An unexpected ally
Bridgerton
Starts in season 2
Penelope/ Colin, Cousin Jack friendship
Jack Featherington did not mind becoming a Lord, even Baron to a financially broke Estate, because he was confident that given time he would be able to fix it, but he never wanted to find himself responsible for a family that was not his own. He was glad that one of the daughters was married off, though she still came over far too often in his opinion. Had she never heard of extended honeymoon?
He wished it would be quick to marry off the oldest one to someone, because she was truly an annoyance to have around, as was her mother, though he feared he was stuck with them both. The old Lady Featherington seemed determined to lay her claim on this Estate and to prevent him from running it the way he wished. She certainly did not make anything easier on him.
The only tolerable one, truly, was the youngest daughter.
Penelope.
She was discrete and quiet, she seemed smart and she was kind. While the others had been weary of him at first, Penelope had been kind and welcoming from the start, asking him how she should call him. He smiled, remembering when she first called him "Lord Featherington". It had sounded strange coming from her so he suggested she called him "Cousin Jack". Portia had not agreed, deeming it not proper but he had insisted, reminding her that they were in fact family, and that he was in fact their cousin, and now all three daughters called him that way.
Penelope was kind and he could tell that her mother had never been too warm or loving with her, much like his own father used to be. He remembered reading his cousin's letter, her father, when he himself was still a boy and still corresponding regularly with his older cousin to get advice. The Baron used to say that little Penelope was his favorite one out of his 3 daughters. Jack understood why that was now.
While he did not care much for Prudence or what happened to her, Jack decided to keep an eye on Penelope and to make sure she'd be safe and find a good match, one that pleased her.
At first he had planned to get money to save the Estate by marrying someone with a large dowry, and the first choice had to be Miss Cressida Cowper since the young lady had the largest dowry in ton, but the new Lord Featherington started to doubt his decision when he saw Miss Cowper mocking Penelope cruelly and making her sad. He needed to take some time to think about it so he showed a distant interest, all the while not getting too close for now.
There had to be another solution, he just had to find it.
Of course there was a tempting solution. In his cousin's hidden vault, he had found 3 packages. It was the daughter's prepared dowries. Obviously Portia did not know about this money, or Penelope's stack would have been emptied a long time ago. Jack was sure of it. Of course he used Philippa's stack to pay her own dowery, keeping a little bit of it for the Estate without telling them. But considering that they did not know how much there was in the begining, they would not miss it.
He did smile when he noticed that Penelope had almost 20 000 pounds more than her sisters in her dowry. Obviously the late Baron had a favorite. Or maybe he wanted to compensate for the way their mother treated Penelope.
The temptation was great, to use the girl's dowries to put the family's Estate back on track, but it would be wrong, he knew it. He was considering taking just a little bit from each stack, and he did, for urgent expenses.
Would Prudence even need her dowry? Would someone want to marry her eventually? he doubted it but he knew that suing this money would be wrong. He could very well use the extra money in Penelope's dowry and make it equal to Prudence's but he felt like the youngest Featherington deserved that extra money.
.
The family was at a ball this evening, Jack did not really remember whose ball it was. It never mattered whose ball it was, just that they attended. Suddenly, he noticed Penelope leaving and he discretely followed, worried about her. Had miss Cowper or someone else mocked her when he was not looking? He discreetly followed her carriage until they reached a printer's shop, where she went in a different outfit. He followed her back home and decided to confront her now, before the others went home.
"Penelope?" He said, to let her know that he had noticed her.
"Cousin Jack! Did you get tired of the ball as well?" She asked quickly and he shook his head.
"I noticed you leaving the ball and I followed, worried that you were not well or that maybe Miss Cowper had said something mean to you when I did not notice. I would like some explanation as to what I saw, where I followed you to." He explained.
"You noticed me leaving?" She asked, surprised.
"Of course I did." he nodded.
"Nobody has before. It's the first time someone notices me leave and is worried for me." She replied with a small smile.
"So you have done it before?" he asked.
"Yes, I... I am Lady Whistledown, and I would like for it to remain a secret." She replied quickly.
He quickly guided her to his study where they spoke a long time. She explained why she started it and how well she was doing. She explained that she had started it to defend herself against her mother's bad taste and bad decisions, and to give herself a sense of purpose, to remind herself that she had worth.
"It's funny that you are doing so well financially when the family Estate is doing so poorly. Further proof that you are meant for greatness." he chuckled.
"I thought you had solved the problem?" She asked.
"No, my mines are worthless. I had little money when I arrived here, and I used most of it to pay for the accumulated bills. My father did leave me some money, but I used it to buy these mines, who ended up having very few jewels." he shook his head.
"You used it for Philippa's dowry as well?" She asked and he shook his head.
"No, your father had an hidden vault, he had written to me about it a long time ago and Varley told me where it was when your mother was not around. Your father had prepared your three dowries in there. I gather he did not tell your mother to prevent her from taking it and using it." he replied.
"Why don't you use that money, then? How much is there?" She asked.
"Prudence and Philippa had 30.000 pounds. you have 50.000 pounds. Your father obviously wanted you to have some compensation for your mother's treatment. And I do not use it because that money is yours, for your future." he explained to her, making her smile.
"Shouldn't the Estate make money though?"
"It does, but the money first goes into repaying the debt your father left and old bills accumulated. It's like a hole that keeps on getting deeper. We can try to fill it all we want with what we have, but as long as it's not enough to fill it completely, it will keep on getting deeper." He explained.
"My father is not the only one to blame, my mother is not one to spare her expenses either, she fancies herself at the top of high society. And now the more time passes, the more bills accumulate, and the hardest it is to save money." Pen shook her head.
"Yes, you understand it well. I was planning on marrying Miss Cowper for her dowery money, the large sum would have solved the problem, but after seeing the way she treated you, I have changed my mind." he confessed, making her smile.
"That is kind of you. Maybe we could make a deal. You keep my secret, you defend me when my mother or sisters mock me or are being mean to me, you allow me to change my wardrobe to something I actually like and feel comfortable in, you give me the freedom I need to continue Lady Whistledown, you do not marry Cressida and in exchange I give you enough of my Whistledown money and my dowry to get the Estate back on track." She suggested happily.
"I could not ask that of you Penelope, it is your hard earned money. And your dowry is yours as well." He shook his head.
"And I can do what I wish with my Whistledown money. How much would you need? Maybe if you use the extra money from my dowry, the 20.000 pounds difference from Prudence's, along with 6.000 pounds from my Whistledown money, it would be enough to start? Or you could even take more from the dowries, even prudences. Nobody knows that they exist, so you could use it freely. Put it back once the Estate makes money once more." She insisted.
"Then I agree with your proposal, as long as we count it as a loan that I will pay back to you as soon as we can make a profit again. You know, I have to confess, as soon as I arrived, I knew you would be my favorite family member. Unlike the others, you are clever, kind and discrete, I get why your father placed more money into your dowry." he smiled.
"I am not sure about it being a loan, but if you insist. We are in agreement." She smiled before she asked him to wait.
She went in her room, grabbed the money she needed and came back to his study and handed it to him.
"Is it enough?"
"Along with the dowries, it is more than enough, yes. Thank you. And now that I know, I want you to know that you are not alone, Penelope. Anything you need for your Lady Whistledown business, I am here to help. I could help you expend it if you want." He offered.
"Expend it? How?" She asked, surprised.
"People love you, Penelope, even when you criticize them or write bad things about them, they still adore you, that is how much talent you have. You could sell accessories. Broaches with Lady Whistledown's signature head on it, fans, for every day or fancy one for evenings, shawls, pocket mirrors, handkerchiefs with your header on it... You could make even more money." he suggested.
"That's a nice thought, but I would not know where to start." She shook her head.
"I do, I already know a few people that could help. I could handle it for you. Contact them, get samples, be the intermediary between you and them." He replied quickly.
"Only if we share the money fifty/fifty. You pay me back if you want, but once you have payed me back, you keep half of the profits for the family Estate." She replied, proving to him once more how kind she truly was.
Jack had taken more money from Prudence's dowry, leaving her with only 5.000 pounds. Since Penelope had been so kind, he only took 15.000 pounds from her, planning on repaying it as soon as he could. When the girls got married, he would take that money out and he wanted to see prudence's face when she found out that her father had planned a bigger dowry for Penelope that they all mocked so often.
"I will contact the right people tomorrow. Show you samples as soon as I can. Maybe you should order stationary paper from your printer, with your header to handle official Lady Whistledown mail. It could be needed if we are to expend and sell merchandise with your face and name on it." he replied.
"That is a good idea, I will send out the order tonight or tomorrow morning. With you knowing about everything, I would have the freedom to write more often... Maybe you could even arrange for an official Lady Whistledown address so that I can receive reader's mail? Then I could have a section of my paper be about answering their mail. I would be able to publish more often, which means more money." She suggested and her enthusiasm made him smile.
"I can arrange that soon. Rent a cheap room in a building with lots of people coming and going so that I am not noticed when I visit to take the mail. I have a building in mind. A solicitor and a doctor have their office in it, so it would be easy to explain anyone's presence there. I also know that there are small rooms to rent on the last floor. It would help if your lady's maid knew about it, she could get the mail as well." He replied with a nod.
"I will tell Rae and pay her extra to keep the secret." Pen nodded, loving the idea of having an ally in her own home.
Later, when she laid in her room, Penelope smiled. She was not alone, she had an ally and her dream would expend, she knew that she could trust him, after all, he had trusted her with the truth and he was the only one who had noticed her leaving. Her mother never had, neither did her sisters or her even best friend.
In his study, Jack smiled. For once, he had listened to his instinct and it had paid off. Penelope truly was a one of a kind and he was happy to have her in his corner. To know that she had done everything she did, without the help of anyone, was simply amazing. He wanted to do his best to ensure this accessory business idea they had just had was successful, to show her that he was worthy of her trust and that he truly cared about her. And while he did not care much about Prudence's dowry, he wanted to ensure Penelope's dowry was restored to what it was always supposed to be as soon as possible.
.
The next day, Jack informed her that he had found a small studio where she'd be able to have an official address in the building he had told her about.
She knew that she could not use this address and remain hidden from the Queen, so she informed Jack of her desire to inform the Queen of her identity. He agreed that it would be best not to have to work extra hard to hide from the Queen and so Penelope wrote her Majesty a letter telling her that she was Lady Whistledown and that while she wished to remain anonymous to most people, she did not wish to hide from her Queen any longer. She offered peace, and explained that she only criticized the Queen to remain believable when she did compliment her. Pen insisted on the fact that she admired the Queen greatly and was not an enemy. She informed the Queen that only her Cousin Jack, the new lord Featherington, knew for now, and that it was recent. She provided proof by telling the Queen a few exclusive informations that would be in her next issue along with the address her Cousin had provided her with to receive mail and her plans to expend her business.
Penelope also explained to the Queen, in this letter, why she started writing her column. Her need to feel protected from her mother, her feeling that she did not have a voice or any worth at all. She explained things the best way she could, keeping the tone similar to the one she used for Lady Whistledown so that the Queen would recognize it.
The Queen replied quickly and discretely, not waiting for the next issue as evidence because the tone of the letter, the wording... everything in this letter was a proof that Penelope was indeed the famous author. The Queen wrote that she was happy to know who Lady Whistledown was and that she was touched and honored that Penelope felt that she could trust her. She promised to keep the secret, only Brimsley knew now, and she asked the young author not to take it too easy on her, that she did enjoy a challenge and loved that Lady Whistledown was always honest with the Queen. She also included a letter of immunity, stating that Penelope Featherington, as Lady Whistledown, was a friend of the crown and would never be in trouble for her writings.
Penelope was happy with this letter and rushed to show it to her Cousin Jack, in his study. He was very happy for her and told her that he had already found the right people to make her accessories but that in order to start working on samples, they needed to be reassured that it was indeed Lady Whistledown's wish and that she would not go after them out of anger.
Penelope had just received the stationary they had ordered and she loved it, it made everything more official, more important. They had used the same header as her column and she found it very elegant. he printer had worked quickly and well on it. She happily used it to write the letter Jack needed and she worked on her next issue, explaining to her readers her address to receive letters, and informing them that she would not get the mail herself but that different people would get it for her, to dissuade them from trying to spot her by stalking the address. She also announced that she was working on accessories to sell. She wrote the kind they had thought of and told them to not hesitate if they had requests. She added that she would answer their letters in the coming issues, including the content of the letters she was replying to and her actual reply to those letters. She was not sure if people would like it, but she wanted to try it.
Penelope was happy the next morning when she went to Madame Delacroix for a change of wardrobe, feeling like she was taking her first steps into freedom. Cousin Jack had argued with her mother and she had been allowed to go.
Portia had tried to argue that Penelope could not change her wardrobe now because they could not afford it, but Jack replied right away to let him care about the money and that she did not need to bother herself with this kind of things.
She now had a few new dresses (with more on the way), all shades of green or blue, some purple. All beautiful. All made her feel more confident, more at ease in the world. She also decided to do her hair in a more simple way, a way that pleased her more. In the end, she looked better, she thought. More mature, less child like.
.
"Pen, there you are! I almost did not recognize you. Have you seen Lady Whistledown's latest issue?" Eloise exclaimed excitedly while they met promenading with their families.
Penelope was in one of her new dresses, a color her mother did not like but that Pen loved. Even Cousin Jack and Varley told her that it suited her well. A light green that was not acidulate, not flashy and made her feel pretty. She had even changed her hair. Gone were the extravagant curls on top of her head. She felt better, happier. More confident and free. She definitely felt prettier.
Jack smiled and while Portia had been about to prevent her daughter from leaving their family, Jack authorized it. He moved the Featherington's in another direction and let Penelope be with her friend.
"I have. Looks like she's expending." Pen smiled, greeting quickly the rest of the Bridgerton family.
Colin had been about to say something to Penelope but Eloise interrupted him.
"Now is the time to find out who she is. Convince her to write more daring pieces. To change everything! I have so many ideas!" Eloise insisted, her family around her rolling their eyes.
It seemed that they all had the same thought: Eloise was annoying in trying to impose her thoughts and beliefs on others.
