Mid-February, 1922
"My lord, I am sorry to inform you that the chauffeur is ill." Carson stood near Robert's chair while the latter lay his serviette in his lap in preparation for breakfast.
"Oh dear," Robert said. "I hope the poor chap will get better soon. In the meantime, that's a problem, as he was supposed to take her ladyship to see Dr. Clarkson this afternoon." He mumbled half to himself as he began eating. "Why must everyone who drives be away when the chauffeur's taken ill? Matthew taking Mary to a hotel in London for Valentine's Day and Edith staying there with Rosamund whilst she works on a column piece…."
Tom looked up from his plate. "I'll drive her there, Robert."
Robert stared at him a moment and then rubbed his forehead. "I'm sorry, Tom. My mind is elsewhere. Are you sure you don't mind?"
"Not at all. It will be my pleasure." He smiled and picked up his tea cup.
"Oh, good," Robert sighed with relief. "I'm working on a project for tomorrow, and it will be good to have Cora away for a few hours. It's a surprise." He grinned.
Tom chuckled. "For Valentine's Day, I suppose?"
"Yes. That reminds me –" Robert turned. "Carson, did that parcel we spoke of arrive yet?"
Carson inclined his head. "It did, your lordship. It arrived late yesterday and Miss Perkins has it for safe keeping."
"Excellent. Most excellent." Robert brought his attention back to his breakfast, satisfied.
"Robert, would you like me to take Cora to tea somewhere? So you'll have more time to work on this, er, surprise?" Tom picked up his knife and fork to finish his breakfast, his eyes bright with mirth.
"Would you? I'd appreciate the extra time. And I can have a brief tea with Sybbie whilst you're gone."
Tom wiped his mouth and put his serviette down next to his empty plate. "It's a plan then."
"Is it alright if we have tea in Ripon after your appointment, Cora?" Tom called behind him, keeping his eyes on the road for any holes or dips so he could maneuver around them.
Cora smiled at him from the back seat. "That's a lovely idea, Tom. Yes, I'd like to."
"Sybbie hasn't been tiring you too much, has she? I can have her nanny keep her in her nursery more, if she's bothering you." Tom swerved neatly around a rut.
"No, no." She chuckled. "She keeps my mood swings in check, I think. Who could be sad or irritable with such a little angel around?"
Tom laughed. "I don't know. She can be quite an imperious little dictator too."
"Never fear, Tom. Grandmama knows how to pick her battles."
When they arrived at Downton Cottage Hospital, Tom helped his mother-in-law out of the motor and gave her his arm to usher her into the building. He waited in the hall while she was with Dr. Clarkson, then accompanied her out again.
They sat together at a tea house in Ripon. Tom didn't think he'd ever be used to this sort of thing, taking tea with a Countess. But Cora always seemed to put him at ease. So, ignoring the stares that he feared would always follow him, Tom concentrated on her instead.
"All is well then?" he asked as his mother-in-law began to eat with gusto.
Cora nodded. "Yes." She took a sip of tea, then added, "Thank goodness."
Tom watched her, knowing that she worried sometimes about her pregnancy. "I'm glad to hear it." He let her eat for a while in peace, then cleared his throat and asked a question that he wasn't sure would be well-received. "Cora, do you want a boy or a girl?"
Pausing with a cucumber sandwich almost to her lips, Cora blinked a few times at him.
"Look, I know what everyone would expect you to say, but I understand that you may want something different. I was simply curious. You don't have to answer if you don't want to." Tom looked down at his hands, slightly red with embarrassment now.
Cora put the sandwich down on her plate and wrapped her arms around her belly. "No, I'll answer."
Tom lifted his head to meet her eyes.
"I've always wanted to give Robert a son. It's so important to him, you see. I know that if I have a son, things will be, well, complicated with Matthew. With the money he gave to save the estate. But, oh Tom, I do so want to be able to give my husband a son." Tears shone in her eyes, but she had a smile on her face.
Tom nodded. He didn't agree with it all, but he comprehended how these things worked.
Cora took a breath and then continued. "I don't want you to misunderstand me. If I have a girl, I will love her just as much as I would a son – just as much as I've loved all my daughters. I won't be upset. But I do wonder…." She trailed off, looking down at where her hands smoothed her dress over her stomach.
"What do you wonder, Cora?" Tom's brow furrowed at her tone.
She shook her head, keeping her eyes down. "No, I shouldn't say."
Tom nodded again, drinking his tea. If she wanted to tell him, she would.
Then he heard her say in a tiny voice, "I'm afraid that Robert will be disappointed if it's another girl."
The fear in her voice startled him somewhat. He wanted nothing more than to assuage those fears, to say to her that it was nonsense, that of course Robert would never be disappointed to have another daughter. But he wasn't sure it was true. And he would never want to lie to her. Not after she'd been so good to him.
Instead, after a few minutes had passed in silence, he leaned forward and asked, "Are you ready to go? I have a feeling you might be tired, as you haven't had your nap today."
