Chapter 2- Yellow is A Happy Color

Simon POV

Simon spent the whole first day trying to figure out how he was going to approach everyone. He had no idea if anyone else even remembered the last 7 years that were taken from him. How was he supposed to pretend that they never happened?

First thing he had to do was make sure he ran into Daphne at the ball tomorrow night. And try not to make an arse of himself again. Talk to the Bridgerton brothers. And maybe he will be able to run into his one sister-in-law that will be at the ball. And try to do all of this without his stutter coming out.

Hopefully one of them will remember. He will just have to figure out how to let on what he knows as well. And not make himself look crazy while doing it. This will be a blast. His brothers-in-law will definitely think him crazy if they don't remember and Penelope won't even know him.

He groaned into his hand. How was he going to pull this off? He was going to make a fool of himself in front of half of his future family.

How is he supposed to get near Penelope without her mother shoving the other Featherington daughters on him. He had gotten to know Penelope pretty well in the 7 years he had been a part of their crazy family and she had been there through everything.

He supposed he knew to look along the wall where as he found out just last night, she hears the best gossip.

Shaking his head he had to chuckle. Never would he have guessed that sweet, shy Penelope Featherington was also the ruthless gossipmonger. But as his wife pointed out when they were getting ready for bed last night, Lady Whistledown did always have a soft spot for the Bridgertons and one Bridgerton in particular.

He had to prepare himself but for what, he didn't know.

The Next Day- April 6th 1813

Penelope POV

Waking up the day after her second Presentation at Court was not how she wanted the start of the day to go. She hoped that she would wake from this nightmare and in her husband's arms. But unfortunately that was not the case.

She had not even been able to see the Bridgertons yesterday because her mother had Lady Penwood over. And that of course made her think of Sophie and what she would be going through at this time. If there was one family member that she hoped did not come back it would be Sophie. She would never want her to have to go through the torment again.

And of course the other reason she wasn't able to visit the Bridgertons was because her second worst nightmare (her reliving the last 7 years is now number 1 on that list) happened. Marina came to stay. There were many things that she was prepared to deal with but she was not ready to see her husband believe he is in love with her cousin.

She doesn't want to write about Marina's pregnancy in Whistledown again so she will need to figure out how to stop her.

Rae came in to help prepare her for the day and while she was getting ready she thought about how to go about asking if anyone remembers 7 years into the future. She would start with Eloise. Her best friend wouldn't call her crazy if she asked the right questions.

She was still trying to decide what she would do when she walked into the Drawing Room where her mother was. "Mama, may I go over to visit with Eloise?" she asked knowing that her mother wouldn't actually care where she was.

"Yes. As long as you are back in plenty of time to prepare for the ball tonight. Your dress was just delivered. Yellow is such a happy color to wear for your first ball, don't you think?"

Penelope nearly groaned but stopped herself at the last minute. If the 7 years that she remembers weren't a dream then having to wear the color yellow again after a few years would really upset her. But she put a fake smile on her face and said, "Of course, mama. I shall be so happy to wear my new dress. And I will be back in time."

Thankful to finally leave the house, she nearly ran across the road to Bridgerton House. It felt like ages since she visited Eloise here. And, she guessed, it had been over 5 years in her mind since Lady Bridgerton and the children moved to Number 5.

Before she even knocked on the door Humboldt opened it for her. "Good morning Miss Featherington. Miss Eloise is in the Drawing Room with the rest of her siblings. Would you like for me to announce you?"

"Good morning Humboldt. No need to announce me for Eloise should be expecting me. But thank you." Penelope responded to the butler as she walked in the house. He gestured up the stairs for her to take her leave.

When she got to the door leading to the Drawing room she stopped and took a deep breath. This was the moment she finds out if she is alone or if her husband and best friend remember their lives together.

Taking another deep breath she walked through the door.

Sophie's POV

Waking up in her old room for the second day in a row made Sophie want to cry. She wished there was a sign that the 7 years she remembered weren't just a dream. But yesterday was just like every other day since her father died.

