"What a lovely store this is," Sorcha said enthusiastically. "Did you find this place?" She looked at Cora. They were standing in front of Keel Row Books, a small shop that specialises in antiques and second-hand books.
Cora laughed. "No, I did not. This whole tour is planned by my editor."
"Glad she did not send you to the big stores like Waterstones."
"I would not mind being in Waterstones, it would mean that I am read by more people."
Rosamund wrapped her arm around Cora's shoulders. "You are read by a lot of people. How do you think your editor managed to get you into all these stores? And especially the smaller ones mean you are read."
Cora looked at Rosamund. "You think so?"
"I know so. Come we should go inside and see what they are expecting of you tonight. This store is not known for selling new books, are they? So, it is an accomplishment to have your book signing here.
The book signing took over three hours, Cora was exhausted but at the same time very filled with good energy.
"We should go celebrate this first day," Sorcha said when the door of the bookstore closed. "The amount of people that showed up was outstanding and we need to have a drink on that."
Cora smiled weakly. She wanted to celebrate, but she promised Robert to listen to her body and at this moment that body was screaming to have a rest.
"Why do we not go back to the hotel, freshen ourselves up and then go out for that celebration?" Rosamund said.
"I think that is a good idea. I could use a nice bath right now." Cora gave Rosamund a thankful smile. She loved Sorcha, but she had never been that friend that realised when she was feeling off.
"Alright, alright. But we are going to have those celebration drinks." Sorcha said reluctantly.
Rosamund hooked her arm in Cora's. "We would not want to end this book tour early, because we forgot to take care of you."
"Thank you. It is hard to say no to fun ideas."
"And that is why I am here. We brought Sorcha for the fun ideas, and I am the one who will take care of you and make sure you will not overdo things." She nudged her shoulder. "How long do you think you need?"
"If I could lay down for about an hour and close my eyes, I should be fine."
"We will meet again in two hours. We can have those celebration drinks with our dinner." Rosamund said.
"When you insist on taking that long, but I cannot say no. We will meet in the lobby in two hours." Sorcha darted off towards the city centre.
"I am not sure Sorcha understands how ill you have been and that you are in recovery."
"She is a good friend." Cora said.
"Oh, I was not criticising her on her friendship. But if she knew how bad you felt these last weeks, she would not have suggested going out immediately. I am doubting my decision to take her with us."
"I will talk with her and tell her why I am taking it slow. We have not talked much about my brain fluid problem."
"Your brain fluid problem?" Rosamund laughed. "I like that description."
"I am not sure how to call it otherwise." Cora also chuckled. "I also need to tell her that I am not drinking alcohol at the moment. Dr Clarkson said it was better not to drink alcohol with this medication I am taking."
"Oh." Rosamund looked at her with an inquiring look in her eyes. "Well, no alcohol for the coming months I guess."
Cora breathed in sharply. Did Rosamund just guess why she was not drinking? She tried to keep a neutral face. "As long as Dr Clarkson thinks it is wise."
"Uhu." Rosamund winked. "Now let us go to our rooms, otherwise you can still not take that nap."
"But how can we celebrate without any alcohol?" Sorcha pouted.
"There are so many mocktails available. You do not need alcohol to have fun." Rosamund replied. "Do not be a spoilsport and just accept that Cora cannot drink alcohol."
With a big sigh and an annoyed face, Sorcha picked up the menu. "I will take a real drink, you two can act like granny's."
"Sorcha, please. I am not doing this on purpose. But with my health scare, I do not want to risk it. If the fluid would not kill me, Robert would."
"What do you mean? Kill you? "
"We have not talked about this a lot, but I have been quite ill for some time now."
"CORA!" Sorcha exclaimed. "What are you talking about, why did you not tell me about this?" She stretched her arm and took Cora's hand.
Cora gave her a reassuring smile. "The moment we learned about the build-up fluid in my brain we got into a flurry that made me completely forget to call you." She told Sorcha everything that had happened the last months.
"No wonder Robert did not want to let you go on your own on this trip," Sorcha said shocked.
"It gave us the perfect reason to pack our bags and drive here," Rosamund added. "But as you can imagine this trip will not be filled to the brim with fun things. I promised Robert we would build in enough downtime."
"We will not make this a long dinner." Sorcha looked at Cora. "I bet you are tired of the drive yesterday and the signing today."
"I have slept in the bath this afternoon." Cora said.
"Still, that cannot have been more than one hour. Come let us order and then go back to the hotel. I do not want Robert to be mad."
"Good luck with that." Cora said softly.
"What was that?" Rosamund asked.
The waiter came to take their food order.
"It is very easy to upset Robert. I love him dearly and he is the best thing that ever happened to me. But he can be so difficult to deal with and when he gets angry, he just locks himself in his office and will not talk." Cora felt her cheeks burning when she realised Rosamund was his sister. "I should not be saying this to you."
Rosamund laughed. "My dear brother can be a handful. I remember when he was still a little boy, he locked himself in the stables and refused to come out. At the end of the day, it was Carson and Mrs Hughes, who managed to get him out. Mama was furious and Papa was very much entertained. I do not believe that he ever lost that temperament."
"I am stunned," Sorcha said. "He seems like such a calm and collective man. But as long as he does not get violent and treats you well in every other department."
"Oh, he does. He is very kind and caring and knows how to treat me."
"Fish and chips?" The waiter said while holding up a plate.
"That is for me." Sorcha said.
"We just said goodnight and I am back in the hotel room." Cora rested her back against the headboard.
"How did the signing go? Did people show up?" Robert asked through the phone.
"Oh, it was amazing. There were so many people that it took over three hours. Almost everybody asked for a third book already. I cannot believe it, they have not even read the second one, and already ask for the next."
"Three hours!" Robert said loudly. "I do hope they gave you a break in between."
"Darling." Cora sighed. "Please do not do this."
"Do what Cora. Making sure you are alright? Making sure you are not doing too much? Cora, I agreed to you going on this tour, because you promised me you would look after yourself. But it seems like on day one you forgot about that promise. What did you think, Robert is not here, it does not matter?"
"Stop this." Cora's voice was stern. "I am a grown woman, and I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. You sent Rosamund with me to make sure I would be careful and take the rest that I need. Is that not enough control? Do you also still need to scold me over the phone?" She paused. "It is now eight o'clock and I just told you that I am in the hotel room. I am already changed and under the covers. I was hoping to share the joyful day I had with you, but obviously, you prefer to be angry with me. If that is how you want to end this day, then that is your choice."
It stayed silent on the other end of the line.
Cora already felt bad for how she lashed out. She knew he only acted this way out of concern, but she had hoped he would be able to just be happy for her. Still, she should not have reacted like this.
"Sweetheart, I am sorry. I know that you are worried. I did not take a break in those three hours, but directly after I went to the hotel room and took a nap in the bath. We had a short dinner and now I am lying in bed, ready for the night. Tomorrow we are leaving around eleven in the morning, so I can sleep in. Although sleeping without your calming presence next to me will be hard." She heard that Robert had calmed down.
"You should not have to say sorry. I am the one in the wrong. Again."
"Do not blame yourself too harshly for this." Cora interrupted. "I love you and adore you. I cannot wait to be back home."
"That will not be for at least four weeks." Cora could hear Robert pouting.
"Four weeks in which I can look forward to having your arms around me again. Four weeks of thinking of how sweet your kisses are."
"That does not sound like four fun weeks." Robert joked.
"Absence makes the heart grow fonder."
"My heart is already very fond of you," Robert answered.
"Good. Now I am sending you a kiss and a hug, I need to get some sleep."
"Sleep well my darling. Sleep well."