"A' look now," chuckled old James. "They ought to put I in a show. 'Tis a state of life you can see in rams and bulls when you've a mind, but darn'ee, a real great-grandfather is summat to stare at even in London."
Edward was kneeling beside Elizabeth before the old man had finished his sentence. The doctor left them together.
"You haven't asked to look at baby," Elizabeth murmured reproachfully. She lifted the bedclothes for a moment, while Edward looked.
"Yours," he murmured.
"Ours," she corrected. "Ours, my dearest."
"But it was you that suffered everything!"
"But you were anxious about me, weren't you, my darling?" she tenderly asked.
"Elizabeth! Elizabeth!" he cried.
She knew how much he too had suffered, and because he did not speak of his emotions she was moved with an immense desire not to let her baby make her careless of her husband. She put out her hand to stroke his head.
"I thought about you all the time," she whispered. "When the pain was worst I kept saying, 'Edward! Edward!' Nothing else. Only that, my darling."