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"Do ye want her, Sassenach?" he asked softly His face was a pale oval, blurred by the ave a srunt of amusement

"The child Who else?"

Who else, indeed

"Do I want her--to keep her, you mean?" I asked cautiously "Adopt her?" The notion hadn’t crossedsomewhere in my subconscious, for I was not startled at his question, and at the speaking, the idea sprang into full flower

My brsts had been tender since thetug of the little girl’s mouth in memory I could not feed the baby myself--but Brianna could, or Marsali Or she could live on cow’s oat’s milk

I realized suddenly that I had unconsciously cupped one breast, and was gentlyit I stopped at once, but Jamie had seen it; he ainst hiainst my cheek

"Do you want her?" I asked I wasn’t sure whether I was hopeful of his answer, or fearful of it The ansas a slight shrug

"It’s a big house, Sassenach," he said "Big enough"

"H declaration--and yet I kneas commitus in a Paris brothel, on the basis of three minutes’ acquaintance, as a hired pickpocket If he took this child, he would treat her as a daughter Love her? No one could guarantee love--not heand not I

He had picked up my dubious tone of voice

"I saith the wean, Sassenach, riding Ye’ve a great tenderness about ye always--but when I saw ye so, wi’ the bairn tu about beneath your cloak, it--I remembered, hoas, how ye looked, when ye carried Faith"

I caught hter like that, soWe spoke of her seldo in the past that sometimes it seemed unreal, and yet the wound of her loss had scarred both of us badly

Faith herself was not unreal at all, though

She was near me, whenever I touched a baby And this child, this nameless orphan, so small and frail, with skin so translucent that the blue threads of her veins showed clear beneath--yes, the echoes of Faith were strong Still, she wasn’t

Was she perhaps a gift to us? Or at least our responsibility?

"Do you think we ought to take her?" I asked cautiously "I ht happen to her if we don’t?"

Jaainst the wall of the house He wiped his nose, and tilted his head toward the faint rus

"She’d be well cared for, Sassenach She’s in the way of being an heiress, ken"

That aspect of the matter hadn’t occurred to me at all

"Are you sure?" I said dubiously "I iti itimate"

"But she can’t be No one realizes it yet except you and me, but her father--"

"Her father was Aaron Beardsley, so far as the law is concerned," he inforal child--and heir--of the husband--even if it’s known for a fact that the mother committed adultery And yon woman did say that Beardsley married her, no?"

It struck me that he was relish law It also struck --exactly why he was positive

Willialand kneith the exception of Lord John Grey--presually was the ninth Earl, according to what Jahth Earl had been his father or not The law really was an ass, I thought

"I see," I said slowly "So little Nameless will inherit all Beardsley’s property, even after they discover that he can’t have been her father That’sreassuring"

His eyes met mine for a " There ht have been a hint of bitterness in his voice, but if there was, it vanished without trace as he coughed and cleared his throat

"So ye see," he went on, lect An Orphan Court would give Beardsley’s property--goats and all"--he added, with a faint grin--"to whouardian, to be used for her welfare"