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Chapter Text

Wednesday night, a glass of wine in hand, comfortable under a cosy blanket, and swiping to find an acceptable man. Penelope was getting tired of what had become a routine. With the encouragements of her friends, she had relented and joined dating apps a few months earlier. It was meant to get back up after her breakup with Alfie. She had hoped it would help her find someone else and enter a new relationship. That was seven months ago.

Penelope was tired of it all – the subpar men, being alone, having to start over again and again for it to lead to nothing. Pointless conversations via messages that, on occasion, led to pointless first dates, which rarely led anywhere. Over the months, her strategies had evolved. Penelope now felt like she was an expert, regardless of how successful she was in finding a man. She was on different apps, and she had an Excel sheet with different ratings and notes. But despite living in a big city like London, Penelope felt like she always saw the same boring and/or awful men. She started to doubt she would ever find love.

However, that Wednesday night was different. Because after 15 minutes of mindless swiping, Colin B. showed up on her screen. A new face, with cute photos of him in front of different exotic backgrounds from around the world (her favourite was the one where he was simply sitting on a couch, his glasses on, and a book in hand). His description also had something more. It did include a quote from his mother (“The most sensitive of my children, but also the most ready for an adventure”), which was a potential red flag. She would need to take that into account in her ratings. But the rest of his description showed a smart and funny man. And he was hot.

Penelope tried to be realistic with her approach to the apps. She knew what she looked like – a short, plump, nerdy girl – even with the pictures her friends had helped her pick. It was not a bad thing, but it was also not what most men looked for on these dating apps. She was still working hard to undo years of low self-esteem her mother had ingrained in her. Her breakup (and relationship if she was completely honest) with Alfie had also been hard for her self-worth. Who thought it was good to include in their breakup speech “At the end of the day, I realised I would prefer to stay at work than to go home to you”?

But she could not help herself and hope this Colin B. would be different than all the other men she had interacted with on this godforsaken app. She swiped right.

It’s a Match!

That was a good start. Maybe the pictures she had selected, with a good balance of cute, beautiful, and sexy were working. She had also worked hard on her description to show her personality and sense of humour. He had decided to swipe right on her, it had to mean something.

C.B.: Hi! Must be fate: I just got back from Greece, and I meet a Penelope when I get back home.

He was not wasting time, making the first move himself. Usually, she was the one to do it, or she had to wait longer before they would reach out. And he did it with a literary reference. Maybe the book he was holding in his photo was not just for show. Before getting back to him, Penelope created a new entry on her Excel sheet for guy n°538, Colin. B.

P.F.: Hope your journey back home wasn’t too eventful

C.B.: For a woman as beautiful as you, I would brave all the seas, Penelope

Oh, he was already flirting. Not that she minded, but she took note of it nonetheless.

P.F.: Was your travel for work or leisure?

C.B.: Both actually! I’m a photographer, I went there for a job but stayed a few more days for me. Been back home for less than a week and I’m already looking for Greek restaurants.

C.B.: Maybe if this conversation goes well, we could go together

Well, at least he was mentioning a date, and not just a “dtf?” message which she had received too many times for her to truly hope to find love on these apps.

C.B.: So, you know what I do for a living, what about you?

P.F.: A librarian by day, an author by night

C.B.: Published author?! That’s so cool! Anything I would know?

The way his excitement overpowered his flirt was sweet. He was sweet. And cute. And hot. As their conversation continued (after diverting his attention away from her romance novels, that was a third date discussion at the earliest), he kept being sweeter, cuter, hotter. Soon, she forgot the time, even if she forbade herself to spend more than 45 minutes on the apps. She also forgot to add information about him on her Excel sheet. That, in itself, was a good indication that it was going well.

It was late into the night (she would regret it in the morning) when he mentioned a date again.

C.B.: I’ve really enjoyed talking to you Penelope, and I hope you did too. Do you think you could be interested in continuing it in person? I know I mentioned a Greek restaurant, but I’m easy with food, as long as there is some

She quickly agreed for a date, stating she was not too difficult with food either. They would meet on that Friday, two days from then. They also swapped phone numbers, it would be easier to exchange and plan things.

After saying their goodnights on Tinder, chatting again a bit via text, sending their goodnights again, they turned off for the night. Penelope struggled to find sleep, too excited by the butterflies she felt for the first time in years.

In the end, they went to a Turkish place (“same vibes, but different. I wanted to surprise you, but not disappoint you, Pen”) for their first date. He accompanied her back to her place, before saying their goodbyes with a kiss on her cheek and promises of seeing each other again.

Colin deleted Tinder from his phone on that night. Penelope rated him ten stars out of five on her Excel sheet. It would take her two more dates before deleting all her apps that she had not opened since the first date.

They had now been dating for four months, they were officially girlfriend and boyfriend. They had gone to a Greek restaurant for their fifth date, and again after they had stopped counting. Colin loved to bring her to try out new restaurants. He had not lied when he had told her he was a foody. He was well-travelled and loved to share with Penelope photos he had taken abroad, sotires behind memorabilia that littered his shelves, and new cuisines. Thankfully, it was relatively easy to find authentic places from around the world in London.

