Chapter Three

April 1888

After some much needed recuperation time, Cora learned she was expecting another child and was now nearly 8 months along. Her and Robert were both anxious in the early months, but they had passed that dreadful day in which she had lost her first son. It was a milestone of sorts, an ominous one but a milestone nonetheless, and now that she had passed it and remained in seemingly good health, she felt remarkably calm about bringing a new life into this world. However, an idea had been nagging at the back of her mind, something she had thought of when she saw Charles's kind act at her son's funeral and that hadn't left her mind since.

As the sunlight was just beginning to peek through the curtains, Cora sat up in bed and yawned. She had tossed and turned a lot in the night as her expanding belly was growing increasingly uncomfortable. She put her hands above her head and stretched, which brought another yawn that was louder and more unladylike than she cared to admit. Robert's eyes flitted open, and he looked up at his wife. "Good morning, my darling," he said groggily.

"Good morning," she reciprocated, smiling before adding, "Robert, I was hoping I could talk to you about something."

"What is it?" he asked. "And why couldn't it wait till after I've had some coffee?" he teased.

"I suppose it could wait, but I've just been thinking about it a lot lately," she stated.

"Darling, I was only joking," he said as he sat up and kissed his wife's cheek. "We can talk now."

"I was thinking maybe Charles should be our baby's godfather," she admitted. "I know it's rather unusual, but we will still have Rosamund there as godmother to represent the family."

"I'll be honest, I had thought about that also. He's such a compassionate chap. It does seem rather fitting. But won't it seem unfair to your brother?"

"Harold won't mind. After all, he's so busy growing his railroad company that he probably won't even come to the christening."

"Okay. If you're sure, then I agree. Let's tell Charles after tea this afternoon," he said. "I suppose I'm very agreeable when I haven't quite woken up," he added jokingly.

After tea, Cora and Robert stayed behind in the library while Violet went off to Dower House to change for dinner. They asked Charles to stay behind with them, saying they had a request specifically for him and asking Sims to leave it to them to discuss.

"Please sit down," Robert said, gesturing to the sofa opposite the one he and Cora were sitting on. "Cora and I have something rather important to ask of you, Charles."

"How can I be of assistance, milord?" Charles asked as he took a seat across from the couple.

"Well, it's not really that we need you for this, rather this one does," Cora started, rubbing her large bump. Charles's expression remained confused until Cora explained further, "You see, Charles, we would like to ask you if you would be willing to become our baby's godfather."

"Are you sure, milady?" Charles spoke tentatively, "Only I wouldn't want to step in somewhere I shan't belong."

"You most certainly belong here," Cora asserted.

"Yes, we are looking for someone to be around and involved in our son or daughter's life," Robert added, "Who better for that than you?"

"As long as you're certain you wouldn't rather have a member of the family, I will gladly accept. It would be an honor."

"We're sure," Robert asserted and Cora nodded her agreement. "You are very important in this house, Charles, and we know you will be instrumental in keeping it running smoothly once a little one is in the mix. We want our baby to be able to come to you if they need something just as they can come to us."

"They certainly can, milord. I will always be there for them."

"Thank you, Charles," Cora said with a bright smile before standing up with a hand cradling her bump and another supporting her back.

"It is my great pleasure and honor, milady," Charles asserted, returning Cora's smile and then excusing himself from the room.

"Is there anything I can do for you, love?" Robert asked as he stood up and went behind his wife. He began to gently massage her lower back.

"That feels good, love, thank you." Cora sighed with relief. "I can't wait to meet this little one. Are you excited, Robert?"

"Would it be common to admit it?"

"Not to an American."

"Then, yes, I am," Robert said as he began peppering gentle kisses onto his wife's neck. "I know you will be an amazing mother to our little girl or boy."

"Thank you, my love," Cora smiled and then turned to face her husband. They began a gentle yet passionate kiss. When they parted, she whispered in his ear, "Let's go upstairs."

May 20, 1888

Cora woke feeling anything but relaxed. She had tossed and turned with discomfort all night. Her back was sore, and she had been having minor contractions sporadically throughout the night. Add to this the fact she was feeling hot as blazes, she didn't have anything close to a restful night, and she had a feeling this baby would be here sooner rather than later.

