“Alice?” Penelope’s groggy voice cut off her foolish musings as she ambled into the sunkissed morning room, looking troubled while closing off her day robe. “Did you sleep last night?”
“Not as much as I’d have liked,” Alice admitted, nimbly slipping this morning’s paper off the table.
Taking a seat, Penelope’s brows met in the middle. “I didn’t sleep a wink. I kept tossing and turning, upset and fearing what would have happened if it had gone another way.”
“What other way could it have gone?”
After a moment, Alice shook her head; her sister’s meaning was plain. “Don’t answer that. I’m sorry, I’m still a little out of sorts. I know what you meant. If Rutledge had pulled that trigger or if Benedict had not been able to defend himself, it could have ended very badly.”
“Very,verybadly.”
“I still cannot fathom how he managed to get so far as the ballroom,” Alice murmured, more to herself. “His Grace has guards stationed at multiple points long before reaching his...” She trailed off, heat rising to her cheeks, unwilling to reveal just how intimately acquainted she had become with such personal details after her umpteenth visit to his home.
“I’d imagine holding a pistol and waving it like a madman will get you into anywhere you desire to go,” Penelope shrugged.
“Do you want some tea?”
“Yes, thank you,” her sister mused as Alice reached for the pot. “I realize it’s strange, but I saw the moment my world began to crumble before me—the moment he’d held that gun to Benedict... I felt such… suchfear. I wanted to put myself between them but my feet—my feet wouldn’t move.”
Sliding the cup to her, Alice smiled, “Your body is wiser than your heart. Alas, fear for the one you love will do that to you.”
“Love?!” Penelope’s ears burned bright red, not helped by her sudden and telling overreaction. “I—I mean, it has only been weeks. There is no—it is not conceivable that I have fallen in love already.”
“Perhaps not...” Alice reflected on how long it had taken for her to recognize she had fallen for Edward, and it was far sooner than she cared to admit, “...but you are hurtling toward it like a cart gone astray. Let me ask you this—when you fancied Rutledge, how did it feel?”
“No,” she blurted again. Pinking, she slowly added, “That is to say, Ifancied myself in love with him, it… it wasn’t the same as it is now. And now, I know him to be a spineless cad with no morals anyhow. He once glittered like gold, it took too long for me to realize it was only fool’s gold.”
“And how do you feel about Benedict?”
“He’s kind,” Penelope’s blush softened. “He’s thoughtful… and protective. When he looks at me, it is not with pity or a seductive smolder, but with thoughtfulness and consideration.”
“As any true gentleman should,” Alice nodded somberly. “I am truly happy for you, Elly. You deserve this more than anyone for the strength and courage you have shown these past weeks.”
“But what about you?” Her sister’s worried tone from before returned. “You should be happy too. What if… what if you never marry?”
“I’ll swan off into spinsterhood with grace,” Alice said calmly. “Don’t worry about me, Elly, I can hold my own.”
“But I do,” Penelope murmured, her face falling. “You have always been so strong for everyone, it is not fair for you to be cheated out of happiness.”
Instead of replying to that, Alice chewed on a portion of her lip, unsure of how much she should tell Penelope. “Last night, the moment Benedict punched Rutledge, did you see Eliza’s face?”
“No,” she replied, brows knitting, “why?”
“Because she was smirking,” Alice said. “It was only for a moment, but I know she was happy to see all the chaos.”
Finishing her tea, Penelope asked, “You don’t think she had something to do with it, do you?”
“I don’t see how she could,” Alice considered her words. “She hasn’t been out this week since Benedict announced your courtship, and I can only imagine she was in her room, sulkingand surly that he hadn’t chosen her. The only times she left the house were when Baron Portman came around. I suppose she was simply happy to see you be miserable.”
“And for Benedict to die,” Penelope grimaced. “She really doesn’t want us here, does she?”
“Look at the silver lining to your cloud,” Alice smiled. “If all goes well, you might be married soon.”
“About that…” Penelope’s voice dropped to a hush. “How did he know? The only person I have talked to about it was you, so how could he know?” Alarm became rife in her voice as she added, “You don’t think everybody else knows, do you?!”
“Oh god! What am I going to do if it is out there? I thought some ladies were looking at me funny last night! I—I—”
“No, Elly, Benedict knows, because… well…” Alice grimaced before utterly throwing caution to the wind, “I had some trouble finding Rutledge and His Grace offered to help. I know I shouldn’t have told him such private matters, but he is an honorable man, Elly, he would never tell anyone if it was not imperative that the person knows.
