My Forever
Delilah_Pen
Summary:
"I would never court Penelope Featherington."
The sentence was declared by one of the most sought after bachelors, one of the Bridgerton brothers, in fact.
If one wants to be even more precise, they'd say the third born.
Precisely, the one and only Colin Bridgerton.
And it wouldn't even be much of a scandal for such sentence to be uttered by the male specimen (they do, let's admit so, judge, compare, laugh about the available gentlebred ladies of the ton), if not for the fact that the above mentioned lady, Penelope Feathering , was right behind the young man, when it was uttered in front of… well, basically the whole ton.
She was sure then and there: she will never marry and will forever be forced to stay with her mother.
However the one and only Viscount Anthony Bridgerton would be more than glad to have her as HIS wife instead.
Notes:
I have been plagued by the thoughts that Colin ISN'T nearly enough for Penelope and that Kate and Anthony's relationship would never last as a happy couple in the real world (in my most humble opinion) and got thinking to who should they be coupled with, and it struck home: Anthony and Penelope would suit each other so well I'm amazed it's not a mainstream couple. And I just HAD to write down my version on how Penthony would come to be.
I still have not decided if Kate will be present in this story so this will remain a mistery to both you guys and me, however I wanted to start the story from the moment Colin said he'd never court Penelope.
Additional information are that Lord Featherington (Pen's father) has been dead for a year now, there is no other Lord Featherington, none of Pen's sister are yet married and Penelope is the one taking care of the family's fortune and financial situation.
Also Pen has been in the Bridgerton life since she was around 9 years old, therefore she got to know Edmund.
Of course Daphne and Simon are already married and expecting August.
I believe these are the main information needed.
I hope you enjoy.
(See the end of the work for more notes.)
Chapter 1: Lady Whistledown
Chapter Text
PROLOGUE
I would never court Penelope Featherington.
The sentence was declared by one of the most sought after bachelors, one of the Bridgerton brothers, in fact. If one wants to be even more precise, they'd say the third born. Precisely, the one and only Colin Bridgerton.
And it wouldn't even be much of a scandal for such sentence to be uttered by the male specimen (they do, let's admit so, judge, compare, laugh about the available gentlebred ladies of the ton), if not for the fact that the above mentioned lady, Penelope Feathering , was right behind the young man, when it was uttered in front of… well, basically the whole ton.
As much as many people do not find necessary to mention, the male population indeed does like to gossip just as much as the female one. If not, possibly even more. The gentlemen in his company at the time laughed at the declaration, or at least a few did.
Most were even surprised, but they all knew what that meant.
The game rules just changed. Or well at least one did.
One of the most hated one.
Penelope Feathering was finally free to be courted. To the elation of the eligible male population, she was finally fully up for grabs.
Such elation though wasn't seen at all by the young lady, for she stormed off as soon the worlds registered, loud and clear, in her mind.
Grabbing forcefully her gown up, she rushed to call upon the carriage, her light blue eyes brimming with unshed tears.
CHAPTER 1
Anthony Bridgerton was walking along the sidewalk leading to his house, kicking a pebble to keep him occupied while he was lost his thoughts.
He just left White's, where he was indulging in some kind of alcohol along with his brothers and his usual company, minus Simon Basset, his best friend, who lately has been feeling more like a friend than a best friend.
Ever since Simon, the Duke of Hastings, got married to his Daphne, he preferred to opt to spend time with her, joining them at the pub for only a couple of hours to then return in his marital bed at a respectable hour, leaving Anthony barely enough time to reach the gently inebriated state of mind to effectively vent his feeling to him.
As such he has been keeping every thought to himself, to the point where he felt as if sooner or later he'll lash out on somebody.
While, yes, he knew he could open up to his brothers, he also knew they'd never quite understand exactly what he has been going through.
Benedict has always been with his head on the clouds, never really quite present, particularly lately as he started to hang out with his artsy friends, and Colin…
Well, Colin was Colin, never really quite grasping a concept, not that he was dumb, he was quite intelligent, just… slow… somehow.
And yes, there obviously was his mother, Violet, but who in their mind would ever confide in their mother?
Certainly no man ever.
And that left him… not alone, just… Lonely.
Anthony Bridgerton has been lonely.
Ever since Simon married his sister and he noticed how happy both of them were, the way Simon explained to him how good it felt to finally have someone to share his whole being with, he started to wonder how it would be to have what they had.
