Very last minute for Valentine's Day, and it is not entirely on theme — but I still hope you like some late-night fluffy Cobert :)
It had been a long day, Robert couldn't deny it. At dinner, all he kept thinking about was the comfortable bed waiting here in their bedroom with the soft pillows and the warm down duvet — and not to forget his Cora next to him, too. But now that he had finally managed to excuse them from the drawing room, changed into his nightclothes quicker than ever and got into bed, he simply couldn't get to sleep. Cora had joined him on the bed as soon as her jewellery had been meticulously placed in the jewellery box on her dressing table and immediately scooted closer, her hand coming to rest on his chest like it always did. He knew instinctively she had been exhausted, too.
Surely, she was fast asleep by now, so he shouldn't bother her with this. But there in the dark bedroom, still half-sitting up in bed with his hand behind his head, he could not stop thinking of the words his mother had said that afternoon when he paid her a visit.
"Cora?" he quietly asked into the darkness against his better judgment, selfishly hoping that she was not fast asleep already.
Without moving or even opening her eyes, Cora only hummed sleepily in response, she had almost fallen to sleep.
She had sensed before that something was troubling Robert, he was not as talkative as he usually was in the evenings. Once he came in through the door to his dressing room, he had only taken off his robe and slid into bed immediately. She hadn't felt his eyes on her either while she was still taking off her rings, which was very rare for him. Clearly, something was bothering him, she should have known that sleep would not come easy that night — for either of them.
"Do you like me?" he whispered, staring into the darkness ahead.
At this, Cora finally moved. "Whatever do you mean?" she asked, turning around in bed to switch on the lamp on her bedside table, and then looked at her husband with a bewildered expression on her face. She had expected a lot, but certainly not this.
"Just that. Do you like me?" he repeated before he turned on his light as well.
Cora was sitting up in bed, propping herself up on her left arm and she looked quizzically at her husband when she said: "I don't understand where this is coming from?"
Robert sighed as he, too, turned on his side to face her more fully. "It's just something Mama told me from her and Isobel's rather scandalous rescue mission of Dickie a few days ago that I can't seem to forget."
He had hoped this explanation was enough for her to finally answer his question, as simple as he deemed it to be. However, her brows only furrowed further, and her head tilted to the side. "You saw Mama today, then? Because I've been meaning to ask. What was this mysterious mission about?"
"Apparently, Isobel realised that she indeed loves Dickie. She had not heard from him in a while and wanted to see how he was doing but was denied entry by his son and daughter-in-law. According to Mama, Amelia and Larry had been keeping Isobel from seeing him so they would not have to relinquish any possible claims to his estate. It all came to a head while we were at Brancaster when Mama took matters into her own hands, took Isobel and all but barged into Cavenham to get him out. Dickie had been entirely unaware of his family's plotting, and has now moved in with Isobel in the village. They are to be married soon," Robert explained as if he was just telling her about the weather forecast for the coming week.
Cora's eyes widened in shock. "That does sound quite scandalous, indeed! Why did Mary not mention any of this at dinner?" she asked.
"I don't think that Mary knew about this. Mama only said it was very recent and that she hadn't been up here since then. I can tell you, she was dying to finally tell this story. As much as she pretends to hate gossip, she sure likes to engage in some occasionally."
Cora chuckled lightly at Robert's statement and the truth behind it — the sound caused her husband to crack up as well.
"But Isobel and Dickie getting married after all? I am so happy for them!" Cora exclaimed excitedly, almost too loudly for Robert's liking. When she saw him wince at the sudden loudness, she added much more softly: "They are a well-suited pair, aren't they?".
When he didn't reply, she turned off her light again and slid back down in bed to lie next to Robert. He was still turned to face her, and her hand came up to play with the collar of his sleep shirt.
"I'd say they are," he said absent-mindedly. "But please answer me, Cora."
"Darling, I love you. We have been married for thirty-five years now, so by all accounts, why wouldn't I like you?" Cora's hand let go of his shirt and slid up his neck to cup his cheek, brushing over the light stubble on his jaw.
Robert closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. He loved these quiet moments when it was just the two of them and they could be as openly affectionate as they pleased. Usually, her touch calmed his frayed nerves almost immediately, taking his worries away one gentle caress at a time. But not that night; as much as he relished in it, his mind was still reeling, his thoughts revolved entirely around that one question. "That does not necessarily mean you like me."
"Robert, it is too late for that kind of nitpicking" Cora sighed and he could tell she was starting to get annoyed with him. "Can't we talk about this tomorrow? I have to attend the meeting at the hospital early tomorrow morning."
"Larry, as my son I love you, but I've tried and failed to like you. That is what Dickie said, according to Mama. And I think it not only pertains to their relationship. So many other couples like us can't stand each other or don't have much in common, and yet spend their entire lives together. I need to know, Cora. Because I not only love you with all my heart, but I also like you — very much. In fact, I liked you long before I loved you. But you always say you loved me from the start, so the question remains. Do you like me?"
Cora's hand stilled its motions. One look into his pleading eyes told her that he was truly worried about this, whether she liked him or not. To her, it was such a silly question for him to ask her. But this seemed to be so very important to him.
She smiled tenderly at him, her sleepy eyes staring deeply into his, and she said: "I doubt our marriage could have been as happy as it has been if we did not like each other, darling. I indeed loved you from the start, even before I really knew you. But we spent time together, we got to know each other — I firmly believe that I know you better than anyone else in the world, and you know me best, too. You are a part of me, Robert, you always will be. The things about you that I don't love, I like. And the things I don't like, I love. Easy as that. So yes, I do like you."
Robert breathed deeply, sighing nervously in relief shortly thereafter when her hand began to dance lightly across his cheek again. His right hand mirrored hers, while his left reached for her hand on his cheek and slowly brought it to his lips. He affectionately kissed her knuckles, letting his lips linger on her soft skin, but his eyes never left hers.
"Thank you for that, my dear," he breathed, watching her cheeks colour in the soft glow from the light behind him. "Now I shall let you have your deserved rest before tomorrow whisks you away from me to the hospital yet again."
Quickly, Robert turned off the lamp on his side of the bed as well and laid back down. He did not have to wait long for Cora to come close again. But instead of settling down, she pushed herself up one last time. Surprised by this, he put his hand on her shoulder and looked intently at her.
"You don't have to worry so much, Robert. I know this stems from the nature of the marriage agreement we first came to so many years ago, and you will likely never stop thinking and feeling guilty about it, but you and I have been happy together for so many years. We have been through unthinkable things together. Please, never doubt my love for you. And never doubt my liking you, either," she smiled, adding that last bit — not as an afterthought, but as a reassurance.
He smiled sheepishly at her while his fingers absent-mindedly played with the strap of her nightdress in the dark. "I'm sorry, darling. You are right, of course."
Cora only pressed a lingering kiss on his lips in response before settling down by his side with her hand and face resting on his chest again. Sleep did not evade him much longer, his mind now put at ease with the reassurance of his wife lying there next to him, who indeed liked him, very much so.
"I would not let you come and sleep next to me every night if I didn't like you," Cora whispered playfully into the darkness of the room after a while. And his wife was right, as she usually was. He knew she wouldn't. "I would also definitely not let you sleep with me, either."
Robert's head turned quickly to look at her — only he could not make out anything in the darkness. What he could feel, though, was her smirk against his chest, and he knew that she had been very deliberate in her choice of words. He would have to seek some form of revenge for the things she still managed to do to him whenever she pleased. But that would be a task for the next day. For now, they both just went to sleep in each other's arms.