Reading sample Dropping the Ball

Chapter One

Lady Bernadette Attleborough was glad to be in Wessex. That was a sentiment that few of her dearest friends among the Oxford Society Ladies would ever express, given the somewhat draconian state of laws pertaining to women in the Kingdom of Wessex. But for Bernadette, locating herself in Wessex meant that she was not at home in her native East Anglia, and as long as she was not home, under her father’s unforgiving roof, she would not have to face the consequences of her long-ago mistake.

A mistake that continued to hang over her head, like the Sword of Damocles, ready to end the life she had so happily built for herself over the last ten years.

“I’ll give you this much, Surrey is a pretty part of Wessex,” Bernadette’s dear friend, Lady Muriel Godwin, commented as they rode together, along with Muriel’s new husband, Lord Cedric Godwin, Marquess of Amesbury, through the countryside surrounding Lyndhurst Grove, gazing out the window at fields of green and a deep blue sky.

“All of Wessex is pretty,” Lord Cedric said as he lounged by Muriel’s side, watching her more than the landscape. Muriel glanced over her shoulder, as if she would argue with him, but Lord Cedric cut her off with, “As long as I am with you.”

Muriel’s expression turned from scolding to sly, and she leaned over to kiss Lord Cedric’s lips softly. “You are a flattering rogue, sir, and I will not stand for it.”

“No, you most certainly will not stand for it,” Lord Cedric said, wickedness in his smile and a sparkle in his eyes.

Muriel laughed low in her throat and leaned toward her husband, then seemed to remember Bernadette was in the rear-facing seat opposite them, watching the entire display. She cleared her throat and straightened, saying, “I am so sorry, Bernadette, my dear.”

“Oh, do not let my presence impede your newly-wedded bliss,” Bernadette said cheerily. “I rather like seeing my friends so happily settled.”

“Bernadette, how dare you!” Muriel gasped with pretend offense. “We are Oxford Society Ladies. We only enter marriage by accident.”

Bernadette laughed, as did Lord Cedric, but her face flushed hot, and it took a monumental effort of will not to squirm in her seat. “You sound very much like Kat now,” she said, hoping to deflect the conversation away from her. “Kat is Lady Katherine Balmor of Mercia, a good friend of ours from the Oxford Society,” Bernadette explained to Lord Cedric.

“I have met Lady Katherine,” Lord Cedric said with a wary, sideways look to Muriel.

“Yes, you have,” Muriel said in return, grinning broadly.

Bernadette remembered then that Lord Cedric had met both Kat and their friend circle’s other member, Lady Minerva Llewellyn of Wales, at his and Muriel’s wedding several months before. Kat had been highly suspicious of Lord Cedric’s intentions in wedding Muriel and had let Lord Cedric know. Kat had accosted the poor man as if he were a spy or a smuggler and she had been assigned to bring his criminal activities to light. Lord Cedric’s brother, Lord Waldorf, had not approved.

“Regardless of what Kat thinks of the state of marriage,” Muriel said, taking Lord Cedric’s hand and threading their fingers together, “I have found it to be a perfectly reasonable state. I am happy.”

The way Muriel and Lord Cedric smiled at each other had Bernadette sighing, both with joy for the two of them and with wistfulness for herself. She would never experience that sort of happiness in her life, and certainly not in marriage.

She had no interest in dwelling on her own fate, so she put on a smile and said, “I am quite looking forward to designing and executing this ball that your cousin, Lord Alden, intends to host, my lord.”

Lord Cedric pulled his attention away from Muriel and smiled at Bernadette, though there was something ironic about that smile. “I fear you may have your work cut out for you, Lady Bernadette,” he said.

Bernadette blinked and sat a bit straighter. “I should think not,” she said. “I have been planning and organizing social events, from musical evenings to grand coming out balls, for nearly eight years now, since shortly after my graduation from Oxford University.”

“Does Oxford offer a course on planning parties?” Lord Cedric asked, half in jest, but half in seriousness.

“No,” Bernadette said, lowering her head somewhat. “I studied Music and the Classics at Oxford. As lovely as those subjects are, they do not exactly prepare one for an industrious career.”

“Bernadette’s most prized attribute is that she knows everyone in the ton, and she gets on with them, which is the closest thing to a miracle I have ever witnessed,” Muriel said, winking at Bernadette. “She is far too sweet and amiable for anyone to say no to, which positions her ideally to introduce important people to each other, particularly within the sphere of grand social occasions.”

