Colin tried to be a good sport. But as the season went on, he was getting frustrated by Mr. Anderson. It would be one thing if Mr. Anderson was winning over Penelope. He wasn't.
Several times in conversation, Penelope would look bored. And her dancing was lackluster. If someone had seen her dance the way she did with him and his brothers during her first season and compared it with her dancing with Mr. Anderson … it was night and day.
Okay, that was years ago, but Colin danced with Penelope this season as well, and she was more lively during those moments than she ever was with Mr. Anderson.
In terms of being a good sport, Colin noticed that Mr. Anderson wanted to spend time with Penelope. And Colin acknowledged that he couldn't spend all his time with Penelope (though he was starting to envision life with her more and more). Colin, very generously, refused to interrupt Mr. Anderson and Penelope until halfway through a societal event.
Unfortunately, Mr. Anderson always secured the first half. Colin had slowly been arriving at events earlier and earlier - working backward from the 'fashionably late' that the Featheringtons had always abided by. Yet, it wasn't until Colin arrived on time that he realized Penelope and Mr. Anderson were never late.
The one time Colin took Penelope's attention from the start, Mr Anderson ignored the convention that Colin had set! He interrupted only ten minutes into Colin and Penelope's conversation. This man was the worst. Colin would not be letting Mr. Anderson set the standard for Penelope's time split between the two of them!
The other piece of the pie was that Colin realized that Penelope was a wonderful woman. The more time they spent together, the more Colin came to know her as an adult. He was right in his assumption that Penelope hadn't changed that much. The truth of who Penelope was, her soul, had only gotten brighter and more intoxicating to him.
Some things have changed. Penelope was more confident and clever than he remembered. When a scandal occurred, her turn of phrase was second to none. But she never had a bad word to say about anyone that didn't deserve it.
Only a saint could sit in the first row of the Smythe-Smith musicale event! Penelope even clapped more enthusiastically than any other audience member. Afterward, Colin had to confirm that her hearing wasn't impaired. She said that she felt so bad for the youngest, who was embarrassed. Penelope was too kind.
All of it was adding up to a feeling that Colin couldn't describe. Thankfully, Daphne could. She proclaimed him in love and asked when the wedding would be. Colin off the cuff said two years out - sending Daphne running (Colin still remembered when Daphne declared she would never run again because she didn't want to stain her outfits with sweat. Really, it was because Daphne always lost races to her three older brothers) to talk with their mother.
Colin felt less and less inclined to wait the two years he had left on the pact. He approached his brothers. They both had more experience with proposing than Colin did.
Penelope was excited for the next ball. First, it was a birthday celebration for Mrs. Bridgerton, one of the kindest people in the world. Second, Mr. Albansdale was going to ask Felicity to marry him. In the absence of a Lord Featherington, Geoffrey was obliged to ask the oldest male relative. Afterward, Geoffrey approached Penelope to ask for her blessing. Third, Penelope was always excited to see Colin.
This season, Colin returned, and Penelope's crush was almost at the full-grown obsession stage. At every event they attended, Colin spent time with her. And as they spoke, Penelope realized she had put Colin on a pedestal. Colin was not, in fact, perfect.
Disagreeing on the main themes of Sense and Sensibility, making it everyone's problem when he didn't get enough food (if someone else tries to grab the first biscuit before him, Colin always had the best verbal cut), all this to say, Colin was flawed.
Yet, Penelope couldn't help but fall in love with him. He was stubborn, tenacious, and utterly loyal to his family. His good qualities easily outweighed his flaws. The first time Colin shut down Cressida Cowper had etched itself in Penelope's memory.
But, a new fear had taken root. Penelope had previously thought that Colin had forgotten the pact. Now, she was concerned Colin only spent time with her out of a misplaced sense of responsibility. But if he didn't remember, why was he spending so much time with her? Did he actually want to spend time with her?
Or was it like she originally thought, and he didn't remember it? Well, if he did remember, he would be unlikely to propose marriage for another two years.
Unfortunately, Penelope can't ask. If he did remember, she would look silly for questioning his memory. If he didn't remember, she would look silly for holding onto this memory for so long.
It was all a mess, and Penelope's fears and insecurities were starting to eat at her.