As she rubbed her eyes and prepared to get out of bed, she felt a sharper pain than the ones she had felt in the middle of the night, and she knew this must be a contraction. She winced and breathed through it and then gently shook her husband awake. "Robert, Robert, my love, wake up," she whispered.

"Hmm," he murmured groggily as he woke, "What's the matter, darling?"

"I..I think my labor has started."

"Cora, are you serious?" he asked, "Shall I send for the doctor? Can I get you anything?"

"No, no, I just had my first real pain. I don't think it will be anytime soon, so we can wait a while for the doctor. For now, just hold me. Please."

"Alright, my love, but tell me if you start feeling more uncomfortable or if you need me to ring for something or someone," he said as he snuggled close and wrapped his arms around her. The two of them intertwined their hands on top of Cora's bump, and Robert pressed a gentle kiss to the place where their baby was currently sleeping safely and then another to his wife's temple. "I'm so proud of you, my darling."

Cora chuckled softly at this statement from her husband, "I haven't done anything yet."

"Yes, you have. You've carried this child, our child, created from our love. And that means more to me than anything else you could possibly do. I'm sure you're a bit nervous about the birth, but I know you will do amazingly. And when our little one is safely in your arms, you will understand why I am so proud and grateful to you for bringing such a wonderful little miracle into this world."

"But what if something goes wrong? Robert, I couldn't bear it if..if this turns out like Silas."

"It won't," he assured her and gently wiped the small tear that had escaped her. "But I'll tell the doctor to fetch me instantly if things start looking dark. I'll be right there for you, for both of you, if you need me to be."

"Why can't you stay with me?" she asked with a slight quiver to her voice.

"It's not proper," he answered. "I would if I could, but Mama won't allow it. The only reason I was there when everything happened with Silas was because it started happening so fast the doctor didn't have time to kick me out. And I would never have allowed you to be alone during that."

"I know you wouldn't," she gave him a soft kiss. "That's one of many reasons why I love you."

"I love you too," he smiled and gave her a tender forehead kiss. "Now, please rest, my darling. You're going to need your strength when you bring him or her into this world. And don't fret about my not being in the room. You'll have my mother and Harris and the best doctor in the county. Everything will be fine."

Cora nodded and rested her head on her husband's shoulder. He began rubbing gentle strokes across her belly, soothing both her and the baby within her into a light sleep.

Two hours later, Robert had to gently remove himself from the bed. Cora had begun sweating a good deal in her sleep, making her nightdress stick to her skin and wetting Robert's pajamas as well. She had woken with a contraction shortly after falling to sleep again, but then hadn't had any others. Things were still sporadic, and Robert knew his wife needed as much rest as possible before things got too intense, but he also knew sleeping partially upright in a gown soaked through with sweat was probably not very comfortable for her. So, he committed himself to getting up and asking Harris, his wife's maid, to come and help her wash and get into a birthing gown.

Once he had fetched Harris and she had begun bathing her mistress, he allowed himself to grab a quick bite of breakfast and left something for Cora to eat when she was done bathing on her bedside table. She ate and then rested with her husband for another hour, able to get through her contractions with ease. When she sat up around eleven that morning and felt a sharp pain and a good deal of pressure in her womb, she knew things were going to be speeding up soon. Robert sat up alongside her and took her hand. She squeezed it hard and leaned her forehead into his chest as she breathed through the contraction and let out a small moan when her water broke as the contraction reached its peak.

"Oh, Robert, I think things are beginning to progress. I don't know if I can do this," she panted as she struggled to regulate her breathing in the aftermath of that intense contraction.

He gently cupped her face in his hands and looked into her blue eyes, "My darling, you can do anything you put your mind to. You are so strong. I know you may not feel like it, but I need you to remember it always. You are strong and determined, and you will get through this."

"And just think, at the end of it, I'll be holding our beautiful baby in my arms," she smiled, and he could see her eyes sparkle with excitement at the prospect and her head give a little nod of gratitude for his comforting words.

