Despite crying herself to sleep the night before, Cora was determined to close the distance between her and Robert. She had confidence that whatever was causing Robert's coldness did not have to do directly with her. Since seduction had utterly failed she decided on a more subtle plan.

"Robert, would you like to go for a walk today," Cora asked when Robert came to her room, as he usually did, while she was eating breakfast.

"Sure, darling. I'll have some time after luncheon, if that is okay with you."

"Perfect," Cora replied. With this, they resumed their daily walks, which had lapsed since Matthew's death and the poor weather they had last month. These walks helped draw them closer together as they shared how they spent their days, their thoughts and feelings. Cora always made a point of taking Robert's arm and leaning in close to him. She loved his warmth and he didn't rebuff her attentions. Sometimes she took his hand instead of his arm, linking their fingers together. Robert seemed a bit stiff the first time she did this during one of their walks, but she smiled up at him and laughed at something he had said, which relaxed him immediately. An outside observer, like Edith or Violet, would not have realized anything was wrong. In many ways, Robert was returning to himself. He talked, smiled, and laughed occasionally. He was still terribly worried for Mary, as they all were, but he appeared to be coming out of the grief just as Cora was. However, he still stayed carefully on his side of the bed and kept bedroom chit chat to a minimum.

All of this was very confusing for Cora, so she decided to increase her efforts. She especially missed kissing Robert, feeling his arms around her, his lips on hers, encouraging her to open her mouth so his tongue could explore. Thinking of it increased her desire.

"Are you alright, Cora? You seem quite flushed suddenly?" Robert asked on one of their walks. "I'm fine," Cora replied in a rush as she turned away, embarrassed. But then again, why was she embarrassed? This was her husband after all. If she didn't feel desire for him that would be an indication of a problem. This gave her an idea, though. She needed to increase their physical intimacy. Kissing was the next step. As they parted company in the entranceway of the abbey Cora put a hand on Robert's chest and reached up to press her lips to his. It was quick and chaste, but it surprised Robert nonetheless. His eyebrows rose and his blue eyes penetrated into hers. She couldn't read him at first. Then he smiled slightly and nodded his head before they parted. In this way a new ritual of intimacy was added their routine. Cora made a point of kissing him whenever they had a moment alone as a way of greeting or when they parted company. In time Robert came to expect it and sometimes initiate it as well.

Cora's concern was that it had just become routine. Robert was a creature of habit and, while she couldn't complain about feeling closer to him, it hadn't changed anything at night. It was time to take another step.

The next night when Robert entered Cora's bedroom, their bedroom, he noticed immediately that the lights were out and the room was lit entirely with candles. He paused at the door, with his hand still on the door handle. Cora was in bed, but sitting on top of the covers.

"Come in, Robert. It's just me."

"What's all this?" Robert asked, gesturing with his hand.

"I thought it might be fun to remember the old days," replied Cora. Robert smiled, but it was an awkward, uncomfortable smile. He closed the door and walked further into the room, removing his dressing gown as he went. He sat on a chair, as he always did, and removed his slippers. Then he approached the bed, pulled back the covers and climbed into bed.

"Are you very tired, Robert?" Cora asked as she moved closer to him and put her head on his shoulder. Her hand came to his chest with her fingers slipping instead his pyjama top. She felt his lips on her forehead.

"Cora," he breathed.

"I've missed you, Robert," Cora said as she moved her hand down his chest to his stomach and slipped it inside his pants. She loved the feel of his lips on her skin, his hot breath on her face. As she reached to touch the center of his arousal, which was already responding to her attentions, she felt his hand close over her wrist.

"No, Cora. I can't, we can't."

"Robert, why not? I don't understand. Have I done something wrong?" Cora asked exasperated and disappointed.

"It seems wrong. How can we when Mary's life has fallen apart, when so many around us are in pain?"

Cora was heartbroken, again. She shouldn't have tried. It was fruitless.

"Don't you desire me anymore, Robert?"

"Of course I do, Cora. How could I not? You're beautiful," he said as he brought his hand to her face. He stroked her cheek gently for a moment and then got out of bed. "I need some air."

Robert put on his dressing gown and slippers and left her room by the hallway door.