And he started to wish for it, then crave it and now was hungry for it.
He noticed how whenever he laid with a woman it never quite calmed his hunger, his time shared with the company of his friends was starting to annoy him, preferring instead to just be alone.
And he realized it. He needed a wife.
Desperately.
He hasn't been searching for one, being quite content with his bachelor life and to let love find its own way to him.
But his patience was running dry by the day.
He finally decided.
If love wasn't going to find him, he was hunting it down himself.
Nodding to himself he straightned up, sqaring his shoulder and fixing up his stare straight ahead as he was fast approaching his house, when, from the corner of his eyes, he noticed a shadow moving from the house in front of his.
The Featherington house.
His thoughts immediately went to Penelope, the youngest of the three Featherington Misses.
His sister's Eloise's best friend and also the one and only honorary member of the Bridgerton family.
She moved in front of their house when she was only nine years of age, meaning Anthony was nine-and-ten himself, and very soon became close to Eloise, as the two peers got along very well from the moment they met.
Young Penelope has started to spend time at their house during the season, slowly conquering his mother, Violet's heart, who didn't hesitate to basically adopt the young girl.
Soon after Violet, the rest of the family grew some sort of affection, effectively making her the ninth unofficial Bridgerton child.
First Colin claimed her his own best friend;
Then Daphne would often steal her to practise dancing and play pranks on whoever dared to anger her that day;
Benedict would often exchange meaningful conversations and vent to her,
Francesca shared her love for music and reading,
Gregory now preferred to excercise his homeworks with her;
And lastly Hyacint has just started to seek her aproval even before their own mother's.
And Anthony… well, while he did share quite a few conversations with the now young lady, he never really got the chance to have one on one time with her.
For the above mentioned reasons Antony couldn't help but worry often for her well being, knowing her own mother, sadly, didn't really give her much attention.
And right in that moment that same worry and protectiveness pushed him to run after the shadow.
He just rounded the corner when he noticed the dark cape the shadow was wearing was just entering an unnamed carriage, the person closing the door behind it.
He didn't hesitate to sprint after the carriage, "Stop!" he shouted to the person driving it, but went unheard, "Stop the carriage right now!".
The man driving the carriage looked behing him and freezed seeing the Viscount run up the vehicle, and held back the horses, effectively stopping the vehicle.
Anthony barely slowed down before reaching the structure and slamming the door open. "Pray do tell what were you doing to the Featering house?" he exclaimed climbing in, when his stilled his movement.
Sat inside was the one redhead he knew quite well, staring at him with her sky blue eyes wide open and her full pink lips forming in a circle.
"Penelope!" he exclaimed, turning to close shut the door and sat opposite her, hitting hard the roof of the carriage with his fist to sign for the carriage to start moving.
"What in the holiest… thing are you doing? At this hour? On your bloody own?"
Penelope stood still, yet to move even an inch, when his eyes lowered to her form and noticed a paper held in her hands in front of her.
He stole it from her, forcing the shock out of Penelope, who finally moved to get the paper back, until Anthony screeched, "Lady Whistledown!".
"Anthony…" the woman mumbled, the shock returning again, this time bringing tears to her eyes.
"Pen… you're Lady Whistledown." He stated in horror, scanning the words she wrote mere hours before.
"Anthony…" she mumbled again.
"Pen, what? Why? How?"
"Anthony, please let me expain…"
"You better start explaining right now, young lady!" he glared at her.
Chapter 2: Chapter 2
Summary:
Anthony finds out about Penelope's big secret. How will he react?
Notes:
I decided I don't care at all to keep true to neither the show nor the book version of Bridgerton. This is MY version, I hope you can all ACCEPT it. Otherwise there are thousands wonderful stories you can read.
I'm sorry for being late with the update, but I had the busiest week, however I did manage to finally finish the chapter and I'm SOO happy with it.
I hope you enjoy as much as I loved writing it.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"Anthony, I… I'm so sorry…" Penelope whispered, the barely there sound breaking at the last word.
"Anytime today, Penelope! Explain at once!" he glared.
"I… I don't know where to start…" her voice broke again while she blinked to get rid of the tears that gathered.
"The very start would be perfect, I'd say. Why did you start this… this abomination?" his glare intensified.
