"I would have been, but Miss Dobbin stole my pudding."
Charles looked at Ellie in complete confusion. His wife was trying to suppress an amused smile. Clearly she knew what this was about.
"Did she give you an excuse?" Ellie asked.
Judith's mouth twisted into a most annoyed expression. "She said I had misbehaved when we were practicing my letters."
"And did you?"
"Maybe just a little bit. But certainly not enough for her to take my pudding!"
Ellie turned to Charles. "What was the pudding tonight?"
"Strawberry tarts with custard and cinnamon," he replied. "It was quite nice, actually."
"My favorite," Judith muttered. "And Miss Dobbin's favorite, too."
"Mine as well," Ellie added, placing her hand on her stomach when it let out a loud growl.
"Perhaps you shouldn't have skipped the evening meal," Charles said helpfully.
She shot him a waspish look before turning back to Judith. "I did promise to help you should this occasion arise, didn't I?"
"Indeed you did. That is why I am here. I deserve my pudding! And I can prove it."
Out of the corner of her eye, Ellie could see Charles shaking with laughter. Trying to ignore him, she focused her gaze back on Judith and said, "Is that so?"
"Mmm-hmm." The little girl's head bobbed up and down. "I brought a copy of my lessons. You can see that I got all of my letters perfect. Even Z, which is frightfully hard."
Ellie took the piece of paper Judith had pulled from the pocket of her frock. It was a bit crumpled, but Ellie could see that Judith had written out all of her letters in both lower and upper case. "Very nice," she murmured. "Although you show an extra bump in the 'M.'"
"What?" Judith screeched, clearly horrified.
"I'm only teasing," Ellie replied. Then she turned to Charles and said, "I'm afraid that you will have to excuse us. Judith and I have important business to attend to."
"As master of this house," Charles put in with a mock-concerned expression, "I think that I should be apprised of any devious and underhanded plots that might be stewing."
"Very well," Ellie said. "We are going to sneak to the kitchen to secure another portion of dessert for Judith." She paused as her stomach rumbled. "And for me, too, I should think."
"I shall have to put a stop to this," Charles said.
"Oh, Charles, you wouldn't!" Judith cried out.
"Unless I may be a coconspirator." He turned to Ellie. "Besides, I should have thought you wouldn't want to go down to the kitchens on your own."
She scowled at him. "Judith and I would do quite well by ourselves."
"Of course, but it will be much more fun with me along."
Judith took Ellie's hand and tugged on it. "He's right. Charles can be great fun when he chooses."
He tousled her hair. "Only when I choose?"
"Sometimes you are a bit too stern."
"I keep telling him the same thing," Ellie said with a commiserating shrug.
"Now, now, Eleanor," Charles chided, "You usually tell me the opposite. Perhaps if I were more stern with you ... Hmmm ... I might meet with more success."
"I think it is time we were off," Ellie said quickly, ushering Judith toward the door.
"Coward," Charles whispered as he passed her.
"You may call it cowardice," she whispered back, "but I prefer to call it good judgment. Judith is only six years old."
"I am nearly seven," the little girl announced.
"And she hears everything," Ellie added.
"Children do," Charles said with a shrug.
"All the more reason to be more circumspect with your words."
"Are we going to the kitchen now or not?" Judith said with a little stamp of her foot.
"Indeed we are, poppet," Charles said, sweeping forward and taking her hand. "Now then, we must be quiet. Very quiet."
"This quiet?" Judith whispered.
"Even quieter. And you—" He turned to Ellie. "Pipe down."
"I didn't say anything," she protested.
"I can hear you thinking," Charles replied with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
Judith giggled.
Ellie, God help her, giggled too. Just when she was determined to dismiss her husband as a complete ne'er-do-well, he had to go and charm her by turning their trip to the kitchen into a romantic adventure for young Judith.
"Can you hear me thinking?" Judith asked.
"Certainly. You are thinking about strawberry tarts."
Judith gasped and turned to Ellie. "He's right!"
Charles looked Ellie straight in the eye, his expres-
sion frankly sensual. "Can you hear me thinking?"
She shook her head quickly.
"Probably not," he agreed. "Else you'd have far more of a blush on your face."
"Look!" Judith squealed. "She is blushing. She does know what you're thinking!"
"I do now," Ellie retorted.
"What is he thinking?" Judith demanded.
"Goodness!" Ellie said quickly. "Are we nearly to the kitchens? You had best button your lips, Judith. Charles did say we need to be quiet."
The trio tiptoed into the kitchen, which Ellie noted had been cleaned quite thoroughly since her last visit. It looked as if the burnt oven had been put back into use. She was dying to look inside and inspect the rack. Perhaps when Charles's back was turned ...
"Where do you suppose Monsieur Belmont has hidden those tarts?" Charles asked Judith.