Page 10 of Dropping the Ball

“Do you mean with wild animals and native music?” Lord Alden asked.

Bernadette nearly laughed, mostly because she could imagine such a ball all too readily. “I was thinking of the color theme, masks made up to look like parrots, and encouraging your guests to dress in bright colors,” she said.

“Yes, I like that,” Lord Alden said, his smile even brighter. “And perhaps we could renovate the guestrooms to have jungle themes.”

Bernadette tilted her head to the side, ideas already forming. “I believe that would be possible,” she said. “Most of the rooms Muriel and I toured yesterday had very little in the way of decoration to distinguish them. I know of an art dealer in London who might be able to provide us with paintings of a jungle theme, and several of the upholsterers of myacquaintance in Oxford Street have sent me fabric samples in the past that I think would do well for this.”

“Lady Bernadette, you are a woman of enterprise and surprise,” Lord Alden said, looking deeply satisfied with her. “If I had known you existed and that you were so accomplished at these things, I would have hired you much sooner.”

Bernadette laughed. “Neither of us will know if I am accomplished at household renovations until they are completed,” she said. “I have only ever planned parties in the past, though those duties have sometimes involved remaking entire rooms. I’ve never set out on a task quite this big before.”

“I shall give you all the assistance you need,” Lord Alden said, going so far as to reach across the table to take Bernadette’s hand. “I shall be your servant in–”

He stopped short, and both he and Bernadette turned to glance out the window as a female figure approached the glass.

“What in Heaven’s name,” Lord Alden murmured, pulling his hand back and standing. His expression turned mystified, as he said, “What is she doing here?”

Chapter Four

There was nothing more satisfying than a good idea that was made excellent by the addition of the right help at the right time. Alden was convinced Lady Bernadette was the best thing that possibly could have happened to his search for a bride. Better still, even though he could tell she was still a trifle anxious about the inhabitants of the terrarium, she was trying her utmost to settle in and become used to the idea of sharing a house with a few hundred reptiles and amphibians.

Alden was enjoying his conversation with Lady Bernadette so much that he hadn’t seen Lady Gladys approaching across the garden.

“What is she doing here?” he asked, squinting so he could make the lady out through the somewhat damp terrarium glass.

There was no mistaking Lady Gladys. The woman was formidable, and walked with her back straight and her head held high, whether she was taking a turn around a ballroom or hiking the distance from her estate of Emery Down. The two propertiesshared a boundary to the south, though Alden had only called on Lady Gladys once or twice since returning to Wessex.

Given the copious amount of bittersweet water that had passed under the bridge between the two of them, those visits had been awkward, to say the least.

“Do you know who she is?” Lady Bernadette asked, remaining seated, but turning and peering out the window.

Alden swallowed, glancing to Lady Bernadette, as Lady Gladys turned and followed the path through the garden that would take her around to the front door. “Yes,” he said. “That is my neighbor … Lady Gladys Minstead.”

He knew before Lady Bernadette whipped her head around to face him that she had made the connection to his earlier story. “Do you mean,” she began, blinked, then finished with, “Is she the same as Lady Gladys Foyle, your lost love?”

Alden wanted to trick himself into thinking that he saw disappointment in Lady Bernadette’s expression. He scolded himself for that impulse, though. Not only was it unkind to hope that a lovely woman like Lady Bernadette might be jealous of his past love, seeing as the two of them hardly knew each other and Lady Bernadette was in his employ, it would have been crass of him to assume anything of her emotional state.

“She is,” he said, slipping guiltily into the chair he’d vacated. “The university friend I mentioned also happened to be my neighbor.”

“Oh, I see,” Lady Bernadette said, nodding sagely, as if she truly did understand. “It must have been extraordinarily painful to have lived adjacent to your friend and your former love. I can understand completely why you would want to sail off to South America.”

Alden felt warm from the inside out. “That was years ago,” he said, brushing away the confusing emotions warring within him.“As I said, it was a silly fancy at the time. I have moved on with my life, and Lady Gladys with hers.”

“As it should be,” Lady Bernadette said, smiling. “Have you repaired your relationship with your friend?” she asked.

Alden cleared his throat and squirmed in his seat. “Alas, Edward succumbed to a fever only two years after I left. Lady Gladys has been a widow for well over a decade.”

“Oh,” Lady Bernadette said, losing her smile.

The moment should not have been as awkward as it was. Alden no longer had feelings of any sort for Lady Gladys. She was the star of his youthful sky, but he had moved on, seen so much more of the world, and widened his horizons. He knew very little about Lady Gladys’s life in the years since, or how she had taken to widowhood. He did not know why she’d never remarried, since she would have been likely to have her pick of gentlemen, but he also had little interest in delving into that mystery.

A moment later, one of the terrarium’s doors opened and Smythe stepped in. “My lord, Lady Gladys Minstead is here to see you,” he called out over the distance, rather than walking to the table and announcing the guest discreetly.

“Thank you, Smythe!” Alden called back, not caring a whit for proper household manners. He stood and added, “We’ll be there directly.”

“Very good, my lord,” Smythe shouted. “I’ve got her in the blue parlor.”

Alden waved, and Smythe bowed before stepping back. By the look of the way he fussed and shooed, something had tried to leave the terrarium with him.

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