Page 25 of Dropping the Ball

They were all jobs he wished Bernadette was there to share with him. Her artistic eye was much keener than his. He constantly worried that he would make as much of a mess of his home renovations as he had with Lady Gladys.

Alden began to worry when Bernadette did not join him for supper.

“Lady Bernadette has taken supper in her room tonight,” Smythe explained, sending him a disapproving look, as though he were the entire reason Bernadette was out of sorts.

“Thank you, Smythe,” Alden sighed and continued on with his meal in aching silence. He would have foregone supper entirely, if he hadn’t been so famished from skipping luncheon.

By the time his hunger was satisfied, Alden had had enough. He was frustrated, upset, and lonely, but more than anything, he felt guilty that he had let things unravel between him and Bernadette, simply because Lady Gladys wanted to claim him as her own.

It might not have been entirely proper to march upstairs to Bernadette’s bedroom, but when an offense was as great as what he felt he’d committed, strong actions were required. He knocked on Bernadette’s door, then waited with baited breath until she came to answer it.

“Lord Alden?” Bernadette looked surprised, but also tired and gloomy as she opened the door to him. “Is something the matter?”

“Yes,” Alden said, unable to resist his need to step into her room and invade her private chambers. “Everything is wrong.”

“Oh, dear,” Bernadette said, clearly misunderstanding him. “Have more reptiles escaped the terrarium?”

“No,” Alden said, reaching for her hand. “I’ve behaved like a coward and a fool, and I allowed a cruel woman to wound you rather than standing as your shield.”

“Oh!” Bernadette said, her eyes going wide. A moment later, that shock changed to sorrow. “Do not trouble yourself, my lord. If you wish to marry Lady Gladys instead of continuing on with this ball, I will understand entirely.” She lowered her face, sadness enveloping her.

Alden could not stand it for another moment. “I do not wish to marry Lady Gladys,” he said, sliding his hand under her chin and lifting her face to him once more. “I wish to marry you.”

There. The truth was out, whether it was wise or not. And as long as he was behaving rashly, he might as well throw all his caution to the winds.

He stepped closer to Bernadette and slipped one arm around her narrow waist so that he could pull her flush against his restless, overheated body, then he slanted his mouth over hers in a kiss he’d waited a week to take.

Chapter Nine

The day had turned into one of the darkest and most difficult of Bernadette’s life. The insult of Lady Gladys had been added to the injury of planning a ball so the man she was quickly falling in love with could find someone else to marry. And the guilt of nearly confessing everything to Hethersett had only added to her burdens.

She’d left the disastrous luncheon to gather up the remaining invitations and taken herself to one of the parlors that was not in need of renovation so that she might finish them. But the parlor window showed her too clear a view of Alden and Lady Gladys continuing with luncheon. When the conversation between the two of them seemed to turn intimate, Bernadette gathered her things once again and took herself off to the other side of the house.

Mrs. Pettigrew had found here there, on the verge of tears.

“It cannot be as bad as all that, my lady,” the kind woman had said, resting a hand on Bernadette’s back. She jumped whenEgbert decided to emerge from the warmth of her fichu and skitter off.

“It is my own silliness,” Bernadette said, determined not to wallow in misery. “I am not in a position to concern myself with who Lord Alden chooses to befriend.”

Mrs. Pettigrew had merely hummed, but her expression hinted she had more to say.

She knew her place well enough not to say it, however. Instead, she offered to allow Bernadette to use her study in the servants’ quarters downstairs so that she could finish the invitations without interruption.

It was not hiding. She had not taken herself belowstairs, where Alden surely would not follow or find her, in order to avoid the man she should have seen as her employer only. She was merely offering her sincere assistance to the staff of Lyndhurst Grove by remaining downstairs through the afternoon and meeting with the workmen who needed her opinion about fabric samples and paint colors there instead of venturing into the rest of the house.

She told herself that she was tired, and that was why she chose to take supper in her guestroom instead of joining Alden in the dining room. No one had said anything, so for all she knew, Lady Gladys had stayed in the house and would be dining with them. Bernadette could not smile her way through another meal with the woman. Particularly since Lady Gladys had given every indication of knowing about Hethersett.

Still, Bernadette felt restless and anxious as she paced her bedroom, and even though the supper Mrs. Pettigrew had sent up for her was fragrant and beautifully presented, Bernadette could only pick at it. Her appetite had gone completely.

So when there was a heavy knock at her door just as she’d finished nibbling at the food on her plate, she was only too glad to abandon the meal to answer the door. She expected that itwould be Mrs. Pettigrew, or perhaps Rebecca or Mercy, asking to take the tray away. When she opened the door to find Alden standing there, her heart seemed to drop to her stomach before flying up to her throat.

And then, before she could fully settle herself into conversation with him, Alden had his arms around her and his mouth slanted over hers in a kiss.

Bernadette’s head spun as her senses were overwhelmed with need. Alden’s body was strong and warm against hers. His arms held her firmly, but without crushing. The ardor of his kiss was something she’d only ever dreamed of, and she could not help but to melt into it. She gripped the back of Alden’s neck, both for support and so that he wouldn’t change his mind, pull away from her, and end the dream she felt she’d suddenly fallen into.

“I wish to marry you,” Alden repeated as they paused to breathe and gaze at each other.

There was so much desire in his eyes and such determination within him that she could feel it in every part of the way he held her. What she saw reflected back at her in his expression was so much like what she felt and what she wanted that she drank in his words without letting practicality interfere.

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