Robert woke up early, he was relieved that Cora had come home last night. He had not been sure Rosamund would manage, but as always, she delivered. Cora had not said a word, she was obviously too drunk to function. Rosamund helped her to bed and after that, they talked. Rosamund had tried to explain him what it meant for Cora not being pregnant yet and how anxious she felt about being infertile. He had tried to tell Rosamund that they did not know that, but she explained to him that the possibility alone was enough to worry about.

He got up, made sure Cora was covered by her duvet and started his day. He was not going to wake her up, not yet. She would probably have a hangover and be in a bad mood when woken up.

He only hoped that Cora would agree to reschedule their hospital appointments to the hospital at Downton. He understood that she wanted to get the tests, but he could not stay away from Downton for too long. His father had called him himself and asked if he could come, that said enough. He was really not well enough to run the business and the estate. He only hoped that taking off the workload, for now, would give him time to recover. He was not ready to move to Downton already. He loved the house they bought, and he wanted to spend more time with Cora there.

With his teacup filled, he walked towards his office. While he crossed the hallway, he heard sounds coming from upstairs. Should he go up? He decided to make her a cup of coffee and bring it to her.


Cora crawled out of bed, he head was pounding, and she felt awful. Slowly she walked towards the bathroom. She brushed her teeth, but when she finished washing her face, she knew it was pointless and walked back to the bedroom. Maybe she should try and sleep some more. While she walked back towards the bedroom, Robert came upstairs.

"Good morning." He said.

Cora acknowledged him but kept walking to the bedroom. She wanted to be back in the darkness of their room. She saw that Robert followed her. He waited for her to get back in the bed and sat down on the bed next to her.

"I have coffee and some painkillers." He handed her the cup.

"Thank you." Cora could just see his face with the low light that came from the hallway. She did not know if he was angry or not. She would understand if he were.

"When you feel more like yourself, we need to talk." He put his hand on her leg when he noticed she wanted to protest. "You look like you have a bad headache, get some more sleep and when you feel better, we will talk." Robert bent forward and kissed her forehead. "I still love you my darling."

Cora sighed, she needed to hear those words, she had reacted very badly yesterday evening.


"I will ask her to call you back."

...

"No, she cannot come to the phone right now."

...

"I can promise you she will read her email today."

...

"Yes, I also promise that she will call you back today."

Cora heard Robert talking on the phone. She still had a headache, but she forced herself out of the bed. Wrapped in a fluffy housecoat she walked into Robert's office. He stood with his back towards the room, looking into the garden. Quietly she walked towards him and slid her hands over his side and his stomach. She rested her cheek against his shoulder blade. Robert sighed and put his hands on hers.

Slowly turning around in her arms, he asked. "How are you feeling?"

"As if a train ran over me. But I know it is my own fault; I got too drunk yesterday. And I am sorry for that, well not only the getting drunk part. But I got unreasonably mad at you."

"I only hope that you realise that my biggest wish at this moment is to have a baby with you if that is in our possibilities."

Cora leaned against Robert's chest, her hands high on his back. "I know. It is just, you said you need to go to Downton."

"Cora, Downton is part of my life. It is something that I cannot change. I hope that my father will be well soon, so I do not have to take over. But if it happens, I do not have a choice."

"I know that, and I am aware that we will end up living in Downton. But it is not just Downton."

Robert stepped back from Cora, took her hand in his and guided her towards the sofa in his office. "What else is bothering you?" He asked while sitting down.

Cora scooted closer towards him and rested her head against his shoulder. "Your mother told me, that if I do not give you an heir, you will have to marry somebody else." She laid her hand on his stomach.

"What? When did she tell you did? Why did you not tell me?"

Cora shook her head and shrugged her shoulders.

"Darling, I do not care about a possible heir. If we end up without our own children, then so be it. Downton will go to a family member or something. But we will figure that out if it is necessary." He put his hand under her chin, so she had to look up to him. "I married you because I love you, and my love is without any conditions."

"I love you too." Cora said softly.

Robert kissed the tip of her nose. "Before you entered my office, I had your editor on the phone.

"What did she need?"

"You need to arrange dates for your new book tour she said."

Cora moaned. "What a horrible timing. I cannot go on a book tour. Not with the appointments and us needing to go to Downton."

"I asked Rosamund to find out what is possible with Dr Clarkson, and she told me that he has a spot for us whenever we need it."

"What?" Cora said surprised. "How?"

Robert chuckled. "That is one of the advantages of owning a hospital."

"You ow the hospital?"

"The hospital survives with our funding. That does give us some privileges, such as getting an appointment when needed. You could start the book tour after that?"

"I will call her back." Cora turned more towards Robert and slid her hand a bit higher up his chest. Playing with his tie, she said. "Thank you."

Robert pressed a kiss on her forehead. "No need my darling. No need." He took a deep breath. "Although I love cuddling with you, there is a lot of work left that I need to finish before the end of the day." He got up from the sofa.

Cora sat up straight, she moved a bit too quickly and pressed her hands against her head. She moaned softly. This made Robert bent down, he kissed her temple. "Did you take another painkiller?"

"No, not yet. I wanted to talk with you first."

"Please, go and eat something so you can take another painkiller. Than you call your editor and after that just go back to bed."

"Robert, it is just a hangover."

"I have seen you with headaches before, this one is clearly not from your hangover. I will check on you before dinner." He pressed a quick kiss on her lips.