“Perhaps they went to Gunter’s for ice cream,” Raven quipped, then turned to his brother. “Wouldn’t it be a treat to have sweets for breakfast?”
“Are you two complaining about my cooking?” McClellan appeared from the depths of the pantry and tapped a cooking spoon to her meaty palm.
Hawk fixed Raven with a look of wide-eyed warning. “No, no. He was just jesting, ha, ha, ha.”
McClellan raised her brows.
“Ha, ha, ha,” added Raven.
“Hmmph. It’s a good thing you Weasels know on which side your bread is buttered.” The maid moved to the oven and pulled a pan of pastries from the oven. A yeasty fragrance, perfumed with the scent of cinnamon and melted sugar, filled the air. “As well as your muffins.”
“Oh, that smells ambrosial,” murmured Charlotte.
McClellan plucked a half dozen of the hot pastries from the pan and arranged them on a serving plate. “Help yourself, m’lady,” she said, placing them in the center of the worktable and giving Charlotte a mischievous wink. “There should be plenty for us, seeing as some people seem to prefer frozen treats at this hour in the morning.”
“It wasn’tme,” said Hawk with a grin. “It was my manners that went astray.”
“Assuming you—and your brother—ask in a gentlemanly fashion,” drawled McClellan, “I daresay, there are enough for all of us.”
Once the chuckles had subsided, Charlotte broke off a bite of her pastry and let the spiced sweetness melt on her tongue. A pleasant warmth spread through her limbs. She hadn’t felt this relaxed in days.
Seeing Raven pick up his pencil after gobbling down his muffin, she asked, “What are you working on?”
“A mathematical problem in one of the books that Lady Cordelia lent to me.” He frowned. “But it’s proving damn—er, deucedly difficult.”
Raven had a special talent for numbers. If he was puzzled, it must be a diabolically complex one. “I’m sure she would be happy to help you work it out.”
His expression turned a little mulish. “I haven’t given up yet.”
Charlotte repressed a smile. Like herself, he had a stubborn streak, and was loath to ask for assistance. “I, too, need to return to my work.” She finished the last of her pastry and rose. “I have a drawing to finish for Mr. Fores.”
Hawk carefully swallowed before asking,” Do you need for us to deliver it?”
“I should be very grateful if you would. It should be done within the hour,” she replied.
Adding the colored washes turned out to be a quicker task than expected. She had already decided what hues would be best, and after mixing the paints on her palette, the final touches were soon done. After rolling up the finished work, Charlotte returned to the kitchen.
Raven hadn’t budged from his stool.
“There’s no need to accompany Hawk if you don’t wish to interrupt your work,” she said, looking around for his brother.
He made a face and slapped down his pencil. “No, I’ll go with him.” A sigh seemed to concede that the equation had defeated him. “And perhaps after that, I will pay a visit to Lady Cordelia’s office.”
The docklands.Charlotte hesitated, but quickly quelled the frisson of alarm, determined to heed Wrexford’s assurance that the American naval captain posed no threat to any of them. “I’m sure she’ll be delighted to see you.”
Another sigh as Raven snapped his notebook shut. “The answer is likely obvious. I just can’t see it.”
She couldn’t help but smile.A truism if ever there was one.“Where’s your brother?”
“In the garden.” Raven gave a shrill whistle to summon him. “Dissecting a cornflower and drawing the details with the aid of a magnifying glass.”
“Don’t make light of his interests,” she counseled. “Passions give us purpose. He sees things we don’t, and that’s a special gift.”
Raven allowed a small smile. “He’s good at it, isn’t he?”
“Very,” she answered.
The back door opened and slammed shut, followed by thesquishof steps. Charlotte winced at the sight of Hawk’s muddy boots and stained fingers. “Wash your hands, please.”
