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Chapter 1

Penelope sat at her bedroom window, book in hand, looking over at the Bridgerton's home, silently cursing herself for glancing at it. She looked back down at her book, determined to get back to her reading.

She had returned back to her home late last night, after a few months in the country and honestly, she possibly could have stayed longer. The country had seemed to agree with her. The country air seemed to ease her appetite and she had lost a few pounds…not much but enough make her feel less self-conscious. She also developed a few new freckles on her face and got a little colour on her face. She also learnt to ride a horse. She was in no way an expert but she could now manage a horse.

However, her mother insisted that they needed to return to the ton…after all, another season was starting and well, country life was definitely not for her mother or Prudence. They did not adapt to country life like Penelope.

And Penelope knew she could not miss, rather Lady Whistledown, could not miss the start of the season. It was bad enough that Lady Whistledown did not report much while the Featheringtons were in the country before the season's end. Although she did report on Anthony's wedding to Miss Sharma, taking the details Francesca Bridgerton had included in her letter to Penelope.

She knew Francesca had written to her because, like most of the Bridgertons, she was confused why her sister Eloise and Penelope were not writing to each other but she still enjoyed reading Francesca's updates.

The letters from Francesca did give her the courage to finally write to Eloise. And to her surprise, Eloise replied. Granted, her response was not as friendly as Penelope had hoped but they both continued writing to each other. However, Penelope knew their friendship had been forever changed. The fact that Eloise had not come to visit first thing this morning confirmed it.

And then there was Colin…Penelope groaned and shook her head. She really did not want to think about him. Every time she did her mind would drift back to that fateful night when the Featheringtons hosted that ball.

One minute Colin was dancing with her and telling her she was special to him as he took her hand and the next, he was loudly declaring to all the men of the ton that he would never court her.

Penelope shook her head again, refusing to let one tear spill from her tear-filled eyes. She had cried enough tears over Colin Bridgerton already.

And she swore to herself before she left the country that this season would be different, she would not be blinded by his charms. She would not hang on his every word, on every twinkle of his eyes or twirl on the dancefloor.

No, this season, she had decided, was the season she would finally get married. Her future husband did not need a title, or to be handsome or a good dancer, and he did not have to be wealthy…no, her Lady Whistledown money could keep her. He just needed to have his own home and be willing to give Penelope the space she needed to continue her column.

Yes, Colin had kept to his word and wrote regularly to her while on his travels and despite herself, she had enjoyed his letters. She had tried not to reply but her manners would not let her. So, she replied to his letters but kept them formal. She did not want to fall back into his trap. Colin Bridgerton was no longer her Prince Charming; he was just the elder brother of her friend. At least that is what she kept telling herself. She hoped if she told herself that enough, her heart would soon start believing it.

"Penelope!" She heard her mother call from downstairs. "Hurry up! We are waiting!"

She sighed and closed over her book and sat it down on her window sill and stood up. She had an appointment with the modiste and she was determined to get the colours she wanted. She was done with citrus colours and she needed to make sure she could convince her mother of this. She needed to be different…she would be different. After all, this year, Penelope was going to be a bride.

"Coming mama." She called back, before heading out of her room, towards the stairs.

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Colin strode along the road on top of his horse. He could see the violet hues of the flowers of Bridgerton house in the distance as he approached, signalling he was becoming closer and closer to home.

Then he saw them, his family, gathering at the front of their home. He instantly spotted Hyacinth, jumping up and down on the spot calling "It's Colin! I see him! Colin!" She was frantically waving while his mother tried to restrain her actions to a more ladylike fashion.

As he grew closer, he could see that Gregory had finally taken a growth spurt to be as tall as Hyacinth and Francesca was now much taller than Eloise and looking more and more refined and like Daphne. Eloise meanwhile, looked so disinterested in being there and his mother had a 'Dear God, he needs a bath and a haircut' look in her eyes as she forced a smile.

Colin inwardly groaned and mentally thanked himself that he shaved while on the boat or his mother may have possibly fainted at the sight of his beard that he grew while traveling.

