Chapter 14

The following day found Penelope walking past the open door of the parlor right after breakfast when she suddenly heard a strange voice address her.

"Ah, you must be the lady of the house!"

Intrigued, Penelope paused mid-step, her curiosity piqued. Who would be addressing her in such a manner in her own home? With a gentle smile, she turned around and stepped into the parlor, her gaze meeting the warm, welcoming eyes of a young man.

"Indeed, I am," she replied, with a polite nod in greeting. "And who might you be?"

He chuckled at her question as he bowed deeply before her. "I take it that James hasn't informed you of our meeting. I am just waiting for him to come down."

"Oh," she nodded. "Well, ladies are usually not interested in business meetings."

"True," he grinned. "But pardon my manners, my dear lady. I am Felix Higginbottom, the Earl of Brindley, at your service." Once again, he bowed even more deeply before her.

"My lord, it is a pleasure," she greeted politely.

"Oh, no lord, just Felix please," he shook his head. "I feel like my father is in the room with us."

She chuckled at his words, feeling that their relationships with their fathers held some similarities.

"Have you been offered some tea, Felix?" she inquired.

"Not yet," he revealed. "I have only just arrived, and your butler told me that James will be down shortly."

Penelope thought about it and reached the conclusion that this was the time of James' morning exercise routine, so it might be a while before he joined Felix. Wanting to make a good impression on her husband, she decided that she would play the role of a generous hostess and keep his friend company until his arrival.

"I shall ring for some tea then," she said heading towards the bell.

"Only if it is no trouble," he replied, appreciating her gesture.

"No trouble at all," she assured him, ringing the bell and then instructing the servant girl, who appeared a minute later, to bring them some refreshments.

"I must say," Felix acknowledged as they were left alone, albeit with the parlor door open for propriety's sake, "I am delighted to finally make your acquaintance. I wish to be able to say that James has told me much about you, but I'm afraid it is exactly the opposite. James has told me nothing, and I can see why."

"You can?" she wondered, her brows furrowing in confusion.

"Why of course," he grinned. "If I had a wife as lovely and kind as you, I would also try to keep her a secret from the snakes of the ton."

"Oh," she chuckled. "It can't be that bad."

"Trust me," he nodded, his lips tightening into a thin line on his face. "It is worse than you can imagine."

"I have been away from London for the past five years," she found herself admitting. "Have things gotten that bad?"

"I assure you, my dear lady," he said with that same grin. "If you were my wife, I would stay home all the time and never leave." He chuckled at his own words.

She found herself on the receiving end of the man's compliments and flirtatious banter, but something told her that he was dangerously close to crossing the line of propriety. His words were charming, his demeanor affable, but beneath her polite fa?ade, she couldn't shake a growing sense of discomfort.

"You truly are a vision," the man remarked with a playful twinkle in his eye, his smile warm and inviting, only it was an invitation she didn't want to accept.

Penelope offered a polite smile in response. "Thank you," she replied softly, her tone tinged with unease.

She was starting to regret offering to be the hostess and silently prayed for James to join them swiftly. However, it seemed that Felix found all that perfectly normal. Penelope wondered if those five years at the nunnery made her forget about basic social proprieties. After all, it was normal for gentlemen to compliment young ladies, whether or not they were married. Most of the time, it meant nothing. It was just a social requirement, nothing else. But was this that? Was Felix being polite, or was he crossing the line?

At that moment, the tea arrived, and she smiled, thanking the servant girl, deciding to give Felix the benefit of the doubt.

"I'm sure that my husband will be right with us," she said, purposefully using the term my husband instead of James' name.

"To be quite honest, I would not mind if he were a bit late," Felix said, leaning to take his cup of tea, but at that moment, James appeared in the doorway.

"I do apologize for ruining what appears to be your good time, Felix," James said, not sounding a bit pleased with what he was seeing.

Surprised, Penelope jumped up from her seat, almost as if she were caught doing something she was not supposed to.

"James," she greeted, "we were just waiting for you."

"Some more than others," James frowned, walking over to Felix.

"Oh, you don't mind a bit of fun and banter, do you, old boy?" Felix asked with a chuckle, offering James his hand.

But Penelope could see from the look on his face that James was in no mood for fun and banter. He refused to acknowledge Felix's outstretched hand and only stared at him dead in the eyes.

"There is fun and banter, old boy, and then there is blatant disrespect and flirting with someone's wife," James snarled angrily.

Penelope was shocked. She had never seen him like that. She never even knew that there was such a fire inside of him as James had always been calm and composed. But she had forgotten that it was those who were calm and composed who carried the entire storm inside their minds and hearts.

"James, I assure you that we haven't crossed any lines," she tried to explain. "Felix was merely being polite." Although she herself could sense it was more than that, but the last thing she wanted was for a fight to break out because of a simple compliment.

"A little overly so," James told her. "It is for a lady to accept a compliment with grace, but it is for a gentleman to know where to draw the line of those compliments, and you, Felix, have crossed it. Penelope is my wife, and I will not stand a man flirting with her in my own home."

