AN: I've noticed that there are sometimes problems with the updates of my stories. Although I update them, they don't "move up the line" of updated stories, if you know what I mean. For example I updated this story at 6am CET yesterday (Monday), and the new chapter was added to the story, but the story was displayed as having been updated the last time at 8 am CET the day before (Sunday). So if you haven't got a story alert for the story, you may not always see updates. I have had the same problem before. So, just FYI: Unless I am sick or I have overslept, I update my stories every day, so just look for it.

This of course also means that in case you checked whether this story was updated yesterday (Monday) and you thought it wasn't, you will get to read two new chapters today (this one and chapter 8).

As always, thank you so much for everything!

Kat

Chapter 9

Robert

Robert watches his sister leave his room. They have never been very good friends, although he did help her with making their parents see sense regarding Marmaduke and he is sure that Rosamund only has his best interest at heart in this matter.

'How can you know the answer to a question you don't ask?' His sister's words are replaying in his mind. How can he be sure that Cora would refuse him? They could be so happy, so very happy. Maybe that is more important to her than having her infant son at his own estate. But the boy won't always be an infant. He will grow up. He will have to take his seat in the House of Lords on the day of his coming of age. He will probably have to act according to his duties a lot earlier than that.

True to whom they are, Rosamund and Marmaduke don't care about a seating order at dinner and sit next to each other. Which means that he sits next to Cora, something that makes his heart beat faster. Cora smiles at him and he smiles back. "I am sorry for Mary running into you like that earlier."

"Don't be sorry about it. She is a child, she is supposed to be a little unrestrained. And I don't think that she usually is."

"No. She isn't."

"Then I am honored that she acts that way around me."

He wants to kiss her for that. Mary's mother would probably have sent the girl to bed without dinner for weeks had she run into her like that. But then Mary would never have done that.

Cora asks about his parents and some issues about the estate he told her about on one of their walks. He is surprised that she remembers such things, but then she is an extraordinary woman. He looks over to his sister and brother-in-law and they seem to be lost in their own world. They have no idea what is going on around them.

"They are very much in love, aren't they?" Cora asks.

"Yes. It is a love match. My mother had the fit of her life when Rosamund refused to take back the 'yes' she gave to Maramduke. Mama threatened to take Rosamund's dowry away. My sister told her in no uncertain terms that that didn't matter as Maramduke had enough money. Mama and Rosamund didn't talk for months. My mother only went to the wedding because my father forced her. And my father never forces my mother to do anything."

"So that is another love match then."

"Yes. But it was only possible because my parents fell in love with the right person. An ability they apparently did not pass on to their children. Although opposed to me, Rosamund had the courage to not get married without love."

"It takes a lot of courage as we both know pretty well."

"Yes." He decides to tell her. He has to know what she thinks.

"Cora, I am going to file for a divorce."

"I think that is a good idea. You can't make anything worse and it will be much better for you and Mary in the long run. If Mary doesn't have to be afraid of her mother anymore, she will probably turn into the child we know she could be."

"Robert, Cora, would you mind if we went upstairs? You can stay down here if you like." He is surprised by the fact that Rosamund calls the Duchess by her first name and raises his eyebrows at her.

"No, we don't mind. Thank you. Good night." Apparently Cora doesn't mind being called by her first name.

"Did you allow my sister to call you by your first name?"

"No, I didn't. But I don't mind. In fact, I like it much better than 'Duchess'. I don't feel like a Duchess. I might be the mother of a duke but I really have no idea what that means. The late Duke and I were married for a few years of course and I have an idea of what it means to be an aristocrat. But that's all. I really don't know how to raise a duke."

"You are a wonderful mother, Cora."

"Thank you. But that doesn't mean that I will do a good job at raising a duke. I can't give him any guidance in that."

"I'll help you if you want me to."

"Thank you Robert. I only came to that party at your house because I hoped to find friends. I don't have any friends here. I have acquaintances and there are quite a few men who have made it more than clear that they would like to marry me. But I have no friends. Or I had no friends. I think you are my friend, Robert, and maybe Rosamund can be my friend too. That would be nice."

"Yes, Cora we are friends. And I am sure that Rosamund would like to have you as a friend. You don't seem to be very fixated on social rules and restrictions. You and my sister have that in common. And now we should let the maids get in here. Let's go to the sitting room."

He leads her to the sitting room and because she seems a little tipsy he holds onto her tightly so that she won't stumble. He let's go of her very reluctantly when she sits down on the sofa.

"Would you like a drink too?" he asks her while he pours himself a glass of scotch.

"Just water. I think I drank a little too much wine."

"All right then." He turns around and looks at her. Her face is a little flushed and her eyes sparkle.

"Robert?"

"Yes?"

"Are you all right?"

"Yes. Sorry. I was just thinking."

"What about?"

He shouldn't tell her that, he knows better than that. But he does.

"I thought about the first time we met. About the dance we shared."

"Dances, you mean. You broke one of the most important rules of society by dancing more than just one dance with me."

"Yes. My mother scolded me for dancing with you so often."

"We haven't danced together in a long time."

"Come here", he says and holds his arms in a dancing position. She looks at him questioningly.

"Robert, there is no music."

"Come here Cora, dance with me." She finally gets up and moves into position too. He has to fight an impulse to kiss her, but he has to stop himself if he ever wants to have a chance with her. And he wants to have that chance, he decided that after Rosamund left his room. So he starts to hum a waltz and begins to dance. The surprised smile on Cora's face lets his doubts about the propriety of this melt away. Maybe it is because they are both a little drunk now, but they move closer to each other while he dances them across his sister's sitting room, so close that they let go of the dancing position and just put their arms around each other. They stop dancing and just sway on the spot, holding each other as close as possible. He stops humming because there is a question he needs to ask her.

