If air were visible, Robert was quite sure that it would be alight with rage. That a storm of epic proportions would be booming with each particle clash in the Drawing Room. Robert was not a scientific man but he had read about the particle phenomenon and the mid air clash between his energy and his Mama's was as poignant as the coldhearted stare she had fixed him with. It was a standoff. The matriarch vs. the future Earl and all present spectators were currently swiveling their heads between the two opponents as if they were watching a tennis match to see who would win?

"I will not back down," Robert informed her calmly.

"Oh yes you will," Violet growled. "I will not allow this family to descend into dissolution after I've worked so hard build a strong dynasty."

Robert snaked an arm around his fiancées waist and pulled her flush against his side. He could feel her trembling slightly and it angered him to know that his own mother was the cause of it. "Do you really think that Miss Levinson will actively work to witness our family crumble?" he said through gritted teeth. Patrick, Rosamund and Marmaduke all turned their attention to Violet from their little vantage point on the large settee.

"She is a Durham and look at what she did to that family," Violet answered scathingly. "Dead husband, dead father-in-law, heirless. How can you possibly be serious about her?" Violet continued to eyeball her son as though she was looking at a madman.

"Because her husband abused certain…" he paused, searching for the right word. "…substances and it caught up with him." Robert lied. "I've already told you her father died of natural causes and it isn't her fault she didn't produce an heir," he finished irritably.

"Of course it's her fault. It was her duty. She's already failed once. What if she fails you too? She didn't even carry a child let alone a boy," Violet said harshly. Robert felt Cora shrink back against him at his mother's attack on her.

"If she can't bear children then that is unfortunate but it is something I can live with. It would just mean that Cousin James would be the heir, that's all." Violet took a step towards him, her mouth already open to retaliate but Robert cut her off. "And before you say anything else, I love Cora-"

"So it's 'Cora' now is it?"

"-no matter what. I hope in time you will come to accept her but until that day, I expect you to treat her with the respect she deserves."

"I beg your pardon?" Violet blanched.

"Well said brother dear," Rosamund chimed in, rising from her seat. Throwing Marmaduke a look over her shoulder she sauntered over to Robert and Cora, who had almost completely disappeared behind her defender as if all of Violet's horrible remarks would hit Robert but not her. Marmaduke also stood up and hurried to his own fiancées' side.

"I'm so thrilled you two are to be married. It's been a long time coming," Marmaduke announced cordially. For the first time since they had arrived, Cora smiled. Robert turned to her and rubbed his hand up and down her back affectionately, ignoring the fact that he was much too close to her for propriety to allow.

"What? Do you think you can just turn your back on me Robert? I haven't finished with you yet," Violet stated incredulously. She watched in abhorrence as Rosamund offered her own congratulations, embracing first her brother then Cora. How was it that they could all be so at ease with each other? It was like they already knew each other well. But Violet couldn't see how that was possible. She wasn't aware of her daughter's path crossing with this interloper on more than a couple of occasions. And yet, something didn't feel right. They were all so friendly. And they were still ignoring her.

"Robert!" she grounded at him. Robert glanced over at her with a frown and then turned back to the conversation in hand. It was a rare occurrence indeed but when Rosamund spared her mother a glance, she saw a woman that was barely recognizable. It was as if Violet had aged a full decade in a single evening. Her jaw hung loosely, her brow was creased hard and her orbs looked to be very far away. Her shoulders hunched and the formidable Countess of Grantham was replaced by simple a mother who had failed to match her son with a suitable marital partner. And the shame was already showing in the lines on her face. For a split second, Rosamund actually felt sorry for her Mama. She had never been so vehemently opposed, much less by her own son.

"Rosamund you must be my maid of honour," Cora declared, breaking into her thoughts and all feeling of sympathy for her Mama faded.

Violet looked over to Patrick disgustedly. She had been rendered helpless and her husband had done nothing but sit on the settee the whole time and he still hadn't moved an inch. He appeared to be examining his cufflinks. A flicker of resolve returned to Violet, Countess of Grantham and she marched over to Patrick, stopping square in front of him as the chatter behind her continued relentlessly.

"Are you just going to sit there all night as if time as stopped?" she barked. Patrick looked up at his wife, seemingly mildly surprised to see her.

"Has it not?" he asked.

"Has not what?"

"Time."

"Don't be silly Patrick, of course it hasn't. Your son has announced his engagement to an interloper and your daughter and her fiancée are genuinely thrilled for reasons I cannot fathom. Now what are you going to do about it?" She looked down at him expectantly. Slowly he tilted his face up so he was facing her fully. Patrick stood up.

"I'm going to get a drink and don't want to be disturbed," he said bluntly. Brushing past her he headed for the door.

"So you are going to stand by and watch the ruin of our family?" Violet yelled after him. Robert, Cora, Rosamund and Marmaduke all stopped talking to observe the scene in front of them.

