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And as Penelope sank to the cushions that had somehow found their way to the plush carpet below, she felt very loved indeed
Several days later, Penelope was seated in a carriage, gazing out theand scolding herself
Colin was asleep
She was a widgeon for feeling so nervous about seeing Eloise again Eloise, for heaven’s sake They had been as close as sisters for over a decade Closer Except, ht They had kept secrets, both of the her about her suitor, but really, she hadn’t a leg to stand on When Eloise found out that Penelope was Lady Whistledown…
Penelope shuddered Colinforward to the lee—but she felt rather ill, quite frankly She hadn’t eaten all day, and she was not the sort to skip breakfast
She wrung her hands, craned her neck to get a better view out the —she thought they ht have turned onto the drive for Romney Hall, but she wasn’t precisely certain—then looked back to Colin
He was still asleep
She kicked him Gently, of course, because she did not think herself overly violent, but really, it wasn’t fair that he had slept like a baby fro He had settled into his seat, inquired after her coed the you in “Very well, thank you,” his eyes were closed
Thirty seconds later he was snoring
It really wasn’t fair He always fell asleep before she did at night as well
She kicked hiain, harder this time
He htly, and slumped into the corner
Penelope scooted over Closer, closer…
Then she organized her elbow in a sharp point and jabbed him in the ribs
“Wha…?” Colin shot straight awake, blinking and coughing “What? What? What?”
“I think we’re here,” Penelope said
He looked out the , then back at her “And you needed to infor a weapon to my body?”
“It was my elbow”
He glanced down at her arly bony elbows”
Penelope was quite sure her elbows—or any part of her, for that matter—were not the least bit bony, but there seeain, “I think we’re here”
Colin leaned toward the glass with a couple of sleepy blinks “I think you’re right”
“It’s lovely,” Penelope said, taking in the exquisitely rounds “Why did you tell me it was run-down?”
“It is,” Colin replied, handing her her shawl “Here,” he said with a gruff s for another person’s welfare in quite the way he did hers “It will be chilly yet”
It was still fairly early in the ; the inn at which they had slept was only an hour’s ride away Most of the family had stayed with Benedict and Sophie, but their hoertons Besides, Colin had explained, they were needs They needed their privacy
Penelope hugged the soft wool to her body and leaned against hiet a better look out theAnd, to be honest, just because she liked to lean against him “I think it looks lovely,” she said “I have never seen such roses”
“It’s nicer on the outside than in,” Colin explained, as the carriage drew to a halt “But I expect Eloise will change that”
He opened the door himself and hopped out, then offered his ar, Lady Whistledown—”
“Mrs Bridgerton,” she corrected
“Whatever you wish to call yourself,” he said with a grand s”
As Colin stepped across the threshold of as to be his sister’s new home, he was struck by a sense of relief that was as unsurprising as it was unexpected For all his irritation with her, he loved his sister They had not been particularly intie to Daphne, and Eloise had often seeht But the previous year had brought theht never have discovered Penelope
And without Penelope, he’d be…
It was funny He couldn’t iine what he’d be without her
He looked down at his neife She was glancing around the entry hall, trying not to be too obvious about it Her face was i in And to about the events of the day, she would have remembered every last detail
Mind like an elephant, she had He loved it
“Mr Bridgerton,” the butler said, greeting them with a little nod “Welcome back to Romney Hall”
“A pleasure, Gunning,” Colin murmured “So sorry about the last time”
Penelope looked to him askance
“We entered rather…suddenly,” Colin explained
The butler must have seen Penelope’s expression of alarm, because he quickly added, “I stepped out of the way”
“Oh,” she started to say, “I’m so—”
“Sir Phillip did not,” Gunning cut in
“Oh” Penelope coughed aardly “Is he going to be all right?”
“Bit of swelling around the throat,” Colin said, unconcerned “I expect he’s i down at his hands and let out a chuckle “Oh, it wasn’t I,” he said, taking her arm to lead her down the hall “I just watched”
She griht be worse”
“Quite possibly,” he said with great cheer “But it all turned out well in the end I quite like the fello, and I rather—Ah, Mother, there you are”
And sure enough, Violet Bridgerton was bustling down the hall “You’re late,” she said, even though Colin was fairly certain they were not He bent down to kiss her proffered cheek, then stepped to the side as his mother came forward to take both of Penelope’s hands in hers “My dear, we need you in back You are her main attendant, after all”
Colin had a sudden vision of the scene—a gaggle of chatty fe over one another about in to care about, , and—
He turned sharply “Don’t,” he warned, “say a word”
“I beg your pardon” Penelope let out a little huff of righteous indignation “I’ day”
“I was talking to my mother,” he said
Violet shook her head “Eloise is going to kill us”
“She nearly killed us already, running off like an idiot,” Colin said, with uncharacteristic shortness of temper “I’ve already instructed the others to keep their mouths shut”
“Even Hyacinth?” Penelope asked doubtfully
“Especially Hyacinth”
“Did you bribe her?” Violet asked “Because it won’t work unless you bribe her”
“Good Lord,” Colin muttered “One would think I’d joined this family yesterday Of course I bribed her” He turned to Penelope “No offense to recent additions”
“Oh, none taken,” she said “What did you give her?”
He thought about his ba
rgaining session with his youngest sister and nearly shuddered “Twenty pounds”
“Twenty pounds!” Violet exclaimed “Are you mad?”
“I suppose you could have done better,” he retorted “And I’ve only given her half I wouldn’t trust that girl as far as I could throw her But if she keeps her mouth shut, I’ll be another ten pounds poorer”
“I wonder how far you could throw her,” Penelope mused