SEVEN MONTHS

The morning after the engagement party, Colin sat down to breakfast feeling ecstatic about the night before, but also exhausted and sleepy. The drama caused by Lady Whistledown led them to make love for the first time during the ball, but once was not enough. They spent the rest of the night awake, talking about the future and making love again - twice, three or even four times - until dawn.  

Violet watched her son yawn a few times as he ate some cookies, much quieter than usual. “Colin, dear. Are you tired? I thought you left the ball early after walking Penelope home."

Caught by surprise, he glanced at his mother and took a sip of tea before answering the first excuse that came to mind: "I had some things to do afterwards, it was a little..."

“Agitated?” Benedict asked. “It was a VERY eventful night for our little Colin, I would say.” he complemented with an arched eyebrow and a mischievous smile, then being pinched by his wife who was sitting next to him. "What it was?" he asked her, "I didn't lie."

Eyes wide at Benedict, Colin realized too late that he and Penelope hadn't been as silent as they'd thought, especially considering they were all sleeping in the same house that night. He quickly shifted his gaze to his mother when she asked the younger siblings to leave the table, receiving only a disappointed look in response. In less than five minutes, the only ones left in the room were Anthony, Kate, Benedict, Sophie, his mother, and himself.

"Colin, what did you do?" Violet asked quietly.

Colin took a sip of his tea and replied in kind, “I think it would be of great interest for Portia to be here this morning. I need to talk to you both about something serious.”

The sound of a chair being pushed back violently caught Colin by surprise.

“What the fuck have you done, Colin?” Anthony questioned nervously and Colin quickly raised the cup to his lips again, filling his cheeks with tea to avoid having to respond. "Whatever you've been up to," Anthony continued, "unless you've impregnated another woman, you will marry Penelope Featherington! I will not allow you to break that poor girl's heart one more time."

Eyes widening at his brother's assumption, Colin drained his cup and glanced in Kate's direction, waiting for the sister-in-law to come to her support and calm her husband. She, however, had the same disappointed look as his mother as she answered in a firm tone. "I'm sorry Colin. But I agree with Anthony, you shouldn't have proposed to her just to embarrass her the day after your engagement."

Since when did I give reason to distrust me? Damn, Benedict. Colin let out a tired sigh and looked at his mother who was already teary-eyed, the expression of disappointment stamped on her face. “Mom, just get Portia and Penelope, please? With urgency!”

"With urgency?" Anthony questioned as he pressed his hands into the chair's wood, trying to control himself.

"Yes. It is a serious and urgent matter, Anthony.” Colin responded irritably, "We need to talk before you all speculate more and burn my brains out!"

"I'm going to send a premise and send it to number 5", Violet got up and shouted for the butler, getting everyone's attention.

“Bring her here, I want to be there.” Anthony added.

Colin stared at him and thought about the plan he had formulated. “I prefer it to be a private conversation, Anthony,” he said, ignoring his brother's scowl.

Less than 30 minutes later, Portia appeared in the room, accompanied by the butler, and her eyes wide. “Viscountess Bridgerton. Lady Bridgerton. Mister Bridgerton,” she said, exasperated. I hadn't expected such an urgent invitation, especially after the engagement party. Did something happen? You're not thinking of giving up the marriage, are you?"

"Lady Featherington, nothing could be further from the truth", Colin said quietly and looked around, already concerned that she was alone. "Where is Penelope?"

"I was advised that she was indisposed this morning, so I left her to sleep." Portia explained, losing her son-in-law's smirk. "What's so important?"

"How about you go to my private room?", Kate suggested. "There you can talk more comfortably over tea." Portia nodded and, following the Viscountess's advice, the three of them walked on.

After closing the door, to avoid eavesdropping, Colin sat down on the sofa opposite the women and waited patiently while his mother served tea.

After a few minutes, with a cup of tea in her hands, Violet looked at him, visibly anxious. “So, dear. What's so important?"

Colin looked away, took a sip of his tea and, after a dramatic pause, heaved a long sigh. When he finally opened his mouth to speak, Portia cut him off, clearly uneasy. “Tell me, Mr. Bridgerton, why the urgency? You're not thinking of calling off the wedding, are you?"

Colin let out an annoyed breath. "I've said it once, Lady Featherington, and I won't say it a third time," he said impatiently. “There is no good reason why I should give up having Penelope as my wife, Lady Featherington. Quite the opposite."

“Then I don't understand…” Portia said, still confused.

"As I believe everyone in this room is aware," Colin began, "and if it isn't, I'll take this opportunity to make that explicitly clear" - he said looking specifically at Portia, who seemed to tense up all of a sudden – “my feelings for Penelope are far greater than I can express. I believe that all the ton, including the ladies, are aware that our friendship has always been a little…” – he paused, searching for the right words – "how can I say? Outside the established standards? That and, since I returned to London, I have come to admire her with different eyes. Before I knew it, I was completely and irrevocably in love with her."

