XII. Tender Songs for Somebody Else (K+)
I'm back with a prompt I gave to the world but now I've taken it on for myself. Robert and Cora run into Simon Bricker after the events of Series 5.

Simon wasn't entirely sure why he allowed himself to be talked into attending a stag party for a man he hardly knew, but there he was in the darkened grotto of a club, surrounded by rowdy, inebriated young men with whom he had very little in common.

He had to admit, however, that it was good to get out of his head for a while. He had been working too hard of late, burying himself in research and the writing of his book. It was almost complete, but he was dragging his feet. Somehow, finishing his tome on Della Francesca meant the end of something Simon wasn't entirely sure he was ready to let rest.

It was a rare occasion that he allowed himself the luxury of thinking on Cora Crawley. The memories of his time spent with her were often flooded with equal parts longing and shame. Not to mention the phantom pain to his cheekbone where the Earl of Downton whacked him soundly.

He'd deserved it, if not for encroaching on another man's wife then for putting dear Cora in such a position. What he'd taken as tacit approval of his advances had merely been her gentle and kind nature, and perhaps a whiff of longing to be appreciated. He realized belatedly that he would never be able to fulfill her desire. She sought the approval and adoration of one man, and that man was not Simon Bricker.

If only he'd had more time...but then again, he couldn't have done that to her. Could not have been responsible for making of her some kind of laughingstock in her world. His behavior would have been dismissed - men will be men and all that - but Cora would have been forced to give up the legacy she'd spent a lifetime building. It was only in hindsight that he realized what he had asked of her. Demanded, nearly taken really, and how lucky they both were that the Earl had showed up that night and stopped it.

Simon hoped - upon hope - that they had been able to reconcile after his departure. He couldn't help but hold in his heart some desire to see Cora happy, even if that happiness was not with him. It tore at him - had taken a piece every day - to know that he might have caused some damage unfixable in the marriage she held so dear.

Simon was so deep in his mental meanderings that, for a moment, he thought the vision of Cora Crawley seated at a table across from him was a product of his own intoxicated imaginings. But then the tinkling sound of her laughter reached his ears and he sat up straighter in his chair. This particular club wasn't known for hosting England's peerage and it caused a flare of alarm for Simon to see her in it, apparently unattended by her husband. She sat with her lovely blonde niece and a young man roughly the same age. The couple sat for mere seconds before getting up to dance, leaving Cora to watch after them fondly.

Simon was seized with indecision, wondering if he should approach her or if he should let it lie. But if she was alone and shunned and unhappy…

However, the smile on her face as she watched the young couple dance indicated otherwise. Simon knocked back the last of his scotch, the warmth blazing a trail of bravery down to his quivering stomach. He was about to stand and cross the small room when a man in a tuxedo appeared at Cora's elbow and held out his hand.

Foolish! Simon thought to himself, that such a woman would remain unescorted for very long. But even more foolish was the belated realization that the man pulling Cora into his arms for a dance was her husband.

In the relative anonymity of a dim club the Earl held his wife close - closer than any party or ball would have allowed - and it was clear to Simon the easy way she melted into her husband's embrace. They moved together well a rhythm born of practice, and Robert's hand spanned her waist gently, thumb brushing over the glittering gems of her dress.

Simon was transfixed - had he so mistaken the situation those long months ago? Granted, nearly half a year had passed since he last laid eyes on them but even so, he had not imagined the emotional distance between them, had he? Were they really so very reconciled that they gave off not even the merest hint that there had ever been trouble? Scenes from those days at Downton replayed themselves in Simon's mind as he struggled to decipher whether he had simply imagined Cora's interest. No, he decided. Perhaps she had not found Simon as irresistible as he'd hoped, but there was certainly no questioning the things he had witnessed between the Lord and Lady.

The song ended and the couple returned to their table, but Simon's thoughts were turned inward once more. The lads at his table had mostly taken leave to dance and Simon was nursing another scotch. He was about to leave - push away from the table and his maudlin meanderings and leave before he became so drunk he did something foolish - when a voice at his elbow stopped him.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" Robert Crawley stood relaxed by him, his eyes on his wife across the room.

"I…" Simon began, but had no idea what exactly to say. If he was even expected to answer.

"She is the best of me." Robert continued casually. "I forgot that for a time."

Simon found his voice, but not the eloquent words of apology he needed. "Yes."

"Have you ever been married, Mr. Bricker?"

Simon shook his head. "No."

"Then you don't know how a long marriage takes its turns. It's easy to get lost if you don't hold on to your partner." Robert coughed a little. "I was lost. We were lost."

"She deserved better." Simon said at last.

"Better than to be propositioned by an uninvited man in her bedroom while her husband was out of town."

Simon could feel the color drain from his face. "Yes."

"And better than a husband who ignored her feelings and her contributions. A conclusion I came to belatedly, I know."

"She seems happy," Simon blurted and Robert's response was a chuckle.

"I like to think I make her happy. She makes me happy."

"Then I am glad." Simon spoke honestly. "For the both of you."

"I believe you are, Mr. Bricker." Robert took a few steps away and then stopped as if reconsidering. "But should I find you near my wife again, I will destroy you."

With that he walked away, and Simon let out a long breath. As confrontations went, it wasn't all that bad. And whatever Robert Crawley sought to dish out, Simon knew he deserved and then some. They would never be friends but he knew that they were joined in the interest of protecting Cora. Simon watched as Robert returned to the table and sat beside his wife, his hand on the back of her chair.

She leaned sideways into him, her body drawn as though magnetically to his nearness. Her hand reached for the hand her husband laid on the table and their fingers twined.

The Earl made as if to lean in and kiss her cheek, but at the last moment she turned and their lips pressed together, her fingers brushing across his cheek and playing with his earlobe. Their low chuckle was lost in the music and bustle of the club.

Years later, when Simon would reminisce about the captivating woman who briefly stole his heart it is that kiss he would remember and, without any malice, he always wished them well.

I go back and forth between thinking Simon Bricker was just a playboy looking for some married woman action to thinking he really did have feelings for Cora. And...I think I'm going to go with the latter. I'm going to trust Cora and believe she wasn't taken in by a player, that she sought friendship with someone who was genuine...who simply wanted to go further than she was interested. I want to believe Bricker was a good guy - a good, misguided guy who made a fatal error by going to her bedroom. I also think he was a necessary guy because I'm not sure Donk would have pulled his head out of his hindquarters if he hadn't realized that there was a challenge for Cora on the horizon. He'd have kept on keeping on being a big Donk-Face until Cora was broken. AND THAT IS NOT OK, DONK. So we all owe Bricker a little bit of thanks, even if he was a big, besotted dummy.