Chapter Five

A s far as Bernadette was concerned, she was sailing in uncharted waters. And there were alligators in those waters, among other things. She was well-versed in the sort of conversations that necessarily took place with fine ladies and gentlemen of Britannia's aristocracy when planning a ball or other event. Over the years, she had developed a procedure for such conversations, which was, in part, what had gained her a reputation for efficiency.

Everything was different with Alden, however, beginning with the fact that he'd finally broken through her resistance to addressing him by his given name. She still could not do it to his face, but more and more throughout the day, as they'd discussed ideas and toured the gardens, she'd found herself thinking of him that way.

For a man who had spent the middle part of his life abroad, Alden was very familiar with the peculiarities of his estate.

"My cousin may balk at the demolition of the old part of the house and the construction of the terrarium," he commented to Bernadette as they stood in the garden, staring up at the startling, glass room, "but he did not know how decrepit and ill-designed this part of the house was before. You saw in your tour of the newer wings of the house that a great deal of work is needed to make the guestrooms and parlors presentable." He nodded at the huge, glass face of the terrarium. "The same was true of this central section of the house. Perhaps more so."

By the end of the afternoon, Bernadette was able to see that Alden might have been eccentric, but he was not half as zany as Lord Cedric and Muriel had believed him to be. As wild as his ideas were, and as ambitious as he wanted to be with the ball, every peculiarity had a point, and every outlandish idea was, in fact, possible, perhaps even ingenious, once he explained it.

Because of that, Bernadette should not have been surprised at all when she awoke the next morning to the sound of hammering elsewhere in the house.

"What is that racket?" she asked Rachel, the young, energetic maid whom Alden had assigned to be her lady's maid as Rachel brought a fresh pitcher of wash water into her room, then rebuilt the fire in the grate.

"That, my lady? That's the workmen," Rachel answered with a smile.

Bernadette climbed out of bed and wrapped her banyan around her shoulders, tying it in front. She stepped over to the door, then opened it and carefully poked her head into the hall.

The room she had been given was one of the nicest in the house. It was at the end of the hall closest to the stairs, and from the doorway, she had a good view of the entire hallway on that floor, as well as a view of the stairs leading down, if she stepped out far enough. The workmen sounded as if they were already hard at work on the floor below, but Alden and a pair of men in rough dress also stood at the far end of the hall, discussing something and gesturing into one of the rooms, whose door was open.

Bernadette gasped and pulled back into her room, shutting the door, as soon as Alden glanced her way and smiled. She was in no way ready to be in company yet.

"I'm amazed that there are already workmen in the house," she said as she hurried to bathe and dress, with Rachel's help. "We only just concocted the idea of improving the guestrooms two days ago, and Lord Alden and I only began discussions about how to proceed in earnest yesterday."

Rachel laughed. "That's Lord Alden for you. He's not a man to let moss grow under his feet, if you catch my meaning, my lady. When he wants something, he finds a way to get it."

Bernadette was surprised by the statement, even though she'd already seen it to be true. Grasping something one wanted was a trait she had always associated with bad men and conniving ladies. Honorable gentlemen and ladies were patient and waited for the things they wanted. They deferred to others. Or so Bernadette had believed.

But why did she believe that? It was certainly the way she'd been told she should behave. It was the way she had behaved. She had deferred to her parents and her betters, agreeing to whatever they wanted for her, whether it was what she wanted or not. Even now, she waited, wrote letters, and remained patient and steadfast instead of asking the burning, impertinent questions that had eaten away at her for more than ten years. Questions such as "Why are you not here?" and "Why am I not there?" and "What is the purpose of all this?"

She had learned a different way at Oxford. Different enough to break her out of her parents' home, and into a different sort of waiting in London. But knowledge and experience had not supplanted the deeply held belief that to be good, one must be agreeable, unquestioning, and patient.

