'He might have been killed,' she said; and she caught the baby from me and kissed him over and over again. Then she turned to Master Francis, and I could see that she was doing her best to keep in her anger.
'Francis, how dared you, after what I said the other day so very strongly about your never carrying the baby? Your own sense might have told you you are not able to carry him, but besides that, what I said makes it distinct disobedience. Nurse, did you know of it?'
'It was I myself gave Master Bevil to Master Francis to hold,' I said, flurried like at my lady's displeasure. 'I hadn't meant him to walk about with him.'
'Of course not,' said my lady. 'There now, you see, Francis, double disobedience! I must speak to your uncle. Take back baby, nurse, he must have some pomade divine on his nose when he gets in;' and before any of us had time to speak again she had turned and hurried back to the house. My lady had always a quick way with her, pleased or displeased.
'She's gone to tell papa,' said the young ladies, looking very distressed.
Master Francis was quite white and shaking like.
'Nurse,' he said at last, when he had got voice enough to speak, 'I really don't know what auntie meant about something she said the other day.'
'O Franz! you can't have forgotten,' said Miss Bess, who often spoke sharply when she was really very sorry. 'Mamma did say most plainly that none of us were to carry baby about.'
But the boy still looked quite puzzled, and when we talked it over, we were all satisfied that he hadn't been in the room at the time.
'I must try to put it right with my lady,' I said, feeling that if any one had been to blame in the matter it was certainly me much more than Master Francis, for not having kept my eye better on Miss Baby in the wood.