"Maybe she does not want to write more daring articles." Pen shook her head, annoyed at her friend's constent need to impose herself.
"But she should, Pen!" Eloise insisted and Pen snapped.
She did not care that the entire Bridgerton family was around them. Now was the time to express herself.
"Why? Because you think so? Eloise, not everyone needs to think the same way you do. Lady Whistledown is free to write whatever she likes, and it is her choice not to write articles that could bring on her the hire of the crown. You should stop trying to impose your thoughts on everyone around you and accept that not everyone shares your way of thinking and that your thoughts are not necessarily the right ones to have!" Penelope exclaimed.
"What? I do not impose my thoughts." Eloise shook her head, upset.
"Well, looks like your new look helped you find self confidence, Penelope, congratulations!" Benedict joked, but his tone showed that the compliment was sincere.
"Yes, why are you wearing this?" Eloise asked with a frown, upset that nobody in her family had defended her when Pen had criticized her.
"I like this new color on her." Gregory commented and Hyacinth nodded, earning a glare from Colin.
"Yes, you look very pretty Penelope." Hyacinth complimented sincerely.
"I am wearing this because Cousin Jack agreed to allow me to change my entire wardrobe when I asked him. Seeing that he is kinder and more understanding than my mother, I tried my luck, and asked to get rid of the horrible yellow dresses that I have grown to despise. I explained that I hated the colors my mother chose for me and that I needed to change in order to be comfortable in this world and to have the self confidence I need to find a husband. He reminded my mother that as the new Lord Featherington it was his decision, his permission to give and that she did not have her word to say in this and he allowed it." Penelope explained.
"A husband?" Colin and Eloise said at the same time.
While Eloise's tone had been mocking, Colin had been truly surprised. Benedict and Anthony exchanged an amused look. their mother smiled as well, recognizing the look on her son's face well.
"Why would you want a husband? You want to be a spinster with me." Eloise stated.
"No, Eloise, you and my mother decided that I would never find a husband and decided that I should want to be a spinster. You deciding it does not change the fact that I want a husband, that I wish to find love and move away from this house I have never been happy in." Penelope shook her head, hurt by her best friend's behavior and tears starting to build in her eyes.
"But that's ridiculous, Pen! You should not want a husband, you should..." Eloise started but she was cut off by her mother.
"Eloise that's enough! You may not want to look for a husband yourself but if Penelope does, it is her choice. You would do well to listen to her and stop imposing your thoughts on others." Violet snapped.
"Only the more reasons for me to find Lady Whistledown and to speak with the educated woman that she is. She will understand me and agree with me." Eloise insisted.
Penelope's annoyance grew and she snapped.
"No, Eloise, she would not. Because I am Lady Whistledown, something you would have discovered last year if you were a truly attentive friend because I did give you clues but the truth is that you are so poorly attentive to anything that is not you that you did not hear anything I said to you. Lady Whistledown is me, and I have absolutely no intentions of writing the kind of articles you speak of. Because it is mine, I have worked hard on it all this time, on my own, without any help from anyone. It is the only way I have to express myself, the only way I have to be heard by my mother and most importantly the only thing in this world that is truly and completely mine." Penelope replied, her voice failing near the end.
The Bridgerton family looked at her shocked.
"You?" Eloise said, taking a step back.
"But, you liked Marina, Miss Thompson, I mean Lady Crane. Why would you write those things about her?" Colin asked.
"Because I tried to tell you after you got engaged, tried to warn you, but you would not listen and you were planning on running away with her. Remember? I started telling you about her love for Georges, you told me that you did not care and cut short the conversation before I could say anymore. It was the only way I had to be heard by you. You know, I never thought I would need to use Lady Whistledown to be heard by you, ever, it did hurt to have to do it. I thought that you of all people would have listened to me, heard me. And had my wish been to ruin her, I could have published this about her much sooner because I was one of the first people to know about it. I was her only friend in that house, the only one to be kind to her from the moment she arrived. I pleaded with her not to use you, especially if she did not love you, she only mocked me and my feelings for you. Stupid childish unrequited fantasy... She was quite happy to remind me many times that you did not regard me any differently than you did Hyacinth... It did hurt, as the truth often does, but still I did not print it because I am more than used to mockeries and cruelties being said to me by my family on a daily basis. I tried to tell you, you did not listen. I am sorry you are hurt, but she lied to you, she never loved you and she was only using you because you were convenient. I thought you deserved to be with someone who truly loved you, for the great person that you are, not for what you can provide. She was never the kind and innocent young lady she gave the image of to everyone else. And you would be well to stop thinking about her as Miss Thompson. Miss Thompson was the girl who tried to use you, lied to you. She was a lie. She is now Lady Crane, married to her love's brother, not even kind enough to reply to the letters her only friend in that house wrote to her. Move on." Penelope snapped angrily.
She had written to Marina several times since she left to get married, but she never received any answer. After 6 letters, it's Philip Crane who wrote back to her, saying that Marina did read the letters but refused to answer them because she refused to think of the past and the mistakes she had made, that she only wanted to live in the present and only care about her children. He had written that he was sorry if the lack of reply hurt Penelope, that he had decided to write to her so that she's save her ink and her time. Marina did not care about anyone anymore.
"Your feelings? For me?" Colin whispered as his mother smiled.
Penelope pretended she had not heard Colin's question. She had not meant to reveal her heart, yet here it was. She could not look at him now, she was too afraid of what she'd see in his eyes so she looked at anyone but him. Luckily his family was determined to keep her talking with them and had things to say.
"See, I told you that Lady Whistledown was someone who likes our family." Hyacinth smiled.
"At the beginning of the season, you called me a rake with a capital R." Anthony stated, not angry or accusing, just amused and curious.
"You were, and the year before that you tried to marry Daphne off to disgusting Lord Berbrooke against her wishes, not caring that she did not want this match and that she could do much better. That deserved a little something. I think I was being kind in comparison. there is a lot I know that i do not print." She replied and he nodded.
"Point taken." he smiled.
"Do not worry Penelope dear, our family will keep your secret." Violet smiled softly, making Penelope smile back.
"Pen, I... Can we..." Colin tried to find the right words to ask her to speak alone, but he was interrupted by Eloise, again.
"But you cannot be her!" Eloise added.
"Why? Because it would mean that I might be smarter and more clever than you? Because you always thought yourself to be so much better than me in every way? What a great friend you are, Eloise! You know me so well!" Penelope asked Eloise, tears in her eyes.
Eloise was about to speak again but was stopped by her mother who told her it was enough.
"Oh and Eloise, I advise you not to go back to see Mister Sharpe, or I will have him fired, because Lady Whistledown is power and I can do it. My printer needs my work to survive. He was about to close down and lose everything when i came to him with my column. I saved his work and his family. He knows what he woes me. He raised the wages of the paperboys twice because I demanded that he did it, he would fire his apprentice shall I ask him to, no questions asked. You are lucky that I care about you and your family's reputation. Anyone else would have already written about the time you spend there, unchaperoned and it is not just you that would have been ruined but your sisters as well. Try to imagine what someone like Cressida Cowper would have written about you if she had been Lady Whistledown, and then remember that you are lucky that I care." Penelope warned, angry at her best friend.
"Who is this Mister Sharpe? What is this?" Anthony and Violet asked seriously.
"Ask Eloise, I must rejoin my family. If she does not answer I will tell you next time we see each other but this kind of information should come from her." Penelope replied before she dried the tears that dropped from her eyes and turned back to join her family.
"Is everything alright, Penelope?" Jack asked her once she joined them once more.
"Yes, Cousin Jack, thank you. Just a little argument with Eloise, that grew and made her more upset because her family agreed with me. It will solve itself with time." She replied with a small smile.
Penelope was surprised that her mother and Prudence did not comment, but they remained quiet for the time being. She could guess that Jack had talked to them, put them back in their place and reminded them that they needed to be kinder.
"You seem close to the Bridgerton family." he commented.
"She has been ever since we moved across the square from them. She quickly became friends with Eloise Bridgerton." Prudence replied.
"Though Eloise is not the first one I met in the family. I met Colin first. But they are all my friends." She added with a smile.
"Please, Colin Bridgerton is not your friend." Prudence shook her head mockingly.
"If I am not his friend, then why would he have written to me the entire time of his travels? He is the first one I met in their family, we bonded as soon as we met. No matter how much disbelief you bring into this, we are friends." Penelope replied angrily.
"Girls, be nice now." Portia commented, seeing that Penelope was starting to bite back against her sister.
"Of course mama, when I start defending myself, you stop the argument, but when it's Prudence attacking me, it's alright to let it be, right? How kind of you to treat both of your daughters equally." Penelope could not help but snap before she walked ahead, leaving a smiling Jack and a stunned Portia behind.
Jack decided to speak with the Bridgerton brothers later, first to get to know them better but also to see if there is more than friendship between Penelope and Colin.
.
The next day, Pen's maid Rae brought Penelope a dozen of letters Jack had gotten from her new address. She started to open them and respond to them in her next issue, adding the content of said letter first.
One letter was from Lord Remington, telling her how much he loved to read her work, how much he admires her and that if she is looking for a husband, he is ready to marry her. She smiled, amused and wrote back his letter on her issue, then she replied that while she was looking for love, like most people in this world, and that she hoped to find it, that he did not know her enough to propose to her. She reminded him that he did not know her age or anything about her and that she believed strongly that it was important to be at least friend with the person you marry for the relationship to be enjoyable and last long.
Another letter was from Misses Livingston, complaining about a piece of gossip Lady Whistledown had reported a few months ago. Penelope replied that she only reported the truth, or what everyone was speaking about and that when she had a doubt about the veracity of her statements, she made sure it was obvious that she was not sure of it being true. She added that if Misses Livingston did not want people of the ton to know that she had fired her gardener for not responding her her excessive flirtations, maybe she should not have flirted with him in the first place.
One letter asked her what her favorite books were, what she would recommend a young lady to read. Penelope happily named a few of her favorite books and listed a few books that she was looking forward to reading some day.
One letter asked her who she personally considered the "catch of the season". Penelope replied that Anthony Bridgerton, given his status and the good reputation of his family, was without a doubt the "catch of the season" but she also named a few other eligible bachelors that had not yet set their sight on anyone and were good people, rarely mentioned in her column, like Lord Debling or Lord Basilio.
Another letter asked her if she agreed with the Queen that Miss Edwina Sharma was the diamond of the season. Penelope answered that she did agree that Miss Edwina Sharma was a diamond, and then she used a good portion of space reminding mothers that they should not want all of their daughters to be diamonds, for there were many more gems worthy of attention, some of higher value than the diamond and that it was hard for a diamond to shine individually when surrounded by a thousand more diamonds. She encouraged debutants and future debutants to be themselves and to allow their true self to shine, not to try and be a copy of past diamonds. Then, with a smile, she decided to put Kate Sharma on the spot and to say that she was a gem just as precious as her sister, if not more and that she could see Miss Kate Sharma finding a great match this season as well, maybe even a Love match.
3 different letters wanted to know who she was. She smiled and gave them a common answer, adding that she would not answer it anymore after that, not matter how much people asked: "I am a woman. An observer of our world with a heart that hurts for the overlooked. I am someone who does not like bullies, no matter the shape they take, and who uses her quill to defend those who cannot defend themselves. I am someone without a true voice who uses her quill to be heard in this loud world and who tries to give a voice to those who do not have one. I am someone who loves being indoor much more than being outdoor, though I do enjoy a promenade once in a while, especially when in the right company. I am someone who wishes to remain anonymous for the time being, but you should all also know that I am also someone who loves this ton and all of its members dearly."
One letter wanted to know if Lord Fife was a serious suitor to allow near their daughter. Penelope replied that she would personally not allow her worst enemy to be courted by Lord Fife, that he seemed to enjoy trying to ruin young ladies more than he wished to marry them and that it was only a matter of time before he was forced to marry someone at gun point. She named Lord Fife "Rake King of the ton", adding that him going to White's was the proof of his raking and debaucheries because true gentlemen, like the Bridgerton brothers, went to Mister Mondrich's new club, where there was no debaucheries. Knowing that Mondrich was a friend of the Bridgerton's, she added that he was a good man, a man of honor that could be trusted and that she truly believed his club to be a far better option that the others.
One letter asked Lady Whistledown her opinion on a new shop that opened. Another simply wanted to tell her that they loved reading her column and that they could not wait to buy her accessories. The last one wanted to know what her favorite color was and she answered that although her favorite color varied from day to day depending on her mood, she loved Emerald green, or the beautiful shades you could get when you mixed blue and green together.
Penelope thought a lot about this issue.
She could see that Anthony Bridgerton had feelings for Kate Sharma and that he was only courting Edwina because it was what was expected. She decided to add a part where, without naming either of them, she tried to guide them together. Reminding people that courting one person when you had another, available, on your heart, was wrong and could only get people, maybe even yourself, hurt. She advised people to communicate with the people they intend to marry, with the people they love. Communication being the key to any lasting and good relationship. She did her best to be clear and to, without naming names, say: Anthony Bridgerton you do not love Edwina you love Kate, chose well.
Adding the usual gossip of the past few days, Penelope sent out her column through her maid, who was now responsible for getting it safely to the printer most times.
This new issue was not bigger. Penelope decided to try it first by publishing more often but with issues the same size as they are now. If it did not work, she'd try to publish less often but with bigger and more expensive issues. Some letters needed bigger answers than others, some took more space in her column. She tried to keep the letters who needed bigger answers for later, in case she could not publish anything new for a while and needed a special issue to send out.
.
The next day, while Portia and Prudence went to visit Philippa at her husband's house, Jack showed Penelope a sample of the accessories they had come up with.
She loved them all and made the decisions with him, deciding what to keep and what details needed to be changed. Once her approval was given, they decided on price and he left to get it started, announcing that it would take a couple of weeks before it could be sold. About a week after the Bridgerton party at Aubry Hall.
In truth, Cousin Jack seemed to be really excited about this new project. He was determined to make it as grand and as successful as possible, to show Penelope that she had been right to trust him, to give him a chance.
As soon as the new Issue of Lady Whistledown hit the streets, everyone was on it, eager to read the letters and their answers along with the usual gossip. As she went to promenade with her maid, Pen smiled, seeing everyone reading it.
