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When I read a fanfic I like, the author becomes a mini celebrity to me. So when an author with a work I like kudos’ or comments on my own fanfic I just-
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elizabeth mcgovern as ava gardner, promotional shoot for “ava: the secret conversations” at london’s riverside studios (released october 2021) | 📸: simon annand
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elizabeth mcgovern performs with sadie & the hotheads on “saturday night with miriam” (shared december 2013) | 🎥: rte one
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elizabeth mcgovern as cora crawley, countess of grantham (with hugh bonneville as robert crawley, earl of grantham) in season 4, episode 6 of “downton abbey” (october 2013) | 🎥: dir. philip john
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But Papa! Why? Chapter 51
Pacing through the hall, Robert put his hands in his pockets, took them out and put them back again. He had gone to the toilet twice in five minutes already. Rosamund took Cora to get something to drink. He had said they could go together, and he would wait inside. If they called them back inside earlier, he could warn Cora and Rosamund. He also did not want to show Cora how nervous he was, he wanted to be strong for her, but it was not easy. The way Simon's lawyer defended Simon, was almost scary. He did not understand that people could defend the bad guys. It was obvious that Simon was in the wrong, but his lawyer did everything in his power to plead him free. They team that was representing Cora was better. Robert knew that, but there was a little voice in his head, that was nagging him. Cora had looked so small in that court room, and he had seen the looks Simon gave her. He still had not got the message that his avenges were not desired. With every day that passed, Robert felt more and more guilty. They had sent Cora into Simon's arms.
"Where is Cora?"
Violet's voice shook Robert out of his brooding. "Rosamund took her to get something to drink."
"And they did not offer you to come with them?"
"I was the one suggesting they should go together. Cora needed that."
Violet huffed. "When I look at you, you are also at the end of your rope."
This surprised Robert. "I admit, I will be happy when this is all behind us. We should never had sent Cora to his office."
"Robert." Violet put her hand on Robert's arm. "We cannot change what is in the past, but only what is in the future."
Violet's gesture surprised Robert, he did show his surprise. He never knew what to do when his mother showed compassion, it was so out of line with her normal behaviour.
"There is a ruling, we should go back inside." His father came around the corner. "Where are Rosamund and Cora?"
"Here we are, we are ready to go back inside." Rosamund came walking towards them with Cora directly behind her. Robert saw Cora's pale face, she looked frail. He waited for his father, mother, and Rosamund to go in front of him. When Cora walked past him, he put his hand on her back and pressed a quick kiss on her head. "You can do this. You have withstood all the interrogation, whatever the ruling will be, it will be over after today."
"I hope so." Cora said timid.
He squeezed her side in the hope to encourage her. At the door back into the court, he saw Richard and Helen waiting.
+++
"I am glad this is over." Rosamund said, with a deep sigh when she sat down on the big sofa. After the ruling, they all went to Violet's and Patrick's house. It seemed the most logical decision. They did not want to go to Rosamund's house, because the last time they were there as a whole family, was after Marmaduke's funeral. Violet had said that it was easiest to go to their house, since they had a cook and a butler. Both Cora and Robert did not have the energy to protest. They would love to just go home and let everything sink in. But they realised, that the family wanted to celebrate, and that was normal.
Simon had lost, he got a community sentence. The judge said that there was a combination of Sexual assault and harassment. But as Simon had a clear record, he got a lower punishment. Cora was content with that, even though he had gone way to far, she still felt responsible for everything that had happened. So did Robert, he would never forgive himself that they had let this happen.
"We can now finally let this awful business rest and focus on the fun things in life." Rosamund said, while taking the cup that she was handed. "Do you have something strong for in this tea?"
"Of course, Milady." The butler said.
"Well, speaking of fun business." Rosamund looked at Cora. "How is the rebuilding of Downton going?"
This was the first time since day's that Robert saw a genuine smile on Cora's face. The days leading up to this trial, she had gotten quieter and quieter. Whatever he said, she reacted blank or not at all. The day that she went dress shopping was the last day he had been allowed to touch her. No, he should phrase that differently, it wasn't that she didn't allow it, but she just wasn't approachable. When he tried to make a move, there had not been any reaction. He had given up and decided to wait for her to come back to him. He had seen her working on new projects at work and heard her talking with the constructors.
"There is a change that they will be finished earlier than expected with the great hall and stairs, and they will try to finish the dining area for the wedding." Cora now looked at Robert. They were seated next to each other, Cora stretched out her hand. Robert took it eagerly in his hand, he was once again amazed by how perfect her small hand was, with slender fingers and soft skin. "It looks like, we can have the dinner at Downton too."
Robert raised his eyebrows. "We said we would have the dinner at Downton? Did we not?"
Cora smiled. "We did, but we were talking about putting up a big tent outside. If the contractor is right, we will not need that tent, and our wedding will be a real posh one."
Again, Robert's eyebrows raised. "You did not want a posh wedding? Did you change your mind?"
Cora squeezed his hand. "I know how much you care about that, and I figured that you deserve to have the wedding you want."
"But it is also your wedding, my darling. If you do not want a posh wedding, we can go for the simpler style you suggested first."
"We will talk about that later." Suddenly aware that they were not alone, Cora blushed.
"A posh wedding, well, well, well." Rosamund teased.
Violet suddenly said. "I think this is a very good decision. Robert you are from a noble family and your wedding should represent that."
"A wedding at Downton does already represent that, Mama" Rosamund said.
"You know perfectly well, what I am talking about. A simple wedding at Downton is not the same as a real wedding."
"You mean that all the people that marry on a Monday morning at the townhall, on a budget, do not have a real wedding?" Rosamund countered.
"You know perfectly well, what I mean."
"No, I do not know that. Please explain to everybody here, what you mean."