"James, you don't really mean?—"

"Leave." James' order was said in one single, hissed breath. "While your nose is still in one piece."

"James, please…" Penelope pleaded, but Felix understood that there was no discussing anything with James.

"I am truly sorry if I have offended you, Your Grace," Felix bowed deeply. "It was not my intention although I do admit, I have perhaps overdone things with the compliments." He turned to James. "You are a fortunate man, Your Grace. Truly."

With those words, he left the parlor, leaving Penelope and James alone. She locked eyes with him, her lips pouting, her nostrils flaring at him.

"James, how can you throw someone out of your house like that?"

* * *

James could barely think straight. He heard everything Felix had told her. His compliments should have ended after the first one. And the last one… it made him see red. It took all of his conscious effort not to plant Felix a facer and send him reeling out of the parlor window, right into the rose bushes. That would have taught him a good lesson.

He knew that his expression was dark with anger, but he couldn't control himself. Without a word, he crossed the distance between them in a few swift strides, his eyes blazing with intensity as he pulled her into his arms.

"I will throw out anyone who flirts with you like that," he growled, his voice low and filled with simmering fury.

He could see the sudden surge of apprehension at the fire in his eyes, but she still held his gaze steadily, her voice unwavering. "I… I would never have accepted anyone's advances, James," she insisted, her tone firm but gentle.

James' grip tightened around her, his jaw clenched in frustration. "It's not your fault, Penelope," he said fiercely, his words filled with passion. "You're innocent, and sweet. It is the world that is twisted and broken."

He could see pain in those beautiful eyes, and that was when he knew that he would do anything to keep that pain at bay, to keep her safe and sound from all the hardships in the world.

"You belong to me, Penelope," he whispered as he leaned his forehead against hers. "Now and forever. No one will take you away from me. No one."

He yearned to kiss her, but not only that — he wanted to lift her into his arms and take her up to his bed chamber, refusing to leave it for days. His body yearned for her in ways he had never yearned for a woman before. She awakened all sorts of sensations and emotions inside of him, emotions he thought were forgotten a long time ago.

He gazed deeply into her eyes, and he knew that their bond was being forged without them even knowing. She was like a flame in the darkness, burning bright, leading him toward a future he never even thought would be possible for him. But here he was with her in his arms as she trembled like a frightened little bird.

He wanted to tell her so many things. That she was his was only the tip of the iceberg. He wanted to keep her in his arms forever, shelter her from all the storms of life. But a knock on the door interrupted them. Still, he refused to let her go. This was his house, and he would hold his wife in his arms if he wanted to.

"Yes?" he called out, not taking his eyes off of her. Much to his delight, she refused to look away as well.

The door opened, revealing Collingsworth. "I apologize, Your Grace, but you said to inform you when the morning mail arrived."

"Yes, thank you, Collingsworth," James said, and the wise old butler knew when he was not needed any longer.

He silently closed the door behind him as James still held Penelope's gaze.

"Are we to stay like this for the rest of the day?" she teased, her hands pressed against his chest. He could imagine that his heart was beating like mad. And he didn't care. He wanted her to know the effect she had on him.

"I wouldn't mind it one bit," he grinned mischievously.

"But who will read your morning mail?" she asked playfully, her lips smiling, revealing a row of pearly whites.

"Who cares?" he almost burst into a chuckle.

One more moment and neither of them could resist. They laughed at the same time, her laughter a melody he wanted to listen to for the rest of his life. Finally, when the onslaught of laughter subsided, he released her from his arms, albeit reluctantly.

"Oh, speaking of things I do not much care for, there is a ball we need to attend," he informed her. He could immediately see that she liked the idea as much as he did, which was not a lot. "Lord and Lady Ravenscroft."

"Oh, a ball," she frowned. "I… I can't remember the last time I attended one. Can't we extend our apologies for not being able to attend?"

"You are reading my mind," he chuckled. "But not this time. Lord and Lady Ravenscroft are Grandfather's old friends. They would take offense if we didn't appear as the Duke and Duchess of Huntington before the entire ton at their ball."

"Ugh," she said, biting her lower lip as she did so. "I'm sorry," she added.

"It doesn't matter," he replied. "I share your lack of enthusiasm, but unfortunately, it is one of those rare occasions we have to attend."

"All right, but may we feign a headache at some point in the evening and excuse ourselves?" she asked mischievously.

He liked her thinking. "I am counting on it, my dear."

She laughed again. He couldn't stop staring at her, drinking in the sight of her. "No matter how much I'd like to stay here with you, I do have to tend to that correspondence."

"Of course," she nodded, pondering for a moment. "I think I shall go and see what your grandfather is doing. Perhaps he would like to join me for a stroll in the garden."

Something tugged at his very heartstrings. She wasn't only kind to him but also to his grandfather. How on earth had he been so fortunate to find her out of all the ladies in Society?

"I think he would like that very much," he assured her.

He took her by the hand and brought it to her lips. "If you need me, I'll be in my study."

She nodded then he turned around and left. His study was the last place where he wanted to be, away from her. His fears of having made a mistake by marrying a complete stranger were slowly dissipating, giving way to hope for a brighter, happier future.