"What do you think of Mr Benedict Bridgerton? " Amelia Scott a new debutant of the season asked Penelope looking over at the said man standing by his family.
"He is a fine gentleman for sure! " Penelope replied taking a sip of her drink.
Penelope had taken the first step towards her step by step plan. In order to find the perfect man for herself she needed to know more of them. She started by approaching the new additions of thr society. Amelia the sister of Robert Scott one of the men she thought was approachable. He was known to be a recluse mostly staying away from society highly educated and reasonably well settled. He was a decent looking man on his late 30's. There were no scandals attached to his name Or family. He was per his sister very respectful to women and even lenient allowing Amelia to take her time to get ready to debut in society. To top it off he wasn't bad looking. He basically checked all her criteria but she would need to know more.
"What kind of men are you looking into? " Penelope asked her to focus on Amelia who was admiring a man across the hall. Penelope smiled at the young naive Amelia.
"Oh you know someone handsome, kind and well settled" Amelia replied still admiring the man.
" Amelia I'm afraid the one you set your eyes on at the moment is already married. " Penelope smirked when Amelia snapped her head in shock.
"What!! "
"That's Lord Barnett he married last year... the lady there with Lady Cowper that's his wife. " Penelope tilted her head towards the lady across the room on the left.
" Oh well I guess I was late.. " Amelia joked.
" I'm sure you'll find the one you are looking for. " Penelope attempted to comfort her.
" What about you Penelope? " Amelia was intrigued and smirked at her.
" What about you? " Penelope asked a little confused.
" Are you being courted? What do you look for in a man? " Amelia specified.
"I'm not... I guess I would wish stability, genuine friendship and mutual respect and love for the arts and literature especially books. " Penelope answered a little shy.. she wasn't lying all of it was true.. she always had a face in her imagination for these specific traits, she now just had to replace that particular face with another. She winced at the thought of him.
" Are you alright? " Amelia asked concerned.
" Yes! yes! I am... " Penelope steeled her face expression.
They were separated when Amelia was asked for a dance. Penelope promised to find her later. She decided she needed to gather a little matter for her article and got to work.