"That is enough." Patrick said loudly. "Let us raise a glass on today's victory." He stepped aside for the butler to hand out glasses of champagne.
Robert had not even noticed that his father had arranged champagne. They all stood up with a glass in their hands.
"As a family we will stand strong." He Patrick started. "Before we toast, I want to apologise to you, my dear Cora. We made a big judgement error and you had to suffer from it. I am very relieved that it is all settled now, and Mr. Bricker will never be able to come close to you."
"He will still be able too." Robert said under his breath.
Patrick looked at him. "With the restraining order, it will only cause more trouble for him than he already is in. I doubt he will ever try anything again. And if he does, our lawyers will skin him alive. Now." Patrick raised his glass. "Let us celebrate this victory."
"Victory." They all cheered.
Cora turned towards Robert, she got on her tiptoes and kissed him, her hand that was holding the glass went to his back. Her other hand was put on his cheek. The kiss was long, which surprised Robert, she never kissed him like this in front of his parents. He did not care, not one bit. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to his body.
"That is enough." Violet said resolute. "Dinner will be ready soon and I do not want to lose my appetite."
Robert felt Cora stepping back directly, but he pulled her close again and pressed another kiss on her lips. "That appetite will come back." He said smiling, while letting Cora go.
The family walked towards the dining room, Cora stayed a bit behind and stopped Rosamund. "If talking about the wedding day is to confrontation for you, you will let me know?"
"I promise. But you have to know, I also promised Marmaduke something."
"Oh?" Cora let go of Rosamund's arm.
"He made me promise to never look back on what was, but only look forward to what has to come. We had a wonderful time together, yes it was short. But you know, I was blessed to know what real love is and I will cherish that always."
Cora took Rosamund's hand in hers. "I know you are strong and that you promised Marmaduke to be strong, but if there comes a day that you do not know how to be strong. I will be here, please know that I will always be here if you need someone to listen to you."
"Thank you, sis." Rosamund pulled her hand back. "Dinner will be cold if we do not follow them." And she walked towards the dining room.
Cora looked at her for a minute before she followed. Rosamund amazed her, she looked like such a strong woman, and she probably was a strong woman, but everybody struggled with emotions sometimes. There was nothing to be ashamed for, but in this family, it looked like emotions were banned. She was happy Robert was not an exact copy and he was more open towards her. She could only hope Rosamund would truly be alright with this upcoming wedding.
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elizabeth mcgovern, the exley archives (april 1995) | 📸: jonathan exley
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Reblog to hug the person you reblogged this from and tell them that everything's going to be okay
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elizabeth mcgovern performs with sadie & the hotheads at the union chapel (february 2013) | 📸: matt kent
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But Papa! Why? Chapter 50
A couple of weeks had passed, and they were waiting for a court date. The lawyers were convinced the case was a strong one. Even though Simon did not rape Cora, sexual assault was highly punished. Especially in this case, all the signs were there that if Molesley, Baxter and Patrick had not intervened he would have gun further. Now it had stopped at touching her private part. Cora was annoyed by how much the incident affected her. 'There were two layers of fabric between his hand and me. He did not really touch me.' She had said multiple times to Robert after she had another nightmare or got spooked when he touched her. 'It is time to stop being angry at how this is affecting you, sweetheart.' Had Robert's response been last night. And he was right, it did not help her any further. And she had said that she did not want to waste time on Simon and here she was still wasting her time by being affected by him. Cora was anxiously waiting for that court date; it would help with the closer. She shrugged her shoulders and walked inside the pub where Baxter was waiting for her.
"Hi, I have ordered us a glass of wine already." Baxter greeted her.
"That sounds lovely, thank you." Cora sat down with a smile. "Rosamund will be here soon too."
"Good." Baxter smiled back. "Do you have a vision of what you want?"
Cora shook her head. "I am not sure. There are so many options."
"Girls, you are already here, and I thought I was early." Rosamund exclaimed when she sat down at the table.
Cora looked at her watch. "We are right on time?" She gave Rosamund a surprised look. “What are you talking about?"
"Oh? Really? Hmm, oké never mind. Ah wine." Rosamund said when three glasses were put down on the table. "Let us toast on a successful dress hunt."
Cora and Baxter lifted their glasses. Cora looked at Rosamund's face, it looked like she had been crying, but she was not one hundred percent sure about that. Was it too early for Rosamund to go dress shopping? Although Rosamund had suggested it herself to go today. She had said it would be a nice distraction from the lawsuit for all of them and it was high time if she wanted to have something on her body when the wedding day was finally there. But had she only thought about Cora's happiness instead of her own? She was chaotic, but that was not that weird for Rosamund. It was that chaos brain of her that she liked so much. Rosamund was organised and structured, but also knew how to make fun and enjoy life to the fullest.
"Cora!" Cora shook up from Rosamund voice. "We are going to have a fun day and find you something stunning to wear. Stop the brooding and enjoy your wine."
"Do you want a dress or something like that jumpsuit you wore to Rosamund's and Marmaduke's wedding day?" Baxter asked, quickly covering her face with her hands, when she realised what she had asked.
"Do not worry, Phyllis. I can call you Phyllis, can I? I only have good memories from that day and the days I got to spend with my wonderful Marmaduke. He lives on inside my heart, but live goes on."
Cora was not sure if she was putting up an act, or that she truly was feeling this way. But it was not important for now. Rosamund was in good spirits, and they were going to find a beautiful dress. "I hope to find a dress, I loved the jumpsuit at Rosamund's wedding, but I know that Robert would love to see me in a dress."
"But what if you do not want to wear a dress?" Rosamund said.
"Oh, but I do." Cora got a foolish smile on her face. "I am going to marry in a castle, so I need to look like a real princess."