“How extraordinary,” Lord Cedric said.

Bernadette shrugged. “I have an eye for design, and I have gained a reputation for competence and accomplishment. Quite a few matches have come from the events I have orchestrated.”

“So you are a matchmaker?” Lord Cedric asked.

“Not precisely,” Bernadette said. “I merely set the stage and invite the players. What they all choose to do once the curtain rises is up to them.”

“Admirable indeed,” Lord Cedric said with a broad smile. That smile dropped a moment later when he said, “But I still fear you have an impossible task ahead of you, Lady Bernadette. My cousin Alden is … unique.”

Bernadette had heard the whispers. Lord Alden Godwin was some sort of a naturalist as well as being a member of the high-placed Godwin family. He’d spent a great deal of his early years, after university, traveling abroad in exotic locations such as South America and the islands of the Caribbean.

From what Muriel had told her after Lord Alden wrote to her in London, saying that Muriel had recommended her services and asking if she would plan a ball for him at Lyndhurst Grove, Lord Alden had only just returned to Wessex two years before, and he had not been seen much in company since then. He was a man approaching fifty in need of a wife, and he had turned to Bernadette for help. That was all Bernadette needed to know.

“As I understand it, Lord Cedric, your cousin is quite well-situated in the world, and in addition to Lyndhurst Grove, he owns a townhouse in London and land abroad,” she said. “I can think of a dozen ladies from several of the kingdoms of Britannia who would be overjoyed to marry such a man.”

Lord Cedric and Muriel exchanged a look, both of them smirking, then turned those smirks on Bernadette.

“You might want to reserve your judgement about my cousin until you’ve met him,” Lord Cedric said.

Bernadette’s smile fell, and her insides pinched. “Is there something amiss with him?” she asked shyly. “Is he cruel or cold?”

“No, no, not at all,” Lord Cedric said. “Quite the opposite. Alden is one of the most interesting and amiable men I’ve ever known.”

Bernadette frowned. “Then why would you think it would be difficult to find a wife for him?”

Lord Cedric exchanged another look with Muriel, then said, “You will see soon enough. It appears we’ve arrived.”

Sure enough, the landscape outside the carriage had taken on a tamer, more structured mien. Bernadette shifted to peer out the window once more and was greeted with the sight of vast gardens, a beautiful lawn that swept down to a small lake, and a grand estate house that stretched across the entire crest of the sloping hill they were traveling up.

The house was beautiful, not to mention as large as a palace, but the more Bernadette looked at it, particularly after the carriage had taken them around an extravagant but dry fountain and deposited them near the terraced front door, the more she could see that the building had been neglected.

“I wish Alden would hire a crew to make the most basic improvements to the appearance of this place,” Lord Cedric echoed her thoughts as the three of them were helped out of the carriage by a pair of footmen liveried in forest green. “At the very least, the windows need a good scrub and some of this ivy should be pulled down.”

Indeed, the palatial home was inundated with ivy. At least on the side that faced front. Bernadette noted gardens off to the east side of the building and wondered what might be growing on that face of the house.

They were greeted at the door by a rather young butler who seemed extraordinarily excited about his position.

“Good morning, good morning,” he greeted them, gesturing for all three to come into the house. “I’m Mr. Smythe, Lord Alden’s butler. You must be his lordship’s cousin, Lord Cedric, Lady Muriel, and Lady Bernadette, the planner of parties. We’ve been expecting you. The entire staff is all aglow with the idea of this ball, Lady Bernadette. We simply cannot wait to see what you are able to do for his lordship and the entire house.”

“Oh!” Bernadette blinked rapidly, startled at the young man’s effusive greeting. “I will do whatever I can for Lord Alden,” she said.

“Come right this way,” Mr. Smythe walked them swiftly through the large but slightly neglected entry hall and down a side corridor. “You must be parched after your journey. Lord Alden is not quite ready to greet you, but if you will wait in here, I’ll have Mrs. Pettigrew, the housekeeper, bring tea for you. She has been as eager to welcome you to Lyndhurst Grove as I have been.”

Bernadette’s head spun as Mr. Smythe introduced them into a faded parlor with an exquisite view of the countryside. She began to wonder if the man had been a footman until very recently, since he seemed intent on making certain everyone was comfortable and had the right number of cushions to sit with, then straightened a pair of candlesticks on a side table before leaving the room with another promise to bring them tea.

Bernadette sat and folded her hands in her lap, fighting not to laugh, even after the young man had gone.

