Tempting Miss Allender (Regency Rakes 3) by Wendy Vella

wanting to change the subject.
    “Patience and Lucy.” Charlie was watching him closely.
    “You move well. I thought you must have a fencing master.”
    “Patience and Lucy teach me most things, but I have a tutor for my studies.”
    “Do they? How lucky you are to have two such attentive sisters. What school do you attend?”
    “Charlie has not started school yet,” Lucy said quickly. Noting the looks that were passing between brother and sister, Mathew knew to delve further would only upset them.
    “Paul and Lenny taught me to box,” Charlie said. “I’m quite good, isn’t that right?” He looked at his two footmen for confirmation, and Mathew had the feeling that this boy had learned to box and fence to defend himself, unlike other boys his age who learned because it was fun as well as expected of them.
    “You are, my lord,” one of them said. Paul, Mathew guessed, as he had been the one in the cowkeeper’s shop this morning.
    “ En garde , Lord Allender,” Mathew said when he was ready, and then set about teaching the young boy a few of the techniques that were missing from his fencing repertoire.
    Lucy called encouragement, and Mathew was enjoying himself when Patience returned to the room and put a halt to the match.
    “I think that is enough for the day, Charlie.”
    The boy looked defiant at his sister’s words. “I don’t wish to stop yet, Patience. Must you always spoil my fun?”
    “I am not trying to spoil your fun, Brother, but you are due to start your lessons shortly, and if you wish to take tea beforehand, then you need to stop now.”
    Mathew took the cloth one of the footmen handed him and wiped his sweaty face as he watched the interplay. Patience was calm, Charlie less so. The boy glared at his sister, and she simply gave him a steady look back.
    “I hate learning French,” he snapped.
    “You hated mathematics, also, but eventually your slow brain collected enough knowledge to be proficient at it.”
    “My brain is not slow!” Charlie stated loudly. “I’m smarter than you.”
    Patience then rattled off a sentence in French.
    “You just insulted me, didn’t you?” Charlie sighed as Lucy and Mathew tried not to laugh, because Patience had done exactly that. No longer angry, the boy simply looked disgusted.
    “Of course I did,” she said, coming forward to take his foil and hand it to a footman. “But as I love you, I asked Cook this morning to make queen cakes, so you need to hurry and clean up before I eat them all.”
    “When I am in charge of this household, I shall be the one telling you what to do,” he muttered.
    “I shall look forward to handing all responsibility to you, Brother. Then I shall laze about all day, throw my belongings on the floor, and slide down all your banisters.”
    Mathew knew what it took to run a household, estates and everything else connected with his title, and he had a mother to look after some of it. From what he could ascertain, Patience had no one but Lucy and her young brother, and he understood the burden she carried.
    “Will you take tea with us, Mathew?” Charlie asked him before leaving the room.
    “Lord Belmont may have somewhere to be, Charlie,” Patience quickly said.
    “I don’t, and would be glad to share your queen cakes, Lord Allender. Thank you also for the exercise. I hope to repeat the experience sometime soon.” He then bowed to Charlie, who returned the gesture before leaving the room with the two footmen on his heels.
    “Excellent,” Lucy said, hopping nimbly from the chair. “I shall make haste to the parlor to have the first cup from the pot, as it’s always the best.” Mathew was left in no doubt why Lucy wanted to leave him and Patience alone together. Like he, she had seen the storm clouds brewing in the elder Allender sister’s eyes.
    Patience was now wearing a plain lemon dress without adornments like ribbons, lace, or jewelry, and her hair was bundled up into a simple bun at the back of her head.