Looking back, Penelope had started to fall in love with Colin on their first date. His eyes had lit up when he was talking about his gap year and how much of a turning point it had been in his life. After that year of travel, his plans for university had changed and he had studied photography instead. He was now freelancing, specialising in food photography (“I love food, and I love photography, it’s a win-win”). But one of his recurring clients was a travel magazine, which sent him away on assignments occasionally (“… I also love to travel, win-win-win”). Since this first date, she had continued to fall little by little more in love with him. Until one day, when she realised there were no turning back. She was in love with Colin Bridgerton.

Since the beginning of their relationship, Colin had only left for two weeks to travel through Scandinavia. The time apart had made them both realise how much they missed the other. Thankfully, there was only one hour difference between London and the different places in Sweden and Norway he had gone to. They had spent their evenings on the phone, retelling what they had done during the day. They had said their “I love you’s” at the airport when Penelope had gone to pick him up. Colin had offered for Penelope to join him on future travels if her job (and budget) permitted her to.

But on that Sunday night, at Colin’s place, they were talking about another step in their relationship: meeting the family.

Penelope was not particularly close to her family. Her two older sisters Prudence and Philippa were twins and seven years older than her. There was too much difference and too little interest to counter it. Throughout her life, she had always had little in common with them, always trailing behind. Penelope had hoped that as she was becoming an adult, the distance would lessen. But they were both married with children, happily living in the small town where they had grown up. Penelope had left for London for university and had never wanted to go back. She tried to be the cool aunt when she saw her nieces, but she doubted she was cool enough for that title.

Her dad had passed away when she was 14 years old. It had not changed much from her life. Her parents had divorced when she was still a toddler, and she only saw him on the weekends every fortnight. Penelope hated going to her father’s, especially after her sisters had turned 15 and were old enough to decide they did not want to go there anymore. Leaving Penelope alone with him, in a dodgy apartment where there was nothing for children to do.

Penelope’s relationship with her mother was complicated. Portia had always made it clear that she was the last attempt to save her parents’ marriage. She had made her daughter feel like it was Penelope’s fault it had not worked out. Maybe if she had been a boy, or thinner, or more popular, or less nerdy, or this, or that. Penelope had counted the days before she could leave her mother’s house.

That meant Penelope only saw her family for birthdays and Christmas, with odd calls here and there to her mum and sisters.

Colin’s family was drastically different. The only similarities were that they had both lost their fathers as teenagers and that they were third born.

He was one of eight siblings, which had been scary for Penelope when he had told her about it. He got along with all of them, some more than other, depending on when you asked him. There had been tensions with his oldest brother when he was a teenager, but since Colin had settled in his adult life, their relationship had improved. He considered all his brothers and sisters as friends as much as siblings.

Colin was also close to his mother. Apparently, his other siblings even teased him for being her favourite. Penelope had been worried with his profile that he was a weird mama’s boy. Sure, he was a mama’s boy, meeting up just the two of them every Thursdays for lunch, but from what Penelope had gathered it was a healthy relationship about which she should not worry.

There was also a standing invitation every Sunday for family brunch. It was not mandatory, and on occasion siblings would skip going there, but most Sundays, all nine of the Bridgerton (plus eventual spouses and children) met at Violet’s house to eat together.

It was a Sunday evening, when the couple had met at Colin’s to cook together and to catch up on the new episodes of The Traitors when he opened the conversation of meeting his family.

“I was telling mum about the play we’re going to see on Saturday, and she started asking questions. About you. I know she will never ask directly, but she wants to meet you,” he started, gauging her reaction. “And if you’re open to it, I’d love to introduce you to her.”

Penelope was thinking on how to answer. Deep down, she knew Colin’s mum was the polar opposite to her own mother. Of course, she would want to meet the woman in her son’s life. His relationship with his family was different from hers.

“You want me to meet your family?” she asked in a small voice.

“Yes. Well, I was thinking about introducing you to my mum first, and then add siblings little by little. We, Bridgerton, can be a bit overwhelming all at once when you’re not used to it. At least that’s what Kate, my sister-in-law, says. Anthony brought her home super early in their relationship for brunch. They had been dating for like two weeks before she met all of us at once.” He was rambling. He knew he was rambling and not helping his case.

“I think I’m already overwhelmed,” admitted Penelope, which prompted Colin to put down the spatula used to stir the tomato sauce he was making. “But maybe, your mum can be a first step,” she quickly added when she saw the worried look in his eyes, which immediately lit up when he registered what Penelope had said. Soon she was crushed into his chest, held tight. Colin did give the best hugs, especially when he was happy.

“I know she’s going to love you,” he said with a kiss on her forehead. “What’s not to love about you?”