"It all seems firmly settled to me and I see no profit in a quarrel. Excuse me," he nodded and retreated through the opened door leaving his wife reeling on the spot.

Over the next few days, nobody saw much of Patrick Crawley. He had pleaded a headache several times and more than once, Robert had caught him in his library by the drinks cabinet, glass in hand and pacing by the window. Violet spent half her time plotting how to break Robert off from Cora and the other half of the time voicing her displease to whoever happened to be near her.

Robert had placed the announcement in the newspaper and had received mixed responses to it. With each letter, he was getting a clearer idea of just who his friends were. In contrast, the only letter that Cora had received on the subject was from her mother, who appeared to be torn in two. When she had read it, she had initially wondered if the content was from the same person. Part of the letter had been devoted to her relief at her daughter single-handedly finding another husband so quickly without her coming over to help. The rest had covered her concerns that she had settled below her station and that she wanted to be sure of her daughters' choice of husband for herself. Martha had suggested that she come over as soon as possible to meet her soon-to-be son-in-law but Cora had promptly put her off, giving every assurance of Robert's sterling character and that he loved her. Cora knew that her mother would not have been expecting to receive such information but if she was really honest with herself, she wanted to be accepted by her fiancées' mother despite all her insults and she knew that her own mother's appearance at this point would earn her no merit points.

Rosamund and Marmaduke had been spending a lot of time with their counterparts, planning their respective weddings. Rosamund was now really sick of all the doom and gloom that Violet was putting out with her very presence whenever they should happen to be in the same room. So in an effort to try and diffuse the hostile air, she had convinced Marmaduke to bring their wedding forward to September, hoping that the current storm would blow over in the process. Everyone supported this idea except for Violet, who had suddenly become remarkably suspicious of Marmaduke much to everyone else's bafflement.

Marmaduke felt like he had been put under a magnifying glass. It was as if she was just waiting for him to make a mistake so she would have evidence to start accusing him of things the way she did Cora. She was already quick to point out his lack of noble blood whenever the chance arose as it was and he was beginning to find the subject most taxing indeed. He felt proud of his heritage. He was a self-made man and had been raised to not take anything for granted. He certainly didn't take Rosamund's love for granted. The fiery redhead came from a group of people who treaded cautiously around his sort at the best of times and yet she was different. She had pursued him not the other way around. She had expressed her love for him first, bold as brass and it only endeared her to him more.

He also felt a strong kinship with his impending sister-in-law. Cora was an outsider too and she was having a much tougher run of things than he was. Violet's constant attempts to highlight everything wrong with her made his blood boil and he had to wonder how Robert coped with his overbearing mother's jabs. Deciding that a gentleman's night out was in order, he talked Robert into going out to the club with him, figuring it would be just what the viscount needed to cut loose.

It was very late as Patrick and Violet sat on opposite sides of the room, a stony silence between them and the tick tick tick of the clock seemingly louder than usual. Patrick sat beside the fire, drink in hand, staring into the flames. In contrast, his wife sat at her desk with a gruelingly straight spine, composing a letter. Just that day she had received a letter from none other than Cora's mother introducing herself and gloating about the wonderful union soon to take place and it had irked the Countess terribly. Her husband had taken one look at her and had spent the rest of the day handling her as though she was a grenade with a loose pin. Finally, she placed her pen down and picked up her response, critiquing it. A loud rap at the door startled her from her work. Moments later there was a commotion in the hallway and she eyed the door wearily, exchanging a befuddled look with Patrick. Perhaps it was Robert finally home…

"Thanks awfully ol' chap," a loud, slurred voice wafted through the wall. "Mush obliged." Another voice then spoke but it was too quiet to hear. Resolved to find out what was going on, Violet abandoned her letter and hurried out of the room into the hallway. The sight she was met with stopped her dead in her tracks. Marmaduke was leaning heavily on Robert, his hair tousled and his nose dotted with what looked to be dried blood. He reeked of alcohol and his legs were quivering.

"What in heaven's name…" Violet began but Robert was already starting for the stairs, a determined look on his face.

"Sorry Mama, no time to explain."

"Bertie, I don't feel good," Marmaduke moaned. "My head…"

"Well perhaps you shouldn't have gotten involved with that brawl," Robert replied sternly.

"A ladies' honour was hon, I mean on, on the line," he panted as Robert began to heave him up the stairs.

"You got into a brawl?" Violet cut in, shock written all over her features.

"My dear chap, that was never your fight to win. I daresay the man was quite capable of defending his lady on his own," Robert tried to reason.

"He was outnumberee, I had ta help. Ow!" Marmaduke let go of Robert momentarily, grabbing the banister with one hand and jiggling his foot about having just tripped on the stair.