Colin saw the shadow of a smile appear on his mother's features before he saw her pale and stare at him with wide eyes.

"Colin. I'm touched by your feelings, you know I've always wanted my children to marry for love, but I still don't understand what you're getting at, dear". Violet asked in a shaky voice, almost pleading, and still trying not to associate his words with Benedict's comment over breakfast.

"I'll get there," he finished his tea, soaking up the warm liquid trickling down his throat. He faced the women staring at him as if he held Lady Whistledown's latest leaflet containing society's most sordid secrets. "Well…" Colin put his teacup back on the table and took a deep breath. “As much as I understand the rules of society, and I assume that Pen deserves to be courted, as well as all the attention a groom could give during this period, I'm afraid the wedding may need to be brought forward. No. Actually... Maybe not. It must, obligatorily, be advanced for a maximum of 7 days.

With his gaze on the two women, Colin saw the rest of the blood drain from his mother's face, while his mother-in-law was still looking at him with a confused expression, making him think that he hadn't been clear enough.

"But that would be a scandal!" exclaimed Portia.

"An 8 month old could be even bigger," Violet whispered, staring at her son as conflicting feelings swirled in her mind. She was happy, of course, that he finally realized the woman in front of him, but she also thought that she should kill him for compromising the innocent young woman. "Although…" - she thought better of it - "everyone knows that firstborns can be born a little earlier, or even later. An 8-month-old baby would be acceptable for society, Colin."

"Son?" Portia looked between the two of them, still lost. "I don't understand..." She put a hand to her forehead, feeling sick all of a sudden.

"But…", Colin interjected, "maybe a 7 month one isn't. Or less if we take longer than 7 days."

"7 MONTHS?!" Portia and Violet screamed in unison. And Violet got up quickly, “COLIN BRIDGERTON!"

"Just a minute!" Portia got up too and looked at him nervously. "7 months? Mister Bridgerton! Are you telling me you've been compromising my Penelope for two months?"

"Well, Lady Featherington. No one seemed to care about leaving us alone.”

“And you think that gave you rights to…”

“I don't think anything,” he interrupted her, “it was a little oversight on my part. But let's not pretend you really care, right?"

“Colin!” Violet caught his attention.

“But it's true, Mom. Until last week, Lady Featherington was still trying to push me towards Felicity, which would be unacceptable given that she's Hyacinth's age!" Colin stopped, took a deep breath and continued: "I love Penelope. The whys and whens don't matter if we have love."

"If I'd known you'd been compromising her all this time, I would have forced you to marry her a long time ago," Portia snapped.

"Colin, that's not how I raised you and your brothers." Violet said, looking a little disappointed, "If you've been involved for so long, why didn't you propose sooner? We could have avoided a rushed ceremony."

"This is a very private thing, and I don't feel comfortable talking about it openly with the family."

"You, however, did not feel uncomfortable compromising my poor Penelope."

"Far from it" Colin whispered and flashed a sly, albeit brief, smile.

Portia advanced towards him, intending to pull him by the ears, but was interrupted by Anthony and Penelope entering the room.

"Pen!" Colin exclaimed excitedly and lunged towards her in an attempt to escape Portia's clutches. "I would really like to speak with you two. I just spoke with our mothers and we are all in agreement to advance the marriage!"

"To advance?" Anthony asked in surprise. But the realization of what could have happened hit him and his face changed to suspicious. "For what reasons?"

"I briefed them on the possibility that news could shake the Ton in about 7 months.” Colin gave Penelope a wink as he smile maliciously. "Or 6, actually."

"I'm going to kill him,” Anthony said angrily, advancing on him. Colin, however, put himself behind Penelope for protection, knowing that his brother would never hurt her.

 Feeling like a rag doll, Penelope croaked, “Colin!! Stop this. I don't understand where you're going with this,” she said pulling away from his hands.

“Enough!” Violet screamed and put one hand on her hips as she brought the other over her forehead, exposing her desperation. “Anthony and Colin, stop it! And for God's sake Colin, stop pulling Penelope like that,” she said firmly. Sighing loudly, far from the usual formality, she turned to Portia who was staring at her in astonishment at the familiar chaos she had never seen before. “Portia, I don't think we're in a position to treat each other formally at the moment. And I also believe that both of us are able to plan a wedding in 15 days, do you agree?”

Portia let out a long breath. “Yes, I believe so,” she said, resigning herself to the situation.

“But mom, 15 days is a lot…”, Colin tried before being interrupted by her fierce gaze.

“15 days is more than enough, Colin.” Then she turned to Anthony: “You go after the special license. Portia and I will need backup. I'll ask Daphne and talk to Kate.”

"Excellent!" Colin said excitedly. “Since everything is settled. How about we go into the garden and get some air?” Penelope, who kept her hand locked in his, was still looking around trying to understand what was really going on.

Anthony shoved himself between the two and pushed Colin aside, putting distance between them and said in exasperation, "Only if it's over my dead body!"

“How audacious of you to think that, after compromising my daughter, I would leave you alone with her”, Portia added.

