Nearly three years previously…

"Eloise!" Lady Bridgerton bellowed urgently from the hall. "Eloise, please come quickly!"

Eloise hurried down the stairs and skidded to a stop in front of her mother. She frowned when she realized that Lady Bridgerton was not alone, but was, in fact, with Lady Featherington and Anthony, all looking grim. "Yes, Mama?"

"By any chance, did Penelope come home with you last night?"

"Penelope?" Eloise repeated with a sneer. She schooled her face when her mother's eyes widened. "No. We had… a fight last night and I returned home alone."

Lady Featherington gasped and put her hand to her forehead. "What did you fight about?"

"We-" Eloise shook her head and took a step back, not wishing to reveal the subject of their argument. Even in her anger, she could not betray Penelope that way. "What is going on? Where is Penelope?"

"It appears that she disappeared sometime in the night," Anthony explained, his expression tight. "The last anyone can remember seeing her was in the garden. She was running towards the house in tears."

Eloise paled. "That must have been after we argued. We fought in her bedroom and I returned home immediately after." Eloise looked to Lady Featherington. "What was the state of her room?"

"Nothing seemed amiss," Lady Featherington told her.

"The floor? Was anything disturbed there? A loose floorboard perhaps?"

Anthony stepped forward. "What do you know, Eloise?"

Eloise looked away from all of them. She had always had a hard time keeping things from Anthony when he brought out his fatherly tone. "I-I… well, I- Penelope is, well-"

"Ma'am, you need to read this!" Mrs. Wilson interrupted, rushing to Lady Bridgerton with a paper in her hand, not bothering to apologize for the breach in conduct.

Lady Bridgerton, Lady Featherington, and Anthony crowded around the paper, the latest Lady Whistledown. Lady Bridgerton groaned when she reached the end of the first part, detailing Colin's words from the previous night. "Oh, Colin. How could you?"

Mrs. Wilson cleared her throat. "You need to read to the end, ma'am."

"Oh, dear," Lady Bridgerton breathed out a few minutes later, clutching her hand to her heart.

"Oh, God," groaned Lady Featherington, her hand flying to her head.

Anthony's eyes flew wildly from the paper, to the two older women, and finally landed on Eloise, who had been trying to make herself small. "How is this possible? What do you know?"

Eloise lifted her chin. "Know what?"

"That Penelope is Lady Whistledown!"

"She has revealed herself?" Eloise shook her head, distraught. "Why? She had to know that I would keep it a secret."

Anthony moved closer to her, squeezing the top of his nose with his fingers. "So, you did know."

Tears welled in her eyes and she was unable to stop them. "I did not know until last night. I discovered her money under the floorboard of her bedroom along with every copy of Whistledown. She- she admitted once pressed." Eloise began to wring her hands. "But I did not think- I do not know- Why would she run?"

"I do not believe that you can blamed alone for this, Eloise," Lady Bridgerton told her, her voice mixed with anger and compassion. She glanced briefly to Lady Featherington, who had gone unnaturally still. "It appears that Penelope was hit with a few… unpleasant reveals last night."

"What?"

Lady Featherington cleared her throat. "It seems that my cousin is a thief. There are no ruby mines. He swindled the ton of their money and fled some time last night. Penelope was made aware of his deceit during the ball."

Anthony shared a brief look with his mother. "It also seems that Penelope overheard Colin stating to a group of… gentlemen… that he would never dream of courting her while laughing at the idea. I saw her crying in the garden last night, but I was unaware as to the reason why."

"Penelope would not have left with Lord Featherington, would she?" Lady Bridgerton asked, tentatively.

"No," Eloise replied immediately. Her eyes flitted away from Lady Featherington. "She would not have trusted a Featherington to have her best interest."

Lady Featherington frowned, but could not disagree. "She would have gone to a Bridgerton before last night, but it is clear you do not have her best interest at heart." She sighed. "I had Lord Featherington followed to the docks. He was alone."

Anthony put his hands up. He did not want to go down the path of the Featherington relation if he was confirmed that Penelope was not with him. "Eloise, please, let us know if you can think of anything that might point us in the direction of Penelope. Lady Featherington, please check the floorboards of Penelope's room to see if she has taken the Whistledown money. I will send the servants to the docks and to inquire after hackneys."

"Do we not have enough carriages, brother?" Colin quipped as he sauntered up to the group. He stopped suddenly when all eyes turned to him, none friendly. "What did I do?"

"Penelope has disappeared," Anthony told him.

Colin's face drained of all color. "What?" He raced forward. "Lord Featherington-"

"Is gone. Alone."

"What is being done to recover her? Has there been a ransom note? Have the Bow Street Runners been called? Who would wish to harm her? Have-"

"Colin!" Lady Bridgerton chided. She thrust the Whistledown paper towards him. "We have every reason to believe that Penelope left on her own." She shook the paper when Colin looked at her confused. "Read it."

Frowning, Colin skimmed over the gossip column. He nodded when he reached the information about Jack Featherington. "Oh no. I didn't know… I didn't mean… I was drunk! I didn't mean to hurt her."

Lady Bridgerton gave him a thin smile. "Continue reading."

"Penelope? Lady Whist- How? What? Penelope is Lady Whistledown?" he shouted.

"So, it would appear," Lady Featherington groaned.

Eyes wild, Colin turned towards Eloise. "I do not understand."

Eloise wiped away the tear that fell from her eye. "I do not either. I only discovered the truth last night and I was too angry to listen to her explanation. Even if I do not agree with her actions, I wish… I wish I had listened."

"Come," Anthony told them gently, but firmly. "Let us find what information we can to bring Penelope home."