Months had gone by, and Robert was getting used to running the business and helping has father. Patrick was still involved in the company, but Robert was the one taking phone calls, or managing other interactions with clients. His father only checked his work. His left arm never got his function back, he did however learn how to walk again. Although he was slow and the stairs were hard to take, he had independence.
His mother kept nagging that Robert needed to do more. He could not do more, but nothing was ever good enough for her and he had learned to ignore it.
In the back of his mind, he kept thinking of Cora. John had seen her the other day, but she had been busy. John had let her be, and Robert almost scolded him for it. That was the opportunity to get her number. He longed for her, that feeling was quite weird. He longed for something that had never been. He wanted to brush with his hand through her hair, unravelling her updo. He wanted to tangle his fingers through hers, pulling her close to him. He sighed, he needed to stop this. It was stupid and unnecessarily painful. It was not possible, to go back to London and find her again. He had to stay here at least until he could move the company to London. As long as his father was in charge, he would not be able to do that.
With a sigh he turned away from the window when he heard the door to the library open. Rosamund stepped inside.
"I thought about checking if you are allowing yourself some free time."
Robert huffed.
"Do not pretend as if Mama isn't letting you work 24/7." Rosamund continued.
Now Robert laughed. "I try to not work in the evenings. What are you reading?" He pointed at the book under Rosamund's arm.
"Oh, it is a book by a new writer. C. Levinson."
"What is it about?" Robert was intrigued, his sister never brought books with her. There were enough in the library here at Downton.
"It is about a girl who discovers she has a twin sister; I can highly recommend the book to you."
The part about a twin sister did ring a bell, but Robert was not sure where he had heard about it before. "When you finish the book, I would like to read it. It gives me a change to relax."
"How is Papa doing? Rosamund changed the subject.
"He is walking a lot easier now, but I am afraid he will never use his left arm again. We do his exercises, but it does not do anything."
"I thought that he had some feeling back in the tip of his fingers?"
"You are correct, but nothing more. It is just that slight tingling. He cannot move his fingers. And he does try, I can see how hard he is trying."
A few days later, Rosamund was getting ready to travel back to London.
"Give my love to Marmaduke," Violet said. "And tell him that I am expecting grandchildren."
Robert glanced at his sister and saw something in her eyes that he had not seen before. Was it hurt? He needed to make sure he made time to talk to her. This comment of their mother did something and he needed to know what it was.
"Robert, I left the book on your desk. You should read it."
"What book." Violet asked.
"I have been reading a beautiful book, and I think that Robert will like it too."
"What is it about?" Violet asked.
"You will probably not like it. But it is about a girl who learns she is a twin later in life due to an illness."
"And you recommend that to Robert? You realise he is a man, right?"
"Oh? So, you are saying that man cannot like stories that are emotional?"
Violet huffed and walked away. Robert smiled at Rosamund, he loved it when she stood up to their mother. "I will let you know when I have finished the book." He kissed her cheek. "If something is wrong you would tell me, would you not?"
Rosamund glanced at him. "Of course, but I do not know why you think something is wrong."
Robert decided not to push. "Nothing, I just want to make sure you know that I am always here when you need me."
Robert sat down in the library. He had thought about going outside, but it looked like it could start raining and he did not want to ruin the book. He stroked with his fingers over the lettering. As Rosamund, he also had not heard of C. Levinson, but when Rosamund suggested a book, he was never disappointed by it. He started reading.
'Wind blew through her hair. She touched it carefully; the first signs of her hair loss were visible, and she hated it. She hated it even more than she hated having leukemia. It was the first day that she was allowed to open a window. She had been in the isolation room for 14 days, due to the transplant her immune system was very weak.
Sylvia closed her eyes and imagined; she was walking in green hills. A young deer walked towards her and touched her hand with his nose. She brushed over its little head. A small bird landed on her shoulder, singing his song. The deer walked to the river next to her which was slowly moving towards a waterfall. It calmly started drinking.
A knock on the door, made her open her eyes and she was transported back to her hospital room. Roxanne popped her head around the corner. "Good, you are awake. I was hoping we could go on a little walk.
Sylvia looked at her twin sister, it was the only positive outcome of her illness. She would never have discovered that she was part of a twin. Once she was out of the hospital, they would start their journey and find out how and why they got separated.'
Robert put the book down, he felt chills over his back and the hairs on his arm were standing up. The way this writer described that scene with the deer and bird felt like he saw images of his music. The piece he wrote the last time he was in his house in Richmond, did have that exact feeling. How was that possible? Quickly he started reading again, he loved the feeling this writer gave him.
"Papa, I need to go back to London in a couple of days. Are you all right managing without me?"
"Of course I am son. You know how to run the business by now. I do hope you come back soon because people will want to meet you here in Downton and not in a cold London office.
Robert almost laughed, he knew his father was not referring to the temperature, but it was funny that he used that reference since Downton was always cold.
"I will be back soon, I promise. There is just some business I need to attend in London."
"And are you going to tell us what that business is?" Violet's voice now sounded.
"Robert is allowed to have his own life, my dear."
"Thank you, Papa. For now, I do not want to tell yet. If that is alright." He looked at his father because he knew his mother would not be all right with that. He wanted to keep it to himself a little bit longer. He did not even tell Rosamund about his plan. What if his feeling were not correct, he would make a fool of himself. And he did not want to give his mother that fuel. She would never let it rest.
"You know that it is time for you to finally settle? Rosamund is already taking forever to grand us with grandchildren. And you." She looked at him with a disapproving look on her face. "You are not even looking around."
"I have to be here at Downton, all the time." Robert countered.
"That situation is only here for a couple of months; do not pretend you were even trying to find the right woman to marry before your father got his stroke."
"Violet that is enough. We do not know what Robert was doing on his own time."
"Well, I do. He was not looking for a woman, or at least not the right one. Not one-party invitation he accepted where he could have found someone. Not one!"
Robert sighed; he was not going to respond. His mother was correct, he was not going to those events. But that was because he knew he would not find his soulmate there. And he would not marry if the woman was not his soulmate. She was somewhere, he felt it. He secretly hoped it would be Cora. What he felt being with her, even though he had not met her many times. He had known she was special. But now there was this writer of this book. The book had bit a nerve in him, he was touched his core. He did not know if C. Levinson was a male or female, he was going to find out. He needed to know, and he needed to see Cora again, to know and understand his feelings better. He would know the moment he saw her again, smelled her again if she was the one.