Raising her head, Cora gave him a grateful smile. "Yes. I think that would be best. Thank you for driving me and taking me to tea, Tom."
Standing, he went around to her chair and offered her his hands to help her up. "Well, I was happy to do it. And I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable just now."
"Oh, Tom. Don't mind me. I'm emotional for no reason." She tried to wave it off, but Tom could tell that it was something she'd already thought about very much and that bothered her a great deal to contemplate.
They drove home in silence, Cora falling asleep in the back seat, exhausted.
Cora leaned back against the dark red plush of the settee, closing her eyes. They'd had a nice, quiet dinner, just the three of them, and now Cora waited in the library for the men to come in from the dining room.
Robert entered sooner than she expected, passing by the settee and dropping a kiss upon her cheek.
"Where's Tom?"
"Nanny sent someone to tell him that Sybbie woke from a nightmare and was asking for him. He went up to calm her so she could go back to sleep. He said if it didn't take too long he'd be back down." He walked to the drinks cabinet and poured himself a Scotch.
"I hope the little darling is alright," she said. She slid her shoes off and hoisted her feet onto the settee, turning and plumping one of the burgundy pillows more comfortably against her back.
Robert sighed. "Cora, you know Carson hates when we put our feet on the furniture."
Cora shot him a look of annoyance. "Who employs whom here, Robert? My feet are swollen, and this helps," she snapped. "Carson will have to like it or he can lump it." She closed her eyes again.
Indulging in a large gulp of Scotch, Robert took his glass over to the settee across from the one upon which she reclined. He could tell that she hung on the edge of a mood swing, and he didn't want to set the pendulum going if he could help it. So he changed the subject. "Did you have a nice tea with Tom today, darling?"
"Mmmm…," she said by way of assent, not opening her eyes.
Robert nursed his drink for a few moments, wondering if Tom might appear and save him. But he didn't. So he tried again. "I've been thinking of baby names."
Cora opened her eyes and looked at him, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "You have?"
His eyes brightening, he nodded. "Yes. I thought of Peter, Andrew, Luke, Philip, James, or perhaps Thaddeus, if we'd like to be different." He chuckled.
Fidgeting a bit, Cora looked down, her expression darkening. All boys' names. "So our child is to be an apostle?" she asked sarcastically.
Robert's face fell. His glass was empty, so he moved it between his hands, unsure what to say.
"Is that all of them?" she asked.
"All of what?" he looked at her in confusion.
She rolled her eyes and glanced at him like he was a particularly slow child. "The. Names. Is that all you thought of?"
Robert cleared his throat, not exactly sure what had gotten him into dangerous territory, but afraid to say something to completely set her off. "Yes."
"So, apparently, we're having a boy. And if we have a girl, she'll simply be nameless. Is that it, Robert?" She turned flashing eyes upon him.
"Cora, please, you know that's not what I mean." He sighed heavily and got up, going back over to the drinks cabinet to pour himself another Scotch.
"Isn't it?" she asked. Except she didn't simply ask it – she spat it at him.
Tom approached the library door after tucking Sybbie in and making sure she'd gone back to sleep. He heard Cora's voice raised, and he balanced on one foot just outside, wondering whether he should stay or go.
"Don't be ludicrous, Cora." He kept his back to her and endeavored to keep his voice under control, having another long drink of the Scotch. He realized that it wasn't her, it was the pregnancy making her act this way. But he wondered how long he could manage his temper if she kept attacking him.
"Admit it, Robert. You won't be happy unless we have a son. An heir. You won't be happy unless we have a son to replace the one I lost."
Tom froze. He knew he should turn and leave, but, like in a nightmare, he couldn't seem to make his legs move.
Robert's face reddened with fury at her unfairness. He spun around and met her eyes. Her own face was flushed, and she'd leaned forward on the settee, arms cradling her baby bump, as if protecting it. From him. "Take that back," he said, his voice trembling with the effort of not shouting at her. He knew she couldn't mean it.
"No, I won't. It's true, isn't it? Don't you want a son to replace the one we should have had?" Her nostrils flared in anger.
He couldn't hold it in anymore. "Don't you want a daughter to replace Sybil?" he bellowed.
As soon as Robert said it, he knew he'd made the gravest of errors. Cora's eyes narrowed in hatred. Not simply rage, but abhorrence. She pointed toward the door. "Get out."
The words hung in the air, heavy and cold. Robert turned white now and took a step forward. "Cora, I –"
"Get out." She raised her voice, punctuating the statement with another jab of her finger toward the door.
"Please, Cora –"
Picking up the vase from the table next to her, she suddenly screamed, "GET OUT!" and threw it at him with all her might.
Robert ducked, and the vase struck one of the liquor bottles on the drinks cabinet behind him, breaking it and splashing the contents on the wall.
As he heard Robert's footsteps come toward the door, Tom flattened himself to the wall in the shadows near the entrance to the library. He watched his father-in-law's retreating form head for the stairs. He stood there a moment before registering loud sobs coming from the library.