She wore another of her new dresses and she loved it even more. She felt pretty once more. She felt things changing for her. It was strange that it felt like she had been granted a new start when nothing much had changed in her life, except that she was not alone, that the Bridgerton family knew the truth and that she finally was free to be herself. She had not spoken with Eloise since their argument but she waved it off, trying not to think about it. If they were meant to be friend, Eloise would find her way back to her. if not, then so be it.
"Good day Penelope!" Lady Bridgerton greeted kindly.
"Pen!" Colin smiled, and Penelope did her best not to look in his eyes.
Penelope smiled and greeted the family. She noticed that Eloise was not present. She saw that Lady Bridgerton, Colin and Anthony each had one of her issues in their hands.
"She's at home. Eloise." Hyacinth explained, seeing Penelope's eyes looking around.
"Sulking after she was forced to tell us the truth about this Mister Sharpe boy. She did not want to speak but we did not want to let it go so she was forced to tell us the truth, knowing we'd get it from you if she did not speak." Benedict declared.
"Boy? He might be an apprentice, but he's I think he's our age, definitely more a young man than a boy." Penelope frowned.
"She made it sound like he was much younger." Anthony frowned.
"Of course she did. Do not worry, I have gone to see him yesterday and I paid him to leave town and try his luck somewhere else. I told him that Eloise Bridgerton had 3 overprotective older brothers that would give him a different kind of pounds if he did not leave town soon. I gave him plenty and he was planning on using the money I gave him to take a ship to America where his publications would not be considered radical." Penelope explained.
"You paid him? How much?" Anthony asked.
"800 Pounds. I had to make sure he'd accept it. Do not worry, it was just my Whistledown money." Pen replied, waving it off.
"I will pay you back tomorrow." Anthony replied as his mother and his brothers nodded their agreements.
"Of course not." Penelope shook her head.
"But it's your own money, you did not have to spend it for this. You saved me from having to look for him and... Well, I really should pay you back." Anthony replied.
"Eloise is my best friend. It's nothing. Plus, I knew you would go far to protect her and her honor. I mean you did duel your own best friend over a kiss with Daphne, I dare not think what the three of you together would have done for Eloise, to a young man you do not know nor care about." Pen shook her head.
"How well you know us." Colin smiled.
"Interesting issue this morning." Violet commented kindly, changing the subject.
His mother might have changed the subject, but Anthony was decided. He would pay Penelope back one way or another. If she truly found a husband, then maybe spend the money to buy her a great wedding present.
"Thank you. And you can speak freely in front of Rae, she knows and keeps my secret." Penelope replied.
"There was a portion, about choosing well the person you decide to marry... Is it directed at anyone in particular?" Colin asked curiously and Penelope turned her eyes to Anthony.
"I don't know, is it?" She asked with a small smile.
"What? Me?" Anthony asked.
"I observe. I see a lot. You court Miss Edwina because it is what is expected, because she was named the diamond by the Queen, but I believe you have met Kate before you were introduced to Edwina. And I believe that you have feelings for Kate Sharma. Pursuing her sister would only lead to broken hearts. That's only an opinion though, you are obviously free to act as you wish." She replied in a quiet voice.
"Anthony, is this true?" Lady Bridgerton asked and Anthony looked like he had been slapped but he nodded slowly.
"The older sister, really? Oh, yes. I can see it actually." Benedict shrugged his shoulders.
"I... You are right, I should speak with miss Edwina honestly once we are at Aubry Hall, and try to see if her sister would be open to... Something. Miss Edwina would easily find another suitor." Anthony nodded.
"I would make sure to write about her on a good light in my column, to attract the right kind of attention from the right kind of suitor. Write that she's so kind hearted that she wanted to help her sister open her heart and find love before she concentrated on herself or something like that. It would work and get her attention from good men." Penelope told him.
Colin was lost. He was seeing Penelope under a new light. He could not even bring himself to call her his friend even though his feelings had not changed. She was all he thought about and he did not know how to act in her company. She was such an amazing woman, even better than he had initially thought... Had he been in love with her all along? She had mentioned the other day having feelings, did she still have them? How long had she had them? All he was sure of was that she had those feelings last year and that he had hurt her without knowing it. And that upset him greatly.
"Are you... Will you... I mean, will you be coming? To Aubry Hall I mean?" Colin asked Penelope suddenly, making his mother smile in understanding.
"Of course, Cousin Jack did answer that we'd be there, did he not?" She nodded and he nodded back.
"Can't wait." Colin smiled nervously.
"Anyway, Lady Bridgerton, I have been meaning to tell you something. I know how close you are to Lady Danbury, and I do not mind it if you you told her about me being Lady Whistledown. I know that you trust her, and the Queen trusts her as well. I do not mind if she knows. I mean, I even told the Queen a few days ago, in a letter. She answered that she was impressed and liked that I trusted her. While I know your family and the Queen would keep my secret, it does not feel right to have Lady Danbury being the only one who does not know. You can tell her, if you trust her, I do too." Penelope informed Lady Bridgerton, who smiled softly at the young woman before her.
.
After Penelope left them, Colin found himself faced with his two elder brother smiling at him, obviously wanting explanations while his mother pretended she did not notice and smiled knowingly to the side.
"What?" Colin asked them.
"What was that with Penelope? You have been exceptionally weird about her ever since her Whistledown reveal and argument with Eloise. And just now you could barely form a complete sentence. It is very unlike you to be out of words." Anthony asked.
"And back at home when Eloise got angry at Penelope for revealing her escapades with mister Sharpe, you could not even bring yourself to call Penelope a friend. You called her a good acquaintance of the family. You have been weird about everything related to her. What is going on little brother?" Benedict asked.
"I, maybe, might be... It is possible that I have realized that I love Penelope. And I do not know what to do with these feelings because she is such an amazing woman, she deserves the best this ton has to offer, the best this world has to offer. I am unworthy of such an amazing woman." Colin replied, trying not to be overheard.
"Yes! I told you! You owe me all your chocolat macaroon for the next month Gregory!" Hyacinth exclaimed from their side, making their mother chuckle.
"Mother did say that you should marry whoever feels like your dearest friend." Anthony commented.
"And you are not unworthy of her. It has been obvious to us that she had feelings for you for a while. All is not lost. And is the one who will love her the most not, in fact, the best for her?" Benedict added.
"She already feels like a member of our family, we all agree with that. Do not worry about Eloise's angry remarks for now, she will calm down when she realizes it's all for the best. If you love Penelope, truly, if you are sure that you would make her happy, that you would love her the most in this world and that there is no other woman for you, you should tell her." Anthony continued.
"You think so?" Colin asked nervously.
"Yes!" Benedict and Anthony exclaimed at the same time.
"Do not wait too long, dear. She is determined to get out of her mother's house, she could agree to another's proposal if she thinks it is her only way of ever escaping that mother of hers." Their mother commented before she walked away after her younger children.
"And she knows she is sure to get a true proposal if she reveals her identity to Lord Remington. You saw his letter to her in her issue." Anthony added, pointing to the column in Colin's hand.
"Plus, if her Cousin Jack is really kinder than her mother, if he truly cares about her, he might help her find a husband, make a deal himself." Benedict commented.
"Alright, I should go then." Colin nodded, decided.
"Go? Go where?" Anthony asked him before he could walk away.
"Have an engagement ring made for her. I will propose to Pen at Aubry Hall. This way if Miss Kate Sharma resists your charm too long and it gets people talking, I will distract everyone with this proposal and the attention will not be on you anymore." Colin replied before he walked away and left them behind.
"Well, he's definitely faster than you in realizing his feelings and making decisions." Benedict declared, mocking his big brother.
"And who are you currently courting? Should we get on your case next, brother?" Anthony asked him with an amused smile, putting his brother back in his place before they followed their mother.
.
Later that afternoon, Jack Featherington was sitting at Mondrich's gentleman club, enjoying a drink away from Portia and Prudence, when the Bridgerton brothers arrived together. Happily, he invited them to join him.
"Lord Featherington, it is nice to see you here." Anthony declared.
"It truly is. I know that my cousin was an adept of White's, but after Lady Whistledown stated that this bar was the best one... I had to come here. I was hoping for a chance to speak with the three of you eventually, it is another reason why I come here." Jack replied.
"Is that so?" Benedict asked as they all sat down.
"Yes. I know that Penelope is close to your family, and seeing how much she cares about all of you I wanted to get to know you better." Jack replied.
"Penelope is dear to our family as well, yes." Anthony nodded.
"She's basically one of us." Benedict nodded while Colin only blushed, catching Jack's attention.
"I see. In truth, she's the only one in that house I do not mind being in the same room as or even speaking with. The only one who feels like family. I often said that I was fine on my own, but Penelope truly does feel like family and she makes me wish for a family of my own." Jack told them.
"She's one of a kind." Colin stated with a dreamy smile, making the other 3 smile.
"How did you meet?" Jack asked, curious.
"Colin is the first to have met her." Anthony replied, inviting his brother to tell the story.
"I was proudly riding my horse in the square between our houses, minding my own business when a devilishly yellow head covering was blown on me by the wind, making me fall down. It was Pen's of course. I landed in the mud and she stood there, laughing, teasing me mercilessly before she apologized, still teasing me mind you. Even then she was kind, charming, witty. We became friends right away, but then Eloise arrived and stole her away. She's been interrupting any conversation I tried to have with Pen ever since." Colin explained.
"Pen?" Jack asked, noting the recuring use of the nickname from Colin.
"Yes... I..." Colin blushed and Jack chuckled.
"It's alright." Jack waved it off.
"In truth, there is something I should speak to you about. I... I have realized that I am in love with Penelope. I do not know how long I have felt this way without realizing it, but the feelings are most definitely there now and they are here to stay. I was planning on proposing to her during your stay at Aubry Hall next week." Colin declared bravely.
"You're not going to court her first? Truly?" Benedict asked.
"No, courting means letting others know she's available and they could snatch her away. I love her. I want to marry her as soon as I can. I would marry her yesterday if it was an option." Colin shook his head.
"I do not think that Penelope is the kind of girl who needs anyone to give her permission to do what she wants, but if it is my blessing you are looking for, you have it. I know that your family is a good family, and all I want is for Penelope to be happy. Safe. I do not know how she can manage to be so kind with the mother she has but she is, and she definitely deserves happiness." Jack replied.
"I assure you, I will make her happy. I will ensure she's safe, always." Colin nodded.
"I believe you. Plus, I know that she trusts your family completely. I know she has told you about her... writing activity." Jack replied in a smaller voice so that they were not overheard.
"You know?" Colin and Anthony asked.
"Yes, I have helped her get the studio where the mail is delivered. And I have found the people to make the accessories that will be sold in a couple of weeks. I saw her leave a ball early and followed her, worried about her. She was surprised, said that she always does it this way but that nobody ever notices." Jack explained.
"I did see her leave early a few times, but I personally always assumed that she got tired of the people of the ton, a feeling I completely understand." Benedict added with a smile.
"She told me that she was Lady Whistledown, she was honest. I think that she was happy to finally not be alone, to have found someone who cared. Then I told her it was ironic that she had so much money when the Estate was doing so poorly, but that it proved that she was meant for greatness. I meant nothing by it, but she offered to give her Whistledown money to get the Estate back on its feet." Jack told them.
"Was it really doing so poorly? She never let it show whenever she visited last summer." Anthony frowned.
"Yes. My cousin left behind a lot of debts, and his wife is not one to spare her expenses either. That's the only reason why I was thinking of courting Miss Cowper, but then I saw how she treated Penelope and I could not court such a person, no matter the amount of money in her dowery. Not when Penelope is the only one who was truly welcoming when I first arrived. I used most of my father's inheritance to buy a mine in Georgia that gives basically nothing and nobody wants to buy it from me. What little money I had when I arrived was used for the most urgent unpaid bills. I did find my cousin's hidden vault with the girls' dowries prepared, but I could not use them. I explained it all to Penelope and she insisted that i used her dowry and a good portion of her Whistledown money to help heal the Estate's poor financial state. I did not want to but she was insistant. We eventually came to an agreement that the money she gave me and that I took from her dowry would be a loan, that I would pay her back. Though I have to admit that I took very little from her own dowry and a lot from Prudence. But then again, I do not see suitors lining up to court the girl as she constantly sticks to her mother's side. Everything is much better now. I did assure Penelope that it was a loan and that I would pay her back, she was not too happy about that but she ended up agreeing. As for the accessories, I was the one who suggested it and we share profits in half." He explained.
"Pen is one of the kindest hearted person this ton has ever seen." Colin stated, making the 3 men smile softly at him.
"If she loaned you most of her money, she must not have much of it left. It seems that she used 800 of it to pay a young man to leave town after our sister Eloise took a dangerous liking to him. She refused my offer to pay her back." Anthony frowned.
"I am not surprised, it seems she's just a kind and generous person with the people she cares about. Anyway, we should talk about her dowery if you are going to marry her." Jack started with a smile.
"I do not want any. I will not be paid to marry the woman I love." Colin shook his head.
"Please, don't be difficult. I will give you this money one way or another. If you refuse it I will simply hide it in a wedding present." Jack was surprised, but Anthony and Benedict just smiled.
"Funny, when she refused my demand to pay her back what she paid that boy to leave town, I decided to use it to buy her a wedding present as well, so that she could not refuse it." Anthony chuckled.
"If we consider Lady Whistledown on top of her actual dowry, then she has the largest dowery in this ton. Because it's one that keeps on giving. While her sisters had about 30.000, her father had placed 50.000 pounds in Penelope's dowry. I agreed to use 15.000 from her money, and she refused to let me pay that back. I can only pay her back the Whistledown money." Jack nodded with an amused smile.
"So you truly agree then? I can propose?" Colin asked Jack.
"I do. And do not worry about her mother, I have gotten quite good at putting her back in her place lately." Jack smiled.
"She does not scare me, I would happily remind her that Penelope is in fact that most eligible amongst them and that she is not the high standing woman she thinks she is." Colin shook his head.
"Now, let's raise our glasses to Colin and Penelope's future then!" Anthony declared and they toasted happily.
.
Time passed quickly.