"You know that Downton is not really a castle. It is called Downton Abbey, not Downton Castle."
"The building classifies as a castle." Phyllis added.
"See." Cora winked at Rosamund. "And even if it did not be classified as a castle, I want to be a princess, because I have found a real prince." Cora blushed.
+++
"Welcome Miss Levinson, Mrs. Painswick and Miss Baxter. Delighted to have you here." Phillipa welcomed them. Cora managed to get an appointment with the best wedding dress designer in London, Phillipa Lepley's. "You have already told me a little bit about your wishes, but can you please tell them again. Then we will try on some corsets to see what fits you best and will start designing your dream dress. But first, can I offer you a glass of champagne?"
One of her assistant went to get the champagne, when they nodded in agreement.
"I have some fabrics pulled out already. You said you wanted a white dress with a yellow undertone. I think I have a perfect idea for it. And if I may say so, you have a perfect figure for a beautiful princes dress."
Cora felt her cheeks colour. She never looked at herself as having a perfect figure. She did not have much rounding's. She was very slender, with small breast and did not see herself as a beautiful woman. But Robert told her every day she was, he loved playing with her breast, he said they were a perfect size.
Very quickly after, Cora was standing in her underwear trying on different type of skirts and corsets. It took a couple of hours, but then she was put on a torso with a sweetheart neckline, and she knew this was the shape she wanted, the skirt would be a bell form with a half long train. The skirt would be moulded over her body with four layers of tulle overlays and two layers of tulle over the bodice. In the front it would follow the sweetheart neckline and it would transcend into a low V at the back. The overlay would be gathered around her waist, creating a flattering centre point where all eyes would be drawn too. The top layer of the tulle would be decorated with embroidered flowers.
Cora looked at the first sketch that Phillipa made, and she got tears in her eyes. Baxter stood next to her, "This is the one. It makes you cry, so I think it is settled. This is your dress."
Cora looked up. "It is, thank you for helping me choose." She looked at Phillipa. "Thank you for booking me in and designing my dress." She looked around. "Where is Rosamund?"
"I am here, just a second." She yelled from the other side of the store. Cora had seen her go to the back, she thought she needed to use the toilet.
The shop assistant came back, and Rosamund followed behind her. She had a smile on her face, that Cora could not place. "Rosamund? Are you alright?"
"Why would I not be. I just have seen your perfect dress being created and I now also have found the perfect gift to give you."
"A gift? Why would you need to give me a gift?"
"I maybe do not have too, but I want too. You are my favourite sister-in-law."
Cora laughed. "I am your only sister-in-law."
Rosamund chuckled. "Well, you will be seen in this beautiful dress during your wedding day, but you will be alone with Robert on your honeymoon, and he deserves something that is only for his eyes."
Cora started to blush, where was Rosamund going with this?
"I know you will be wearing beautiful lingerie, but there is something much better, that Robert will like a lot more." She was holding up a beautiful chemise made from satin and lace. Cora's upper body would be exposed due to the lace trim on the cups and across the waist of the chemise. Rosamund also had an open front peignoir in the same satin and lace in her hands, Cora could wear that over the chemise.
"Rosamund." Cora exclaimed ashamed.
"It is not something you would expect to get form me, but I see how you two look at each other, and this would be perfect on you. You have a beautiful body, and you deserve to shine for Robert."
"Thank you. Thank you, so much dear Rosamund. I am grateful that you will be my sister-in-law and I cannot wait for Robert to unwrap this."
"Do you also need bridesmaid dresses?" Phillipa asked.
Cora looked at Rosamund and Baxter. "I have not really thought about it." She paused. "Girls, do you want to be my bridesmaids?"
"YES." They both exclaimed directly.
"But." Cora started. "I am not sure it needs to be dresses." Cora thought about Rosamund's wedding and that she had not been wearing a dress. "What do you say about suits?" She could see the excitement in the eyes of both Rosamund and Phyllis, and she knew this was a good decision. I will leave the colour up to you two and will ask you to keep it a surprise for me.
"We can do that." Phyllis answered.
"Miss Levinson, if you want, I can design those suits for the ladies?" Phillipa joined.
"That would be amazing." Cora said enthusiastically.
"We will say goodbye then, we see you tomorrow in the office." Rosamund almost pushed Cora out of the shop.
"Alright, alright. I am leaving." Cora laughed and said another thank you to Phillipa before she left.
+++
"Did you find a dress?" Robert asked, when Cora came home. She had not expected to see Robert home already, but for the first time in weeks, she did not feel anxious.
"I did." Cora blushed. "It will be incredibly special; you have never seen anything like that before and the colour! This dress will pop." Cora enjoyed the look on Robert's face. She loved teasing him and now she knew he was going to try and picture something in his head. She wondered what colour he was seeing in his mind. Swaying with her hips, she walked closer, Robert was sitting in one of the big chairs in front of the sliding doors. Once she stood in front of him, she quickly sat down on his lap with her legs wide over his. Her hands sliding over his chest, she bent forward and licked his earlobe. "But you will especially like what extra thing I bought, but that is something you will need to wait for even longer, than our wedding day.
Robert had instantly moved his hands to Cora's hips, and he was pleasantly surprised that she did not winch. Since the incident this was the first time Cora initiated them being intimate and he needed all his strength to contain himself and not rush her.
"I missed you." Cora whispered in his ear.
Robert now moved his hand over her bum, and he felt Cora react by moving her hips. She scurried forward and pressed her core into his groin. "Oh Cora." he breathed. Slowly he brought his hands up over her sides until he reached her shoulders.
"I want to feel you." Cora murmured while kissing his neck and jaw.
Robert got up with Cora in his arms, she wrapped her legs around him, meanwhile not stopping her kisses on his skin. He walked with her to the bedroom and laid her down. When he was leaning over her, he started unbuttoning her blouse and went on to pull her pants down. Soon she was lying under him in her underwear.
