Chapter 26

Two more days passed, and nothing changed. Penelope was becoming more and more worried, unable to shake the gnawing sense of unease that weighed upon her heart. As she was sitting in the drawing room that morning, endeavoring to focus on a book, a soft knock on the door interrupted her, pulling her out of the storm of her mind thoughts.

"Yes?" she called out.

The door opened, revealing her lady's maid. "I do beg your pardon for interrupting you, Your Grace, but this letter has just arrived for you. It is marked as urgent."

"Urgent?" Penelope lifted an inquisitive eyebrow. She wasn't expecting any urgent correspondence.

She got up and walked over to Charlotte, accepting the offered letter. She recognized the seal immediately. How could she not? After all, it belonged to her family. But… why would they be sending her a letter? Adeline had just visited her. What would be so urgent that they had to contact her so soon after her little sister's visit?

"Thank you, Lottie." She smiled at her lady's maid. "That will be all."

She listened to the sound of closing doors then she focused on the letter in her hand. Her fingers trembled slightly as she broke the seal and unfolded the delicate parchment within. As she read the words inscribed upon the page, her breath caught in her throat.

Dear Penelope,

I hope this letter finds you in good health and spirits. I write to you today with joyous news: your older sister has returned home after her travels abroad. Her arrival has brought a renewed sense of warmth and happiness to our household, and we are eager to celebrate her homecoming in grand fashion.

To mark this joyous occasion, we extend to you and your esteemed husband a most cordial invitation to join us for dinner at our estate. It would bring us great pleasure to welcome you both into our home and to share in the revelry of this special occasion.

Pray, let us know at your earliest convenience if you are able to honor us with your presence. We eagerly anticipate the opportunity to reunite with you and to partake in the merriment of the evening.

Until then, know that you are always in our thoughts and prayers, and that our hearts are filled with love for you both.

With warmest regards,

The Earl of Montgomery

Penelope couldn't believe what she had just read. Travels abroad? Celebrate her homecoming in grand fashion? Were they honestly pretending that Vanessa hadn't run away? And her father, signing his name with his title when writing to his daughter. What sort of a father did that?

Penelope angrily crumpled the letter, throwing it against a nearby wall. Why were her parents excited about any of this? And why on earth would they make a public spectacle of it? When she acted out, it was something far less dangerous and damning than what Vanessa had done — which was running away from an arranged marriage and then disappearing off God knows where for months, only to reappear out of nowhere. When Penelope did something far less risky, she was sent to a nunnery, as if she had transgressed against the Queen herself and needed to be adequately punished for it. But when Vanessa did the worst thing possible? She got to come back without any repercussions. Worst of all, her return was celebrated. Penelope's was not.

"Argh!" Penelope found herself unable to control her temper as she slammed her fist into a nearby pillow that rested on a chaise longue in an effort to push out all the anger that was consuming her entire body.

Only then did she realize that there was an audience for her burst of outrage.

"Oh," she said softly, looking at the pillow then at Grandfather who was standing in the doorway, obviously having witnessed the entire angry spectacle. "I didn't know anyone was here."

"Obviously, my dear," he acknowledged. "But I must say, that was a mighty good punch. Some gentlemen would even envy you on it."

She smiled back, unable to resist being amused by his comments as always. "Thank you."

"May I ask what is the cause of your ire?" he asked, entering the drawing room and gently closing the door behind him. He obviously wanted to show her that it was all right to speak to him, and that their conversation would not leave the confines of this chamber in which they found themselves. She appreciated this man more than he would ever know. His presence was a comfort for her, the likes of which she had never known before, not having a father who knew how to fulfill his fatherly duties.

"My sister… Vanessa," Penelope said with a heavy sigh. "She is back home."

"Ah." Grandfather seemed to remember, looking up at the ceiling for a moment, as if that might help his memory. "She returned from her… unexpected trip?"

She could barely prevent herself from chuckling loudly. "Yes, I suppose you could say that."

"Well, that is good news then, no?" he asked, waiting for her to reply.

"I suppose," she shrugged, trying to control her temper. She still had so much pent-up rage inside of her, and she wanted to punch all the pillows she could find. But that would require too much explanation.

