to complain about Mama, although she knew it wouldn't help anyone. Robert would only look at her perplexed, and Cora had to learn to take even the most frustrating customs of the peerage as they were. And one of them was to agree with her mother-in-law no matter what.

Cora didn't see Robert anywhere but the guests were there in a pretty large number, so it wasn't too surprising.

"Cora, how nice! I was hoping to see you," a female voice rang beside her. Cora turned around and saw Lady Amelia Gillingham goggling at her.

"I am glad you and Lord Gillingham were able to make it," Cora replied with a sweet smile.

"Of course. We would never want to miss one of Lady Grantham's dinner parties!" Amelia emitted a chortling laugh. Cora didn't quite understand the English humour. They often laughed at times when there was nothing that could be amusing in the slightest. And when Cora thought, things were starting to get the tiniest bit funny, her English fellow people were getting stuck up.

Amelia put a gloved hand on Cora's lower arm. She leaned her head toward Cora. "It delights me to see you so well. I heard you and Lord Downton had finally another child. Lady Strallan mentioned you had a hard time giving birth." She looked at Cora sympathetically as she lowered her voice a bit at the last words. It must have really been a while since they last saw each other, Cora realised. She wasn't pregnant for nearly four months now. "But of course, I want to congratulate you on your third daughter." For a second, Cora had thought Lady Amelia was showing earnest empathy, but the grin accompanying her congratulations was too wide to indicate anything but gloat.

"Well, thank you, Amelia. Lord Downton and I are very happy indeed," and Cora smiled serenely at her words because it was true. They were so very happy about perfect little Sybil.

Lady Amelia tugged at a flawlessly coiffed curl of her hazelnut hair bouncing from her temple and looked at Cora with badly veiled pity. Cora grew tired of this conversation. She spotted Lady Victoria, Viscountess Branksome, a few feet away, how she accepted an aperitif from Michael, their youngest footman. Lady Victoria definitely made for more pleasant company, so Cora thought about the right words to excuse herself from Lady Amelia.

It was then that Mama announced the dinner. After a second of disappointment, Cora realised that dinner also relieved her of Lady Amelia's presence. She moved with the crowd towards the dining room. Amelia chattered beside her.

"I'm intrigued to see what wonders your cook has created tonight. I must say I always find it quite extravagant what Lady Grantham is serving." She threw a sideway glance at Cora. Her eyes paused a bit at Cora's new earrings. They were a present from her parents they sent to her after Sybil's birth. Cora had never considered it, but were they too new-fangled? Too extravagant? Was that what Lady Amelia wanted to get at? Cora ignored the remark. She was sure her jewellery was fine, and the new stones dangling from her ears complimented her light eyes quite nicely. The rest didn't matter.

When they came into the dining room, she finally saw Robert. He entered the room just before her, in the company of the old Lord Merton. Cora tried to catch him before they were all seated, wanting to inform him of their sorry fate for the evening. But everyone present moved too fast and determined. Robert escaped her before she was able to get his attention. He went purposefully to the end of the long table where he assumed his place. Cora moved along the table on the opposite side. She took a seat between Viscount Branksome and an old Baron she never met. She saw Robert's confusion when Sir Anthony Strallan sat down in front of Cora. Robert stood flabbergasted behind him, robbed of his expected seat. Cora shrugged her shoulders when Robert's eyes searched her for help.

With knitted brows, Robert went back down the table, scrutinising every name card. When it still wasn't his place, he looked up and searched Cora's eyes again. Her poor Robert looked so confused. She saw him mouthing a silent 'What?' in her direction before Mama was by his side and guided him swiftly and smoothly to his seat even further down the table. She pushed him down by the shoulder when he was taking too much time sitting down. With a hint of panic, he sought Cora's attention again. It was apparent from his upset face that now he got what was going on. He mouthed, 'No!' and Cora had to suppress a smirk at his nearly child-like bewilderment at their predicament.

It wasn't nice but Cora was a little glad she wasn't the only one who thought this was a huge deal. She was the tiniest bit surprised but pleased that Robert wanted to sit in front of her so badly. Though it must have been very obvious in the past when Mama felt the need to separate them for propriety's sake. Now that Cora thought about it, Robert's and her silent communication at dinner had increased over the last few months. It was so natural – came without thinking – that she hadn't realised the extent of it.

