Chapter Seventeen

Violet and Nicolette were in the sitting room, chatting amiably.

"May I join you?" Penelope asked from the doorway.

She was invited to do so and took a seat among them. Not one of the Gents was present. "Do you worry that the Gents are up to mischief when they are nowhere to be found?"

"I don't worry ," Violet said. "I assume ."

"They have not yet realized that they ought to make the same assumption about their ladies," Nicolette added.

Penelope very much liked the idea of a group of ladies who enjoyed a bit of mischief. "Does Lady Jonquil join you in these bouts of devilment?"

"She instigates most of them," Violet said.

"Oh, I would so very much like to meet her." Penelope understood why the newly delivered mother could not make the journey, but she grieved the missed opportunity to make the acquaintance of a lady she suspected she would thoroughly like.

"You will be pleased to know," Nicolette said, "that Our Julia without question knows all the counties of Ireland and could recite them in alphabetical order."

"Does she have connections to Ireland?"

Nicolette shrugged. "What she has is a deep and abiding love of learning and a mind that can recall most everything it has ever been presented with."

"She's very intelligent, is she?" Penelope didn't know whether to be impressed or intimidated. Likely both.

"I would wager she is a genius." Violet didn't seem cowed by her friend's astonishing intelligence. "Julia is also delightfully fun and personable. You would adore her instantly."

"I suspect she would find me rather too thick for her to endure." Penelope raised a sardonic eyebrow. "I've done nothing but make a mull of things ever since arriving."

"I wouldn't say that," Violet reassured her. "Julia would applaud your decision to sniff out your absentee, would-be fiancé rather than simply shrug and accept the implied rejection."

"The rejection was not merely implied. " Penelope's pride had been hurt by the initial rejection. It was her heart that ached most now.

"And what do you think of our Niles now that you know him a little better?" Violet didn't pose the question in casual tones.

"I suspect he likes horses as much as I do. He is interesting to talk with. And he's kind and patient." She truly was beginning to fall in love with him. "He is wonderful."

He was undeniably wonderful, and she was quite suddenly running out of time. Liam had said they would remain for only two more days. The truce she had negotiated with Niles was a way of beginning again, but starting over when her time was so short seemed rather hopeless.

"How does Niles seem to feel about you?" Nicolette asked.

Her heart dropped a little.

Before Penelope could explain about her impending departure, the sound of men's voices bursting into laughter at a distance down the corridor pulled all their attention to the doorway. A moment later, the Gents strolled into the room, grins on every face, mischief in every pair of eyes.

"We are off to Hamblestead, ladies," Lord Jonquil declared. "I am afraid your time will be absolutely empty without us. Consider yourselves warned."

"I suspect we will survive." Nicolette waved off the pretended concern with a graceful swipe of her hand.

Mr. Fortier crossed to his wife and took her hand, raising it to his lips. "I will bring you back a sweet, ma chérie ."

"Bring back yourself, and I will be entirely pleased."

They continued their conversation in French.

Mr. Barrington pulled Violet into an embrace. "I would offer to bring you sweets, Lily, but I don't know that it is the best bribe."

"Why do you need to offer a bribe?" Violet asked. "Are you planning to do something you will get in trouble for?"

"She sorted you quickly," Niles said, laughing.

He had a very nice laugh. And his eyes lit up when he did it, a sight Penelope enjoyed immensely. Indeed, she couldn't look away from the light in his expression.

Lord Jonquil set an arm around Mr. Layton's shoulders. "I'm afraid there'll be no tender farewells for you, my friend. You'll have to content yourself with the Gents' assurance that we think you're quite a catch."

The Gents were quick to good-naturedly tease their friend. Mr. Layton seemed to enjoy the humor swirling around, no matter that it was at his expense.

"We want to return in time to change for supper," Lord Aldric said. "So, we had best be on our way."

Lord Jonquil snapped a salute. "As you command, General!"

