The Duke and Duchess and their new son

The Duke and Duchess of Nothelm felt their life had truly changed since they came to Lothere. Only a few months after they arrived, just before the turning of the year, the Duchess bore a son whom they named Dunstan. The first baby born in Lothere in over one hundred years!

The wise woman told the Duke that the little lord was as big and as strong as a two-​month-​old, and although the Duke was suitably proud, he was also worried that the birth had taken too much out of his wife. Her skin was whiter than ever, and she tired more easily. Even a year later she did not quite seem to have recovered. She was eager for more children, especially a little daughter, but Alred told her she should simply enjoy her son for now.

Lord Dunstan at one year

Meanwhile, Lord Dunstan grew bigger and stronger every day. By the following winter he had been crawling everywhere for months and was already beginning to pull himself onto his feet and shuffle around the edges of the furniture. Matilda was most pleased that he knew how to say “Mama” now—but the Duke was more amused that whenever little Dunstan saw the King, his godfather, he would shout “Beebee!”