First Come, First Serve

Epilogue

A/N: Thank you so much for sharing this exciting journey with me! I didn't have writing a Cobert pre-canon AU on my 2023 bingo card and it has been an unexpected but all the sweeter experience. Thank you for all your reviews and support! It was a joy. And I hope you enjoy this final peek into Cobert's future.

…

August, the following year

Cora was looking out the window of the sitting room. Her needlepoint rested in her lap and her eyes followed the frolicking children in the garden. Last week, Gene and Helen celebrated their second birthday. Today, their new nanny had taken them outside to play, which Cora found a good idea. They were never happier than when romping around outside with Robert's old dog Hathor.

Mama's voice pulled Cora's attention away from the window. The matriarch didn't look up from her own handiwork as she spoke.

"The twins would surely be happy about a sibling."

Mama had never addressed the topic so directly. Cora was a little taken aback. She took up her needlepoint again as she collected her thoughts to answer.

"Yes, I think so too."

Mama stopped. Now she looked at Cora. "Are we expecting anything?" There was a hopeful pitch in her tone.

Cora cleared her throat. "Well, not yet. But certainly soon."

Until now, Cora and Robert hadn't been successful in producing an heir. But Cora wasn't too surprised. It was no wonder to her that they had nothing to show when they were much too distracted every night to focus on their marital duties. They tried. They tried every night to perform the marital act the way it ought to be, the way John had done with Cora, which had obviously resulted in an heir. Cora and Robert tried. She lay down on her back with her legs pressed into the mattress, trying to stay still, and Robert got on top of her and they both tried to think about the heir they should make. But it always took merely a few seconds and Cora's hands splayed over his back, her nails raked over his skin, and Robert's fingers tangled in her hair while his face buried in her neck. And then they would roll around in the sheets. The few seconds that had actually been dutiful were over and they got lost in themselves just for the sake of each other, no duty borne in mind. Cora's skin was alight with tingling pleasure. Robert worshipped her and her body in various ways that were a far cry from the simple and classic fulfilment of duty. Their manifold moans filled the room. Then Cora was on top of him, took him deep – as deep as possible – and rode him till both cried out loudly. Each night, they lay in each other's arms afterwards, heavily panting and absolutely blissfully satisfied, and each night again they forgot about their duty. No wonder, she wasn't pregnant yet. They were fooling around all the time and didn't manage one single time to responsibly carry out the act dutifully. But it couldn't be so hard, could it? Cora had done it already after all. She was convinced they would soon manage to stay serious and produce an heir. There was no reason for Mama to get impatient.

Disturbing the peace of the ladies' handiwork, the door to the main hall opened and both ladies turned around to look at the guest. The object of Cora's undignified thoughts. Robert stood in the doorway, holding strangely folded newspapers and looking at them with wide eyes that asked silently if he was intruding.

"Robert?" Mama had this way to give her voice a stern and sharp edge while not fully concealing the caring core of her inquiring tone. "Do you think this room requires more ventilation or why are you lingering so forlornly on the threshold?" Her words may be snappy but Cora had learned that the underlying intention was always one of concern (at least as long as it regarded her family; Cora wasn't yet sure if she qualified as a part of that).

Robert cleared his throat as he stepped into the sitting room and closed the door behind him. "I didn't want to disturb the two of you unnecessarily."

"You already disturbed us. Tell us what brings you here and we'll see if there was a necessity."

Mama put her needlepoint into her lap and lifted her chin up to her son. Cora tried to copy her in a slightly smoother manner.

Robert fiddled around with the newspaper and Cora grew more curious by the second as she saw her husband's nervous behaviour.

"I just saw something in the newspaper that I thought might be of interest to you." He regarded both ladies with a look. Cora felt his look lingered a little longer on her and she already felt the heat in her cheeks. Gosh, she was really hopelessly in love with this man!

Robert cleared his throat again and his eyes lowered onto the opened page of the papers.

"Mr Charles Townshend, the second son to the Marquess Townshend, has taken a bride this summer and is now married to Nellie Walton." Robert looked up briefly to check their expressions. "As you both appeared interested in Nellie's, Miss Walton's, fate I thought you might like to hear that she had been successful in her husband hunt on the London wedding market. I have never met Mr Townshend but Papa said that Marquess Townshend is an honourable fellow and a goodhearted gentleman, so I hope that Nellie, that is Mrs Townshend, is in good hands."

