Chapter Text
“I would much rather be back in that bed in Gloucestershire”, Colin thought as soon as he stepped foot into the ballroom, his wife on his arm looking up at him shyly, catching his eye and blushing. He was fairly certain she’d thought the same thing.
They’d been back from Gloucestershire for four days and Colin already wished they could go back. After one absolutely blissful week in that inn where they did nothing but eat, sleep, read and enjoy each other’s company in as many different ways as they could imagine, he had found it hard to readjust to life in the spotlight of the ton.
But his mother had requested their presence and Colin, having grown up in her household, knew that his mother always got what she wanted. “And from time to time that’s not a bad thing at all”, he thought, smiling at Penelope. After all Violet had wanted him to marry her all along. If he'd only listened to her sooner.
What’s more, his mother-in-law, Portia Featherington, had specifically requested their presence at this ball, just outside of London on the estate of the Duke of Essex, hoping the reminder of her family’s connection to the Bridgertons and Penelope being Lady Whistledown would help finally convince Mr. Albansdale to propose to Felicity. And while Colin had decidedly made it his life’s mission to avoid his mother-in-law whenever possible, he could not possibly deny his sister-in-law Felicity who had proven to be incredibly supportive of his wife (even if the fact she was Hyacinth’s best friend still made him suspicious).
And so there they were. It was their second ball after his grand gesture had revealed Penelope’s brilliant accomplishments as Lady Whistledown to the ton and he hoped that the secretive glances and hushed whispers would die down considerably. He’d spent the majority of their first ball two days ago dancing with his wife (four times - something Lady Whistledown herself would have surely commented on as being improper) in order to distract her from callous gossip.
But Penelope had, like so often before, surprised him (something he hoped would never stop) and had not put too much thought into the few hostile comments she’d heard. She’d stepped into that ballroom proudly and he’d beamed the whole evening, honoured and delighted that he had gotten so lucky as to be the man that got to stand next to her.
So here they were now, at their second ball, letting their gazes sweep across the ballroom on the lookout for any faces they would not mind conversing with.
“I can see Felicity over there”, Penelope said, then clamped a hand over her mouth while a little snort escaped her nose. Colin found this to be absolutely adorable and had a hard time restraining himself from leaning down to kiss her senseless when he said, “Why are you laughing?”
“She’s wearing orange”, Penelope explained. Upon Colin’s questioning glance she added, “It’s a happy colour. Like yellow.” Then, with a flourish of her hand she explained, “Happy colours attract husbands.”
“Well, I am glad she’s not wearing yellow”, he says. “Or I might have had to rethink that whole marrying-Felicity-scheme your mother had originally planned.” Penelope looked up at him, one eyebrow raised and he laughed, then leaned down to whisper in her ear, “I do love a woman in yellow.”
She raised he hand, ready to hit his arm when he moved out of the way deftly, years of training with sisters and brothers having taught him how to evade a punch, and he walked away towards the table loaded with food, a grin on his face. He did, however, look back over his shoulder at her once and wink while saying, "I said a woman!".
It was that boyish charm that still made Penelope’s knees weak. They had not been married long but Colin being as smart and perceptive as he was, had soon found the best ways to get her to do exactly as he wished. Sometimes, like today, all it took was a wink and she’d forget the reason she’d been slightly miffed in the first place. Other days it took a nibble right under her ear or, and Penelope blushed slightly just thinking about this afternoon, a sweet kiss to the inside of her thigh and she’d be absolutely incoherent.
Penelope being Penelope, however, had picked up on a few things as well, most importantly that whenever she licked her lips, her husband would lose his train of thought which she thought to be most adorable indeed. Then there was also the fact that when she touched his…
“Penelope, how nice to see you”, Felicity drawled as she came closer. “Did I interrupt a thought?”, she asked, smiling evilly when she saw her sister redden.
“Not at all”, Penelope stuttered but pulled herself together fairly quickly. “How has mother convinced you to wear this dress and why haven’t you come and asked your dear sister for help”, Penelope asked and the two women linked arms while walking towards the refreshments table.
“This is our second dance already”, Penelope mentioned as she found herself back in Colin’s arms later that night. “I believe that should this habit of yours continue, I might have to take out my pen one last time to report on this scandal.”
