The last curl was put up by O'Brien. "Your hair is ready, Milady."
This whole morning Cora was called Milady, and she had a tough time adjusting to it. This woman had hoovered around her, helping her with literally everything. It had come in handy with her dress and she had done wonders to her hair. O'Brien had created a masterpiece.
"Thank you, O'Brien, can you leave her Ladyship and me alone now," Rosamund said, sending Sarah away.
"Can you just send them away like that? It does seem unkind. And I am not married yet, so how come you call me her Ladyship?"
Rosamund stood behind Cora and put her veil in her hair. "For the staff, you are already 'her Ladyship' and yes, once you think they can go, you send them away."
"It does feel very unkind."
"You will get used to it." Rosamund stepped back to look at Cora. "You look like a princess. Robert will be stunned when he sees you."
Cora was relieved that Robert and she would not live at Downton right away. They had found a nice house close to the Chiswick Bridge. It was an old house, built in the 14th century, with a later added Queen Anne facade. The detached house was big, over 7000 sq. ft with seven bedrooms, three reception rooms and two bathrooms. Cora had thought it to be too big for them, but Robert had insisted. And Cora had loved the charm of the rooms.
"Are you going to hire staff once you move to 'West Hall Manor'?" Rosamund helped Cora up and fixed her train.
"Robert does want staff, but I can cook myself. I even like cooking. But I have agreed with a gardener and some girls to keep the house tidy and in order. So, there is more time for me to write and eventually care for little ones."
"Is there one coming already?" Rosamund asked surprised. "Is Peter getting a niece or nephew?"
"No." Cora responded. "Not yet. For now, we enjoy the cuddles we can get from Peter. He is growing up so fast. I saw that he lost his baby roles."
Rosamund got an extremely sweet look in her eyes. "He is growing up so fast and he is so smart already." She looked at Cora. "Now let us go down."
Cora had been installed in the room she would get after her marriage with Robert. Next to it was a small dressing room for Robert. This setup was still from the old times when husband and wife did not sleep in the same bedroom. The room was very spacious, and the bed looked extremely comfortable, tonight she would know how comfortable. Robert had suggested staying the night at Downton before going on their honeymoon.
Music started playing when Cora walked down the stairs. All heads were turned, and she heard a collective aww. Robert was not in her sight yet. Once downstairs, Rosamund adjusted her train again, kissed her on her cheek and wished her good luck. Harold was waiting for her to take his arm.
"Are you ready for this next step?" He asked quietly.
Cora chuckled. "It is a bit late to have regrets."
Harold put his other hand on top of Cora's. "Are you having doubts?"
This made Cora look up at him and with the biggest smile she answered. "Far from it."
"Good." They had reached the end of the great hall, where Robert was waiting for her. On the chairs, she saw her mother with Sorcha next to her. On the other side of the aisle was Violet with Patrick. Next to them were Rosamund and Marmaduke. She saw some familiar faces from the staff, Mrs. Hughes and Carson were accompanied by other people she had not met before.
Robert felt his nerves getting worse when the guests all turned towards the grand staircase, he heard them gasp audible. He could not see Cora yet and that made him nervous. He was trying to imagine what kind of dress she was wearing. Would she have a big ballroom gown, or was it a very slim-fitting dress? He had not the faintest idea what she had chosen. He had tried to get it out of Rosamund, but he had not had much luck. She only told him the colour. An off-white dress it would be. She gave him a piece of the fabric so he could find a dress shirt in the same colour or a tie.
Finally, she came around the corner, holding her brother's arm. He almost grabbed John's arm, who was standing next to him. She was breathtakingly beautiful; her dress was nothing he could have imagined. It was fitted around her body perfectly, not too slim fitting but also not a ballroom gown. She was gliding towards him it felt. All the faces around her disappeared and he only saw her. Harold kissed her cheek before handing her to him.
Robert felt her gloved hand glide in his and he was relieved she was wearing gloves so she would not feel his sweaty palm. She softly squeezed his hand, while listening to the officiant.
"You can now kiss the bride."
Robert turned towards Cora and carefully lifted her veil. Her lips were coloured with a soft pink. Her hyacinth-blue eyes were shining, she had a soft pink shade of eyeshadow on her eyelids. It was as if time stood still, and he saw every small detail on her face. Her mouth slightly twitched into a smile. Her nose that she crunched and her eyes, oh her eyes were full of love and anticipation. His hand softly on her jaw and cheeks, he pulled her close. He touched her lips briefly. "My wife." He murmured before kissing her more intense.
Suddenly the room around him came back to life and he was startled by the sound of applause. He broke his kiss and looked Cora in the eye. "Hello Mrs. Crawley." He smiled at her.
"Hello, my husband." She smiled back.
Robert felt Cora's hand on his stomach and a second later she was kissing him again.
Peter was trying to grab Cora's earring, but she managed to keep it out of his reach. "You are growing so fast." She said in a soft affectionate tone.
"Guests are waiting to congratulate you, can you please join Robert." Violet stood in front of Cora with eyes cold as ice.
"Mama, it is their wedding day. Can you please calm down and be nice today." Rosamund said annoyed while taking Peter back in her arms.
Cora gave her a thankful look. "I am coming Lady Grantham."