Muriel could not contain her humor. She burst with laughter, then slapped a hand to her mouth as she sat on the couch with Bernadette. “I see that Alden has taken as little care with the hiring of his staff as he has with the appearance of his house,” she said once she was able.

Lord Cedric sent her a flat look as he sat in the chair nearest to her and said, “It’s more likely that Mr. Smythe was the only man foolish enough to take the position of butler at Lyndhurst Grove.”

Bernadette frowned slightly. “Why would Lord Alden have difficulty retaining servants?” she asked. “Mr. Smythe is a bit too enthusiastic and perhaps untrained, but he did not seem to be unhappy.”

Bernadette knew what unhappy servants looked like. She’d arranged parties and entertainments in households where the servants were miserable, and she knew the signs. Those men and women held themselves stiffly, said little, and generally looked as if they would just as soon bury knives in their employers’ backs than serve them.

Lord Cedric’s only answer was to clear his throat and say, “All will be revealed.”

There was something Muriel and Lord Cedric were not telling her. Bernadette wasn’t convinced Muriel knew the entire story herself, as she continually looked around the parlor, as if searching for something she’d been told about but had not yet seen.

“I am impressed with the size of Lyndhurst Grove,” Bernadette said when the lack of conversation began to make her anxious. “I had my doubts when Lord Alden wrote to me about hosting as many ladies as I could invite to stay for the entire weekend with the ball as the climax of the event. But now I see that there are likely more than enough rooms for young ladies and their mothers or chaperones to stay in for the weekend.”

“Yes, I agree,” Muriel said, still looking around.

“There might be,” Lord Cedric said, “but I’m beginning to wonder what state they’re in. I had no idea Alden had let the place fall into such disrepair.” His frown deepened, and he said, almost to himself, “He keeps saying he’s been renovating the place and spending a small fortune on changes, but it appears as if he’s done nothing at all.”

That puzzled Bernadette. “Perhaps he’s been making improvements to other areas of the house? Mayhaps the ballroom?”

Lord Cedric shook his head. “Alden only just hatched this mad scheme of a ball to choose a bride last month.”

“I am certain all will be revealed in time,” Muriel said, reaching over to pat her husband’s hand.

They were interrupted a moment later as a middle-aged woman with a round face and ample bosom brought in a tray containing tea things.

“We’re all so happy to have you here, Lady Bernadette,” she said once everything had been set down and the woman had introduced herself as Mrs. Pettigrew. “We’re all so very fond of Lord Alden, but to a one of us, we are desperate for him to find a wife and for this house to have a lady running it. Things have become a bit … disorganized.”

“Is that so?” Lord Cedric said, arching one eyebrow as Muriel handed him the tea she’d prepared for him.

“A bit,” Mrs. Pettigrew said.

Despite speaking a little out of turn about her employer, she didn’t seem eager to say much more. She curtsied, and when it was established that none of them needed anything more, she took herself off to whatever other duties she had in the vast, shabby house.

“Extraordinary,” Muriel said as she sipped her tea, her eyes alight with intrigue as she glanced to Lord Cedric.

Bernadette couldn’t have imagined what her friend meant by that one word, but she had drawn her own conclusions. The servants were fond of their master, but deeply untrained. She wondered how many of them Lord Alden employed. Certainly not enough to have the house looking new and fresh, although it was not dirty or dusty, to be sure.

“Lady Bernadette, if you do not mind my asking,” Lord Cedric interrupted her thoughts, “why do you spend all of your time arranging entertainments and balls designed to make matches for other people? Why are you not married yourself?”

A jolt of hot and cold hit Bernadette at Lord Cedric’s question. She was in the middle of biting into a small fruit tart and nearly choked on it.

“Cedric!” Muriel scolded him, smacking his arm. “What an impertinent question to ask. You know Bernadette is one of my dearest friends and a fellow Oxford Society Lady. Marriage does not define her. She’s not some simpering Wessex woman who only wants a husband to make her life complete.”

“You were a Wessex woman,” Lord Cedric replied, his lips twitching with mirth as he teased her. “Marriage has made your life complete.”

Muriel made a frustrated sound. “This is why I did not want to marry you in the first place. A woman is more than the man she stands beside. Bernadette has built a thriving and respectable business for herself, and she has done it all on her own. You are a beast to ask why she has not thrown all of that out the window for a man.”

“I was just asking, love,” Lord Cedric said, taking a sip of tea and wiggling his eyebrows at Muriel.