Cora dropped her needlepoint onto her lap and clapped her hands. "Oh, how nice! I am so glad Nellie found happiness as well now on this side of the ocean!"

Mama agreed, only less exuberantly than Cora, but still, she shared the sentiment.

"And any news from your cousin Edwin?" Cora inquired. She had met Edwin in New York, and even though she hadn't taken a personal liking to the boy, she still felt strangely invested in his fate since she had witnessed the beginnings of his search for a bride in America.

Robert silently shook his head.

"Oh, no wonder!" Mama exclaimed. "This boy takes too much after his father and even that he does half-heartedly. It wouldn't surprise me if his sister Susan was married before one girl seriously considered a proposal from Edwin. And I can't stand that girl!" She shook her head as she took up her needlepoint again. "My sister would really have deserved at least one child that didn't inherit her husband's ghastly, unpleasant nature. But she just has no luck; poor Lily."

Robert shrugged his shoulders and sent a tentative smile Cora's way when Mama wasn't looking. Then he backed out of the room and left the ladies to each other again.

Later that day, when they had finished their daily work on their needlepoint, the family was having tea together. Robert and his father chatted lightly until the door opened and the nanny appeared. The patter of small feet was there before the two children appeared behind the settee nearest the door.

"Mama!" they called. When they noticed that their grandparents were present, they repeated in an attempted whisper, "Mama!"

Cora lifted both of them onto the settee next to her and stroked over their chestnut hair. The nanny had combed it before bringing them down for tea. Helen wore tiny pigtails that looked like two single ringlets. Gene scratched his head after Cora stroked his hair gently and instantly the nice combing was tousled and wild by the boy's restless hands. Cora's adoring look swept over the two children who seemed to only have inherited one trait from their father which was the deep brown of their eyes. It caught the warm sunlight in the most beautiful way, Cora thought.

"I saw you in the garden earlier. Did you have a nice time with Hathor?" she asked the two. At the mention of his dog, Robert turned around and quickly joined them.

The twins nodded. Gene first looked at Helen to confirm they had a nice time, and when he saw her nod, he nodded too.

Robert took a seat on their sofa and lifted Helen onto his lap. She immediately slumped against his belly. Cora saw how comfortable she was with Robert. Then she felt Gene climb onto her lap. She wrapped her arms around her son. He was eager to copy his sister so that there never was a difference between them. But he was much more restless on Cora's lap than Helen enjoying cuddling with Robert.

When Robert pulled out a stuffed animal (one that looked suspiciously as if it was actually Hathor's toy), both of the children jumped in an instant up and down. Gene scrambled from Cora's lap and joined his sister on Robert's lap. The grin on Robert's face showed that this was exactly the desired effect. Robert began playing with the animal (was it a cat? Cora wasn't sure) like a puppet and Gene and Helen watched with open mouths.

Cora stood up and got another cup of tea. She stirred her tea carefully as she stood next to Mama and they both looked at Robert with the children.

"But you have to agree, he would make a good father," Mama said lowly.

"He is a good father, Mama."

Like on command, they heard Gene scream out laughingly, "Papa!" as Robert tickled the boy on the neck with the toy.

Mama stayed silent.

Cora was happy. Her heart was full of adoration.

October

In a few days, they would celebrate their first wedding anniversary. The year had flown by like it was nothing. But it had not been 'nothing' in the slightest. After the long, long time of waiting, it had been the most blissful year in Robert's life. It was marvellous to have Cora around him all the time. It was a gift he never wanted to – never could – miss again. It just felt right to have her company throughout every day. And night.

He enjoyed it all, but the nights were a revelation. He didn't know it could feel like that. He didn't know two people could be together like this. That they did these things, yes, he was aware of that. But how together, how joined the right two people could be… How incredible it felt to have her around him like this. To see her let loose and move in passion was like getting to know her all anew. Robert loved it.

That night, when they fell into a heap of boneless satisfaction, Robert's thoughts wandered to their approaching first anniversary. He wondered how they would spend it and what he should get Cora. Maybe a necklace. Cora who was sprawled out on his chest, first lifted her head and then moved to sit against the headboard of the bed. While Robert still mused about the right present, she already had a gift for him and she revealed it tonight; an early surprise for their anniversary.