Lady Gladys came to mind. The woman was neither agreeable, patient, nor particularly nice. Bernadette had sensed that Alden wished for the two of them to become friends, or at least to be cordial acquaintances, but after her initial attempt, Bernadette had seen that would not come to be. Further, she had clearly seen that Lady Gladys had designs on Alden. She had appeared displeased, to say the least, at the idea of Alden's ball.

She would have to write to Hethersett about it all.

"Rachel, what do you know of Lady Gladys?" Bernadette asked as the maid helped to style her hair once she was dressed.

"That one?" Rachel laughed. "I only know what's important to know. She threw Lord Alden over for his friend when they were young, and now she regrets choosing the wrong man."

Bernadette hummed in agreement, ignoring Rachel's impertinence. "It is as I suspect, then," she said. "Do you know whether Lady Gladys will try to interfere with the ball?" she asked next, even though what she truly wanted to know was how susceptible Alden might be to Lady Gladys's charms. She could not say why it rankled her to think of the two of them together, since forgoing the ball and marrying Lady Gladys would save Alden a great deal of time in dodging his family's curse, but it did.

"I wager she'll try something," Rachel said, finishing her hair and stepping back. "Though what that will be, I could not say."

That was all Bernadette needed to know. She would be as much on her guard around Lady Gladys as she would have been with the alligators.

"Thank you, Rachel," she said, standing and smoothing her hands over her skirts. "I believe I am armed with the necessary knowledge to continue on with the task I've been given."

Rachel smiled warmly at her. "I'll see if I can't conjure up a few more arrows, in case you need to use them against Lady Gladys," she said with a wink.

Bernadette appreciated Rachel's help. It was enough to help her put Lady Gladys out of her mind entirely as she took herself downstairs to the breakfast room.

To her surprise, Alden was waiting for her at the table, already devouring a thick slice of buttered bread, when she arrived.

"Good morning, Lady Bernadette," he said, rising to his feet as Bernadette made her way to the sideboard to fix a plate for herself. "You're looking quite well this morning."

"As are you," Bernadette returned the compliment. "I am surprised to see you here instead of conversing with the workmen, as you were earlier. I must confess, I was surprised to find workmen in the house so quickly."

"I hope you do not mind," Alden said, moving around the table so that he could hold a chair for Bernadette once she was at the table. When he returned to his own seat, he said, "The work must be done as swiftly as possible so that the ball might take place and the curse can be averted."

Bernadette's head spun over the way her spirits could soar so high, then crash so low, all within the space of a few sentences. As exciting as it was to see so much work undertaken so swiftly, the arrival of the ball would mean Alden would choose his bride, and her services would no longer be required. She had only just met and become fond of Alden, and the thought of ending all that was surprisingly grim.

"I do not mind at all," she said, pretending to be as cheery as ever. "I am impressed that you are able to accomplish so much in such a short space of time."

"That is what everyone said when I built the terrarium," Alden said with a cheeky grin and a wink. "It is what my colleagues on the scientific expeditions I undertook said of me as well. I have never seen the point of allowing time to stand in the way when you so clearly know what you desire in life."

He paused for a moment, holding the second piece of toast he'd just spread with jam in midair, studying her with a curious look.

The air between them felt charged for a moment before he took a breath and went on with, "Do you not think so?"

Bernadette laughed and poured herself some tea. "I have always hoped for that sort of outlook on life, but I have found it rather more difficult to accomplish as a woman." Much to her dismay.

"But you are an Oxford Society lady, are you not?" Alden asked. "I was under the impression that you lot were the authoresses of your own destinies."

Bernadette tried not to sigh. "I have authored my own destiny in that I have built a reputation for planning the very best parties, my lord. I have a comfortable income from my enterprises."

"But?" Alden asked, clearly sensing all the things Bernadette had not and could not say.

Bernadette pretended to be coquettish instead of letting the disappointment she truly felt over the way fate had cheated her show. "But women are still women, and in every kingdom but Mercia, their fates are all but sealed, according to the whims and dictates of their parents."

"And what have your parents dictated for you?" Alden asked, his blue eyes alight with interest and amiability.