"Now it is my time to see more of you." Cora said with a hot voice. Her hands tried to get his shirt of his body, but she wanted to go to fast and did not manage to unbutton one button. Robert laughed and helped her.
"You are so handsome." She breathed when she looked at his wide chest. Her fingers stroking his skin and softly twirling his chest hair.
"My beautiful princess." He said just before he crashed his lips on hers. In the head of the moment his hand went down over her belly towards her already warm and wet core. His fingers raked through her hairs, her skin got goosebumps and it made him freeze. Was he going too far, was Cora ready for this?
Cora pushed her hips up and moaned. When he did not continue with his caresses she groaned. "Do not stop."
Hesitating he kissed her delicious looking lips. "Are you sure."
She took his hand and pushed it further down, he felt how wet she was, and his lust took over. He forgot about all his worries; he did not think about how Cora would feel if she would be scared. He only knew he needed to feel her insides and slipped his fingers in. Cora arched her back and that made his arousal even bigger. He took his fingers out of her and brought his hand up to his mouth, while locking eyes with her he licked his finger. He saw on Cora's face that she was bursting from desire, if he had not been this deprived of feeling her body over the last weeks he had teased her longer, but he could not wait and pushed inside her. With strong movements he thrusted, the sounds Cora made, were enough for him to go faster and faster. It did not take long before he reached his high and slumped down on her panting chest. "How I missed you, my darling. But this was magical, you are magical sweetheart. You do not understand what you do to me."
Cora circled with the tip of her fingers over his back. "You are my sorcerer, that will always bring magic."
"Did I give you magic? Or was it just me?" He suddenly felt guilty for finishing this fast, he had not waited for Cora to reach her high. Did she even reach her high? He did not know. He was only in his own feelings and thoughts. He felt his skin burn against Cora's cooler skin.
Cora raised her head to kiss him. "The night is not over, is it?" She smiled against his lips, while her fingers started to circle down to his lower back. She pressed her nose into his neck and took in a deep whiff of his scent. It made her body shiver from desire.
Robert felt it, he got up, so he could position himself down on her, he kissed her thighs. With an agonisingly slow pace, he moved his kisses to her wet folds. Whit his hands firmly on her hips, he picked up the pace and started kissing and sucking even harder. He softly bit her, what resulted in a high-pitched squeal and her nails digging into his back. Cora did reach her high easier, when he used his mouth and fingers, he had learned that over time. He slid one finger in, while he kissed the brim of her breast, he licked her nipple. Another squeal, he knew he was on the right path now.
He kept altering his pace and the amount of fingers he used, until Cora arched her back as far as she could, and he felt her pelvis starting to shake. "Robert, oh Robert, ROBERT." With a last squeal her body relaxed again, he did not stop his kisses. Both his hands were roaming over her skin, she was feeling sweaty and hot. Slowly he laid down on her chest with his head. Cora's hand was lazy going through his hair.
"Sorcerer." She whispered.
"Yours, and only yours."
The dress description is used from the website of Phillipa Lepley
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But Papa! Why? Chapter 50
A couple of weeks had passed, and they were waiting for a court date. The lawyers were convinced the case was a strong one. Even though Simon did not rape Cora, sexual assault was highly punished. Especially in this case, all the signs were there that if Molesley, Baxter and Patrick had not intervened he would have gun further. Now it had stopped at touching her private part. Cora was annoyed by how much the incident affected her. 'There were two layers of fabric between his hand and me. He did not really touch me.' She had said multiple times to Robert after she had another nightmare or got spooked when he touched her. 'It is time to stop being angry at how this is affecting you, sweetheart.' Had Robert's response been last night. And he was right, it did not help her any further. And she had said that she did not want to waste time on Simon and here she was still wasting her time by being affected by him. Cora was anxiously waiting for that court date; it would help with the closer. She shrugged her shoulders and walked inside the pub where Baxter was waiting for her.
"Hi, I have ordered us a glass of wine already." Baxter greeted her.
"That sounds lovely, thank you." Cora sat down with a smile. "Rosamund will be here soon too."
"Good." Baxter smiled back. "Do you have a vision of what you want?"
Cora shook her head. "I am not sure. There are so many options."
"Girls, you are already here, and I thought I was early." Rosamund exclaimed when she sat down at the table.
Cora looked at her watch. "We are right on time?" She gave Rosamund a surprised look. “What are you talking about?"
"Oh? Really? Hmm, oké never mind. Ah wine." Rosamund said when three glasses were put down on the table. "Let us toast on a successful dress hunt."
Cora and Baxter lifted their glasses. Cora looked at Rosamund's face, it looked like she had been crying, but she was not one hundred percent sure about that. Was it too early for Rosamund to go dress shopping? Although Rosamund had suggested it herself to go today. She had said it would be a nice distraction from the lawsuit for all of them and it was high time if she wanted to have something on her body when the wedding day was finally there. But had she only thought about Cora's happiness instead of her own? She was chaotic, but that was not that weird for Rosamund. It was that chaos brain of her that she liked so much. Rosamund was organised and structured, but also knew how to make fun and enjoy life to the fullest.
"Cora!" Cora shook up from Rosamund voice. "We are going to have a fun day and find you something stunning to wear. Stop the brooding and enjoy your wine."
"Do you want a dress or something like that jumpsuit you wore to Rosamund's and Marmaduke's wedding day?" Baxter asked, quickly covering her face with her hands, when she realised what she had asked.
"Do not worry, Phyllis. I can call you Phyllis, can I? I only have good memories from that day and the days I got to spend with my wonderful Marmaduke. He lives on inside my heart, but live goes on."
