“Henry, no cheating!” Octavia called across the garden. “I can see you.”
“I wasn’t!” Henry shouted back, even as he took a hurried step away from Aaron.
“You know this, Henry…” She started down the pathway toward him. “And do not say differently.”
“I don’t mind,” Aaron said with a sense of pride. “It’s easy.” He put his hands on his hips and pronounced his chin.
“Is that right?” Octavia chuckled.
“You said it would be hard, but it’s not.” He shrugged. “At least for me it isn’t.”
As the boy looked proudly upon Octavia, waiting for her to praise him, Henry crept behind so that Aaron could not see what he was doing. Then, sure that he was out of sight, he stuck out his tongue.
“Henry!” Octavia gasped.
“What?” Aaron turned around, saw Henry sticking out his tongue, and burst into laughter. “Caught you! Caught you!”
“You didn’t!”
“I’m going to get you!” A most wicked look flashed behind Aaron’s eyes, and before Octavia could even try to stop him, he took off after Henry.
Henry was older than Aaron by a year, but he was the same height and far skinnier. To look at them both, one might think they were the same age, or that Aaron was the eldest. He certainly acted with more confidence and bravado.
For this reason, when Aaron gave chase, Henry turned and fled. But he laughed as he did so, giggled freely as he leaped over hedges and ducked around trees. Aaron giggled along, trying his best to cut Henry off so that he might tackle him into the dirt.
“Quit running!” Aaron called as Henry sprinted away. “Get back.”
“Too slow!” Henry cheered, looking over his shoulder, a smile on his face that warmed Octavia’s heart to see.
I had worried how the two boys might get along. Aaron, the son of a duke, and Henry, the son of… well, nobody nearly so important. There was every chance that they might hate one another.
I see now that my fears were misplaced. What both boys were missing was a friend, and now that they have found that in each other, it is like they have been close their entire lives.
“Enough of that,” Octavia called to them both. “Come now, we’re not done with our lesson.”
She did not shout too loudly, nor did she pitch her voice in a way that suggested she was upset with them. Yes, they were technically in the middle of a lesson, and yes, they should have been behaving, but she saw no need to try to force such things upon them.
Discipline did not come through scare tactics and threats, but respect.
Besides… today’s lesson was supposed to be fun.
Aaron was still a ball of energy, and he still struggled to pay attention and sit down for more than a few seconds. What was more, he was still just a little wary of Octavia’s rule, and he liked to test what he could get away with. With that in mind,Octavia had conceived today’s lesson as a means to counter these troublesome qualities.
It was a scavenger hunt that Octavia had constructed. It had taken her all last night to plan it, and most of this morning to arrange it, but she was more than pleased with the results, just as she was thrilled to see how the two boys enjoyed the effort… or she liked to believe that they did, anyway.
Octavia had written dozens of little clues and placed them around the back garden; each clue led to the next, six in total. Henry’s clues were written in Latin while Aaron’s were written in Greek, and she had pitted them against one another with a promise of a prize for the boy who won.
Aaron was doing even better than she expected. While Miss Spencer had assured her that he knew his Greek lettering, Octavia was not so certain if he would care to try or prove as much. A misplaced worry, she now saw.
Henry was still learning Latin; he struggled with each clue, but when he sought Aaron’s help, and when it was given freely…I was right to insist that they learn together like this. It is so good for both of them.
“Look out!” Henry cried as he charged down the path toward Octavia. “Octavia, out of the way!” He waved for her to move.
Octavia flashed her eyes and spread her legs, blocking the path. “Oh, no, you don’t.”
Henry laughed hysterically as he tried to duck around Octavia’s spread arms, but she was too quick, and she wrapped her arms around his body and pulled him into a tight hug.
“Caught you!” she laughed.