"I see," Ellory replied. It was a pity, she would have liked to know if she was having a boy or a girl. She was an impatient person by nature.

"Oh, this feels quite surreal, Mrs. Longbottom." Ellory then said. "Is it normal to not feel like a mother before you give birth?" She had been the baby of the family until deep into her teens. It was hard to imagine herself as a mother.