They were adorable, as far as Bernadette was concerned. Even if Lord Cedric’s question had skated too close to the thing that gave her the most anxiety in her life. She longed to have the sort of rapport with a man that Muriel had with Lord Cedric. For a short while, she had almost thought it would be possible. Indeed, sometimes that friendly sort of intimacy had almost seemed within her reach. But time had made it clear that loneliness and longing were to be her bosom companions, despite what certain bits of paper said.

No sooner had those thoughts crossed through Bernadette’s mind, squeezing her heart and filling her with melancholy, than a tall, broad-shouldered, square-jawed man in slightly disheveled clothing strode into the room, filling it with his presence.

“So sorry to leave you all waiting,” he said, greeting them all with an open smile. “I couldn’t find Egbert, and you know I cannot complete any of my research without Egbert there to encourage me.”

Bernadette drew in a breath and sat straighter, immediately affected by the man’s presence. Though, if she were honest, much of that reaction originated in an area quite a bit below her heart.

“Alden,” Lord Cedric said, rising and crossing to greet his cousin with a bow and a handshake.

“Cedric. So good to see you again. And you as well, Lady Muriel,” Lord Alden said, full of warmth and good humor as he greeted Muriel with a deep bow.

Bernadette rose to greet her host and employer as well. Despite her tangle of circumstances, she was not immune to a man’s charms, and Lord Alden had them in abundance. Her heart beat swiftly, and it was difficult for her to catch her breath as she moved around the small table containing their tea to approach him.

Simply put, the man was beautiful. He might have been close to fifty, but he was fit and strong, and he had the carriage of a man who spent a great amount of time outdoors. His hair was lighter than Lord Cedric’s, despite their family resemblance, and the bits of grey at his temples only made him seem more distinguished, and more virile. But it was the distinct lines at the corners of Lord Alden’s blue eyes that made Bernadette smile as she approached him. They were the lines of a man who had smiled and laughed much in his life. No wonder the servants spoke so highly of him.

Bernadette was certain at once that she would have no trouble at all designing the ideal ball to draw every unwed lady in southern Britannia, and that each one of those ladies would fall all over themselves to be the one Lord Alden chose. Not just to be his bride, but to fall into his bed.

“And you must be Lady Bernadette Attleborough,” Lord Alden said once he’d finished greeting Lord Cedric and Muriel. His smile was warm and welcoming as he stepped forward, extending a hand to Bernadette. “It is such a pleasure to meet you,” he said.

Bernadette was convinced he meant it. “And you as well, my lord,” she said, curtsying as she took his hand. The clasp of skin against skin sent a carnal throb through her that nearly made her laugh. Perhaps those members of the ton who looked down upon Oxford Society Ladies as wicked heathens were right. Or perhaps Lord Alden was truly that magnetic.

“Oh, forget all that formal nonsense,” he said, his charm reinforcing Bernadette’s opinion that he was magnificent. “We’re all so stuffy here in Britannia. Why, in the jungles of the Amazon, no one bothers with titles and forms of address. My name is Alden, and I do wish you would refer to me as such.”

Bernadette wanted to laugh, the man was such a delight. And she wanted to sigh because he was so alluring. “I am not certain that would be proper, my lord,” she said.

“Proper is overrated, Lady Bernadette,” he said, still smiling at her and still holding her hand. “I have always been improper for my entire life, and it is too late to stop – oh! Egbert!”

Bernadette was so mesmerized by Lord Alden’s amiable demeanor and the fond way he looked at her, even though they had only just met, that she did not notice the flicker of green at the cuff of his jacket. She didn’t realize that the green was alive until it darted out of his sleeve entirely. She didn’t realize it was a long, plump lizard until it grabbed hold of her wrist, then scurried all the way up her arm to her shoulder.

And then she screamed.

Chapter Two

It was the perfect plan. Alden had thought it through from every angle, and he was confident that the best way for him to find a wife and dodge The Curse of Godwin Castle was to hire his cousin’s new wife’s friend to host a ball for him at Lyndhurst Grove. To be honest, his Uncle Gerald’s ultimatum fit perfectly with his desire to fill the empty space in his life and to settle more completely, now that he was back in Wessex to stay. He wanted a wife. He wanted to put past hurts aside and love again.

