"You are to take care—the greatest care—of Mrs. Cox's baby for a short time once a week."
"Do you want me to?"
Candidly, Mr. Wycherly wanted nothing less. He detested schemes for the ultimate employment of Jane-Anne. To him, everything suggested seemed incongruous and infeasible, but he mistrusted his own judgment in practical matters and bowed before the youthful wisdom and general competence of Mrs. Methuen.
"I think," he said guardedly, "that every woman ought to know how to manage a baby."
"I wonder," she said dreamily, "if Lord Byron would approve of it?"
"As we have no means of finding out, let's take it that he will," he answered drily.
"I don't like the name Norland," she objected.
"It will be years before you are even ready to apply for admission to the Norland Institute," said Mr. Wycherly.
"If it's an institution, I'm not going," she said firmly.
"What you have got to do is to see how well you can look after Mrs. Cox's baby."