Cora was not sure if she was putting up an act, or that she truly was feeling this way. But it was not important for now. Rosamund was in good spirits, and they were going to find a beautiful dress. "I hope to find a dress, I loved the jumpsuit at Rosamund's wedding, but I know that Robert would love to see me in a dress."
"But what if you do not want to wear a dress?" Rosamund said.
"Oh, but I do." Cora got a foolish smile on her face. "I am going to marry in a castle, so I need to look like a real princess."
"You know that Downton is not really a castle. It is called Downton Abbey, not Downton Castle."
"The building classifies as a castle." Phyllis added.
"See." Cora winked at Rosamund. "And even if it did not be classified as a castle, I want to be a princess, because I have found a real prince." Cora blushed.
+++
"Welcome Miss Levinson, Mrs. Painswick and Miss Baxter. Delighted to have you here." Phillipa welcomed them. Cora managed to get an appointment with the best wedding dress designer in London, Phillipa Lepley's. "You have already told me a little bit about your wishes, but can you please tell them again. Then we will try on some corsets to see what fits you best and will start designing your dream dress. But first, can I offer you a glass of champagne?"
One of her assistant went to get the champagne, when they nodded in agreement.
"I have some fabrics pulled out already. You said you wanted a white dress with a yellow undertone. I think I have a perfect idea for it. And if I may say so, you have a perfect figure for a beautiful princes dress."
Cora felt her cheeks colour. She never looked at herself as having a perfect figure. She did not have much rounding's. She was very slender, with small breast and did not see herself as a beautiful woman. But Robert told her every day she was, he loved playing with her breast, he said they were a perfect size.
Very quickly after, Cora was standing in her underwear trying on different type of skirts and corsets. It took a couple of hours, but then she was put on a torso with a sweetheart neckline, and she knew this was the shape she wanted, the skirt would be a bell form with a half long train. The skirt would be moulded over her body with four layers of tulle overlays and two layers of tulle over the bodice. In the front it would follow the sweetheart neckline and it would transcend into a low V at the back. The overlay would be gathered around her waist, creating a flattering centre point where all eyes would be drawn too. The top layer of the tulle would be decorated with embroidered flowers.
Cora looked at the first sketch that Phillipa made, and she got tears in her eyes. Baxter stood next to her, "This is the one. It makes you cry, so I think it is settled. This is your dress."
Cora looked up. "It is, thank you for helping me choose." She looked at Phillipa. "Thank you for booking me in and designing my dress." She looked around. "Where is Rosamund?"
"I am here, just a second." She yelled from the other side of the store. Cora had seen her go to the back, she thought she needed to use the toilet.
The shop assistant came back, and Rosamund followed behind her. She had a smile on her face, that Cora could not place. "Rosamund? Are you alright?"
"Why would I not be. I just have seen your perfect dress being created and I now also have found the perfect gift to give you."
"A gift? Why would you need to give me a gift?"
"I maybe do not have too, but I want too. You are my favourite sister-in-law."
Cora laughed. "I am your only sister-in-law."
Rosamund chuckled. "Well, you will be seen in this beautiful dress during your wedding day, but you will be alone with Robert on your honeymoon, and he deserves something that is only for his eyes."
Cora started to blush, where was Rosamund going with this?
"I know you will be wearing beautiful lingerie, but there is something much better, that Robert will like a lot more." She was holding up a beautiful chemise made from satin and lace. Cora's upper body would be exposed due to the lace trim on the cups and across the waist of the chemise. Rosamund also had an open front peignoir in the same satin and lace in her hands, Cora could wear that over the chemise.
"Rosamund." Cora exclaimed ashamed.
"It is not something you would expect to get form me, but I see how you two look at each other, and this would be perfect on you. You have a beautiful body, and you deserve to shine for Robert."
"Thank you. Thank you, so much dear Rosamund. I am grateful that you will be my sister-in-law and I cannot wait for Robert to unwrap this."
"Do you also need bridesmaid dresses?" Phillipa asked.
Cora looked at Rosamund and Baxter. "I have not really thought about it." She paused. "Girls, do you want to be my bridesmaids?"
"YES." They both exclaimed directly.
"But." Cora started. "I am not sure it needs to be dresses." Cora thought about Rosamund's wedding and that she had not been wearing a dress. "What do you say about suits?" She could see the excitement in the eyes of both Rosamund and Phyllis, and she knew this was a good decision. I will leave the colour up to you two and will ask you to keep it a surprise for me.
"We can do that." Phyllis answered.
"Miss Levinson, if you want, I can design those suits for the ladies?" Phillipa joined.
"That would be amazing." Cora said enthusiastically.
"We will say goodbye then, we see you tomorrow in the office." Rosamund almost pushed Cora out of the shop.
"Alright, alright. I am leaving." Cora laughed and said another thank you to Phillipa before she left.
+++
"Did you find a dress?" Robert asked, when Cora came home. She had not expected to see Robert home already, but for the first time in weeks, she did not feel anxious.
"I did." Cora blushed. "It will be incredibly special; you have never seen anything like that before and the colour! This dress will pop." Cora enjoyed the look on Robert's face. She loved teasing him and now she knew he was going to try and picture something in his head. She wondered what colour he was seeing in his mind. Swaying with her hips, she walked closer, Robert was sitting in one of the big chairs in front of the sliding doors. Once she stood in front of him, she quickly sat down on his lap with her legs wide over his. Her hands sliding over his chest, she bent forward and licked his earlobe. "But you will especially like what extra thing I bought, but that is something you will need to wait for even longer, than our wedding day.
Robert had instantly moved his hands to Cora's hips, and he was pleasantly surprised that she did not winch. Since the incident this was the first time Cora initiated them being intimate and he needed all his strength to contain himself and not rush her.