Almost all at once the tears started to fall down her cheeks as if in their own accord, "I didn't have a choice. I mean I did, but not really-"
"What does that even mean? It doesn't even make sense!" he snared.
"But it does! I didn't have much of a choice Anthony! It was either helping my family to earn money or letting us slowly fade to nothing!" Penelope didn't know how she was standing up to the man, her tears were still falling, and her whole body was shaking, but the man was just judging her without even listening, just like Eloise had done mere hours before, and something in her just… broke.
"My father gambled all our money, me and my sisters don't even have dowries anymore, we've been living off of potatoes for months, Anthony!" she shouted at him. "Father's solicitor saw my journal where I would write about the balls I've attended, criticized some society rules, and just about… poured down my thoughts about everything that happened around me. He liked them and pushed me to start publishing a paper of sorts…"
"He said it'd be a lucrative activity, and it was…" Penelope whispered, picking at her fingers.
At this point Penelope wasn't even ashamed anymore, it's not like she was a sadist who likes bad-mouthing people. She was strictly doing what needed to be done to keep her family safe and healthy and if that made her a bad person then so be it.
The man opposite her stood silent, gawking at the young woman little Penelope came to be.
He remembered when years ago he'd take care of her and his sibling scraped knees and taught her different games to pass and now… she was now the most independent young woman of the ton. Maybe even the only one.
Perhaps, if he was to push it further, the most independent young woman in England.
"I… I'm sorry." he apologized, gulping down his remorse, ashamed of the way he treated her, "I did hear from my solicitor you managed to almost bring back the Featherington wealth to how it was before… well, your father." he gave a small smile, "You did a good job with that...I- I thought a distant cousin handled it?"
"Thank you." she mumbled then shook her head, "I've been managing our financial situation since Papa's death. Mama's not good with numbers and my sisters are even worse. The information being a distant cousin to care for the Barony was crafted so men don't try to marry my sisters only in hopes to put their hands on the title."
Anthony nodded, "That's clever…" he said after a moment of silence.
Both of them sat silent again, not knowing what to say next. The Viscount had yet to shake the shame he felt for judging harshly a woman who, he now knew, was quite intelligent and independent. He couldn't shake the familiarity he felt listening to her explanation.
They had to take responsibility for their family's well-being from such a young age, and while he didn't have to resort to doing anything undercover, he still understood where she was coming from. As a female, a gently bred lady precisely, she had no way to help money-wise, yet she found a way to do so.
It was immensely impressive and he found a strong sense of respect growing in her regard.
On the other hand, Penelope realized the implications of their current situation: they were alone in a carriage.
Without a chaperone.
She has never been a big believer in religion, however in this situation, she couldn't help but pray to whatever was listening from above that nobody would witness… whatever was happening.
She also felt a strong headache starting.
He finally coughed and asked, "Who knows you're Whistledown?"
"Only my Mama and my solicitor…" she turned to look at the scenery outside the carriage, "and as of today, you and Eloise."
"Eloise knows? How did she find out?"
"She figured I was one of the very few people who knew about Marina's situation and the only one with the wit and cleverness necessary to be Lady Whistledown. And of course also of her situation with the"
"Why did you publish that?!" Anthony's voice raised again, "Was it truly necessary to almost ruin her reputation? Don't you care at all for her?"
Her glare renewed with vigor, "Of course I care about her Anthony! I did not have any choice on the matter, my hand was forced!"
"Who forced you?" he scoffed, "Your precious Mama? You should have come to me before-"
"Don't pull my Mama in this matter! She didn't even know back then! The Queen was searching high and low for Lady Whistledown, and your sister had the amazing idea to leave a party hosted by the Queen herself to go to a printer shop! If I hadn't spun the situation the way I did the Queen herself would have sent her away or worse, dead!
"Do you think it was all fun and games for me? Do you think I relished in the knowledge that I was about to potentially ruin my best friend? And my own cousin?" she scoffed, "You don't know anything, Anthony! You don't know how many tears I shed when I had to publish these articles!"
"And you, Lord Bridgerton, don't you dare forget that I had to save your brother from himself! At the expense of my own family! And it's not even like I didn't try to warn him myself, but he won't hear reason! I even thought of coming straight to you and coming clean with Marina and my Mama's plan but I would have just ensured my family banished me from them… And I wasn't even sure you would have believed me, and even if that I wasn't sure Colin would have believed you."
