She had dreams about him, about his hands running over her body, his kisses that melted her thoughts, and his dark gaze sometimes. Other times, she dreamt of their arguments, their conversations, little simple moments that seemed as though they meant nothing at the time.
And she woke up more heartbroken each morning.
It had been quite the task, trying not to look too sad before Lionel, but Penelope was managing to pull through somehow. She was quite thankful to receive an invitation from Nora for tea, glad that she could get some more company to distract her, at least for a bit.
“You needn’t worry brother. As you wish, I shall venture off and away from the property for some time. Do try not to miss me too much.” Penelope advised sagely, turning her nose up in the air.
“I shall count the seconds until you return,” Lionel nodded in the same tone, pressing a hand to his chest with a mock sad expression.
Penelope laughed, stepping around his desk to kiss him on the cheek, patting his shoulder gently.
“Take a break soon, all right? Mr. Potter’s handwriting will not begin to make more sense if you stare at it longer,” she advised, glancing at the papers on his desk.
“How he has managed to conduct any sort of business baffles me. It looks like he handed a chicken his pen and pleaded with it to be his secretary.” Lionel sighed, casting a forlorn look at a few pages scattered across his desk.
“Perhaps you can advise him to let go of the chicken and hire someone else during your next meeting,” Penelope proposed, standing straighter. “I must leave now. I will see you when I return.”
Lionel grunted, holding her hand in his and squeezing fondly before she slipped away.
“Extend my regards to the duchess and Miss Jane,” he called after her, casting a helpless glance at the papers on his desk.
Penelope returned to her room to fetch her cloak first, then finally, she went outside to the waiting carriage.
She was excited to see Nora, because it had been about three weeks since the party ended, and she had not seen her friend since then. And a part of her was nervous about being on the grounds where she had made memories with a man she was trying to forget.
“Not today,” she scolded herself softly. “Today I will think of anything else, anyone else besides him.”
It was easier said than done, but Penelope was prepared to do whatever was necessary to keep Cecil out of her mind. By the time her carriage arrived at the Ironwell estate, her spirits were high once more.
A footman helped her disembark, and the butler led her into the house, hallways looking slightly different now that there were fewer people milling about.
“Her Grace believed it would be nice to have some tea indoors instead, because she wished for her guests to be as comfortable as possible today,” the butler said with a kind smile as he led her to a drawing room.
“She is always so thoughtful,” Penelope returned the smile as they came to a stop in front of the drawing room, and he urged her to enter. “Thank you.”
She turned the handle, opened the door, and walked in cheerily, a greeting on her tongue. But it melted away when she quickly realized that the person seated on the settee was not Nora but her older brother.
“What are you doing here?” Penelope couldn’t help but ask, her voice angrier than she intended for it to be as she stared down at the duke.
“What an odd question,” Cecil scoffed, glancing around as though he could not believe she was speaking to him. “I think you’ll find that if anyone is out of place in my sister’s home, it is you.”
Penelope clenched her fists by her side, irritation welling up within her as she said,
“You would do well not to disrespect me, Your Grace. I do not know if you are aware — although everyone in thetonis now — but my secret identity has been exposed. You have nothing to hold against me anymore.”
Cecil’s face took on a look of surprise, and he sat up straighter.
“They know? Thetonknows? How?”
Penelope scoffed and turned away. “Do not act as though you care. I know you are merely disgruntled because you have no way of making me comply to you wishes anymore — not that I would.”
The surprise melted away, leaving behind an expression that looked utterly foreign on him, one she couldn’t decipher no matter how hard she tried.
“Is that what you think? That I do not care for you?” He questioned quietly as he rose to his feet.
“Why should I believe otherwise? You have not given me a reason not to. In any case, it is inappropriate for us to be alone together, Your Grace. If you’ll excuse me, I would like to go and find the duchess —”
“Don’t be ridiculous. We have been alone many times previously and those were not — “
