Haunted Downton.

Cora woke up in the middle of the night. She heard Robert’s soft snores. The fire had gone out. Why did she wake up?

Carefully, not to wake Robert up, she got up to use the bathroom. There was a cold draft, she checked the windows but they were closed. She didn’t know where the draft was coming from.

Back in the room, she put a new block of wood in the fireplace and tried to light the fire again. She managed to get some coals to light up again, and small flames were forming. Another draft blew out the small flames.

Something touched the back of Cora’s neck. She quickly turned around, but no one was there. Robert was still covered under the blankets. She shook her head and turned to the fire again. She blew some more into the fireplace and finally the flames got grip and the piece of wood caught fire.

Slowly she got up and walked back to the bed. She got chills all over. She wrapped her nightgown a little tighter around her body. Robert moved in his sleep and said something, but Cora couldn’t understand, it was more like a mumble.

She sat down on her side of the bed, kicked off her slippers and put her feet under the blankets. She turned towards Robert and pressed her feet against Robert’s calves. He let out a low rumble, Cora chuckled, Robert said he hated it when she did this. But she knew secretly he just loved this form of affection. She pressed her body against Robert’s back. She felt strange, as if they weren’t alone in the room.

She slid her hand over Robert’s chest, his hand covered hers. Feeling Robert’s steady heartbeat made her drift off again. Before she realized it, Cora was back asleep.

A hand grabbed her ankle and she let out a scream, at the same time the blankets were pulled off of her. Robert woke up from her screaming.

“Cora?” He said groggy.

“There….. there is someone in the room.” She stuttered, pulling her legs up to her chest.

“What?” Robert turned around and lit the candle on his bedside table. He got out of bed and checked the room. “Nobody is in the room dear.” He crawled back into bed, leaned towards Cora and kissed her temple. “You must have had a bad dream.” He laid down on his pillow and was asleep as soon as he closed his eyes.

Cora shivered, she was sure it wasn’t a dream. She felt that cold draft again, quickly she got under the blankets. She kept her legs pulled up and wrapped her arms around them. Curled up into a ball she finally fell asleep again.

+++

“Is Mama not coming down today?” Sybil asked Robert when she entered the library, where he was working.

Robert looked up and smiled at his youngest. She was always so caring. “You mother had a bad night, why don’t you go up and check if she is ready?” Softly he touched her hand.

Sybil hopped out of the room, when Mary entered. “Don’t hop, Sybil, that isn’t ladylike.”

“Papa, Mama promised to go to the village today to buy a new dress. Can I go on my own?”

Robert turned around. Mary was growing into a real lady with her 21 years. “You will wait for your Mama.” He heard snorting coming from the doorway. He looked and saw Edith standing there. “Don’t laugh at your sister.” He corrected her.

He saw a shadow behind Edith, he had already recognised the footsteps. The small but quick steps could only be from his wife. And soon she stepped inside the library, with Sybil in her heels.

Robert got up and walked towards her, kissed her cheek and whispered. “Did you get some more sleep?”

Cora nodded and briefly touched his elbow. “Mary, are you ready? Edith?”

“Is Edith coming too?” Mary whined.

Robert saw Cora straighten her back a bit more. She always had the perfect posture, but when she got irritated she got even straighter. “All three of your girls are coming, or we aren’t going at all.” She turned around and walked out.

Robert saw O’Brien come closer and handed Cora her coat. He also saw her whisper something in Cora’s ear and he saw her tremble. He wondered what O’Brien told her, that made Cora insecure. He saw it on her face, it was a brief second, but it was clearly there.

+++

“Robert? Are you awake?” Cora was turned towards Robert in their bed. She had asked Daisy to put extra wood on the fire and put several candles around the room.

Robert made a low noise. Cora loved those sounds, they stirred something deep inside her. She put her hand on Robert’s arm.

“O’brien told me.”

Robert sighed. “That woman only tells lies, go to sleep, you had a long day with the girls.”

She felt Robert’s lips on her forehead. “Please, listen to me.” She said, but Robert was already sleeping. She let out a deep sigh, how could she sleep after O’Brien’s story.

She felt that draft again and got scared. She pressed herself against Robert and hoped nothing was going to happen. She closed her eyes.

“Wake up.” A chilling voice said. Cora’s eyes shot open and she saw a woman standing at the footboard. She pulled up the covers to her chin.

“What do you want?” Cora said with a shaking voice.

“Darling, what are you saying?” Robert sat up and looked at Cora. “You look like you have seen a ghost?” He touched her forehead. “Are you alright?”

Cora buried her face in Robert’s chest. “I think I am going mad.” She sobbed.

He brushed her back and tried to calm her down. He decided to have a talk with O’Brien in the morning. It seemed like that woman was feeding Cora with scary stories. It was that time of the year again. In America it was tradition to celebrate Halloween and here in the UK they celebrated Samhain on the 31th of October. The belief that ghosts came back to haunt the living was something that made Robert chuckle. But clearly, Cora believed the stories that Sarah was telling her.