"Do you really have to leave us here already? You've only just arrived a week ago," Cora asked, hopeful disappointment evident in her voice.

"I am afraid so, but we will stop by on our way back," Harold replied, patting down his coat once again. The younger man shifted rather uncomfortably on his feet as he decidedly looked anywhere but at his sister. He did feel bad for leaving again so soon. Just a few months ago he thought he would never see her again, but there she was. She was standing there in front of him in a long grey skirt and white embroidered loose blouse, her greying hair tamed in an intricate updo like it always had. Cora looked weak to him, the effects her illness had had on her were still quite apparent — she had aged considerably in the past few months, her face now more wrinkled and sunken as she had lost quite some weight. But she was there, and for that he was grateful. And he really did feel bad for leaving so soon. Not bad enough, however, to postpone the trip he was about to embark on together with his wife.

Madeline, seeming even perkier than usual, added: "We promise. Downton is such a beautiful place to be anyway. I feel so incredibly fortunate, it was so nice to return to my homeland and be reminded of my old life. Please don't take this the wrong way; my life with Harold is wonderful," the young woman said, taking in her surroundings. Her gaze wandered across the vast green to her left and right, then up to focus on the imposing structure towering there over all of them behind her sister-in-law. It was such a beautiful house to call home, and Madeline was slightly envious of the people who truthfully got to say that. With her eyes settling on Cora once more, she continued: "But so is this."

"Don't I know it," the lady of the house laughed. And she did. She still remembered how foreign everything had been when she came here four decades ago with amazing vividness. Things here were all the same and yet also so different from back in Newport, it honestly still fascinated her to this day. Cora also knew how fortunate she was that she had found love here, and a home. "But I have to ask once more, where are the two of you going?"

"Oh, Harold wants to show me around Europe, our belated and early honeymoon, so to say."

"I just want to show her the beautiful places I have seen the last time I was here together with Mother. I did not think I would, but I enjoyed it all a lot more than I thought I would," the young woman's husband explained, his arm placed around her shoulder, keeping her close to him. "And look at me willingly leaving America for a third time," Harold added in jest.

"Those are not words I ever thought I would hear from you of all people, Harold."

Until then, Robert had kept silent and stayed in the shadows a few feet behind his wife. He wanted to give them the chance to say goodbye properly before he would have to interrupt them, and he knew he would have to. He knew his wife long enough. As subtly as he could, he cleared his throat.

"Cora, you need to let them go now or they are going to miss their train," he chimed in from behind her after chancing a quick look at his pocket watch. Stepping a bit closer at last, his left hand subtly came to rest on her hip when he stretched out his right for his brother-in-law to take. The men did not need to exchange words, a simple smile and nod was enough for them. Everything that needed to be said had been uttered before; there had been enough time for them to converse during drinks after dinner in the past week.

"You are right, darling. Enjoy your travels," Cora smiled as the group walked over to the car that had been waiting for the couple to take them to the train station. "And remember that you are always more than welcome to stay here."

"Thank you, Cora," Madeline replied as she beckoned her sister-in-law in for a hug goodbye.

Watching them, Robert glanced at the shorter man to his right and warned: "And you better take good care of her, Harold. Especially now."

"Do not worry, I will. And I hope you will continue to do the same."

Robert did not reply and only nodded solemnly in agreement. There was nothing he could retort, and to him, it still felt quite foreign to converse with the American. Somehow, that certain way of enunciating oneself still only sounded endearing to him when his wife was talking. Whenever she spoke, he felt like it was the gentlest, softest sound he had ever heard; especially when she said his name. That unique way might very well be the Earl's favourite sound on earth, even though he was not likely to ever admit to that. He would be a fool not to take care of her like he had promised, not after everything they went through the past few months.

"Robert?"

There it was, the gentle, affectionate lilt of her voice ringing out when she said his name, rolling the Rs in that way only she could. He had to suppress the wide smile that wanted to form on his face only at the mere thought and sound. She truly was his everything if her saying his name alone still elicited this response in him after all these years together.

"Robert?" she asked again.

"Pardon me, my dear. I am afraid I was not listening," he said, shaking his head slightly when he heard her voice coming from behind him again.

She had already turned and begun walking back towards the grand wooden doors to go back inside when he was still standing there, looking down the gravel driveway, the car taking Harold and Madeline to the station already far out of sight.

"I only asked if you were coming inside, too? Because I feel like going upstairs to have a quick lie-down ahead of dinner. These late nights are not as easy on me as they used to be," she smiled almost apologetically.