Lady Bernadette was the key to fulfilling those desires. She was reported to know everyone who was anyone in London, and most of the rest of the kingdoms of the New Heptarchy. That meant he wouldn’t have to bother combing through his scant list of acquaintances to determine who had women of a marriageable age in their family and to drag himself through the tedious process of meeting each one individually. Time was not in his favor at his age. He could entrust Lady Bernadette with all preparations for the ball as well, which was convenient, since he knew more about the mating habits of marine iguanas than he did about the ton.

Alden knew nothing about music, dancing, decorations, and, he had to admit, proper manners either, but a woman of good standing, whose profession relied on a deep knowledge of every one of those things, would be more than capable of arranging the perfect event. He could continue with his research and with writing his definitive guide to sustaining non-native reptile and amphibian species in captivity without being bothered by the whole thing.

All Alden would have to do would be to socialize with the array of fine ladies who would be invited to Lyndhurst Grove for the duration of his house party, choose one that was to his liking, and marry the woman. The curse would be avoided, and more importantly, his happiness, and, he hoped, the lady’s, would be assured.

Frankly, he was surprised that none of his other cousins or his brother, Dunstan, had come up with the idea themselves.

He was even more certain of his plan after Smythe announced Cedric, Lady Muriel, and Lady Bernadette had arrived at last. He’d been deep into rewriting the chapter of his book dealing with propagating the correct flora for lizards in captivity when he’d received the happy news. Well, in all honesty, he’d been searching for Egbert, his knight anole lizard, whom he’d raised from an egg that he’d accidentally taken from its natural habitat on the island of Cuba on an expedition there the year before returning to Wessex. Egbert would do well enough on his own for the moment, so he’d left his study and headed to the parlor to greet his guests.

It was always a pleasure to see Cedric again, and his new cousin-in-law was a formidable woman whom he’d liked from the start. But it was Lady Bernadette that had captured his attention from the moment he spotted her, rising from the couch where she’d been waiting for him.

“And you must be Lady Bernadette Attleborough,” he greeted her, drawn straight towards her as she smiled at him in greeting.

He wasn’t entirely certain what he said to her, he was so surprised by Lady Bernadette’s appearance. She wasn’t at all what he’d expected when Lady Muriel had told him about her. He’d thought he was welcoming a spinster who would dress in grey, pull her drab hair back in a tight chignon, and who would frown and criticize everything she saw. Instead, he was astounded to find Lady Bernadette was small and bright, with sun-blonde hair, sparkling, green eyes, and a shapely figure.

She looked younger than her thirty-some-odd years as well. Lady Muriel had told him that Lady Bernadette had attended Oxford University with her many years ago, so Alden was expecting someone old and bookish.

He was so surprised by the fine woman who still hadn’t let go of his hand after she’d taken it as boldly as any man that he almost didn’t see Egbert slip out of the sleeve of his jacket and skitter onto Lady Bernadette’s arm.

“Oh! Egbert!” he finished whatever nonsense he was babbling to Lady Bernadette with an exclamation of surprise.

A fraction of a second of confusion creased Lady Bernadette’s beautiful face … and then she screamed.

“Oh! What is it? Get it off me!” she shouted, dancing back from Alden and batting at her arm.

She shrieked a few more times, shaking her arm, then held stock still, her shoulders pulled up and her eyes squeezed shut as Egbert settled himself around her neck.

“Not to worry,” Alden said, maintaining as much calm as he could as he stepped forward and plucked Egbert from Lady Bernadette's neck. “It’s only just Egbert.”

“Oh!” Lady Bernadette breathed out, her body beginning to shake. “What is an Egbert?”

“Forgive me,” Alden said briefly as his fingers brushed the soft, warm skin of Lady Bernadette’s neck. “Egbert is a species of iguana that ordinarily resides in the Caribbean. He’s not particularly fond of our cooler, Wessex weather, so he likes to perch someplace warm, generally on people, against their skin.”

Alden drew Egbert gently into his embrace, unbuttoning his jacket with one hand so that Egbert could tuck himself into the warmth of his body.

“He can usually be found on my person while I work, since, when sitting still, I make the ideal perch upon which to bask,” he continued. “That is, if I’m in the sunlight. If not, he’ll join the rest of our family in the terrarium.”

“Your … your family?” Lady Bernadette asked, her voice still wobbly as she brushed her neck, perhaps to rid herself of the sensation of scales against skin. “Terrarium?”

“Alden, what have you done?” Cedric asked, rolling his eyes.

Despite Cedric’s disapproval, his cousin’s question energized him. “I’ve done the impossible,” he said. “The terrarium is a veritable home away from home for my specimens. But that’s right, you have not visited me since I finished the room. Come! Come and see what I’ve done.”

