Chapter Text
Colin Bridgerton was in love.
In love…with Penelope Featherington.
LOVE!
He was sitting on a magnificent sandy beach in Cyprus, looking out over the clear blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea when it struck him that the color was the exact same shade as her eyes. Just as the sea, her eyes were warm, inviting and such a calming color they invited you to revel in the depths. And he had. Many times. He just hadn’t realized that was what he was doing when he stared into them so.
Colin had come to this shocking realization at the most inopportune time as he was so very far away from her to share his newfound knowledge; he had departed for his travels only six weeks ago.
Penelope had taken up residence in his thoughts during the days and inhabited his fantasies at night. He heard her honeyed voice in a breeze, saw her ivory skin in the sands, saw her eye-catching hair in each sunset. A walk about the village had him convinced, ridiculous at it may be, that he had caught sight of her when one was of a certain stature or fair coloring. At night he would wake from delicious dreams, drenched in perspiration, his body uncomfortably rock hard with wicked images of her still dancing through his mind.
Colin was either slowly losing his mind, or his brain and his heart had finally aligned and were screaming at him that he was in love. He had determined it was the latter.
He hadn’t known he was in love with her when he left London all those weeks ago or he would never have gone, but now that he knew the urge to return home was strong and he wondered how quickly he could get his passage set up. He was due to travel for many more months to come and had many more countries on his itinerary, but this was a revelation that couldn’t wait.
Hell, he’d only been in Cyprus itself for a fortnight. The journey on the ship with its many ports of call had eaten up the other four weeks of travel time but Colin couldn’t wait an undue moment to share with her and propose.
This wasn’t information to send in a letter…was it? He mentally began composing a missive.
Dear Miss Penelope Featherington,
I have come to realize that I am in love with you. I would humbly request that you do me the honor of becoming my wife.
He laughed at the formality.
Dear Penelope,
I love you. Let’s marry immediately.
Too straight forward.
My darling, sweetest Pen,
The skies here are burning as I burn for you. The swelling of the sea is nothing compared to the swell of my heart when I think of you. The smooth white sand is your skin, the blossoming bougainvillea your lips, and each sunrise and sunset your hair.
Waxing poetic was not him.
My Pen,
You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you. I do not wish to be parted from you from this day forward. I am yours always.
That sounded familiar…had he poached that?
No. A letter simply would not do. This was an in-person declaration. He had known her for much of his life and there was already so much time that had been wasted. After they married perhaps, they could pick up his travels together and make them their travels…assuming she would accept his hand.
He often thought of her while on his journeys and how much she would enjoy a site along with him. He could travel to places he’d already been and share his most beloved spots with her; she read so much about the places and could enjoy being present to see for herself their splendors. She would adore it.
He continued to contemplate this new discovery, thinking back to the end of last season, he’d been asked by a group of gentlemen if he was courting Penelope Featherington and he had replied he was not, however, maybe he had just been too stupid to realize that was exactly what he had been doing for months. Maybe others saw what he himself could not.
He had protected the Featherington’s from their duplicitous cousin’s schemes. He had told her that she was special to him, and he had promised to always look after her. If those weren’t the actions of a man in love, he didn’t know what was.
It wasn’t just that last ball though, in retrospect all their shared moments, their dances, their laughs, their confidences, their shared glances where they could converse without saying a word were entirely telling of his heart. He sought her out in the market shops, ballrooms and parks; he even sought her out at his own home, she was there calling on Eloise or having tea with his mother and sisters so often.
He loved that she passionately loved his family as much as he did, and they loved her in return.
Outside of his family, Penolope’s was the only other opinion that mattered to him, and if he was honest with himself, he valued her opinion over everyone’s.
She was witty, interesting, insightful, funny, sweet, smart and beautiful…and she had absolutely no idea she was all those things.
Colin didn’t know when it happened, it had come on so gradually he could hardly hazard a guess, but he knew one universal truth now and that was that he was completely in love with Penelope Featherington; he likely had been for much longer than he could even fathom. He had been quite half-witted indeed to travel so far only to be told by nature of his feelings. He must return as soon as possible to tell her.
He brushed his feet off to pull his boots back on and stood from the sand as he dusted his bottom before making his way back through the village. The light breeze ruffled his chestnut hair and billowed his crisp white shirt as the wind cooled the heated flesh of his chest.
He adored Cyprus’s more relaxed atmosphere; waistcoats and cravats simply were not practical here with their heat and humidity. He wondered what type of dresses Penelope would wear in a climate such as this and pictured her auburn curls blowing in the gusts of wind as they walked hand in hand through the village. Colin warmed from the inside at that thought and smiled.
On the way back to his lodgings a street vendor caught his attention, he normally was quite practiced at respectfully shrugging them off, but today’s saleswoman was very advanced in age, incredibly stooped and looked to be in pain as she tried to sell her wares. This was someone’s mother and grandmother out trying to make a living, regardless of her own health and his heart softened.
“Gems for your lady, sir?” she rasped in broken English, her voice dry from the heat of the day.
He looked at her kindly and excused himself to a few vendors over to purchase water before returning to her and handing over the cup. She looked at him with grateful surprise and drank quickly.
