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Eloise Bridgerton was a woman of many virtues – witty, clever, confident – but it was never said that she was patient.
The fact of the matter was that Eloise had never been able to hold her tongue. Some would call it a curse, but in truth, Eloise had always viewed it as more of a blessing. While others sat idly by, Eloise possessed the innate ability to understand what she wanted and pursue it with abandon. Perhaps her impatience had landed her in a precarious situation once or twice, but more often than not, she felt it had served her tremendously well.
All of this to say, her brother and her best friend were going to drive her mad if they kept up their inane ruse.
It did not take a genius to know that Penelope had been taken with Colin since she was a young girl. Often, Eloise had to physically restrain herself from rolling her eyes at the way her best friend’s cheeks would tinge pink in Colin’s presence. The situation was not helped by the fact that Colin was utterly oblivious. Indeed, it took every ounce of restraint that Eloise possessed not to grab Colin by the arms and shake him silly every time Penelope smiled up at him.
However, if Eloise had found Colin and Penelope frustrating before, they were downright insufferable now.
When Colin had returned from Greece to find Penelope (understandably) cross with him, he had been inconsolable. He began to spend more nights a week than not at White’s with Benedict, and if he thought he had been subtle about his degree inebriation when he returned home in the evenings, he most certainly had not. When Colin would wake in the mornings, grasping at his forehead and snapping at anyone who inquired into his wellbeing, Eloise found herself shaking her head and muttering under her breath. Really, how could one man be so blind to his own feelings?
Eloise was not sure when or how, but somehow Colin had snuck his way back into Penelope’s good graces. Penelope was unusually tight-lipped about the nature of their relationship, but nonetheless, Colin had begun to spend a suspicious amount of time calling on the Featheringtons. Neither party admitted to being friends once more, and if Colin’s startled reaction to Anthony’s inquiry as to whether or not they were courting was to be believed (Colin, who had been sipping on tea, had let out a spectacular cough before proceeding to choke for the better part of a minute), then it seemed as if Colin and Penelope had once more found themselves in a kind of limbo. Eloise suspected, although she could not be sure, that their unlikely reconciliation had something to do with Penelope’s newfound success on the marriage mart. When she thought of it, Eloise found her fingers involuntarily twitching. In theory, she and Colin were supposed to be related. It was difficult to fathom how spectacularly idiotic her own flesh and blood was.
Eloise had tried to be patient with them, really she had. However, as she stood by the refreshment table at Francesca’s engagement ball, watching Colin and Penelope across the room, she felt whatever was left of her patience wearing dangerously thin.
The two were engaged on the dance floor in what appeared to be the waltz. Even to an outsider, it was clear that they existed as in a bubble, apart from the sea of partygoers surrounding them. Colin regarded Penelope delicately, his hands resting on her form with a kind of reverence Eloise did not know he possessed. For her part, Penelope clutched at Colin, steadfastly grasping onto his shoulders, almost as if she believed she would fall if she were to let go. Still, Penelope averted her eyes from Colin’s face, her eyes darting around the ballroom. Eloise noted with irritation that if Penelope were to simply chance a look in Colin’s direction, she would find him gazing at her with an intensity that would surely leave her breathless. With the way his eyes were trained upon her, even a fool would have no question as to the depth of his true feelings… and yet Penelope would never know, for she could not find it in herself to so much as glance at him. Eloise sighed – they could never quite get the timing right, could they?
Penelope flushed her usual shade of pink as Colin slid a hand along her side, settling gently at her waist. She smiled softly at him, finally meeting his eye, and Colin tripped over his own foot, stumbling slightly into the couple next to them. Penelope let out a chuckle, and Eloise could see the heat rising from Colin’s neck all the way up to his ears. And yet, his apparent embarrassment did not quite reach his eyes, which only softened further at the sound of her laughter.
They bowed to one another as the waltz finally came to a close. Colin opened his mouth as if to say something, but he was promptly cut off by the intrusion of one Mr. Dankworth, who had come to collect Penelope for her next dance. If Eloise remembered correctly, Mr. Dankworth was a handsome but dull man who had taken a liking to Penelope over the past couple of weeks. The two had shared a few dances and a couple of afternoon promenades, but, as Penelope had told Eloise, her interest in the man had not extended past their first conversation. Still, as Eloise knew all too well, an eligible woman in society could not very well turn down a worthy suitor without strong cause, and so it seemed that Penelope had once again been roped into a dance with the man.
Colin stalked over to the edge of the dance floor, swiping a flute of champagne from the nearest table. His eyes did not once leave Penelope, tracking her insistently as she twirled across the floor. His brows were slightly furrowed, and he began to grasp at his glass with a rather unnecessary degree of force.
How Colin could not see Penelope’s eyes wandering over to his, how he missed the undeniable yearning in her gaze, was incomprehensible to Eloise.
