Chapter Text
Penelope sighed as the carriage shook from the intensity of her husband’s snores. She internally wished that they were doing something else to make the carriage shake.
She and Colin were finally going to take a trip for their honeymoon. It had been nearly two months since their wedding. Married life had a rough start for the couple, Penelope’s identity as the notorious Lady Whistledown causing a rift between the two. But with time and understanding, they learned to accept and forgive each other. For they both made mistakes along the way. It made sense to Penelope, of course, that their love for one another would conquer all.
After learning about Cressida Cowper's scheme to reveal Penelope’s identity as Lady Whistledown, Penelope decided to announce it herself at the Butterfly Ball thrown by her sisters. And a week or so after her announcement, talk began to die down, and the couple thought it was the perfect time to finally take a honeymoon.
Initially, Colin had begun planning a grand tour across the continent for their honeymoon. He wanted romance his wife in the city of love, Paris. He wanted to swim with her in the sapphire waters of Cyprus. He wanted to show her the statues of goddesses in Greece that bore her likeness, but could never hold a candle to her. But the trip was soon cancelled when his wife surprised him with a life-changing announcement.
“Miss, there is something I think you should know,” her housekeeper and beloved confidant, Rae, told Penelope, just a few weeks before Penelope and Colin were to set off on their tour.
“Of course, Rae, what is it?” Penelope asked.
“Your sheets have been clean for 2 months now, Miss. You have not bled”.
“Oh my heavens, you do not think I am with child, do you?”
“I do, Miss. You have also been very nauseous lately, a telltale sign of pregnancy”.
“I see well, please do fetch the Doctor so he can confirm. I will have to tell Mr. Bridgerton as soon as he returns home; he will be delighted! But I fear it may not be best to travel now. Thank you, Rae”.
“Yes, of course, Miss”. Rae replied as she ran off.
The doctor confirmed the ladies’ suspicions that Penelope was indeed expecting. It seemed she was a few months along as well and in no state for continental travel. When Colin returned from his meeting with the Travel agent, Penelope knew she had to tell him the news.
“Penelope, are you alright? Dunwoody said the Doctor was here. Are you ill?” Her husband asked voice filled with concern. How she loved her protective husband.
“Yes, yes, all is well. Although I am afraid we may not be able to go on our adventure anymore, at least for another year or so.” Penelope responded.
“Whyever not? I thought you dreamed of joining me on my travels.”
“I have! It is just, well, Colin, I am with child!”
Immediately after hearing the news, Colin, gently, picked up his tiny wife and planted a kiss on her forehead. His eyes trickled with tears as he said, “Oh, Pen, this is amazing news! I am to be a father, and you a mother!”
“Yes, and soon, it seems I am already quite far along”. Penelope replied.
“That is wonderful news! Well, we surely cannot travel far then, but perhaps we could still vacation in the country and share some alone time before the babe arrives. If that is to your liking?”
“I would love to, I think country air is just what I need”.
And so Penelope found herself on the hours-long journey to Aubrey Hall, the Bridgerton’s country estate. Her husband had fallen asleep, as he often did on long carriage rides. He seemed to possess a talent for falling asleep wherever he wanted, she realized. It made her mad with jealousy and bored, for she wanted to spend the long journey talking to him if she could not fall asleep herself.
When they finally arrived at Aubrey Hall, she kicked his leg with her own, immediately causing him to jolt awake in concern. “We are here,” she admonished. "Right of course, I'll help you down then. Watch your step, I do not want you to fall". Colin said, holding her hand, he seemed to be even more protective of her now that she was with child, which Penelope did not think possible. She admired it about him, though, it felt spectacular to know that someone cared about her well-being so much, especially when that someone was her dashing husband, whom she had dreamt about for practically her whole life.