“My own mum will give you a list when you meet her. In the far, far away future.” Colin, who had started to let her go, squeezed her again in his arms. He disliked it when his girlfriend put herself down and, from what Penelope had told him about Portia, he hated her mother. He despised it when the two came up at once.

“Mum will probably want to adopt you.” Colin finally let her go, after giving her a kiss on the top of her head. And another on her forehead. And another of her mouth. He probably would have deepened it if the tomato sauce had not started to bubble.

Chuckling, Penelope asked, “Do you have something in mind on when and where you want to do this?”

Colin grinned at her; he had not expected for her to agree that easily. “I was thinking of doing it here, that way you’re comfortable. And she’s going away until next week for a spa treatment, so maybe sometime after that, if you’re sure about it.”

They still had some time to organise, and for Penelope to prepare herself. Violet would be excited. But before that, they had to see if the Faithfuls were going to unmask a new traitor.

Chapter Text

Why did he decide to take a Latin course during Winter break instead of doing it during the semester? And who in their right mind had scheduled it at 8 in the morning on a Friday? And who was the genius professor who decided to fall ill and forget to tell their students the class was cancelled until five minutes before said class was supposed to start?

Gregory could have slept in, under his warm duvet. He could have drunk his coffee and eaten a breakfast his mother would have made for him. But no. Professor Rosenthal was an ass through and through. It was as if he liked to make everything more difficult and to make his students suffer. Apparently teaching a Latin class at 8am was not enough – he also had to cancel it last minute to make it even worse.

There was no point in going back home, he would just waste time before having to go back to meet up with his friends at the library to study for their upcoming exam. Luckily, he had a brother who lived close to campus. And Colin always had a good assortment of food and video games at his place. Thankfully, he had given a set of his keys to Gregory for emergencies. Sure, Colin was more thinking of Gregory being too drunk to go back home after parties. But, in his opinion, a cancelled Latin class should be considered an emergency. And Colin would probably still be asleep anyway.

That was the plan: Gregory would crash for 1-2 hours, eat, and play games before heading back on campus to meet up with his friends. All before Colin would emerge from his room. Perfect.

Gregory braved the cold January, taking the tube for one stop before heading into Colin’s building. It was not unusual for him to visit Colin’s flat unannounced. The two brothers had grown quite close since Colin had finished his gap-year traveling around the world. He had moved back to their mother’s home for a few months, while looking for an apartment of his own. With Anthony and Benedict already out of the house, the two younger brothers had bonded and strengthened their relationship. Colin had finally started to see Gregory as an equal rather than his baby brother.

As the youngest brother, with no memory of his father, Gregory had always looked up to his brothers. While Anthony and Benedict were slightly more fatherly (or completely in Anthony’s case), Colin was more like a friend and brother. They were the most alike and shared different interests. He could not imagine chatting about football and play video games for hours with the other two (or his sisters, whom he also loved dearly).

Gregory liked Colin’s apartment. It had the advantage of being the closest from campus out of all his siblings’ places. He also appreciated the vibes it exuded. When it would come time for him to move out, he hoped he could emulate something similar. Masculine but not a man-cave like Anthony had done when he had first moved out. And Colin’s was decorated with things he had bought during his travels, not weird pieces of art Gregory did not understand like at Benedict’s. It felt homey and welcoming to Gregory.

The door opened on a small entryway, which lead to a big open space with the kitchen and living room, only separated by an island. Colin’s room had a nice en-suite, with a massive bathtub with jets that Gregory had tried once when his brother was away travelling. There was also an office, with a sofa bed where Gregory had crashed on occasion.

When Gregory opened the door and took off his coat, he did not notice the green coat on the hanger next to his. When he took off his trainers, he did not notice the boots that were way too small and feminine to be Colin’s. What he did notice, when he entered the main room, was his brother, his head between the thighs of a woman dressed in just a shirt, sitting on the kitchen island.

In moments like these, one cannot predict how they will react. Nothing prepares you for this. Gregory did not fight nor flight, he froze. And the woman screamed for Colin to “fucking stop.”

In the past, Gregory had heard Daphne and Simon going at it, but he had gone back to his room and put on headphones. He had also run into Benedict and one of his flings as they were finishing to put their clothes back on. Never had he walked into something this graphic.

Time seemed to stop. Like a car crash, Gregory could not take his eyes off the woman’s face. He could not move. Even his eyes were not listening to him. He could see her mouth moving, and as if from far away, Gregory could hear his brother’s name being repeated over and over.

Thankfully, the couple was more reactive than he was. First, she screamed, unlike him, which made Colin stop and look up at her. Then, she pulled Colin up to move him away from her core and to use him as a barrier between her and Gregory. When Colin finally stood up and turned toward the entryway, there was panic in his eyes. Just for a fleeting moment, as it disappeared as soon as he recognised his younger brother.