Tom walked over to Cora. She was huddled there, the side of her head against the back of the settee, her arms cradling her baby bump, her body heaving. Sighing softly, he went over to the drinks cabinet, surveying the damage as he found a clean glass and a bottle of brandy. Pouring a soupçon into the glass, he pulled an ottoman over next to Cora. He sat there, facing her, and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.
Cora opened her eyes, startled. Evidently she hadn't noticed he'd come in. "Tom, I –"
Keeping his hand on her shoulder, he shook his head. "Here. Drink this."
Attempting to calm down in front of him, Cora sniffled and asked, "What is it?"
"Brandy. Just a little. It'll help you, I think."
"But, Tom…." She ran her hands over her belly.
Tom gave her a tiny smile. "Now just a couple of sips won't hurt, will it?"
Cora hiccupped from the effort of controlling herself. "No. I suppose they won't." She hiccupped again and took the glass from him with shaking hands.
After she drank the brandy, Tom pulled out his handkerchief and handed this to her, taking the glass and putting it on the table behind her.
"Are you alright?" he asked in a soft voice.
She lifted her red, tear-streaked face to his. "I – I think so." She took a deep breath, and then her face screwed up again, fresh tears falling down her cheeks. "Oh, Tom," she choked out, grasping his hand in hers. "It was horrible."
Tom moved his other hand from her shoulder and put it atop hers, gently pressing her hand between his. "I heard. I shouldn't have, but there was yelling, and, well, I heard. Not all of it, but enough."
Cora waved his handkerchief, dismissing this, looking somewhat relieved that he'd heard, that she didn't have to tell him what happened. She turned her eyes to his, still crying. "You don't think I want to replace Sybil, do you?" she whispered, swallowing hard.
Without hesitation, Tom answered, "No. Not at all. And I have many general reasons for saying that, but I also have two specific ones." He gave her a warm smile.
"You do?" Her voice trembled with both hopefulness and tears.
Nodding, he said, "The first is something you said today, when we were at tea. That you wanted so much to have a son – for Robert. Now that, to me, sounds the opposite of selfish."
She gave him a watery smile and wiped at her eyes with his handkerchief again. "And the second?"
"The second." Tom's smile widened, and he pressed her hands between his again. "The second is how you are with Sybbie. Cora, you're really the only mother she's ever known. And if any child, any little girl, was going to replace Sybil for you, I think it would be her – her own daughter." He blinked back tears, but otherwise kept his eyes steadily upon hers. "But it hasn't been like that. You recognize Sybbie for who she is. Just as you have always done with all your daughters, so far as I've seen." He nodded toward her baby bump. "And just as you will with this one, if she is a girl."
Cora nodded in return, looking down at their hands. "You know," she said, taking a deep breath, "Hazel – Perkins – said something to me the day she returned. And it's stuck with me. She said that the loved ones that we've lost leave holes in our hearts. And nothing, no one, can ever fill them. That we can put happy memories in, and this helps, fills them partway, but they remain. But that, for her, she would rather have that hole there, with its happy memories that don't quite fill it up, than a whole heart that didn't know that loved one at all." She met his eyes again.
He paused a moment before saying, "Perkins is a very wise woman."
They sat there together in silence for a while, composing themselves.
Then Tom ventured an opinion. "It's not my place to say anything, Cora, but I don't think Robert meant that."
"He shouldn't have said it," she whispered.
"No, he shouldn't have. But, at the risk of having something thrown at me too, I need to say something."
Cora couldn't imagine Tom saying anything that would make her want to hit him with a vase. "What's that?"
He kept hold of her hand. "I think he might have been provoked. Don't you?"
Tears glinted in her eyes again. She squeezed his hand. "Oh God, Tom. I was cruel to him, wasn't I?" Then she began pulling her hand away, trying to sit up, flailing a bit in her reclined position. "I – I have to go to him, I have to apologize…."
Tom rested his hands atop her arms, shaking his head. "Cora, please. I think you both need some time to cool down and rest. Please. If you don't mind, I'll go talk to him. He'll probably strangle me for eavesdropping – even if I couldn't seem to help it – but let me talk to him, if he'll see me."
Cora stared at him for a minute or two. "Tom, will you go up now? Then come back down?"
"Yes. I will go. You stay right here, and then I'll come down and get you. Alright? Just rest right here." He stood, keeping his hands on her arms.
She settled back on the settee, running her hands over her belly and nodding at him. "Thank you, Tom."
Once he was certain that she wasn't about to jump up and run out of the room, Tom took his hands away and touched her shoulder one more time before making his way upstairs on what might very well be a fool's errand.
He decided to try the dressing room first.
When Robert heard the knock, he automatically thought it might be Cora. But then he realized that her knock would more likely be on the dividing door between their rooms. He opened the door. "Tom?"
