The next morning, Penelope felt even sicker than normal. It must be the stress of all of this hullabaloo. She required two cups of tea and several small bites of dry toast before she felt well enough to climb out of bed. Rose dressed her slowly but carefully. They assumed Danbury would be making his visit sometime that afternoon.
He did not.
Nor did he come the next day or the next.
Where was he?
It was not until four days later that she realized she wasn’t out of the woods yet.
Anxious to have a word with the blighter, Penelope had been seeking him out at as many events and parties as she could attend. This had been Rose’s idea, but Penelope couldn’t come up with anything better. They’d both decided that Penelope would send him a missive if she could not locate him within one week. And if he did not answer that, she would be forced to present herself at his townhouse. She had no choice in the matter.
That afternoon, Penelope and her mother attended a lavish garden party hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Shufflebottom. The rain that had appeared all week had lifted, and it was one of those perfect spring days. But where was Hugh?
After greeting several clusters of guests alongside her mother, Penelope began resigning herself to the fact that he had not attended today either. This was not good.
Had he really changed his mind about marrying her so easily? Not good at all.
“Lady Sheffield says that your friend, the Countess of Hawthorne, is considering a house party, dear.” Her mother touched her hand, knowing her daughter well enough to realized that Penelope was woolgathering. “Apparently, the couple owns a magnificent estate just outside of town. Has she mentioned anything to you about it?”
She had, but Penelope had not considered attending. Feeling her physical situation rather uncomfortably, she didn’t wish to be in close confines with any more people than was absolutely necessary. Not for the first time, she was grateful that her mother was oblivious to most of what went on in her daughter’s head. Good God, though, there would be quite the uproar if her parents discovered what she’d done.
Penelope ignored her mother’s question and addressed Lady Sheffield, who was Lilly, the Duchess of Cortland’s, aunt.
“Have you seen the baby yet, my lady?” Penelope was happy to change the subject.
Lady Sheffield was a sturdy elderlygrande dameand something of an icon within theton. Her eyes crinkled up happily. “I managed to get down there before coming over for the season. He is simply adorable! And Lilly told me what a great help you were to her. Thank you, my dear, for being there when my niece needed you.”
“Of course!” The miraculous event had not only changed the Duke and Duchess of Cortland’s lives, but her own as well. And Danbury’s. She could not leave him out.
Where is he?
“And Lilly said Viscount Danbury kept company with Cortland. Poor boy, I was so sad to hear about his mother’s illness.”
Poor boy, my a—wait!“Lady Danbury is ill?”
“She’s consumptive. Her daughter sent word early this week. From my understanding, Danbury is trying to get to Land’s End before it’s too late.”
Why had nobody informed her of this? Why had Hugh not sent word?
“Oh, that reminds me.” Her mother tapped Penelope on the arm with her bamboo fan. “A letter came for you with Danbury’s seal. I forgot to give it to you.”
“When?”Oh, Mother, how could you?
Now she used the fan to tap against her own chin. “Hmmm, a few days ago. Maybe three. Most likely some political matter he wants your opinion on, if I know you properly, child.”
When the dizziness and dark edges began appearing, Penelope used all the self-discipline she could muster to ward them off. She wouldnot faint. She was not going to have a fit of the vapors at the Shufflebottoms’ garden party.
“Most likely, Mother,” she answered instead. She needed to see that letter!
Glancing around at the mingling guests, she mentally calculated how soon she could talk her mother into making their farewells. People were still arriving.
She would have to wait at least an hour.
A shadow heralded another arrival, and turning, Penelope curtsied to Rome Spencer, “My lord,” she said politely while her mother cooed over the viscount.
The baroness was jubilant when he offered to stroll with Penelope in the sunshine. In a haze of stunned disbelief and panic, Penelope allowed him to take her arm and lead her away from the small groups of guests. There was nothing she could do in this moment, anyhow. She needed to read the damn letter and find out when Hugh planned upon returning.
He most likely did not know when.
