Page 29 of The Last Casterglass
“Go on, then,” Will said affectionately, giving Olivia a little push. “You know you want to.”
“Oh, I do.” Olivia’s arms were practically twitching as she hurried towards Althea and took the baby out of her arms, cuddling her close. “Oh, she’s divine,” she breathed. “Absolutely divine. And, Rose, you lucky thing, you have two!”
“That’s me,” Rose replied with a tired smile. “Lucky.”
“It must be utterly exhausting,” Violet said with some sympathy. “I must confess, when Walter and I were courting, one of the first questions I asked was whether twins ran in the family. I knew a girl at boarding school who ended up marrying a man with twins in the family and they had three sets.”
“But twins do run in the family, Mum,” Sam said with a laugh. “Hence, these two.”
“Yes,” Violet agreed rather darkly. “Your father neglected to tell me about his cousins.”
“It seemed like such a far-off chance, my dear,” Walter replied gallantly, “and I was so determined to marry you.”
Olivia was pressing her nose against the baby’s downy head. “Why do babies smell so scrumptious?” she asked dreamily. “And why do I feel like I could actuallyeatthem?”
“Gerbils sometimes eat their young,” Violet mused. “Only the runts, though, apparently to make sure the rest of the litter survives.”
“Mum.” Olivia let out a horrified laugh. “I didn’t mean literally.”
“Oh.” Violet blinked. “Well, of course not, darling, but I do think it’s rather interesting, don’t you?”
“Who else wants a cuddle?” Althea asked. “Before Olivia kidnaps Bea?”
“Actually, that’s Michaela,” Sam told her. “I think.”
“Sam—” Rose sounded horrified.
“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. I know my girls apart.” He caught Seph’s eye and mouthed, ‘Not really.’
Seph choked on a laugh, and it was enough to attract Althea’s attention.
“Seph! You haven’t had a chance.”
“Oh, I don’t think—”
“Oh, go on, Seph,” Oliver chimed in innocently. “I’m sure you want to. Weren’t you telling me how much you wanted a cuddle?”
Seph threw him a disbelieving look before she saw the devilish glint in his eyes. “Oh, but I thought you were telling me the same thing,” she returned oh so sweetly. “Weren’t you? Good things there are two babies, then.”
The look of naked terror on Oliver’s face made her choke back another laugh—before Olivia plopped a very tiny baby in her arms.
“Here you go,” she said cheerfully.
“Oh but wait.” Panicked, Seph cradled the infant close to her chest. She weighednothing. And her head was really rather dangerously floppy. Was that normal?
“Support her head,” Rose instructed. “With the palm of your hand.”
“But don’t poke her in the skull,” Violet contributed helpfully. “There’s a soft spot, after all. Quite soft, as I discovered when Althea was born.”
“I’m not going topokeher,” Seph cried, appalled, while her family looked on, all of them grinning. They wereenjoyingthis.
“And here you go, Oliver,” Althea said cheerfully, and his face briefly resembled Munch’sThe Screamas she handed him baby number two.
“Oh, uh, wow. How cute. How…small.” Like Seph, he brought the baby to his chest, one large hand under her head, the other spanning her body. “Is this right?” He sounded terrified.
“You’re doing it perfectly,” Rose assured him. “Naturals, the pair of you.”
Which had them glancing at each other and grinning rather foolishly, before they both looked quickly away.