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“Me? I do not even know your grandfather!”

“Of course you do. You met him at Pemberley. Have you forgotten?”

“But of course—but how do you suppose I might help?”

“Surely my grandpapa and you have much in common. My friend Samuel and I are the same age, and we have much in common, and my grandpapa and you are the same age, so that means you two have a lot in common.”

Lord Matlock huffed. “I am the Earl of Matlock. I am sure there is nothing common about me.”

When the servant arrived, his lordship directed his attention to the ink spill, and the servant moved quickly to tidy things up.

“Is being the Earl of Matlock very important?” said Ben.

“I should say so!”

“Is it more important than being a grandpapa?”

His lordship jutted his aristocratic chin. “Being a grandpapa is not to be compared to being an earl. One has nothing to do with the other.”

“What exactly does an earl do?”

“An earl has many important duties. I am a member of the House of Lords, the second house of Parliament. I give voice to the laws of the land and affect legislation.”

Ben shrugged. “I suppose all those things are important.”

“They most certainly are.”

“But is it not also the duty of an earl to look after his family and see that they are protected and happy?”

“Yes—yes, there is that.”

“Much like a grandpapa’s duty is to look after his family and see that they are protected and happy.”

“I shall not readily concede your point, young man. Anyone might be a grandpapa, but not every man is entitled to call himself an earl. One must be of noble blood to bear such a distinction.”

Ben grew quiet as he considered his next words. By the looks of it, Lord Matlock was growing increasingly confident by the second that the child would not possibly have a retort that would justify any further discussions along those lines.

“My lord, if two men are walking together in the forest, and one of the men is of noble blood and the other is not, and they came across a ferocious fire-breathing dragon, which man do you suppose is more likely to fall prey to the dragon’s attack first?”

His lordship curled his lip, and his steely eyes narrowed. Releasing a quick breath, he said, “Remove yourself from my chair and pull up a seat next to me, and tell me what exactly you wish to convey in this missive to your grandfather.” After Ben took his place by his lordship’s side, the elder man said, “By the bye, you do know there is no such thing as dragons, do you not?”

Ben tilted his head to the side. He could grow to like his great uncle very much, but he most certainly had his work cut out for him. No such thing as dragons, indeed!