Page 72 of Dubious about the Duke (Second Sons of London 5)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Win had goneto the drawing room early, trying to burn off the nervous energy rippling through him. It surprised him when his nephews dashed through the door, skidding, and coming to a halt. They walked toward him at a regular pace, Charlie fidgeting a bit.

When they stopped in front of him, he said, “Let me inspect you.”

He eyed them, looking up and down, and then turning his finger so they would move in a circle.

“You are more than presentable. You look quite nice in your new outfits.”

“I still like wearing your clothes,” Charlie muttered.

“Sera said we can keep wearing them. Just when we go outside to ride or fish or walk around,” Freddie reminded his brother. “We rode our ponies today.”

“Tell me about your lesson.”

Win sat and indicated for the boys to do the same. They scooted onto a settee and both jabbered away. He loved hearing their enthusiasm and was happy they had enjoyed the riding lessons.

“When we can leave the paddock, Harrison said you can ride with us,” Freddie told him. “If you want to,” he added, looking a bit unsure of himself.

“I would like that very much. We will have to make sure Sera goes with us, too. She told me she is a good rider.”

“Sera is so nice and pretty,” Charlie said dreamily.

He chuckled. Though he longed to tell these boys of the future he had planned with Sera, he could not trust them to keep it to themselves. Not wanting to ruin the surprise of tonight’s proposal, he decided to say nothing.

The door to the drawing room opened and Farmwell announced, “Lord and Lady Kingston, Your Grace. And Miss Nicholls.”

Win stood and motioned to his nephews, who scrambled to their feet and took pains to stand tall.

Percy and Minta entered the room, followed by a bedraggled Sera. She wasn’t wearing the same gown as this morning and he supposed it was covered in everything from flour from their baking to dust from their walk about the estate, which he had seen from his window. This one was clean, he supposed, but it was awfully wrinkled. Then he recognized it as the gown she had on when he had gone to tea at Kingwood. Win realized she must have washed it herself and had no way of pressing it. Guilt flooded him as he thought of her staying in the cramped room meant for the boys’ governess. He would never have her do anything like this again. When tea came, he would tell Farmwell to have their best guest bedchamber made up for her. No more of this pretending she was a servant.

He smiled, greeting his cousin and wife, and then said, “Lord and Lady Kingston, may I introduce you to Frederick and Charles Sawyer?”

Sera had told him she had practiced introductions with the two and they gave a bow and offered their hands to Percy, one at a time.

“You may call me Freddie, my lord.”

“And everyone calls me Charlie,” his brother echoed.

The boys turned and bowed again to Minta, who smiled at them. “My, it is very nice to meet you.”

“You’re Sera’s sister,” Charlie said. “She said you had copper hair. I like it. But I like Sera’s better.”

Minta bit back a smile, glancing to her twin, and then returned her attention to the boys. “How are you finding Woodbridge? Do you like it?”

“We didn’t like it at all at first,” Charlie said blithely. “We went to live with the Birdwells. They were mean to us.”

“And then Uncle Win brought us here and we had two governesses,” Freddie added. “We didn’t even know he was Uncle Win. They left.”

“Because you helped them to decide to leave?” Percy asked, a ghost of a smile playing about his lips.

The two boys burst out laughing and Freddie admitted, “Yes. We weren’t very nice to them. But we love Sera.”

Charlie went and put his arm around her. “Sera is very nice. She’s teaching us to read and do sums.”

Win watched Sera pinken at the words.

“We also did maths today and baked a cake!” Freddie proclaimed. “You can try it. It’s good. We already ate a slice. We also made scones. I wanted raisins in them because Mum liked raisins in hers.”

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