"And let us add that I had to clean up the mess you did with the Sharma sisters!" Anthony flinched at the mention of his previous… flirts, "Your brothers and sisters would have had to deal with the consequences of your own actions if I didn't spin the situation to show you as the one who was fooled!"
Anthony opened his mouth, "I was-"
"I do not care, Anthony!" she interrupted him, "I do not care about how things really went, nor do I need to."
Neither had anything to say after that… Penelope felt the need to keep venting about all the weights that came with being the incorrigible Lady Whistledown, but she felt her eyes starting to sting again and preferred to keep everything bottled in once, but Anthony… he stood still, his head hung down as he leaned his elbows on his knees, his stance sagging.
It wasn't long until the carriage stopped, forcing both out of their thoughts.
Penelope let out a long breath, relief washing down on her at the prospect of finally stepping away from the tense situation, and was about to push open the door when Anthony stopped her.
"Where are you going?" he asked, frowning.
"To bring this to the printer," she stated holding up the manuscript of the next columns.
"How did you get those? I was holding them!"
She rolled her eyes, "You let them fall earlier, I just picked them up." she turned again to the door.
"Can I read that? I noticed you mentioned Colin."
She raised an eyebrow at him but nodded and sat down again, holding the paper out.
He didn't hesitate to grasp it and started reading, skipping directly to the paragraph dedicated to his younger brother, his frown deepening until he gasped. He shot up, "You were there?"
"Yes, I was."
"Penelope, please don't do that, he didn't mean it!"
She leaned her head to the side, "Do you think I want to humiliate myself even more? I don't have a choice, half of the male guests were there, I'm sure the rumor is already going around. Perhaps you heard of it too."
"I'm not going to lie, I did and I assure you I had a conversation with him regarding that. I was furious Penelope, and I made him understand thoroughly. It's never going to happen again."
She pursed her lips in a thin line and nodded, "Alright, thank you, Anthony. But I still have to publish it. I write a scandal paper… And what your brother did was a scandal…" she shrugged.
Anthony sagged again. "There is no way…"
"I'm sorry." she shook her head and held up her hand, silently asking for her paper.
He sighed but gave her back the column.
Once Penelope opened the door she noticed Anthony stood as well and turned to face him, "Anthony, you can't come."
"Yes, I am. I'm not leaving you alone, on the bad side of the town, at night. No way."
She demurely nodded, turned back, and slowly descended the carriage before spinning fast and slamming the door on his face, doing quick work to latch the door closed.
"What the fuck, Penelope!" Anthony cussed, holding his injured nose.
The young woman raised her hood before turning to the coachman, "Ignore his existence, please, Rudolph."
"Of course, my lady." The man bowed his head.
Notes:
I originally intended to make it longer but I figured this was the perfect ending to the story, and I hope you agree. If not I don't honestly care.
To all the fans of Kate and Anthony, the mean, obsessed ones. Please get lost. I don't care for your useless opinions, I know you don't agree with anything I think, and again: I DON'T CARE.
I repeat I don't have anything against Kate, I simply don't connect with her. YOU (you know who I'm talking about) on the other hand are FATPHOBIC. You aren't? I DON'T CARE. If you want to assume things about me, then I will assume things about you as well. Go cry to your mom.
And to whoever told me to off myself just because I ship Anthony with Penelope, please seek good help because you need it.
On the happier hand THANK YOU to everyone who supported me and had a nice word for me, and I send you a big hug to the people who defended me, I'm grateful for it, but please do not waste energy on lost causes ;-)
I'll try to upload next chapter on Sunday.
Have a nice day/ night!! xxxx
Chapter 3: Chapter 3
Summary:
Anthony and Penelope reach an agreement after a bit arguing
Notes:
The comments on my last chapter got somehow even more unhinged and while I had fun, I do NOT condone any name calling among my readers therefore I finally decided to delimit the ability to comment on my work.
I hope from now on the comment section will be more decent.
Please abstain to read if you are OBSESSED with Kate and racism.
Thank you.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"Finally!" Anthony exclaimed when Penelope opened the door of the carriage. He was scowling, his strong arms were crossed on his chest.
The sight was… attractive, at the very least. His masculinity seeped into every molecule of air in the small space, forcing Penelope's breath to hitch in her throat.
"I'm sorry Anthony, but it was necessary." she sat before him.
