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It's only as she walks into Tintern that she considers perhaps she shouldn't be here with her infant child.

No one has told her specifically not to come back to work and no one has said a word about whether or not she might bring Jeremy with her, but now that she's walked through the doors with her son strapped carefully to her chest in his soft carrier, she realizes there is a specific age one must be in order to drink at Tintern. And it isn't as if she plans on drinking or has any intention of giving anything to her child, but she is very aware that Jeremy is a good, long way from being eighteen.

Still, just the atmosphere does wonders to improve her mood. Demelza misses being at work. After Julia was born, she'd had barely a day before she returned to the chores and not because Ross had rushed her, but because she knew if she didn't return to them. Jud and Prudie would let the house fall to shambles. More than that, Demelza likes being busy. She likes being useful and although Tintern is still paying a fraction of what she was making before as part of maternity leave, she doesn't particularly feel comfortable with it, taking their money without doing any of the work.

So while she's technically just here to visit, she's also here to ask about returning to work. Perhaps not full time, but if she can come back even two or three times a week, she thinks she'll be much happier. And perhaps they'll be more inclined to let her if she offers to allow them to hold an adorable baby in return.

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"Oh, wow," Marius says, blinking as he tries to take it all in. There is so much to being a parent, he thinks, watching Demelza with her little one. His heart aches a bit at the sight; deep down, he's dreamed of children of his own for some time. Partly to make a difference in the life in a young one that needs him. But also to right his own wrongs of letting down his own father.

He waits for Demelza to remove his jacket before reaching out for Jeremy carefully, part of him wondering if the child will break with one mere touch.

"He's so lovely," Marius tells her again, completely in awe of both the child and the mother who produced him.

"I know tis only that I'm biased, but I do think he's quite lovely as well," she agrees with a laugh, watching as Marius takes Jeremy. Demelza has noticed many mothers are exceptionally nervous when it comes to others handling their babies, but she doesn't possess those same nerves. After Prudie had dropped Julia mere moments after her birth, any nerves had dissipated entirely.

"He can't focus on very much," she says with a smile. "His eyes may cross as he tries to see you."

Marius concentrates to make sure that he holds Jeremy with the utmost care. The last thing in the world he wants is to drop him or cause him harm, least of all in front of his mother, one of Marius' dear friends. He takes care to hold Jeremy as though he were his own child.

"I don't see how anyone could not see how lovely he is," Marius says, speaking in a hushed, reverent tone, almost a whisper. He glances up at Demelza and smiles, bright.

"That's okay," he says, staring back at little Jeremy. He moves one hand to give the young child a little wave.

"I think all parents consider their children above and beyond all the rest," she says with a laugh as Jeremy's hand lifts and waves as well. She isn't sure if he's trying to mimic Marius or if perhaps he's simply trying to catch the shape waving in front of him, but she feels a great sense of pride at the gesture. It means her child is developing well, that he's branching out to touch things, to feel things he's perhaps never felt before.

"Though I'm glad to find there are those who agree with me that he's rather special," she says sweetly.

Marius' heart swells and his eyes brighten at the sight of Jeremy lifting his own hand in turn, waving back at him. This is the best thing Marius has seen all day today, easily. There's something so charming and wonderful about the gesture; Marius senses that this little man will enchant the world as easily as his mother.

"I don't think I've ever spent a break in such a lovely way before," he observes, still speaking softly, as if speaking at a normal volume might hurt the baby.

"He's going to be a real charmer, this one," Marius predicts with another smile, which he aims directly at Demelza.

“Oh, I truly hope not,” she says with a laugh, because she’s teasing just a little. “His father is something of a charmer, though it do seem only with the ladies, and I have seen enough of that to last me a good long while without seeing it from my son, too. I should think I’d much rather he be smart like his father and crafty like I am.”

And sweet. She wants Jeremy to be sweet. Marius is terribly sweet and she thinks he’s much more charming for the fact that he doesn’t know he is and isn’t trying at all. She wonders if Marius has any idea at all how good and kind he is, if he knows the sort of confidence he instills in those around him. She rather suspects he doesn’t. Most kind people don’t really know the depth of their goodness.

Marius' grin brightens at Demelza's laughter; he lets out a small laugh of his own, tilting his head back, just a little. "Well, then," he says, shifting his gaze between his friend and her son. "I hope he inherits the best traits of you both."

He glances down at Jeremy again, waves his hand again, wriggling his fingers in a way he hopes the child finds amusing.

"If he inherits your craftiness, I know he'll go far in life," he tells her.

"Or perhaps he'll only be a trouble maker, serving to teach me a lesson for my own meddling," she says, but she's cheerful enough about it. Perhaps she shouldn't be, but Demelza prefers not to think on it too hard or for too long, because she knows there are a fair few men whose lives she had potentially ruined simply because she'd wanted Verity to be happy.

Being in Darrow means she doesn't need to think about it, which she knows is cowardly, but the truth is that she can't help herself. It's easier this way.

"Well, I've heard somewhere that troublemakers have some of the biggest hearts around," Marius responds, trying to reassure Demelza, even as she speaks with a cheerful tone. "And I think, either way, this little fellow is going to make an impression on the world, just like his parents."

He continues waving and cooing at Jeremy, speaking to him a little bit in French.