prompts: breathing in their sweet scent & tucking head into the crook of their neck when they're hugging

(set in s3e1)

Please review!


It was the day of her eldest daughter's wedding. Cora didn't want to let it show but she was a giddy bundle of nerves. Her greatest job of being a mother was coming to an end again, after sweet Sybil already left the nest, choosing such a drastic path. Of course, Cora would always be their mother. This would never change. But she was letting go of the responsibility of looking over their well-being. She had to let go, and she didn't want to admit but it wasn't easy for her.

She was lucky that Mary wouldn't leave for a faraway place as Sybil did. Actually, little would change with her still being around Downton with her prospect of becoming Countess of Grantham one day herself. But even so, Mary would be her own woman, more than she already was now. Cora had done her job. It felt strange.

Weddings always were strange. Beautiful of course – oh, how Cora adored the beauty in every wedding – but a strange occasion nevertheless in how existential and too fast to properly comprehend it was.

On the way to the church, it was Edith and Sybil who rode with Cora in the motor. Both, Mary and Robert, would have their special entrance of course. But Cora felt a little alone in all the excitement. She looked over to her two daughters and smiled at them eagerly. They returned her smile but didn't seem as nervous as one could be on their sister's wedding day. Cora quickly was reminded that it wasn't as new for Sybil, and the thought stung her heart. She hadn't been there when her youngest had married. She didn't think there would ever come a time when she wouldn't regret missing it. Robert's stubbornness frustrated her immensely. And she wasn't the kind of woman to dismiss her husband's conclusion and go anyway. She always tried to repress thoughts about Sybil's wedding because she feared she would come to the conclusion that maybe she wanted to be that woman. That something could have been done. That maybe it was her fault that her youngest daughter had been without her parents on her wedding day. No, Cora didn't like to think that way. She swallowed the lump in her throat and returned to the present.

The crowd of guests at the church made her remember that Mary's and Matthew's wedding was one of the most joyful occurrences that could be imagined. It was what everyone had wished for and made for no reason at all for Cora to be melancholic today. She breathed deeply as they walked into the church and took their seats, trying to fill her lungs with the flowery air of celebration. She looked into all the elated faces. Her daughter was getting married to the love of her life. A smirk pulled at her lips. Her daughter was getting the epitome of what Cora had wished for her. A wide grin spread on her face. Oh, what a joyous day actually!

And from there, Cora's mood changed from melancholy to overly sentimental affection. This day was an emotional affair and there was no way Cora could escape the avalanche of emotions. But as the mother of the bride, she was allowed to be this way; she was convinced of that.

It was after the knot was tied and all agitation of the anticipation had evaporated into simple buzzing joy and delight, that Cora found herself in a corner of the festivities with Robert by her side. She let out a shaky breath, releasing the air she had held in since walking into the church. From the corner of her eye, she saw how he turned his head to her. She tried to breathe evenly and stop the rising wall of water on her lower eyelids. But Robert seemed to have already noticed.

"Is everything alright?" he inquired quietly, only for her to hear.

She nodded quickly, praying to not spill any tears with the bobbing of her head. "It's just…" she breathed through tight lips. "Can you believe this day?"

Robert sighed, and Cora could hear the smile in it. Both looked straight ahead into the room full of happy and laughing guests.

"No, I can't believe it. But I'm so very happy." The slight tremble in his voice showed Cora that she wasn't the only one getting emotional on this day.

It was much later that day when the daytime visitors had left and everyone had waved the bridal couple goodbye as they left for their honeymoon when Cora felt they had done their duties well enough to properly turn to her husband and allow the emotions she knew would take over as soon as she looked deeply at him with his festive suit. They stood beside a pillar in the main hall by the grand staircase, he in his deep black suit and she in her lilac flowy ensemble. She pulled at his lapels to keep from getting overwhelmed by the intensity of feelings that hit her as an image of a youthful Robert on his own wedding day flashed before her eyes.

"Well, now that's resolved," she babbled.

"I hope it wasn't too stressful for you," Robert put in as he heard her sigh.

"Oh, no! That's how a wedding ought to be."

As he took hold of her hands that still clutched his lapels, Cora looked up at him again. The softness of his face provoked the urge in her to fall into his arms and hold his body close to hers. He didn't always see it but they were very lucky. Lost money and rebellious children didn't take away from the position of utter luck and privilege they were in. Cora was glad to see a hint of acknowledgement now mirrored in his eyes.