"You suppose a lot, my dear," he pointed out, smiling amusedly, as if he knew much more than he was willing to let on. "Is her return making you so angry?"

"I… I'm not sure I should tell you this," she started, stopping herself at the last minute.

Then, she reconsidered it. She didn't owe Vanessa anything. She didn't owe her parents anything. She could say the truth to whomever she pleased, and they couldn't do anything about it. Not anymore, at least. She was married to the duke herself as her parents arranged. She couldn't understand the reason for this unexpected celebratory dinner. It simply made no sense. And that made Penelope fearful of that evening.

"Vanessa wasn't on any unexpected journey," Penelope explained, deciding that she would no longer hide the truth from the only two people who had ever seemed to care about her. "She ran away because she didn't want to go through with the arranged marriage."

Grandfather's words surprised her. "I had a feeling something like that happened."

"You did?" she gasped, not expecting that response.

"Well, yes," he nodded. "Don't tell me you think this was the first time a young lady tried to evade her fate by running away. Only, it never really works in their favor. Running away only creates more trouble as she herself will come to realize at some point."

"My father will try to keep it a secret, of course," she added with another heavy sigh.

"Of course," he nodded.

"But he wants James and me to come for a… celebratory dinner," she grumbled.

"Celebrating her return, I suppose?" Grandfather asked although the answer was clear.

"Yes," she confirmed. "Needless to say, that is the last thing I wish to do."

"You have to," he reminded her. "After all, they are family."

"I know, but…" she started, but she managed to stop herself in time not to reveal more than she thought would be appropriate. She didn't want to burden him with her own troubles. And she didn't want to make it appear as if she were saying bad things about her family.

"But sometimes your family can be your worst enemy?" Once again, Grandfather surprised her with his insight and wisdom, something she should have been expecting but wasn't.

She gasped silently, stifling it in her throat, not wanting to reveal how surprised she was. "Well… not enemies," she tried to soften the truth. "But I do wish that sometimes, they treated me a little better."

He smiled, walking over to her and pressing his hand to her shoulder in a tender, reassuring manner. "You are a lovely young woman, Penelope. If they cannot see that, then I feel sorry for them."

She swallowed heavily, feeling an unexpected onslaught of tears which she tried to keep at bay. She blinked heavily several times before speaking. "Thank you for those words, Grandfather."

"You are very welcome, my child," he replied. "I am here for you if you need me."

His words stirred her. She suddenly wondered if he could help her do something special for James. She looked up at him, the words lingering on the tip of her tongue.

"Grandfather," she started softly, "there is something you could help me with. It is about James."

"James?" He smiled benevolently as a loving father smiled to his daughter. "Of course, my dear. What is it?"

"Well," she said, searching for the right words. "I've been trying to come up with a way to surprise him. I know of his love for watch mending, so I was thinking perhaps you could help me find a watch I could gift to James, an old watch that doesn't work, something he could work on and bring it to perfection."

He smiled, pondering. "I know exactly the right place. We could go together this afternoon if you'd like."

Her eyes widened in surprise and delight. "That would be lovely."

"We will find the perfect thing. Trust me," he said with a mischievous smile. "As for that dinner with your family, write them a letter letting them know that you will be glad to attend… with your husband."

"Yes," she chuckled.

"You know, I've learned one very important thing in all the years I've spent on this earth," he said musingly. "And that is that fate has a way of making things happen exactly as they were supposed to happen. Your sister left because she was supposed to leave. You were supposed to marry my grandson. That is how fate had arranged it. Now she is back, but things will remain as they are, have no fear of that, my dear."

Upon hearing those words, Penelope realized that she had been secretly afraid that Vanessa would try and find a way to ruin her happiness now. It would not be the first time that her sister's jealousy affected Penelope's life. However, Penelope knew that she wouldn't allow any such thing to happen.

"I know, Grandfather," Penelope agreed. "I just forget that sometimes."

"I will be glad to remind you of that whenever you need it," he said softly.

Penelope was more than grateful for that. Relieved, she could now focus on finding the perfect gift for her husband.