Chapter 1
“If there is anything worse than a sister-in-law afflicted by pregnancy hormones,” Emanuel Alden Ainslie commented to his brother, “it’s a sister-in-law afflicted by pregnancy hormones while planning to marry off every available male within a five-kilometer range.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Elliott Ainslie, eighth Baron Ainslie, scoffed, watching with a smile as Alice sat chatting with the dowager baroness on the newly rebuilt stone verandah.
Alden was a bit jealous of the emotion behind that smile, although he certainly wouldn’t mention that. Not now. Not when Alice had decided that matchmaking was her new hobby.
“She’s not trying to pair off every unattached male,” Elliott continued. “Just you lot. She said, and I believe I’m paraphrasing her accurately, that there was no sensein Mum and Dad’s adopting ten children if she—Alice—couldn’t find her many brothers-in-law women to make them all as happy as she made Gunner and me.”
Alden looked from his eldest brother, Elliott, to the second eldest, Gunner. The three men had climbed to the top of the restored tower in order to verify the recent repair work had been done according to Elliott’s expectations. “I must have missed the part where Alice found Lorina for you, Gun. I thought she was part of that archaeology show that filmed here last year.”
“She was,” Gunner answered, smiling when his wife of six months strolled out to join the other two ladies as they sipped lemonade, ate a copious amount of seedcake—the current focus of Alice’s food cravings—and made plans for god only knew what. “Alice is stretching it a bit to claim our meeting as one of her triumphs, but Lorina had met her some years ago, so we don’t mind if she adds us to her matchmaking curriculum vitae.”
Alden peered over the edge of the tower and looked down at the three women on the verandah. Although Alice had been installed at the castle as its chatelaine for more than a year, he’d met her only half a dozen times. She was pleasant enough, as was Gunner’s bride, but of late... He sighed. “I could do without her turning her sights on me.”
“Who? Alice?” Elliott stopped smiling at his wife and glanced at Alden. “I thought you liked her.”
Alden sensed the undercurrent of warning in Elliott’s voice. “I do like her. She’s funny. I like a sense of humor in a woman. But... it’s just... you know me. I’m not very comfortable around women.”
“You’re shy, that’s all,” Gunner said, glancing at his mobile phone. “It’s nothing you can’t overcome with a littlework. Try one of those speed-dating setups. That will force you to meet a large number of women, so many you will have to be extroverted by sheer act of preservation.”
Alden grimaced. There was nothing worse than speed dating that he could think of short of gelding or global nuclear war, and frankly, he’d question the war’s being as bad as the idea of meeting a bunch of strangers, especially female strangers. “Can’t Alice pick on one of our other brothers? Surely some of them aren’t dating anyone.”
“She could, and she no doubt will at some point, but for now, she’s insisting that it’s time you settle down.”
“You’re over thirty, Alden,” Gunner said with a nod. “You’re not getting any younger.”
“Exactly. And more to the point, Alice is pregnant,” Elliott said as if everyone in the immediate area didn’t already know that. “She has... fancies. And if one of those fancies is to find a woman for the next brother, chronologically speaking, then, by god, you are going to humor her.”
“Josiah is older than me,” Alden protested. “She should be focusing on him, and letting me get on with life.”
“He’s only a few days older than you, and since he’s out of the country, Alice decided it was time you were made deliriously happy.”
Alden made a face. “But I don’t want to be deliriously happy! I just want to be left alone.”
“To do what?” Gunner asked him, the men slowly making their way down the stone spiral staircase to the ground floor. “Go back to university? You’ve already earned more degrees than all the rest of us put together.”
“I like learning new things,” Alden said stubbornly. “There’s nothing wrong with having curiosity, and wanting to learn more about life, you know.”
“There is when you are part of the drain on the already stressed estate income,” Elliott said firmly. “We’ve had this out already, Alden—I simply can’t support you any longer.”
“Which is why I’m flipping Bestwood Hall. I should make a packet off of it.”
“Bestwood,” Gunner said with an obvious roll of his eyes. “That monstrosity. Whatever possessed you to take every last pound you had and invest it in a decaying old house out on the edge of nowhere?”
“And more importantly, why do you think you can sell it at profit?” Elliott, the more practical brother, asked as they emerged into the sunshine of the early-summer day. “If no one but you was willing to buy it, why do you think slapping a bit of paint around will increase the value?”
“The solicitor said that Lady Sybilla sold the house to me because she liked my name,” Alden said with as much dignity as he could muster. “I’m sure there were any number of other interested parties. In fact, I know there were—the estate agent who put the deal together for me said that someone had asked if I was willing to part with it. And that was less than a week after I closed on the sale. So, you see, you annoying brothers of mine, I’m not the fool you think I am.”
“Is that so?” Elliott paused and tipped his head to the side. “How much was the offer?”
“Well... as to that...” Alden gave a little cough.
“As I thought. Less than what you paid for it?” Elliott asked.
“Perhaps.” Alden tried to look down his nose at his eldest brother, but unfortunately, at that moment they’demerged onto the verandah, and both Elliott and Gunner had all their attention focused on their respective women.
Once again, Alden was aware of a little pang of jealousy. No, not jealousy, he decided as he strolled over to the table and accepted a glass of lemonade. Envy. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad if Alice was to find a woman for him. Perhaps the hellish nightmare of meeting someone new wouldn’t be quite so terrible if Alice prepared the ground for him. Perhaps...