Alden turned to lead Cedric, Lady Muriel, and Lady Bernadette out of the room and down the hall to the terrarium. They followed, although a little too slowly for his liking, because it meant he had to hold his enthusiasm for everything he’d accomplished in check. At least that gave him the opportunity to walk by Lady Bernadette’s side.

“I do not know if my cousin and his lovely wife have informed you, but I spent ten years of my life traveling in South America and the Caribbean, as a student of Herpetology.”

“I … they did inform me, but only in the vaguest terms,” Lady Bernadette said.

Alden might not have been an expert at social interactions, but he was savvy enough to tell when a lady was anxious.

“Do not worry, Lady Bernadette,” he said, offering his arm in case it would help her feel more at ease in his home. “The vast majority of specimens I have in my house are completely harmless. The only venomous or poisonous creatures housed here are kept safely in the terrarium. And even those creatures would never dream of attacking a human.”

“Alden,” Cedric huffed his name scoldingly. “Stop trying to frighten the ladies.”

“I am not frightened,” Lady Muriel insisted, grasping Cedric’s arm as they walked. “They’re just animals.”

“Oh, my specimens are so much more than just animals,” Alden said, glancing over his shoulder to Lady Muriel, then focusing on Lady Bernadette again as they neared the terrarium. “They are precious examples of the diversity and vastness of life on this earth. They are vibrant and beautiful, and each one is different in its own way.”

“I see,” Lady Bernadette said, smiling.

The way she held herself and the attention she gave him were admirable. Like many others, she was clearly alarmed by his collection without even seeing it yet, but she was putting on a brave face and attempting to keep an open mind. Those were both traits that Alden prized greatly.

“Here we are,” he said, stopping in front of the closed doors of what had once been the ballroom. “I’ve been working on the terrarium since I returned from my travels. Over a hundred craftsmen from the length and breadth of Europe and the Americas have contributed their time, talents, and efforts to create what I believe is one of the most –”

“Just get on with it and show us what you’ve done, Alden,” Cedric interrupted him.

Alden was too excited to show off his pride and joy to be cowed by Cedric’s grumpy manner. He grabbed the handle of one of the doors, turned, then pulled it open to reveal the wonders within.

The terrarium was absolutely wonderful. Even Cedric seemed to think so as the four of them made their way inside, Alden carefully shutting the door behind them. Immediately, they were confronted with the moist, damp scent of earth, the humidity of towering trees in the sunlight, and the splash of the indoor fountain he’d set in place to feed the miniature river that wound through the enormous room. There was even a bit of birdsong from the exotic birds he’d brought back from the Amazon along with his reptiles and amphibians.

“Good God, Alden!” Cedric exclaimed, taking a few steps deeper into the room, then looking straight up. “What have you done with the ceiling?”

The ladies looked up as well and gasped.

Alden grinned proudly. “I had the rooms above taken out and paned glass built in its place. Likewise, I had the room extended quite a bit and enclosed in glass as well.”

“It is a giant hothouse,” Lady Muriel said, pressing a hand to her chest.

“More precisely, it is a giant terrarium,” Alden said. “I had the floor removed as well, and rich soil was brought in to create the perfect foundation to grow some of the rarer species of palms and trees. If you’ll follow me along the path, I’ll show you the frog pond.”

“Frog pond?” Lady Bernadette asked, her voice wavering, but curiosity shining through.

“Yes,” Alden drew her along the flagstone path toward the part of the room where the walls and ceilings were entirely glass. “Herpetology is the study of both reptiles and amphibians. I have over three hundred species of frogs, lizards, turtles, and snakes living here at Lyndhurst Grove with me.”

“Did you say snakes?” Lady Muriel asked from several steps behind them on the path.

“Yes,” Alden answered, failing to see why Lady Muriel had turned so pale, or why Cedric was now glaring at him. “Lyndhurst Grove is home to everything from the Barbados thread snake to a lovely albino boa constrictor named Phyllis.”

“You own a boa constrictor named Phyllis?” Lady Bernadette asked weakly, glancing around and inching closer to Alden as she did.

“Yes, but she’s usually sleeping at this time of day.” Alden looked around as well. “Ah, yes, there she is.” He pointed up to the branches of one of the false trees on the far side of the room that he’d had built specifically for basking reptiles. “She should be docile for a few more days at least, since I just fed her the day before yesterday.”

The ladies gasped, and Lady Muriel clung tightly to Cedric.