At one point, the woman had stopped screaming, and Colin turned back to her, telling her something Gregory could not make out. Gregory who could still not move, but at least now his eyes were focused on the back of his brother’s head rather than making eye contact with the woman. The woman who jumped off the kitchen island and practically ran to Colin’s bedroom. She was just dressed in one of Colin’s shirts. Still in shock, Gregory’s brain supplied that it did look like the graphic tee Eloise had gifted Colin for Christmas just a few weeks earlier.

“Hey Greg. Didn’t know you were coming.” Gregory teared his eyes from the closed door behind which the woman had disappeared. He was slowly gaining control of his movements back. “Sorry you had to see that. But also, you know, it’s my home, and I didn’t know you were coming,” Colin tried to joke.

The joke fell flat, but it helped to bring Gregory further back in control of his body. “I thought you’d be sleeping.”

“Ah. Well, Pen has to go to work in a bit. We were just going to have breakfast.”

Gregory could try out jokes too. Maybe it would help with the awkwardness that lingered in the room. “Yeah, you were eating alright.”

Yup, that was a mistake. It did not help. It was still awkward.

“Shut up,” fired back Colin, with a forced laugh. “I’m going to check on Pen. I’m guessing you’ll want some breakfast too?” he asked, and on Gregory’s confirmation, he quickly added, “But if she wants me to, I’ll kick you out, ok?”

“That’s fair.”

With that, Gregory was left alone in the living room, and as he sat down on the couch, he noticed for the first time things that had been popping out in his brother’s apartment for a little while. A cosy blanket draped on the couch, scented candles, pink fluffy socks abandonned at the feet of the couch. It was all starting to make sense.

Gregory was aware that Colin was seeing someone. It had been mentioned during Christmas and at family brunch. But it was also not something he had paid close attention to, unlike some of his siblings (specifically Daphne and Hyacinth, who, he knew, had interrogated Colin). But from what he had heard from a conversation between his mother and younger sister about it, Colin had barely given them anything, not even her name. Pen. Gregory started to smile like a lunatic. He knew something Hyacinth did not.

On the other side of the wall, Penelope felt like she was hyperventilating. She did not consider herself a prude, otherwise they probably would not have been busy on the kitchen island. But a stranger had just walked in on her while her boyfriend was eating her out.

“Pen, breathe with me.” Colin had joined her in his bedroom, grabbing her and turning her towards him. He lowered himself to be at her eyesight, breathing loudly for her to match him. Only once Penelope’s breathing had slowed down, did he continue, “So, that’s my brother Gregory. I didn’t know he was coming.”

Great, that was how she met the first member of her boyfriend’s family. They had been planning a dinner with his mother for the following week. Colin's plan for her to meet his mother first had been destroyed. And she knew from Colin that they had a plethora of group chat, including and excluding family members and partners. He had probably already texted all his siblings about what he had walked in. Penelope could feel her breathing start to accelerate again, but managed to ask softly, “Do you think he will tell your mum?”

With a chuckle, Colin answered, “No. Knowing him, he’s strategizing on what he can leverage from me, but that’s all.” Seeing how anxious his girlfriend still was, he added, “And if, and I do mean if, he was going to tell someone, it would probably be one of my siblings, not our mum.”

Maybe not as reassuring as she would have hoped, but at least Colin did not seem worried that it would get back to his mother. Penelope could not imagine disappointing the woman who was so important for her boyfriend.

“Now, I’ll get back in to prepare breakfast. You have a shower and get ready for work. We’ll start afresh.” Once Penelope nodded her approval for the plan, he continued, “Greg is still here. I can kick him out or we can try to start over around breakfast. Whatever you want, he’ll understand.”

After some hesitation, Penelope finally agreed to invite Gregory. Maybe Colin’s pancakes could make him forget what he had witnessed. With a quick kiss, a hug, and encouragements for her to go shower, Colin left her to go talk to his brother.

That was not how she had imagined her Friday to start.

Gregory waited for a few minutes for someone to come out of the room. He had thought for a second to help with the breakfast preparation to make himself useful before remembering that the kitchen was not a safe space. Soon, the whispers in the room stopped and the door opened. Colin came out first, alone.

“You can stay, but one comment out of line and I’m kicking you out.”

After some time, the woman, Pen, as Colin had called her, joined them. She was freshly showered and dressed in a long black dress and a brown cardigan. The makeup she had put on did nothing to hide the blush that popped back up when she made eye contact with Gregory.

“Hi, nice to meet you. I’m Greg, and up until a few minutes ago, I was Colin’s favourite sibling,” he said, standing up from the couch, ready to shake her hand. It did not feel right to hug her yet.

“It was favourite brother at best, not sibling,” interjected Colin from the kitchen, where he was cleaning the surface of the island. Gregory tried to forget the reason why cleaning was necessary.

“I’m Penelope. It’s nice to meet you, despite the circumstances.” She was blushing again. Gregory wondered if one day she would stop blushing in his presence. “I’m really sorry you had to see that.”

