The following afternoon, Penelope and Sylvester loaded a picnic basket into Penelope's roadster. Penelope decided to let Sylvester drive.
"I just hope that Hooded Claw doesn't decide to spoil our picnic," she said.
"I don't think he will, don't you worry," Sylvester said in a reassuring tone. To Penelope he sounded very confident-which, to her, was comforting.
As they drove along, Penelope sneaked a few glances at Sylvester, who looked intent on the road. He had been almost a father figure to her since the deaths of her parents a few years back. At the same time he didn't interfere, just more or less let her go her own way. She didn't really need a guardian anymore, since she was of age, but he had been a good friend of her father's and besides, she valued his advice.
Sylvester was in his early thirties and from what Penelope had seen thus far, he was a very intelligent man. She oftentimes wondered why he didn't find a woman and settle down, and she'd never asked him, figuring it improper to pry in such personal matters. She felt that he'd be ideal as a husband and eventually a father-he certainly seemed the type-so the fact that he never seemed to have a date had her wondering.
They arrived at their destination. Here and there along the riverbank were couples and families enjoying the warm summer day. Sylvester hoisted the picnic basket out of the roadster while Penelope spread a blanket on the ground near the riverbank. They then sat down on the blanket.
Penelope looked around a little. A little ways off, there were a few boys wearing knickers and rolling hoops. There were people wading in the river. Others sat against trees, absorbed in books.
Sylvester spotted a flower nearby, plucked it, and gave it to her. "For you, Miss Penelope," he said with a bit of a smile.
"Thank you kindly, Sylvester," Penelope said sweetly.
For the next hour or so, they had lunch and talked. Rarely had Penelope had any long conversations with Sylvester. Usually he was busy with something. The more he talked that day, the more she realized that the kind of man she was looking for would be someone like Sylvester-level-headed, mature, not someone constantly out looking for a good time. Someone steady and stable, someone dependable.
It seemed that just about all the men her age only cared about a good time. She couldn't care less about jazz or speakeasies; she'd been raised to be a proper young lady, even though nowadays people seemed to be going a bit wild.
At the back of her mind was the idea that the Hooded Claw would crash their picnic. Still, little by little, she managed to relax. Sylvester was here. He wouldn't let anything happen to her.
As she discreetly studied her companion, she gave the matter of marriage some thought. She was in her early twenties and she thought it was high time she settled down. But what did Sylvester really think of her? Did he think of her as a kind of adopted niece? Somehow she didn't really think so. He was so reserved, it was a bit hard to read him at times.
"Did you have a good time, Penelope?" he asked.
"Yes, I did, thank you," she replied.
Then he did something a bit unexpected. He picked up her hand and brushed his lips across the back of it. Penelope smiled and blushed a little as she put her hand to her chest. "Why, Sylvester," she said.
He smiled at her in return. It was a warm smile, something Penelope was sure she'd never seen on his face, in all the years she'd known him.
At home, Penelope was writing in her diary. That had been a date she and Sylvester had been on; it had been a bit more than a friendly outing. Sylvester had been every bit the gentleman with her. Had they been totally alone, Penelope was almost sure that one or both of them might have encouraged things to go pretty far.
With that in mind, she had to make sure things stayed proper. Admittedly, she felt a bit uneasy now, being under the same roof as Sylvester, but then again, her mansion was so big that it shouldn't be an issue. People had servants who lived on the same property.
She wondered when-or if-he would ask her to marry him. He'd certainly looked besotted while they were sitting near the river. She already knew what her answer would be.
It would definitely be "yes."
Unlike those college boys, Sylvester clearly wasn't after her money. They'd known each other for a while. She also wanted a man who would be faithful to her, and he certainly seemed to be that kind; she wasn't interested in being the main woman in some man's harem.
She finished her diary entry, then changed into her nightgown and got into bed.
Oddly enough, one of her dreams was about the Hooded Claw competing with Sylvester for her affections.
