Page 4 of Dropping the Ball

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 heknew more about the mating habits of marine iguanas than he did about theton.

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 hisattention 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.”

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