He gently reached around and began massaging her back, and he could hear her sigh with relief. "In a few minutes, I'm going to send someone to fetch my mother and the doctor. But I will come back and hold you until they get here if you want. Alright?"

She nodded with her head against his shoulder, "Thank you love."

When the doctor arrived, he informed Cora she was five centimeters dilated, meaning it could still be a while before her baby arrived but it would likely be here by this evening. After his examination, Robert was let back in to give her some encouragement before being banished to the library to wait for news. He held her hand, spoke soft assurances, and gave her kisses on her hands, temple, and forehead. Cora was extremely grateful for that and wished she would be able to have it when things got more intense closer to the time, but things were the way they were and had to stay that way. She kissed him on the cheek before they parted and then tried to relax and hear his words in her head whenever she began to worry or experience the searing pain of a contraction.

By five o'clock that evening, she was fully dilated and ready to start pushing. After a good deal of time and pain, Cora finally heard the sound she was so desperately waiting for. A small wail came from the baby in the nurse's arms and Cora's ears focused in on it. She didn't realize she had blocked out the doctor's instructions as he was guiding her through the afterbirth until he gently waved his hand in front of her face to get her attention. "Milady, you need to give one more gentle push to help the afterbirth along. By the time that's finished, the nurse will have finished with her and she will be placed in your arms."

Her. Cora realized she must have been so focused on the pain that she hadn't heard the doctor's initial exclamation of "it's a girl" and had just now found out the sex of her baby. She had a little girl, and she couldn't possibly be any happier than she felt at this moment.

When Robert came in at half past six, a smile immediately crept onto his face as he watched Cora cradle their newborn baby. She was so entranced by the baby in her arms she hadn't even realized her husband had entered the room. When she finally heard his footsteps as he got closer to bed, she looked up with a bright smile on her face. She was tired, he could tell, but she was also the happiest he had ever seen her.

"Say hello to your daughter, Robert," she cooed as she propped her arms up to show off the baby.

"She's so precious. Look at that hair," he commented.

"Isn't she just the most beautiful thing you've ever seen? Wait till she opens her eyes; they're the most gorgeous shade of chestnut brown."

"Brown? I wonder where she got that from. Not us, that's for sure," he teased lightly as he sat gently on the edge of the bed.

"No, not us," she agreed as she gently eased the baby into her husband's arms. "My father and brother have brown eyes, though. But theirs are slightly darker than hers."

Just then, the baby opened her eyes and Robert saw for himself. "I hope hers stay this way forever," he said in awe. His little girl already had him wrapped around her little finger, and all she had done was look at him. Well, she wasn't really looking at him, but her eyes were open and she was facing towards him.

"Me too," Cora echoed his sentiment. "What should we call her?"

"Mary," he said with ease. It rolled right off his tongue.

"Mary," his wife tested the name. "I love it."

"It was my grandmother's name, my father's mother," he reminisced softly, "She used to let our cook, Mrs. Yardley, sneak me biscuits when I was a boy. Rosamund was furious."

"I'm sure she was," Cora chuckled, thinking about how Rosamund confessed to her one night that she only ever pretended to be angry at him when the reality was that she got sweets from Mrs. Yardley at a much greater rate than her older brother ever did.

They sat cooing over their little girl for a brief moment before Cora broke through the quiet asking, "And for a middle name?"

"I was thinking I'd leave that for you to choose, my dear."

"Well then, how about Josephine? Mary Josephine Crawley has rather a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"It's perfect," Robert said and then held the baby closer to him to press a soft kiss to her wispy brown hair. "Welcome to the world, Mary Josephine Crawley."

The day after Mary made her entrance into the world, Charles got to hold her for the first time. She had bonded extremely well with her mother and father already, and she had even enjoyed being cuddled in her Granny Violet's arms last night. However, the way she settled in Charles's arms took everyone by surprise. They knew she seemed very content to be held, but they had thought she might fuss over being in someone else's arms. That was not the case though when she immediately snuggled close as Charles's hands supported her tiny frame. "She's so tiny," he said in awe. At the sound of his deep voice, Mary's eyes flew open and she seemed to cuddle closer to his chest. She must have liked the vibrations when he spoke.

