A Million Dreams

The Girl With Blue Eyes

It took Robert hours to fall asleep that night. Whenever he would close his eyes, Cora's face would appear, her clear blue eyes staring playfully at him. Yet he still could not for the life of him figure out why he was so fascinated by her. Robert had met countless women during this season, but they were all blurred in his mind. Perhaps that was what interested him so much about Cora: she did not quite fit the mould. She did not treat him like a king and she did not go out of her way to flirt with him. Before he knew it, Robert resolved to see this Miss Levinson again. After many torturous hours, the tall grandfather clock in Grantham House struck seven and it seemed like a decent time to get out of bed. Robert rolled over and pulled on the burgundy rope hanging from the ceiling. Within an couple of minutes, his valet arrived and got him dresses for breakfast.
The meal was mostly a silent affair, as usual, with only a few feeble attempts at conversation by Robert's sister Rosamund. However, once she had left and Robert got up to back to his bedroom, his father held him back.
"Robert, would mind staying here for a minute? There is something I need to discuss with you." Richard Crawley was not a large man, nor was he a loud one, but people generally obeyed him, especially Robert.
"Of course Papa." Robert sat back down in his chair and listened patiently for his father's next words, completely unsure of what they were going to be. He had rarely seen him so serious.
"You are a grown man now, Robert, so I'm not going to pretend. If you are to take on the estate after I die, you are going to have to be in possession of the facts." Richard paused a moment to take a sip of his tea. "The truth is, the family is in trouble, financially I mean, and has been for quite some time. I didn't want to tell you this before, but since we are here for the Season, I thought this would be a good time."
"What does the Season have to do with it all?" Robert, of course, knew the answer, but he wanted his father to say it.
"You are 22 years old, son, it's about time you got settled." There was no emotion in his voice. He could just as well have been reading aloud a newspaper.
"So that's it then? Am I just supposed to find any rich girl? What about love and all that?" Robert felt rage sweep over him like wind, but he had to remain steady. It won't help his case to lose his temper.
"Not any. Just find a nice enough girl you wouldn't mind looking at for the next 40 years. You have to do your part."
Robert quickly nodded and left the dining room. Upon reaching his bedroom, he swung the door open and was about to fall into the bed when he saw Rosamund sitting in an armchair facing the window.
"I was wondering how long it would take you to storm out." Rosamund looked at her brother in a way that vaguely reminded him of Cora.
"I didn't storm out. You forget, not everyone can be as bold with Papa as you and get away with it." Their parent were not affectionate people, but it was clear to everyone that Rosamund was her father's girl.
"So, who is to be the lucky bride?"
"I haven't decided yet."
"You know, Lucy Johnstone was eyeing you all night at yesterday's ball."
"Lucy Johnstone is a stuck up bore and you know it."
"And what about that other girl?"
"What other girl?"
"The one you danced with at the very end, the one in the pale blue dress?"
"She was nice, but I hardly know anything about her. If I am going to marry someone, I want to know more about her than her name."
"Tell you what, we are invited to Lady Myers's ball on Wednesday. No doubt she will be there and I will find out what I can. Now, if you will excuse me, I have friends to meet up with." She gave Robert a quick peck on the cheek and left the room. His relationship with his sister was complicated, but he knew she would keep her word and do as she promised. And who knew, perhaps she was right and Cora would be the one. Of course he did not love her, but if he was ordered to marry someone, Robert would prefer to marry someone he liked spending time with, and he did not detest her company as much he did the other young women he met this Season. Perhaps everything would be alright.