as thou hast
never seen. Thou wilt be a very great lady, little nursling o' mine. Ay
me, but it is strange! These arms were the first to cradle thee; these
hands dressed thee in the first little clothes of thy babyhood. Such
_little_ clothes! Now they deck thee for thy bridal--and perhaps it may
not be so long before they have other little clothes to handle. See,
child of my heart, wouldst not be glad to have a tiny son of thine own,
to love and play with? Wouldst not like to feel a round little head
against thy heart, two so tiny hands opening the gates of all happiness
before thee? Wouldst not see two baby eyes lulled into sleep by thy
drowsy crooning? Say, sweet one, wouldst thou not like this?"

Varia raised her face slowly, starry eyes wide and very sweet with awe,
young lips parting in reverent wonder.

"Ay," she breathed, and flushed and trembled. "I should like that. A
little son, of all mine own! But I would not have it his son, O Nerissa!
I would he might be son of a man such as I have dreamed of; a man brave,
and rough, and tender--ay, all these! What should I care that he had no
gold--have I found it such a blessing? For he would have more than
gold--that which no man could give him, and no man take away. And his
son should be like him; and the son of such a man I could love, and be
proud that he was mine."

Nerissa smiled, a tender hand on Varia's head.

"Ay, I know, I know! Poor little one, we all have our dreams--even
thou--and we all must wake from them. If this son of thine should be as
the one who is to be his father, it will be very well. For the lord
Marius is an honorable man, and strong."

Varia made a gesture of fierce protest.

"Bah! If he looked at me with those eyes, black and haughty, if his
mouth was thin and his nose like an eagle's beak, and his hair stiff, so
that I could not run it through my fingers, I should hate him even as I
hate his father!"

Nerissa laughed.

"Sweet, my baby girl, it would be long or ever thou couldst see
haughtiness in the eyes of that baby of thine, or thin lips; and as for
the nose--! And I dare swear that when thou first dost look, thou wilt
not find any hair at all, much less what is stiff. Come, cheer thee, my
very dear! Believe that thy lord father knoweth what is best for thee.
Thou art his own; he would never do thee wrong."

"Now am I not so sure of that!" said Varia, and her voice changed and
was strange. "Oh, Nerissa, it is not that I would no