Colin managed to pick up a perfectly finished ring right before they left for Aubry Hall and he could not wait to see Penelope there in a few days. He had kept all of the issues she had published lately. It sold even better than before and there was always a few letters asking for her advice or recommendation.
Eloise had calmed down a bit and she wanted to see Penelope and speak with her friend but her family had sat her down, explained that Colin was in love with Penelope and that he was planning on proposing to her during her stay at Aubry Hall and that she could not stand in their way. Eloise had argued immediately, not happy about it and accusing Colin of stealing her friend away and of trying to ruin Pen's life by forcing her to marry. That's when the big blow up happened.
"Let me remind you that I met Pen first, Eloise! She was my friend before you came along, declared that she was your friend and took her away from me! You're the one that keeps on taking her away from me. And every time I have tried to have a conversation with her since that day, you have interrupted us. I have not been able to be alone with Pen for more than 10 minutes for years and it's all your fault. You're the one imposing yourself and taking her away! Without your continuous interventions, Eloise, I might have opened my eyes sooner to my feelings for her, and I would not have caused her so much pain last year when I got engaged to her cousin! You do not know what it is like to love someone with your entire body and soul, to have that person become the center of your world! You cannot imagine how much it hurts me to think that I hurt her last year without knowing it! And you cannot understand it because you have never even tried to put yourself in someone else's position. I will propose to Penelope, Eloise. And I will fight to show her how much I love her and when she says yes, she will be your sister. You better accept it because I am done backing down to give you what you want. Mother is right, it is time for me to stop accommodating everyone around me and to think about my own happiness for a while. It's time for you to start considering others and their feelings." Colin had replied angrily at his sister, surprising everyone because they had never seen him this angry before.
"You cannot love her!" Eloise shook her head.
"Why? Because, just like her foolish mother you believe that she is not worthy of love?" Colin asked, his tone still angry and accusatory.
Everyone was now looking at Eloise.
"No!" She shook he head, socked by his remark.
"That's enough Eloise. You do not have your word to say in this. You either accept it or you learn to live with it." Violet spoke loudly, angry at her daughter.
"Do not make me chose between you or her Eloise, because it will always be Pen. And do not even dare intervening, trying to convince her to refuse my proposal because if I lose her because of you, I will never forgive you for it. I would not speak to you, look at you, or even stand to be in the same room as you for the rest of my life. Penelope is the love of my life, if you make me lose her, you and me, we are done." Colin declared seriously before he left the room.
"Not that my opinion matters much to you or anyone, but I stand with Colin on this." Hyacinth declared before she followed her brother.
Gregory nodded and followed Hyacinth and Colin.
"I love you, sister, but you need to start thinking about others and to consider their feelings. You cannot stand in the way of their love." Benedict added before he, too, left the room.
Anthony did not speak but he left the room as well.
"We all love you Eloise, but you have always been a bit self centered and selfish. Penelope's feelings for Colin were always obvious, as were his. Even your father noticed it. You have until she and her family arrive at Aubry Hall to apologize sincerely to Colin and accept it if you do not want to lose your brother." Violet told her softly before she sat down.
Eloise had done a lot of thinking after that and even though she agreed that she had been a bit self centered and selfish, she still had a hard time understanding that Penelope would want to get married, but maybe that was because she had not known that kind of love yet.
.
Soon after the arrival of the Sharma/Danbury carriage, Anthony took Edwina aside, with her mother as chaperon, and he explained his heart. He had expected for Edwina to be hurt, but she seemed happy for her sister, especially if it was because of love that he pushed her aside.
"Kate can be quite... difficult to convince." Their mother warned Anthony.
"Another thing that we have in common. I can be quite headstrong myself, as my siblings reminded me recently." he smiled.
"I will try to speak with her, assure her that I am fine with this, happy for her. I will tell her that I cannot be happy until she is, that should convince her." Edwina promised.
"We both will." Mary Sharma nodded.
"Thank you." Anthony smiled.
The next few days separating them from the arrival of the other guests, Anthony did his best to charm Kate and convince her that they would be happy together. He had known it the minute her mother and sister had spoken with her because Kate started blushing around him, though that did not stop her from speaking openly with him. He loved that she could put him back in his place when it was necessary and it only made him love her more.
She seemed born to be his Viscountess.
The day before the guests arrived, during a walk, she confessed to him that she had made a deal with her mother's parents to have them pay a large dowry if Edwina married a noble and title man, money that she needed to restore their house in India, which had suffered ever since her father died. Anthony suggested that she told her mother and sister and that they discussed it honestly, but he assured her that if what she needed was money to save their small Estate in India, he could give it to her, if she married him. He even suggested that they went there on their honeymoon and she quite liked this idea.
He knew that he would be in no rush to come back, Benedict would hold the Estate and look after the family in his absence.
"And how are you so sure that Lady Whistledown will write about Edwina to help her find a husband?" Kate asked him later that day, no longer resisting her feelings or their connection.
"Because she's a friend of the family. I do not wish to break her trust by telling you her name without having her permission first, but she is one of the kindest person in town and she can be trusted." he replied.
"Alright. I trust you." She nodded with a smile.
Anthony wanted to propose as soon as Kate showed that she was willing to stop fighting against their feelings, but he held on until that evening's family dinner. She agreed to marry him of course, and they knew that the ton would be surprised that he was engaged to Kate and not Edwina, but nobody in their joined family cared about what everyone else would say.
"And tomorrow, Colin will be engaged to Penelope! That's great! I'm gaining 2 sisters at the same time!" Hyacinth exclaimed.
"I do not know if I will be able to propose tomorrow. I will try, but I would like to try and wait for a good moment. A memorable moment." Colin replied.
"But any moment where you propose would be a memorable moment for her, would it not?" Kate asked him.
"Yes, of course, but she deserves better. She deserves flowers, and magical lights and sweet music..." he insisted.
"If you try to plan something perfectly, it will never be the way you want." His mother warned him.
"You have to take the moment that's given to you and make it perfect for her with your words. That's all she will care about, you and the words you will be speaking to her. Nothing else will matter in her memory years later." Daphne added with a smile.
"You may be right." he nodded.
"Now, about her mother, should we try to run interference so that she does not interrupt your proposal?" Eloise asked, willing to show that she was making an effort.
"Lord Featherington said he'd take care of it. Plus, I do not know what you could possibly do to stop her." Benedict intervened.
"Tackle her to the ground and sit on her to keep her in place?" Hyacinth suggested, making everyone laugh.
"I'm in if we're doing it!" Gregory and Eloise stated at the same time, making everyone laugh at the mental image.
"Now that is something I would love to see." Lady Danbury nodded.
"If she says yes, will you be holding the two weddings the same day?" Edwina asked.
"No, Anthony and Kate should marry first as he is the oldest. Pen and I will marry later, just not too much later." Colin shook his head.
"But then we will be on our honeymoon in India." Anthony replied with a frown.
"Or we could wait. You want us to go to India for our honeymoon and we cannot leave until the season is over anyway. Maybe we could get married at the end of the season, leave right after the season is over. This way we will be there when Edwina marries and we can be present for your brother's wedding to Penelope." Kate suggested.
"That's not a bad idea. it also gives me more time to show Benedict everything." Anthony nodded.
"Now we just need for Penelope to say yes, because you can plan all you want, you still need for her to agree to marry you. You will have to show her and tell her that you do love her." Daphne replied.
"It should not be a problem. I've been thinking about it a lot." Colin smiled.
"I personally cannot wait to see Cressida Cowper's face when she realizes that Penelope marries before she does after the many time she mocked her and showed how superior she felt to Pen and everyone else." Eloise chuckled.
"Cressida Cowper is vile. Unless her father finds someone truly desperate to marry her, she will never find a husband, because no man wants to marry a girl who constantly tears down others and is so mean. She is completely self obsessed and vain." Daphne stated with a frown.
"True." Benedict nodded.
"I know that her Majesty was happy when her nephew left town without pursuing Miss Cowper last year. She did not want that girl joining her family, even distantly." Lady Danbury shook her head.
.
The next day, when the guests arrived, Lady Bridgerton and Daphne greeted them with Anthony and Kate by their side, announcing the engagement this way and surprising everyone. Though people's first instinct was to think the worst and worry about a rift between sisters, it was obvious that miss Edwina was happy for her sisters as she could be seen smiling and laughing with guests and other Bridgerton's.
Eloise watched from afar as the Featherington's arrived. Penelope wore a beautiful new dress, blue and purple and her hair were down her shoulders, with a couple of small hair clips holding them on the sides. Eloise wanted to join her friend, to take her aside and use her as a shield against society, but she knew that she could not. She had to let Penelope come to her when she wanted to, and most of all, she had to let Colin have his moment.
Her brother had been right, she could see now how often she separated them. After Colin came back, when they met at the horse races, they had been in a deep conversation when she arrived and now that she thought about it, Penelope had been annoyed at her presence. She had to let them find each other, and then, her best friend would become her sister.
She noticed that Penelope looked slightly annoyed and Eloise wondered if Lady Featherington had done something new to mock her friend. The thought of tackling her to the ground sounded better and better to more she looked at the family. She walked closer to hear her family greeting the Featherington's and she smiled when she noticed how happy Penelope was to hear about Anthony and Kate's engagement. Once the greetings were done, Colin approached Penelope, refusing to waste any time. She could see the determination in her brother's eyes and, now that she was truly looking, she could see love in his eyes when he looked at Pen. he had never looked at anyone else the same way he looked at Pen.
"Pen, it is very good to see you." Colin greeted her with a large smile.
"You as well." She smiled.
"Would you like to go on a walk with me?" he asked and Eloise walked closer, about to intervene when Portia Featherington started to frown and open her mouth.
"I do not think..." Portia started to say but she was interrupted by Jack Featherington.
"I think that this is a great idea. You two go on, we shall see you later." Jack replied with a smile.
"My Lord, I am her mother and..."
"And I am the head of this family. I have spoken at length with Mister Bridgerton last week. Let them be." Jack replied seriously.
Looking at him with the family, one would think that penelope was an actual member of his family. A sister or a close niece. he seemed to truly love her like one does a close member of their family.
"What is going on?" Pen asked, confused.
"Do not worry, Penelope, go on." Jack nodded with a gentle smile.
Colin offered Pen his arm, and she happily took it. Together, they walked away, right to Eloise.
"Everything alright?" Eloise asked them.
"You looked ready to follow Hyacinth's suggestion, sister." Colin replied with a nod.
"Hyacinth's suggestion?" Pen asked, confused.
"To tackle your mother to the ground if she became a problem." Eloise replied, making Penelope laugh.
"Now that is something I would love to see." Pen nodded with an amused smile.
"We all would." Colin replied close to pen's ear, making her blush.
"I will leave you to your walk." Eloise declared suddenly, about to walk away.
Penelope did not know what was going on but she understood that Colin wanted to speak to her alone, that much was clear. What she did not know was how long it would take and she did have something that needed to be done quickly.
"Eloise, wait. I have a favor to ask of you first." Pen asked and her friend stopped in her tracks.
"Of course, what is it?"
"My mother is afraid Cousin Jack will marry someone who will take the family over and send her away, so she's planning on catching him into a compromising situation with Prudence to force him to marry her. Prudence is in on it and obviously happy at the prospect of becoming the next Lady Featherington. I have not yet found the time away from my mama to warn him to be careful not to be alone. Could you keep an eye on them, please? Make sure Prudence is distracted until I can tell Cousin Jack? While I could easily sort the situation out in Lady Whistledown, it would be a lot easier if it never happened at all." Pen explained.
"It should not be for long anyway, he will leave for the hunt with most of the men in a couple of hours." Colin added.
"Are you going as well?" Pen asked him.
"No, I have plans to spend the entire afternoon with you." he smiled, making her knees go weak.
"I will speak with Benedict and ask him to warn your cousin during the hunt, this way he can be prepared during the ball this evening." Eloise added before she turned around and left, going straight to Benedict.
"Shall we?" Colin asked Pen, pointing to the way ahead of them.
"What is going on, Colin? First your mother, Daphne and Anthony and even Kate gave me a strange look, then Cousin Jack and now this..." Penelope asked.
"You are observent." he smiled, stopping near a bench and letting her sit down before he surprised her by kneeling in front of her.
They were too far from anybody to be overheard, but people could most definitely see then. They were bound to be curious and he had to act quickly before they came and interrupted him.
"Penelope, I... I have tried to find the best way to say this, to find the perfect words, but the truth is, no word in this world is strong enough or good enough to describe my feelings for you. I have come to realize during the past few weeks that I love you, with all my heart, all of my soul. I cannot stop thinking about you, to the point of dreaming of you and in fact preferring sleep because that is where I am sure to find you. The moment I realized my feelings, I knew one thing: I want you to be my wife. There is absolutely nobody else in this world for me." he declared, and Penelope could see the truth of his words in his eyes.
"Colin... Are you sure?" She asked him in a small voice.
"I am." he nodded, looking for something in his pocket and opening in front of her a small ring box.
"Colin..." She whispered, her eyes on the beautiful ring.
"I love you, Penelope, with all my heart, and I do not want to waste time. I want to marry you. As soon as possible. I know that I will be able to make you happy and your cousin Jack gave his blessing. My entire family is behind us. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife and marry me?" he asked her once more, his love burning in his eyes.
"Yes." she nodded and he happily slipped the ring on her finger before he hugged her quickly.
"Colin, it is beautiful!" She exclaimed, looking closer at the ring for the first time.
"And still only half as beautiful as you." he replied before he kissed her softly.
"Everyone can see us." She protested weakly.
"Yes, and they are coming toward us. But it does not matter because now we are engaged and you are to be my wife." he nodded, seeing his family and her cousin Jack coming their way with large smiles.
They had started slowly making their way to them as soon as he had kneeled and so they reached them faster than the other guests.
"She said yes! We are engaged!" Colin screamed happily, managing to be heard by half the guests present in the garden.
"Congratulations!" Everyone exclaimed and soon, Penelope was hugged by so many people she was not quite sure who was hugging her before it was over.
One thing she was sure of: Bridgerton's gave warm hugs, and for someone like her who had never been hugged in her family, it was a nice change.