Bernadette hesitated, sipping her tea to delay any answer. She liked Alden very much. He was exactly the sort of interesting, unusual person to whom she had always been drawn. Her sensual self was most definitely intrigued by him. Under other circumstances, much different circumstances, she might have attempted to flirt and win his regard, and perhaps more. He was the sort of man she felt she could confide her deepest secrets in, and not only would he keep them, he would find a way for her to muddle through her troubles.

"Many years ago, my father, a well-respected nobleman of East Anglia, decided that he wanted to bring our entire family up in the world," she began, fighting to stop her voice from wavering. Her heart pounded with the anxiety of confessing her story, and she had to put her teacup down so as not to accidentally spill its contents as her hand began to tremble. "He had very particular ideas about how that might be accomplished," she went on.

Before she could say more, before she could confess her troublesome situation, one of the workmen arrived in the doorway, accompanied by Mr. Smythe.

"Your lordship, we have a problem," the workman said, looking deeply agitated.

"A problem?" Alden swallowed his last bite of toast, wiped his face with his serviette, and stood. "What sort of problem, Mr. Starkey?"

The workman, Mr. Starkey, glanced furtively at Bernadette, then said, "There's, um, there's creatures in the rooms."

Bernadette knew immediately what Mr. Starkey was trying to say, and while she appreciated his care of her feelings, she wanted to know what was happening. "Have some of the reptiles escaped?" she asked, as if escaping reptiles was something that happened as a matter of course.

Mr. Starkey looked relieved that Bernadette didn't scream at the very thought. "Yes, my lord," he said to Alden, nodding to Bernadette. "There's a great, fat snake in the parlor off that way," he pointed out to the hall, "and several of the rooms my men have tried to start their work in have lizards in them. Colum tried to kill one of them before I explained you like the lizards – " Alden's eyes flared wide with alarm, and he hurried around the table to the door at that statement, " – but my men don't want to continue with their work with scaley things about."

Bernadette stood as well and stepped away from the table.

"Not a single one of my specimens are to be harmed," Alden said, striding out the doorway.

Bernadette followed. "I can help you collect them," she said, catching up with the men.

Alden paused in the hallway and turned to look at her in surprise. "I couldn't ask you to do that, Lady Bernadette."

Bernadette was a bit surprised that she'd offered in the first place. She knew how important Alden's reptiles were to him, however, and she felt as though her purpose at the moment was to assist him in whatever it took to bring about his ball and help him find a bride.

"I am here to assist you in all things pertaining to the house and the ball," she said, smiling. "If that includes catching escaped lizards, then I will do what I must."

"Alright," Alden said, half laughing, half impressed. They all continued down the hall, and Alden said, "I've a collection of portable cages and other means of transporting my specimens, but for most of them, a basket or pot with a lid would do to carry them back down to the terrarium."

It took no time at all to fetch some of the specially designed cages Alden had for his creatures. Alden had an entire storeroom at the back of the house filled with them.

"I had to transport them all across the ocean somehow," Alden explained as he handed one of the lighter baskets to Bernadette. "I kept them all once we had arrived home, because you never know when you might need to – "

" – gather everyone up, two-by-two, to escape a flood?" Bernadette finished for him.

Alden laughed, his eyes sparkling. "Something like that."

They headed upstairs to the first floor, where the bulk of the workmen had gathered to begin renovations. From the sound of hammers and saws, and judging by the piles of debris that already littered the hallway, some work was being done. The workmen who stood in the hall looked as if they would rather run than risk being bitten by something, though.

"There's one in there," a particularly large, gruff workman, who looked as though he shouldn't be afraid of anything, said, shying away from the door he pointed at.

"We will have whichever creature it is removed in a trice," Alden said, grasping the door handle and opening the door.

The workmen inched back, but Alden and Bernadette moved boldly into the room.

It was all rather ridiculous, Bernadette thought, as she set her basket on the dusty table near the guestroom door and looked around. On the surface, nothing appeared to be amiss within the room at all.

