I had an idea the other day about a sequel to the first two chapters of Inebriation. Hope you like it.
The faint light of the candle was the only thing that illuminated their office. He could glimpse in the darkness her worktable covered with sheets of variegated papers, spread across the surface of which he could not even distinguish the wood. One should not believe, however, that there was no method in the disorder which dominated her desk. Each stack of paper represented a project she was working on. She just had trouble sticking to only one idea at a time.
His pocket watch showed that midnight was long past and yet he couldn't bring himself to go to bed. He wasn't normally one to worry too much. If there was one woman who could make it through the maze of Mayfair, even in the middle of the night, it was her. But she was accompanied by his sister and sister-in-law and nothing good could come out of it.
He dipped his lips in the amber liquid and let it burn his throat. He hadn't touched the poison for months - he couldn't bear the sight of a bottle of alcohol after that night - but, faced with his growing anxiety as the evening progressed, he concluded that a little pick-me-up could only make him feel better.
He did not like being like this, lonely and worried, knowing her without a protector in the streets of London. He had sworn, now twice, to protect her, and he felt helpless that she might be in danger. When she had accepted Lady Danbury's invitation for a party amongst married women, he would not have believed that it could have posed any danger. After all, what could be so bad about such a party? But it was now the middle of the night, and he hadn't heard from his wife. He was worried sick.
A loud bang followed by women's laughter coming from the entrance hall caught his attention and a wave of relief washed over him. He jumped to his feet and immediately opened the door to his office, which opened onto the hallway.
"Shhhhh!" Penelope laughed, clinging to Daphne's arms so she would be collapsing on the ground. "We're going to wake up the baby".
"Let the nurse or Colin take care of the baby for tonight, Penelope. You're in no condition to take care of her anyway."
"Okay," she said to herself, trying to straighten up when she had just tripped over the hem of her dress.
"Looks like you two had some fun" Colin smiled leaning on the door frame.
"COLIN!" yelled Penelope, seeing her husband.
"Hush!" Daphne laughed.
"You're still up? I didn't believe you would still be up! Why are you still up?"
Colin shrugged.
"I could not sleep".
"Aw! Did you miss me?" she inquired.
"Perhaps", he smirked.
"Aw!" Daphne sighed, her hand over her heart.
"You're wonderful! Isn't he wonderful, my husband?" she asked Daphne. "And he is handsome too and he has pretty eyes. Have you seen his pretty eyes, Daphne?"
"Your husband is my brother; I never paid much attention to his eyes".
"No, but look", she said staggering towards Colin to grab his chin and direct his face towards Daphne. "How not to fall in love with these eyes?"
"Again, he's my brother".
"Your loss", she muttered before directing her gaze to Colin's. "Hello, pretty eyes".
"Good evening, Pen!" He laughed. "You are drunk!"
"It's your sister's fault… and Kate's", she affirmed before approaching Colin's ear. "They are diabodolilical!"
"That, I've known for a long time. So, the three of you had fun?" Penelope nodded.
"I won ten pounds gambling," she said as her hands began to slide along Colin's vest.
"Congratulations!"
"And I lost them," she mumbled before whispering again. "Daphne cheated".
"I didn't cheat," protested the other woman, staggering as Penelope's hands slid down her husband's sides. "I'm just very lucky..."
"Kate was furious".
"I guess so," he replied as Penelope's hands moved up to the back of his neck. "Pen? What are you doing?"
"I'm kissing my husband", she whispered as her fingers threaded their way through his hair to draw him towards her in a languorous kiss.
"We are not alone, Pen!" He replied blushing.
"She already knows what we do at night, we have a child, Colin! She knows how these things work!"
"That's no reason to do these things in public".
"Anyway, Penelope already told us about the mirror", replied Daphne "… and the desk… and the closet… and the kitchen… and my library, really Colin?"
"Ok, dear sister, I think it's time to go home. Are you alone in the carriage?"
"No, Kate is waiting for me".
"Perfect. So, we'll sit Penelope here", he said guiding her to the nearest armchair, "and I'll take Daphne to her equipage".
Getting Daphne into the carriage hadn't been easy, but he sighed in relief as he gave the valet a few coins to make sure the two women got home safely. When he finally returned to the hall to join Penelope, he smiled: she had fallen asleep in her armchair.
It was not uncommon for him to watch her sleep. He liked to observe her while her usually overactive brain took time to rest. She seemed so serene in those moments, as if life allowed her, for a moment, to just be herself. Not the author or Lady Whisledown – may she rest in peace – or the mother or even the wife. Simply Penelope Bridgerton.
He approached her, knelt at her feet, raised a hand to her face and moved a strand of hair that had slipped there.
"Pen! You must go to bed", he whispered.
"I'm not tired," she muttered.
"You can be not tired in our bed", he said grabbing her hands. "Come".
With a smooth movement, he picked her up as she staggered forward, losing the little balance she had left. She leaned on him, hugging him tightly as he led her up the stairs.
"Careful", he said as their feet climbed the first step.
"You're comfortable", she sighed.
"Glad to be your cushion", he joked. She snorted before laughing. "What?"
"Your name is Colin and you are my cushion… it rhymes!"
"You're drunk!"
"It rhymes even when I'm drunk!" she said as they reached the top of the stairs. "Colin?"
"Yes, Pen."
"I have a secret… shhhhhhhh!" She whispered putting a finger in front of her mouth.
Colin chuckled as he opened the door to their bedchamber. He will have so much fun reminding everything the next day.
"And what is your secret, dearest?"
"I'm Lady Whisledown!" She whispered making Colin giggle – Penelope's secret identity had been revealed over two years ago now. "Don't be angry, please don't be angry".
"I'm not angry", answered Colin, more and more amused as he undressed her kindly.
"Yes! You are angry!" she complained. "And now you're going to leave me and you're going to live in Peru!"
"In Peru? Eh?"
"… and you're going to make chocolate with the Incas… you love chocolate so much. You will be happy over there".
Colin, having put her in a linen nightgown, remembered that she was reading a book on pre-Columbian civilizations.
"But I'm going to miss you so much", she said starting to cry as she slipped under the sheets.
Colin walked around the bed and slid under the duvet until he could hug tightly his inconsolable wife in his arms.
"Pen, I have a secret too?"
"What?"
"I'm not going to Peru!"
"Really?"
"I'm staying here with you".
"But I'm Lady Whisledown".
"I know and I don't care".
And Penelope wept harder, but this time with relief.
"Oh! Pen! Tell me what can I do for you".
"You know what you can do", she said, clinging to him, her head lying on his abdomen.
"I know?"
"You know what I want to hear".
Colin smirked, placed a kiss on his wife's head and started his song. He serenaded something about stars, lines and yellow. Something his drunken mind had concocted years ago when he was completely drunk and in love with the woman he was going to marry. It had become their anthem, their inside joke, what they sang to each other to remember that they loved each other and, apparently, to comfort the other one after a drunken evening.
"I love you", she whispered as a trickle of saliva started to wet Colin's stomach.
"I love you too," he replied even though he knew she wouldn't hear him.
Her loud snore had already invaded the room.
THE END (for real)