“It is quite all right. I think it best if I speak to her alone.”
She left him at the carriage and entered into the barn where several stable hands stood and stared when she entered. Ignoring them, she pressed on as behind her the whispers started. A flash of heat rose up in her face. She despised being the center of attention and the talk of town.
“Penny?” Bridget called out to her and she turned, finding her friend seated on a bale of hay, her generously-sized kitten, Polly, on her lap. The cat was licking something from Bridget’s fingers. “Fish juice, left over from yesterday’s dinner. She loves it. Isn’t she growing into a fine-looking cat?”
“Indeed, she is. You are wonderful to care for her as you do. You are a kind-hearted woman. I hope you know how adored you are by those around you.”
At once, Bridget’s visage darkened and she narrowed her eyes.
“What happened?” She demanded. Her tone was so alarmed that the cat jumped off her lap and rushed away into the dark. They had not seen each other in some days, since Penelope had not felt in a state to receive visitors, and so speaking to her now was all the more vexing.
“Bridget…”
The girl jumped up. Her fiery red hair was hanging in a loose bun at the back of her head and she was dressed in a simple round gown and half boots, a far cry from her usual appearance.
“Your face tells me that something is the matter. What is it? Penny, please. You do not look well. You must not have eaten for days. You are so thin. Mother will have a fit when she sees you.”
Her friend’s concern for her health made Penelope feel even worse and the task at hand all the harder. She was about to open her mouth when Bridget spoke again.
“Is it that awful Lord Carlton again? I had hoped he would do the honorable thing and apologize. And I would have forgiven him. I would have still agreed to court him. But he has not. I am sorry he put you in so terrible a position, and…”
She raised her hand to stop Bridget. She knew her friend would carry on talking if she did not stop her.
“Bridget. He came to see me. He apologized. I am here to tell you he did.”
Bridget closed her mouth and swallowed. “Oh.” It was all she could say. The expression on her face changed from concern to suspicion. Penelope knew at once what Bridget wanted to know. Why had he called on her, but not Bridget? Her friend crossed her arms in front of herself and looked at her.
“I see. I suppose that was rather nice of him.”
Penelope swallowed, knowing she had to just tell her friend the truth. There was no time. Daniel was waiting for her outside. She could not push the inevitable off any further.
“He wants to set things right. He knows my reputation is ruined. He… He asked me to marry him.”
Bridget’s eyes grew wide. “Marry you? He made an offer? And you accepted?”
“I have no choice. You must have heard by now what is being said of me in the village. You know how word is spreading. My reputation will never recover. My father… This is killing him. You should see him. He is in such ill health I fear this will break him unless I can fix it.”
Bridget shook her head. “His Grace agreed to this?”
Penelope swallowed and looked down at the hay-covered ground. “He doesn’t know. I will tell him when it is done, so he can rest assured all is arranged, all is done.”
Bridget scoffed at this. “You are marrying him? Daniel?” There was a tone in her voice Penelope could not place at first, but then she realized. It was heartbreak. “I was meant to marry him. I told you how I felt about him. Five days ago, he was to seal our impending courtship with a kiss. And instead, he kissed you. And yet, I was going to forgive him because I believed it was a mistake. But now you tell me he is to marry you? You? How could you?”
“Bridget. I am ruined!”
Her friend stomped her foot. “Because you kissed him, too. Had you pushed him away it would have been him people talked about, not you. But you kissed him.” She stopped for a moment, tears filling her green eyes.
“Bridget… Please. Do not be upset. I…”
“I am upset! I have every right to be upset.” She stopped and narrowed her eyes. “Do you love him? You do, don’t you? You’ve wanted him for yourself all this time. You’ve acted as if you cared about me, but in reality, you planned to keep him for yourself all along! You planned this, did you not? All this talk of not wishing to wed was all lies because you had your heart set on him all along.”
Penelope did not know what to say. Some of the things Bridget accused her of were indeed true. She had always loved him. She had wished he would choose her. But he hadn’t. He’d kissed her out of confusion and an over-indulgence of drink.
“I loved him, once. When we were young. But he broke my heart and I thought I would never see him again. Please, believe me when I tell you, I did not intend for any of this. I did not seek out this kiss. I am mortified at my own actions. You are right, I should have pushed him away. I do not know why I didn’t. But I can tell you it was you he wanted. It was you he wanted to court and I believe he would still want to if not for his sense of duty for my situation. And my father’s.”
“And yet, somehow it is you who gets to have the man she always wanted, and I get to be the one with the broken heart. I cannot believe you. I was ready to stand by you and defend you to anyone who spoke ill of you. In fact, I already have. Ask anyone. I’ve put many a gabster in their place on your behalf these past few days.”
Penelope was not surprised to hear this. While Bridget had been upset initially, and had every right to be, she was a good and loyal friend. She would not have stood by to hear Penelope’s name dragged through the mud.