It was maddening – and she could not take it a second longer.
Eloise placed her glass of lemonade on the table next to her with a thud, striding over to where Penelope and Mr. Dankworth were finishing up their dance.
“Pen!” Eloise called out, rushing to her friend’s side. “I require your assistance.” Mr. Dankworth moved to greet her, and so she blurted out, “Immediately.” Penelope merely nodded, grabbing onto Eloise’s arm and allowing her to lead the way off the dance floor.
Eloise could feel Penelope veering towards the terrace, and so she placed her other hand on her arm as well, tugging her over towards where Colin stood. Her eyes widened as she realized their destination.
“Eloise,” Penelope muttered. “Where are we going? I do not desire to – ”
Eloise grasped at Penelope’s arm even more firmly. “Colin!” she cried, striding up beside him. “Brother, please come with me.”
Colin’s eyes darted back and forth between Eloise and Penelope. “I – well, er –” he sputtered out.
“Oh, for Heaven’s sake,” Eloise sighed. “Now, Colin,” she demanded, turning on her heel and dragging Penelope towards the corridors of Bridgerton House. Eloise was pleased to find Colin trailing behind them when she looked over her shoulder.
“Do you intend to tell me what this is all about?” Penelope whispered behind a clipped smile, attempting not to draw further attention to the scene Eloise had undoubtedly created. “Really, Eloise, this is highly unusual.”
“No, I do not,” Eloise responded simply, leading them out the ballroom doors. When Colin caught up to them, she grabbed his arm as well, corralling the pair into the tearoom.
“Sister, you cannot simply herd us like sheep!” Colin exclaimed as Eloise shut the door steadfastly behind them.
“And yet you followed, did you not?” Eloise quipped. “Now, I do believe we should all take a seat. There are matters we must discuss.”
***
Eloise nodded deeply. “So what you mean to say, is that, in order to make amends for your wrongdoings, you have been… what was the word you used again?”
“Tutoring,” Penelope offered up, wringing her hands anxiously.
“Right – you have been tutoring Pen in the ways of… confidence? All so that she might find a husband?”
“Precisely,” Colin responded, a satisfied smile tugging at his lips.
Eloise tilted her head to the side, regarding Colin curiously. “Are you daft?”
“I beg your pardon?” Colin responded, his brows shooting to the top of his forehead.
Eloise could not help it – a rather unladylike guffaw barreled out of her chest. She truly felt hysteric, in every sense of the word. “I said – ” she started, cutting herself off with a snort before gathering herself again. “I said, are you daft?”
“But it has been working!” Penelope insisted. “Eloise, you must have noticed. I have never had anyone’s name but Colin’s on my dance card, and now – ”
“I have never questioned your judgement, Penelope. Of course it is working,” Eloise clarified, leveling a disbelieving look at Colin. “It is my brother whose judgement I doubt.”
“Pray tell, what is the meaning of all of this?” Colin demanded. “You cannot simply drag us off in the middle of our sister’s engagement ball to accost us over our private affairs. Why is this of any importance to you?”
“Because I cannot stand it anymore!” Eloise exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. She pointed an accusatory finger at the both of them. “You two are insufferable. Positively incorrigible! Even worse than Kate and Anthony!”
“Stop talking in riddles and speak plainly,” Colin ground out.
“You want me to speak plainly? Very well – you two absolute fools are in love, and I cannot stand to sit by and watch while you continue to muck it up!” Eloise blurted out, quickly clasping a hand over her mouth as she realized what she had said. She had been irritated, of course, but it had not been her intent to overstep so completely...
“Eloise!” Colin hissed, flushing a deep shade of red.
Penelope turned on Colin, seemingly no longer concerned with Eloise’s presence.
“Colin, is that true?” Penelope whispered. “Do you love me?”
Colin cleared his throat indelicately. “I hardly think that now is the time or place to – ”
“I dare say it is the perfect time and place – ” Penelope countered.
“My sister – ”
“I will not wait a moment longer for you,” Penelope stated firmly. “I have waited years for you, Colin. There were times I lost you along the way, but you must know that through it all I have found myself, and I will continue on my own most contentedly unless there is a reason I should decide otherwise. That is, unless you can give me a reason to decide otherwise.”
Penelope leveled a steady gaze in Colin’s direction, chin held high despite the beginning of tears gathering in her eyes. Colin furrowed his brows, shaking his head frantically back and forth.
“No, Penelope, please don’t – not a moment longer, I swear it,” Colin reassured her, striding towards her and taking her hand in his.
“I am, er – ” Eloise began, pausing to clear her throat. “I am going to take my leave.” She nodded to herself, turning steadfastly on her heel.
“I love you, Penelope,” she heard Colin say. “I know I am not worthy – ”
Eloise shut the door firmly behind her, leaning against it and letting out a sigh. Ah yes - that was much better.