Page 66 of Dropping the Ball

Ridding the house of nearly a hundred people was as much chaos as welcoming them had been. Mr. Smythe and Mrs. Pettigrew had truly risen to the occasion, as had Bernadette’s friends and Alden’s cousins. As efficient as the staff was, however, it was still a massive upheaval of people that had taken all day to resolve.

Once those guests were gone, Alden and Bernadette had suddenly found themselves entertaining Lord and Lady Hethersett and their children. Alden had been surprised by how much he adored the Hethersett children. Then again, they were all bright and eager to learn about the creatures in his collection, as well as his travels. Lord Attleborough somehow managed to slip away with the ball guests, but in the end, Alden was glad to entertain without the man’s presence.

The Hethersetts had only been able to stay for a few days, which was just enough time to establish firm and friendly ties with the family. As soon as they left, Alden had assumed he and Bernadette would have copious amounts of time to plan a spring wedding. It was true that Bernadette was known to be living under his roof, though no one could have known that shewas sleeping in his bed as well unless they had crept the halls of Lyndhurst Grove at night, but she had been living there while planning the ball for more than a month.

Then Bernadette had received a curt letter of inquiry from a duchess for whom she had organized multiple social events in the past, asking her to clarify a series of vicious rumors that had arrived on the scene in London. A small amount of digging had revealed that Lady Gladys had wasted no time in penning scathing missives to everyone she knew, accusing Bernadette of wickedness unbecoming a lady.

The accusations were true, of course. There was no point in the two of them pretending they weren’t already living as man and wife. And when Bernadette began to feel a bit unusual right around the time when her monthly courses should have arrived, the two of them decided rather than waiting and pretending that everything had been conducted faultlessly, Alden should apply for a special license, and they should be married immediately.

That was precisely what had happened, and Alden did not have a single regret.

“From what I understand,” Bernadette said as Alden escorted her into the castle and upstairs to the great hall, “your uncle merely stipulated that you lot should be married as quickly as possible. He did not specify that he should be invited to the wedding.”

“I will never put it past Uncle Gerald to change the rules of whatever game he has instigated,” Alden said with a dire look as they turned the corner and headed into the great hall.

Lord Gerald Godwin sat in his usual cozy chair by the fireplace, his feet propped on an ottoman, with a book in one hand and a cup of tea in the other as Alden and Bernadette entered the great hall. Before they could proceed more than a few steps, however, the grey and gloomy figure of Alden’s brother, Dunstan, stepped forward to meet them.

“Alden,” Dunstan said with a nod, then attempted to smile at Bernadette. “This must be the incomparable Lady Bernadette I’ve heard so much about.”

“How do you do?” Bernadette curtsied slightly, then offered her hand to Dunstan.

“Come now, my love,” Alden said with a smile. “We do not stand on ceremony so much here in my family. Dunstan isn’t being formal, he’s just being his usual, miserable self.”

Dunstan broke into a self-effacing laugh, which went a long way to set Alden at ease on the matter of his brother’s state of mind. “Forgive me,” he apologized to Bernadette, taking her hand and kissing her knuckles gallantly all the same. “I do tend to become caught up in my own troubles and concerns sometimes. I am, truly, delighted to meet you.”

“And I you,” Bernadette smiled at him. “Alden has told me quite a bit about you.”

“Oh dear,” Dunstan said with a sideways grin for Alden. “I hope you will not hold it against me.”

“Not one bit of it,” Bernadette said as the three of them continued slowly across the room. She then went on teasingly with, “There are other members of your family who are far more dubious than you are.”

The way Dunstan smiled at Bernadette gave Alden hope that his brother would overcome his heartache one day. It might have made him suspicious of Dunstan as a rival for Bernadette’s affections, if he hadn’t been so certain of Bernadette’s love and his brother’s gentlemanly standards.

“Ah yes,” Dunstan said. “And how is Cousin Waldorf these days?” he asked teasingly.

Alden turned a shade serious. “No one knows, precisely,” he said.

“Oh?” Dunstan suddenly looked concerned.

Bernadette hummed, then added, “Lord Waldorf disappeared from Lyndhurst Grove the night of the ball. Oddly enough, my friend, Lady Katherine Balmor of Mercia disappeared that night as well.”

Dunstan stopped halfway across the great hall, causing Alden and Bernadette to pause as well. “I’m terribly sorry, Lady Bernadette. You must be frightened for your friend.”

“Not terribly,” Bernadette said, sending Alden a sly, sideways grin. She faced Dunstan again and said, “I have every reason to believe that my friend was called away on … business.”

“Business?” Dunstan repeated, arching one eyebrow at Alden.

“Yes,” Alden said. He peeked at Bernadette, then told Alden, “We are relatively certain that Waldorf and Lady Katherine are, shall we say, in the same line of work, and that both of their employers have dispatched them on similar missions.”

“Ah,” Dunstan said, nodding. “That sounds to me like a bit of a game of cat and mouse.”

Bernadette nearly snorted with laughter. “You have no idea,” she said.

Dunstan was startled by her reaction, but before Alden could explain more, Uncle Gerald spotted them and called out, “Who goes there?”

Alden sighed and let go of Bernadette’s arm so that he could tug the hem of his jacket to straighten it. “It appears as though the ceremony has begun already,” he said.

“Ceremony?” Bernadette’s eyes glittered with mirth as they continued on.

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