“I have grown accustomed to them,” Miss Sidney admitted. “They truly mean you no harm. If you had to be afraid of something, I would be afraid of the adder. That particular snake is poisonous and is common in our area.”
Alden took a step back, his eyes widening. Drats. Now he had a new fear. “I demand that you let me stay at the other cottage. The one that is closer to the manor.”
Miss Sidney nodded. “Of course,” she said. “That won’t be an issue. I just thought you would want to enjoy the tranquility that the cottage in the woodlands provided.”
“Tranquility is the least of my concerns,” Alden responded.
Turning towards the butler, who had been standing nearby, Miss Sidney instructed, “Please send the coach to the cottage to collect Mr. Dandridge’s trunks and deliver them to the other cottage.”
Bryon tipped his head in response. “Yes, Miss Sidney,” he said before hurrying off to carry out her instructions.
Miss Sidney clasped her hands in front of her and brought her gaze back to Alden. “Would you care for a cup of tea?”
“No, but I wouldn’t mind sitting down,” Alden replied.
Gesturing towards the drawing room, Miss Sidney suggested, “Why don’t you rest before supper? Our cook has a special meal planned.” She lowered her voice. “Not even I am privy to what she is going to serve, but I have no doubt that it will be delicious.”
Alden suddenly felt rather silly for how he had reacted. Perhaps the spider wasn’t as big of an issue as he had made it out to be. “Miss Sidney, I am sorry if I…”
“You have no reason to apologize,” she interrupted, her tone gentle. “I just want you to be comfortable here since this will all be yours one day.”
“Thank you,” Alden said.
“Had I known you were afraid of spiders?—”
He cut her off. “I am not afraid of spiders,” he lied. “I only take issues with ones that are as large as a house cat.”
Miss Sidney stepped forward, giving him a reassuring smile. “To ease your mind, I will direct the servants to scour the cottage where you will be residing in search of any spiders.”
Alden ran a hand through his hair. “That is most thoughtful of you.”
“It is the least I can do,” she said. “Now, if you will excuse me, I need to get back to work. But I will see you for supper.”
As Miss Sidney walked away, Alden couldn’t quite believe how calm she was about the house spiders.
Once Elinor was out of sight of Mr. Dandridge, sheshuddered at the thought of the giant house spider that he had described. How she loathed spiders, especially house spiders. Their long legs and plump bodies made her skin crawl. They were harmless, but their mere size always made her cringe. She would never admit it to Mr. Dandridge, but she’d had a similar reaction when she’d encountered her first house spider, jumping back with a shriek and refusing to return to her room until it was dealt with.
She arrived at her study and walked around the large mahogany desk, opening the ledger in front of her. Moments later, her aunt stepped into the room, closing the door behind her with a soft click. “I heard shouting. Is everything all right?”
“It is,” Elinor confirmed. “Poor Mr. Dandridge came face to face with a house spider and he was rather upset about it.”
“House spiders can grow to be rather large,” her aunt mused, moving to sit in one of the chairs that faced the desk.
“That they can, but they are everywhere in Scotland,” Elinor said, settling into her own chair. “It is just one of the many things I have had to get used to here.”
Her aunt grinned, a twinkle in her eyes. “Can anyone get used to seeing a massive spider staring back at them?”
“No, I suppose not,” Elinor responded, shaking her head. “I was half-hoping that Mr. Dandridge would give up and leave Scotland.”
“I don’t think it is going to be that easy.”
Elinor nodded. “I agree, which is why I have selected three perfect young women to introduce Mr. Dandridge to.”
Her aunt lifted her brow. “Is that so?”
“Yes, I was thinking that Mrs. Gwendolyn MacBain, Miss Isobel Fraser, and Miss Maisie Cowen would all be interested in a marriage of convenience with Mr. Dandridge.”
Her aunt let out a slight huff. “You must not think very highly of Mr. Dandridge since you picked three uninteresting young women.”