Colin looked around her stand and had decided to purchase earrings for his sisters and mother, picking up varying shades of stones. Purple amethyst for his mother, deep blue sapphire for Hyacinth, ruby red for Francesca, an iridescent opal for Eloise, and a beautiful clear diamond for Daphne. If he was to return home, he’d need his gifts now. He was making his way over to pay when an unusual blue stone caught his eye.
“What a stunning color. I’ve never seen anything like it.” Colin said as he picked up the necklace.
“They are aquamarines. Discovered in mines and imported from lands very far away.” The woman said. “They look like the sea here, do they not?”
“Indeed.” He replied in full agreement.
The necklace was on a delicate silver chain with five of the light blue stones spaced evenly and he immediately thought of Pen. These stones were the precise shade of her eyes, and he was immediately resolved to have it.
“Are there earrings that match?”
“Aye. What lucky ladies you have in your life sir.” She replied congenially.
“It is the entirety of my family, and it is I who is the lucky one, as they remind me often, but I am a smart enough man to know when they are correct. Good day, please take care.” He said, leaving her some extra bills and walking away from the stand considerably lighter in the pocket than when he started his morning.
So soon into his journey he hadn’t really thought about presents for his family yet but if he was returning to Mayfair, he would need to find something for his brothers as well before heading back. He could not simply show up with gifts for his sisters and have nothing for the other half of his family. As he had told the vendor, he was a blessed man to have such a strong, loving family and he was aware of that fact.
Anthony and Benedict were easy to please, bring them an exotic spirit and they were happy but Gregory was still quite young so his gift would take time to find.
Being the youngest brother with so many years between Gregory and the three eldest Bridgertons could leave one feeling very disconnected from the masculine side of the family, so Colin always tried to take special care and include him. He wasn’t so old himself that he could not remember wistfully watching Anthony and Benedict together, desperately desiring them to incorporate him somehow.
Colin continued to wander the market and decided on a chessboard cut from sea glass and seashells for Gregory, happy to have his shopping done so he could begin making his homecoming plans.
There was a ship leaving in five days and he found a roundabout route to return to England and booked immediately. He would have to make many stops and change ships, but he could be home in a little over a month and then his future could begin to take shape. His future with Penelope.
Five weeks, three ships and six country’s ports later he was back upon the soil of his homeland, and he wasted no time hiring hacks to carry him forth until his own carriage could meet him at a reasonable travel distance but instead of ordering the carriage to Bridgerton House, he went directly to Penelope.
When Colin pulled up to Featherington House in the late afternoon it was past polite calling hours, but he knew Penelope would not mind; she was always delighted to see him. He alighted then turned to pull his bouquet of wildflowers from the seat before bounding up the stairs; she adored wildflowers and he had passed an enchanting field on his way, so he had stopped his driver in order to gather an offering for her.
Briarly, the Featherington butler, looked surprised to see him but showed Colin to the drawing room where he waited excitedly. He needlessly ran a hand through his hair, straightened his cravat and tugged on his jacket. This was it! His future was starting now.
It was hard to hide his disappointment when, instead of Penelope entering, Lady Featherington received him. Ugh.
“Mr. Bridgerton, to what do we owe the pleasure?” Lady Featherington asked as a greeting.
“Good day, Lady Featherington. I’ve returned from abroad. I’m happy that your family remains in town for the off season and I’m here to call on Miss Penelope Featherington.” Colin said with a smile, knowing if he didn’t specify, he’d willfully be misunderstood and be sent her unmarried older sister instead.
“Penelope?” Lady Featherington replied with confusion.
Colin restrained his irritation and affirmed her question. Lady Featherington continuously relegated her third born to the lowest possible consideration and he would not continue to stand for it once they were wed but decided now was not the time.
“Mr. Bridgerton, Penelope is not here. She is at Aubrey Hall with your sister. Did you not know? I thought your family was so close.” Lady Featherington said with a sneer.
Defeat flooded him that he would not see Penelope today, he’d been looking forward to receiving one of her genuine smiles. He ignored the rude tone and replied, “I have been away the past few months and had not received that information. Thank you, Lady Featherington.”
“Since you are here perhaps you would like to visit with Prudence? She does so love the company and enjoys fresh bouquets far more than Penelope does.”
As much as he loved Penelope the rest of her family was entirely ridiculous. Colin would rather do anything than visit with Prudence or stay in Lady Featherington’s presence any longer than strictly necessary. He could not wait to remove Penelope from their oppressive bosom.
“Thank you again but I’ll be off. Apologies for the interruption. Good day, Lady Featherington.” He replied with a bow as he backed out of the room with the butler anticipating him.
He instructed the carriage to return to Bridgerton House and he simply crossed the street; handing off the bouquet to a young girl walking with her mama before he let himself into the grand foyer.
No one was home to greet him, his own footsteps echoed throughout the entry. It seemed his entire family was at Aubrey Hall. Never had he been in Bridgerton House with it so quiet, naught but two maids, a cook and his just returned footman about. No sibling squabbles, no mother fussing, no brotherly heckling, no raucous laughter. Simply silence.
He didn’t care for it. He hadn’t realized how much he thrived on their continuous chaos.
He arranged for the carriage to start the journey to Aubrey Hall tomorrow morning, requested the maids to prepare a bath for him and for dinner to be brought to his room this evening. He couldn’t imagine eating at the large family dining table alone.
He’d already waited five weeks to see Penelope. He could wait another two days as he persuaded himself patience.