Penelope – Scorned
They say the pen is mightier than the sword and there's nothing more dangerous than a woman scorned. Truer words had never been written.
Penelope had warned Eloise not to pursue Lady Whistledown. That no good could come of it. But Eloise was like a dog with a bone and wouldn't let it go. Penelope hadn't had any other choice than to use Lady Whistledown to shift the Queen's suspicion from Eloise. Still it was a tad overboard even for Eloise to rip her room apart to find the evidence that she was Lady Whistledown. She needed to be more careful about the clues she was dropping.
And then there was Colin. His comments she had overheard stung enough by themselves, but did he have to make them loud enough for half the party to have heard?
"Are you mad? I would never dream of courting Penelope Featherington. Not in your wildest fantasies." The words still rang loud and clear in her ears. Every time it was like a knife to her heart. Because unfortunately, that was her wildest fantasy.
Grabbing a quill, she rightened her chair and started writing.
Gentle Reader.
You thought I was silenced. But you thought wrong and if there is one thing you should know by now, it is that this author can not keep quiet for long.
Yours truly
Lady Whistledown.
That would hold the Ton until she plotted her next move, along with finding a new printer. There was no knowing what Eloise would do with her knowledge of Lady Whistledown. Thank goodness she had already started sourcing someone else to print her writings.
She had a few items to report on from the ball here tonight, just not the one she had repeated to Eloise. As usual, she would point an item of gossip in her own direction to divert suspicion.
Clearly Colin had danced with her out of pity after confronting Cousin Jack over the Ruby mines. That hurt almost as much as his declaration that he would never court her. And did he really need to dance with Cressida Cowper?
Drying her eyes she headed back downstairs. Once the guests had all gone home she would finish the rest of her edition with a calmer mind and have the manuscript with the printer for tomorrow's edition. If this printer worked, she need not look any further.
Taking a deep breath, she slipped into the background. Nobody ever noticed her anyway despite the bright yellow dresses her Mother insisted she wear. Happy colour indeed. If it was so happy, what did she always feel so miserable wearing it? It seemed Viscount Bridgerton had gotten engaged again in the short time she had been upstairs. It apparently both Colin and Eloise had left for the evening which was a blessing.
No one noticed her slipping out a little later to drop off the manuscript. What with Cousin Jack making a quick getaway and the newly engaged couple, Penelope was the least interesting person there at the moment. But then that didn't seem to be unusual for her. It had been a long, difficult day and who knew what tomorrow would bring. That is, apart from another issue from Lady Whistledown.