Gregory was stopped by Colin before he could apologise himself, “Greg, make yourself useful and bring the plates to the table.” He almost made a comment asking if the table was safe, but now that Colin had started cooking breakfast, the promise of pancakes made him hungry. Gregory did not want to get kicked out and return to the cold January weather.

When he came back to the kitchen to get the mugs, Gregory witnessed his brother and his girlfriend moving around the kitchen as if they had done it their entire life. He was used to seeing Colin in a kitchen – he liked to cook as much as he liked to eat. But never had he seen his brother share a space as smoothly as he was doing it with Penelope. They moved in unison, and when they bumped into the other, it seemed calculated.

To avoid disturbing the space, Gregory settled at the dining table, waiting for breakfast to be served.

Breakfast started awkwardly and mostly in silence, but when Penelope asked Gregory how he had met Colin, their laughter dissipated some of the tension in the room.

“It’s weird for everyone, might as well get over it. Pen is my girlfriend, which means that yes, we are intimate, particularly when I’m not expecting anyone,” Colin said, eyeing his brother. “Can we get over that? Don’t you have your weird questions like you had when you met Kate or Simon?”

Gregory had been younger when his older siblings had brought their significant others for the first time. He knew some of the questions he had asked were dumb and representative of his youth at the time. Gregory was only now realising that it had probably been nice for Simon and Kate to think about how many chickens they would be ready to fight rather than whether they wanted children in the future.

Grinning, he turned toward Penelope and asked, “Would you still want to date Colin if he was a worm?”

The rest of breakfast went more smoothly afterwards. Some silly questions, but also some more traditional ones for both Gregory and Penelope to get to know the other. What you do for a living, what you are studying, how did you meet (this time Gregory to Penelope). Colin also participated to the conversation, while also taking breaks to enjoy watching his brother get to know his girlfriend.

At some point, Penelope had to leave to go to work. As she was putting on her green coat (how had he missed that?) to brave the chilly weather, she said her goodbyes to Gregory.

“It was nice to meet you, Gregory. Next time, ring the doorbell, yeah?” She had gained some confidence back during breakfast, and she had only slightly blushed this time when she hinted at what he had walked into. It was progress.

When she was dressed and ready to leave, she quickly walked to Colin for a small kiss and a promise to see him after work. That was what made Gregory blush. He had walked in on them as his brother was eating her out. He had seen them flushed against each other in the kitchen while the pancakes where on the stove. He had seen his brother’s hand on her thigh at the table. But it was that kiss that made him truly feel like he was intruding into something different – something more.

After Penelope had left, Colin busied himself with cleaning the leftover plates. “When do you have to leave? Time for some FIFA?”

For the first time since his arrival, Gregory saw his brother anxious. Sure, there had been some panic when he had first interrupted the couple, but it had been washed away to reassure Penelope. Now that she was gone, Colin did not need to hide. And Gregory was the first of the family to meet his girlfriend. Tapping his foot on the floor, Colin could not concentrate on the game they were playing.

As much as Gregory enjoyed having scored five times that early in the game, he relented, “Relax, I liked her.” Maybe he should have waited longer, because it was as if a weight had been lifted from Colin’s shoulders and he started to play way better afterwards, catching up on the scoreboard too easily for Gregory’s liking.

When it was time for Gregory to leave, Colin did ask him a few things, “Can you keep it to yourself for a bit, at least until she meets mum? Especially with Hyacinth.” Welp, he would need to wait before he could annoy his younger sister with the fact that he knew Colin’s girlfriend. “And keep quiet about what happened to yourself. Forever?”

Chapter Text

Penelope was nervous. Her second book had just come out and her editor had asked her to do some book signings. She was still considered a small author, so was her publisher, but her first book had gained in popularity after a small influencer had mentioned it on TikTok. It had not been a viral sensation, but it meant they had done a reprint of her first book and her publisher had encouraged her to write her second book sooner.

It also meant she had new responsibilities, including this book signing.

Sure, she had signed her book for friends and acquaintances, but never for people who did not know her personally. People who enjoyed her book enough to come to a specific bookshop at a specific time.

Thankfully, she had managed to avoid a Q&A or a live reading. She was not ready for that yet. Her editor had told her that if her growth continued the way it was, Penelope would not be able to avoid it for much longer. Especially as they believed her second book was even better than the first.

Penelope had to agree with the second part of that comment (and try to forget the first half of it). In parts, it was because she had more experience and understood better how to construct her book. But her personal life had also been influential in the quality of her book.

When she had written her first novel, she had been in the end of her bland relationship with Alfie. There was not much to take inspiration from. He also did not help with her confidence, often questioning why she would rather write her silly book instead of watching nature documentaries with him. He had made a comment about it in his breakup speech. How frivolous she was with her novel when he was trying to do something great for the world (he was just studying penguins, not stopping world hunger).

But now it was different. Colin was in her life. She had already started working on her book when they had started dating, so he was not the sole reason for the improvement. But there had been a shift in what and how she wrote. His attentions and encouraging words had helped her blossom and feel secure in the content of her novel. Even her editors had noticed the confidence she felt in her writing.