"What is the meaning of this?" Portia snapped as soon as she joined them, quicker than the rest of the guests who took their time to join them, dragging Prudence with her.
"We are engaged mama." Penelope told her mother, a large smile on her lips, looking the happiest she had ever been and showing her ring to her mother.
"Do not be foolish, stupid girl! How can you believe such a thing. How you managed to entrap poor Mister Bridgerton into this I will never know but this will not happen. That's idiotic and..." Portia started speaking, shocking everyone and bringing tears to Pen's eyes.
Colin noticed and he held on Pen's hand firmly, bringing her closer to him.
"How dare you!" Colin told Portia, interrupting her.
In truth, Jack, Violet, Kate and Anthony had been about to intervene as well but they stepped back to allow Colin the opportunity to defend his love.
"I was not speaking to you, I..." Portia snapped at him.
"I am still speaking and you will listen!" Colin yelled back, surprising everyone, even Portia.
"I proposed to Penelope out of love, nothing else and to suggest otherwise is an insult to our Bridgerton name! You may be too concerned by your so called high standing that you do not notice, but Penelope is in fact that most eligible one amongst you and I will marry her. She will be my wife and you will watch how you speak to and about her if you do not want any trouble! This is in fact a true love match and you will accept it and respect it!" Colin exclaimed angrily.
"Oh come on, that's ridiculous. Penelope, getting married? It's laughable at best!" Prudence laughed cruelly.
"What's wrong with that? You have hopes of finding a husband as well and you are far less eligible than Penelope is. And you two better watch how you react to this because Lady Whistledown could very well hear about your reactions. How do you think the ton will react when they find out how horribly the two of you have reacted to this beautiful news?" Jack Featherington replied, shocking Prudence and Portia.
"Mama!" Prudence protested.
"If neither of you are capable of being happy for this engagement, maybe you should take a carriage back to Mayfair right away." Jack added seriously.
"I apologize, I have overreacted. Congratulations. I did not know it was a love match. It is highly unusual and I was not expecting this. Congratulations." Portia replied, faking a smile and bowing her head.
"It is not a love match, it is in fact a true Love match." Eloise replied, always feeling the need to add something.
By then, the others guest had joined them and started to congratulate the new couple as well. All except Cressida Cowper, who only glared at the bride to be, angry to be left near the shelf while Penelope Featherington found a loving husband.
Soon after, the men left for the hunt, Kate went along with them and Colin took his bride to be for a stroll along his family property. Mainly he wanted to distract her from her mother's reaction, but he also wanted to spend as much alone time with her as he could.
"Colin, are you sure that you are alright with me being Lady Whistledown? Because I do not think that I can stop, it is a part of me." Pen asked him once they were alone once more and far enough that nobody would hear them.
"I am, Pen. I am proud to be with someone as great as you. You are so brave, not afraid of letting your light shine bright. If my only purpose in life is to stand by you and soak up even just a little bit of your light, then I will be a very fulfilled man indeed." he replied, making her blush.
"Colin... I have always loved you, from the moment we met, all the time we were friends... An embarrassingly long time really, but I have always loved you." Penelope confessed after Colin bent down to pick up a flower and gave it to her.
"I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you for not seeing my feelings sooner. I love you, Pen, and I cannot imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone else." Colin replied happily.
"You do not have to make anything up to me." She shook her head.
"I want to. I want to protect you from the world. Show me the dragon and I will slay it for you." he replied with a large charming smile, making her chuckle.
"Alright, but before you go and slay the dragon standing in my way, maybe ask me if I am sure the dragon is a threat. I am used to fighting my battles on my own, maybe the dragon will be something I can handle on my own." She smiled softly.
"Then I will stand by your side and show you support while you fight your own battles, ready to help as soon as you need it." he nodded with a smile.
"I am happy, Colin. Truly." She whispered after a moment of comfortable silence.
"So am I." he nodded, and, making sure that they were hidden from everyone, he kissed her once more, longer this time, holding her close to him and enjoying her close proximity.
.
Later, they rejoined everyone else and enjoyed a nice fresh lemonade with his mother and Lady Danbury.
Edwina had been with them but left shortly, a few Lords wanting to court her now that they knew that she was available once more. Penelope's mother was aside, speaking with misses Cowper while Prudence sulked with other young ladies.
"I have to say, some mamas are going to be jealous of you, Lady Bridgerton. Two children engaged, both with a love match, not only in the same season but in the same week... They will be envious." Penelope said with a smile.
"Call me Violet, Dear, we are family now. And I am aware that I am fortunate. Maybe I should let Eloise be for now. She's fighting so hard against this..." Violet shook her head.
"She might not be ready yet, but it will come." Lady Danbury reassured her.
"At least she's speaking with other young ladies today." Violet nodded.
"Well, she did not have a choice, I deprived her of Pen for the day. She does not have her shield." Colin replied smugly.
"You make me feel like this was used to punish her." Pen chuckled.
"Well, she did need to open her eyes and realize that she was wrong before." Violet nodded.
"She will grow. Now, I am very excited for this wedding. I cannot wait to give the Queen the news. She is very impressed by you, you know?" Lady Danbury told Penelope who blushed.
"I have not been able to speak with her since my letter, but she did seem happy when she wrote back. She even sent me an official document saying that as Lady Whistledown, I would never be in trouble for what I write." Penelope replied.
"She has given orders to make sure she gets the first of all your accessories." Lady Danbury said before she added "So did I by the way."
"It's nothing fancy really. I am not sure it will sell for long, but Cousin Jack believed it would sell well and I know that he needed money to put the Featherington Estate back on tracks after my father died and ruined us. I mostly agreed to help him out. I know he was not too happy accepting my money." Penelope replied.
"He told us as much when I asked for his blessing at Mondrich's, yes. He was very impressed by you, said that you were the only one in this house that truly felt like family. That all he wanted was for you to find happiness." Colin replied.
"And I have." She smiled at Colin softly, making him blush and the two ladies chuckle softly.
Colin and Penelope excused themselves to speak with some other people and, before they were out of earshot, they heard:
"She's such an amazing young woman, I am so very happy for Colin and her." Violet declared.
"She is. Anyone who does not see this as a great match is obviously a fool. They are perfect for each other." Lady Danbury replied.
"Her mother does not realize how lucky she is to have such a bright and brave daughter." Lady Danbury added.
Penelope blushed but smiled, happy.
.
Eventually, she left Colin to go change for the evening's events. While she usually would have been made to stay with her sister and mother, she had been invited to stay with Eloise in her bedroom, making it easier on her.
"Are you happy, Pen? Truly, I mean?" Eloise asked her friend as their maids did their hair.
"I truly am, El. I know that you do not understand the need to find love and get married, but it is what I have always wanted, and Colin... he's perfect." She replied.
"Well, at least if you have to get married, it makes you my sister, I chose to see this as an improvement. But know that the moment Colin misbehaves and you argue, I will side with you over him." Eloise stated, making her friend smile.
"Noted and appreciated." Pen smiled softly.
"Now, tell me about your Cousin Jack. He seems to be nice. Well, nicer than your mother at least." Eloise asked and they both spoke until it was time to join everyone in the ball room.
They had a few weeks of feelings to catch up on, and they did so as they got ready. They had missed each other. Eloise confided in Penelope that she was jealous of her success, of the courage she had showed when she created Lady Whistledown, which showed the author that their friendship could grow and stay strong, because they were honest and working on their problems.
Of course Colin was already there when Penelope came down to the ball room, looking dashingly handsome as usual, waiting for Penelope to offer her his arm and spend the evening dancing with her, as much and as often as she'd want to.
Of course the night was perfect, and Penelope had never been this happy before and her mother's reaction to her engagement was quickly forgotten.
"Have you noticed how your cousin Jack does not leave Benedict's side? I personally believe that he has recruited my brother to protect him from your sister." Colin declared, pointing to the side of the room.
"I think that Benedict also enjoys the fact that it keeps debutants away from him, making them think that he is very busy and unavailable to dance. Your brother has never been at ease with the young ladies' attention. Maybe that is why he's so close to Eloise, neither of them is ready for more." She replied.
"What do you think will happen if your mother succeeds with her plan?" Colin whispered.
"Lady Whistledown will take Cousin Jack's defense and blame it all on my mother, exposing her stupid manipulations to everyone in ton. She would be humiliated and he would not have to marry Prudence." Penelope replied.
"I have said it before and I will probably say it again many times in the future Pen, but you are an amazing woman and I am extremely lucky to stand by your side." he complimented her.
"I think that your plan is to make me blush as often as you can." She chuckled.
"No, that is just an added bonus." he replied before they went back to dance.
"I think that I am the lucky one to be in your arms." Penelope replied.
Then they went to dance and Colin was unable to hold back his joy and he showed it by constantly twirling his bride to be during the dance routines. Every time he did, it made Pen chuckle happily and it seemed that their joy and happiness spread around them, like waves of joyful love spreading in the crowd watching them.
The only ones to appear untouched by this show of joy were Cressida, Portia and Prudence.
.
Two days later, everyone was back in town, reading the latest issue of Lady Whistledown, the ones who had not been invited to Aubry Hall finding out about the two Bridgerton engagements. Penelope had included her mother's cold response to the engagement, which was news even to those who had been present at Aubry Hall. She was tired of never fighting back and she decided to use this to show to everyone how her mother truly was to her.
It was stated that the Viscount and his chosen beloved Viscountess would close the season with their wedding and leave soon after for a long honeymoon in India, leaving the Estate temporarily in the capable hands of the second son, Benedict Bridgerton while the third son, Colin Bridgerton, would marry Penelope Featherington, a young lady he had met a long time ago and with whom he had been friend a long time.
Lady Danbury had transmitted to Colin and Pen an invitation to tea from the Queen. Of course Lady Danbury and Violet would be present, and as Lord Featherington, Jack was also invited. When they arrived, it was obvious that the Queen wanted to speak freely because there was only Brimsley around, so Penelope reassured her and told her that everyone she arrived with knew of her double identity.
"So, I was happy to read the news of your engagement in your latest issue, especially after Lady Danbury informed me that it was a True Love Match. Now that my Diamond is on the market and seeking a match once more, I find myself quite bored and in need to occupy myself. I was eager to organize a wedding soon, you see." The Queen spoke.
"I am sure you will get the opportunity soon enough, your majesty. Miss Edwina was quite popular at Aubry Hall and a few of the suitors seemed very serious, and they all passed the Anthony and Kate stare down." Penelope replied with a chuckle, reminding everyone how the new suitors had not only Kate but also Anthony to impress before they were allowed to court Edwina.
"That might be, but I am no longer over excited about her potential match. I want to organize your wedding my dear, right here. In 10 days." the Queen stated.
"That's even sooner than we were planning it, I am all for it!" Colin exclaimed happily, making everyone smile.
"10 days? Are you sure your majesty?" Penelope asked.
"Her Majesty has already started organizing everything, Miss. It will be grand. She has even asked for Peacocks to be brought." Brimsley commented.
"It would be an honor your Majesty, Thank you." Pen smiled softly.
"Maybe you can put your mother back in her place in your next issue, saying that the Queen took this decision after finding out how your mother reacted at Aubry Hall." Colin told Pen.
"Oh, I do like that idea!" Lady Danbury nodded.
"Yes, I heard that her reaction was far from that of a happy mother." The Queen agreed.
"And she has yet to speak a word to me or to directly acknowledge my presence since we came back. It's hard to say if it is an improvement from the constent mockeries or if it is meant to hurt me. In any ways, I am used to much worst from her." Penelope explained.
"She knows that you warned me about her plans to force me into marrying Prudence. You were the only one around when she spoke to Varley about it. She's probably angry about this as well." Jack explained.
"I never liked her much, but forcing her daughter into marrying her dead husband's cousin? That's idiotic." The Queen shook her head.
"She told Prudence that royals did it all the time and that it would make her just like them." Penelope rolled her eyes.
"Ridiculous." The Queen shook her head.
"Let's hope she does not decide to take it out on you." Colin stated.
"It's alright, I do not need her. I have made it this far without her love or support, I will make it further without her." Penelope replied.
"Well spoken. And tomorrow we have your engagement celebration in our home to distract us." Violet smiled softly at her future daughter in law.
"And in the morning I will show you our house. I am sure that you will love it. It has been in our family for a long time. But we will be able to change anything you do not like." Colin spoke quickly, showing how excited he truly was about all of this.
"I cannot wait." She smiled.
"Then it is settled, we will hold your wedding right here in 10 days." the Queen declared happily before Brimsley came closer with a notebook and they started discussing the decorum and favored foods and flowers.
They named the guests they absolutely wanted present and those they did not wish to see. In truth, Cressida Cowper was the only one they did not want to see at their wedding.
After they left, Colin reminded Penelope that he would pick her up the next morning. In the mean time, she needed to go to madame Delacroix for a wedding dress.
Once she got home, Cousin Jack had already informed her mother and Prudence of the new wedding plans, but her mother did not react, though she gave one of the footmen a letter to send out that she said was urgent. Penelope did not try to find out who the letter was for or why it was urgent. Her mother was once more ignoring her, so she did not share with her, or her sister, the fabrics and designs she had chosen for her wedding dress.
.
The next morning, Penelope found herself alone in a carriage with Colin, and they did not hesitate to kiss, enjoying the fact that they were alone and could explore and touch each other's better. They were only interrupted when they arrived at the house. Servants were already present, taking off furniture covers and bringing Colin's possessions inside. He showed her the house, room by room, making sure she knew that they could change anything they did not like but she seemed to love it all so far, which made him very happy.
He ended up showing her the bedroom suite last. The bedroom was in the back and they entered through what looked like a study. There was a mirror, a lounging chair and a desk. His desk, she guessed.
"I was thinking that we could put your desk over here, in front of mine, on the other side of the room. This way we can write together. And when I get bored writing, I can simply look at you. But if you'd rather have your own study, there are plenty of rooms you can chose from." he explained quickly.
"No, no need. I love this idea. Though my desk at home is quite small, it would look out of place here." she replied with a smile.
"That's alright, I... I kind of already bought one for you, I found it yesterday. It will be delivered tomorrow. I just know that you will love it, and there is even a hidden drawer for your hidden Lady Whistledown and the design is just... you." He explained and she smiled.
