"Did he cry then! sweetest! What do you think of him, Mr. Gartney?"
"There can be but one opinion," replied that gentleman solemnly, "he's a very beautiful child, and you may well be proud of him, Lady Errington."
"Did you ever see a finer child?" demanded Alizon, insatiable for praise.
"No, never," answered Eustace, which was true enough, as he hated babies and never looked at them unless forced to. "Hi, baby, chuck! chuck!"
"Goo! goo! goo!" gurgled Master Errington, and stretched out his chubby arms to Gartney, intimating thereby a desire to improve his acquaintance with that gentleman.
"Oh, he's quite taken to you," said Lady Errington gaily. "Just feel what a weight he is."
So Eustace was forced to take the child in his arms, and looked as awkward as a man usually does when burdened with a baby. Ultimately Sammy was returned to his mother's arms, and she took him down the stairs, while the footman and Mrs. Tasker between them carried down the light wickerwork perambulator.
"Wheel him up and down the terrace for a time, Nurse," said Alizon, when the child was once more replaced in his little carriage. "I'll be out soon."
They were standing at the door, and Lady Errington waited there until Mrs. Tasker vanished with the baby round the corner on to the wide terrace, when she turned to Eustace with a sigh.
"Does that mean that you are anxious to get to the baby?" asked Eustace, raising his eyebrows, as they walked back to the Dutch room.