"Yes, she is," Robert said with equal bewilderment at how a thing so small could have captured his heart as much as the tiny baby girl in his footman's arms. "But that's exactly why she needs you to protect her."

"I will, milord. I will protect her like she's my own."

"Speaking of your own, why don't you go introduce her to Lily. Mary needs to meet her godsister."

Charles's heart swelled at his lordship referring to his daughter in this way. Five years ago, he could never have imagined that the daughter of the earl and the daughter of a servant were to be brought up in the same nursery and, more than that, raised in part by the same people. Sure, the Nanny did a lot of the raising, but his role was still one of great importance, and one he meant to do his absolute best in fulfilling.

When he got to the nursery, Lily jumped up from the chair she was sitting in and rushed to hug his legs. "Daddy! Is this the new baby?"

"Yes, her Ladyship just had her last night. She's not even a whole day old yet."

"What's her name?"

"This is Lady Mary Crawley."

"Her name is Lady?" Lily's expression grew confused. "That's a silly name."

"No, Lady is her title. Because her Mama is a Countess, she is called a Lady."

"Ohh," Lily exclaimed. "So, I'm not a Lady because mummy wasn't a Countess?"

"That's right, darling," Charles answered, "But you are still a very special and precious little girl."

"And I'm your princess, right?"

"Yes, you will always be my little princess." He gave her a kiss on the top of the head. "Now, would you like to hold the baby?"

"Can I? Can I?" she chirped excitedly.

"Yes, but you have to sit still. She is quite small, and you have to be very gentle with her. Can you do that?"

"I will, daddy, I will. I promise."

"Alright then, princess, hop on your bed and put a pillow in your lap to help support your arms."

The six-and-a-half year old did as she was told and smiled brightly as her father placed the baby in her arms and showed her how to support the little one properly. She was a natural. Charles felt his heart swell with pride watching her hold his soon-to-be-goddaughter. "You're doing amazingly, darling. How do you feel?"

"I love her. She looks like a doll."

"Yes, but she's even more fragile than a doll. You are handling her so gently, and for that, I'm so proud of you."

"Well I'm proud of you, daddy," Lily stated seriously.

"Why are you proud of me, princess?"

"Because you're Lady Mary's godfather."

"Yes, I am. And that is very special to me."

Charles was glad Lily didn't seem jealous in any way over his role in Mary's life. In fact, she seemed to understand how much it meant to him and had said she felt proud of him. This made Charles happier than he could ever put into words. He couldn't wait until the christening to officially become Mary's godfather and have another little girl to depend on him. It was a special role that he deeply cherished just as much as he cherished the role of Lily's father. Those were better than any title or estate in his mind.

November 1888

The christening went off without a hitch. While the vicar had not wanted to make Charles the baby's godfather, his opposition had been shut down, and he knew better than to argue further once his Lordship had put his foot down on the subject. Mary had snuggled contently in Charles's arms through most of the service but luckily had not fussed much when she was passed to her aunt, and godmother, Rosamund. She seemed to already love both her parents and godparents a great deal as she was usually calm when one of them held her and much more fussy for Nanny and the night nurse.

At the reception afterwards, Mary was once again being held by Charles while Cora and Robert did their duty of mingling with their fellow aristocrats. They hated to be separated from their baby, especially when this occasion was supposed to be about her, but they knew she was in safe and capable hands. Although Charles felt extremely awkward at not helping to serve, he was also very grateful he didn't have to right now because the feeling of a sleeping baby in his arms was the best feeling in the world to him. Her christening gown made her look so precious, and the way she had been so calm throughout the service told Charles that Lady Mary would make a very fine and dignified young woman one day. He felt incredibly proud to call himself her godfather, and he couldn't wait to watch her grow up.

A/N: I know a servant for a godfather is rather unrealistic, but it was too sweet of an idea to leave on the cutting room floor. In my mind, Lord Merton becomes Edith's godfather instead of Mary's and Harold becomes Sybil's.

Thanks for reading! It might be a little while before I can get chapter four up. I have everything outlined for the rest of this story, but nothing is fleshed like the first three chapters were. So, bear with me if it takes a few weeks for each subsequent chapter.