"Cora?"

"Hm?" Her voice is muffled because her head is resting on his shoulder.

"Those men that make advances on you."

"What about them?"

"Will you marry one of them?"

She lifts her head of his shoulder now.

"No. How could I marry any one of them? My son is the Duke of Suffolk. He should grow up on his own estate. But if I got married to one of those men, Sam would have to grow up on a different estate."

"Does that mean that you think that you will never remarry?" His heart is beating so loudly now he is sure that she can hear it. She stops both of them swaying and looks into his eyes.

"Well, I certainly shouldn't get married again."

"But you want to?"

"I don't necessarily want to spend the rest of my life alone. But my first marriage was nothing short of a disaster. We didn't love each other, we didn't even like each other. We never talked. He had a mistress. I know that your wife is even worse than my husband was, but I think that will make you understand why I can't just marry again. Should I ever get married again, it will be out of the deepest love. And that love would have to be two-sided. He would have to love me as much as I love him. That would be the only option that would justify Sam not growing up on his own estate."

"So you want to be swept of your feet?"

"I need to be swept of my feet, Robert." She leans on him again and he tucks her head under his chin.

"I'll try my best", he whispers and he wonders if she has heard him because she holds onto him even tighter now.

Cora

"I'll try my best." He doesn't have to try anymore because he has already swept her off her feet. He did that for the first time years ago, when he danced more dances with her than was appropriate. When he wouldn't belittle her interest in the matters of the world but actually listened to what she had to say. When he so apparently took note of things he came across he thought and knew would interest her and told her about them, regardless of how trifling they were. It had broken her heart when she read about his engagement to another woman in the papers. She had hoped for him to propose to her and she would have said yes because she loved him and she knew it. She wishes to God she had told him. But she had been scared of him telling her that he didn't love her. And she never stopped loving him. She realized that when she saw him look at her and Sam, she realized then that Robert was still the love her life. That was why she let him kiss her and kissed him back. And now he has told her that he wants to do exactly what she needs him to do, that he wants to sweep her of her feet. The moment he said that he'd try his best he had already been successful a second time. She considers telling him that she loves him but she is afraid of what will happen if she does. He is still a married man and although he has more or less told her that he loves her too, she is still scared. So she keeps holding onto him, hoping that he understands her without words.

"Papa?" She sees Mary before Robert does because he has his back to the door and she can look over his shoulder. But he turns around at the sound of his daughter's voice and lets go of her immediately.

"Yes, Mary?"

"I can't sleep. And then I went to your room."

"And I wasn't there. I am sorry my girl. Why can't you sleep Mary?"

"I had a nightmare."

"What about?"

"I don't remember. But I am scared to go back to sleep."

He lifts his daughter into his arms.

"And what shall we do now?"

"I could sleep in your room?"

"Mary, I am still up and not ready to go to bed."

"But I don't want to be alone."

She walks over to them and takes a lose strand of hair out of Mary's face. "How about you stay up with your Papa and me for a little while and then we will bring you to Sam's room? There is another bed in there. We'll tuck you in." Mary's face breaks into a smile and Robert mouthes a silent 'thank you' at her.

"I will go, get Princess Lucy" Mary says, wriggles free of her father's arms and runs out of the room.

Robert laughs. "Her favorite doll. Thank you, Cora."

"You're welcome. Sam will want to be fed in 15 minutes anyway. I'll do that and then we can put her to bed. Sam might wake her up around six tomorrow but I suppose you prefer her coming into your room at six to having to go to bed now just so that she will get to sleep."

"You are right about that. But I can't stay up that much longer. I have to go see my lawyer tomorrow."

"Cora, this is Princess Lucy. But you can call her Lucy." Mary looks at her expectantly, so she shakes the dolls hand and says "Hello Lucy, nice to meet you." She knows it is very American but she has no idea what to say to a doll. But Mary seems to be satisfied.

"Papa, will we go to the park tomorrow morning? Please?"

"Mary, I'm sorry but I have business tomorrow. Probably all day long." The girl's face falls.

"Mary, how about you come with Sam and me?"

"Yes!" the girl almost shouts. "We'll take Princess Lucy and Knight and I'll show you all my favorite places." Again Cora marvels at the fact that Mary is only three years old. She doesn't sound or behave like three year old.

"It's time Sam got fed. I'll go upstairs. Why don't you follow in a short while? Mary, you could tell your father where you would like to take me tomorrow."

She dearly hopes that Mary will tell Robert that, because he will have to tell her. She is a little scared by her own suggestion. She had thought to take Mary on her walk but apparently now she is going on Mary's walk. With a dog that is almost as tall as the girl. And a baby. She will have to take the nanny.

Robert and Mary enter the room just as she puts Sam back into his crib.

The downside of her staying with other people is that it is almost impossible for her to feed Sam by herself. The nanny always has to help her with her clothes and though there is nothing to see, her clothes are not yet all in the right place again. Mary doesn't seem to notice but Robert obviously does. He looks at her longingly with deep desire in his eyes but he doesn't say anything. They put Mary to bed, say goodnight to Sam and leave the room.

"I am so sorry", they say that the same time. She wants to apologize for her state of undress and knows that he wants to apologize for coming upstairs too early but neither one of them gets the words out. When Robert's lips find her own she moans into the kiss and he pulls her close. She can feel his desire and she wants him too but she knows she has to pull away.

"Robert, no. We can't."

"I know", he says. "But I want to." He takes a deep breath. "I actually wanted to tell you that I told Mary to restrict herself to one or two places tomorrow, but maybe we should talk about this over breakfast."

"That would be better, I think."

"Good night."

"Good night."