The gentlemen were soon on their way, clearly looking forward to their outing. Penelope suspected she would have enjoyed going with them. But she also knew she would enjoy spending the afternoon with the ladies. All her life, she'd imagined finding friends with whom she could simply be the person she was and be liked and appreciated for it. She got along well with the people in Dublin but had nothing beyond a friendly acquaintance with any of them. Her neighbors thought her odd. To have a group such as this—friends who were family to each other and who liked each other as they were—would be a dream come true.

"Though we like to joke about their tendency toward the ridiculous," Violet said, "they are good men, every last one of them."

"Why did they give you the nickname of Lily?" Penelope asked.

"Because they can't spell Violet ." Violet offered the answer with perfect seriousness, but that lasted only a moment before being replaced by laughter. "I acquired the nickname during an evening parlor game. My sweet Kester, not realizing how much of his heart he was revealing, compared me to a lily-of-the-valley flower and waxed long and eloquent about how delightful he thought I was. I have been Lily ever since."

Penelope turned to Nicolette. "Niles told me you are called Le Capitaine."

Nicolette nodded. "A name also acquired during a game."

"What name do you suppose they would give Penelope?" Violet asked Nicolette.

Penelope answered. "Whatever they are able to spell, I'd wager."

Violet's smile grew. "Perhaps they would choose to call you Kitty."

"Kitty?" Penelope repeated, unsure of the reason for the guess.

"On account of your connection to Puppy."

"He said we weren't to be enemies," Penelope objected. "Cats and dogs generally are."

"I didn't mean it that way," Violet said. "Cats and dogs don't get along. But kittens and puppies, when brought together while still young, can actually be very good friends."

"I am hopeful that we can find a friendly connection."

"Would it surprise you, Penelope," Nicolette asked, "to hear that we are increasingly hopeful of the same thing?"

"It would, a little." Her mind and heart were heavy where Niles was concerned. "I should have been more sincere with him."

"Posh." Violet shook her head. "I've watched the two of you interact the last two days, and everything I saw appeared entirely genuine."

"It didn't feel genuine, not on my part." Penelope was embarrassed to admit as much, but she felt she owed it to her integrity to be honest about her behavior.

"You'll not convince me that the look on your face when Niles laughed a moment ago was anything but genuine tenderness."

"I have come to realize what a lovely person he is," Penelope said. "He is kind and considerate. Just being in company with him makes me happy in a way so few people do. But the feeling is not mutual. He is content to call our connection a potential friendship . I've only two days left here as it is. Nothing more could come of my increasingly tender feelings, so I think it best not to impose upon him further."

"Why only two days?" Nicolette asked.

"My brother has said that Niles's continued disinterest is embarrassing and we are to depart for Ireland the day after tomorrow." Penelope released a tense breath. "I ran out of time."

"And if you don't wish to leave?" Violet asked.

Penelope shrugged. "I don't have a choice."

Her new friends both leaned forward.

"If Julia has taught us anything," Violet said conspiratorially, "it is that we always have a choice. Let's sort out what choices you actually have."

"Earlier this year, I found myself in a similar situation to yours now," Nicolette said. "I had fallen entirely in love with my Henri when my brother declared that I was to leave England, and he would hear no objections. Leaving Henri was impossible for my heart to accept, but like you, I was very much at the mercy of my brother's whims."

"What did you do?"

Nicolette smiled in obvious satisfaction. "Julia and I concocted a plan."

That was both intriguing and promising. "What was the plan?"

"Julia declared that I would remain in England as her lady's companion," Nicolette said. "She didn't need one, but I required a situation that allowed me to not bend to my brother's edicts. It worked brilliantly."

"I don't suppose either of you is in need of a companion?" Penelope asked with a laugh.

"In need of?" Violet repeated. "No. Willing to say that I am? Absolutely."

"Truly?" She had in no way earned such an enormous kindness from them. "My courtship of Niles has, thus far, been a failure. I promised you I wouldn't keep trying if—"

"It hasn't been a failure," Violet said. "He's intrigued, and you have managed to see him more clearly than even his own family does. What you need isn't to abandon your efforts. You need time."

Penelope might be able to stay. Hope bubbled anew. To stay here, where Niles was. To enjoy his company. To see him smile. To hear him laugh. To perhaps discover something deeper growing between them. Her heart swelled at the possibility.