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“Ellllllloooooiiiiiseeeee.”
Eloise looks up at the sound of her name being sung more than spoken. The voice is familiar, even though the way it currently slurs is not. Eloise isn’t certain she’s ever seen Penelope properly drunk, though the two of them have snuck a drink or two on occasion from their parents’ collections or during parties while no one was paying them any mind.
The way Penny sways across the grass towards where Eloise sits on her favorite swing tells Eloise that her best friend had more than one-too-many drinks this night.
“Are you-”
“Very, very drunk,” Penny confirms, sparing Eloise the task of carefully skirting the subject. “Yes.”
“Is everything alright?” Eloise asks. ‘Are you alright?’ is the unspoken question hidden behind her words.
“No,” Penny says. “Everything is not alright, because I lied to you and I need to tell you the truth. I don’t wish to lie to you, Eloise. Not ever.”
“Alright,” Eloise says, her words carefully even. “I’m certain whatever it is-”
“Oh no,” Penelope laughs. “You aren’t certain about any of it. But you will be soon.”
This time Eloise remains silent. It’s clear that whatever Penelope wants to say, whatever she feels the need to get off her chest, is something she needs to do on her own and no prompting from Eloise is going to help.
“It’s me, Eloise,” Penny says the words with such importance that Eloise is certain she’s missed something that came before them. When Eloise doesn’t immediately respond Penny only sighs. “I’m her. I’m Lady Wistledown.”
Eloise frowns. “Do not tease me about this, Penelope.”
“I’m not. It’s me, Eloise. Poor Penelope, never noticed when she disappears from a dance because there are no names on her card to miss her. Innocent Penelope, who could not possibly understand the ways of the world enough to report on them. Lonely little Penny, so easily overlooked that no one thinks to watch their words around her because who does she have to tell?”
Penelope says the words so carelessly that Eloise scarcely believes them. They’re drunken ramblings, surely nothing more?
“It can’t be you. What you said about your own family, you ruined-”
“We were already ruined,” Penelope spits out. Eloise knows that Penelope holds some resentment towards her mother and sisters but for it to go this deep, and carry this many repercussions? Penelope continues as if this were any other conversation between friends… as if this information isn’t actively shattering every preconceived idea the entire Ton holds of who Lady Whistledown could be.
As if this isn’t shattering everything Eloise ever imagined Penelope is.
“Don’t you see?” Penny sighs. “It was worth it to spare the Bridgerton name.”
“You would do all that to spare Colin?” Eloise asks, her brain still working overtime to catch up with all of this new information. A part of her doesn’t believe it, can’t believe it, but another part of her knows that Penelope has no reason to lie to her about this.
“You still don’t see,” Penelope says. “For someone so clever, you’re awfully dense.”
“Excuse me?!”
“It wasn’t for Colin. It was never for Colin,” Penny says, leveling Eloise with a gaze that locks onto her eyes and does not shy away. Penny’s eyes beg Eloise to understand, plead with such desperation that it’s obvious at that moment what the emotion behind the faint shimmer of a tear is.
Eloise doesn’t know how she ever missed it… or perhaps she never had. Perhaps she simply refused to accept what she knew was in front of her all along.
“It was for me.” There’s no question to her words, but Penelope answers just the same.
“Always,” Penelope confirms. “It was always for you, El.”