Violet huffed and walked away.
"She is lady Grantham, is she not?" Cora was surprised by her response. She tried to address her in the right way, she did not want to mess up, especially not on her special day. But since this morning Violet had been on her nerves.
"She is indeed." Rosamund winked. "Mama is just not used to not getting things done in her way. Especially not with Robert who always followed her wishes, but since he met you, he is finally standing up for himself."
Cora sighed, she had been worried about Violet, and this did not make things better. She walked towards Robert who gave her such an adorable look that she almost forgot about Violet's treatment of her.
"My dear, let me introduce you to Lord Flintshire, his father is the Marquess of Flintshire."
A good-looking man from around the same age as Robert was.
"Hugh has been a dear friend since we were children." Robert continued. Next to Hugh was a woman, she did not look happy Cora thought.
"Nice to meet you, Lord Flintshire." Cora said formal.
"You can call me Hugh. I am only a Lord for other people, not for friends. This is Susan, my fiancée." Hugh put his arm at Susan's back, who reluctantly shook Cora's hand. "Robert, I know this is your wedding day, but can we talk for a minute or two?"
Robert looked at Cora for her approval. She kissed his cheek. "I will be fine; in the meantime, I can get to know Susan." Cora hoped that making friends in Robert's circle would please Violet.
"Is that Lady Lancashire." Susan said, when Cora turned towards her to ask a question. A bit stunned, Cora was left alone. She looked around the great hall. All the chairs had been moved to the side and there was a small dance floor. She had loved twirling around in Robert's arm during their opening dance. He had chosen a slow waltz. A soft hand was placed on her arm, she saw Rosamund standing next to her.
"Time to say goodbye to your favourite nephew." She said, while handing Peter to Cora. "Do not feel bad about Susan. Hugh is a very nice man, but he asked a peculiar woman to marry him."
"Why did you send O'Brien upstairs? I thought you only hired her for the day to help Cora get dressed and styled?" Patrick asked Violet while she wheeled him into his bedroom.
"Cora can use some help getting all those pins out of her hair and that dress is also not easy."
"You make it sound as if it is a nice thing you did. But you realise that it is their wedding night? Robert would love to help her I think."
"Patrick!" Violet said shocked.
"Dear, as if we do not know they enjoy each other company already and how do you think you will get grandchildren."
Violet hummed but did not say a word. She started to untie his shoes.
"Maybe I should ask Carson to help me? Or one of our boys, there are some potential future valets under them."
"You do not want me to help you?" Violet stopped and looked up.
"I want you to leave your son at peace with his new wife. That is all I am asking of you."
"He married the wrong girl; how can you be so calm and just let it all happen. I do not understand you." She pulled the first shoe off.
"Dear, we talked about this. You promised me to be more forgiving and you also promised me that you would not make her uncomfortable or feel unwelcome."
Violet threw both his shoes in a corner. "I just cannot believe Robert did not like Isabella and chose Cora instead. Can you imagine, marrying an American girl, when you can have a nice English Lady."
"Your son made a choice with his heart. And I am positive that Cora is a lady, and she will be an amazing Lady Grantham in the future."
"That we will see."
Robert scooped Cora in his arms, when they reached the first landing on the stairs, this erupted a high-pitched shriek from Cora.
"You scared me." she giggled.
"Let us hurry upstairs, nobody has seen us escape."
Cora sighed, while wrapping her arms around his neck. "It feels like we are escaping indeed."
"Were you able to enjoy this day?" Robert lowered Cora back on her feet when they reached her new bedroom. Mrs. Hughes promised to make the room cosy and romantic for tonight. Cora's arms were still wrapped around his neck.
"I am now allowed to call me your wife, your Mrs. Crawley and that fills me with joy." She kissed him passionately, while reaching for the doorknob behind her. "Can we please get me out of this dress."
Robert growled and pushed Cora into the room once she opened the door.
"Oh my God!"
Robert let go off Cora so abruptly that she almost fell on the ground. He could grab her arm to keep her upright. They both looked in horror at O'Brien who was standing in the room.
"Why are you here?" Robert managed to ask.
"Lady Grantham had send me up earlier tonight, she said that Mrs. Crawley had asked for help taking off her dress and unpinning her hair."
To Robert's annoyance this woman did not even blush and she had a smug smile on her face. "Obviously she does not need help, especially not on her wedding day. Now please leave." he tried to keep his voice calm, but he was steaming. Why did his mother do this, why did she try to ruin things for him. What was it that made her feel she needed to do this.
Cora stepped close to Robert, when O'Brien closed the door, she brushed with her hands over his chest. "Do not let this upset you darling. It does not matter."
"But Cora." he now sounded sad. "It does matter. This shows that my mother does not have respect for you or even for me."
She now started to take of his jacket. She let it fall to the ground, she than pulled his tie lose and with that pulled him closer to her. She raised her chin, her lips hovering in front of his lips. "I only want to think about what you are going to do with me tonight." She kissed him on his lips. She left a trail of kisses when she moved to his neck.
"Oh Cora."
"Now please help me out of this dress." She turned around, in the meantime her hands were reaching for the pins holding up her hair.
"Please Milady. Let me help you to take of your lovely dress, brush your hair and then show you how heaven can be like."