Page 47 of Dropping the Ball

Bernadette was on the verge of huffing and shaking her head over the vapidness of young ladies, but she did understand. Whether those were the young ladies’ opinions or not, they were all of a delicate age where marriage would define their lives, and where they were still beholden to the ideas of their parents. It was in their best interests to pretend they were sweet and obedient.

Bernadette understood that all too well. She had fallen prey to sweetness and obedience as well, and it had destroyed her life.

She was about to put forth another question that she hoped would provide a better demonstration of the wit and charm of the chosen ladies, but Lady Collette gasped as she turned her head to look at Alden again. Her eyes went wide as she stared at the arrangement of flowers in front of her.

Bernadette quickly checked for Egbert and found him missing. The naughty little lizard must have shifted around to the other side of the table to see what there was to see on that side. She could still see his tail pointing out to her side of the table.

“Lady Collette,” Bernadette said, a bit too loudly, so that she might catch the young woman’s attention. “Do you have plans to play or sing for us after supper?”

To her credit, Lady Collette did not scream or fuss, like some of the others would have. She snapped her mouth closed, looked across the table to Bernadette with wide eyes, and swallowed hard. She then forced herself to turn to Alden with a trembling smile and said, “If your lordship wishes for me to sing and play, I will.”

“I would like that very much,” Alden said, smiling back at Lady Collette as Bernadette discreetly grabbed hold of Egbert’s tail and pulled him toward her.

Lady Wendine noticed Egbert at that point and gasped as if she would scream, but Bernadette reached out under the table and placed a hand on her thigh to stop her. She shook her head when Lady Wendine peeked at her, and Lady Wendine snapped her mouth shut.

While that was happening, Alden went on, speaking loud enough to draw the attention of the people seated at that end of the table. “I am very fond of music,” he said. “And not only European music as well. The natives of the Americas have a charming variety of musical styles. I found them all to be exceptionally interesting. Their music is often accompanied by dancing, just as ours is.”

He peeked at Bernadette a few times during his speech, telling her with his eyes that he knew what she was doing and he was grateful for her quick thinking.

When Bernadette had a firm grip on Egbert, but needed to momentarily pull him into the open in order to conceal him further, Alden pointed to a painting at the other end of the room and said loudly, “That painting was specially commissioned to show some of the landscape of the Amazon where I spent many years. If you look closely, you can see a depiction of some of the people who make the Amazon basin their home.”

Blessedly, nearly everyone turned to look where Alden was pointing, even some of the guests farther down the table, who were having conversations of their own. Lady Gladys was one of those people.

When everyone was distracted, Bernadette pulled Egbert from the arrangement and quickly concealed him under the table, whispering, “Naughty lizard,” as she did.

She nodded to Alden as soon as she was certain Egbert would not cause more trouble.

Alden met her eyes with a grin that was so warm and devilish that Bernadette could not help but smile and nearly laugh in response. Her heart seemed to swell within her, and if Lady Wendine had not been sitting between her and Alden, she would have ventured to move her leg under the table until she found his to make intimate contact.

Which was precisely what she should not be doing. The purpose of the supper arrangements was to help Alden choose someone else, but as with everything else, whatever she did, it only seemed to bring the two of them closer.

Chapter Sixteen

After a day spent in so much turmoil, supper was actually a startling success. Alden was certain Bernadette had arranged the seating to place her choices for him nearby, so that he might converse with the chosen ladies and come to know them better, and aside from the brief interlude where Egbert decided to make an appearance, that was precisely what Alden did.

Lady Wendine was surprisingly intelligent, though she let her need to fit in with what thetondeemed acceptable override her natural impulse for interesting conversation. Lady Alyce was clever as well, and Alden suspected she had a bold streak within her. But that bold streak was what had prompted her to have an affair with an unsuitable man, if what Lady Gladys had told him was correct, and by all indications, the poor woman was still in love with whomever that was. Lady Collette surprised Alden by being sweet and charming, once she was certain her motherwas no longer watching her every gesture and silently critiquing every word she said.

But as supper progressed and every course was served, Bernadette was still the one and only lady that Alden could ever see himself wed to.

“Perhaps it is time for us all to reconvene in the conservatory for a touch of musical entertainment, my lord,” Bernadette said, leaning over Lady Wendine a bit so that she could speak to Alden directly.

“Yes, that would be splendid,” Alden replied, smiling at her as though Lady Wendine wasn’t there.

Lady Wendine made a small sound, which Alden feared was an indication she had uncovered the truth about his feelings for Bernadette, but he did not have time to do much about it.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, rising and immediately commanding the attention of everyone at the table, ending over a dozen conversations simply by raising his hands. No wonder people like his cousin, Cuthbert, enjoyed lording over people so much. “It is time for us to retire to the conservatory. I am certain we will all enjoy each other’s talents there. Please refer to Lady Bernadette if you wish to sing or play for us this evening.”

Those words began a frantic exodus. Many of Alden’s guests headed straight to the conservatory as footmen stepped in to make certain no glasses were upset or chairs tumbled over as moves were made. More than that, as soon as Bernadette rose and started out of the room, she was beset by a throng of women, most of them the mamas, demanding favorable placements for their daughters in the entertainments.

At the other end of the table, Lady Gladys rose slower than those around her. She was all grace and beauty as she stood and smiled at Alden. Her expression seemed to be telling him, “Well done,” though the challenge that remained in her eyes also said, “Just you wait.”

Alden was glad when he could look away from her to Cedric, who approached him so that they could leave the dining room together.

“It was a bit of a rough start,” Cedric said, “but you seem to have everything under control now.”

Alden shook his head as the two of them waited for most of the other guests to depart so that they could bring up the rear. “I have done nothing for this event but open my house,” he said. “Every bit of credit for the planning and execution belongs to Bernadette and my staff.”

“Well, whatever the case, things seem to have evened out,” Cedric complimented him, thumping a hand on his back. “And I believe only two of the young ladies followed through on their threats to run away home.”

---