"He has that from his mother," said Max.
With unruffled serenity the young wife stooped and took the child in her arms. He was a strong, vigorous boy, but no very great weight. His mother, however, seemed to find him too heavy for her, for she had to stop at the door to take breath, casting a rather reproachful glance behind her, as she did so. In a second Max was at her side.
"How often have I told you not to over-exert yourself in this manner?" said he, in the old dictatorial tone. "Give me the child. I will take him upstairs."
So saying, he relieved her of the boy, and actually carried him up to the first floor, which was reserved for the young couple's use. Agnes mildly bent her head and followed, submitting, as was her wont, to her husband's will in all things.
George looked after them, a faint, derisive smile hovering about his lips.
"Take warning by my son, and draw out no programme with reference to your future marriage," said the elder Brunnow. "A woman upsets all your plans and all your reckoning with a breath."
The words were intended playfully, but the speaker's eyes were fixed with an earnest scrutiny on the young man he addressed.
George shook his head.
"My future marriage?" he repeated. "I shall never marry. You know my resolve full well."
"Yes, but I have always combated it. At your age, one cannot bid a final adieu to happiness, and you especially are not made to stand alone. Ambition will never fill your life. You need family, domestic ties."