"I missed you." Cora whispered in his ear.
Robert now moved his hand over her bum, and he felt Cora react by moving her hips. She scurried forward and pressed her core into his groin. "Oh Cora." he breathed. Slowly he brought his hands up over her sides until he reached her shoulders.
"I want to feel you." Cora murmured while kissing his neck and jaw.
Robert got up with Cora in his arms, she wrapped her legs around him, meanwhile not stopping her kisses on his skin. He walked with her to the bedroom and laid her down. When he was leaning over her, he started unbuttoning her blouse and went on to pull her pants down. Soon she was lying under him in her underwear.
"Now it is my time to see more of you." Cora said with a hot voice. Her hands tried to get his shirt of his body, but she wanted to go to fast and did not manage to unbutton one button. Robert laughed and helped her.
"You are so handsome." She breathed when she looked at his wide chest. Her fingers stroking his skin and softly twirling his chest hair.
"My beautiful princess." He said just before he crashed his lips on hers. In the head of the moment his hand went down over her belly towards her already warm and wet core. His fingers raked through her hairs, her skin got goosebumps and it made him freeze. Was he going too far, was Cora ready for this?
Cora pushed her hips up and moaned. When he did not continue with his caresses she groaned. "Do not stop."
Hesitating he kissed her delicious looking lips. "Are you sure."
She took his hand and pushed it further down, he felt how wet she was, and his lust took over. He forgot about all his worries; he did not think about how Cora would feel if she would be scared. He only knew he needed to feel her insides and slipped his fingers in. Cora arched her back and that made his arousal even bigger. He took his fingers out of her and brought his hand up to his mouth, while locking eyes with her he licked his finger. He saw on Cora's face that she was bursting from desire, if he had not been this deprived of feeling her body over the last weeks he had teased her longer, but he could not wait and pushed inside her. With strong movements he thrusted, the sounds Cora made, were enough for him to go faster and faster. It did not take long before he reached his high and slumped down on her panting chest. "How I missed you, my darling. But this was magical, you are magical sweetheart. You do not understand what you do to me."
Cora circled with the tip of her fingers over his back. "You are my sorcerer, that will always bring magic."
"Did I give you magic? Or was it just me?" He suddenly felt guilty for finishing this fast, he had not waited for Cora to reach her high. Did she even reach her high? He did not know. He was only in his own feelings and thoughts. He felt his skin burn against Cora's cooler skin.
Cora raised her head to kiss him. "The night is not over, is it?" She smiled against his lips, while her fingers started to circle down to his lower back. She pressed her nose into his neck and took in a deep whiff of his scent. It made her body shiver from desire.
Robert felt it, he got up, so he could position himself down on her, he kissed her thighs. With an agonisingly slow pace, he moved his kisses to her wet folds. Whit his hands firmly on her hips, he picked up the pace and started kissing and sucking even harder. He softly bit her, what resulted in a high-pitched squeal and her nails digging into his back. Cora did reach her high easier, when he used his mouth and fingers, he had learned that over time. He slid one finger in, while he kissed the brim of her breast, he licked her nipple. Another squeal, he knew he was on the right path now.
He kept altering his pace and the amount of fingers he used, until Cora arched her back as far as she could, and he felt her pelvis starting to shake. "Robert, oh Robert, ROBERT." With a last squeal her body relaxed again, he did not stop his kisses. Both his hands were roaming over her skin, she was feeling sweaty and hot. Slowly he laid down on her chest with his head. Cora's hand was lazy going through his hair.
"Sorcerer." She whispered.
"Yours, and only yours."
The dress description is used from the website of Phillipa Lepley
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adoracora-elizabeth · 12 days
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elizabeth mcgovern with michelle dockery and laura carmichael behind the scenes of “downton abbey” (shared september 2015) | 📸: ITV
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adoracora-elizabeth · 12 days
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Chapter 48
My original plan was to stall today's update (ao3 here) until tomorrow because I did not feel like it was right, given that it would have been my mum's 53rd birthday today and I am not really feeling it. But reading this chapter back while editing, I realised that maybe today is just the right day to post it, so there you go.
Some alone time for Cora with her grandkids while Robert and Mary are in London. Hope you enjoy!
The three of them were looking at an old photograph, worn and faded as it was. "Granny, is that you?" wondered George as he pointed at the young woman smiling brightly back at them from the page.
She had not seen this photograph in years, maybe decades even. Mindlessly, her finger traced the edge of the photograph as her gaze and mind began to wander.
"Yes, George. That is me; many, many years ago. This photograph was taken on the day I got married to your Grandpapa," Cora said, suddenly feeling very nostalgic as she thought back to that day almost four decades ago. "As you can see, this was very long ago, I was only 21 years old, and your Donk 24."
"Donk had dark hair, too?" Caroline asked surprised, inching even closer to her Granny to get a better look at the image.
Cora couldn't help but huff a laugh at the childish innocence behind that question. Laughing, she said: "Yes, your Donk had dark and sometimes curly hair when he was young. But that was a long time ago now. When people get older, their hair starts to lose its colour, though, and it turns grey or even white. Remember Granny Violet? She had grey hair for longer than even I can remember." Cora winked at her grandchildren as they all laughed.
"You were beautiful, Granny," George said, his eyes still transfixed on the photograph in the book opened in Cora's lap. "You still are. But how did you stay so young when Donk got so old? Your hair is still so dark!"
Again, Cora had to huff a laugh. She could not tell them that she had been colouring her hair for years to appear at least a couple of years younger than she actually was. She was not a vain woman, and she did not mind ageing, at least not that much. But something about her grey hair showing bothered her and so she had it dyed for years. Not any more, though.