In a few long strides, he had caught up with her and reached for her hand. He needn't reply, his gentle smile was answer enough for her to know that he was gladly joining her.

On their way inside and upstairs, they had seen Mrs Hughes and asked her to send someone to wake them up on time to get dressed for dinner that night.

They did not call for Baxter to help her out of her clothes; Robert was more than capable of handling the simple attire she had worn that day on his own. Only once she was nestled into their bed did he quickly take off his outer clothes and lie down next to her, dressed now in only his shirt and pants.

Without hesitation, his wife scooted closer and he put his arm around her like he always did. Silenced settled over them and he was quickly finding the late nights of the past week catching up with him. He had almost fallen asleep when her voice softly rang out again in the bedroom.

"Robert?"

"Hm?"

"What did you mean when you said Harold needed to take good care of Madeline, especially now?"

"You heard?" Robert asked, sounding more than a bit surprised. His eyes were still closed, and his drowsiness dripped from his voice. When he felt her weight leaving his side, he quickly opened them to look at her.

Cora had pushed herself up to look him in the eyes, a stern look on her face. But it took everything in her not to laugh the instant she saw his wide-eyed expression.

"Of course, I did, Robert. I am not deaf, the two of you were right behind us," she almost laughed in reply.

When he remained frozen in that position and only kept looking at her so incredulously, she could not keep it in any longer. In a fit of girlish giggles, she got out: "So this is what a deer caught in headlights looks like."

Incredulousness was joined by confusion as he furrowed his brow. "What does that mean, Cora?"

"Nothing."

"Cora?" he warned lowly, his chest rumbling under her hand that was still placed on his torso to keep her steady upright.

"It's just an expression I read in a newspaper a while ago and I never fully understood what it meant until now. Sometimes you just have to see things with your own eyes. You look incredibly funny when caught out red-handed, my dear," she tried to appease him. After sneaking a quick kiss on his cheek, she asked again: "What is it that you meant earlier?"

Robert sighed, but he knew he could not keep it from her for much longer anyway. "I should not be telling you, he was not quite in his right mind when he did. Harold might have had a couple glasses of whiskey too many last night and I am afraid it loosened his tongue. He did not mean to tell me, that much was apparent, even to me."

"I could tell that the whiskey was particularly compelling last night, I had not seen you come to bed this inebriated in quite a while. But still, what did he say?"

"It appears that Madeline is pregnant. But so far, nobody knows. Not even your mother, and they wanted to tell her first as soon as they returned to America after their trip across Europe. You should expect a letter as soon as they tell her, though," Robert smiled.

Cora was speechless. She had expected her brother and husband to talk about business things when they were away in the smoking room; things like Harold's next big investment or expansion and Mary's plans for the future of the estate. But this she had not expected.

Robert could not suppress the low chuckle when he saw her surprise and now it was for him to say: "Now, who is the one caught in the headlights?"

Slowly, Cora shook out of her stupor and exchanged the look of surprise on her face for a mildly stern one. "It's a saying, Robert. You can't just leave parts out. If anything, I look like a deer caught in headlights."

The serious look on her face mellowed at his perplexed response, he had seen the mirth in her eyes either way. He was and would always be this unserious man deep down. It seemed as though Sybbie had fully seen through him when she named him Donk all those years ago. Never had she heard something more fitting before and since then that described her husband this well.

"Harold — a father? I can not believe it. And here I thought I had heard everything when he said he willingly left America," Cora chuckled as she settled back down next to Robert at last.

"I know, but I am glad he finally found his happiness with Madeline after so many years. In a way their relationship mirrors ours, doesn't it?"

"In a way, yes. And I can only hope they will have this happiness that I have found with you."

Robert wanted to ask if she had been happy. He could not help it, he always had to. No matter how often she said that he had made her very happy, he always doubted it again when the topic came up. Even after almost forty years of marriage. The deep-rooted resentment he felt towards himself for his initial motives for pursuing her all those years ago would never fully go away.

But that afternoon, he resisted the urge to ask her. Deep down he knew that she was happy, and so was he. He had her in his arms, safe and sound. What more could he wish for?

"I hope so, too. But now, we should settle down or we won't be any better off for dinner than we were when we came up here. We don't want to be too tired when Isobel and Dickie arrive," he whispered in response.

She only nodded against his chest in response and he placed a feathery light kiss on the crown of her head before settling back down and closing his eyes once more. Both of them quickly drifted off to sleep for at least another hour until Bates or Baxter would come to wake them up ahead of dinner.