The carriage started again and Anthony snapped, "Necessary? I was so worried Penelope! What if something happened to you? Who knows how many degrading people are around at this hour; people who would not hesitate to take advantage of such a gentlebred lady like yourself!"
"I am very aware, but rest assured that I'm competent to take care of myself. I've been doing this for the past year or so, and nothing happened."
"What?! You've done- Oh, Penelope this is the last time you do this for life!" he stated.
"Firstly I can't stop only because you have decided so, and secondly, who are you to make decisions in my stead?" she sneered.
"You don't understand! I'm worried for your well-being, Penelope!"
"Don't be, then!"
"I can't! Are you daft?!
Penelope huffed, "I can't stop being Lady Whistledown just because you said so, Anthony!"
"What? No! I'm not saying you have to stop you have to stop Lady Whistledown, but you can't use this method of delivering the paper to print anymore! It's incredibly dangerous! I can't believe you have done this for so long and nobody had the right mind to stop you from doing it."
"I don't do it always! Most of the time my solicitor does it, sometimes it's Rae, my maid, and rarely we send one of my father's old servants. I'm the one that seldom ever delivers the draft." she explained.
"Very well, from now on you will never have to do it anymore. When you have to do it, you will come to me and I or one of my most loyal men will deliver the column in your stead." he stated, "We have a deal?" he asked, looking straight in her ocean blue eyes.
She stared back at him, silent. Her left brow curved in thought.
When she finally answered Anthony groaned, "I cannot pull you into this mess too."
"Like it or not, Penelope, I'm in this as well." he pleaded, "Please, let me help you! I won't be able to sleep in worry for your well-being!" He knew he was starting to play dirty, but the mere thought of her alone at night was almost enough to give him a small heart attack, "What if something bad happens in the future and you die in a ditch somewhere? I'll have to live the rest of my remaining life hating myself! Do you want me to hate myself? I'll hang myself up wherever your body would be found!"
Penelope, silently listening to his pleading, exploded in a fit of laughter by the time he finished speaking, "You are so dramatic!" she heaved "Dear Lord if only I could show what just happened to Daphne… She would never believe me!"
He softly chuckled along with her, but promptly raised his brow, "Do we have a deal, then?"
Penelope sobered up to look at him again.
"Please, Penelope."
She didn't like his meddling but understood that if the roles were reversed and one of his sisters were in her stead, or even a random lady, she'd do the same thing.
"Alright," she conceded, "there is no need to hang yourself." she giggled.
Anthony let out a deep breath he didn't even realize he was holding. "Good, I'm glad." he smiled at her.
As neither had more to say, silence enveloped them once more, but instead of being full of tension, it was relaxing and enjoyable.
Penelope leaned on the side, looking out the window, a soft smile etched her lips as she felt content in their little agreement.
Never would she have thought to find complicity with Anthony, yet here they were. While she was sure he didn't agree with her endeavor, he was there, willingly supporting her choices.
She could lie to herself and admitted that finally having a supportive friend felt incredibly good.
Anthony, on the other hand, didn't stop staring at her. While he was waiting for her to come back he thought long and hard about the paragraph she wrote about his brother, Colin.
He knew she had a crush on her, it was obvious whenever the two crossed paths and she would light up as if he was her sun, and hearing Colin deem her undesirable and unwanted must have hurt her. And him declaring so in front of half of the eligible male population… well, he couldn't imagine her feeling anything more than humiliation.
While he wasn't the one to offend her in such a manner he was the older brother, and while he did his best regarding his education, he felt he failed and Penelope was reaping the consequences of his failure.
"I'm sorry." he apologized, doing so unconsciously.
"What for?" she asked, confused, turning to look at him.
"For the way Colin behaved." he took a deep breath, "He should have never said those words in front of the whole ton, about any gentlebred lady, even less regarding you.
"You take such good care of my family, helping my mother with Hy and Greg, also I have heard she has confided with you on countless occasions, Fran somehow opens up fully only with you, and Daphne has only you to share her interests with, you're the only one that can calm Eloise down whenever she throws a fit and Ben has told me you are one of his closes confidantes.
"You might not be a Bridgerton by name, but you are so by fact. I deem you as one of the most important members of the family and I cannot believe he acted in such a tasteless manner.
"Therefore, I am deeply sorry. I should have raised him better."
