"Oh, everything is fine with the baby," Demelza assures him, taking a sip of her water. "Tis just... tis strange. Where I'm from, the surgeons barely even see us when we deliver the baby. Doctor Choake, the one who was supposed to deliver Julia, he was angry at being interrupted during his breakfast and asked to come out in a storm. Julia was delivered by one of our neighbours and our kitchen maid."

And Prudie had dropped her right on the floor, bruising her poor little face, but she had recovered from it quite well with no lasting ill effects.

"And that's usual, especially with the poor folk," she says. "They can't even see surgeons most of the time, they can't afford the cost. And now tis all free and scheduled every few weeks."