"Robert, might I come in?" He noted that Robert was still in his evening clothes, but that his jacket and tie were flung across the bed and that his top buttons were undone. His shirt appeared wrinkled on the left side, as though he'd been clutching at it. His face was still rather red, and he was perspiring.
Flustered by the events of the evening and with this request, Robert stepped back from the door to allow him to pass. "Is something wrong with Sybbie?"
Tom stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, taking in his father-in-law's expression of half bewilderment and half concern, unsure how to broach the subject. "No, no. Sybbie is perfectly well." He made a gesture toward downstairs. "I've just come from the library."
Robert looked down, then sighed deeply and dropped heavily into a chair. "Oh."
"I heard part of the argument, Robert. I was coming back from putting Sybbie to bed, and, well, I heard." He gave Robert an apologetic glance.
"Right." He kept his eyes on the floor, looking defeated.
Tom sat on the chair across from him and rested his elbows on his knees, leaning forward. "Cora was very upset."
Robert closed his eyes, whispering, "I know. It's my fault."
"Robert, she was upset because she was afraid that what you said might be right."
His father-in-law's eyes sprang open in shock. "But – but it wasn't! I was completely out of line saying that. She would never – she's not like that. She could never be like that."
Tom shook his head. "She realizes you didn't mean it. And – you weren't completely out of line." Robert raised his eyebrow at this. Tom continued. "You weren't. I heard what she said. It was unfair of her." He put up his hand, as he saw that Robert was about to protest. "She admitted that what she said was unfair. If you were out of line, she was too. And she knows it. And she's sorry for it."
Robert nodded, then furrowed his brow. "Why didn't she come up and tell me herself?"
"You didn't see her, Robert. She was near hysterical. I told her to wait. Now, if you want to go downstairs and talk to her…."
Robert heaved a deep sigh. "Near hysterical?" Tom nodded. "No, I don't think she'd want to see me tonight after what I said to her." He put a hand over his heart, wincing.
Tom's forehead wrinkled. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. Tom, could you make sure she gets upstairs alright? Perkins can help you."
Tom put a friendly hand on Robert's arm. "Of course I will." He stood to go, then turned back. "Will you be alright?"
Robert nodded. "I'm fine, Tom, really. Just make sure she is. Please?"
Inclining his head one last time, Tom left the room.
Hazel sat at the servants' hall table with Bates. "Miss Perkins?" Tom inquired.
"Yes, Mr. Branson?" she answered.
"Might I have your help with something?" He nodded at Bates.
"Certainly." She smiled and got up, not asking anything of him, just following him upstairs to the library.
"Oh my," Tom whispered. "She's asleep."
"Very asleep," Hazel agreed, nodding.
"What do we do? I don't like to wake her, not after –" He stopped, abashed.
"After what?" she whispered.
"I don't like to say."
"Oh. They had a fight, I take it," she said, matter-of-factly.
Tom gazed at her in awe. "How do you know that?"
Hazel turned a tender look upon him. "Mr. Branson, I was here many years before you knew this family. I was here when Lady Edith was a baby and your dear departed wife wasn't even a twinkle in your mother- and father-in-law's eyes. Mark my words – Lord and Lady Grantham had a fight, or my name isn't Hazel Perkins Haverty."
Tom wondered at the mirth on her face. "You are a marvel, Perkins."
She chuckled. "No, not anything so grand, Mr. Branson. I've just loved these two longer than I loved my own husband." She looked back at Cora, then whispered, "We need to get her upstairs."
"I don't think I can carry her all the way to her room like this. Not up the stairs. She's six months pregnant. I'd be afraid to drop her. Then Robert would kill me and leave Sybbie mother- and father-less." He was halfway jesting, but he thought that Robert might actually perform a murder if Cora came to any harm.
Hazel shrugged. "So we get Lord Grantham." She turned to leave the room.
Tom put a hand on her arm. "No, he said he didn't want to see her tonight," he hissed.
"Oh, Mr. Branson," she said, chuckling. "You still have so much to learn." She left the room, and Tom had no choice but to follow.
"Perkinssss…" he hissed, standing a little down the hallway as she knocked on Robert's dressing room door.
"TOM!" he heard as the door opened. "Oh, it's you. I'm sorry. Is Lady Grantham alright, Perkins?"
"My lord, she's sound asleep, and we don't like to disturb her. She looks so peaceful, you see. But we're unsure we can get her up the stairs without waking her."
Tom heard Robert sigh heavily. "Alright, Perkins. I'll bring her up."
He couldn't believe it. The woman truly was a tiny marvel. Robert closed the door to the dressing room behind him and stopped short when he saw Tom.
Waving his hands, Tom said, "It wasn't my idea, Robert. I would have woken Cora first before bothering you…."
"Never mind, Tom." Robert led them down the stairs and into the library. His entire aspect softened when he saw his wife asleep on the settee, her arms wrapped over her belly. He knelt before her and kissed her cheek gently, then slid his arms underneath her, lifting her as if she were a mere feather.