“What did you feed her?” Cedric asked sardonically. “The neighbor’s dog?”

“Oh, no, nothing like that,” Alden laughed. “I have the children of tenant farmers bring rats up to the house when they catch them. I pay the boys tuppence per rat,” he said proudly.

Lady Bernadette made a high-pitched, strangled sound as she glanced around, clutching Alden’s arm. “It … it is rather beautiful, if you think about it,” she said breathlessly.

Alden smiled at her. “Just wait until some of the more exotic flowers are blooming,” he said. “I have gone out of my way to make the terrarium a place of beauty as well as scientific splendor, but to be honest, my expertise is more with fauna than flora. I should like to hire a gardener with knowledge of tropical plants at some point, particularly if I decide to expand.”

“Expand?” Cedric asked incredulously. He closed the gap between Alden and himself, bringing Lady Muriel with him as he did. “Alden, is this what you’ve been doing for the last two years? Is this what all the work and improvements you’ve told us about incessantly have resulted in?”

“Yes, of course,” Alden said, failing to understand his cousin’s upset.

“How much money have you spent on all this?” Cedric demanded, gazing up at the glass ceiling, then over to the combination of false and real trees at the far side of the room.

“More than it would be prudent to discuss in front of the ladies,” Alden said discreetly. “But never fear, cuz. I have more money than I could ever spend in one lifetime, even if I built three more terrariums onto the house.” He smiled at Lady Bernadette, intending to proceed on to tell her she could spare no expense while planning his ball.

“We thought you were having the house redecorated,” Cedric said, still incredulous.

“In essence, that is what I have done,” Alden said.

“No, I mean having new paper put on the walls in the dining room, investing in new carpets for the parlor, purchasing a new pianoforte for the conservatory,” Cedric said, angrier still. “You know, things that ordinary, sane gentlemen would do to improve their estates.” He turned to Lady Bernadette and said, “Now do you see what I meant before?”

Alden could only imagine what had been said before.

“I can assure you,” he said to Lady Bernadette in a confidential tone, “I am quite sane.”

“You are not,” Cedric protested. He huffed, then let go of Lady Muriel’s arm to turn in a circle. “This … this used to be the ballroom, did it not?”

“It did,” Alden answered.

Cedric focused his gaze on Alden with a sharp stare. “Alden, how do you propose to host a ball at which you intend to find a wife to put up with all this if you no longer have a ballroom?”

“Oh.” Alden hadn’t thought of that when he’d designed and built the terrarium. He hadn’t thought he’d have any need to host a ball to begin with.

“I am certain we can come up with a solution,” Lady Bernadette said, her voice slowly regaining the strength it had had when they’d greeted each other in the parlor. “If the weather holds, the dancing could be held outside.”

“I am quite certain that the weather would not dare to spoil any event you might plan, Lady Bernadette,” Alden said with a smile.

Lady Bernadette blushed modestly for a moment … which was every bit as beautiful as the delicate pink dewlap of the anolis carolinensis in springtime.

She then drew in a deep breath and squared her shoulders, as if she’d come to some sort of internal conclusion. She let go of Alden’s arm at last and said, “Well, if you intend to host a large, weekend house party, that will require that your guestrooms be presentable. Perhaps I should make a quick survey of those rooms so that I might determine what is needed before we discuss a timeline for the happy event.”

“An excellent suggestion, Lady Bernadette,” Alden said. “I’ll find Mrs. Pettigrew so that she might take you on a tour of the house.”

They left the terrarium, the ladies sighing in relief once they reached the hall, where Mrs. Pettigrew was conveniently standing by, perhaps knowing her services would be needed. Mrs. Pettigrew was more than happy to take Lady Bernadette and Lady Muriel off to the upper floors so that the three of them might inspect the guestrooms together.

“Would you care for a bit of sherry, cuz?” Alden asked, gesturing for Cedric to walk with him to the far end of that wing of the house, where his study was located.

Cedric went with him, but before they even reached the study, he growled, “You demolished part of your house in order to build that monstrosity of a hothouse?”

Without ladies present, Alden felt he could be a bit more unguarded in his responses to his cousin. “It’s my money,” he said. “My father left it to me.”

“And to Dunstan,” Cedric pointed out.

“Yes, and Dunstan has done as he wished with his half of our inheritance, as have I.”