Then his eyes fell on Benedict, who was grinning his usual 'Benedict' grin. However, Benedict's happiness was nowhere near as evident as his oldest brother Anthony and his new wife Kate, who was positively glowing.

Then the Bridgertons began to clap and cheer, welcoming him back as he finally stopped in front of them, with Benedict holding Hyacinth back to allow Colin to disembark off the horse and pass the reins onto their groomsman, who was waiting to return the horse their stables.

"Hello family!" Colin stated with a grin, before firmly planting his feet to the ground as both Hyacinth and Gregory charged at hum to engulf him in a hug. "Did you miss me?"

"What did you bring me?" Hyacinth asked, causing their mother to tut while Colin softly laughed.

He moved onto each member of family giving them a warm embrace, ignoring Hyacinth's question. He could still see his mother's disgust at his hair out of the corner of his eye.

"You must be hungry Colin." He heard Kate say. "Let us go in and get some food."

"Splendid idea sister." He said, giving Kate's shoulders a tight squeeze.

"And we will run a bath as well." His mother added. "Daphne and Simon will be calling for dinner and we cannot have you looking or smelling like that."

He looked at Eloise and they both rolled their eyes from behind their mother, who was now heading back into the house, along with the older Bridgerton siblings as Benedict stated. "He has been travelling home for a few days now mother."

"And he could not stop at an inn to bathe?" Colin could hear his mother say. Colin shook his head and then quickly glanced at the Featherington's home.

"Maybe he was too eager to get home Lady…I mean Violet." Colin could hear Kate say in the distance. He smiled, thinking he may end up liking his new sister more than his actual sisters.

"She is back in town." He heard Eloise say.

"Huh?" Colin muttered, trying to be nonchalant. He did not realise Eloise had saw his glance at the Featheringtons.

"Penelope…she returned two days ago." Eloise added, now looking at the Featherington's home.

"Oh!" Colin muttered. "I was not um…." But he trailed off when Eloise gave him a knowing look. "How is she? I mean…we wrote but she did not seem herself."

"She is Penelope." Eloise said, shrugging her shoulder. "Does anyone really know how she should seem or feel?"

Colin looked at her sister. There seemed a coldness to her response, as if Penelope was not her longest childhood friend. He had thought they were friends again, his mind wondering what could have caused such coldness.

"Are you telling Colin about Penelope's appearance in Lady Whistledown?" Francesca asked, linking her arm through Colin's as they began to walk back to their home.

"There is more going on in the world than what Lady Whistledown reports Francesca." Eloise retorted, tutting while Francesca rolled her eyes in response.

"Penelope was in Lady Whistledown?" Colin question, concern building in his mind. Lady Whistledown never reported anything positive about Penelope. Unless of course Penelope had started courting someone. A pit of dread stirred in his stomach and he was not sure why the idea of Penelope courting someone seemed worse than Lady Whistledown criticising her appearance or family. "What did Lady Whistledown report?"

"Apparently Penelope and her mother had a huge disagreement at the modiste about the colours of her new dresses." Hyacinth piped in, linking Colin's other arm. "Oh how I wish I could have been a fly on the wall for that discussion."

"Apparently it was quite a scene." Francesca said. "However, I am glad Penelope is standing up for herself. I mean we all know citrus colours are not her friend."

"Did you check in with Pen, Eloise?" Colin asked, glancing over at Eloise as they headed up the steps into their home.

"Penelope is more capable of what you think Colin." Eloise replied coolly, ignoring the look of confusion and questions on Colin's face.

"Anthony and Kate have a wager on whether Lady Featherington or Penelope has won." Hyacinth continued the story, not picking up on the tension between her older siblings. "Anthony is convinced Penelope will be at the next ball in yellow or orange but Kate thinks it will be green."

"It will definitely bring more excitement to the first ball of the season." Francesca stated as they finally entered the foyer.

