Cora put on her jeans and shirt again, the nap had done her good. She heard snoring coming from Robert´s changing room. She looked at her watch and sighed, he needed to wake up. Carson would announce dinner soon and they needed to tell the girls tonight. Must against her wish, she opened the door, Robert was facing her way. He was curled up under the covers, only the top of his head was poking out. She had to suppress the urge to step closer and brush to his hair. She always loved playing with his hair when it was getting longer. It started to curl up and it did that exactly right now.
"Robert" She tried, but the only affect it had, was that he stopped snoring. Cora chuckled, it was something that always worked at night, when she woke up from his snoring and he would not stop, she only had to say his name and he stopped just long enough for her to fall asleep again. She shook her head, no time for memories, she thought. Robert needed to wake up. "Robert." She said again a little bit louder this time. Still no reaction.
Cora stepped next to his bed and shook his shoulder. "You need to wake up." Robert got even deeper under the covers, and he let out a low rumble. A sound that always made Cora go weak; she loved the deep sound of his voice. She shook his shoulder again, it made him turn around, but not wake him up.
Another deep sigh left Cora's body. Why was she doing this, she should just let him sleep and sort everything out himself. But she was not that type of woman. So, she pulled down his covers and said again. "Robert, you need to wake up."
Robert let out an annoyed sound. "Why! Whatever is there to wake up too. My wife is leaving me. My children will hate me for it and leave me too. My youngest already does hate me, my oldest is starting to hate me. And well the other one... I do not even know what she thinks of me. They do not really care about me anyway." Robert turned around, he suspected to see Bates, but to his horror he looked into the face of Cora.
"Oh my." He said. "Well, there was no lie in that."
Cora stepped backwards. "There is a lie, three very big lies, if you think that low of you children. Robert, you really disappoint me."
"Even more than I already did?" He said, swinging his legs over the bedside.
Cora shook her head. "If this is how you want to play it, then go ahead. I am going down for dinner. I hope you join, so we can tell the girls together, if you do not show up, I will tell them myself."
"And make me the bad guy in this whole debacle?" Robert could slap himself. Why was he picking a fight with Cora at this moment. He knew she wanted to end things in a civil way, but he was preventing her from doing that. Was he trying to ruin his live even more, then he already did? He looked up and saw the hurt in Cora's eyes. "I am sorry. I know you would not do that."
"Oh, so there is still some sense left in your woozy brain. Can you please get up, put on something decent and make your way downstairs." She turned around and walked back to her own room.
Robert let his head fall down. He was making things worse by the minute. He knew he should not drink this much but it was the only escape he had. He could not live with the idea that Cora was going to leave him. How was he going to survive without her next to him. He did not even know how she run this house.
A knock on the door and Bates entered with a big mug in his hands. "Her ladyship asked me to bring you this." He handed Robert the cup. "I know this is not my place, but can I say: "I told you so."
Robert looked up. Bates was getting his clothes ready he noticed. "You have every right to say that. Bates you know we are friends." He saw his look. "I know you work for me, but we are friends first, then employer and employee, you know that. I should have listened to you and told her ladyship about what happened."
"You should have thrown that letter out." Was Bates short answer. "What is going to happen now?"
"I do not know." Robert said in all honesty. He and Cora had not talked about the next steps yet. He took the clothes Bates handed him and dressed himself. "Is her Ladyship in her room?" He asked.
Bates looked surprised. "I think she is still indeed."
"Thank you darling." Robert heard Cora say when he opened the dividing door between the two rooms. Two women looked up when he stepped inside. Sybil was standing behind her mother who was sitting in front of her vanity mirror. He saw Cora padding Sybil's hand which still rested on her shoulder. "I will see you downstairs." he heard her say.
Reluctantly Robert stepped closer. Coming into her room via this door was such a habit, but now it felt wrong. "Can we talk before we go downstairs?"
"What do you want?" Cora sounded hostile.
Robert took a deep breath. "I know I behaved badly just now." He stopped. "Not only just now." He continued. "But I think it is important that we talk before, we go tell the girls about the divorce."
Cora rested her hands in her lap. "You are right. We need to know what we want to say."
"Cora, if you want you can stay here at Downton." He heard Cora gasped. "I mean, the house is big enough, we could both live here without disturbing each other."
"Oh, Robert." Cora felt a pain in her heart. She could hear the desire in Robert's voice. "I am sorry, but I do not think that is possible. I will go and look for a house for myself."
"Right, I understand." Robert tried to hide his disappointment. "When you need help with that?"
"Rosamund already offered, she also offered I could stay at her place while I look for a house."
"That is good." He got up. "Well, let us go down and tell the girls."