Be warned, this is not really pleasant. No "bedroom manners" yet...

Impatiently and just a little bit too forcefully Robert knocked at Cora's door and entered almost before Cora could say something.

There she was. His wife. Sitting on the edge of her bed, their bed, in her nightgown, her hair down and engulfed in the warm light of the candles. Robert closed the door and leaned against it to recover his breath. He could feel his heart beating against his chest and his trousers tightening further at the sight of her, sitting there on the bed, looking at him expectantly.

"Robert," Cora said, "I almost thought, you'd forgotten me."

"Forgotten? No, no, I didn't forget you," he spluttered. "My... my father just wanted to talk to me."

"Ah," Cora said, wondering what on earth had been so important that it had kept Robert from her bedroom for so long.

They looked at each other for a while, until Cora's nervousness got the better of her and she had to look away. "What now?" She whispered coyly.

"Now?" She suddenly heard Robert breathe in front of her, obviously thinking he was being seductive but it only made her jump. Cora had been so lost in her thoughts that she had completely missed how he had gotten rid of his tails, his bow tie and his waist coat. Now he was standing just mere inches away from her, his shirt half-open and his bulging trousers right in front of her eyes. Which made her crawl back on the bed.

"Oh God, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you," Robert blurted out and abandoning the buttons of his shirt, he knelt between her feet and grabbed her now naked knees to prevent her from crawling further away from him.

"Robert, please" Cora hissed but couldn't find the words she actually wanted to say.

"Shhh, Cora, please don't be afraid," he said, forcing himself to calm down and suddenly remembering what his father had told him just minutes ago.

"Robert, I don't know what to do. What do you want me to do?"

"Just... I don't know... just... lie back and try to relax," he said, realising that he was still holding her by her knees. He let his hands slide down her lower legs and started to place soft kisses on her soft skin until he reached her feet. It felt incredible and the last clear thought that went through his mind was that he wouldn't be able to control himself. And that something in him felt sorry for her. But he couldn't help it. All he wanted, was to be inside her, to bury himself in her and to feel her around him.

When Robert started to kiss her legs, his eyes closed, and then continued to move up on her, when he grabbed her by her waist, clumsily removing her underwear, Cora thought, she couldn't feel more tense than she did at that moment.

It was the most disturbing feeling she had ever had.

On the one hand, she was in love with this man, she had longed to kiss him again, to feel the warmth of his body near her again. Her body wanted that, too, it seemed. Since Robert had started kissing her legs and caressing her skin, she felt it reacting to his nearness and to the fact, that he was obviously very aroused. On the other hand, she was so very much afraid. Her mother had told her in that very special way of hers that it would hurt, probably a lot, depending on how big her husband would be "down there" and after being confronted with the bulge in his trousers so surprisingly, she thought, he must be huge. Her mother had also told her, to try to relax as best she could by thinking of something pleasant and that it would get easier with time and practice.

Suddenly, she heard Robert groan and herself whimper. Where did that come from? She had been lost in her thoughts again. By now he had moved even further up and had gotten rid of his shirt in the process. She was lying on her back and he was kneeling above her, capturing her breasts with his mouth and sucking at them. Gently at first but his breathing got heavier by the second and his touches more intense. The sounds he made were quite animalistic but they also turned her on and made her body react in some strange way. To Cora's surprise it felt so good that she wanted more of that. This was actually pleasant. But at the very moment, she started to relax and to surrender herself to the feelings he evoked, Robert moved further upwards, and with his face buried in her neck, he undid his trousers and groaned:

"Oh God, Cora, you are so beautiful. Spread your legs."

She wasn't quite ready, but she did as she was told. After all, what Cora wanted most, was for him to enjoy it. Perhaps he would feel more for her, if he enjoyed it? She hadn't seen his manhood, but if she was honest, she would probably be even more afraid if she had. So she tried to relax and waited for Robert's next move and soon enough, Cora felt the tip of his manhood touching her between her legs.
He had to use his hand to guide himself into the right position and the moment, Cora felt him dip into her, she shut her eyes firmly, trying to prepare herself for the coming pain.

"God, you're tight." Robert grunted into her soft, warm neck and pushed into her until he felt her barrier give way.

The moment, the pain seared through Cora, every muscle in her body suddenly tensed. She cried out and reflexively her arms flung around his back, her hands grabbed his hair rather forcefully and her legs closed around his waist, which, unintentionally, pushed him completely into her.

"Oh my God", he choked.

In an instant, all movement stilled and nothing could be heard in the room but Cora's pained whimpering and Robert's very heavy breathing.

It was almost too much for Robert. He was already close, he could feel it, but he sensed, that Cora needed time to adjust and to relax again, so he tried not to move, although every fibre in his body wanted to, because this was everything he had imagined it to be. She was certainly hot and wet and even tighter than he had hoped for in his wildest dreams. But now he had hurt her, like his father had told him he would. Robert forced himself to look into her face for the first time. Her eyes were shut fiercely and tears rolled down on both sides of her face.

"Cora, I'm so sorry, but I can't...", was all he managed to say, before his body betrayed him and he started to move inside her. To his credit, he started slowly and managed to keep that slow pace for some time until he felt that she had relaxed a bit and he could move easier and therefore faster.
When he kissed her on the mouth, though, to show her that he enjoyed it, something deep down within him realised that she didn't. Her eyes stayed shut and she didn't kiss him back, at least not like she had before, and her hands just clung to his shoulders, somehow telling him to finish and get off of her.

Robert didn't need long until he climaxed with a loud and prolonged groan, collapsing on top of her.

Just moments after he had rolled off of her, pondering whether he should stay a bit longer or leave immediately, Cora curled up in the fetal position with her back to him, trying very hard not to sob too audibly. Why did it hurt so much? Didn't they fit? Would it always be like this? Him, the man she was in love with, nonetheless, just grunting away on top of her? Why hadn't she liked it? What had she done wrong?

Robert was confused. To him, it had been the best sex he had ever had. Well, he hadn't had much, but Cora was in another league entirely, compared to his previous encounters. She was so very beautiful, her body was perfect and she had felt so incredibly good around him. So why was she crying? Why hadn't she enjoyed it as much as he had? What had he done wrong?

Robert decided to leave. Surely it was for the best to let her recover on her own, because he suddenly felt as if he had violated her in a way and she surely wouldn't want to cuddle a bit with a man who had just hurt her so much.

What he saw when he leaned over to tell her that he was leaving for his room, shocked him. Cora's face was covered in tears and her eyes were still shut fiercely. When he touched her arm, he could feel her shivering under his hand and he suddenly remembered vividly what his father had tried to tell him.

"This will be different. ... Tonight, you will hurt her. ... Be gentle ..."

"Cora? I'm going to leave now," he said. She didn't react. "Cora? I've enjoyed it very much. You're so very beautiful." She didn't react to that either. "I'm so sorry I hurt you," he said, placing a soft kiss on her shoulder and left.

When he had closed the door to his dressing room, hearing her weep freely in the next room, he had to lean against it for support. That did not go well... and then he suddenly realised that he was still wearing his trousers. And his socks.

"Good God," he thought. "What a bloody fool you are, Robert Crawley!" He hadn't even bothered to get fully undressed.