Tom let out a sigh of relief. "Can you get her up the stairs alright, Robert?" he asked as Robert cradled her in his arms and maneuvered her through the library doorway.
Robert nodded. "Tom, I've been carrying my darling wife through more obstacles than you can imagine," he said, kissing her temple as he walked.
Left wondering by this enigmatic statement, Tom followed with Perkins. Once they got up the stairs, Tom opened Cora's bedroom door for them. "I'll leave you here, Robert, Perkins. It's been a long night, and I'm sure you'll want privacy."
Turning, Cora still in his arms, Robert looked at Tom. "Thank you, Tom. I mean, truly. Thank you."
Tom nodded. "It's my pleasure, Robert. Honestly. Goodnight to all of you." With this he bowed out and went to his own room.
"Perkins," Robert said, once she'd closed the door behind Tom. "Can you help me get her into her night dress?"
"Of course, my lord," she replied.
Robert loved that Perkins asked no questions. He had a feeling she knew more than she would admit – and even that she knew things without Tom having to tell her. They worked quickly, gently, getting Cora's hair loosened and her clothing exchanged for a night dress. Robert placed her under the bedclothes, kissing her cheek.
"Thank you, Perkins. As always. If Bates is still downstairs, tell him he can go home. I'll tend to myself tonight."
Perkins cocked her head. "My lord? Will I be continuing with the preparations in your upstairs sitting room?"
Robert rubbed a hand over his forehead. "I sincerely hope so, Perkins. Although I don't know how her ladyship will feel in the morning."
He looked so mournful, Perkins sighed. "Whatever has happened, Lord Grantham, her ladyship will come around. That I know." She smiled at him.
"I wish I were so certain as you. But, I take comfort in knowing that, thus far, you've always been right. Well, in one way or another." He grinned at her, remembering her first months in the job and one way she'd been mistaken.
Perkins had the grace to blush, her cheeks becoming a charming shade red. "Well. I wasn't completely wrong then, was I?"
Robert chuckled softly. "No. You weren't. But I'm glad you were a bit mistaken, let's say."
"Oh, Lord Grantham. So was I." With that, she left the room, grinning.
With a sigh, Robert knelt by the side of the bed, caressing Cora's cheek as she slept. "Oh, my darling. I'm so sorry," he whispered. He got up and went into the dressing room, leaving the door slightly ajar just in case she wakened.
After he'd gotten into his night clothes, he turned out all the lights and slipped beneath the blankets beside her. But he kept to his own side of the bed, still very uncertain what she would do if she found him there with her. His thoughts troubled, it took him a while to fall asleep.
Cora woke in her own bed a few hours later, slightly disoriented. How had she gotten here? She noticed she was in her night dress. And she needed to…. She got up and quietly went into the washroom, then came out again a few moments later. As she was about to get back into bed, she noticed Robert there, facing the other side of the room. Then she remembered. Remembered how horrible she'd been to him. And what he'd said to her. But she knew that he hadn't meant it. It made her stomach do a flip. She took a deep breath and got back into bed, taking a chance and cuddling against him, her growing belly in the small of his back and her forehead nuzzled against the nape of his neck, her arm over his middle.
She wanted nothing more than for him to turn and tell her she was forgiven, that it was all nothing more than pregnancy hormones gone awry. She heaved a deep sigh. Then she felt him touch her hand.
"Cora?" he inquired, the fear and hesitancy clear in his voice.
"Robert," she breathed in relief. "Darling, I'm –"
"No. Stop." He turned and faced her, his eyes trying to adjust to the dark, reaching up to touch her cheek if he couldn't look into her eyes. "I never should have said what I did. Never. It was wrong."
"Robert," she whispered. "Don't. It wasn't your fault. I was cruel, and I didn't mean it. I didn't mean it."
He could hear the tears in her voice. Stroking her hair, he said, "Please, don't cry, my love. You've already shed too many tears over my foolishness."
Cora gasped. "How do you know that?"
"Tom told me, sweetheart. He was worried about you. And so was I. I really was so very wrong. Will you forgive me?"
"Only if you forgive me first," she whispered into the dark, clasping his hand and bringing it to her lips.
"Might we simply forgive each other?"
He felt her nod gently. "Yes. Please."
Robert pulled her closer, resting his forehead on hers. "Darling? I thought of some girls' names."
"You did?" Her voice caught as tears began to fall unheeded down her face.
"Yes. Perhaps Evelyn? We could call her Evy."
"I like that. Or Alice."
"Or Elizabeth? Like your heroine in Pride and Prejudice. The one who taught me a lesson once."
"Yes, I remember, my darling. I was reading that when you declared your love to me. With a black eye." She chuckled gently.
"A black eye I was all too willing to endure for you."
"I know, Robert." She sighed and ran her hand along the nape of his neck, continuing to press her forehead against his.
"And – this one is my favorite, Cora – Amelia. Isn't that nice? Our own little Lady Amelia?"
