Free Seducing Mr. Heywood by Jo Manning Page A

At the very least, it was an excellent after-dinner amusement. Wagering on how long it took the lad to come up with an answer would tickle the fancy of the gamesters at the London clubs, Charles had no doubt. As to the future, Cambridge University was noted for excellence in science and mathematics. The great Newton, inventor of the calculus, had been Lucasian professor of mathematics there. And, Charles chuckled gleefully, he couldnot wait to show Lady Sophia her younger son’s gift. She would be amazed!
    “Well, he may be able to work impossible sums in his head, this awesome mental calculator,” John cuffed his younger brother on the shoulder, and William pretended to be felled by the light blow, “but he can barely spell his own name!”
    William flushed. It wasn’t true! He could so spell his own name, but other words, as a rule, were not so easy to spell.
    “Ah, William, consistency in spelling is for small minds like mine. Your brother is only jesting.” Charles knew too many adults whose orthographic skills were at a level not much higher than young William’s, if the truth were told, and society cared not a whit. Dr. Johnson’s dictionary was over fifty years old and had caused a small revolution in setting down authoritative spellings and spelling rules, but amongst the
ton
, no one paid much attention to such strictures.
    “Now, boys, pay attention to me. I am going to read from
The Iliad
today, and we shall translate from the Greek together.” Charles’s sonorous voice fell into the old Homeric rhythms as he began the tragic tale of the valiant soldier Achilles, the bickerings and whims of the ancient gods (to whom mortals were mere playthings), and the horrors of war. The boys listened in awe, concentrating on the poetic structure, frowning at the pronunciation.
    John and William were both aware that proficiency in Greek and Latin was essential in order to pass the entrance examinations of the universities. This was their summer holiday, but Mr. Heywood’s tutoring would give them an advantage when the time came to stand for those examinations. Their father had been determined that they attend university, as he had done, and they were determined that their father would be proud of them. They knew that he watched over them from Heaven. Mama and Mr. Heywood had told them so.
    William had just performed three mathematical feats involving enormous sums to Sophia’s delight. Charles had set him the problems and he had calculated them inhis head for less than a minute each. It had taken both Charles and Sophia considerably longer to work them out on paper, Charles noting with interest that Sophia was a faster calculator than he was.
    Then John recited his own translation of a passage from
The Iliad
, after first repeating the ancient Greek from memory. The boy had a prodigious memory, and his Greek was improving daily. Sophia’s eyes sparkled with maternal pride as the boy recited, acting out the stirring excerpt from the poem. Charles thought she was mouthing the Greek with him and wondered how that could be. Lady Sophia, versed in Homeric Greek? Nay, he must have been mistaken. When would that lady have learned Greek? Ladies learned needlework, how to ride, and dabbled in watercolors; that was the whole of his sisters’ education.
    Sophia beamed at her boys, her breast swelling with pride. Charles, watching the lady closely, could not help noting it.
    She stood and clapped her hands enthusiastically. “Bravo, bravo!” She turned to the vicar, her body swaying seductively toward him. “You have done very well, Mr. Heywood. I am in your debt.” Her blue eyes were warm and promised untold payment. Charles caught his breath.
    After the boys had gone to bed, Charles and Lady Sophia enjoyed an postprandial brandy in the drawing room. The cellars at Rowley Hall were excellent; the baron had been a connoisseur of fine wines and spirits. Sophia’s eyes glowed warmly as she toasted the vicar.
    “To your