"Oh Francesca, that is your first mistake…thinking there is anything exciting about a ball." Eloise muttered, not noticing her brother studying her with concern.

It seemed like there had been some changes in the few short months he had been away…and he was not sure he liked them.

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It was the first ball of the season and Colin was feeling a little bit apprehensive and he was not sure why. Kate, the Viscountess Bridgerton had convinced his mother that herself and Anthony could chaperone Eloise, which could only be good news.

Kate was definitely rising up the ranks of favouritism, judging by the hug Eloise gave her when she found out mother would not be in attendance due to Kate's offer to chaperone. Eloise (and Colin) knew this would relieve the pressure from Eloise to dance and mingle with possible suitors.

It was also beneficial for Benedict and Colin if their mother was absent so she could not introduce them to the new debutantes on the marriage mart. However, as Anthony was full of the joys of marriage now, Colin was beginning to wonder if Anthony had replaced his mother in the role of getting the Bridgertons married.

Colin had only been home two days and he had already heard Anthony tell Benedict how marriage was so much better than bachelorhood on 3 separate occasions. After the third time, Benedict escaped to his studio and Colin made his exit to finally get his hair cut (after much needling from his mother) just to avoid Anthony marital bliss discussions himself.

As they entered the ballroom, he felt Eloise push passed him and race to the corner of the room to get the vacant chair, with Kate and Anthony quickly following her. Colin sighed and straightened himself up, relieved that even though some things had seemed to change in his absence, Eloise was still Eloise.

He scanned the room to see who was already in attendance and then surprised himself by feeling disappointed that he did not spot the familiar red hair that he had subconsciously been searching for. Penelope was not there.

Then in the corner of his eyes, he spotted Cressida Cowper making her way towards him. He quickly scanned the room and found Lord Fife and some of his other friends in the far corner. He quickly weaved his way through the crowd towards them before Cressida could reach him, making his escape. He was definitely not in the form to fake niceties with Cressida Cowper.

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The Featherington coach finally pulled up outside the grand manor of Lord and Lady Finch, the hosts of the first ball of the season. Penelope took a deep breath as she prepared herself to exit the coach behind her mother and Prudence.

She lightly gripped her stomach as the butterflies within seemed to be somersaulting. She knew more eyes would be on her tonight than normal, due to the speculation Lady Whistledown had caused about her dress – just like she planned.

If this season was to be different than the ones before, when she had no suitors, she needed to create a buzz on a new 'Penelope Featherington'. The wallflower in unflattering citrus dresses would be gone. She was the new and improved Penelope Featherington and she was going to snag herself a husband this season.

As she entered the ballroom behind her mother and sister, the room seemed to fall quiet or least that is how it felt to Penelope as all eyes were suddenly on her family. She panicked. She had wanted attention to be drawn to her but now she wondered if the attention was not about her dress but possibly something else? Perhaps the ton had still not forgiven the Featheringtons for cousin Jack's despicable behaviour?

Then she began to hear awing and gasps and the words "Oh it's blue" and "That colour is so much better for her delicate colouring" were muttered. She exhaled and smiled with relief. The attention was good.

Then the wallflower in her wavered as the weight of all eyes on her finally closed in on her. The butterflies in her stomach were returning, making her rather nauseous. But then she spotted Benedict Bridgerton pushing his way through the crowd towards her.

"Lady Featherington, both Miss Featheringtons…welcome back to the ton!" He exclaimed, like only Benedict could. He offered his arm to Penelope and Penelope could not help but smile gratefully. They began to walk towards the refreshment table, where Lady Edwina Sharma, Viscount and Viscountess Bridgerton were currently standing. However, Anthony Bridgerton was looking a little perplexed. "Miss Featherington, you are a vision this evening."

"Thank you, Mr Bridgerton,…Benedict." Penelope whispered, causing Benedict to smile. He knew she was not thanking him only for the compliment but for coming to her rescue.

He gave her arm a light squeeze. "No thank you Penelope…you have just won me £20 from Anthony and he is not best pleased with me. I had blue in our sweepstake." Benedict replied.