"Little Lady Amelia. Robert, I quite like that, actually. Let's see what the baby says."
"What – what do you mean?"
"Give me your hand."
Robert did as she bid. Cora put his hand on her baby bump, pressing his hand into it until –
He gasped. "Cora! I felt it!"
"I know, darling. The baby woke me up." She guided his hand again to where the baby was moving. "I told you that as soon as I thought you could feel it, you'd be the first."
Robert blinked back tears. "Cora, I –"
"Yes, my love. I know." She continued to guide his hand along her belly. "Robert? Might we assign a pronoun to our little darling? I cannot think of continuing to call our baby 'it'."
"Cora," Robert said, a very serious edge to his voice. "Isn't there a danger to calling the baby one or the other?"
Cora closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Robert, I'm going to tell you what I told Tom earlier today – and if you don't believe me, you can ask him to prove the veracity of what I say. But – I want to give you a son. I've always wanted to give you a son. Knowing that I lost one…"
Robert put a hand to her lips. "I know, my love. I know," he whispered, relieved that she couldn't see his tears falling.
She took another breath, continuing. "I want to give you a son, but we both know that I have only had girls. So, might we just expect a girl? And if we have a son – it will be a most wonderful surprise."
Caressing her cheek for a moment, Robert thought about this. As the baby – their child – moved beneath his fingers, as if responding to his touch, he felt his heart swell in his chest. He remembered her words from earlier, from their argument, and he knew he had to reassure her of something he already felt – had felt since he even thought she might be pregnant – but that he hadn't realized until then that she questioned. "Cora, this child is already a most wonderful surprise. Whether a boy or girl. I will love a daughter no less than I would a son. And do you know why?"
Cora shook her head gently, and Robert could feel new tears roll alongside his thumb.
"Because this baby is a creation of our love for each other. And I already love it. Boy or girl makes no difference." He had to stop to keep his own tears in check.
"Robert," she whispered, "I'm so happy you said that." She knew he wasn't just saying it in order to placate her either. He meant it. She could hear it in his voice and feel it in the way his hand continued to follow the baby's movements.
When her tears had ceased, he went back to her question from before. "But, yes, Cora. For now, so we don't have to say 'it,' the baby will be 'she.' Our little Lady Amelia, if you truly like that name."
"I do, Robert. It's beautiful. And if the baby is a boy?"
"Well, didn't you like any of the names I proposed? The 'apostolic' ones?" he chuckled a bit.
"They weren't bad. But I came across one recently. 'Theodore.' It means 'gift from God.' I think that would be very appropriate, wouldn't it?"
Robert raised his head to press his lips to her forehead. "It would, Cora. And I like it. It's a wonderful name."
"Well, if we have a son, he'll truly be a gift. But a little girl will be a gift too," she said, remembering what he'd said.
"Yes, she will." He kissed her cheek, then the tip of her nose, his hands now on either side of her face.
"Darling, are you tired?"
"Not particularly. But if you are…." Robert rubbed his fingers across her cheeks tenderly.
"No. I'm not tired," she said, her hands finding his night shirt buttons and beginning to unfasten them. "And I don't think we've properly made up yet."
"Hmmm…. Are you sure you're not too tired?" he whispered, his lips finding hers in the dark.
In lieu of a spoken reply – which would have been difficult while he kissed her, anyway – Cora snaked her hand down, beneath the waistband of his underthings, and fondled him, her palm flat against him. She smiled against his lips when his body immediately responded and a deep growl escaped his throat.
"I will take that as a 'yes,'" he breathed as he moved from her mouth to her neck and collar bone with his attentions. Gliding a hand along her upper arm, he brought it around to cup a breast, then felt her tense. "Alright, darling, I know," Robert whispered to her, withdrawing his hand, understanding that her breasts were too tender then for him to touch as he might usually. Instead, he pulled up her night dress and grazed his fingers over her side and back. As she relaxed again, one of her hands still curled around his arousal and the other tracing along his chest, he dipped his head to her shoulder once more, slipping his hand beneath her undergarments now to cup her behind.
The heat generated between them soon necessitated the quick removal of their garments. Flinging these to the floor and finally switching on a light, Robert gathered his wife up again, and gazed into her eyes. His hand traveled down the outside of her thigh and then wandered unhurried back up along the inside, his fingers resting at their juncture briefly before moving to tease her. His other arm held her against him, his hand playing with her hair.
"Please," Cora begged. "Don't toy with me, darling."
As she started squirming, Robert touched her with more intention, his fingers circling inside her and his thumb pressing her rhythmically. "I wouldn't do that, my love." He watched her tenderly as her skin flushed a tantalizing red and she closed her eyes, gasping. "Not if you don't want me to," he added in a whisper against her ear. He kissed along her jawline, her breath hot upon his face. As her legs clamped around his hand, her entire body shuddering and her gasps becoming higher in pitch, he felt his own desire heighten. He needed her. And soon.
