Read Online On the Auction Block by Ashley Zacharias - Free Book Online Page A

the
refrigerator. She knew that she wasn’t supposed to serve them in
the ramekins in which they’d been baked.
    Turning them upside down on a dessert plate
accomplished nothing. The crème caramel remained stubbornly in the
ramekins. Casting about in desperation, she saw the recipes stacked
on the counter. The crème caramel recipe was on the bottom. It said
to loosen the custard from the side of the ramekin by running a
knife around the edge.
    Flame cursed herself for not thinking of the
obvious.
    Again, she stood in attendance while the
Dodges ate. When she was clearing the dessert plates, she asked,
“Would sir and madam like coffee, tea, or an aperitif?”
    Both wanted coffee. Decaf.
    Flame lowered her eyes. “I beg your
indulgence, ma’am, but if you would be so kind as to show me how to
make coffee this once, I promise that I’ll never have to ask
again.”
    Mrs. Dodge glared at her husband. He grinned
and shrugged. “Just this once, dear, if you would be so kind.”
    She rose and marched into the kitchen.
    Flame scurried to keep up.
    While she was filling the pot with water,
Mrs. Dodge said, “I should scourge every inch of skin from your
back for this.”
    “Yes, ma’am,” Flame said. “I deserve no less
and will endure any punishment that you wish to inflict upon
me.”
    “You certainly will.”
    Flame was afraid of what Mrs. Dodge would do
to her, but forced a brave face.
    When the coffee was ready, Mrs. Dodge said,
“Serve us,” and returned to the dining room.
    Flame served the coffee with cream and sugar
on a silver tray that she found in a cupboard.
    Mr. Dodge instructed Flame to stand before
him while he sipped his coffee. “Tell us how this dinner differed
from the way dinner is prepared and served in a lord’s home.”
    “Obviously, the lord’s wife would not have to
cook the meal,” Flame said. “That was my failing. I will learn to
cook as quickly as I can and Mrs. Dodge will not have to cook
again. Your food was not served as hot as it should have been.
Again that was because Mrs. Dodge had to do the cooking. With
experience, I will be able to time the dishes so that they finish
cooking just before they are served and you will have more
enjoyable meals.”
    “Anything else.”
    Flame shook her head.
    “That’s not good enough,” Mr. Dodge said. “Do
you know why I paid so much money for you?”
    At the mention of money, Mrs. Dodge’s head
snapped around to glare at her husband.
    “No, sir.”
    “Because you grew up as a lady. Your
experience will be invaluable to me, but only if you share it.
Listen to me very carefully. You must tell me exactly how our
behavior differs from that of a lord and lady. Exactly. Do not fear
offending us. You will not be punished for correcting our table
manners or deportment.” He glared back at Mrs. Dodge. “But if we do
not learn to behave correctly, if we entertain guests from the
peerage and make any errors of etiquette, however minor, we will
blame you and you will be disciplined swiftly and terribly. Do you
understand?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Your job – your real job – is to make sure
that Mrs. Dodge and I behave exactly as a lord and lady would
behave. So do your job. Tell us, in detail, what we did wrong
during the dinner.”
    Flame licked her lips and summoned her
courage. “There were a few minor things. Barely noticeable. Not at
all serious. But some things that would be done a little
differently at a lord’s table.”
    “Tell me.”
    “You ate your food in larger bites than a
lord would. A lord would never fill a spoon more than half full. He
would never put a piece of meat larger than a thumbnail in his
mouth.”
    “I see. What else?”
    “A lord would never put a bite into his mouth
until he had finished chewing and swallowing the previous bite. In
fact, he would clear his mouth and make a few words of conversation
before taking the next bite. At a lord’s table, the conversation is
considered more important than the