Unable to hold back when he was being so kind and they were all alone, she kissed him deeply, putting all of her love into this kiss.
They were all alone in this room, and the servants would not be interrupting them because they were very busy elsewhere, so it was easy for Colin and Penelope to let go and follow their desires. They took it further than a few kisses, further than a few daring touches and they ended up making love for the first time together on this lounging chair. It was perfect and beautiful, and they were comfortable enough to speak normally afterwards, not making it awkward.
"I have to admit that I am very happy that the Queen has asked to hold our wedding sooner. 9 more days until you are officially Misses Bridgerton." Colin smiled.
"I cannot wait either. I love you, Colin, more than you can imagine." She smiled.
"I love you too, now, we should probably start to get back. We need to get ready for tonight, our betrothal celebration. Well, technically it is for Anthony and Kate as well." He smiled.
"True. I am still unsure if my mother and sisters will be attending, if they do, let's hope they behave themselves well. We will see I guess. Until then, I have prepared the next issue of Lady Whistledown, where it says what the Queen asked. That she's organizing our wedding because she was disgusted by my mother's reaction to our engagement and that she calls us a True Love Match, the best match of the season." Penelope replied.
They got dressed and took the carriage back to Governor square, snuggling into each other while in the confines of the carriage.
As soon as she arrived home, Penelope went in her room immediately and started writing, planning on completing it after tonight's party depending on what happens.
Then, when the time to cross the square approached, she got ready. Then she joined her Cousin Jack in front of the door. She thought they would be going alone and was fine with this when her mother and sister came down the stairs, looking their best but a sour look on their faces. They look like they were planning something but Penelope brushed it off.
"Philippa and Mister Finch cannot make it tonight, they had previous engagements." Portia declared.
"It's quite alright." Jack nodded and they all crossed the square, where quite a few guests were already present.
"How many people are invited tonight?" Jack asked, looking at the carriages dropping off guests.
"Last year when he got engaged to Marina there was just the close families." Prudence added loudly.
"Last year they knew something was off and none of the Bridgerton family members were truly happy about the match. I think Lady Bridgerton invited all of their family friends but I am not sure. The Queen initially planned to attend but she sent word this afternoon that she could not make it because the king was 'aware' and she wanted to spend time with him, which is completely understandable." Penelope replied before they finally entered the large house.
They were immediately greeted by Violet and Colin, who eagerly kissed Pen's hand, called her proudly his bride to be and walked off with her before Portia or Prudence could say anything to him. It made his mother smile fondly and Lady Featherington frowned before she caught herself and faked a smile. Prudence, after a nod from her mother, followed her sister from afar, trying to be discrete about it and obviously hoping for an occasion to do something.
Colin happily took Penelope for a round of greeting guests, trying to keep her away from her mother and sister at all times though it was hard considering prudence seemed to be following them around. Lady Danbury was present, along with her guests the Sharma's. Edwina was there with a serious suitor and everyone seemed happy. Kate spent the evening with Anthony, for this party was also for their own engagement.
Then came the time for toasts. First Violet congratulated both of her sons for finding lovely ladies and love matches, then Eloise spoke, mainly about how happy she was that her best friend would now be her sister, to which Hyacinth exclaimed her loud approbation, making everyone smile. After Eloise, Anthony spoke to celebrate his fiance and declare his love and to welcome his new sister in the family. Then, Violet read a letter that Daphne had written to congratulate the couples. She could not make it for this celebration but she would come to the wedding, along with her husband and children. She was happy for the two couples and wished them the happiest of lives.
Then it was Colin's turn.
"Many people, after they fall from a horse, seek council to get back up but I say, Stay in the mud, because the love of your life could be standing in front of you, laughing and teasing you. I will never regret falling from that horse, Penelope, because that is how I met you and you are the only woman for me. Knowing that we will be able to spend the rest of our lives together makes me the happiest man in this world. I promise to never take you for granted and to show you my love every day. I love you." Colin had spoke with emotions and Pen could only smile and mouth "I love you" back.
"To the best matches of the season!" Jack Featherington exclaimed happily and everyone repeated the cheer and toasts to the two couple, though it felt more directed at Colin and Penelope.
The Bridgerton family had prepared a few games to keep everyone busy, mainly charades, and Penelope was showing how smart she was by winning it. When she and Colin took a break, mainly to give the others a chance to play as well, she noticed that Prudence's eyes never left Colin.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Penelope complained quietly.
"What is it?" Colin asked her, concerned.
"When my mother and Prudence came down the stairs to join us tonight, I thought they looked like they were planning something. I just understood what it was! Prudence keeps her eyes on you, I bet that if you tried to leave the room she would follow and try to be caught alone with you. I am willing to bet you that they are planning on tricking you into being forced to marry her instead of me." Penelope explained.
"Are you sure?" he asked, shocked.
"Let's try. I will go to the back of the room, pretend I'm speaking with Lady Danbury and Benedict and ask them to follow me. We will go to your study through the door in the back. You wait a little moment then you take this door and go to your study. If I am wrong, we will all have an awkward encounter in your study, if I am right, she will be caught with witnesses and humiliated." Penelope suggested.
"Alright." He nodded.
"I will be back in a moment, Colin. I have something to discuss with Lady Danbury." Penelope told her husband to be a little louder, to catch her sister's attention, before she walked away.
Colin watched her go to Lady Danbury and turned his attention to Anthony trying to win the game of charades. Once he knew that Penelope was gone, he finished his drink and left the room, taking the long way to his study. He heard foot steps behind him. She was not even trying to be discrete. He opened the door and walked in, leaving the door slightly ajar.
Penelope, Benedict, Lady Danbury, his mother and Jack Featherington were already there. He did not know how Pen had gotten more witnesses but he knew it would always be better to have more if she was right. They were hidden behind the door against the wall so that they could not be seen right away when someone came in.
He was about to speak when the door opened and Prudence walked in, a smile on her face. She had somehow pulled her dress down on the way to show more of her cleavage.
"You know, if I was lucky enough to be engaged to you, I would not leave you alone to go speak to some boring old lady." Prudence spoke, walking as close to Colin as she could, while he walked back to avoid her.
Prudence kept trying to touch him but he walked out of reach as soon as he could. He had not even had time to answer when Portia walked in, looking dramatic, followed by a couple of the older guests.
"What is going on in here? Mister Bridgerton how could you?! Ruining my poor Prudence and breaking Penelope's heart! You will have to marry Prudence now! Oh my poor girl is ruined!" Portia stated, looking like she had just won a grand prize.
"Does he, though?" Penelope spoke, closing the door to show that they were all present.
"The 'Boring old lady' would like to remind miss Prudence Featherington that she is in no position to speak badly of others." Lady Danbury snapped with a glare.
Portia's witnesses immediately went to stand by Lady Danbury's side, understanding that they had been used and knowing that the truth had to be on Lady Danbury's side.
"What is the meaning of this?" Portia asked.
"That's what I would like to know mama. Are you so uncapable of showing happiness for me that you have to recruit Prudence to try and ruin it? Did you honestly believe that breaking the bond that exists between Colin and me would be so easy? Is it so hard to love me that you cannot even be happy when I find someone to truly love me?" Penelope asked, shaking and tears dropping from her eyes.
Colin went to hold her close.
"You trapped me!" Portia exclaimed, pointing accusingly at Penelope.
"She trapped you? Now that is rich! You are the one who recruited your eldest daughter to try and ruin Penelope's engagement on the day we assembled to celebrate it." Jack exclaimed angrily.
"She does not deserve to find such a good and secure match! Who cares about Love? My sweet Prudence deserves this security for herself! If he wants to marry one of my daughters he should marry Prudence! Penelope is nothing! She should not find love! I never wanted her to be born in the first place! I did not need another daughter I had 2 perfect ones and I only agreed to have a third child in hopes for a boy to secure our claim but she could not even be that! I swore on the day she was born that I would never allow her any happiness." Portia exclaimed angrily, glaring at Pen like she had never before.
"Why do you think we never celebrate your birthday? We had small gestures when Father was alive because he insisted, but now that he's dead, there is nobody to force us. Nobody to care. We do not celebrate your birthday because we find no reason to celebrate the day of your birth. We have even convinced dumb Philippa that you hate your birthday and that it is the reason we do not celebrate it." Prudence chuckled.
In truth it looked like Portia had been keeping this inside for a long time and the more she spoke about never loving Penelope and her never wanted her to be born at all, the freer she looked and the sadder Penelope looked. Colin held Penelope even closer to him, swearing to himself that her next birthday would be the happiest day of her life.
"I always knew that you were not a good mother to Penelope, but never would I have imagined that you would go this far." Lady Bridgerton shook her head angrily, joining Colin into consoling Penelope.
"Colin, why don't you take Penelope back to the party, try to cheer her up and warn everyone of what has happened? We will take care of this here." Benedict suggested, taking charge of things to show that he could be responsible and that he was capable of holding the family in Anthony's absence, and Colin nodded.
When Colin entered the drawing room with a crying Penelope, everyone stopped what they were doing and came to find out what had happened, Eloise, Kate and Anthony being the first to join them. Seeing no need to hide it, Colin explained it to them. Penelope's suspicion, her hope to be wrong and the fact that she had been right. Portia and Prudence's schemes and plans to break them up. Portia's confessions and everything that had been said in the study.
Eloise joined Colin in hugging Penelope while Anthony angrily joined Benedict in the study, ordering Hyacinth and Gregory to stay with Colin and Penelope when they showed sign of wanted to follow him to knew more. A few of the other guests followed Anthony, hoping to help out while the others remained to cheer Penelope up and show her that she was indeed loved and that her presence was desired.
"Here Penelope, drinking something cold might help." Kate said softly, handing a cold lemonade to Penelope who took it with a smile.
"Do not worry, Anthony and Benedict will take care of it. They always solve any bad situation, especially with mama to help them. All will end well, because we love you, and so does your Cousin Jack. We are family, Penelope." Hyacinth tried to reassure Pen who smiled at her softly.
It felt like it had been hours since the confrontation in the study and most of the guests had left, knowing that the mood was broken and that the party was over. Suddenly, Lady Danbury and Lady Bridgerton walked back in the study.
"What happened?" Colin asked as soon as they entered, looking grave.
"It's..." Violet tried to speak but she did not know how to say things without hurting Penelope.
"What is it?" Penelope asked, her voice stronger now that she had calmed down.
"Lady Featherington was just arrested." Lady Bridgerton managed to say.
"Just for trying to break the engagement? It seems a bit much." Gregory frowned.
"Benedict and Lord Featherington went to get to guards a while back. We went to get Misses Varley as well for her testimony. It seems that she... Lady Featherington admitted to trying to poison you when you were a child but you did not drink enough of the poison because Varley stopped you, having noticed the strange color of the drink, and it only made you sick. Your father was suspicious, he did not quite believe that it was an accident but he had no evidence, but she did not try again, especially since Varley was also on her guards around her for some time. You see, Varley is loyal to your family, because she grew up with your father, they were friends. She knew that you were in danger so she stayed, even when your mother could not pay her last summer, to make sure that you were safe. The guards took her as well to get her complete testimony and to have her tell them as much details as she can. Your mother had two different deadly poisons on her tonight, planning on feeding them to you if her foolish attempt to break the two of you up failed. Prudence was in on it, she also had a vial of poison, ready to act if her mother could not." Lady Danbury spoke, looking grave.
"She wanted me dead?" Penelope asked as Colin and Eloise hugged her tighter to show her that she was not alone.
"I am so sorry, dear. But she was taken away and the officer assured us that you would not see her, or your sister, again. They are being charged with attempted murder. Your cousin Jack went along to tell them everything he could and ensure that it would go smoothly." Violet replied.
"You cannot stay alone in that house tonight." Eloise told Penelope.
"She could sleep here?" Colin suggested.
"No, I told Lord Featherington that Eloise would go with Penelope tonight so that she was not alone." Violet shook her head.
"Can I go too?" Hyacinth asked Penelope.
"I do not mind, but it is up to your mother." Pen smiled.
"Of course, if you agree to listen to Penelope and your sister." Violet nodded and Hyacinth jumped in joy.
"Thank you. I really hoped to be wrong about their plans... I never imagined that they could have been worst than what I imagined." Penelope shook her head.
"Never mind them, they did not deserve you in their lives. In just a few days you will have an entire new family." Kate told Penelope reassuringly and the bride to be smiled softly back at her future sister in law.
"What's certain is that tomorrow, when she reads Lady Whistledown and finds out what happened tonight, the Queen will be sorry she missed this evening." Lady Danbury said to try and cheer them.
Then, Anthony walked back in the room.
"They just left. The matter will be brought in front of the Queen herself and her son the Regent tomorrow morning. Featherington and I will need to be present, as head of our families." Anthony explained.
"I want to be there too." Colin insisted and his brother nodded.
Then they all shared one last drink and parted ways. Lady Danbury and the Sharma's went back to Lady Danbury's home. Colin walked Penelope, Hyacinth and Eloise to the Featherington house where Rae waited for them. The maid quickly prepared the two guest rooms for Hyacinth and Eloise.
Before she went to bed, Penelope completed her latest Whistledown issue and gave it to her maid, asking her to bring it to the printer as fast as she could.
"Are you alright, Pen?" Eloise asked her best friend before they parted ways to go to sleep.
"Not really, but I will be." Penelope replied with a small smile.
Penelope was in her nightgown, about to go to bed when there was a shy knock on her door. She turned around to see Hyacinth walk in.
"Is something wrong Hyacinth?" Penelope asked her, concerned.
"No, I just wanted to make sure you were alright before I went to bed. You truly are important to us, you know? The entire family loves you. I just wanted to make sure you knew it." Hyacinth told Penelope before she gave in to her instinct and came to hug her.
"Thank you, Hyacinth, and I love all of you like family too. Truly."
Hyacinth stayed with Penelope a while, talking about random things and when she left to go to bed, Penelope felt better.
.