"Sweetheart," he murmured as she caught her breath, "how would you like to do this?"
Cora had gotten to the point in her pregnancy where many of their usual positions simply weren't comfortable – or even possible – for her anymore. Whenever Robert grumbled about this, Cora merely laughed and told him not to worry. It was a way for them to become creative, she explained. And she consulted her books.
She looked at him meaningfully, still unable to speak.
"The same as last time?" he asked.
She nodded, a slow grin crossing her face. Robert's grin mirrored hers as he kissed her cheek. Without another word, he pulled away from her and began arranging pillows on the bed. When they were ready, he helped her up so she could kneel, bending herself forward to rest her belly and chest down on this cushioning. "Are you alright?" he asked, sitting beside her and leaning forward to kiss her cheek, his hand rubbing her lower back.
Cora placed her thumb in the cleft of his chin. "I am. I'll be better once you're behind me," she breathed, her eyes darkening with lust.
Robert needed no further encouragement. Kneeling behind her, his arousal resting against her hip, he leaned down with his chest along her back and his lips to her ear to whisper, "How I love you, sweetheart." Sweeping her dark tresses over one shoulder, he kissed the nape of her neck, behind her ear, and down over the tops of her shoulders.
Wriggling her bottom, her hip rubbing against him and causing him to moan, Cora turned her head a bit. "Robert," she said throatily, "you're teasing me again." She wriggled her bottom once more, enjoying the response she got from her husband.
"I didn't think I was, my love, but I'll most certainly put you out of your misery," he breathed into her hair as he shifted himself, kissing her neck again as he guided himself into her.
Cora moaned with pleasure, rocking back against him, her eyes closed. Robert put his hands atop hers and twined their fingers together as he moved behind her in a steady rhythm. His lips and tongue traveled up and down her back, her sides, her spine, causing her to shiver even as the heat between them increased. Soon Robert rested his head down between her shoulder blades, concentrating on bringing her to a second and then third release, hoping he might be able to make her shudder and tremble and gasp in that way a fourth time before his own.
Letting go of one of her hands, he slipped his hand below her belly and found the place just above his fervent motion, engaging his fingers there.
"My God, Robert!" she inhaled gruffly, pushing her hips back against him harder and dropping her head down, grasping his hand tighter, feeling as if she might actually fly out of her body with ecstasy.
Once he felt her contract around him with her own climax, he thrust into her several more times before grunting with pleasure and sighing heavily against her back, his chest heaving. Although exhausted, he held his own weight, not wanting to put too much pressure on her or the baby, but not ready to move just yet. He traced his thumb in lazy circles over her own, their fingers still entwined.
"Robert," she whispered, her breathing still too labored to speak any louder.
"Yes, my darling," he answered, his heart pounding in his ears.
"I don't enjoy the fighting part, but might we make up more often?" Cora pulled one of the extra pillows over to rest her head on.
Robert chuckled and lifted his head to trail kisses along the delicate jut of her shoulder blades. "I think we might be able to arrange that, sweetheart."
Tom ate breakfast alone. He attributed this to the happenings of the night before and hoped that both Robert and Cora were alright. He was somewhat dumbfounded to see them descend the stairs hand in hand, their faces happy and turned toward one another with tenderness. They hadn't noticed him at the bottom of the stairs, and he watched as Robert stopped the pair on the landing to whisper something in his wife's ear that made her immediately blush and grin and hiss, "Rooobbbberrrrt!" at which the man in question merely chuckled and smirked.
Glancing up and seeing him as they neared the hallway, Cora said brightly, "Good morning, Tom. I hope you slept well." She smoothed a hand over her belly.
"Yes, thank you, I did. And you two?" Tom asked.
"We did," Robert replied, grinning ear to ear now.
Cora pinched him. "Robert!"
He turned to her, rubbing his arm. "What was that for? All I said is we had a good night's sleep. Of course, I could tell him the re–OUCH!" he yelped as she pinched him again, this time as she blushed a deep red. He chuckled. "I was only teasing, darling."
"Well, stop it." She couldn't help laughing with him though.
Tom smiled at them, relieved they were getting along.
"Tom, we came to look for you, because we wanted you and Sybbie to see my Valentine's Day surprise." Cora's eyes shone in anticipation.
Glancing at Robert, Tom hesitated. "Robert, are you sure you want us there when she sees it?"
Robert flourished his hand at his wife. "Cora says she wants you both to see too, and having you there won't diminish the effect one bit. In fact, I am sure you're curious about it anyway."
"Oh, please do come see," she pleaded, putting a hand on his arm.
"Alright then," he agreed, smiling at them. "Lead the way, Robert. We can get Sybbie on the way there."
They ascended the staircase and stopped outside Sybbie's nursery to collect her. "'M-mama!" she shrieked, holding her arms out.
Tom laughed and attempted to hold on to his fidgeting daughter. "No, my tiny colleen. Grandmama is going to hold Grandpapa's hand when he shows her the surprise."