Penelope shook her head, "It is not your fault, he's old enough to realize, even by himself, that what he has done was deeply offending. You did your best and that was enough, Anthony." she took his hand in both of hers, "I do not blame you for Colin's rude behavior, and neither should you. Colin is an adult, he should have known better. Understood?"
"You're right." Anthony breathed out holding her hand tighter. "Will you come to see Colin off to his travels tomorrow?"
"No." she denied, sitting back, retreating her hands from his. "It would be better not to. Tomorrow morning the papers will already be delivered to the whole ton, it would be prudent to keep distance from the Bridgerton for a few weeks at least." she smiled sadly, "Besides, I don't feel like seeing him."
Anthony nodded in agreement, "Mother will have his head."
"Your house will be anything but peaceful tomorrow morning." she snickered, "I'm sorry for that."
He shrugged, "It's fine, it might help knock some sense in Colin's brain."
"It might." she smiled at him.
The carriage slowed down and Anthony pulled the curtains to look out. "We're already back at Mayfair," he mumbled. "When will I see you next?"
"I don't know." she shrugged, "I supposed we'll see each other while out on a promenade. I highly doubt I'll be in your house anytime soon either with Eloise being cross with me anyway."
"Nonsense, like I said you are a de facto Bridgerton, even if she doesn't want you there everyone else does," he stated.
Penelope nodded, still unsure, but she wasn't going to argue with him.
The carriage stopped and Anthony stepped down first, looked around to ensure no one was around, and turned to help Penelope once the coast was clear.
"I guess I have to bid you goodnight," he said as he walked alongside her to the Featherington residence.
"Indeed." she agreed, "Thank you, Anthony," she said once they reached the gates to her home.
"Oh, I walked you home for my peace of mind as well," he admitted.
Penelope shook her head, "That too, but I'm mainly grateful for your support. It truly means a lot to me." she smiled at him as her eyes watered.
Anthony blushed, somehow feeling flustered by her appreciation, "No problem. You did so much for me- I mean for us, my family, I… It was the least I could do, really…"
She nodded, "I'm still thankful."
Opening the gates Penelope turned back to give one last smile, "Goodnight, Anthony."
"Goodnight," he said back, watching her walk up to the wooden door.
"What the fuck just happened." He asked himself out loud.
Notes:
I hope you enjoy this chapter.
I initially wanted to make this but I am exhausted.
Thank you so much for reading. 33
Chapter 4: Chapter 4
Summary:
Bridgerton house wakes abruptly, and things don't go well for Colin...
We have a domestic scene of the Bridgerton family, sans Daphne sadly, and we get to see a different side of Violet.
Anthony has a... an interesting conversation with Benedict.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Anthony awoke at a start at the shrill of a loud "Colin Bridgerton!", he recognized the sound coming from his usually calm and collected mother.
He let out a groan as he still felt his lids heavy, his eyes burning and his head was fuzzy from lack of sleep. Turning on his other side he made himself comfortable hoping to fall asleep again, only to shoot up the next second.
Memories from last night- or precisely earlier that morning hit him at once.
He had just entered White's along with his brothers after leaving his mother and younger sisters plus Gregory at home when Fife approached them to ask Colin if he truly didn't have any romantic feelings for the younger Miss Featherington, and that's how he found about Colin's lack of… polite words he boasted regarding the young lady.
He and Benedict spent the better part of the hour admonishing him for his rude behavior, relenting only when Colin promised he'd ask forgiveness from Penelope the next day.
Penelope.
Her name resounded in his head as their moments together flashed in his eyes.
She is Lady Whistledown.
She was also acting as Baroness Feathering. Or is she Baron now?
He admits he was impressed at that. It was hard for him to take care of the Viscounty after years of training and could not begin to imagine how hard it was for her to take care of her family's finances without any sort of training beforehand.
"Colin Bridgerton come down right this second!" Right! Colin.
He stood up and started getting dressed, trying to do so fast even if his movements felt sluggish and his head felt cloudy with sleepiness, he pushed through it all not wanting to miss his family's reaction to the mess Colin created.
As soon as he managed to get himself decent enough to be in the company of his family, he sprinted out of his chambers, closing up the last few buttons of his shirt.
As he sped down the stairs, his youngest sister, Hyacinth saw him and went to meet him halfway, "Brother! Lady Whistledown's papers came, and you will never guess the new gossip!"
"Sister." He leaned down to kiss her forehead, "I imagine Colin has something to do with it."
