The Lost Heir by E.G. Foley

Author:E.G. Foley
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Foley Publications
Published: 2012-07-21T17:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

How To Be An Earl

Jake had much to learn, and his training over the next few days covered more than simply how to use his powers. There were also constant corrections on his speech and grammar and lessons in how to be civil, how to bow properly, eat, dress, walk, and what to say to new people he might meet.

There were lessons in family history, a long line of noble ancestors whose portraits hung in Griffon Castle and Bradford Park. There were explanations about his future duties as an earl—and aside from anything having to do with the Order of the Yew Tree, he could already see his responsibilities would be vast.

Aunt Ramona declared he would need a good education to fulfill his role in life. On her orders, Henry spent an afternoon giving Jake little quizzes in different subjects to determine how much he had already learned at the orphanage school.

When this ordeal was finished, the boys’ tutor looked a bit daunted by the challenge of having one student who was a genius and one who was basically a blockhead.

Archie already held two degrees from Oxford, while Jake was years behind. Obviously, he had no foreign languages, no knowledge of literature, art or music, and very little history. Oh, he could read and do simple arithmetic, of course, but school ended for most poor kids at age ten. Then it was off to get a job.

What Jake had was a lot of street smarts and a familiarity with the darker side of how to survive. Aunt Ramona noted this and decided that the most important aspect of his training would have to do with his “moral development.”

She was a hard one, the old bird. She made him give a tally of how much money’s worth of goods he’d stolen from various merchants so that he could pay it back—with a face-to-face apology. He was not looking forward to that.

Derek’s part of the training was the most fun. Each day, the warrior took him down to Griffon Castle and worked with him on how to control his telekinesis so he would not get so nauseous afterwards.

Sometimes Archie came along and Derek made the boys run races, jump hurdles, and carry heavy objects up and down the driveway. He had them climb trees while he timed them, and run along the top rail of pasture fences, telling them to get up and do it again every time one of them fell off. It was exhausting but fun.

Often, by the end of such days, both boys were so worn out that they just sat in Archie’s laboratory laughing idly at the little mechanical robot the young engineer had welded out of brass. “Sprocket” ran on clockwork machinery and steam power, as did most of the other mad devices that Archie had invented.

Meanwhile, Dani was off having fun with Isabelle.

The girls had become inseparable, despite the fact that they came from different worlds. Aunt Ramona still seemed unsure if an O’Dell could ever be a suitable companion for her delicate niece.

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