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The one which Cressida was now slapping down onto the table in front of her

Ladies and Gentleimposter, and it would break my heart to see my years of hard work attributed to one such as her

Penelope stared down at the words even though she knew each one by heart "What do you h she knew her attempt to pretend that she didn't know exactly what Cressida meant was futilewYou're ston," Cressida said "You know I know"

Penelope kept staring at the single, incri sheet of paper, unable to tear her eyes from those fateful words--

It would break my heart

Breakto say?" Cressida asked, and even though Penelope could not see her face, she felt her hard, supercilious smilewNo one will believe you," Penelope whisperedwI can barely believe it h "You, of all people But apparently you had hidden depths and were a bit h," she added with noticeable eht the spark of this particular piece of gossip, the neill spread like wildfire"

Penelope's , unpleasant circles Oh, God, as she going to tell Colin? Hoould she tell him? She knew she had to, but where would she find thewords?wNo one will believe it at first," Cressida continued "You were right about that But then they'll start to think, and slowly but surely, the pieces of the puzzle will fall into place So to you that ended up in a column Or that you were at a particular house party Or that they'd seen Eloise Bridgerton snooping about, and doesn't everyone know that the two of you tell each other everything?"wWhat do you want?" Penelope asked, her voice low and haunted as she finally lifted her head to face her ene for" Cressida clasped her hands together behind her back and began to pace "I've been giving thehere to see you for almost a full week until I could decide upon the matter"

Penelope sed, uncomfortable with the notion that Cressida had known her deepest secret for nearly a week, and she'd been blithely living her life, unaware that the sky was about to co doI knew from the outset, of course," Cressida said, "that I wanted erton, of course, and so he has aer son, and not as plump in the pocket as the viscount" round out She knew that Cressida was drawing this out just to torture her, and she held little hope that she would actually naood and readywThen I realized," Cressida continued, ignoring Penelope's question (and proving her point), "that you must be quite wealthy, too Unless you're an utter fool--and considering your success at hiding your little secret for so long, I've revised my initial opinion of you, so I don't think you are-- you'd have to havethe column for all those years And frolance to Penelope's afternoon dress--"you haven't been spending it So I can only deduce that it is all sitting in a discreet little bank account so for a withdra asped "You're mad!"wNo" Cressida smiled "Just very, very clever"wI don't have ten thousand pounds"wI think you're lying"wI can assure you I'm not!" And she wasn't The last time Penelope had checked her account balance, she'd had £8246, although she supposed that with interest, it had grown by a few pounds since then It was an enorh to keep any reasonable person happy for several lifeti she wished to hand over to Cressida Twoure out what to do Between your savings and your husband's money, ten thousand pounds is a paltry su will you need to gather your funds?" Cressida asked, co Penelope's outburst "A day? Two days?"o days?" Penelope echoed, gaping "I couldn't do it in teeks!"wAha, so then you do have thesharp "I want the ive it to you," Penelope whispered, more for her own benefit than Cressida'sill," Cressida replied confidently "If you don't, I'll ruin you"wMrs Bridgerton?"

Penelope looked up to see Dunwoody standing in the doorThere is an urgent matter which requires your attention," he said "I toward the door "I'h the doorway, then turned around once she reached the hall, so that Penelope was forced to look at her, perfectly framed in the portal "I'll hear from you soon?" she inquired, her voiceenda for a charity ave her a little nod, just to be rid of her

But it didn't ht be gone, but Penelope's troubles weren't going anywhere

CHAPTER 22

Three hours later, Penelope was still in the drawing roo into space, still trying to figure out how she was going to solve her problems