Choking on her own saliva, Penelope coughed, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

“Pen!” Colin called her worriedly and pushed Anthony, holding his hands again while stroking her back. Penelope stared at him with wide eyes and blushed even more than she already was from the intimate touch in front of the families.

Colin heard three voices rise up against him and looked out over his audience. His mother with a “Colin Bridgerton”, was red and visibly irritated. Anthony with his "I'm going to kill him", was about to jump for his neck at any moment and Portia calling him "Mister Bridgerton" looked like he was about to have a heart attack. 

“By God… That’s enough!” Violet screamed and everyone stopped. “Penelope, I don't mean to offend you, you know you've always been like a daughter to me, so forgive me for saying this, but Portia… Anthony, the worst thing that could happen has already happened.”

“Yes, and I think you agree with me that Penelope has just been through a lot of stress, it could be bad for…” Colin argued, pointing to Penelope's belly.

“Yes… yes, it will do her good under those conditions,” Violet agreed and waved them away: “I'll ask Eloise's lady-in-waiting to accompany you so that there's no more room for gossip. In the meantime, let's plan everything. Great time for Lady Whistledown to have retired,” she said at last and Colin couldn't help but agree with his mother, albeit mentally.

 "Condition?" Penelope's voice was hoarse, almost breathy, as she was dragged out of the room by Colin.

 Once in the gardens, Colin flashed a wide smile as he cupped her face, pressing his body to hers. “We're getting married in 15 days, Pen. You will finally be my wife.”

 Penelope glared at him and pulled away from his hands. “Don't try to disperse, you can start explaining to me what was going on in there. And please try not to string me along.”

 While Penelope fought with him, Colin was lost in thought admiring the beautifully shaped curves of his bride's body. Watching how her face creased with rage looked so different from the expressions of pleasure from the night before, he vividly remembered her face contorted with ecstasy as she moaned he name as she climaxed.

 “Colin!” she got his attention.

 "Hmm. Ok, I'm sorry”, he cleared his throat trying to get those images out of her mind before he found himself in an awkward situation in his brother's garden. "Well, maybe I hinted that we've been more than friends for a while now."

Penelope was livid: “What do you mean, Colin?”, she questioned in an attempt to have misunderstood.

“Let me explain further, Pen. I hinted to our mums that, since I've been back in London, we've been a little more cordial than society allows", he straightened. “That is, that we became intimate even before the official marriage proposal.”

“Colin!” Penelope's eyes widened in shock and she covered her mouth with her hands trying to absorb her future husband's lies.

“Darling, after last night I can't imagine spending a day away from your arms anymore”, he said with a loving smile and pride in his tone, he continued: "I even tried to shorten the time by saying that you could have been expecting our child for two months."

“Colin Bridgerton. If Anthony doesn't do it first”, she said and, with her hands shaking with nervousness, she slapped his arms a few times as she said: “I'm going to kill you.”

Colin, who flinched trying to escape her strong blows, roared: “Ow! Ouch! Stop it. Oh, Pen. For someone so small, you are too strong”, he said still trying to dodge. Until, a few seconds later, he managed to tame her by holding her wrists.

“What were you thinking?”, Penelope questioned almost screaming. “What must your mother think of me now? And your brother? I bet they think I'm a whore!" She tried to pull away to keep hitting him and take out all her anger. "You reckless!"

"Stop it, love. I knew exactly what the consequences would be and they're the only reason I made it up. All I want is to marry you, Pen", Colin argued and she stopped struggling to face him. With a relieved sigh and a shy smile, he continued, "Yesterday was the best night of my life, but having to say goodbye to you broke my heart. I want you to be the last thing my eyes reach before I go to sleep and the first thing when I wake up. I want to be able to touch you unreservedly, with no one to stop me from kissing you." Intertwining his arms around her waist, he pressed his body against hers and continued speaking lower, almost whispering: "I love you, Penelope. If it weren't for the respect I have for you and my mother, I would run away to Gretna Green. Just for that, I didn't make such a proposal. 12 years was a long time, I don't want to waste another second."

Penelope melted at the declaration and wrapped her arms around his neck, taking advantage of his sloping posture. "I love you too, Colin," she said, as her small fingers traced the back of his neck and brought him closer, leaning down to brush her lips against his.

Then Colin heard Anthony shouting in the distance, "Colin Bridgerton!" and, after a brief brush of Penelope's lips, the brother reached them, forcing them to separate. "Miss Featherington," he said seriously, "your mother is waiting for you at the front door."

“Thank you, milord.” Penelope thanked him with an affable smile, while her cheeks were still red and hot from having been caught by the Viscount.

Anthony nodded slightly and she turned to leave, but then stopped and walked back towards Colin, standing on tiptoe to give him a kiss on the cheek. He wanted to kiss her on the lips, but he settled for that minimal contact and, even though he heard a grunt from his brother as he watched Penelope walk away, he was sure he saw the shadow of a smile on his expression.