Cora dragged herself to the kitchen. Her cold had only gotten worse overnight. But she had to make her shopping list and also have some breakfast. She wrote her list and send it to Robert.
For her breakfast, she settled for a simple buttered toast and a cup of tea with honey. Her throat felt like sandpaper, while her nose kept running. It was a good thing she did not need to go to work today, she was a real mess.
She had just poured herself a cup of tea when her phone rang. To her surprise, it was her mother. Cora looked at the clock, it was 10.00 o’clock. That meant it was 05.00 o’clock in New York. Why was her mother up this early?
“Mama?” Cora coughed the moment she spoke. It took her a minute before she could say more. “Is there something wrong?”
“According to your cough, something is wrong with you.” Her mother answered. “You sound like you are a heavy smoker.”
To Cora’s annoyance, she started sneezing. “I have a head cold that is all.” She sniffed.
“I am amazed that, it did not happen earlier, with the cold and wet weather in England.”
“Mama, why are you calling this early.” Cora croaked.
“Your father decided to stop the collaboration with ‘Crawley Advertisements’ we are booking you a flight home.”
Cora did not know how to react. “But I like working here in London.”
“You are coming home and that is final.”
“Can I please talk with Papa?” Cora noticed she was on the brink of tears.
“I will ask him to call you, but it will not change anything. Let me know when your cold is over so we can book your flight. In this state, you cannot fly.”
Cora said goodbye and stared at her phone. She did not want to leave London. She loved the city and she also really liked working for Mr. Patrick Crawley. Why could her mother not make this decision earlier, before she started to develop feelings for Robert?
That last thought scared her a little bit, she had indeed developed feelings for him. And it seemed he had too. Him bringing over the chicken broth and doing her groceries said enough. It was weird, he had treated her horribly, but from the moment she saw him, she found him attractive. And since he got hit by that guy in the pub she had fallen for him. She knew it was foolish, how could she like Robert? He had moved her desk to a different room, to not have to be in her presence. Then it dawned on her, he had not moved her because he did not want to see her. He was constantly down-talking her, to cover his feelings. Had he liked her longer than she liked him? She needed to talk to her father soon and she waited impatiently on his call.
+++
Robert was relieved when he received Cora’s shopping list. He had been anxious all morning. What if he misjudged the whole situation and Cora was only nice to him because she was sick and did not have the energy to tell him differently?
He felt his phone buzzing in his pocket when he took it out he saw it was Rosamund. He decided she could wait, he had finished his shopping and was ready to go to Cora.
He had added some bananas and crackers. They were not on the list, but he had read that they could help when somebody had a cold and was not feeling well. He also bought some chili peppers, he was going to cook her dinner and spicy food could help break up mucus and clear out sinus passages, he had read on the same page. It even could help with her cough.
When he arrived at Cora’s apartment building, his phone rang again. Annoyed he put it away, why did Rosamund need to bother him again? He said he was going to take the day off, he was not available for any questions.
He greeted the concierge, who looked at him suspiciously but did not try to stop him this time. The elevator took way too long he thought and it felt like ages before he reached Cora’s front door.
Like yesterday it took a while before the door was opened. He was greeted by an even bigger mess than yesterday.
“Oh my, Cora! Hurry up, back to your bed. You look terrible.” I will put the groceries away.”
Cora lowered the handkerchief that she had pressed against her nose and looked up to Robert. “I am sorry, I……” She started coughing.
Robert was unsure what to do, but he quickly closed the door and moved closer to pat her back. Her eyes were awfully red, her cold had gone bad real quick he thought.
When her coughing slowed down she suddenly wrapped her arms around him. It was like he was holding a hot coal in his arms. He felt her body jolt and he was not sure if it was from her coughing or that she had started to cry.
He held her until she pushed herself back and muttered an apology. “I smeared snot all over your clothes.” She tried to clean his jacket with her handkerchief. Robert put his hand gently on Cora’s to stop her movement.
“Come, let us sit down, and then you can tell me what is wrong.”
Cora looked at the grocery bags Robert had put down. “We should put these away.” She gestured to the bags.
Robert put his hands on Cora’s shoulders. “You are going to sit down, and I will put these away.”
“Thank you.” Cora walked towards the living room, She sneezed, the sound was very congested. Robert felt sorry for her.
+++
‘Robert, please call me. Mama is on a collision course and she says Cora is called back home. Her apartment is already for sale.’ Robert read Rosamund’s text with horror.
‘I am with Cora at the moment. Give me a moment to get this cleared up. Cora is not going anywhere if she does not want to. I will buy her apartment, can you make sure it will be mine right now? He texted back.
+++
“And did they give you a reason why you have to go back home?” Robert put another cup of tea in front of Cora. She had just told him what happened, before he arrived earlier.
“Papa says that Mama decided I have to come back. He does not mind if I decide to stay here, but I will not work for ‘Levinson and Son’ anymore. And Mama says that everything has failed and if I decide to stay here I will not be in Papa’s will anymore.”
“Did your father say that? Or only your mother?”
“I spoke with my father very briefly. Before you arrived. He says it would be alright if I decide to stay here. For now, he is willing to give me my monthly allowance. But Mama is against that too. Oh Robert, I do not know what to do. I cannot leave, not now.”
Robert was seated on the other side of the coffee table, but he got up and sat down next to Cora when he saw she started crying again. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. “Do not worry about that now. Let us focus on getting you well.
“But Papa is selling this apartment.” Cora turned away from Robert to blow her nose. She did not want to repeat the mess of earlier.
Robert moved his hand over her back in a circular motion. “Rosamund made sure the apartment will not be sold to anybody else than me. She texted me when I was making your tea.”
Cora looked at him in disbelief. “So you knew about this?”
Robert looked back in shock. “No, I did not. I promise you I was not aware of what was happening. Wait.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and showed Cora his text history with Rosamund. “I did not know about this, but I cannot let you go this soon. Not now I realise that I like you.” He handed Cora his clean handkerchief when she sneezed. “We will fix this, I am going to figure out why your mother is calling you back home and what my mother’s hand was in this. But now I am going to heat the chicken broth I left in your fridge, and for tonight I am going to make you dinner. I bought some things that can help with your stuffy nose.” He brushed with his finger over the bridge of Cora’s nose.
“I like you too.” Cora said quietly.
Robert put his hands on her face and kissed her forehead. “We can talk about this later. Go lay down please, you need your rest.”
Verhalen van Traan 