"Oh, Anthony, you're here! Where is your brother?" his mother exclaimed as soon as he entered the dining room.
Anthony found her huddled with Francesca, another of his sisters huddled to read a paper, Lady Whistedown's, he presumed.
"I'm not sure, Mother." he went to greet them the same way as Hyacinth. "I'm sure he's getting himself presentable and will grace us with his presence in a few minutes."
Walking up to his place at the end of the table he greeted Gregory, his youngest brother, messing up his hair, and sat down, ignoring Gregory's protests to pick up the morning paper the maids place daily at the left side of his plate.
"Oh, you already knew, Anthony?" his mother asked.
"I found out as soon as I entered White's after the ball. I already reprimanded him for his poor manners."
"Oh, I'm sure you did but I do have a few words to add as well," she stated.
"Good morning family!" Benedict greeted as he entered the room, "How are we on this fine, sunny day?" he asked as he went to repeat Anthony's action.
"Ben, it's raining outside." Hyacinth, or Hy as her siblings affectionately named her, pointed out to her brother, her eyebrow raised in concern,
"Ah, yeah. It does not matter Hy, to me the weather is always sunny." he winked at her.
The younger girl delimited herself to shrug off his madness.
"Colin Bridgerton!" their mother, Violet, shouted again.
"For goodness sake, what did he do this time?" Eloise grumbled to herself, appearing at the door. Instead following Anthony and Benedict's steps she headed directly to her seat.
"Here." Francesca said, handing her the column, "Read and find out."
"Lady Whistledown." Eloise scoffed but proceeded to read anyway.
Anthony observed her form over his paper, trying to gauge how deep the anger Penelope mentioned went.
At first, she read disinterested, distracting herself with buttering up her piece of bread, however, her expression soon changed to amusement and a few moments later got horrified. "Good Lord, Colin." she gasped.
"Mother!" a groggy Colin muttered at the door as if summoned by his sister. "For what reason do I owe the pleasure of being woken up at such an ungodly hour? I do have a couple of hours to spare before having to sail to Greece."
Violet was fuming, "What reason, Colin?"
"Yes, Mother, why?" he asked as he took his place at the table.
"I believe I should be asking you that question!" she retorted, "Please, do explain for what reason you thought it would be fitting for you to humiliate Penelope in front of the ton?"
Colin's tanned complexion whitened, "How do you know?"
"Seriously, Colin?" Benedict groaned under his breath.
"Oh, that is the problem? Well, if you must know, the affair was thoroughly explained by Lady Whistledown herself," she announced.
The Viscountess stood up and went to grab the paper and shoved it in Colin's hands, "Why would you do that Penelope? It would be bad enough regarding any lady of the ton but to Penelope? Our Penelope?
"You grew up as siblings, Colin! She was there at every birthday of ours and we threw her a celebration for every birthday of hers! She might not be your sister by blood but she is so by everything else!
"She has been much present for every member of this family and after-"
"Except for Anthony, he's always busy and broody," Hyacinth threw out, pulling out a snicker from Ben and Fran and a glare from Anthony.
"Perhaps dear, but she would have been if he would have let her." her mother acknowledged her, and turned back to Colin, "I thought she was your best friend, why would you ruin her prospect like that?"
"I-" the young man blanked even more, "I do- I don't know."
"You don't know?" Violet glared at her son, "Then do your best to find a reason as soon as possible because you, Anthony, and I will be heading to the Featherington house to apologize in no more than an hour."
"Mother, please, I will be late for the take-off of the ship, and I am sure Pen will be there to give me her farewells, I'll apologize at that time." he pleaded.
"She won't be there," Eloise said, unbothered. "If you think her mother would ever let her see you take off in public, after such a scandal and the one of last year with Marina, you're sorely mistaken, brother."
"Eloise is probably right, Colin." Anthony agreed, "And anyway an official apology will pretty much be demanded."
"Well said, Anthony!" Violet exclaimed. "We should also extend an invitation to her to join us at Aubrey Hall for the off-season."
"Yes, I agree!" Hyacinth almost shouted.
"So do I!" followed Gregory.
"I believe this amazing idea, Mother!" Ben clapped his hands once.
"What?" Eloise frowned, "I do not agree."
"Mother, I believe it's best to wait a few weeks before inviting Pen to stay with us. She might deny the invitation only because of Colin, and if you ask in front of Portia she definitely will refuse at once."