She had been nervous when she had offered Colin to read her work for the first time, especially when Alfie’s answer to the same question had been “When I have time” before ignoring it completely. But her new boyfriend was different. He had been appreciative of the trust she had in him to share that part of her with him. While it was not a genre he usually read, he had loved the story, coming back to her with comments and questions. He had gone late to bed in order to finish it. Penelope did too, waiting nervously for his opinion on it (“My girlfriend is the best author ever, I’m so proud of you Pen”).

Forever her cheerleader, he was there with her in the backroom of the small bookshop where she was doing her book signing. Answering all her worries and finding solutions to pointless questions. If no one showed up, they could go and eat her feelings at a French bakery close to the shop. If haters came, they were 1) clueless of what made a good book, 2) a minority, 3) other people would love it, and most importantly, 4) he would fight any critic who would dare to say mean things to her. If there were not enough books and people rioted, he would take her firefighter-style on his shoulder and escape to bring her to safety. Not all her fears were logical, nor were all his solutions, but it was reassuring to have someone dear to her by her side. And it made her laugh away her worries.

“Time to go, Pen. You’re going to be great,” he told her with a soft kiss when they heard the bookshop keeper announce her arrival and to “Please queue nicely, the shop is quite small.”

Francesca was excited. She had been excited since she had seen the Instagram post from her local bookshop announcing her favourite author coming to sign her new book. She had been excited since she had found out about this second book.

For years, Francesca had enjoyed reading, albeit not as vocally as her sister Eloise. She was particularly fond of romance novels. There was something magical about reading about people falling in love, with happy endings despite some challenging times. And smut. One should not forget about smut.

She had grown up in a family that loved love. She had been told about her parents’ love story, witnessed Daphne bloom in her relationship with Simon, and seen Anthony settle down thanks to Kate.

But she had also faced her own hardships. She had lost her first, and only, boyfriend, John, from a car accident. It had all happened so fast, from imagining moving in with him one day, to him being gone forever. Francesca had also felt guilty about not suffering enough from this loss, while not knowing how to continue without John. She could not help comparing her reaction to her mother’s after her father had died. She was a young child when it had happened, but she could remember Violet becoming a ghost, barely living. Barely surviving.

Francesca had felt immense sadness at the loss of John. She had run to John’s mother in Scotland to escape from her family's overwhelming supervision. It had helped, to share stories with his mother, to learn more about him and discover new things about this person who would not come back. She had also grown closer to Michaela, John’s cousin, who had also spent some time in Scotland before returning to London soon after Francesca.

During her time in Scotland, Francesca had also turned to romance novels. She had dipped her feet in the genre before, but it became a full ocean of escapism. Childhood sweethearts, friends to lovers, forced proximity, happily ever after. She loved them all. She was a Bridgerton, she loved love. (She also loved the carnal descriptions of love, even if she did not talk about this aspect of romance novels with her mother or her sister Daphne when she offered recommendations.)

Over the years of reading romance novels, Francesca also learned more about herself and her feelings. Particularly as she also grew closer to Michaela. They continued to see each other often when they were both back in London. She had helped her in many ways, including opening about her sexuality.

She was still in the process of accepting her lesbianism, which she had only talked about with Michaela. Not even her sister Eloise, openly bisexual, knew about it. Francesca struggled with her feelings, and she did not want to overrule or forget about John and the love she had felt for him. She had genuinely loved him. Not as a friend, but as a romantic partner, as a lover. And she now felt a similar love for Michaela. It was different but not in its quantity. So different and so similar at the same time.

It was Michaela, when they were still just friends, who had gifted her the first novel of P.A. Feathers. She had seen a video on social media and had thought Francesca might like it. In itself, just that fact made the book special. Michaela gifting her a story about love.

Francesca had loved the book from the very first page. A mix of diary entries, letters, and prose, set during the Regency era, To My Duchess, offered such a raw description of love and feelings. It was 452 pages of fake/pretend relationship, jealousy, and unknown requited love. All with the right amount of miscommunication.

Francesca had devoured it and loved it. The first time and the three other times she had read it.

Since then, Francesca had, not-so-patiently, waited for the second book. Looking up P.A. Feathers and her publisher’s website and social media pages to see if there were any announcements. The day Loving A Viscount was announced, Francesca had gasped out loud. And had not-so-patiently waited for it to come out.

Safe to say that she was excitedly waiting in the queue for the book signing. There had been some disappointment when Francesca had found out there would not be any reading or Q&A, just a signing. But she was grateful she would meet her favourite author, and just around the corner from her apartment. The days coming up to it, she had thought of what she wanted to tell P.A. Feathers. To thank her for her description of struggling with the feelings of falling in love and questioning how to properly be in love.

There were around ten people in the queue with her. Francesca had expected more – it was P.A. Feathers after all. But it already filled the small bookshop, making it feel like more people were there than in reality. (There was also this little feeling of superiority of being a fan of a hidden gem she could not dismiss completely.)

