Robert woke up with a terrible headache. With a moan, he pulled himself up. The curtains were still closed. He saw a glass of water and some painkillers on his nightstand. Cora was an angel he thought. He tried to remember what he did last night, but it was blurry. He could only hope he had behaved himself towards her.
With another moan he put his legs over the edge and sat up, taking the painkillers that were waiting. He proceeded to go to the bathroom for a refreshing shower. He opted for a cold shower, making sure he would be presentable for Cora. Why did he let himself become this drunk? It had been absolutely useless, although he had fun together with John, the amount of alcohol was a bit too much.
Somewhat refreshed after the cold shower he changed into his normal clothes. He opted for chino pants and a thin jumper. He was a bit chilly, even though the sun was doing its best outside, he saw when he opened the curtains.
Robert walked towards the kitchen and saw Cora in one of the lounge chairs in front of the sliding doors. She sat cross-legged and was reading a book. He could only half see her due to the large backrest, but he spotted her glasses on her face. A big smile appeared on his face. If it were up to him, she would never wear her lenses again. He felt heat creeping up, just imagining her face with those glasses.
He contemplated for a little while if he should say something or first get some food in his stomach. He opted for the greeting of Cora first. She did not hear him coming close, so when he slid his hand over her arm, she got startled.
“I am sorry darling. I did not mean to scare you.” He said apologetic.
A big smile was present on Cora’s face when she looked up “That is alright. I just did not hear you, this book has me in its spell.” She lowered the book while placing the bookmark between the pages. “How are you feeling?” Her hand brushed over his cheek.
“A bit rough, but that is my own fault.”
“You had a lot of fun and that showed when you came home. But I am glad you have John as your friend who makes sure you get back home to me safely.”
Robert smiled softly. “He is a good friend, indeed.” He sat down on the arm rest. “Thank you for the painkillers.”
“I figured you would have a hangover in the morning, so I prepared.” Suddenly she turned her body towards him. “Did you already take them?” Her eyebrows raised high.
“Of course I did,” Robert answered confused why she was surprised by that.
Cora got up from the chair, her book almost fell on the ground. “Then I will fix you some breakfast really quick.”
“Cora, please sit down. You were enjoying a calm morning. I can make myself a breakfast in a minute.”
“You need to eat right now. It is not good for your stomach to take painkillers without any food in there.” She quickly walked towards the kitchen, and while she passed him, she lovingly brushed with her hand over his stomach.
Robert followed a bit slower; his head was pounding when he moved too fast. He was glad that Cora was going to make him breakfast, he was too tired to make something proper. With a sigh, he sat down on one of the barstools. “The downside of too much alcohol.”
Cora cracked an egg. “White or brown toast?”
“Brown should be the healthy choice, right?”
“Hangover breakfast is not supposed to be healthy is it not?” Cora smiled.
“White it is.” Robert drank the orange jus that Cora put in front of him. He looked up with a surprised look. “You made this fresh?”
“I did. I need to take loving care of you. Duties of a wife.” She winked.
“Soon to be wife.” He replied.
Cora put his plate in front of him. “What time did you want to leave today?”
Robert had just put a spoon full or beans in his mouth. “Leave?” He muttered.
Cora sat down opposite. “You forgot?”
Robert gave her a pitiful look. “I am afraid I am. Even you mention that we should leave any time today does not ring a bell.”
“We could go tomorrow morning, but I thought it would be fun to go tonight, so we had the whole day at Downton tomorrow.”
Robert put his hand against his forehead. “How could I forget. The house is finished, and we will make the final decisions on how to decorate for our special day.”
“I am glad you at least remember, when you are reminded.” Cora smiled, while getting up to put the dishes in the dishwasher.
“We should pack our stuff right now and leave as fast as we can. Maybe we can go and ride out with the horses?”
Cora’s smile faded.
Robert grabbed her hand. “Cora? Did I say something wrong?”
Cora wrapped her fingers around Robert’s hand. “I would love to go and ride with you, but only on one condition.”
