Chapter 2

August 1901 Part II

The sky was darker that day than it had been a few days before in the park. It was still blue, but one could see the clouds slowly rolling in and know that it was likely it might rain. He fiddled nervously with his hands as he walked and then let out a shaky sigh, thinking how the sky seemed to match his mood. It seemed just as indecisive as he did.

After the short amount of time he had spent with Cora and her children in the park, Robert had gone to the ball just as his mother wished, but no matter how hard he had tried, he couldn't get Cora out of his mind. That was exactly why he was walking down the streets of London with the intention of visiting her briefly to ask her to at least go for a walk with him, if not dinner. But he found, the closer he had gotten to the London residence of the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, the bigger the urge he had to turn around and run back home.

Why exactly he was so nervous, he did not know. Years ago, when he had first met her at her season, he had thought she was sweet and he had liked her quite a bit—and she was certainly beautiful—but he would never say that he had fallen in love with her. Now, however, he found that he had nerves that he hadn't had when he first met her and he didn't quite understand why. He certainly didn't love her. He couldn't, not when he hadn't loved her before.

It was far sooner than he had liked when he found himself in front of his destination and he stopped, taking in a deep breath and sitting down on a bench on the sidewalk outside of the large house. What was he doing? Her husband had died a little over a year ago…but it wasn't his intention to marry her. It was simply his intention to go for a nice stroll with her, or maybe dinner at the Ritz, if she wanted. He merely wanted to catch up with someone he had once known, nothing more. So why was he so nervous?

After a few minutes like this, he finally gathered up the courage and stood, walking to the door and knocking. As he waited, he once more ended up fiddling with his hands nervously. When the door opened, however, he instantly stopped and forced his hands back down to his side. "I…um…I'm here to speak with the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk," he told the butler as steadily as he could.

"And who, may I ask, is calling?" The man asked, studying Robert.

"Robert Crawley, The Earl of Grantham."

The man gave a curt nod, motioning for him to follow him as he walked down the hall and then opened the door to what appeared to be the drawing room. The butler announced him and then left the room, leaving him with Cora and one of her young boys.

"Lord Grantham," Cora said with a smile, putting aside her needlework and standing. "What a surprise. Please, take a seat."

"Oh, please, call me Robert," he insisted. "We once called one another by our Christian names."

Cora grinned at him and slowly sat down beside her son, brushing the boy's dark hair back. "Only if you call me Cora," she said with a smile. "I don't believe we need formalities when we are not in public."

Robert gave her a small smile and nodded, moving to sit across from the woman. They were all silent for a few moments, Robert fiddling with his thumbs in his lap before forcing himself to stop.

"Peter, darling," Cora said quietly to the boy reading next to her. "How about you move to the library for a few minutes and mama will come and join you soon, hmm?"

The boy looked between the two quietly, narrowing his eyes skeptically on Robert for a moment before closing his book and standing, leaving the room quietly. Cora let out a small laugh and shook her head, looking back to Robert. "He doesn't like to leave my side," she said quietly. "Not since his father died. It's like he's afraid I'll leave him too, the poor thing."

"He seems like a very sweet boy," Robert said, looking back to the door for a moment. "All you children are very sweet." Just like he remembered her to be.

He wasn't sure, but he thought, perhaps, he saw Cora blush at his words. She had looked down as it happened, so he could have been completely wrong. "Was there a reason you came, Robert?" She asked quietly after a moment, the soft smile still on her lips.

"Ah, yes…" Robert started slowly the nerves once more coming back. What if she said no? But why did it even matter if she said no? As he had reminded himself many times, he didn't love her. It shouldn't matter. "After seeing you the other day, I thought, perhaps, it would be nice if we could…go for a walk together, or perhaps tea…"

Cora's smile grew as he rambled on and she laughed softly after a moment, shaking her head. "Robert," she said softly, successfully managing to stop his rambling. She chuckled when he stared at her, almost as though he were afraid she would decline. "I would love to go to tea with you."

For a few moments, Robert stared before he broke into a smile, a small laugh escaping him. "You would?" He asked, before shaking his head with a smile on his lips. "I know a rather charming little tea room on Bond Street…I'll take you there. Is Friday alright?"

"It's perfect," she said softly, the smile seemingly permanently on her face.

Robert beamed and took in a deep breath, standing. "Perfect," he repeated her last word softly. "I will pick you up around say…one and I'll take you there." He moved over to her as she stood, taking her hand gently and kissing it. "I look forward to it," he said softly to her, before they both left the room, Cora seeing him to the door before heading into the library to be with her son.

As he walked down the street once more, Robert almost skipped, despite the light rain that had started to fall. He pulled out his umbrella and twirled it once, letting out a sigh of relief. He didn't want to marry her, he reminded himself, he only wished to get to know an old friend once more. Besides...if he hadn't been forced to marry his late wife, he would have married Cora. She would have been his choice over the woman his mother had chosen.

I know this is a little bit more brief than the previous chapter, but I wanted to post something and I think this was a nice filler between the previous chapter and the next one. You will get to see their little tea date next chapter, and learn more about their respective marriages.