Page 58 of Dubious about the Duke (Second Sons of London 5)

When she returned to the schoolroom, she found both boys carefully lettering on their slates. Pride filled her.

“Shall we go downstairs?”

They took her hands and the three of them went to the drawing room. Win wasn’t there yet and so she walked about the room with the pair, showing them the art on the walls and telling them about it and the furniture. Win joined them and as the teacart was rolled in, the boys hurried to claim a spot near it.

“You turn everything into a teachable moment,” he commented.

“They have much to learn. Things we take for granted because of the way in which we were raised are unknown to them. I don’t want to preach to them. Instead, I want to incorporate as much as I can into our conversations. They are little sponges and will soak up knowledge, from academic topics to societal rules, often without even knowing they do so.”

“We should join them,” Win said and she moved toward the teacart.

After they sat, he asked, “Would you do the honor of pouring out, Sera?”

“I would be happy to, Your Grace.”

As he passed the cups of milk to the boys, Charlie asked, “What is your name, Your Grace? What did your mum called you?”

“It is Winston.”

Charlie’s nose curled up.

Win chuckled. “I know. I didn’t much like it myself. That is why I shortened it and always went by Win.”

“That’s better,” Freddie said. “Can I have some cake now?”

“Cake it is,” Sera said, slicing both boys a generous amount. As she handed the plates over, she reminded them, “You are to eat slowly. Chew each bite carefully. That way, you can savor the flavor and texture.”

“What’s savor?” Charlie asked before taking a bite.

“To thoroughly enjoy. Close your eyes as you chew,” she suggested and he did so. “Move your tongue around. Taste the sweetness of the icing. The moistness of the cake.”

The little boy swallowed. “Yum. That was even better than I thought.”

Freddie tried doing the same and agreed. “But I don’t want to eat with my eyes closed all the time.”

She laughed. “You don’t have to. Every now and then, though, slow down and really taste your food, especially if it is a sweet.”

“Do you like sweets, Sera?” Freddie asked.

“I adore sweets. I can bake quite a few. In fact, we should make that a lesson this week. We can bake and learn all about measurements.”

“That’s for girls,” Freddie said with disdain.

She glared at him. “Some of the best pastry chefs in the world are men. If both males and females eat, shouldn’t both be allowed to cook?”

He shrugged. “I guess so.”

“I think baking would be fun,” Charlie said. His eyes lit up. “Especially if we can eat what we bake.”

“We can have bites of some things,” she agreed. “Maybe we’ll bake items for tea tomorrow.” She paused. “Actually, we should wait and do so the day after. Visitors are coming to Woodbridge and they’ll want to meet you. Wouldn’t it be fun to serve them what we baked?”

The boys agreed and they spent the rest of teatime talking about what they might serve.

Charlie sat back and rubbed his belly. “I’m stuffed. But it was all good.”

“It was,” Win agreed. He looked to Sera. “What is next for the boys?”

“We’ll go back to the schoolroom and do some work with numbers. Then I will read to them for an hour. By then, they will eat a little something and then ready themselves for bed.”

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