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The boys exchanged a chagrined look, and then slowly, reluctantly, they turned to face Isla.

“Miss Crawford,” Lord Bancroft said, “may I introduce Master Samuel Winslow and Master William Winslow. Sam and Will, this is your mother’s houseguest, Miss Isla Crawford.”

The boys bent at the waist in a bow. Isla bobbed a curtsy, thankful that no one seemed to notice or care how poorly she’d executed it. The children straightened and glanced at Lord Bancroft. He raised an expectant eyebrow.

“Good morning, Miss Crawford,” they chanted in unison.

“Good morning, boys,” Isla said. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

Lord Bancroft then gestured to the woman still standing beside the table. “Miss Crawford, this is Miss Tomlinson, the boys’ nursemaid.”

“Good morning,” Isla repeated.

“And to you, Miss Crawford,” the older woman said.

“We shall not interrupt you for long, Miss Tomlinson,” Lord Bancroft said.

“Not to worry, my lord. The boys generally play for a bit after their breakfast.”

As though waiting for that very cue, the boy in red—Isla still wasn’t sure which was which—resumed his tugging on Lord Bancroft’s arm. “Now?” he asked. “Can you see the animals now?”

“Very well,” the gentleman said. “And perhaps Miss Crawford would also like to see them.”

“Would you?” the boy in green asked, appearing surprised.

“Absolutely,” Isla said, pleased when her enthusiastic response garnered a grin. “Show me your favorite one first.”

With whoops of delight, the twins ran to the corner of the room where an assortment of rudimentarily carved wooden animals were set up end to end in a straggling line.

Isla leaned a little closer to Lord Bancroft. “Which one is Sam, and which one is Will?” she whispered.

“My guess is that Will is the one in green,” he muttered. “But until I see the back of his neck, I cannot tell for certain. Will has a small birthmark there that sets him apart.”

Given that both boys had shoulder-length hair, spotting the birthmark was going to be tricky, but Isla crossed the room beside Lord Bancroft, willing to follow his lead.

“Look!” The boy in green raised a wooden animal to show her. “My new one is a fox, and Sam’s is a bear.”

Lord Bancroft had been right. Mentally assigning the green jacket to Will, Isla reached for the toy. The wood had been smoothed to a shine, and although the creature was without eyes or a mouth, its long snout, thin legs, and thick tail made it easy to identify.

“Wow! That’s brill!” Isla said.

Will’s brows came together. “What’s ‘brill’?”

“Brilliant,” Isla answered.

When the confusion in Will’s eyes didn’t clear, Isla tried again. “It’s marvelous!”

This time Will smiled. “It’s just like a real one!”

“Yes.” Isla smiled even as she made a mental note to think more carefully before she spoke. Lord Bancroft obviously wasn’t the only one struggling to interpret her modern words and slang.

“My favorite is the hare,” Lord Bancroft said, picking up a small wooden piece with long ears. “They run faster than the wind.”

“Foxes eat hares,” Will cried, pouncing on Lord Bancroft.

“So do bears,” Sam yelled, and within moments, the three of them were entangled in a wrestling match on the floor that involved a great deal of giggling on the part of the twins and mock groans of pain from Lord Bancroft.

“Save the hare!” Lord Bancroft shouted. “He’s done nothing wrong!”