“My goodness,” Penelope grinned. “This is perhaps the first time I have heard you talk so much!”
Jane blushed, lowering her gaze.
“W-We should go out! Perhaps some cakes and tea, with a few new dresses might help us feel even better. What do you say?”
Penelope nodded, grinning wider.
“Absolutely! Oh, I do wish Nora could join us but she deserves to enjoy her husband’s company quietly. We’ll write to her next week and ask if she would like to join us next time,” she suggested, rising to her feet and helping Jane onto hers.
“Certainly! Let me grab my cloak and gloves and we shall be on our way!” Jane said excitedly, running to the door.
Penelope spotted her violin case on the floor and called out to her.
“Jane! That song you were playing earlier... did you write it?”
Jane paused and nodded, looking bashful as Penelope’s eyes widened.
“Really? What is it called? It sounds beautiful.”
Jane blushed happily, and she replied,
“Second chances. It is called second chances.”
“Is it just me or has Lady Petunia seemed particularly sour ever since Nora got married to the Duke of Ironwell?”
Penelope looked over her shoulder to where the lady in question was seated with a gentleman, looking rather cross as he fumbled around, trying to alleviate her ire.
“She used to say that Nora was never going to marry as well as her older sisters, especially after her first season was nearly ruined by that cheating rake she had been betrothed to. But sheseems even more displeased since she was not invited to Nora’s party at her estate.”
Jane laughed, nearly choking on her tea, sitting up straighter as the girl in question glanced at their table.
“Oh. Oh no, she’s looking this way, Penelope. What do we do?”
Penelope merely held up a hand, signalling Jane to calm down, before she turned to look over her shoulder, right at the girl they were talking about.
Lady Petunia’s lips pulled into a sneer, and she believed she could intimidate Penelope with the belittling expression. Penelope simply stared back, her own expression speaking clearly of how unimpressed she was.
Her opponent eventually realized that she could not intimidate Penelope and rolled her eyes, looking away with a scoff.
“Yes, I did not think so,” Penelope muttered, turning back around to face Jane. “I am all too familiar with women like her. They believe they can bully everyone into submission but they are nothing more than scared little creatures themselves. What a waste of time, sparing them a single thought.”
Jane looked proud, and she nudged the plate containing the slices of cake towards Penelope.
“You are truly an impressive young woman, Pen. It is a shame Cecil does not see that.”
Penelope shrugged, trying not to let herself feel hurt.
“I think I might have played a part in it as well. I pushed him to someone I thought would be suitable for him. With any luck, he would have taken my advice and made plans to court her seriously after Nora’s ball.”
“Are you truly all right with it? With him choosing someone else?” Jane asked, her eyes withdrawn and sad.
Penelope nodded, stirring some milk into her cup of tea.
“It is. I never hoped for anything, anyway, so my sadness is entirely my fault. I will forget all about him someday – a feat that seems impossible, given the fact that he is our dear friend’s brother and our paths are bound to cross eventually. Nonetheless, I will recover from this frustrating bout of lovesickness.”
Jane sighed, adding some sugar to her own cup.
“I trust that you will be fine, I have no doubt in your strength. But... is that really what you want?”