When Penelope woke up later than usual the next morning, she found pretty flowers by her side, with a note from Colin saying that he would be by to see her as soon as they had news. He had asked one of the maids to drop them by her side before she woke up and it made her smile. It took her a second to remember everything that happened the previous evening and, determined to to let this tarnish her upcoming wedding, Penelope rang her maid so that she could get dressed. Once she was ready, she entered the drawing room where Eloise and Hyacinth were drinking tea and eating cakes.
"Varley came back during the night but your cousin is still at the palace, waiting until it is sorted to come here. He gave Varley the day off but she protested. She agreed to take the morning off to rest but she will work this afternoon. She insisted that you not hesitate to ring her if you need her." Eloise explained.
"I will not, if she stayed up so late she needs her rest too. Everything still feels surreal to be honest." Penelope shook her head, taking a sip of tea and eating a bite of one of her favorite cakes.
"But you slept at least, right?" Eloise asked her, concerned.
"Yes, I fell asleep quickly. I focused my mind on Colin instead of what happened with my mother and I ended up sleeping pretty well. It has been a long time since I woke up this late." Pen replied.
"Well, Lady Whistledown arrived before you woke up." Hyacinth declared.
"Everyone now knows everything that's happened, and I'm guessing they will all be looking out for any clues as to what will happen next with your mother. I would not be surprised if some of them ended up going for a walk near the palace to find out what has been decided." Eloise stated, showing her friend the issue she had just read.
"We will know when Lord Featherington comes back." Hyacinth said.
"And Colin. I was here when he brought you the flowers. He was on his way with Anthony to join your Cousin to ensure everything happens well. Well, I'm pretty sure Colin mainly went to be able to tell you himself what has happened." Eloise explained.
Penelope was about to ask Eloise if they should wait here or go to Bridgerton house for everyone to come back but before she could ask the question, her future mother in law entered the drawing room with Benedict and Gregory. They all waited together, happily, until Jack, Anthony and Colin arrived together.
"See, I told you that they would all be here." Anthony told Jack with an amused chuckle.
"So, what happened?" Eloise asked while Colin went to greet Pen and sat by her side, holding her hand.
"Philippa and her husband were brought up early and interrogated. It was decided that she was clueless and your mother and sister confirmed as much. Philippa just went along to whatever your mother and Prudence said and did. She believed you hated your birthday and that this was the reason they never celebrated it, she felt pretty bad when she discovered the truth. I think she's angry at herself for letting them manipulate her like this. Your mother and Prudence however were sentenced to prison for attempted murder. The Queen was furious with them." Jack replied.
"She asked how you were doing, we told her that you were stronger than you looked and that you were not alone. She still wants to see you for tea this afternoon. Both to see how you are doing and to check on wedding plans." Anthony added.
"Varley gave a very detailed testimony of several other times where your mother tried to hurt you that could have been fatal, along with the mockeries and purposely forgetting your birthday while your sister's were extravaguent affairs. That did not help with the Queen's sour mood." Colin explained.
"Anyway, you will not have to see your mother or Prudence ever again." Jack reassured Penelope.
"And you will be free as well. Free to lead the life you want without having to take care of a family that is not yours." Penelope smiled at him.
"You are my family now, Penelope. But yes, I will be freer. I might even look for a wife. Having a family does not seem too bad, as long as it's a marriage of love, or at the very least a practical match where everyone agrees and has the same view." Jack replied, making everyone smile.
"Maybe Lady Danbury can use her powers of molding society to help you find a bride next." Anthony declared, making everyone chuckle.
"Lady Whistledown could help." Penelope offered.
"Let's see if anything will happen on its own first, shall we?" Jack asked.
"Maybe we could keep the Queen busy next season by challenging her to help Eloise find a husband." Hyacinth suggested.
"Over my dead body. And yours." Eloise glared, making everyone chuckle.
"That's a challenge even the Queen would not be able to uphold." Benedict commented.
"I am confident that eventually, our Eloise will meet someone and suddenly find herself ready to be married. She's just waiting for the right person." Penelope spoke softly.
"We'll see." Eloise frowned.
.
Eventually, the Bridgerton's left to go to their own homes, and Penelope kept herself busy by answering a few Lady Whistledown letters before it was time for her to meet the queen for tea. Knowing that she would not be able to publish during her honeymoon, Penelope had started to prepare a few issues, where there was little gossip but more letter answers and other life advises. This way, issues would come out during her honeymoon and people would not get suspicious.
The Queen was waiting for Penelope in the gardens and they were alone, save from Brimsley who was always around.
"How are you doing, dear? Truly?" the Queen asked, sincerely concerned.
"Honestly? Still a bit shocked over it all, it still does not feel quite real. I knew she did not love me but I never thought it would go this far. But I am not alone, and I know that I will be fine." She replied with a smile.
"You are a strong young woman, and you should be proud of what you have accomplished. Know that you are safe, we have ensured that." The Queen stated.
"Thank you, your majesty." Penelope smiled.
"Now, how do you feel about your cousin?" The Queen asked.
"Cousin Jack? He truly is kind. He feels like family. He truly cares and did his best to help me. He is the first to have ever noticed me leaving a ball and to have followed, worried about me."
"Good, then he will keep the Featherington Estate." The Queen smiled.
"He is the only possible last heir, though, is he not?" She asked, confused as to what the Queen meant by 'he can keep it'.
"For now. Had he not been a good candidate, we could have kept the Estate for your future boy though."
"Right. Well, he is kind, and he even plans to marry, eventually. He mentioned preferring a marriage of love." Penelope replied.
"Then we will have to find another way to ensure your future." The Queen added.
"My future? You majesty, I assure you that we will be fine financially. Between the Bridgerton's fortune and my Whistledown money..." Penelope shook her head.
"But you have given away most of the money you have made so far, have you not? No, I want to make sure Lady Whistledown is indeed a true Lady, titled." The Queen replied.
"Your majesty?" Penelope asked.
"You see, when a family dies out without leaving an heir, it is my privilege to gift it and transfer it to another family. There was a couple of choices, and I have decided which one to gift to you and your future husband. There is no house in town, for the last Lord sold it since he did not like to stay in Mayfair, but the Estate is quite large. The country house is only a little less than a day's ride away from Aubry hall, and it will suit you and your future husband well. You shall be a Contessa and your husband an Earl. The paperwork is being sorted as we speak by the royal solicitor Mister Dundus." The Queen declared.
"Thank you, your Majesty, I am honored." Penelope managed to speak, her voice full of emotions.
"The other free title was Baron and Baroness, but I wanted you to be more. Too bad no Marquees title was available, but Earl is good enough I guess." the Queen explained.
"It is more than enough, your Majesty. Thank you." She smiled.
"You may tell Mister Bridgerton, it is not a surprise or a secret. You shall receive the official paperwork and keys on the day of your wedding."
Penelope smiled and then the Queen asked her a few more questions about their wedding.
Then Penelope spoke with the Queen about a project she had. She wanted, during the off season, to publish a larger issue of Lady Whistledown, and she had ideas to include written portraits, little biographies, of important women of the Ton. She explained to the Queen that she'd like for each of the woman she wrote the portrait off to answer the same questions, give advice to young ladies.
"I would love for you and Lady Danbury to be the first ones. If it's popular, I would be able to branch out and do more next year, it would be a start. You would be in complete control of what I write. You would expose your thoughts on Love, what makes a good match, what makes you happy... Anything you think is important. You may even talk about your childhood or other things if you wish." Penelope finished explaining.
"And it would be read by everyone. Once I die, people would have this to remember me by... It will be what future generations know of me. I agree." The Queen nodded.
"That's great! Thank you! We can start now if you have the time." Penelope suggested and the Queen nodded.
She asked Brimsley to bring paper and ink for Penelope and they spoke a long time. They paused after a while and decided that they would pick it up after Penelope's honeymoon. She would come for tea with the Queen and they would continue. Penelope already planned on asking Lady Danbury if she would agree to do it as well.
Then, Penelope left and joined her husband at the Bridgerton's. Her cousin was already present. Anthony was not there, he was spending time with Kate somewhere else.
"How did it go?" Colin asked her.
"Pretty well. I also had the time to ask her about the special issue I wanted to write for the off season and she has agreed, she finds it a great idea and she has answered the first questions. We will pick it up after our honeymoon. In truth, the Queen has informed me of something I was not expecting. At first she wanted to know if Cousin Jack was indeed a good man I considered family or not. When I assured her that he was indeed, she smiled and said that she wanted us to be titled so that Lady Whistledown was indeed a Lady. She is in the process of transferring the estate she has chosen for us to our names. She will gift it to us on our wedding day." Penelope spoke.
"Titled? Really?" Eloise and Hyacinth asked.
"Do you know which title it will be?" Violet asked.
"She wanted us to be Marquees but there was no available titles. We could have been Baron and Baroness but she thought that it was not enough so we will be Earl and Contessa. She never actually said the name of the Estate, because it will become Bridgerton soon, but she said there was no London house because the last Lord did not like Mayfair but that the country house was a little less than a day's ride away from Aubry Hall." She explained.
"It should not be too hard to find out which one it is." Jack declared.
"Look at that, Colin will outrank his big brother!" Benedict joked happily.
"I cannot wait to tell Anthony. Can I be the one to tell him?" Hyacinth asked.
"Sure." Colin chuckled, amused.
"She must really like you to do this, it is a great honor to be gifted an Estate and a title." Violet smiled.
"I am aware of the favor she is showing us. For some reason she has taken a good liking to me and she truly cares about our future, safety and happiness." Penelope smiled back.
.
The next couple of days passed well, Penelope's possessions were slowly being transferred into her new home and she had gone to Madame Delacroix to finish her wedding dress. She was very happy with it and she just felt very pretty while wearing it, something she was still getting used to. It had been decided that Anthony would stand with Colin and that Eloise would stand with Penelope and so Eloise had gone with Penelope to get a new dress done as well.
Penelope had expected Eloise to complain, to demand that the dress be not too frilly but she did not. She allowed Madame Delacroix free reign to make her a dress that would fit the occasion and her personality and that made pen happy.
Suddenly, it was the day where Lady Whistledown's accessories would be sold and small vendors had settled all over the Ton to sell the many accessories. Penelope was a bit nervous during her promenade that day, Colin by her side. Would it sell well or not? Would people think that she is doing too much?
Cousin Jack had surprised Pen that morning with a new idea, a Quill with an ink reservoir. It was new, had been patented just a few years ago and he had worked with his contact on an elegant design. The name Lady Whistledown would be printed on the side and it was very pretty. Of course they had to share profits with the holder of the patent but she was happy about it. She could not wait to use one and it would be sold at the end of the season, in different styles and colors. Jack seemed to believe that some people would want to buy the entire collection, even if they did not write often.
"Look, someone else with your fan and trying to attach the broach." Colin told her.
"It seems to be selling well, everywhere I look I see broaches and fans. Cousin Jack said that we would receive a first estimate of the sales at the end of the day."
"Well, I have bought a Broach as well." He said proudly, getting it out of his pocket.
"And what will you do with it?" She chuckled.
"Nothing, I just had to have something and it has your header on it. I set it on my desk and I will look at it proudly, knowing that you are my wife." he smiled.
"You could have gotten the handkerchief." She smiled.
"I did." he smiled brighter and showed it to her.
"The good sign is that most people seem to have bought more than one item." She commented.
"Look, even Cressida Cowper has the shawl and the fan." He nodded.
"If only she knew that it is me she is celebrating..." Pen chuckled.
"Well, she is looking quite sour lately. She tried to befriend Eloise again the other day, trying to see if she was truly happy about our match or if she wanted to oppose it. I think miss Cowper has a hard time accepting that not only you have found a love match, but the Queen approves it and seem to favor you." Colin replied.
"Maybe if she was nicer to others, she would have found a match by now. People do notice when she is mean to others, they easily guess that she will not be easy to live with so they do not pursue her." Penelope shook her head.
"True. Anyway, lets go over there, I see one of your vendor, we'll see how many items he has left."
In truth, the vendor was almost out of everything and the few others they crossed on their way home were almost out as well. Colin went back to his family while Penelope went to her home as well.
"Penelope, how did your promenade with Mister Bridgerton go?" Jack asked her.
"Very well, thank you. We did notice that the vendors we crossed were almost out of everything. It seems to be selling well." She smiled.
"Better than they thought it would, in fact. I received a notice that they had to restock and that they were working on making a lot more because it sold so quickly. It looks like I will be able to pay you back much quicker than we initially thought." Cousin Jack replied with a smile, showing her the letter he had received a few moments before she arrived.
"Maybe we should give the go ahead for the other objects I rejected at first? I mean if people love these things so well, maybe we should go for the other 4 designs of the handkerchiefs, make it a collection." She suggested and he nodded.
"You are right. I will write to them and get it done right away." he agreed.
That evening, they both received another message from her manufacturer, informing them that they were completely sold out and that they had to boost production for a while in order to answer all of the client's demands.
.
Before she knew it, Penelope was at the Palace, having her hair done for her wedding to Colin in a couple of hours. Cousin Jack would walked her down the aisle and she was happier than ever before. In just a few hours, she would be Misses Bridgerton, or, if the Queen truly gifted them with titles, Lady Bridgerton. But the potential titles did not matter. What mattered was that she would marry Colin, the man she loved, and she knew that they would be happy together.
"Penelope, there you are! I forgot how big this place was." Eloise exclaimed as she walked in the room, already dressed and ready.
"You are looking very pretty Penelope, dear! I love your hair this way." Violet exclaimed, closing the door behind her.
"Thank you." Penelope replied with a blush.
Penelope went to let the maids help her into her wedding dress, knowing that the time was getting closer for her to walk down the aisle. Violet and Eloise helped her as well and, a few minutes later, Penelope was standing in front of a large beautiful floor length mirror, looking at her reflection.
"I look... beautiful." Penelope whispered.
"Absolutely." Violet smiled.
"Colin will not be able to say two coherent words when he sees you. We might even need to remind him to say I do when the time comes." Eloise nodded with a smile.
"Is everything ready?" Penelope asked them nervously.
"Yes, Benedict or Kate would have come to warn us if there had been a problem." Violet smiled reassuringly.
"But you probably should know... Marina is there, with her husband Lord Crane and her twins. I greeted her, spoke with her. It seems that your mother sent her a letter inviting her here today for your wedding. The letter did not include the name of the groom, she was surprised when I told her it was Colin but since they came all the way here, they have decided to stay. Well, she seemed ready to leave but her husband insisted that they stayed." Eloise explained.