Rather quickly everyone had found their seat, and Cora saw Mama's proud smirk behind the mask of her stoic face. She sat straight as a die and craned her neck to throw a glance over her guests before giving the tiniest of nods to Papa in front of her. Even though Cora couldn't see it, she knew by now that Papa signalled with a brief flick of his hand to the butler for the dinner to start.

Cora exchanged pleasantries with Lord Branksome to her right while waiting for the first entrée to make its round at the table to her. Lord Branksome was rather kind. He smiled at her words and listened to what she said without making her nervous with a scrutinising look as many other Lords did.

"And how is your son, Lord Branksome?" Cora inquired when she suddenly was a little afraid, she was starting to talk too much.

"Oh, our dear Evelyn is a joy to watch," he said. He looked across the table where Lady Victoria sat. The woman with the quite tight blonde coiffure was nodding to everything Sir Anthony next to her said. "I find that he takes quite after Lady Branksome in character and most of his looks. But she likes to disagree." Cora smiled at him.

The plates with the pâté had reached them now, and Cora leaned back ever so slightly in her chair to help herself to a small portion. The cutlery threatened to slip from her hands, so she operated even more careful. Her light blue silk gloves seemed to be a bit too large in size. The fabric didn't hug her fingers but bunched at the joints of her hands and fingers. It was probably because her fingers weren't as swollen anymore as they had been a long time throughout her last pregnancy. Back then, she had to get new gloves since she had been so uncomfortable in her old ones.

"I am sure he combines the best of the both of you when he is such a little angel," Cora said to Lord Branksome.

"Well, that's very kind of you to say."

Cora's thoughts were with her own little crowd of children, more or less little angels. Intuitionally, her eyes sought the father of her children. But Mama's strategy seemed to be successful. The guests down the table blocked Cora's view of Robert whenever they leaned forward the tiniest bit. It was a shame. Even more so when the direction of the conversation changed and Cora had to converse with the Baron to her left. Cora couldn't chance a look during conversing because Robert now sat at her back. On top of that, Lord Brinton was nearly deaf as a post. Mama seemed to play it safe for Cora to have a hard night. It was one of her lessons and Cora gradually stopped to look for the reason why she had to endure it.

She tried to chew as long as possible to reduce the amount of time in which she had to yell at her seatmate. Once, she tried to turn her head and look for Robert but Mama immediately caught her gaze and raised her brows in reprimand. So, Cora refrained from looking that way and instead looked down at her plate or observed the sloppily eating senex next to her. Cora felt a headache coming up. A strain in her shoulders pulled nastily at the muscles in her neck and the back of her head. The Baron's slurping didn't help it.

Only when the main course was getting served, Cora and Robert could take up their silent communication. The direction of conversation had swapped again and the dinner guests leaned back in their chairs, digesting the first bits and helping themselves to the next course. Cora could see how Robert exhaled with relief when she noticed his look. His shoulders relaxed and a tiny grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. The chubby lady next to him was evidently occupied with putting just the right amount of chicken breast on her plate, and Robert took advantage of the pause in the conversation to take up his little game of suggestive looks with his wife. Cora felt her former tension dissipate little by little. She saw how Robert's mood visibly bettered and it made her heart soar. His eyes caressed her features from afar and a familiar heat grew in her. Cora noticed his lips twitch when his eyes scanned her cleavage and the neckline of her dress. She now felt the heat on her neck and jaw and couldn't do anything against the stronger movement of her chest at her sudden need for air. Robert was mastering the art of getting her in a state of total fluster in a few seconds. It was a growing obsession of his to undress her with his eyes.

"Are you quite alright, Lady Downton?" Lord Branksome inquired. Her eyes snapped back to the gentleman beside her. She blinked quickly to forget her former thoughts.

"Yes, yes. I'm absolutely fine," she smiled apologising.

Lord Branksome looked at her sceptically. "Only you look so flushed if I might say so."

Cora cleared her throat in embarrassment. She gave him a stern look and he immediately looked away. He realised that this was a misstep.

"Excuse my rude remark." He was the one now that was flustered. "I was very wrong in this regard."

"It is quite alright. Are you enjoying the dish? It is one of my favourites," Cora stirred the conversation in a lighter direction. She hoped dinner wouldn't take too long now. All she could think about was a different company. The most pleasant company. But he was detained at the other end of the table.