"I agree with Francesca." Anthony finally spoke, "Today we will go to the Feateringhton House to apologize, and in a few days you should invite her over for tea and ask her to join us out in the country." he advised his mother.
"I do not agree," Eloise muttered again.
"It's decided then! Well shall not lose Penelope's affection only because of Colin's rude behavior." the Viscountess announced.
"Splendid," Colin whispered frowning down at his breakfast
One hour later the dowager Viscountess along with her oldest and third-born sons was in front of the Featerington house.
"I hope you managed to set your apology straight Colin," Violet said as she walked up to the entrance of the house and knocked.
"Yes, Mama," he muttered.
Anthony raised his eyebrow, "I hope you aren't going to ruin our reputation even more, and that this situation will help you set your manners straight."
The door opened before Colin could answer and the trio found themselves facing an older lady, her grey hair held up in a bun, donned in a… pukey green ensemble. She was the Dowager Baroness Lady Featherington's maid.
"Mrs. Varley!" Violet greeted, as the older woman lowered her head in greetings, "My sons and I came to see Penelope."
"I'm afraid she isn't open to be visited, my lady."
"Oh, may I enquire for the reasoning?" Violet asked, frowning.
"I believe you already know about it, my lady."
"Very well," muttered Anthony, "may we then ask for a visit with the dowager Baroness?"
"I'm afraid not, I advise you to let some time pass before visiting again. Good day, Lady Bridgerton, Lord Bridgerton, and Mr. Bridgerton," she said her farewell before closing the door.
"That went well…" Anthony scoffed before turning to head back home, "I can't say I'm surprised, I would have done the same."
"So would I. I can't even be mad at either woman for not receiving us." Violet sighed.
"I can't believe Pen isn't going to see me off," Colin whispered to himself.
The older brother studied him as they walked, "And who's fault would that be? Are you sure you want to head off without setting things straight with Penelope?"
Colin nodded, "Perhaps some space between us will improve my chances of forgiveness. I'll try to apologize again as soon as I will be back."
Later that day Benedict barged into his brother's study to find him staring perplexed at a paper.
"Everything alright, brother?" he asked amused. Unlike Colin, his older brother seldom ever finds himself confused, finding it hard to perceive the greys between the black-and-white matters of… well anything and everything.
"Yes, everything is fine. I was only looking at the list Mother left me last year of the eligible ladies of the ton."
"Ah! You're ready to move on already?" Benedict asked, letting himself fall on the chair in front of the desk.
"I admit I'm not sure but I don't see any sense in waiting any longer." Anthony glanced at his brother, then went back to the list.
Benedict nodded slowly in understanding, "Found any name that catches your attention?"
"No." he denied, let the list fall on his desk, and squared his brother, "Is Penelope on your list, Ben?" he asked, knowing his ever-dutiful mother found it necessary to write a list for possible future wives for each of her sons, minus Gregory as he is still considered a child.
"Penelope? Penelope Featherington?"
"Yes, precisely."
"Our Penelope Featherington?"
"How many others do you know, Benedict?"
"Ehm, why do you ask?"
Anthony cleared his throat, "I noticed that Penelope, even if she is a perfectly respectable lady of the ton, isn't mentioned anywhere. And I was wondering if she was present on your list."
"Well…" Benedict shrugged, "She is among the first ten names, yes. And I know her name is the first one in Colin's." he informed.
Anthony frowned, "Why didn't Mother write her down on my list too?"
"I'm not sure, you'll have to ask Mother." he answered, "However I believe it's because you barely gave her time of the day, Anthony. I wouldn't have included her either."
"I didn't have time, Benedict! I was barely able to spend any time with you all. She only comes over during visiting hours anyway, and I'm almost always busy."
"Yes, I understand, nobody faults you for that, Anthony."
"Why are you so bothered?" Benedict asked.
"I'm not bothered! I was simply wondering, that's all. Why are you here anyway?"
"Are you sure you aren't bothered?"
"Benedict!" Anthony glared.
"Alright, fine…" Benedict chuckled, "We were wondering if you wanted to join Fran, El, Greg, Hy, and me at a game of cards."
"Sure, I finished anyways." he agreed standing up, "Please do not mention this conversation to anyone." he walked to the door and scowled as he heard his brother laugh loudly behind him.