I wish I had a soap that could wash away my sins – it would save me a lot of trouble

Modesty watched closely as each of the kids stirred their soaps and she was pleased it all seemed to be coming together. She indicated that they should pour the soaps into their moulds and then tap them down a couple of times to knock out any airbubbles. Now came the fun part. “If you want to use the back of your spoon, you can make the tops wavy.” She pulled out a bar she had made in the first batch that had peaky tops like cresting waves. “And if you'd like to sprinkle anything on top,” her own had dried rose petals and lavender seeds, “They'll stick at this point, then we just have to be patient while they dry.” She offered the kids an encouraging smile, gesturing that they should put the finishing touches on their bars when they were ready.

“Speech.”