Page 83 - RotalTutor

Though servants did most of the work in the gardens, Alexander would take her out there so they could pick their own berries. He said there was nothing like getting your fingers stained with berry juice to make the food taste better. As she ate, she knew he was right. Another thing he taught her to enjoy was snacking on peas right from the garden. Alexander had checked them out for days before he finally declared a pod ready to eat. He cracked one open and had her hold out her hand. He scraped the peas out into her cupped hand. She had been reluctant to try them and told him she didn’t really like peas. He told her cooked ones and ones fresh from the garden weren’t even in the same pod. He often added little bits of dry humor like that. It had annoyed her before. Now she found it to be a fun part of his personality. She carefully put the peas in her mouth and started to chew, fully expecting to spit them out. To her amazement, she did like them. As the peas came on more and more, the two of them would sit out in the patch and munch on them, leaving very little room for their meals. They would visit about so many wonderful things, and the servants would simply look over at them and smile. Alexander also loved to read and to learn about new things. He was always trading with someone for something new. That was how he learned about honey candy. Many of his prized trades were in foods. He had no qualms about trading or learning from the lowliest peasant. She discovered that he often got up before everyone else so 81