"Well, it's since you've been away that everything's happened. Although the
baby was born some weeks before you went, it's only lately that Clare has
been up and about. She's perfectly well and the baby's splendid--promises
to be a tremendous fellow and as healthy as possible. You can imagine, a
little, the effect of it all on Clare. I don't suppose there's any girl in
London been so wrapped in cotton wool all her life, and that old ass of
a father and still more irritating ass of a mother would go on wrapping
her still if they had their way. The fuss they've both made about this
whole business is simply incredible--especially when the man's a doctor
and brings Lord knows how many children into the world every week of
his life. But it's all been awfully bad for Clare. Of course, she was
frightened--frightened out of her wits. It's the very first time life
ever had its wrappings off for her, and that in itself of course is a
tremendously good thing. But you can't, unfortunately, wrap any one up for
all those years and then take the wrappings off and not deliver a shock to
the system. Of course there's a shock, and it's just this shock that I'm
so afraid of. I'm afraid of it for one thing because Peter's so entirely
oblivious of it. He was in an agony of terror on the day that the baby was
born, but once it was there--well and healthy and promising--fear vanished.
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