Mrs. Hughes saw a door open. She looked inside and was surprised to see a bed that was used. Who slept here tonight? She thought. She walked on towards her Ladyship's bedroom, and she passed the guest bedroom. The door was open, and this bed had also been slept in. Dr. Clarkson had gone home, and there were no other guests.
When she reached Cora's bedroom, the door slammed open, and Mary flew out of it.
"Mrs. Hughes, please call Dr. Clarkson, or better yet, call an ambulance. My mother is coughing up blood."
"Dr. Clarkson is enough. As long as there is not more blood, we do not need an ambulance." Sybil stepped out of the room. "We need clean towels and fresh cold water. Can you also bring a bowl with boiling hot water?"
"Hot water? What ever is that for?" Mary asked, surprised.
"I hope the steam will clear up the mucus a little bit. So Mama's coughing can slow down."
"Girls!" Robert's panicked voice sounded. All three women rushed back into the room. Where Robert was standing next to Cora. His hands and pants were covered in blood and vomit.
Cora was hunched over to the side of the bed, still coughing and retching.
"Sybil? What is happening?" He asked, his eyes big from fear.
Sybil got to her mother's side and held a bowl under her. Softly, she padded her mother's back. "Do not worry, Mama. Everything will be alright. Do not worry."
With the help of O'Brien, she lifted her mother back onto the bed, into her pillows.
Cora was working hard to get air into her lungs. "Dr. Clarkson will probably bring some oxygen to help you breathe." Sybil said. She looked at Mrs. Hughes. "Is he coming?"
"He is. He should be here soon." Mrs. Hughes said. "Is there anything I can do?" She had brought fresh cold water and a bowl with hot water, as Sybil had asked.
Sybil dipped a towel in the cold water and dabbed her mother's forehead with it. "We can not do much."
"Sybil, you should take a rest. You and O'Brien have been with Mama for hours now. Let us take over for a while." Mary said.
"Not now, I will once, Dr. Clarkson has seen Mama."
"For now, the extra oxygen should help. But I would prefer to transport her Ladyship to a hospital." Dr. Clarkson concluded.
"As long as you can treat her here at home, she is staying home." Robert said brisk.
Dr. Clarkson raised his hands. "I know, it is her own wish to stay at home. She told me multiple times before. She has seen too much to be comfortable in the hospital, but when her symptoms are not improving by tomorrow, she has to go."
"Anna? Do you know who slept in the room around the corner?" Mrs. Hughes asked Anna when they were cleaning the guest bedroom for Robert.
"We did not have any guest, I don't know. Did his lordship use the wrong room?"
Mrs. Hughes paused. "Then, who slept in this room?"
"Good point." Anna said. She had seen Jane come up early in the morning. Did she sleep down here? But why? She wasn't sure if she should tell Mrs. Hughes this. Or ask Jane herself.
Robert sat down next to Cora. She was, for the first time today, relatively calm. Robert rested his hand on Cora's and softly brushed over the back of her hand. He saw her breathing was very faint, but it was clear the oxygen was helping. He felt incredibly bad, while Cora was fighting against this pneumonia, he had been fooling around. Would he really have persevered if Sybil hadn't called him? He did not know, and that made him feel even worse. How could he betray Cora in this way. She did not deserve this.
He raised her hand to his lips and said: "I have been a fool, and I do not know if you ever can forgive me."
Cora's fingers wrapped around his hand. "Thank you for being here," she said. Her voice was almost inaudible.
Robert felt a stab in his heart. When he looked at her, her eyes were closed again. Her fingers loosely around his hand. He lowered their hands, not letting go of hers. His other hand brushed over her cheek. Even ill like this, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
"Papa." Edith's soft voice sounded. "It is late. You need to go to bed. I will stay with Mama for a while."
When Robert left the room, Sybil had entered. According to the bowl in her hands, she was following Dr. Clarkson's instructions: helping Cora get rid of the mucus in her lungs. He had heard him say that there was a risk of fluid behind her lungs.
He was glad he could leave because the sounds that came from her room were awful. He knew Sybil was helping Cora, but the feeling Cora was choking scared him.
Despite this, he stood still with the door ajar. He heard Edith say: "That's it, Mama, take a deep breath. That's it."
Relief crept up into his chest. There was no panicked sound in Edith's voice. He walked on towards the guest bedroom.
He felt a small hand on his lower back. He turned around and saw Jane.
"Jane, what are you doing here?" He hissed.
"I know that what you said this morning was coming from fear. I know what is happening between us, and it is not a mistake."
Robert felt the blood drain from his face. "You have to go. We can not go on with this. As I said this morning, it is a mistake."
"Robert?" Jane cried, but Robert stopped her.
"If you cannot hold your distance, you cannot work here." He did not want to fire Jane. She was a widow and had a little boy, but this needed to stop.
"Milord?" Anna stood behind them, and Robert was relieved he wasn't holding Jane's hands. It was enough that Bates had seen them together. This reminded him that he should have a chat with him. This whole situation had turned into a mess. The love of his life fighting for her life, his youngest daughter wanting to marry down, and now this, why had he followed his lust and not his reason?
"What is it, Anna?" Robert turned his back to Jane, and he hoped she would just leave.
"Where do you want to have your breakfast tomorrow?" She tried not to look at Jane, but she had a weird feeling about what was happening here.
"The same as this morning, some toast in her Ladyship's room is enough. Can you ask Bates to come to the guest bedroom?"
Jane was still standing in the hallway when he turned around. Without looking at her, he went into the bedroom.