Cedric huffed impatiently as Alden poured them two glasses of sherry from a decanter on the shelf behind his desk. As he poured, Egbert decided he’d had enough of nestling against Alden’s chest. He skittered out through the undone buttons of Alden’s jacket and made his way to the sunny patch at the far end of the bookshelf.

“I will concede that the terrarium you have created is a marvel of engineering and zoology,” Cedric said after the first swig of his drink. “But you’ve made the task you’ve set before Lady Bernadette next to impossible.”

“She had a brilliant idea of holding the ball out of doors,” Alden said with a shrug, gulping his own drink.

Cedric scowled at him as if he’d missed the point. “What woman in Wessex, in all of the New Heptarchy or beyond, is going to want to marry a man whose house is crawling with snakes?” he asked. “What other horrors do you have waiting for a new bride? Are there crocodiles in that pond of yours?”

“No, do not be ridiculous,” Alden said. He took another drink, swallowed, then muttered, “They’re alligators.”

“Alligators!” Cedric exclaimed. “Are you mad, Alden?”

“They are small alligators,” Alden defended himself, then winced. “That is why I will need to build another terrarium or garden house of some sort in a few years. I may need to separate some of the … hungrier species from the animals they tend to prey on.”

“And what if they prey on humans?” Cedric demanded.

“They wouldn’t dare,” Alden said, pretending to be deeply offended.

The truth was, he shouldn’t have brought the alligators back with him. But he was already in conversation with the Herpetological Society in London, who had expressed interest in providing new homes for some of the more unwieldy species he’d brought home from his travels. The Mercian Zoo had expressed interest in some of his pets as well. It wasn’t as if he was the only man in Britannia who had an interest in creating exhibitions of exotic animals. His book would be a guide to teach those who were interested to keep those sorts of animals in humane conditions.

There was one thing he’d forgotten about entirely, though.

“You have a house full of dangerous reptiles and a curse hanging over your head, and now you’re proposing to fill the house with unsuspecting women, one of which you intend to make your wife?” Cedric asked. “That, my friend, is a recipe for disaster.”

“Oh,” Alden said. “I hadn’t paired the curse and the reptiles together in my mind.”

Cedric merely stared at him.

“All will be well,” Alden said. “The point of the ball is to absolve me of the curse. As soon as I find the right lady to wed, Uncle Gerald will strike my name from the inheritance list, and I’ll be able to continue on with my studies without any fear of The Curse of Godwin Castle causing the alligators to eat my guests. Besides which, you believe in the curse far more than I do. I am a man of science.”

“Unbelievable,” Cedric growled, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Alden let out a breath and rested his weight on one hip, swirling the last of his sherry in its glass. “I could always make the terrarium off-limits to the ladies, except with supervision,” he said. “It’s just one room.”

“One very large room,” Cedric said with a frown.

“At least there’s nothing wrong with the dining room or the conservatory,” Alden added, hoping that would be helpful. “And I’m certain the ladies will return with a report that the guest rooms are suitable for company.”

“We’ll see about that,” Cedric said.

They did see about it. An hour later, after Alden and Cedric caught up on several other matters of family business, Lady Bernadette and Lady Muriel joined them in the small dining room for luncheon.

“The guestrooms are salvageable,” Lady Bernadette reported. “However, they are all in need of updating.”

“I suspect no one has so much as set foot in them since the reign of King Edwin the Third,” Lady Muriel said with a flat look for Cedric.

“Money is no option in improving them, Lady Bernadette,” Alden said, smiling across the table to her. “Whatever you need as you oversee the renovations, just ask for it.”

“As I oversee the renovations?” Lady Bernadette asked, surprised.

Alden felt momentarily sheepish, as if he’d assumed too much. “Would this not be considered preparation for the ball?” he asked. “If it is not within your purview, I could hire someone else to oversee the work.”

“Oh, I am more than capable of overseeing home improvements, my lord,” Lady Bernadette said, a delicious spark of pride in her expression. “If that is what you wish me to do.”

Alden smiled, hope and confidence growing in his chest. “I would be honored if you would stay at Lyndhurst Grove, as my guest more than my employee, for the duration of the renovations, Lady Bernadette, however long they may take. Together, I am certain we can accomplish them in no time at all, no matter how large the task ahead of us. And then we will celebrate at the ball, when I choose my bride.”

“Thank you, Lord Alden. I accept the challenge,” Lady Bernadette said.

Alden breathed in a sigh of contentment. If it meant such a lovely and charming woman were to be his guest, he was looking forward to the next few weeks, or however long the renovations took. Even more so than the ball itself.