One night in the hospital, when Robert had once again tried to tame her hair into a braid, he had run his fingers through it like he always used to do in their youth. At first, he hadn't said anything, he had just kept weaving his fingers delicately through her tresses. After a while, though, he had murmured softly to her. "Your hair — I know you won't want to hear this, my darling, but I am glad you haven't dyed it recently. Seeing these grey hairs peek through reminds me how fortunate I am. I am so lucky to have already had so much time to spend with you and I wish for so many more weeks and months with you. Even years if we're allowed."
She had decided that night that if she made it through the treatment, she would never dye it again. Her husband was right. They had spent so many years together, they grew up and old together, and this would be another physical reminder for them to cherish.
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adoracora-elizabeth · 13 days
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elizabeth mcgovern, portrait shoot in new york city (circa mid-1980s) | 📸: thomas iannaccone
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adoracora-elizabeth · 13 days
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But Papa! Why? Chapter 49
Robert checked the bedroom; Cora was still sleeping. During the night she had woken up several times, from nightmares. He needed all his restraint not to pay Mr. Bricker a visit right now. He should write a note for Cora saying that he had left for the office already. He preferred to stay with her until she woke up, but they needed to start the paperwork for the lawsuit. He wished she would wake up calmly and at least a bit well rested. He had said, she could take the day off, but Cora had insisted on going to the office. The last time she woke up last night, she had said it would not help staying at home. Her mind would only run in circles. And he had agreed on that, being amongst other people would help. And in the office, there were people who knew what had happened, if she wanted to talk, it was possible. Although he was not sure if Baxter would be back, and Rosamund had emailed that she would take today off. Was Baxter back from her get away? He did not know that either. At least he and his father would be in the office.
Robert walked towards the kitchen and saw fresh oranges on the kitchen counter, he could make her an orange juice. Cora loved a fresh orange juice in the morning, it was something that her father used to make her when she was a little girl. Every morning Cora made herself a freshly juiced orange juice, to keep the memory of her father alive. But Robert suspected it was not just the memory of her father, but he could see and hear that she missed her country from time to time. Two years ago, she had never thought about moving to England and now she was going to marry him and stay the rest of her live. He would make sure; she would never have a reason to move back. He would not survive losing her he was sure of that. He looked around in the kitchen, he hoped to find a manual juicer, the automatic one would make too much noise. Even though the bedroom was on the other side of the apartment, he did not want to risk waking her up.
He almost had the glass filled when he felt a small hand on his back. "I have an automatic one, you do know that do you not?" Cora asked, while leaning against his back. She had wrapped herself in her morning dress, her curls were wild, but she had tried to tame them with a hair elastic.
Robert chuckled. "I do know that, but I did not want to make too much noise, you were finally sleeping somewhat peacefully.
"Those last couple of hours were finally real sleep." Cora smiled." I feel a little bit more rested." She wrapped her arms around Robert, she rested with her cheek against his shoulder blade. "When will I be able to sleep normally again, I do not want to give this power to him. He does not deserve that I am feeling the way that I do."
He put the last orange down, wiped his hands on a towel and turned around, so Cora was now wrapped up in his arms. She instantly rested her head against his chest, her hands were on his lower back. "It needs time darling." He said.
"I do not want to waste that time on this. We should be doing fun things. Like going to see those Highland Cows." She let out a deep sigh.
Robert kissed the top of her head. "I am going to the office; do you want me to wait for you?"
"You are leaving already?" Cora lifted her head, she now rested with her chin against Robert's chest.
"I want to speak to my father as soon as possible, we need to get the lawyers to work." Robert moved his hand up to Cora's neck, he massaged her scalp.
Softly Cora moaned, she loved it when he did that. "I am going to take a shower and will come to the office on my own."
Robert kissed her on the lips. "I will be waiting for you."
"No, you will not." Cora chuckled.
"What do you mean?" Robert leaned back, surprised by her words.
Cora laughed. "You will not be waiting for me."
"I will." Robert interrupted her.
"No dear, you will not. You are consumed by the case you are about to file as soon as you enter the office."
"Hmm, you know me to well."
+++
"Robert, can you come into my office?" His father was standing on the first floor, when he entered.
Robert greeted the receptionist; he had not seen the woman before. Since Baxter started working with Cora, they had not found a receptionist that worked on the same level. They were spoiled with Baxter's work attitude. He quickly walked on to his father's office.
"Sit down please."
Robert looked around the room, but only his father was present.
"Did you talk with Cora?" Patrick inquired.
"She has told me what happened last Friday. I cannot express how mad I am. What can we do about this?"
Patrick stroke with his hand over his chin, something he did when he was concentrating. "Is Cora coming in today? Or is she not ready to go back to work yet?"
"She is ready to go back to work, she was not dressed, when I left, but she will be here soon."
"Good, a police officer will be here later this morning to take a statement of her. With that statement our lawyers will start working. I hope at least that she will report Mr. Bricker for what he has done?"
"I think she will report him."
Patrick only looked at Robert for a couple of seconds. 'I may hope she is not doubting about that. She needs to report him, if she does not, we cannot do anything, and he will be walking freely. He needs to be punished for this."
Robert loved his father for this. Cora was not even his daughter, but he protected her as if she was. "I will let her know that she has to be here. What time will the officer be here?"
+++
"The officer is waiting in my father's office for you. Are you ready for it?" Robert put his hand on Cora's lower back, while they walked towards the stairs.
Cora nodded. "Will you stay with me?"
"My father will for sure, and if I am allowed, I will also stay." He felt Cora's back tense. "It will all be alright. You only have to tell the officer what has happened, he is not here and will not be here."
Cora stopped midway of the stairs and turned towards him. "Do you think I will need to face him again?"
"It is possible that you will see him when it is brought to court but let’s not look to far into the future. For now, the officer is here and needs to hear your story for his report."