Suddenly, the bookkeeper came out from behind the drapes that closed off the backroom and announced that P.A. Feathers was arriving.

There, coming out of the back of the shop, was a small redhead woman. Dressed in a corduroy green dress, she looked like she was trying to hide inside her red cardigan. Francesca found it fair to be taken aback to meet some of her fans. Even if she deserved a bigger crowd, it must be nerve-wracking to meet people who had, and will, read your words. Particularly when they offer such a raw description of love.

But Francesca was soon distracted from the author, who was settling down at her table and welcoming the first person in the queue, when she noticed another figure coming out discreetly out of the backroom.

“Colin?”

What was her brother doing here? As far as she knew, he did not work at the bookshop next to her apartment, so why was he on the wrong side of the till? She knew he dreamt of publishing his photos, but that was not the plan yet.

“Fran?”

At least he seemed as surprised as she was to see his sister there. He quickly turned toward P.A. Feathers, who had looked up from her conversation when she had heard Colin’s name being called out. Colin bent down to whisper something to her, squeezed her shoulder, before turning and walking towards his sister.

“Funny running into you today, Fran,” he said when he arrived next to her, before hugging her. “You know the author?”

“Michaela got me her first book. I’ve been waiting for the second one.” The small polite smile he had worn grew to something more like Colin. A smile he could not contain even if he tried. “You know her?”

His smile grew even bigger, mixed with some shyness. “Yeah.” After some hesitation, and looking back at P.A. Feathers, he added quietly, “She’s my girlfriend.”

Francesca was shocked. Not only did Colin know P.A. Feathers personally, but he was dating her. She did not know how to react to this information. She was battling with being a fan and being a sister. Both identities made her want to know different things.

As if he could read her tangled mind, he offered, “Pen is going to be busy for a bit, I was going to pick up some things from the bakery down the road. Want to come with me? Pen can sign your book afterwards. And we can chat.”

Still speechless, Francesca simply nodded. Colin turned back toward P.A. Feathers, his girlfriend, to signal he was going out. When Francesca looked at the author, P.A. Feathers gave her a small smile. She had smiled at her! Francesca returned it, before turning back to follow her brother, leaving the queue. If he was dating the author, she, for sure, would get her signed copy of Loving A Viscount.

“So, you know Pen’s books.”

“And you’re dating P.A. Feathers,” answered Francesca. Now that they were out of the bookshop, she felt more like herself, less like a fangirl. Even if it was a strange situation. She knew Colin had a girlfriend. Daphne had tried to interrogate him during Christmas break, to no avail. Unlike her older sister, Francesca had been ready to wait until Colin felt ready to introduce her. “She’s a really talented author.”

“I know. I’m really proud of her. You’ll see Loving A Viscount is even better.” Colin had always struggled to hide his emotions; she could feel the love and happiness radiate from her brother.

“Are you the viscount?”

“I’m just a mere third born,” he laughed back, before adding, “But maybe, for both our sakes, let’s agree that she has never, and never will, take inspiration from me or our relationship for her books. I’m sure you want to continue reading her books without ever picturing me.”

That was more than a fair point. But now, based on his reaction, she could not help but think there might be some smutty scenes inspired by her brother. And, despite herself, she was curious. Maybe she would need to ask P.A. Feathers about it.

Colin being Colin bought too many things at the bakery and chatted with the staff about their techniques and where they had learned their craft. He found the excuse that he did not know what Pen would want to eat to buy a wide range of pastries and baked goods. Francesca knew better, he was just always hungry and would happily eat anything that would be left after his girlfriend had her share.

On the way back to the bookshop, the conversation was less about gauging the other’s reaction and more about Francesca being a sister with a brother in a new relationship. She learn more about this Pen when they would talk, for now she wanted to learn more about the relationship itself, how they had met (“I’ll need to know what photos you used on your profile”), since when, or when she was meeting their mother.

When they arrived back, the queue had dwindled down, with just a couple people left. The siblings went to the back of the queue to wait for Francesca’s turn. Colin munching on a croissant, trying not to make too many crumbs on the carpeted floor.

Penelope had been surprised to hear someone recognise her boyfriend from the queue for her book signing. But when she heard him answer back with the name “Fran” she immediately understood who she was. Another sibling.

The night before, when they were debriefing what had happened with Gregory around drinks after work, she had asked Colin more about his family. There were so many of them, the likelihood of running into them was not abysmal (or for them to run into the couple, like with Gregory). Between the nickname and the physical similarities, Penelope knew she was going to meet another one of her boyfriend’s siblings when it would be Francesca’s turn to get her book signed. At least this time she was fully dressed.

Before going to his sister, Colin had whispered to her “I’ll leave you to your fans, I’m going to grab something for us to eat. You’re a star Pen, I’m so proud of you.” It was to be expected for Colin to go there, he had mentioned multiple times this bakery when he had learnt where she would do her book signing. Hopefully, he would bring her something good, she had not eaten much that morning, too stressed.

