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He laughed

Penelope hadn't hter of men, and what little she had known had not been kind But this reen--were filled with ly placed spot of mud off his cheek and said, "Well, that wasn't very well done of me, was it?"

And in that moment, Penelope fell in love

When she found her voice (which, she was pained to note, was a good three seconds after a person of any intelligence would have replied), she said, "Oh, no, it is I who should apologize! My bonnet ca when she realized he hadn't actually apologized, so there was little point in contradicting hi her a soood day, Daphne! Didn't know you were in the park"

Penelope whirled around to find herself facing Daphne Bridgerton, standing next to her mother, who proton?" and Penelope couldn't even ansith her stock, Nothing, because in truth, the accident was completely her fault, and she'd justfroible bachelor indeed

Not that her ht that she had a chance with hih irls Besides, Penelope wasn't even "out" in society yet

But if Mrs Featherington intended to scold her any further, she was unable to do so, because that would have required that she reertons, whose ranks, Penelope was quickly figuring out, included the man presently covered in ton said to Lady BridgertonwRight as rain," Colin interjected, erton could maul him with motherly concern

Introductions were made, but the rest of the conversation was unimportant, mostly because Colin quickly and accurately sized up Mrs Featherington as amama Penelope was not at all surprised when he beat a hasty retreat

But the dae had already been done Penelope had discovered a reason to dreaht, as she replayed the encounter for about the thousandth time in her mind, it occurred to her that it would have been nice if she could have said that she'd fallen in love with hireen eyes twinkling devilishly while his fingers held hers just a little htly than was proper Or maybe it could have happened as he rode boldly across a ept moor, the (aforealloped ever closer, his (Colin's, not the horse's) only intention to reach her side

But no, she had to go and fall in love with Colin Bridgerton when he fell off a horse and landed on his bottohly unromantic, but there was a certain poetic justice in that, since nothing was ever going to come of it