Mrs. Wyndham turned away at once.
When the nurse entered her mistress' room with the child, there was a soft nest made in the big bed to receive him, and the fire in the grate cast a cheerful glow over everything.
"Let me kiss him," said the mother. "My darling, my beloved. I'll take him into my arms presently, nurse, and then all fears will fly away."
"Fears, Mrs. Wyndham? No one ought to fear in this cheerful room."
"Perhaps not, nurse; but sometimes I am superstitious—painfully so. Yes, put baby there. Is he not a handsome boy? Although I could wish he were more like his father."
"He seems to feature your sister-in-law, Miss Lilias Wyndham, madam."
"How queer that you should find that out! He is not like what Lilias is now, but they all say she was just such another little child. Nurse, I hate high winds—there is going to be a storm to-night."
"Would you like me to sleep on the sofa in your room, madam?"
"Yes, no—yes, oh, yes."
"I will bring a shawl, and wrap it round me and lie down."