Penelope thought back to the ball, how focused Cecil’s attention had been on Lady Heather before he had found her to terrorise her afterwards. And then she recalled that it had been nearlya week since Nora’s party had ended, and Cecil had not sent a single word or come to visit since then.
If Penelope had captured his interest in any way, he would have made some sort of attempt to contact her. Apparently, their time together only meant something to her. And if that was the reality Penelope was meant to come to terms with, so be it.
“Yes,” she nodded. “That is what I need.”
Jane looked as though she was ready to argue with her for some reason, but her mouth snapped shut as a lady approached them.
“Excuse me,” she said politely as she drew closer to their table. “Lady Penelope?”
Penelope glanced at Jane and nodded, gently smiling at the woman whose face looked familiar for some reason.
“Yes? Can I help you?”
The woman looked flustered, and she began to stammer, wringing a handkerchief between her gloved fingers.
“N-Not exactly – I mean... I wanted to ask if – I beg your pardon, but are you truly Athena?”
Penelope blinked, looking at Jane again before her lips parted and she cautiously responded.
“Yes, I am.”
She did not know what to expect, but it certainly was not the sigh of relief she got from the woman.
“Oh, thank goodness! I am really sorry to have interrupted you and your friend, it is just – you might not remember me, but my name is Bridget Howell. You sent me a letter.”
It then dawned on Penelope that the woman’s face looked familiar. She was the first recipient of a letter from Athena, the very first person she had tried to save.
“Oh,” she breathed.
The lady smiled wider and continued eagerly,
“I am grateful every day that I did not marry that horrendous Baron. Thanks to your warning, I was able to end things swiftly and find another match. A love match, with the Viscount of Herstate. And he is much kinder and sweeter than that foul rake I had been betrothed to. I just... I wanted to extend my gratitude. You really did save my life.”
Once she was done, she nodded awkwardly and scurried away, leaving Penelope to stare off after her in awe. When she looked at Jane, her friend was wearing another proud expression on her face, this one brighter and warmer than the first.
“I told you that you helped those women. I hope you will now believe me when I assure you that you did nothing wrong.”
Penelope nodded, her insides feeling strangely warm and fuzzy.
“We have plans to buy new dresses, do we not? Perhaps we should visit the shops now, lest I burst into tears here and keep us at this table for even longer.” She said, rising to her feet.
Jane laughed and took her hand, leading them away from the cafe and down the street, towards the part of town where stores were located. They walked and talked, neither of them in a particular hurry or rushed for any reason, simply enjoying the pleasant weather and even better company.
“Oh, look at that,” Jane gasped suddenly, pointing at the window of a store, in front of which stood some mannequin wearing pastel dresses.
“That looks really pretty!” Penelope exclaimed, pointing at a dress next to the one Jane had her eyes on. “Let’s take a closer look.”
Jane nodded, and they stepped forward, towards the door, only to come to a halt a moment later when a voice called out,
“Lady Penelope, wait.”
She turned around, surprised to see Lord Lockwood approaching them. She had nearly forgotten about him, as she had not seen him since the night of the ball.
“Lord Lockwood, good afternoon,” she curtsied, and Jane followed suit.
“Good afternoon, ladies,” Matthias said, glancing at Jane momentarily. “My apologies, I did not notice you had company. Might I have a word with you, Lady Penelope? alone?”
Penelope looked at Jane, who nodded, whispering, “I can wait in the store.”
