“Mr. Freeman wouldn’t have it any other way,” the innkeeper’s wife said as the boys quickly took seats.
“Then we’ll have an assortment of your best savory puffs, some cabbage pie, a dish of sliced ham and cheese with mustard, some roast potatoes, and—”
“Apple cake!” Zack put in.
“I was going to say, a dish of roast partridges, lad.” That last had been his favorite food as a boy. “But yes, do bring apple cake as well, Mrs. Freeman.” He turned to Giselle. “Will that suit you and your mother, or do I need to add some other items?”
“A salad of some sort would be nice,” Giselle said. “And some coffee, if there is any to be had.”
“Of course. Salad and coffee, Mrs. Freeman. Ale for me and tea for the boys, if you please.”
“I’m glad we’re having partridges,” Kit said as Mrs. Freeman hurried off to the kitchen. “Mother never let us get them because they were so dear.”
“Actually,” Evan said, “that wasn’t the real reason. She said they reminded her of you, Heath. She said it was too painful to know that you and Father were somewhere she could never see you, possibly for years.”
A lump settled in Heathbrook’s throat. “It was painful for us, too, lad, especially me. Why do you think I’ve fought so hard to gain you three? Yates wouldn’t let me see you.”
“That is very curious, too,” Giselle said, taking her time about placing a napkin in her lap. “Do any of you know why he was so determined to keep Heath away?”
“Not really,” Evan said. “He never talked about it. He just said we were in London to settle the matter of his guardianship.”
“Which made no sense,” Kit said, “since Cousin Yates was already obviously our guardian.”
“He didn’t mention me at all?” Heathbrook said. “He didn’t say I was going to court to try to gain you?”
All three shook their heads no.
“He didn’t talk about you ever,” Zack said. “And I asked. A lot.” When their gazes all went to him, he said, “What? I never knew my oldest brother. I was curious.”
“Well, you were asking the wrong person,” Heathbrook said. “I can count on one hand the number of times I saw Mother’s cousin.”
“What was he like, your Mr. Yates?” Giselle asked. “Was he kind? Patient? Affectionate?”
The three boys burst into laughter.
“Hardly any of that,” Kit said. “He wasn’t mean or anything. He was just stern.”
“Like a schoolmaster,” Evan said.
“He made sure we did our lessons every day,” Zack said, “and he insisted on having us bathe every night.”
“‘No stinky boys onmywatch,’ he used to say.” Kit shook his head. “Mother never didthat,to be sure.”
“Father did,” Heathbrook said. “Which is odd, since they weren’t related. But then, Father was concerned about discipline, cleanliness, and a rigid moral code.”
“That is Mr. Yates to a T,” Evan said. “We went to church every week, and even Father was a bit lax on that score.”
“True,” Heathbrook said. Perhaps Father had chosen Yates as guardian because the two men mostly had the same goals. “But Father was quite concerned about character-building. Everything I hated was ‘character-building.’”
“Like reading dry tomes about the history of the Romans,” Kit said.
“And brushing our teethtwicea day,” Zack said. “Cousin Yates had the nastiest tooth powder, too.”
“It had soap in it,” Kit said. “Ugh. Although the peppermint oil did help.”
Heathbrook shook his head. “Sounds unsavory.”
“He was caring for your daily needs at least,” Giselle said primly.