"I'm pregnant," she whispered.

His eyes grew wide. "Really?"

She nodded. "Even though we never 'dutifully' carried out the act," she added in a low tone, and her cheeks coloured a lovely pink.

"See! It works as well. We can have fun and make babies in one go," he gave back. He knew Cora had been worried they would have to go more earnestly about it for it to 'count'. And even if Robert agreed, he was never able to restrain himself once he felt her skin and saw the arousal paint her face.

"Don't say it like that! 'Make babies!' As if it has to be multiple. I don't want to have twins again. You don't know how exhausting it was to give birth to two babies in one night." She cuddled up to his side.

"Anyway, I'm glad." He kissed the top of her head.

"Me too," she murmured. "And think about your parents. They will be most happy."

They were most happy, of course.

During Cora's pregnancy, Robert took care of everything he had missed out on the first time. He doted on her as if his life depended on it. And apart from countless eye-rolls from everyone, he also received Cora's serene and adoring smiles. They made it worth all the effort. Dreams about a full nursery were their new topic for their pillow talk. Dreams they hadn't dared to voice out loud before. But now as their first joint fruit blossomed beneath her ribs, their dreams flourished.

Gene and Helen would make great big siblings. Robert was absolutely sure. When Cora began to show and he was always tempted to put his palm on the small bump every time he met her throughout the day, Robert started telling the twins about the new baby. He told them stories of how it would be when a new, little sibling would share the nursery with them. Gene and Helen listened entirely spellbound like they did to everything he said. At one point, they decided they would let the new sibling play with Hathor as well. They would share the dog with their sibling. Robert was most proud of them.

He was not so very proud, though, when they wouldn't understand that Cora's growing belly was nothing to play with. These were the only moments he got utterly stern and a bit loud with them when during tea, they fought to get on Cora's lap and started hitting each other because there wasn't enough room for both of them. He saw red when the small but fast fists flew back and forth a few centimetres from the unborn baby and his wife in the most precarious state. It took a while for the twins to learn it right.

And then the day was nearing that the doctor had made out for the birth to most likely happen. But Cora had told Robert that the twins had been two weeks early, and since the two-week mark, Robert was a bundle of nerves. He watched Cora's every move and observed every slight change in her expression to not miss the moment it would start. He was very confused when the two weeks and the estimated day passed and no baby was born. But apparently, it was as common as an early birth.

After weeks of watching over her, Robert was just at the stables when Cora's labour started. He felt bad for not being there while he waited anxiously in the library as soon as he found out. After five hours of labour, he was sure it was twins again. Cora had said, giving birth to the twins had taken an eternity. So, Robert was sure as he waited more than an eternity already, that it had to be twins again.

Only it wasn't.

Everything was absolutely normal the doctor said, but Robert found there was absolutely nothing normal about having a child. A lot of it was actually quite horrid. But he didn't dare to say it out loud.

When Robert finally held his firstborn in his arms, nothing else mattered to him at that moment. The pink face was scrunched up as if it was one hundred years old and not only a few minutes out of the womb. Everything about the little bundle was so tiny that Robert couldn't believe it was real. He was afraid he would break it when Cora put it in his arms. He didn't dare to brush his fingertip over the forehead and cheek as Cora did, but in his palm, he held the small head and felt the fine dark hair. It was incredibly soft. She was perfect.

Mary was the perfect addition to the family. Everyone agreed. No one was talking about the need for an heir because they were all enchanted with the new baby. And there was still time after all. Robert couldn't have foreseen that down the years, in his large family with the full nursery, he would stay without an heir. He had never considered the possibility that out of his three biological children, there would be no boy. Maybe he would have been more involved in the writing of the contract he had signed with Cora for their marriage on her coming to England two years ago. Maybe he would have changed the passage about her children. Not only accept them in their new marriage but take them as his own and include them in his line of inheritance. But he didn't know that it would come that way. No one could have foreseen that. So, Gene lived the carefree childhood of a boy to two loving parents with no title and duties awaiting him. And Robert would have to teach another young man to become his successor. But this was still a long way into the future. There was still so much time.

Robert's entire attention was on the little eyes that blinked sleepily into the rays of their first morning sun. The dark lashes absorbed the light for the very first time.

"Mary," he whispered, fully at peace with the name they had settled on. "Mary, 'the beloved'."

THE END