"Come now man, get a hold of yourself. We are halfway there," Robert encouraged, slinging Marmaduke's arm around his shoulders again and commencing the climb. Violet watched their painstakingly slow progress, shaking her head in disbelief. Her family really had descended into carnage. Marmaduke clearly could not be trusted with too many drinks and for all she knew, this could be a regular occurrence and it made her shudder to think that her daughter was marrying this man in a mere three weeks. Turning away from the spectacle before her, she made her way back to the library and her letter, hell bent on talking to Rosamund directly after breakfast the next morning.

"I, Rosamund Crawley, take thee, Marmaduke Adrian Painswick, to be my lawful wedded Husband. To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I give thee my troth." Rosamund could barely contain the grin that threatened to spill over her entire face. She was standing at the altar with the man she loved, declaring her vows in front of all her beloved family and friends. The day she had spent most of her life dreaming about was finally here. She watched with great joy as Marmaduke produced her wedding ring.

"With this Ring I thee wed, with my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow." Marmaduke gently slipped the stunning gold band glittered with rubies onto Rosamund's ring finger. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he listened intently as the vicar pronounced them man and wife. Elated, he leaned in as his new wife waggled her eyebrows enticingly at him, pressing his lips to hers and sealing their marriage.

Rapturous applause filled the church as the newlyweds kissed which soon turned to laughter at their apparent lack of desire to break apart. Rosamund had slipped her arm around his neck and had locked it tightly, intent on savouring this moment in every way possible. She had triumphed where many women with her background had not. And despite stiff opposition from Violet, she had thoroughly enjoyed the days leading up to her big day. Because it was hers, and no one was going to take it away from her.

Finally succumbing to a lack of air, Rosamund loosened her grip and pulled back with a wink. "I wanted to do it properly, not primly," she informed her new husband. Marmaduke chuckled heartily.

"You are incorrigible my dear."

The next morning, the house was bustling at a higher tempo than normal with the departure of the newlyweds due before luncheon. With the season now over, Rosamund had suggested that their honeymoon take place in Rome, so they could have a prolonged summer. Robert was feeling both excited and sad to see his sister go. He had spent a fair amount of time daydreaming of finally giving Cora the grand tour of the house that would be her home and he had imagined his sister there on her other arm, telling stories and exchanging witty remarks. Instead, Cora would be bidding goodbye to Rosamund and Marmaduke right before Robert would finally show her his much loved home. He had arranged for her to stay at Downton for the winter so she could integrate into her new family before their wedding next June, and more importantly because he couldn't bear for her to be separated from her over such a distance. She lived on her own in London and didn't have many friends of late. He was confident that in time, she would gain new friends but for now, his top priority was making sure she knew how much he loved her and cherished her.

Before long, the family was filing out of the great house to farewell Mr and Mrs Painswick. As they exchanged final words, Violet stepped forward and addressed Marmaduke directly in front of everyone.

"If you mistreat my daughter, I will personally see to it that you are torn apart by wild dogs," she eyed him beadily. Marmaduke gulped and nodded his understanding as her withering stare lingered on him for a few more moments.

"Yes, alright I think you've made your point." Rosamund sighed and turned on heel, stepping into the carriage, followed by Marmaduke who gave her a little extra hoist. A heavy silence hung in the air as the carriage set off down the driveway towards the gate. It was now crystal clear that the relationship between mother and daughter had not recovered from its fracture a few weeks ago. And unfortunately for Cora and Patrick, Robert's interactions with her were no warmer than tolerable either. In fact, most of the time they were frosty. With the carriage out of sight, Robert offered Cora his arm and began to lead her around the side of the outside, having decided to start his personal tour with the grounds.

Only Patrick and Violet remained outside with the butler who stood quietly to attention by the front door. Patrick watched his wife of 26 years out the corner of his eye but soon he was fully facing her, taken aback by a rare display of emotion. A single tear rolled down Violet's cheek and she pushed it away vigorously.

"You know you could have made this a lot easier on yourself," he said quietly. Violet had become so accustomed to his recently withdrawn nature around her that she turned to him in mild surprise. "Why must you keep on at them so?" the Earl asked. Violet did not need to ask who he was referring to.

"I'm worried about them. I'm worried that their choice of partner's will prove to be their undoing and indeed ours as well." Patrick shook his head in disagreement.

"No my dear, you are worried about them because they have made choices that you wouldn't have made. But they have the right to live their own lives and make their own decisions. I'm tired of bearing witness to your power struggle with them. Please let it rest now." Slowly, he pulled himself away from her towards the Abbey, his steps causing a crunch, crunch, crunch as the gravel protested beneath his feet.

A/N This will be the only update for this month as I am about to go on holiday. So this chapter I focused on giving you all a glimpse into the other character's heads at this point but I promise that the next chapter will be filled with Robert and Cora. As ever, my sincere thanks to the wonderful Nova Super (formerly Tallulah James) for being such an awesome beta. Reviews, good or critical are always welcome.

Finally, a massive thank you to whoever nominated this fic for the Highclere Awards AU category! It is a real honour and I am so grateful to you! You are awesome anon reader :D x