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“Ready or not, here we come!” Thomas shouted, turning away from the wall he’d been counting by, and staring up expectantly at the woman besides him.
“Did I say it right, Mummy?” the boy asked, waiting for his mother’s confirmation with big hopeful eyes.
“Yes, you did, baby”, Penelope smiled broadly, bringing her hand on his eye level for a high five, which the four-year-old quickly reciprocated. “Now, where do you think Daddy and Aggie could be hiding?” she added, looking around with exaggerated concentration, and considering, not for the first time, that finding those two might take more time than usual. Aubrey was enormous, after all.
They’d arrived two days before and were waiting for the rest of the gang to start their usual Christmas celebrations, making the most of the big house and its even bigger backyard in an attempt to wear their children off by afternoon, so that the couple could have some much-needed alone time at night. The last few months had been intense, with the release of yet another one of Colin’s books, followed by the premiere of the movie based on her second romance. Both of them had been alternating between doing intense press for the projects and staying at home with the kids, so it was a relief to finally be able to breathe for a bit, with only the four of them, and spend some quality time together.
Gazing back at Thomas, Penelope realized that her son was trying to replicate her movements, looking around the living room with a serious face, and couldn’t help but grin at how similar the boy was to her husband. While Agatha took almost everything after her mom, including the red hair, Thomas was the spitting image of young Colin, the one she’d knocked off his bike a lifetime ago. Blue eyes, brown locks and that adorable pout whenever concentrated, just like at that moment.
“In the kitchen!” he answered finally, grabbing his mother’s hand, and heading in the direction of the living room door. “Daddy loves the kitchen”, the kid added, smiling.
“That he does!” Penelope agreed lightheartedly, laughing at how well their son already knew his father. Along the way, the woman made sure to look around for real, and began to discard possible hiding spots. Knowing her husband like she did, there was no way he was making this easy on her. With luck, Agatha would give them away at some point.
Once inside the kitchen, they greeted one of the maids, Mrs. Jones, and the redhead prompted Thomas to ask if she’d seen either Colin or Agatha by any chance.
“I’m afraid I have not, little Thomas”, Mrs. Jones answered softly, turning to Penelope next, a conspiratorial smirk on her face. “Although, I’ve just found what was left of the gingerbread cookies the cook had baked for tea in the library, Mrs. Bridgerton. Wonder who could have stolen them”, she continued, winking at the redhead before leaving.
“What do you think, Tommy? Do you think Daddy and Aggie are in the library eating cookies?” Penelope carefully kneeled in front of the boy, patting her fingers on her chin as if in deep thought. “Could they have hidden somewhere that obvious? Probably not”, she pondered.
“Yeah! Gingerbread cookies are dad’s favorites”, her son spoke, grinning as he took his mom’s hands once more to keep moving. “Mine too”, he added, looking back at her for a second to do so.
“I’m well aware, you little dragon”, she chuckled, adding yet another thing her son and her husband had in common to the list. “Watch your steps!” the woman warned as they climbed the stairs to the second floor, going straight to the library, with no sign of them on the way. “Let’s check in here”, she continued once they entered the room.
“What happens when we find them, Mummy?” Thomas asked, looking behind one of the sofas.
“We run back to the home base in the living room, so they can’t be safe”, Penelope explained, helping the boy back up.
“They hide and we run”, he spoke, considering her words.
“Exactly, Thomy”, she agreed, circling the main table next, and stopping right in front of the very place she’d once hidden and had been found by Colin many Christmases ago. The woman could still picture it perfectly: the way he calmed her after yet another unbearable encounter with Cressida Cowper; confiding in him about the fear of never disentangling herself from the Featherington’s bad name; his certainty that he’d be the first one to buy a copy of her future first book. “Things hadn’t exactly gone as we predicted”, Penelope considered, smiling fondly. “And yet, it was so much better than anything I’d ever dreamed of”.
After an inspection of the shelves and hiding spots (if there was a place in that house Penelope knew like the palm of her hand, it was the library), it became clear that Colin and Agatha were also not in there. The place was empty, and the only sounds that could be heard came from outside the window, mostly made by the animals and… wait. Was that a laugh?
Quickly, the woman gathered a very confused Thomas in her arms, motioning for him not to make any noise. When he was completely still, she approached the window that overlooked the garden, just in time to see a flash of red hair entering the pool house. “Found you”, she gloated.