She had to figure out a way to sneak out of the house while Araminta was out. That is going to be the only way for her to find out if the dream was real or not.

In the meantime she had to start her day before Araminta came barging in her room again. As she got dressed she couldn't help placing her hand on her belly. That was the part of the dream she kept coming back to. She never dreamed of having a child because she never believed she would be married. Did her mind come up with this whole other life to remind her what she could never have.

She didn't believe that. The more she thought the more convinced she was that the life she remembered was real and that she needed to fight to get it back.

She kept that attitude with her until it was time for her to help Cressida prepare for the ball. When Araminta said, "Make sure she looks perfect. There are rumors that the Duke of Hastings will be in attendance and Cressida must draw his attention."

At that Sophie had a huge smile on her face until Cressida sneered at her. "What has you so happy? Not like you'll ever meet a man like the Duke."

Sophie may have dropped the smile from her face and muttered apologies to Cressida but nothing could stop her happiness.

Her Brother-in-law was in town. That was more proof that the dream was real. She never could have created Simon coming for the season because she didn't even know of him until she read of his and Daphne's love story in Lady Whistledown. If she ever found out who the mysterious gossiper was, she would give her a hug. She was inadvertently helping Sophie believe the last 7 years were real.

She would soon find out that living away from the Ton most of the season means you miss big announcements… Like Lady Whistledown's identity.

Penelope's POV

The moment she walked into the Bridgerton Drawing room Eloise grabbed her arm and exclaimed, "Pen!"

For a moment Penelope thought that she already found someone who remembered. The fact that it was her best friend was a bonus. But the next words out of Eloise's mouth crushed her hope. "Have you seen the latest Gossip Column? This Lady Whistledown is ingenious! And to use people's real names. I hope she has another one printed."

She said it all in such quick succession and without looking up at Penelope's face so she didn't see her smile falter for a minute. The first time around Penelope loved hearing Eloise praise her alter ego but hearing the innocence in the praise made her want to cry. She was not faking the excitement to test her. This was truly her first experience reading the column.

Before she could say anything to answer her friend a voice came from behind her. One that broke her heart just as much as Eloise's.

"Is she talking your ear off about Whistledown already Pen?" Colin asked. "She hasn't stopped talking about it since it was dropped off yesterday. I don't understand what is so fascinating about a new gossip sheet but she won't drop it.

Penelope wanted to run out of the room crying. It was one thing for her best friend to not know. They were still friends and always would be. But her husband, the one that she waited for over a decade to really see her, not remembering was the thing that broke her heart. After everything that they had to go through to get to their happiness. Is this a sign that they weren't meant to be? She didn't want to accept that.

She plastered a smile on her face, one that her husband would have recognized as fake but the Colin behind her wouldn't notice, and turned around to face him and say, "I'm also fascinated by Lady Whistledown. My mother was not as happy to read it."

Her first glance at her future husband reminded her of how she fell in love with him so young. He smiled at her and his beautiful green eyes had such a mischievous look to them. She had one more look at him before Eloise pulled her out of the room so they could talk without her family.

A few hours later as she crossed the street so she could get ready for the Danbury ball she let the tears fall. If her eyes were puffy when Rae painted her face her ladies maid didn't say anything, which she was grateful for.

And as she got in her family's carriage to leave for Danbury House she was grateful that her mother never paid any attention to her. She didn't want to be lectured on needing to smile more to draw suitors.

Stopping right outside of the entrance to the ball, she stopped and took a deep breath to calm herself and then walked through the doors. Not noticing a certain Duke a few people behind her, watching for any sign that she shared his memories.

Town in India

Kate was already slowly losing her mind. Teaching Edwina to be a proper young lady a second time was frustrating. She had to remind herself that this Edwina has one less year of teaching then she did when she debuted in the other life.

But Kate also knew that she needed to move up the timeline this time around. She needed to get back to Anthony and the rest of her family. It was already going to take at least 3 months to travel to England. She didn't want to wait any longer.

While Edwina and their mother were having tea she decided to sit down and write a letter. A letter that may change everything for her.

Dear Lady Danbury,

…