Colin looked down as the waltz started, saw her sweet smile as she said this and could feel his heart skip a beat. They’d really come a long way.
It wasn't too long ago that the mere mention of Lady Whistledown had made his blood run cold. He had admitted to her that part of the reason why he hadn't been able to shake his anger had been jealousy. But another part, a smaller one but nonetheless one that had cost him a few nights of sleep, had been worry for her safety. And thinking about it now, about someone, anyone wanting to hurt her, made a lump rise in his throat.
Her life as Lady Whistledown had entertained the ton for years and many of her peers had applauded her for her wit but she'd also spent years insulting some of them and Colin knew that they would not be able to let go of that anger easily, now that they had someone to direct it onto. So while at the time he'd actually been glad to reveal her secret to the public, if only to prove to her how much he truly loved her, there had been the part of him ever since that had worried incessantly ever since.
He did not, however, want to worry her unnecessarily so, just because he wanted to, he looked around quickly to see if anyone was staring at them, then leaned down and dropped a quick kiss on her nose.
“I do have a few years of dancing to make up for”, he simply said and the next few minutes a few of the guests found themselves commenting on Mr. and Mrs. Bridgerton's lovesick grins.
The second the musicians had played the last string, however, Colin felt a hand grab his shoulder and drag him away from his wife. He would have been alarmed, had the mysterious hand not belonged to his sister-in-law Kate who whispered between clenched teeth, “Incredibly sorry, Pen, but I do need to borrow your husband.”
“What did he do now?”, Colin only asked, having spent enough years in the presence of his brother and his wife to know that only Anthony could rile Kate up this tightly. Oh, and how tightly it was. He was fairly certain he’d bruise from the way she was gripping him.
“He’s overheard a clearly inebriated Mr. Lawrence discuss his reasons for planning to propose to Hyacinth soon and well, they’re not noble”, she said and the closer they got, the easier it was for Colin to see what the problem was. “You have to ensure he will not duel him. I mean it, Colin.”
Penelope watched Kate drag her husband away into the opposite corner of the room, marvelling once more at her sister-in-law’s strength. She’d always liked Kate Bridgerton but ever since joining the family, they’d deepened their friendship considerably and Penelope could not help but admire her friend. She was not only raising three children (two of which were born hell raisers if Penelope were completely honest) but also regularly kept her overzealous husband in line (she’d gotten some tips on how to get her way with Colin from Kate after all) all the while being a truly magnificent viscountess.
As Anthony and Kate were at the ball without the children and Penelope didn’t think that she’d require Colin’s presence when it concerned polite conversation, she guessed that there was something going on with the viscount. And she’d rather let her husband handle that.
So, because she was feeling a bit flushed after the dance, Penelope decided to step outside and take a quick walk through the gardens to catch some air and enjoy a few minutes of peace and quiet with no one staring at her.
It was a warm summer evening and she enjoyed the sound of the crickets, accompanied by the faint sound of the orchestra in the background as she walked down a little path that led further into the garden.
She couldn't help but smile when thinking about how sweet Colin had been these last few weeks. They'd spent the most blissful impromptu honeymoon in the little inn in Gloucestershire, the one they'd stayed in for Eloise's wedding. And truly, it had been magnificent. They'd not done much except for sleep and read and talk for hours on end. Talk about their pasts and their wishes for the future. Talk about their families and the family they hoped to build together.
And Penelope had fallen even deeper in love with Colin. There had been times during her betrothal to Colin that she'd realised that he wasn't really the man she'd fancied as a young child. That she'd had this idea of who he was in her head. An idea that had been a mixture of the self he'd shown the ton and her fantasies.
But the more she got to know him - the more he told her about his love for his family, his fear of not being enough for her and his family, his, at times, frustration at being considered the charming and funny one, his grief at having his father taken from him at such a young age - the more she'd fallen in love with him. The real him.
Penelope found herself lost in thought as she walked, the sound of the ball slowly fading away the farther she got. By the time she noticed that she couldn’t hear the music anymore, she looked around confusedly. How had she managed to walk this far? She felt a bit uneasy as she realised that it had gotten quite dark and she'd long lost the path she had been walking on.