Penelope gave a laugh. She did not realise how much she missed the Bridgertons and their shenanigans. They always had a way of putting her at ease, making her feel as if she was part of their family even though she was not and she knew she would never be.

She quickly glanced around the ballroom as she approached the Bridgertons and Miss Sharma. Thankfully, those in attendance seemed to be returning to normal behaviours after her entrance.

Then her eyes fell of Colin from across the room and she caught her breath momentarily…he was with the very friends that he had declared his lack of interest in courting her at her family's ball. His eyes were locked on her, his mouth ajar, as if he was astonished at the attention she had gained.

Penelope quickly looked away. She did not want to think about Colin Bridgerton. He may be shocked that the men of the ton had given her a moment of their attention…just because he did not want her, did not mean every man felt the same. This was the new and improved Penelope Featherington and although she might have a few stumbles, she was going to get herself a husband.

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Colin stood at the edge of the dancefloor, gripping his fourth glass of whiskey. His eyes were firmly fixed on Penelope Featherington across the room. She was talking to Lady Danbury and softly laughing at whatever tale Lady Danbury was sharing.

He had struggled to take his eyes off her since the moment she arrived almost an hour ago. He had been looking forward to seeing her again, to discussing his travels with her as she had always been so encouraging and interested. However, he had not had a chance to engage with her yet, she barely left the dance floor, dancing with 4 different suitors.

But now, he did not know why but he almost felt like he could not approach her. There was something different about her…and it was not just the blue dress and how the colour seemed to make her glow. Her hair was slightly different…more mature and her eyes…he could see them sparkle from across the room, and then there was her body…she suddenly had womanly curves.

He shook his head. He did not want to be thinking about Penelope and the curves of her body…after all, this was Pen! He sunk the rest of the whiskey in his glass, sat down the glass and headed towards Penelope and Lady Danbury, hoping the liquid courage would help him.

Again, he shocked himself…needing liquid courage to talk to Penelope. Lady Danbury, yes, he definitely understood…she was terrifying, but Penelope? This was a first and he did not know why.

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Penelope gently giggled as Lady Danbury continued her story. Most young ladies (and the majority of men) would avoid Lady Danbury if possible but Penelope quite liked her. She was honest and quite witty…a change to the usual widows and spinsters that attended these balls.

And Penelope was also very grateful for Lady Danbury's kindness at offering her country home to the Featheringtons to escape the scandal caused by cousin Jack so what was 15 minutes of her time to please a kind older lady?

And anyway, she was happy to receive a small reprieve from the dancefloor, well, her feet were definitely happy. Her partners were probably not her first choices…two of them were barely out of short trousers but she could not exactly afford to be selective if she was going to gain some suitors. If she had to lose a few toenails to get a husband it was a sacrifice she could make.

"Oh, heads up Miss Featherington. Another admirer is making his way to you." Lady Danbury stated, interrupting her story.

"Huh?" Penelope asked, turning her attention back to the dancefloor. She spotted Colin weaving his way through the couples towards her. "Oh, he is not an admirer of mine Lady Danbury, trust me."

Lady Danbury's eyes widened from her bluntness, or at least Penelope thought that was why her eyes widened. I mean, surely Lady Danbury could tell after all this time that Colin Bridgerton was not a potential suitor?

"Lady Danbury, Miss Featherington." Colin said, taking a slight bow as he stopped before both ladies.

"Mr Bridgerton." Lady Danbury replied, stamping her cane on the floor, just missing his foot.

"Mr Bridgerton." Penelope softly replied, giving a soft curtsy.

There was a slight silence. "Um…welcome back to the ton Lady Penelope." Colin said.

"And you too Mr Bridgerton." Penelope said before turning her attention to Lady Danbury. "Mr Bridgerton has been travelling…to Italy."

Lady Danbury groaned and muttered something under her breath. She was too old to have to put up with this awkward tension so she turned her back to them and walked away.