"Marina is here?" Pen asked confirmation.
"Yes, when I left she was sitting in the back with your sister Philippa and Mister Finch." Eloise nodded.
"Philippa came? I was not sure, she has not contacted me since our mother and Prudence were arrested." Penelope shook her head.
"I asked her about that actually. She said that she was afraid that you might not want to see or speak to her and she believed it would be best to wait until you came to her. I told her that you were waiting for her to make the first step. She will find a moment to speak to you during the wedding breakfast." Eloise added.
They spoke a while longer until it was time for them to make their way to the church. Violet went to sit down and Eloise stayed with Penelope and Jack Featherington.
"Are you sure that you are fine with Marina's presence? I could try to get her to leave." Eloise asked, nervous for her friend.
"No, I'm fine. I know how Colin feels about me, and I know that what little feelings he used to have for her are not only long gone but very small in comparison to what he feels for me now." Penelope smiled.
The three of them were standing behind curtains. Eloise pushed her head past the curtains and moved her head back.
"Everyone is in place. Colin as well. He looks happy, but nervous." She smiled.
"We have to wait for the music for you to start walking. They will open the curtains." Jack reminded Penelope and Eloise with a smile.
"Right, I remember that. Do not worry Penelope, everything is going to go well, and if you want to run away before the end of the ceremony, give me a sign and I will run ahead, give you an excuse to leave." Eloise commented with an amused chuckle, making Jack chuckle as well.
"I do not think the Queen would appreciate that too much. Do not worry, I have no reasons to run away. Colin is the perfect one for me. There is no one else in this world I would rather marry." Pen shook her head, trying not to laugh.
Eloise was about to reply when the music started and the curtains opened. Eloise winked at her best friend and walked all the way to her spot, giving the Queen the obligatory curtsy on the way. Then Penelope and Jack followed.
As she walked, slowly, Penelope noticed Marina and Lord Crane by her sister's side but she quickly looked back in front of her, to Colin whose eyes did not leave her. He had a large smile on his face and his eyes were full of love. Anthony smiled at her quickly but kept his eyes on Kate for as long as he could. Eloise looked nervous, but she did her best to stand tall and calmly.
Then they had arrived, and Jack left her with Colin while he went to take his seat. And before she knew it, she was officially married to Colin and everybody applauded. Then the Queen asked for silence and she went to stand before the happy couple, handing them the paperwork and the Keys of the Estate making them Earl and Contessa Bridgerton. They bowed in front of her, thanked her, and people applauded even louder, congratulating the couple.
Penelope and Colin then walked out of the church where they were greeted by fireworks and music. The royal garden had been richly decorated and Penelope took a few minutes to take it all in before they were forced to greet guests and receive congratulations.
It was quite some time before the new couple could be alone, because every single person that had been invited wanted to speak with them.
"Penelope, Congratulations." Philippa said nervously when it was her turn.
Her husband was by her side, smiling kindly but knowing that the sisters needed to speak first. He did greet Colin silently.
"Philippa, thank you for coming." Penelope smiled sincerely.
"I am so sorry for not coming to see you sooner, I had convinced myself that I should wait for you to come to me, that I needed to wait until you were ready to speak with me. I was convinced that you were angry with me. I should have checked." Philippa shook her head.
"Eloise explained this, yes. And I was afraid that you were angry with me for Prudence and our mother's arrest. Do no worry, Philippa, we are good now."
"I... You have a big day ahead of you, I will leave you to it, but let me know when you want us to met? Maybe over tea some time?" Philippa asked.
"She will, but it will have to wait until after our honeymoon." Colin intervened, making Philippa and Mister Finch smile.
Then Penelope watched as her sister walked away and they received congratulations from Lady Danbury and then from Daphne and Simon. Then a few more people she only crossed at big events.
After them, the Cranes came, they were the last ones.
"Congratulations to you two." Philip said happily, looking kind and sincere.
"Thank you." Colin nodded with a smile, holding on to Penelope still.
He had not let her go since they had been declared man and wife, he was afraid that he'd lose her in such a large crowd and he did enjoy having her in his arms, so close to him.
"Is this your twins then? Oliver and Amanda?" Penelope asked the couple, trying not to address Marina directly before she did it first.
"Yes." Marina nodded, her face closed.
"I believe I heard the Queen speaking of peacocks being present today, you should bring them to see the birds. It should entertain and amuse them to see them ruffle their feathers." Penelope added, addressing Philip more.
Then Philip looked pointedly at Marina, as though he was reminding her of a conversation they had had earlier.
"I will go and speak with your cousin Philippa and Mister Finch while you do what you have to do. She was planning on introducing us to the new Lord Featherington." he told his wife and walked away with the children.
"I... I was sorry to hear about what your mother did to you, Penelope. And I am sorry if you did not want me here today, Eloise mentioned that your mother send that letter behind your back." Marina declared, her face closed off, not showing any emotion.
"My mother's actions got her where she belongs, it's quite alright. In regard to everything else she's done, sending this letter to you is nothing." Penelope replied.
"I will not apologize for last year. I did what I had to do. Philip wants me to make peace with the two of you and to apologize, but I will not. I refuse to think of the past, my only focus is on the present and on my children. I did what was necessary and my actions got us all where we are, so it turned out for the best." Marina shook her head.
Penelope held on to Colin's hand a little tighter, seeking courage from him before she spoke.
"I do not think that you did what was necessary, Marina, you tried to do what was easier for you. I was your only friend in that house and you did your best to hurt me and betray me at every turn. I am not angry with you anymore, because I am very happy today. I have a husband who loves me, a good family who loves me. I am happy, but do not try to tell me that I should forgive everything you have told me because it got us where we are. We could have gotten there earlier without your intervention, and with a lot less pain." Penelope declared, trying to be as kind as possible.
"Without your lies and manipulations, I would have seen Pen earlier, I would have opened my eyes to my feelings over a year ago and maybe her father would have been able to attend her wedding. Her mother would have revealed her villainous actions sooner and she would have been arrested sooner. Pen's father might even still be with us today. And because we are setting things straight, I never regarded Penelope like I did Hyacinth. I always saw her differently than I did anyone else in my life. She was always the one I was seeking at every social event to bring me comfort and joy. She was always the one I most enjoyed conversing with. The more I think about it, our friendship shifted into more over time so slowly that I did not realize it, but without your lies, I would have seen her a lot earlier." Colin added, having a harder time to show a kind face.
"Colin..." Marina started to say.
"It's Lord Bridgerton, now. And I will never forgive that your actions led to my Pen being in pain. I will never forgive that I caused her pain because of you. That she cried because of your manipulations." He shook his head.
"Obviously you have decided to ignore the past, Marina, and live in the present for your children. If that is what makes you happy, then I am happy for you, but living in the present does not mean forgetting your past friends. I wrote to you, 6 times, after you left. You never answered. It's your husband who wrote to me eventually, saying that you did receive my letters and read them but that you refused to answer because you did not want to relive the past and that I should not waste my ink because you refused any connection to anyone that was not your children. You might lead a lonely life now, and it obviously makes you sad, but that is your own doing." Penelope added.
"Fine, I should leave. My Lord, My Lady." Marina replied dryly before she turned around and joined her husband and children.
Philip looked disappointed in her but she ignored him.
"Are you alright?" Colin asked Pen softly now that they were finally alone for a bit.
"I actually am. I think I might be ready to forgive her." She smiled.
"Alright. Now, what do you say we go and take our seat to get something to eat and drink? I am starving." he suggested and she nodded.
Before they walked away, he kissed her softly, unable to help himself. They sat down and ate a bit before they took a walk around the festivities to see everything the Queen had prepared. It was truly grand. When they neared the orchestra, Penelope suggested that they danced, even though it was still day out and even though it was not usual at a wedding breakfast. And so Colin took her hand and they started dancing in front of the Orchestra, quickly bringing on them the stares of everyone in attendance.
the Queen smiled brightly when she spotted them, proud that it turned out so well for them.
"Ah, such a lovely couple..." An old lady commented by Marina's side.
"That's true love for you, unable to stay away from each other for too long. You should have seen Colin during the 10 days of their engagement. Whenever they were separated, he was turned toward her house, or talking about her." Eloise added, on the other side of the old lady, not having noticed Marina.
"They're so adorable." Violet commented, joining her daughter.
"The Queen is right, it does feel like their love radiates all around them and touches all of us. But do not tell them I said that!" Eloise replied, making her mother chuckle.
Marina frowned. Of course she was envious. She wished she could have had this with her George but Penelope had been right. She did not have to lie and hurt everyone around her just because she did not have what she wanted.
Then a few couples joined the married couple dancing. Daphne and Simon. Anthony and Kate. Philippa and Albion. Edwina and her new fiance. A few other engaged couples also joined them and the Queen looked pleased at the overall success of the festivities she had prepared.
It was a very joyful day, filled with laughter and happiness from everyone. At some point, Colin did let go of Penelope to let her speak with Daphne and he ended up speaking with Lord Crane. He had to admit that Philip Crane was a nice men and they ended up speaking a long time about Colin's travels. They also made plans to write to each other, stay in contact and meet eventually to speak some more.
Daphne had taken Penelope aside and decided to speak to her about what to expect during the wedding night. The bride could, of course, not admit that she already knew about it because it had already happened, so she listened, grateful that Daphne cared enough about her to prepare her well. Once Daphne was done, Penelope thanked her and, seeing that Colin was in deep conversation with Philip Crane, she went to speak with her sister for a while, then Eloise.
After that, she joined her husband once more and they shared a piece of cake before he made her dance once more.
The wedding breakfast ended late that day and the newly married couple was only too happy to finally go back to their home to enjoy their honeymoon. Daphne had informed them that she and Simon would stay in town until Anthony's wedding at the end of the season and they they should let her know when they were ready for a call, she would come for tea.
They had a lot of people who wanted to call on them after their honeymoon, mainly because they so obviously had the favor of the Queen. Even people that had never really tried to get to know them now wanted to be close to them. They had, without realizing it, become a central part of the Ton.
The Cranes had been introduced to Jack Featherington who decided to invite them to stay in his home for the night. They did not have a house in Mayfair and it was a long road to take at night, especially with children, so they accepted. They were, after all, family, even if distantly related. Marina did not seem too happy at the idea of being back in that house, but her husband had accepted the invitation, so she had no choice.
"I cannot wait to finally be alone with you in our own home." Colin whispered in Pen's ear as they waved goodbye to their guests.
"I still have to write Whistledown's next issue before we do anything else." she warned him.
"You're right, I forgot about that. Well, while you do that I will let the servants know where to put our wedding present until we are ready to get to them." He smiled.
He knew that she had prepared issues for the next few weeks, issues that mainly answered the many letters she had received and he was glad for it. People would not get too suspicious of her identity if Lady Whistledown still published during Penelope's honeymoon.
.
Penelope and Colin did not leave their bedroom for several days, then when they did, they did not go further than the study for over a week. Eloise did try to call on them the day after their wedding, but Rae turned her away, following Colin's orders, before she informed the couple. It's only three weeks after their wedding that they felt ready to entertain visitors, but not for too long. they wanted to start slow.
They started with a dinner party where only their family would be invited.
Daphne and Simon were also invited of course since they were still in town. They allowed Anthony to bring Kate, and since Lady Danbury was so close to the family, they invited her as well. They also invited Jack Featherington and Philippa and Mister Finch to have the complete family present.
"When we said a little dinner with just the family, I never expected it to mean so many guests." Colin complained, looking at the long table in front of him.
"It's just for one dinner." She smiled.
"But it will take so long, and they will be so long to leave... I just want to be alone with you some more." he replied softly, kissing her neck.
"So do I, but we have to slowly make our way back into society at some point. There's Edwina's wedding coming in a few days, and I have to meet the Queen and Lady Danbury for tea for my summer project. And there is Anthony and Kate's wedding at the end of the season. I also should start writing again if we do not want people to be suspicious of my identity." She smiled.
"Fine. But at the end of the season, after you have finished your special issue, we lock ourselves up in our new country home and stay there. No guests, just the two of us." he declared.
"You say that now, but you would miss your family. Would you really allow your siblings to play Pal Mal without you?" she asked him, amused.
"You are right, as always. But I do love when we work alone on our common project." he replied, looking at her belly with a smile.
"I do enjoy that as well. And for all we know it could be on the way already, we will know in a few weeks." she smiled.
"Anyway, how are your special editions coming?" he asked her.
"Pretty well. I wanted to ask you, do you want to write a section about your travels? Or the places you have seen? You could sign as Lord Whistledown and if people love it as much as I think they will, we could make it a regular section next year." She suggested.
"You truly think that my writing is good enough to be in your column?" He asked her.
"Of course." She smiled.
"Then I will accept your offer, as long as you keep an honest eye on everything."
"Absolutely. And if it truly works, then next year we could have some accessories with Lord Whistledown on it. Design a header for you." She added excitedly.
"Slow down, Pen. I love you and I love your enthusiasm, but we are not there yet. Though I do love the idea of being called Lord Whistledown." he smiled before he kissed her.
"How many children do you want?" She asked him suddenly, breaking the kiss.
"At the very least two of each, ideally, but I will accept any number of children life gifts us with." he replied.
"Two of each seems nice." She smiled, kissing him again.
"I love you, my lovely wife."
"And I love you, husband of mine." She replied, accepting his kiss.
They kissed for a few more minutes before Rae walked in the room.
"My lady, My Lord, your first guests have arrived. They are getting out of the carriage." She declared, having decided to watch from afar and warn the happy couple before the guests joined them in the room, to prevent the guests from seeing things they should not see.
"Thank you, Rae." Pen smiled.
"Let's go and welcome our families, then. I cannot wait for this season to be over so that it's just the two of us for uninterrupted weeks." Colin replied, making Pen laugh as they went to stand on top of the stairs, waiting for their guests to join them.
Here it is, what did you think?
Review please? I always answer them, if you do not get the notification, check your private messages on the website, they should show up. Sometimes they don't show up on the app but only on the website.
Lorelei Candice Black