Alden hummed as they looked around. "Yes, I can see that these rooms are in need of improvements," he said walking over to the bed and resting a hand on the tall post that reached up to the cracked ceiling. "I purchased this estate from an impoverished noble family who had been unable to do anything with it for more than a decade. And that was twenty years ago."

"You did not inherit this estate?" Bernadette asked, crossing the room to check behind the wardrobe for snakes.

"No," Alden answered. "My father was the younger son, and since Uncle Gerald had three sons of his own, not to mention a few daughters, all of the Godwin properties passed him by. He and my mother died in a boating accident when I was just a boy, but father had been enterprising with his businesses and investments. My brother, Dunstan, and our sisters and I inherited not only a great deal of money, but those same, profitable businesses as well."

"I am sorry to hear about your parents," Bernadette said, moving away from the wardrobe and checking behind the curtains.

"Uncle Gerald believes their deaths were part of the curse on our family," Alden said, crouching to look under the bed, "but I think it was merely bad luck."

There was a lull in the conversation as the two of them continued searching the room, growing dustier by the moment as they did.

When he stood again, a smudge of dirt on his cheek that had Bernadette's heart beating faster, Alden continued his story with, "Fortunately for me, Dunstan was far more eager to undertake the running of Father's businesses than I was. He has kept them extremely profitable, which enabled me not only to purchase this estate, but to travel as well."

He paused as he went to check behind the bed, then added, "Poor Dunstan. He entered into a disastrous marriage with a woman who was only interested in his fortune. I would never say this unless it were absolutely true, but he is fortunate that his wife died several years ago, while I was away."

"What a sad story," Bernadette said. "I suppose that is one reason you do not wish the bride you choose at your ball to be hunting for your fortune."

"That is it precisely," Alden said, opening one of the drawers in the table beside the bed.

"I shall endeavor to do my best to – oh!"

Bernadette's kind sentiments were cut short as a long, green lizard scuttled down from the top of the curtain she'd just moved and crawled up her arm.

"Egbert! You naughty boy," Alden said, leaving the bed to join Bernadette at the curtain. He grinned like a proud papa and stroked his fingers over the lizard's head as he perched on Bernadette's shoulder. "You certainly have chosen a new favorite, haven't you."

"How do you know this is Egbert?" Bernadette asked, breathless, but not quite as anxious as she was the last time Egbert had crawled up her arm.

"You can tell from his markings," Alden explained, his voice suddenly academic. "He has a ridge on his head here, and if you look closely, you can see he's missing a toe on his back, right foot, thanks to an unfortunate encounter with a rival in the pond last year."

"A lizard rivalry?" Bernadette asked, eyeing Egbert carefully.

Alden laughed. "You'd be surprised how dramatic life is in the terrarium. If you sit and watch long enough, you can see who is allied with who, which species are predators and which are prey, and just how far some of them will go for a meal."

Bernadette laughed despite herself. "It sounds exactly like the sort of activity that ordinarily takes place in a ballroom."

Alden shifted his gaze from Egbert to her and laughed. "You're exactly right, it does."

For a long moment, the two of them stood there, smiling at each other. Bernadette could not recall a time in her life when she had felt as comfortable with a man who was not one of her brothers. Everything with Alden was so easy and so free. Only two days had passed, and already she felt as if knowing him had changed the way she viewed the world around her. In more ways than her opinions about reptiles and amphibians.

But like Alden's creatures, her feelings were as beautiful as they were problematic. She needed to focus all her efforts into planning the ball.

No, she needed to focus on not succumbing to the sprigs of affection that had begun to sprout in her heart.

Alden cleared his throat and stepped back. "Well," he said. "We should continue our search and take Egbert and whatever other of his friends we find back to the terrarium so that the workmen can continue with their tasks."

"I suppose we should," Bernadette said, trying not to sound too melancholy. Her feelings were already so confused. Any further closeness to Alden would just make her heart ache harder.