Page 5 of Dropping the Ball

“I see,” Lady Bernadette said, smiling.

The way she held herself and the attention she gave him were admirable. Like many others, she was clearly alarmed by his collection without even seeing it yet, but she was putting on a brave face and attempting to keep an open mind. Those were both traits that Alden prized greatly.

“Here we are,” he said, stopping in front of the closed doors of what had once been the ballroom. “I’ve been working on the terrarium since I returned from my travels. Over a hundred craftsmen from the length and breadth of Europe and the Americas have contributed their time, talents, and efforts to create what I believe is one of the most–”

“Just get on with it and show us what you’ve done, Alden,” Cedric interrupted him.

Alden was too excited to show off his pride and joy to be cowed by Cedric’s grumpy manner. He grabbed the handle of one of the doors, turned, then pulled it open to reveal the wonders within.

The terrarium was absolutely wonderful. Even Cedric seemed to think so as the four of them made their way inside, Alden carefully shutting the door behind them. Immediately, they were confronted with the moist, damp scent of earth, the humidity of towering trees in the sunlight, and the splash of the indoor fountain he’d set in place to feed the miniature river that wound through the enormous room. There was even a bit of birdsong from the exotic birds he’d brought back from the Amazon along with his reptiles and amphibians.

“Good God, Alden!” Cedric exclaimed, taking a few steps deeper into the room, then looking straight up. “What have you done with the ceiling?”

The ladies looked up as well and gasped.

Alden grinned proudly. “I had the rooms above taken out and paned glass built in its place. Likewise, I had the room extended quite a bit and enclosed in glass as well.”

“It is a giant hothouse,” Lady Muriel said, pressing a hand to her chest.

“More precisely, it is a giant terrarium,” Alden said. “I had the floor removed as well, and rich soil was brought in to create the perfect foundation to grow some of the rarer species of palms and trees. If you’ll follow me along the path, I’ll show you the frog pond.”

“Frog pond?” Lady Bernadette asked, her voice wavering, but curiosity shining through.

“Yes,” Alden drew her along the flagstone path toward the part of the room where the walls and ceilings were entirely glass. “Herpetology is the study of both reptiles and amphibians. Ihave over three hundred species of frogs, lizards, turtles, and snakes living here at Lyndhurst Grove with me.”

“Did you say snakes?” Lady Muriel asked from several steps behind them on the path.

“Yes,” Alden answered, failing to see why Lady Muriel had turned so pale, or why Cedric was now glaring at him. “Lyndhurst Grove is home to everything from the Barbados thread snake to a lovely albino boa constrictor named Phyllis.”

“You own a boa constrictor named Phyllis?” Lady Bernadette asked weakly, glancing around and inching closer to Alden as she did.

“Yes, but she’s usually sleeping at this time of day.” Alden looked around as well. “Ah, yes, there she is.” He pointed up to the branches of one of the false trees on the far side of the room that he’d had built specifically for basking reptiles. “She should be docile for a few more days at least, since I just fed her the day before yesterday.”

The ladies gasped, and Lady Muriel clung tightly to Cedric.

“What did you feed her?” Cedric asked sardonically. “The neighbor’s dog?”

“Oh, no, nothing like that,” Alden laughed. “I have the children of tenant farmers bring rats up to the house when they catch them. I pay the boys tuppence per rat,” he said proudly.

Lady Bernadette made a high-pitched, strangled sound as she glanced around, clutching Alden’s arm. “It … it is rather beautiful, if you think about it,” she said breathlessly.

Alden smiled at her. “Just wait until some of the more exotic flowers are blooming,” he said. “I have gone out of my way to make the terrarium a place of beauty as well as scientific splendor, but to be honest, my expertise is more with fauna than flora. I should like to hire a gardener with knowledge of tropical plants at some point, particularly if I decide to expand.”

“Expand?” Cedric asked incredulously. He closed the gap between Alden and himself, bringing Lady Muriel with him as he did. “Alden, is this what you’ve been doing for the last two years? Is this what all the work and improvements you’ve told us about incessantly have resulted in?”

“Yes, of course,” Alden said, failing to understand his cousin’s upset.

“How much money have you spent on all this?” Cedric demanded, gazing up at the glass ceiling, then over to the combination of false and real trees at the far side of the room.

“More than it would be prudent to discuss in front of the ladies,” Alden said discreetly. “But never fear, cuz. I have more money than I could ever spend in one lifetime, even if I built three more terrariums onto the house.” He smiled at Lady Bernadette, intending to proceed on to tell her she could spare no expense while planning his ball.

“We thought you were having the house redecorated,” Cedric said, still incredulous.

“In essence, that is what I have done,” Alden said.

“No, I mean having new paper put on the walls in the dining room, investing in new carpets for the parlor, purchasing a new pianoforte for the conservatory,” Cedric said, angrier still. “You know, things that ordinary,sanegentlemen would do to improve their estates.” He turned to Lady Bernadette and said, “Nowdo you see what I meant before?”

Alden could only imagine what had been said before.

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