Robert kissed Cora's forehead. She half opened her eyes. "Close your eyes dear and get some more sleep. I will bring some breakfast to the room." Cora moaned and curled herself up under the covers. She had woken him early in the morning when she got up to take some painkillers. Robert decided to call Dr. Clarkson before walking to the breakfast area.
When he entered the room he saw that Sorcha, Rosamund, Marmaduke, and Peter already started their breakfast. The chef prepared a full English for them, before he could sit down, she asked him what he wanted.
"Where is Cora?" Sorcha asked.
"She is not feeling well. I will take her to the nearest hospital this morning. Dr Clarkson arranged for her to get a scan."
"Is he worried?" Marmaduke said.
"With the baby, he does not want to take a risk." Robert felt his cheeks burning. He should not have said that.
"Baby?" Marmaduke gave him a confused look.
Sorcha and Rosamund both smiled widely. "I knew it. The moment she said she would not drink alcohol I knew there was more. Congratulations." Rosamund said while hugging her brother.
"Please do not say it the moment you see her. We were planning to wait a bit longer before sharing this amazing news. It is very thrilling, and we look forward to what is coming."
"You tell her that we know first. Do you want me to call Christopher to cancel this book tour?" Rosamund had taken Peter out of his highchair and was making him giggle.
"It is something I would like to do, Cora promised that she would come home if she was feeling worse, but the decision must be hers. So no, we will not call yet. We have one more day before the next signing, right?"
"That is correct tomorrow evening would be the next one," Sorcha added.
"Good, now I will go back to Cora and see if she wants to eat something."
"I am so sorry sweetheart," Cora said while she closed her jeans. "You are here to have some fun and here I am ruining things."
Robert stepped closer and took her hand in his. "I am here to be with you, and that is what I am getting. Time with you." He brushed with his other hand over her belly. "Your jeans are getting tight." He said with a soft smile on his face.
"I love spending time with you." She covered Robert's hand. "Can you imagine that we will have a little one to hold in our arms in five months?" Her fingers brushing over the back of his hand.
"It feels like yesterday that you told me you were pregnant." He pressed a kiss on her nose. "I ordered breakfast, they will bring it up soon. We should leave in about an hour, dr Clarkson arranged a scan for you."
"Is he worried?"
Robert looked up and saw Cora's worried eyes searching for reassurance in his eyes. He laid his hand against her cheek. "He does not want to take any risk. Especially not because you did not have many headaches the last couple of weeks."
A knock on the door, made Robert step back. He took the breakfast tray and put it down for Cora. "Can you try and eat something?"
Cora chuckled. "My headache has faded, I am feeling better than this morning."
"Good, glad that the painkillers do their job." He poured coffee into a cup and tea for himself. "Oh, I need to tell you." He said while sitting down.
Cora looked up from her plate and waited for Robert to continue. The breakfast smelled amazing. He ordered her some fried eggs, with toast and baked tomatoes.
"I misspoke this morning and accidentally told them that you are pregnant."
Cora laughed when she saw his worried face. "That is alright, they would have found out soon enough."
"You are not mad about it?"
"Robert, darling. You did not tell them on purpose. I can only imagine that you were. Or better yet. You are worried about me and that it slipped your mind. I do not mind."
Another knock on the door, this time it was Sorcha. "Can I talk with you for a moment?" She looked at Cora.
"I will go downstairs already. We leave in less than an hour." Robert said, kissed Cora's cheek and left.
"Sorcha? What is the matter? Something wrong?"
"No, not really. But." She swallowed. "I wanted to emphasise how sorry I am for what I did."
"That is not necessary. We agreed that we would not talk about it anymore."
"I know. I know. It is just..." she swallowed again.
Cora suddenly realised what was bothering Sorcha. She easily forgot how people around her felt about her illness. Of course, they were worried, and she would be herself if, for example, Sorcha was the one with the headaches. She stretched her hand towards Sorcha's. "I am not going anywhere; I have to make sure that this little bean" She put her hand on her abdomen. "Can grow into a healthy little baby."
Sorcha smiled widely. "I am so happy for you, I just know you will be an amazing mother."
"Now, let us go downstairs." Cora finished her breakfast.
"The fluid has stayed the same, I just have to take it slow. I have asked too much of myself these last couple of weeks." Cora told Marmaduke, Rosamund, and Sorcha, while they were enjoying their tea at Sally Lunn.
"So that means we will cancel the rest of the tour?" Rosamund asked.
Robert looked at Cora, he knew his answer, but he was not sure what Cora would want. He could only hope she would agree with cancelling. The doctor reassured him that Cora's health had not gotten worse, but he still did not want to take any risk. He wanted to bring her home and enjoy their last month's together without a baby.
Cora felt Robert's eyes on her, she knew what he wanted, and she knew it was the best option. But at the same time, she did not want to disappoint her readers. "I am not sure. People are counting on me." She could feel Robert's reaction. He sat up straight and breathed in sharply. "But I also do not want to risk things, especially not with my pregnancy."
"I will make a phone call with Christopher, and we will figure something out." Rosamund said firm. "I am glad that we all agree that we are not going on with this tour. Nothing is more important than your health my darling sister."
Cora felt her heart warm; she loved Rosamund so much and she was honoured she considered her as a sister. "Now, we did enough worrying for today, I want to see this city that we are in.
"I cannot agree more." Marmaduke lifted Peter from his stroller. "Time for a nice walk around the city. Fresh air is always good for a human being."
Robert gave Cora his arm while they left the tearoom. "Thank you for cancelling."
Cora stroked with her fingers over his arm. "With these headaches, I would not even have been able to finish the tour. This is for the best, I am glad to be going home with you."
"And we are really going home. John started at Downton, so we do not have to stay there anymore. We can go back to our own home."
Cora sighed and leaned against his arm. "That does make me happy." She smiled up to him. "We can start with renewing the garden. I would love to create a real English garden."
"I think that I know the perfect person to ask for advice on that subject. I will make a phone call once we are home."