Sybbie heaved a great sigh, as she'd heard the adults in her life do when disappointed, then crossed her arms over her chest in grudging acquiescence.
Perkins kept guard outside Robert and Cora's sitting room door. Robert gave her a questioning look, and she responded with a nod and a smile, opening the door for them.
Cora stepped into the room and gazed around in open-mouthed awe. The others watched as she walked around, pulling Robert along with her, staring at everything.
The usual furniture had been pushed back against the walls of the room, everything draped in red. Above the furniture, prints and photographs and postcards of Paris views and Louvre art graced every possible surface of the walls. A gramophone sat on a side table, a record already spinning upon it, French music pouring out of the horn. Red and silver paper streamers ran across the ceiling. To one side of the room a dining table for two had been set up, a wine red table cloth upon it and a large vase of fragrant red roses and purple irises sitting in the middle. Next to the vase of flowers was a beautiful wrought metal miniature Eiffel Tower with a bow tied around the pinnacle. Another wrapped gift had been placed at one of the table settings. Near this was a tea trolley with French pastries and croissants and crêpes suzette.
After Cora had taken all this in, she turned and wrapped her arms around her husband. "Oh, Robert! It's wonderful!"
Hazel watched them with tears in her eyes. Sybbie tried to escape her papa's embrace to investigate the tea trolley. Tom smiled, knowing it must have taken his father-in-law ages to plan and execute all this – respecting him that much more for wanting to do something so lovely to make his wife happy.
"We can spend the whole day here if you like, darling." He slid his arms around her, not minding if any of the others saw, and gazed down into her radiant face. "I know it's not the same as actually getting to take you to Paris, as we'd planned, but –" Robert was interrupted by Cora's lips upon his, kissing him soundly. Remembering they weren't alone, he broke the kiss as gently as possible, clearing his throat. His blush matched the décor.
"Robert, it's perfect, really. How long have you been planning this?" she asked, truly in awe.
"At least a month. I enlisted some help, though. Mary let me borrow her gramophone and helped me order the records and gifts from Paris. Edith used her contacts at the newspaper to track down all the photographs and pictures. Mrs. Hughes and Mrs. Patmore were good enough to find French recipes. Even Sybbie helped us with the streamers and covering the furniture yesterday, while Tom offered to take you to tea after your appointment to give us more time to set everything up. Perkins has been the biggest help." He nodded gratefully at her. "She was pretty much the ring leader of this whole circus, and at some point I wasn't sure who had more ideas – her or me." He winked at the beaming woman teasingly.
Cora looked over at them, her eyes shining with happiness and tears. "I'm so grateful for this, my darlings. I am. And, Hazel, you sly thing. You let slip not a bit of it!" She laughed as Hazel put a finger to her lips to indicate that she could keep secrets when she needed to.
Robert touched his wife's cheek. "So, my sweet Valentine, as I was saying before, we can stay here all day if you like. All the meals have been planned and will be brought up here to us, and we can dance or talk – or you can nap, and I'll watch you." He grinned at her. "You can even put your feet up on the settee if you like. Carson will have to get over it."
Heaving a deep sigh of contentment, Cora rested her head down on Robert's chest, smiling over at Tom and Sybbie and Hazel.
Tom clutched Sybbie tighter to him. "Well, we'll leave you two to enjoy your day in Paris together," he said. Sybbie waved her hand at them in farewell.
Hazel closed the door on the tender tableau her employers made and turned to Tom. "And what will you do today, Mr. Branson?" she asked with a smile.
"Oh, Sybbie and I have our own plans, don't we, my tiny colleen?" he said, giving his daughter a little bounce.
Sybbie head bobbed up and down. "Tea part' wif Mama."
Tom's throat caught. The day might be harder than he thought. "That's right, Sybbie darling. With heart-shaped tea cakes."
When he looked up again, Hazel noticed that he blinked back tears. She addressed the toddler. "You know, little love, one day you and I will have to sit down, and I'll tell you stories about your mama when she was just a bit of a girl like you are now." She raised her eyes to Tom's. "In fact, I'm sure your grandmama and grandpapa wouldn't mind if I told you some of them later. After you enjoy your tea party with your papa, that is."
Sybbie clapped her hands together and crowed in delight.
"We'd very much like that, Miss Perkins." Tom remembered something that Cora told him last night. "More happy memories to place in the hole in our hearts."
Perkins nodded in silent understanding. "The more we have, the better." She brushed at her cheek with the back of a finger. "Now, run along, my dears. Heart-shaped tea cakes await."
He stood for a long moment, giving Perkins a look of gratitude for her kindness and empathy. Then he turned to go, the strains of French music reaching his ears. Tom smiled and held Sybbie closer to his heart, imagining Cora and Robert dancing together, nothing between them but the baby that, whether boy or girl, was already so well loved.
Red: "excitement, passion, heat, love, aggression, danger, fire, all things intense"