“What do you think about checking the pool, baby? Aggie loves to stay outside these days, doesn’t she?” Penelope asked, already halfway through the second-floor hall.
“Uncle Phill said he’ll teach me how to swim!” Thomas exclaimed excitedly, running his fingertips on the corridor walls as they moved.
“Did he, now?”, the redhead asked, walking down the stairs and into the hall that led to the house’s back door, holding the four-year-old firm in her arms. “This used to be easier”, she thought to herself, already dreading the inevitable moment in which both of her children would surpass her in height. “Giant Bridgerton genes”, Penelope cursed, but kept going.
“Yes! And Alex and Will said they’ll help. Maybe we can swim together when everyone arrives!” the boy suggested, always eager to be reunited with his countless cousins.
“Sounds like a plan”, she agreed absently, reaching the back of the pool house at last. “Ok, Thomas, listen to me. We need to look very closely now, otherwise we’ll not find Aggie and papa. Do you think you can do that?” the redhead whispered, and watched as the boy giggled, nodding.
As quietly as she could with a four-year-old in her arms, Penelope walked around the pool house, heading toward the only window large enough for both her and Thomas to peer through. She was counting on the element of surprise to be able to guide the boy back to the living room before her daughter and her husband could do so. As far as they knew, both mother and son had been loud and inside the house until mere minutes ago, after all. Although from past experiences, she’d learnt not to underestimate Colin's ability to sprint in order to win a game – even one against his own child.
Later, the redhead would’ve come to realize telling her son about the whole “element of surprise” plan might have been a good idea. Because the way it happened, a yelled “They’re here, Mummy! Run!” was the last thing Penelope heard when they gazed inside the window, and then all hell broke loose.
Clumsily putting Thomas down, Penelope took the boy's hand and started running towards the back door, the one closest to them, already listening to both Agatha’s and Colin’s voices from what still seemed like a safe distance for her to succeed.
They crossed the threshold, passed through the kitchen and the dining room, and were about a few feet from the home base when her husband beat them to it, followed by an exhausted, but very satisfied Agatha. “Who, in God’s name, thought it was a good idea for a man with the longest legs ever to be the one to hide?”, Penelope whined, a pout nearly as big as Thomas’ on her face. They had never stood a chance.
“That’s not fair!” she groaned, frustrated, while noticing Aggie giving her brother a consolation hug. Looking up, she was met by her own husband approaching her with a bottle of water, the biggest and smuggest grin adorning his lips. “You better stop laughing, Colin Christopher Bridgerton”, the woman warned, but took the water, albeit a little begrudgingly, nonetheless.
“God, you’re adorable when you’re angry”, he said, smiling even wider, and couldn’t help but to tease her a bit longer. “Such a sore loser, Penelope Bridgerton. Is that the example you want to set for our children?”
“You’re one to talk”, she scoffed, patting him on the arm before turning to check on the kids. After noticing they were both seated by the sofa sharing a second bottle of water, which they’d previously left in the room for that exact purpose, Penelope faced Colin one more time, determined.
“I’m the one hiding next time. And then I’ll win”, she stated, smiling defiantly, and threw her arms around her husband, giggling at the familiar sensation of not being able to enclose them all the way.
“As long as you’re not hiding from me”, Colin answered absently, lifting his hands to cup her face, and gently directing it up to look at him. “And I’d still outrun you in that case, for sure, but whatever makes you sleep better at night, wife”, he added sheepishly, waiting for the usual feigned indignation on her eyes that, curiously, never came. In its place, Penelope adorned this peaceful expression, the one that only pure happiness could evoke, and seemed to take a few moments to find the right words.
“Well, as long as you’re not running away from me, I think we’ll be fine”, she whispered eventually, smiling bright, all traces of their previous banter gone.
“Never, Pen. Never again”, Colin rushed to reassure her, just like he’d done before on the Christmas they finally got together, just to stop short by the look on her face: not a single trace of doubt to be found. She’d fully believed in him for a while now.
That was Colin and Penelope, after all. That was love. And they would hold onto it with both hands for as many Christmas as they were allowed to.
Just then, a loud horn made its way through Aubrey Hall, warning everyone of what was probably Anthony, Benedict, and Eloise’s arrival, and startling the couple inside the living room, who broke apart laughing.
“I think your cousins just got here”, Colin told the kids, moving aside to let them race to the front door. Even after they’d left, however, their voices could be heard by the entire household, loud and clear:
“Another round!”