+++
"Did he do anything else than putting his hands on the inside of your legs?" The officer looked up from his notepad.
"He touched more than just the inside of her legs." Robert said sharply.
The officer now looked at Robert, who was sitting in the back of the office. "I have written down where he touched her, but it is visible painful for the lady to talk about it. So that is why I choose my wording the way I did. You can be assured that this incident will be written down into the smallest details. Man like this need to feel the consequences."
"Thank you, I think I have told you everything that I remember from that evening." Cora's voice was thick.
"Mr. Crawley, is there anything else you want to add to your statement?"
Patrick looked at Cora and then back to the officer. "Everything that happened after I arrived is in your notepad already."
"Good, so can I speak with Miss Baxter and Mr. Molesley too?"
"I am very sorry, but Mr. Molesley is not here in London, he lives in Downton up north. Miss Baxter should be in the office, Robert do you know where she is?"
"She is in my office; I saw her when we walked in." Cora answered.
"Thank you, is there a way Mr. Molesley can come to the bureau?"
Robert snorted. "He is in Downton, so I do not think he will be able to come for his statement."
Patrick scraped his throat. "When do you have time for him at the station? I will send my driver to pick him up and he will be in to tell you his side of the story." He gave Robert a stern look.
The officer got up and put his notepad back in his jacket. "I am going to write out your statement and will send them so you can check if I did not miss something."
"Thank you, officer." Patrick shook his hand.
+++
Patrick walked with the officer to get Baxter's statement, Robert got up and stepped closer to Cora. She had a straight back while the officer was in the office, but now her shoulders were bent forward, and she slummed down. Carefully he put his hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"
Cora took in a very shaking breath. "I am not sure."
Robert squatted down next to Cora's chair. "Can I do anything for you?"
"It was easier to tell you last night what happened than it was to this officer. Is that not weird, should it not be the other way around?" Cora looked at her folded hands on her lap.
"I do not know my darling. I really do not know."
"As soon as this police officer finishes the statements, our lawyers will start working."
The door opened and Patrick stepped back inside. "The lawyers will be here this afternoon. We do not need the written statement to start."
"Papa, does that mean, Cora has to tell the story again this afternoon?"
"Unfortunately, it does." Patrick looked at Cora. "I am sorry my dear, but we need to go through this as fast as possible."
Cora looked up. "I know, I know. When will they be here?"
Patrick looked at his watch. "In two hours, they will be here."
"Good." Cora got up.
"Where are you going?" Robert asked.
"I have two more hours to work on our current advertisement."
"You are going to work?" Robert now asked surprised.
Cora shrugs her shoulders. "What else should I do, wait and feel miserable and think about last Friday. No please, I rather not."
"Cora is right." Patrick said. 'Keeping your mind busy is the best thing you can do right now. I will let you know when they are here."
"Thank you. For everything."
Patrick was standing close to Cora; he took her hand in his. "For you my darling, I would do anything. I see how happy you make Robert, and you are part of our family now."
+++
"Did you ask him to sit next to you?" Richard sat opposite of Cora, next to him was his partner, Helen. Until now it had been mostly Richard who asked the questions.
"I did not ask him that. He suddenly was sitting next to me."
"What did you do next?" Richard asked.
"I asked him to leave. I told him that I was expecting a client and that he needed to go."
"Oke."
"He told me that he was the client and that he had lied to make that appointment."
"He used the same tactic as you had done, when you went to his office, did he not?" This time Helen's voice sounded.
Cora did not like her voice, she sounded as if she was judging her for what had happened. "I indeed pretended to be a client to learn more about his company. That is true."
"And then your father-in-law, or upcoming father-in-law bought that company to get rid of the competition." Helen's voice was sharp.
"He did offer a big amount of money, Mr. Bricker accepted that offer and sold the company."
"He was there for some sort of revenge?" Helen was the one to ask this question.
"He said that he wanted me and that he would not take no for an answer. He insisted that I wanted him too. But I never wanted anything more than the business interaction we had."
"So, this man is interested in you and the company you work for has bought his company. So, he lost everything?" Helen again.
"He did get a lot of money for it." Cora protested. "And I have been very clear from the moment he sat down next to me, that I am engaged and did not want anything from him."
"Why are you treating Miss. Levinson as if she has done something bad?" Robert interrupted. He had wanted to interrupt earlier, but he managed to bite his tongue. But he did not like what those lawyers were doing. Were they not hired to punish that Bricker guy?
Richard looked at him. "I do understand that it does look like we are trying to put the blame on her. I can guarantee you that we are not. Miss Levinson's story is very clear and there is no doubt in our mind, that this is not sexual assault. We want to make sure that we have highlighted every point of view, so that the lawyer that Mr. Bricker is getting, will not get a foot in between the door.
After many more questions, they finally said they knew enough for now and left. Cora stood next to Robert, when Richard and Helen left, she leaned against Robert's chest. "I am exhausted."
"Do you want to go home?" Robert wrapped his arm around her shoulder when he felt how heavy she leaned against him.
"Please." He voice was soft. "But please hold me for a little bit longer first."
Robert now wrapped both arms around her, Cora did the same, her arms slide over his sides to his back. She pressed herself against his chest as if she tried to disappear in him. Robert cradled her head and made sussing sound while he hold her as close as possible. This process would be a hard road for her, he already knew. Mr. Bricker would get good lawyers and he would fight this as long as he could. He felt frustrated, this should be the time they were preparing the wedding. Six more months, and Cora would be his wife. He would do everything he could to round up this whole process as quick as possible. He did not mind that it would cost them a fortune, Cora was worth it, more than worth it.
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adoracora-elizabeth · 13 days
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elizabeth mcgovern attends the uk premiere of “the white countess” (march 2006) | 📸: yui mom & dave benett
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