And with light tread he bore his son away. Maud looked after him with a touch of wistfulness, but she did not move, and in a few minutes he came back to her, knelt beside her, and gathered her strongly into his arms.
"My girl!" he said softly. "My own girl!"
She clasped him round the neck, laying her head against him without words.
"Tired?" he said.
"No—no—not really! Too happy to complain anyway." She spoke in a whisper as if unwilling to break her silence.
"You want more help," he said.
She lifted her face and kissed his neck. "No, Jake dear. I don't want the children taken out of my hands entirely. Whatever should I do without them?"
"Look after me for a change," suggested Jake.
She laughed a muffled laugh with her lips raised to his. "Do I neglect you, Jake?"
"No," he said. "You're the best wife a man ever had. I believe I'm first with you—even now."