“Tell me, what condition did you have in mind?” Robert asked clueless.
“You will not try and jump over any ditch or pull another stunt to impress me.”
This made Robert laugh. “I promise. It is also not an event I would like to repeat myself.”
“Although I loved the time we spend together in Dower House, I was worried sick when you fell and did not respond to me.”
Robert pulled Cora close and wrapped his arm around her waist. “We could just go to a wine-tasting in the area. There are some vineyards in Northeast England.” He looked up to her face and saw her smile fade again. “Not a good idea?” He asked, pouting.
Cora felt guilty, she gave Robert the wrong impression, but could she tell him? She was not even sure if she was pregnant. But if she was, she should not drink alcohol. She sighed. “I love the idea, I truly do. But I am not sure if I can drink alcohol.”
Robert was silent for a couple of moments, then he looked up again and a wide smile appeared. He put one hand on her abdomen. “Are you? Are you pregnant?”
“Maybe, I am not sure yet. I am late, normally I am very regular, but not this month.”
“But you are still taking the pill? You did not stop, did you?”
“Of course not!” Cora said indignant. “I would never do that without talking with you first.” She tried to step backwards.
“Sorry.” Robert strengthened his grip on her and made sure she stayed close to him. “I did not mean to say that you made this decision on your own. I am just surprised you could be pregnant.” He brushed over her abdomen. “But I would love it when there is a little one growing inside you. We should buy a test and find out.”
Cora’s face softened again, and she leaned against his hand with her tummy. Her own hand resting in Robert’s neck, her fingers playing with his hair. “We could buy the test on our way to Downton. You remember when I had that stomach flu?”
“Why do we not go and buy that test right now and do the test before we leave? I really want to know if you are expecting.”
Cora pressed her lips on Robert’s, he eagerly answered. “Let’s go and find out if we will have company on our wedding day.”
+++
“I never realised how long five minutes are.” Robert said while he nervously looked at the test strip laying on the bathroom counter.
Cora did not react, she stared at the strip. She could not be pregnant, she was just late, but no other symptoms. She had not been ill in the morning, no changes on her body. It was not possible that this test would be positive. She felt guilty for telling Robert, now he was all excited and hoping on a little one, and here she was going to disappoint him. She should have kept it to herself, this was selfish of her.
“I am sorry.” She muttered.
Robert’s head shot in her direction. “For what?”
“What if this test is negative?”
“Then we will go on and wait for the time that we are ready for it and want to start our own family.”
“You think we are not ready for it?”
“I am not saying that my dear. I only say that if this is a falls alarm, that it does not matter. Than we will have to wait for the day we are going for it.”
“I should not have told you, now you are hoping for a little one, that is probably not growing inside of me.”
“Stop this sweetheart. I am glad you shared this with me, now we can do this test together. When the test is positive, we will be happy. When the test is negative, we also will be happy. We have each other and the day for our own little on will come.”
Cora looked down at the ground. She heard Robert’s words, but she could not believe he meant it. The way his eyes started twinkling when she mentioned that she could be pregnant, made her scared for a negative test.
She was shaken from her mussing by the alarm of Robert’s phone. “It is time, do we look together or do you want to look first?” He asked.
“We should look together.” Cora answered.
Robert took the test from the counter and turned it towards them. The strip showed just one line. “Not pregnant.” Robert said softly.
“Not pregnant.” Cora repeated in a choked-up voice.
“We will start trying for a little one for real. You could stop taking the pill and we will try harder.”
Cora felt a tear drip over her cheek.
Robert put his hands on her cheeks and softly kissed the tear away. “Our little one will come. This is just not the time. And this only means we can practice a lot more, before our time is taking away by a little one.”
This comment made Cora smile a bit. “I love practicing with you.”
Robert kissed the tip of Cora’s nose. “The good news is you can drink as much wine as you want tonight.”
“I will do that. I will definitely do that.” She pressed her lips on Robert’s once more. “I love you so much.” She murmured against his lips.
Verhalen van Traan 