AN: Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews! I hope you like this chapter as well.
Before I forget: If you haven't started reading From Paris to Yorkshire by Countess of Cobert yet you should start right now. It is brilliant :)
Two weeks later
.
"You are not marrying her."
"Watch me," he says because he is sick of it. His mother has repeated this sentence at least a hundred times now and he does not care.
When two weeks ago, he asked Cora to marry him, he went to London the next day and settled everything for a wedding at a registrar's office. Rosamund and Maramduke will be there to witness it. Both Cora and he are of age, so they do not need parental consent.
"We will certainly not watch you marry that teacher because you will not marry her."
He shrugs and does not reply. His mother is driving him mad and she drove Rosamund mad and yet his sister is married to the man she loves and her mother pretends to hate. Of course Rosamund and Marmaduke don't have to live at the Abbey but he is sure that his mother will accept his decision eventually. And if she doesn't they will have to live somewhere else. His father would probably let them live at Eryholme.
"We will talk about this again," she says and walks towards the door. But she does not leave the room before saying
"Patrick. Do something." His father nods and he wishes he did not have to face him now but he also knew that this was coming.
"You are planning to marry her three days from today in London," his father says without preamble but also without anger in his voice. He somehow sounds resigned.
"Yes. I am not surprised your spies found out about it."
"Your mother's spies, Robert."
"So what are you going to do?"
"There is nothing I can do Robert besides trying to make you reconsider. You are about to marry a teacher. A nanny. She used to be a rich heiress but she isn't anymore. And even before her father's fall she would hardly have been acceptable and we only would have allowed a marriage because we needed the money. But this is something, you, the family, Mary, might never recover from. The Earl of Grantham married to a nanny. An American nanny I might add."
"She is not a nanny anymore." He knew his parents would argue about this again.
"Robert, don't you see that that does not matter? She is not for you. She is too far below you. If you and Victoria had had a son I might have agreed but that American cannot be the mother of your heir. That is out of the question. He would never be accepted by society. And neither will you."
His father has a point. He thought about him not being accepted but not about his son facing the same difficulties and he begins to doubt. He wonders whether he has the heart to tell Cora about his doubts. She would surely not hold him to their engagement.
He is dimly aware of his father walking towards the door and opening it and he thinks that he has left when the older man suddenly sits down opposite him again.
"Your mother has gone. She has heard me say what she wanted me to say."
"So there won't be trouble in your marriage tonight."
His father gives a snort that sounds as if he thought that there was no marriage but does not comment.
"Robert, pack your things and go to London. Then send a telegram to your American and make her come after you. Get married as soon as you can before your mother can intervene."
"What?" he can't believe what he is hearing. "You just said that it would be a terrible mistake, that I would engulf us all in scandal, that"
But his father interrupts him.
"All scandals fade. Give it two weeks or four or eight until the next son of the next earl or marquess or duke gets drunk and compromises a girl in public or loses all his fortune gambling. If you can't stand the scandal go to America for a while. But get married."
"I thought you were against it."
"The fact is Robert, that I rather like your Cora. I've always liked her. She is sensible and contrary to what your mother says, she would make a good countess. I could not stand having a daughter-in-law I hated. I have to see her every day for the rest of my life. And if there is one young woman in this world who I can stand and you love, then by all means, make her your wife."
"Mama won't accept her. Mama will fight her."
"Your Mama would fight any woman you married. She wasn't very fond of Victoria either. She will see your wife as a threat."
His father is right. Lady Downton is a threat to the authority of Lady Grantham in his mother's eyes. His mother would have approved of Maria Stonewell only for a few weeks. Then she would have begun a fight.
So he gets and his father does the same. His father claps his shoulder and grabs his hand.
"Good luck my dear boy. I will see you in a few days."
AN: Please let me know what you think!