Robert probably saw the open feelings in her expression. Cora knew that when she felt them so dominantly, they always showed on her face. Once she allowed the feelings, they were painted on her raw. Robert squeezed her hands, and for a moment, Cora thought he would pull her in for a hug. But apparently, he remembered that things had their order.

"I feel like it is time to change and have a short rest. We just looked after everyone, and I am convinced our mothers are capable of entertaining themselves and everyone in their vicinity."

Cora simpered. "Absolutely, my dear."

He took her hand in his as they walked up the stairs. They didn't say a word. Cora dragged her heavy legs up the steps. Her upper arm brushed against his, and she had to think how different this was from what her recollection held of her own wedding day. Today was what she preferred, nearly without a doubt.

The sound of padding steps behind them on the stairs made Cora turn her head. When she saw the cream Labrador, she smiled at Robert.

"Isis appears to have missed you today," she said. Without turning around, a small grin rose on Robert's face. Isis was by his side in the blink of an eye, and Cora looked around Robert to see his hand petting the dog's head. As they reached the gallery, Robert let go of Cora's hand and bend down to properly appreciate his dog. He scratched Isis behind the ears lovingly.

"Good girl. I'm taking you on a walk again tomorrow, hm? You're such a patient girl." Cora stood behind him with her hands interlaced in front of her abdomen. She looked at her husband and his dog with a smiling expression.

With a groan, he rose to stand again and patted Isis one last time. The dog wiggled its tail and looked after them as they went down the gallery.

They went to their respective rooms and got changed into something simpler. Cora felt a wave of relief wash over her when Robert walked into her room through the connecting door after some time. She sat at her vanity in a tea gown and sorted her jewellery, waiting for him in the hope she understood him right and he wanted to spend their short break together. As he entered her room, she stood and walked over to the small settee that was placed in the ample space of her room. They both sat down and Cora sank against his side. Robert put an arm around her as he blew a kiss on the crown of her head.

"I daresay this was the wedding of the century we threw today," he said.

"It definitely felt like that." She shuffled a little closer into his arms. "But you know what little a wedding day says about a marriage," she commented. She said it without wanting to hear him answer.

He made an incomprehensible noise and seemed to digest her words. Cora buried her face in the crook of his neck as she looped her arms around his neck. She didn't want to think; she wanted to feel. His skin was warm against her face. Her cheeks and lips brushed the soft skin of his neck, and the tightening of his arm around her indicated how affected he was by her touch against his sensitive spots.

His voice was very low, and Cora wasn't sure she caught every word. "I would like to do it again, just that you have the right wedding day."

"I never said it was wrong," she mumbled into his neck. He shivered slightly in her arms as her breath hit his skin.

"Still…"

Cora inhaled deeply. His smell filled her nostrils and mind. The musk of his cologne, the faintest hint of his aftershave, and a tinge of the day's sweat, all added to his very own scent that made her feel so at home.

As they sat in silence for a while, Cora's thoughts wandered. She turned her face slightly to get more oxygen but didn't move from his side. She thought about how her money – sums so high she could never properly picture them – had left them clandestinely, taking with it the awkward link that coupled them up but not a single ounce of their love. His hand brushed up and down her arm, and she murmured casually, "I wouldn't mind downsizing if that meant having you closer."

His hand seized for a moment as his mind tried to follow her train of thought. "Oh now stop that nonsense," he grumbled in response. She pushed away from him and looked him in the eyes.

"I do like having you close, alright?" she made clear. Robert tipped his head to the side.

"Sure. I like that too," he agreed.

Cora ran her fingertips down his arm. She had to think about Mary, being farther away from Downton with every passing minute. "You know, with all troubles and hindrances, I'm glad we could have such a wedding for Mary. A wedding that is right in every regard. It's great she can be Countess someday but what relieves me most is that I know she'll have a love-filled marriage. I tried to push that thought away when it looked like she would marry someone else but actually, that's ultimately the one thing I wished for her."

Robert nodded. "She is very lucky." He smiled at Cora. "We are all lucky to have Matthew," he added.

"I tried to give her the talk," Cora mentioned.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, you know, what to expect of the marital duties that come with being wed," Cora tried to explain.

"Oh, I see!" Robert looked away.

"I think… I think I might have blown it a bit," Cora pondered.

"What did you say?" he asked with slight shock. He looked at her and it was obvious that he was already afraid of what she would answer.

"Well, I said something along the lines of two people loving each other and how that makes everything they do the most terrific fun."

"You said what?"

A hearty laugh rumbled in her throat. They both knew it was true and the only advice Cora could give on that matter.