““Jennifer," he said, his voice sharp with dawning alarm, "where are you going?" A moment later, Aunt Elinor looked down from the gallery above and cheerfully replied, "She is going to have your baby, your grace." The serfs in the hall turned to exchange smiling glances, and one of them dashed off to spread the news to the scullions in the kitchen. "Do not," Aunt Elinor warned in direst tones when Royce started up the stairs, "come up here. I am not inexperienced in these matters, and you will only be in the way. And do not worry," she added breezily, noting Royce's draining color. "The fact that Jenny's mother died in childbirth is nothing to be concerned about." Royce's tankard crashed to the stone floor.””
