With luncheon concluded, the extended family had retired to the large parlour of his London home for what was, ostensibly, the main event of the afternoon: meeting the latest addition to the family. Lucius himself had not yet formed much of an opinion on the baby, though was plainly pleased he bore the telltale appendage of a male. As to a relationship with the babe, well, that would for now be left to Belphoebe or the nurse, and Lucius himself could revisit the matter in a few years.

“Yes, he is quite healthy,” he agreed amiably, not even affording a glance to the bassinet that had been procured for the room in preparation, and that now held his youngest child. The nurse sat in the corner looked absolutely terrified to be there, but it was of little consequence to him. “We are very pleased indeed.

It was with incredible reluctance that Mariana rose from her seat - which was a good distance from the heart of the gathering - and crossed the room to peer down at an infant who bore even less interest to her than the many male infants she herself had brought into the world. Mariana was still struggling to adjust to life without Olivia and, to a lesser extent, Eustace and her humor for newborns was at rock bottom.

"He looks more like Uncle Horace," she concluded flatly. It was more complimentary to liken the child to their mother as Katherina had but Mariana no longer cared whether her words offended, not that she had before but she had at least given more thought to what she said around family. Lucius' upbeat attitude was just another reason Mariana wished for the return of her sister instead of this new Olivia-less era in which everything seemed so very wrong.