Page 9 of Dropping the Ball

“No,” Bernadette said, more than a little breathlessly. “If I am to stay here and help you, I cannot flinch every time a reptile comes near.”

Lord Alden pulled his hands back. “I’m sure Egbert would appreciate that sentiment,” he said. He smiled at Bernadette, who did her best to smile back as she stood, stiff as a board, with Egbert on her shoulder. After a prolonged pause, he seemed to shake himself out of his thoughts before saying, “Perhaps it would put your mind at ease if I gave you a more extensive tour of the terrarium than was possible yesterday and introduced you to some of the family.”

Bernadette swallowed and peeked at Egbert again. “Yes, that would be useful,” she said.

“Good.” Lord Alden nodded, then offered her his arm. “What you see around you is more than two years of work, Lady Bernadette,” he said as Bernadette took his arm and they began a slow circuit around the terrarium. “More than that, really, if you consider the time I spent in South America collecting everything.”

“How did you manage to bring it all back at once?” Bernadette asked.

“I didn’t,” Lord Alden said. “Not precisely. I shipped certain plants and some of the hardier species back over time. Mr. Smythe is something of an amateur zoologist himself, and he received them all and kept them for me in various aquariums and cages. He was merely a footman back then, of course, but when Mr. Guthrie had had enough and resigned his post, I advanced Smythe to the position of butler.” He paused, then added, “Partially because no one else would take the job, once I returned home and work began on the terrarium.”

“I see,” Bernadette said.

Indeed, as Lord Alden escorted her around the room, remarking on the efforts that had gone into creating the water system, the difficulties they had in importing soil from southern climes, and the few failures of both plants and animals to thrive in the last few years, particularly during the difficult to manage winter months, Bernadette began to understand the odd nature of the servants of Lyndhurst Grove. What they all lacked in training, they made up for in their willingness to tolerate and celebrate Lord Alden’s eccentricities.

And as Bernadette learned in greater detail as they walked around the terrarium, reaching a grassy area near the glass wall where a table and chairs had been set up and calling for tea, despite his heroic appearance and confident mien, Lord Alden was as eccentric as it was possible for a man to be.

“After a certain … event many, many years ago, I never thought I would have any desire to wed,” he explained to Bernadette as they sipped their tea to the gurgling of the fountain and the song of Amazonian birds. “Under the influence of a broken heart, a silly thing, really, I had long ago dedicated my life to the study of science and the advancement of theories which would explain the vast variety of life on this earth.”

“Did you never long for companionship of any kind?” Bernadette asked, worried her question was too forward. Then again, with a lizard sunning itself on her shoulder, flickering its tongue near her ear now and then, she felt she had earned the right to ask whatever she wished. “Broken hearts can be mended.”

Lord Alden winced. “I would be lying if I said I had not enjoyed the company of several fine women over the years. I had a particular … friend on the island of Cuba during my stay there. And there was a lovely local woman who came with us on our trip up the Amazon.”

Lord Alden smiled fondly … which made Bernadette’s whole body heat with regret that she had asked. Or perhaps that was merely the effect of the sun shining down through the glass around them.

“I forbade myself from forming any deeper connections back then,” Lord Alden said, pulling himself out of his thoughts with a sigh. “It seems so silly now. Young men too often make rash decisions when they are spurned. Now I feel as though I have wasted the prime of my life.”

“You do?” Bernadette asked, blinking.

“Well, in some ways,” Lord Alden admitted, lowering his head and scratching at a spot on the tabletop between them. “Her name was Lady Gladys Foyle. She was my everything. And then she went and married one of my university friends instead of me. I was so wounded that I wanted to get as far away fromthem and their happiness as I could. Now, however, I can see that I let a momentary injury prevent me from another chance at happiness.”

“I am so sorry,” Bernadette said. Strangely, the sad, romantic tale made her heart beat faster for her employer.

She could not go developing romantic notions about the man, however. She was there to perform a distinct service for him, and to do that, she needed to remain as impartial as possible. For so many reasons.

She cleared her throat and inched closer to the table. “What sort of ball would you like to throw?” she asked, turning to the business at hand. “What are you looking for in the renovations to your house, and more importantly, what are you searching for in a wife?”

“Gosh, that’s a lot to think about,” Lord Alden said, smiling and amiable once more.

“It is why I am here, my lord,” Bernadette said.

“Again, I do wish you would call me Alden,” he said. “Is there anything I can do to coax you into using my given name?”

Bernadette grinned. “Not as long as you are employing me,” she said. “And as I understand it, a great deal of importance rests on you finding a wife.”

Lord Alden made a dire sound and shook his head. “I’ve no wish to inherit Godwin Castle,” he said. “I do not believe in the curse quite as much as my cousin Cedric, but what would I do with a castle all the way down on the Isle of Portland? I have enough on my plate with Lyndhurst Grove.” He paused, then said, “And it has occurred to me that it would be useful to have a wife, both to manage the household, and, perhaps, for the sake of children. I do not mind children at all,” he added with a smile. “I should quite like to have a few to pass on my love of all things herpetological to.”

Bernadette smiled. It was easy for her to imagine the terrarium crawling with children who would splash in the pond, climb the trees, and, well, perhaps not play with the alligators.

“So it is a younger woman you are in search of,” she said, already forming a list of likely ladies in her mind.

“She does not have to bethatyoung,” Lord Alden said, gazing at her with a twinkle in his eyes. “The human female is capable of reproducing well into her thirties, or so I am told.”

A rush of heat pulsed through Bernadette. At five-and-thirty, and in her current situation, she had long given up any hope of having children of her own. To hear Lord Alden reassure her that such a thing was still possible kept her hope alive.

She cleared her throat to push aside the sorrow that gripped her. Age was not the only reason she would never have children of her own.

“What do you think of presenting an exotic theme for your ball?” she asked, keeping her focus on her work, where it needed to be.

---