OOC A family member is currently in the hospital and the first round of exams have just cropped up. This is an early apology for my lateness in replying.

OOC I’m so sorry that I’ve not been on more often. I’m taking more classes this semester so homework is cutting into my writing/RP time! Hopefully it’ll slow down within the next week!

Getting things done || Robert Crawley and Jane Moorsum

jane—moorsum:

Jane kept checking her phone for messages. She had sent Robert a text this morning and she still hadn’t heard from him. Of course he was a busy man, she understood, but she liked to at least be acknowledged. Ethel had warned her about Robert, but really, there was nothing to worry about: Robert only cared about Jane because she knew about this maid he might have - or as it might so happen might not have - knocked up. She reread her message:

Robert, could you let me know if you still want me to look after Lady Violet’s suite when she comes home from hospital? I could really use the hours. Jane

She had put her name after the message but not her last name. She now wondered if there were more Janes working at Downton. But even if there were, she hardly thought he would have asked other Janes to look after his old mum a bit.  Looking after Lady Grantham was a wonderful opportunity and she quickly typed another message:

If you’d rather I go to the press, of course that can be arranged. Jane

She gave the message another look before pressing ‘send’. It wouldn’t be long before she heard from him now.

Robert had just gotten into a cab when he heard his ring. He fished it from his pocket and tapped a few buttons.

There were two messages from Jane. One from earlier in the day that he must have missed completely and then another. He glanced over them before replying:

Yes, that’d be great. Thank you, Jane.-RC

He had just hit send when another text appeared on the screen.

If you’d rather I go to the press…

Oh.

He might be in over his head here.

 He took a breath and then quickly typed a response with fingers attached to suddenly clammy hands:

No I don’t think a visit to the paper will be necessary.-RC

Robert’s throat felt tight.  What the hell had he gotten himself into? He was such an idiot. This whole situation could have been avoided! He wouldn’t be worrying about whether one of his employees was going to make this story about having an affair with the owner of the Downton Hotel public. He frantically sent another message:

Do you think it will be?-RC

If he could keep Jane happy there would be no need to worry about being exposed. Unless she was pregnant…

He was entirely screwed.

OOC

I’ll be replying this weekend. Sorry for the delay!

The War at Home (Robert and Cora)

cora—crawley:

hislordshiprobertcrawley:

cora—crawley:

Cora sighed softly. Another tremendously busy day and Sarah was still visiting her family and she couldn’t imagine spending another day without her. They’d exchanged texts of course, and spoke on the phone for as long as both of them could manage but it was no substitute for having her lover here, where she belonged and since when had there been so much to do around the hotel? She suddenly appreciated her assistant on an entirely different level and Charles and Elsie too: she would have to talk to Robert about organising some kind of bonus. 

Laying her towel over the back of a chair, Cora passed a lock of damp hair back from her forehead. Her bath had taken some of the tension from her body, but she still wanted nothing more than to fall into bed and sleep for as long as she could possibly manage before somebody came looking for her. And then she heard the door click behind her, and turning round saw the one person she hadn’t expected to see tonight.

“Robert,” she greeted, unable to keep the note of surprise out of her voice. She’d been rather hoping for a night alone and if she was perfectly honest she had almost forgotten her husband existed. Still, the state of their marriage might not be particularly rosy now, but the dark circles under his eyes were a cause for concern and she creased her brow sympathetically. “Busy day?”

            Robert was entirely exhausted. The last several hours consisted of staring at the computer monitor or being on the phone- both of which proved tedious. That combined with the ever present worry about the situation with Mary and Matthew…

            On some romantic whim and in the hope of putting the day behind him, Robert thought that spending some time with Cora would make him feel better. Even in her post-bath state, without makeup, he couldn’t ignore that she was still striking. He also couldn’t ignore the small note of surprise in her voice as she said his name. That seemed a little unwarranted…still Robert ignored all of this and smiled at his wife.

            “I don’t think busy remotely covers it.” He said with a sigh. “But never mind about me. How are you?” He closed the space between them and moved to kiss her.

Cora hadn’t expected a kiss, and certainly not one given so freely and spontaneously and with the complete absence of camera. These days affection was a thing they turned on and off for the benefit of the press, but this was real and Cora blinked in surprise for a moment. It didn’t happen often, but when Robert was in moods like this and remembered he had a wife that he had loved rather passionately once, she felt inexplicably guilty about Sarah - not enough to end the affair of course, because no earthly force could make her do that - and she forced a smile as she pecked his lips, brushing her fingers over his jacket to smooth out a crease.

“Me? Oh, I’m fine.”

She moved over to the fancy little kitchenette, flicking the switch on the kettle and feeling a thousand times more relaxed with a little distance between them. It was easy to be with Robert in public - they had perfected their public façade years ago - but being with him in private was another thing entirely.

“No interviews today actually,” she called over her shoulder. “Just a few tours of the hotel, investors. That kind of thing. They seemed impressed.”

Robert tried not to look at all hurt at Cora’s surprise. Truly he shouldn’t be surprised by her surprise. He’d been a bit distant lately…alright perhaps for a span of time not quite covered by lately but still she needn’t look quite so shocked. He would admit that their marriage had depreciated over the years but it hadn’t collapsed entirely…had it? Surely he would have noticed if it had just become nothing more than pretense.

        No, they were okay- not incredible but stable enough. He smiled as Cora smoothed out the crease in his jacket. Though why the conversation had become awkward he couldn’t say. It must have been since Cora pulled away and disappeared into the kitchenette, leaving him alone in the room. Not only awkward now but…a little irritating.

         “Well, that’s good. They should be impressed.” He called back. He bit his lip, realizing how patronizing that had come across.