Colin laughed nervously. "Obviously my travels are too boring for her." He joked.

"Oh no…they were not boring…your travels sounded amazing." Penelope quickly replied, her eyes locking with Colin as he gave a smile. She silently cursed herself for giving in and meeting his eye and for complimenting him so she glanced down at her feet.

"I was not sure if you were enjoying my travels as your letters were…" He paused not sure what to say. "…I just hope they entertained."

"Oh definitely Mr Bridgerton. You are a very good writer. I almost thought I was there with you." Penelope replied, silently kicking herself. Why did she continue to compliment him? Sometimes her good manners were her downfall.

She raised her head and looked onto the dancefloor, past Colin's shoulders, determined to avoid his dreamy green eyes.

Colin noted the use of 'Mr Bridgerton' even after Lady Danbury had exited their conversation. Why was she being so formal? And then he followed her eyeline out onto the dancefloor. Was she watching for a possible suitor? So, he stepped beside her, also looking out onto the dancefloor.

"I am sorry if you found my replies lacking Mr Bridgerton." Penelope continued while Colin inwardly groaned…again with the 'Mr Bridgerton'?

"No…they were not lacking." Colin interjected. He did not want to cause any offense.

"I just…" Penelope continued, keeping her eyes firmly on the dancefloor. "…I was busy in the country…learning new pursuits."

Colin looked at her. Even though he was looking at her side profile, he could see the sun kissed glow on her cheeks and a few new freckles that for some reason made him smile. "So, you enjoyed your time in the country?" He asked.

She gave a soft sigh, as if she was unfulfilled or missing something. "Yes…yes I did."

Colin opened his mouth to speak again but then closed his mouth, not sure what to say. Then, the music began to pick up, playing the beginnings of a waltz. He cleared his throat and held out his hand.

"Come on Pen, I think it is time we dance." He stated, smiling at her. However, the smile slowly disappeared as she looked at him. There were no sparkle or joy in her eyes like when he usually asked her to dance. Instead, there was a coldness.

"I am sorry Mr Bridgerton but I am unavailable for a dance." She replied.

He noted the use of 'Mr Bridgerton' again as his lips prepared to ask her why but she answered the question before he could even ask.

"I would hate to mislead anyone into thinking we were courting." She simply stated, looking him in the eye, proud that she got the words out without a croak or a tear. "Do you not agree?"

She could see the confusion from the rejection in his eyes. However, she held firm. She was determined not to waste her time with Colin Bridgerton. "Plus, I see my mother motioning for my attendance." She continued. "Probably another Lord she would like me to meet."

Colin cleared his throat, still not believing Penelope had rebuffed his offer of a dance, especially as a dance with him would let her avoid her mother. "Um yes, of course." He muttered. "You must go to your mother."

"Thank you for understanding Mr Bridgerton." Penelope said. "Good evening." She gave a slight curtsy and made her way towards her mother, praying her legs would not fail her and thankfully they did not.

Colin watched her walk away, still full of confusion at what had just taken place. He did not even notice Lady Danbury take her place beside him until she spoke.

"I like that girl Featherington." Lady Danbury said. "She is observant, quite bright and witty…in an understated way. Something very special in deed."

"Yes, she is." Colin agreed as his eyes watched Penelope throw her head back in a polite laugh at something Lord Debling had said. "Very special indeed."

"Yes, my nephew thought so too." Lady Danbury said, causing Colin's eyes to spin in attention to Lady Danbury. "He was full of compliments towards her from the time they spent together in the country."

Lady Danbury walked away, leaving her comments hang in the air as Colin's eyes turned back to Penelope again, who was now heading to the dancefloor with Lord Debling. He could feel a fire build within him, as if he wanted to hit something and he could not understand why. I mean surely he was not jealous? It did not make sense. This was Penelope…his friend…his…his Pen!

The one thing he could be sure of was that he could not stay here and watch whatever going on before him. He quickly made his exit, wondering how so much could have changed in only a few months.

To be continued…if you like me to?

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