"Can you tell us more about your hometown?" Patrick looked at Cora.
"I was born in Cincinnati as I told you before, and later we moved to New York. My mum has two houses, one in New York and one in Rhode Island." Cora noticed that this caught Violet's attention.
"Do you miss being in New York?" Patrick asked.
"No, not really, I moved to London not long after we moved to New York I never settled there."
"Did you grow up on a large estate?" Violet asked.
Cora smiled; she was waiting for Violet to join the conversation. "Compared to this estate it was not that big, but I grew up with a lot of space around the house." Cora was not sure how much she should tell.
"Why did you move to London? Was it for work?"
"New York was not a city that I liked living in. When I moved out of the house, I found a cosy apartment in the city, but it was too busy, I could not find any inspiration for my book. I had only just started writing, since my father's passing, I knew that I wanted something different than an office job." Did she overshare? With a concerned look she looked at Robert, who kept coughing. "Do you need something to drink?" She asked.
Robert nodded, but before Cora could move, Carson already offered Robert a class of water. "Here you go Milord." Cora had not even noticed that he was still in the room, she thought he had left after he brought the tea and biscuits.
"Thank you." Robert gave Carson a small nod. "Do not let my coughing interrupt you." He smiled at Cora. "I will be fine."
We should not stay that much longer, he needs to get some rest, Cora thought to herself.
"I am sorry to hear your father is no longer with us, my dear." Patrick said.
"Thank you, I do miss him dearly. It does help that I am not in the United States anymore, and time does heal." Cora emptied her cup and looked at Robert again. "We should be leaving soon; we have a long drive ahead of us."
"Surely you are not going to drive all the way to London tonight?"
"It is not that late, if we take some sandwiches with us for on the way, than we will be home before bedtime." Robert chuckled.
"Did you look at yourself?" Violet said.
"Mama, I have a simple cold. Please stop being the concerned mother, that role does not suit you."
"Robert" Violet exclaimed.
"Maybe your mother is right. I know you just have a cold, but we could stay one more night. That way we can have a good night's rest and leave in the morning." Cora carefully added.
"I need to call the pub if there are two rooms available for tonight."
"You could stay here. There are enough rooms, Mrs. Hughes can prepare a room for Cora." Violet now looked at Carson again. "Can you tell Mrs. Hughes to prepare a room for tonight and let Mrs. Patmore know that we will have an extra guest for dinner."
"I hope you do not mind me proposing to stay here at Downton?" Cora asked when they walked upstairs. Dinner had been amazing; they had an amazing chef. To her relief Violet had not directed her arrows on Cora again.
"Well, you were correct in saying that we will be more rested when we leave tomorrow morning."
"I hear a but coming." Cora hooked her arm in Robert's when they reached the top of the stairs.
"We have to sleep in separate bedrooms tonight, you cannot sneak into my bed without anybody noticing it."
"I could always try." Cora smiled.
This made Robert laugh. "I will show you where my bedroom is and then I will bring you to yours."
"You should have asked Mrs. Hughes to prepare a room closer to yours." Cora said when they arrived in her room.
"You do not know my mother well enough yet, she is very old fashioned. The guest bedrooms are divided by a men's side and a women's side. The guests do not sleep on the same floor as the family does."
"If you want to sleep in the same bed tonight, you will have to be the one coming to my room, I can guarantee you that I will get lost."
"That would be fun, being the night in shining armour, but maybe we should leave that for another time. My mother is treating you nicely and I want to keep it that way."
Cora smiled at him, he was right, Violet had treated her a lot nicer this afternoon and evening. Although when Robert and his father had left together after dinner, Violet had suggested that Cora should follow an etiquette lesson or two. Cora had felt her cheeks colour when Violet suggested that, did that mean that she had made mistakes during dinner. She had tried to copy Robert as much as possible, but it had been hard. Her mother had taught her some basics, but not in the extend that Violet was expecting from her. Just before Robert turned around, Cora pulled him close, and she pressed herself against his chest. "I do hope I will fit in one day."
Robert lifted Cora's chin. "Let me make this very clear." He kissed the tip of her nose. "You do already fit in; I do not care what my mother says. My father has fully accepted you and I think even more important." He kissed her forehead. "I like you for who you are."
"Oh Robert." Cora sighed. "I do like you too. Now let us get some sleep, you especially need it." She pressed a quick kiss on his lips and watched him walk towards his own room.
She closed the door and with a sigh she looked around. Even the guest bedrooms where huge. They were doing everything at such a high speed, that she did not really have time to realise what was happening. They had kept talking about living on the estate in this house during dinner. She and Robert had only been seeing each other for a couple of months. At the moment it did seem that they genuinely liked each other, and Cora was sure she felt something more than love. They already said towards each other that they loved each other. Things were all going so incredibly fast, Cora had trouble understanding how it all happened. How did she go from meeting him at the pub this spring and now she was going on a lovely autumn walk at his estate. And all she could think of was how she wanted to kiss him.
She stepped towards the bed and smiled when she found her pyjama next to her pillow. She had not met Mrs. Hughes yet, but it seemed that she was a very efficient lady. Her suitcase was already unpacked. She would have to repack that in the morning again, but it was a nice gesture. A soft knock on the door made her almost jump. Quickly she grabbed the bathrobe that was draped over a chair. "Yes, she answered."
The door was opened, and Robert stepped back inside. With two big steps he was standing in front of her, he put both hands on her face. She loved how big his hands were, she felt save when he touched her. All her doubts about going too fast faded away when he pressed his lips on hers. He made her feel special, he was interested in her for who she was. He did not even know she came from a rich family when he first talked to her. The same that she did not know he was a Lord, it did not matter, she liked him for who he was, and it felt that he did the same.
Gently she pushed him away when she needed air. Her hands still resting on his chest, she looked up at him. She could see his slightly red cheeks and felt his chest rumble. "Sweetheart, I do adore you and loved this kiss, but you should be in bed getting some rest."
"I cannot wait to take you back to London."
Cora chuckled. "We will still have our own lives when we are back."
Robert shook his head. 'I do not care; I will make time to be in Richmond."
"Your father still needs you here, does he not?"
"Can you please stop!" Robert sounded angry. "I am trying to be romantic and here you are throwing logic at me."
"I did not mean to."
"Of course not. Why can I not for once in my live make a decision that is not questioned." Without another word he stormed out of the room, leaving Cora speechless and confused.
Why had he come to her room? What was his reasoning behind it? She was not even sure at this moment. His kiss had been very tender and at the same time passioned, but she was surprised and even a little bit scared by his anger.