Penelope snorted and rolled her eyes, secretly pleased with how proud he looked.
“If you say so, dear brother.”
Lionel grinned and nodded in the direction they had come from, towards the Ironwell estate.
“Come along, Penny,” he beckoned, clearly pleased with his use of her childhood nickname. “Let us return before they notice we’re missing and begin to panic. We did not tell anyone we were leaving and we wouldn’t want to cause anyone to worry.”
Penelope nodded and followed him after he turned his horse around, heading back to the edge of the forest. Her horse followed Lionel’s closely, unknowingly taking her back to a difficult decision she had to make.
The sunset with Penelope still struggling to make a choice on what to do.
There were many reasons why she should not take Cecil on his offer. Other than the ridiculous and arrogant assumption that she would be in the slightest bit interested in doing something so utterly foolish with her time… the preservation of her honor raised even more concerns.
She would never do anything to tarnish her reputation, not when she was already being viewed as unreasonable for choosing to live as a spinster after a single season.
No matter how elegantly Cecil had phrased his offer, it would always be juvenile and more trouble than it was worth.
But…but, there was a burning sensation that had manifested within her the night before, right after they had kissed. She had tried to ignore it, but it persistently nagged at her the whole day long. And it was wearing her down, demanding that she acknowledge it.
And so… when the clock struck midnight, Penelope found herself walking down the silent corridor of her room, headed in the direction of the sunroom.
So late at night, there was an eerie silence hanging in the air that made her feel incredibly uneasy. The feeling grew increasingly nervous when she recalled the reason for this late-night excursion, and she began to imagine what would happen if she were caught wandering about at this hour.
But she arrived at the sunroom without any incident, and the next challenge was getting inside.
What if Cecil had only said that to tease her? What if he had no intention to feed the feeling that had been growing within her for nearly an entire day – curiosity?
What if –
Penelope wrapped her hand around the doorknob and opened it, shuffling into the room quietly, much to the surprise of her heart that was beating shakily.
She had tried to be impulsive to silence her spiraling thoughts, but now that she was inside, she had begun to wish she had taken more time to gather herself. The room was dimly lit, the only source of light coming from a single candle seated on a table in the middle of the room. At first glance, it looked like Cecil was running late or had abandoned her.
Just as she was about to breathe an uncertain sigh of relief, something moved from the corner of her eye. Penelope turned and gasped at the sight of someone watching her.
It was Cecil, seated in the darkest corner of the room, running his blistering gaze all over her as he sipped from a glass.
The air between them was silent and tense for a moment, then Cecil spoke up.
“You came.”
“I did,” Penelope nodded.
She had come because the curiosity within her was threatening to eat her from the inside out. And as infuriating as it seemed, Cecil was right. He was the only one who could show thepleasure he had spoken about without the risk of being ruined or married off.
Penelope stepped closer to him, her voice sounding foreign to her ears as she said,
“I will accept your offer on two conditions, Your Grace. Firstly, you must give me your word that my honor and reputation will not be at risk. I will not be ruined. I would rather die than give my brother such a burden to bear. Secondly… when I say we must stop, we will.”
“You have raised fair concerns, Lady Penelope. And I agree to your conditions. However, I have two of my own. You must trust me. And you have to be honest with me. If you lie, I will know and I will make sure you are punished for it,” he said in response.
Penelope did not like the sound of his last statement and let him know as much.
“Why must I be punished for lying? I am not some petulant child.”
To her surprise, he laughed, lowering his glass to a small stool in the corner where he was seated before he rose to his feet. As he approached her, he said,
“My apologies. I underestimated just how unexposed you were and it has become apparent that you really do not knowanything. And that is fine, because I am prepared to teach you everything you need to know. To be clear, I will punish you with pleasure.”
