The Blossoming of Penelope Featherington | A BRIDGERTON Fanfic

Chapter 4

"P- Miss Featherington." Colin bowed, only then realising that his sister was there as well.

"Mr. Bridgerton." She curtsied. She was not looking his way, much to his dismay. Yet he was not discouraged and tried to catch her eye, but before he could do so, Eloise asked him with a jesting sigh, "Are you here to take Penelope away, Colin?"

At that Penelope looked straight into his eyes as if daring him to say yes. She really needn't to, he thought. He kept the polished smile on his face as he stared back at her and slowly shifted to Eloise. "Yes, actually. I am." He held out his hand towards Penelope. "May I?"

Penelope didn't answer and merely looked at his hand, hers still clutching Eloise's. She looked up but not at him. She glanced towards his back as if looking if someone was watching their exchange. He felt his smile becoming tighter, his patience- something he used to not worry about- was growing thinner by the second.

He heard someone clear their throat. "Well I best get going and let you two have your dance, then." Eloise removed Penelope's hands from her arm and eyed them both warily before walking away.

His hand was still suspended in the air while Penelope's eyes followed his sister. He glanced towards Eloise as she reached their mother. He turned back at Penelope and saw the slight tightening of her jaw. "May I have this dance, Miss Featherington?" She finally looked at him and she gave a tight smile, or forced one to be exact. He held onto the dispirited sigh that wanted to escape his lips.

Penelope slowly let her hand fall on his. He led her towards the dance floor and she almost faltered in her step but Colin didn't seem to take notice. She only realized, then, that the dance they will be doing was the waltz. It has been years since they have been in such close proximity doing the infamously unseemly dance.

As a young lady of sixteen- or two days short of- when she first came to the realization of her growing affections for the dashing young man, she would have had nothing more than to have his hand placed on her back, his face only a few inches away while his other hand clutches hers. But now the touch could only give her a mocking sort of pain. One that teases something that would inevitably be unattainable. She remained silent. She knew that Lady Bridgerton had asked him to take her for a dance. The dowager was watching their entire exchange and was obviously waiting for Colin to finally ask her for it.

"So..." Colin broke the silence that Penelope thought stretched for what seemed like an hour. She waited for him to continue but he hadn't. This stumped her. He was never out of words and was always prepared to make a quip, and yet these days she was seeing less of that 'Colin'.

"So?" she returned. She was used to the friendly conversations that they would share during both social dances and other encounters. And they, the Bridgerton brothers, were gentlemanly enough to begin the conversations for her so she need not worry about her fumbling on her words.

"Uhm, well, how are you, Penelope?" He thought it was the safest way to start, although his judgement as of late has been affluently faulty. Then, once he saw why that was a terrible beginning for a conversation where he would like to apologize smoothly before ending it, he opted for a smile that he hoped was charming enough for her to see past his mistake- hopefully a week-long of it.

"Well, Mr. Bridgerton, other than the fact that I will surely be likened to an overcooked omelette in Lady Whistledown's next paper," she paused to point at her disastrous fock with the cock of her head and shrugged. "...I am doing well."

"Oh, I don't think it is all that bad," he said indulgently.

Penelope let out a horrified gasp. "Then I was right." Colin gave her a questioning look to which she obliged with "It is worse than I thought." She eyed him flippantly.