Once the door had closed and the siblings had left, she had put aside her thoughts about her boyfriend and his family, and about food, before turning back to the first person who was waiting for her to sign her book.

It was overwhelming to meet her fans, so she was glad there had not been too many people. It also gave her time to chat with everyone for a bit. She had read reviews and emails, but it was completely different to meet them face to face. Everyone in the queue had read her first book and were excited to discover the new one. They asked her interesting questions that made her reevaluate what she had written. Even with her new book just coming out, it motivated her to go back to writing.

She was almost done with the queue when Colin entered the shop again, a big bag of baked goods in hands, still accompanied by his sister, adding two new people in the queue.

When it was finally their turn at Penelope’s table, Colin spoke first, “Could you sign a book for my sister. She’s a big fan.” Said sister grew red at his words, staring daggers at her brother.

“I’m Francesca. It’s really nice to meet you,” she introduced herself once she had turned back towards Penelope.

The conversation continued, more smoothly than the one that had happened with Gregory the day before, unsurprisingly. Francesca had sat down on the chair offered for the patrons and when Colin noticed the conversation was flowing smoothly, he went to the back to grab one for himself. Francesca was not just curious about his new girlfriend, but also about P.A. Feathers. As no one else was waiting for Penelope to be done with Francesca’s book, they continued to get to know the other, the bookkeeper joining them when the conversation turned to Penelope’s journey into publishing.

No one else came for her book that morning, but Penelope was not worried about it, there had been more people than she had expected, and she was still a small author after all. And she had met the lovely Francesca.

When Colin had run to the bathroom, Francesca had taken the opportunity to compliment and thank her for her writings. How it had come at an important moment in her life and how influential it had been in understanding her own love life. How she was excited to read this one now that she was more secured in herself.

“I’ll wait patiently for your review then. Hopefully I won’t disappoint.”

“I’m sure it won’t. And I’m more at a stage where it will serve as inspiration, I think,” she added cheekily.

Colin had not mentioned any partner in Francesca’s life when he had done his siblings presentation. But from the sparkle in her eyes, Penelope was certain there was a story unfolding, and she could not wait to hear about it.

“Wait, I wanted to ask you: how much inspiration did you take from your relationship with my brother?”

“For both your sakes, none at all,” Penelope answered with a wink before Colin had joined them back. The twinkle in her eyes told another story. Why did Francesca thought it was a good idea to be curious about her brother's sex life?

When Penelope’s time at the bookshop was over, the trio left and walked toward the tube. Colin seemed surprised when she walked down with them instead of walking back to her apartment.

“I’m meeting up with Michaela,” she said, without adding anything more until they departed way to take different lines. “I’ll see you next week at mum’s, Colin. Maybe you too, Penelope.”

Michaela. Penelope would need to pay attention to that name.

Chapter Text

After Penelope’s book signing and having said their goodbyes to Francesca, the couple stayed together for the rest of the day. They had a walk in the park close to Colin’s place, eaten out for a late lunch and headed to his apartment to pack his bag for the rest of the weekend.

Recently, the had both made room for the other’s belongings in their mutual apartments as they were spending an increasing amount of time sleeping at each other’s. But Colin needed to grab his laptop, and it would be nice to replenish the clothes he had at Penelope’s. He also needed to grab his comfiest clothes as their plan for the next day was to do a lie-in day. As the family brunch had been cancelled, neither of them had anywhere to go that Sunday. It was the perfect excuse to do nothing but spend time together. He planned on not wearing clothes for most of the day, but he would need to be comfortable for when he would brave the outside of her bed to prepare some food.

They stopped at the store to buy groceries for their lazy Sunday, nothing that required too much cooking time, before going to Penelope’s to prepare for their evening.

Before knowing the date of her book signing, Penelope had bought tickets for a play. Colin had decided to turn it into a celebratory date, picking a Columbian restaurant close to the theatre for their dinner date beforehand. Colin was slightly apprehensive on how this date would go, as he was not used to seeing plays, but he was eager to try out something new with his girlfriend. One of Penelope’s friends worked for the theatre in the costume department, and it was not the first play she had gone to see there. Colin had wanted to join her the last time, but he was away on assignment in Sweden.

Penelope was a literary nerd, she liked to read all genres – including plays. But it was an entirely different experience to see it in action. She was not a fervent theatre goer but enjoyed going on occasion. She hoped her boyfriend would also appreciate the experience and it could become a date-night option in the future.

Alfie had hated going to the theatre. The only time he had joined her, he had pouted the entire time and later complained about the futility of plays when they could stay home and watch TV for the same result. He had made it hard for her to find time to go on her own, Alfie always finding something else to do on the nights she wanted to go.

Since Genevieve had started working in a small theatre company (and after her breakup with Alfie), Penelope’s love for theatre had sparked back up again. Colin had been open about the fact he knew little to nothing to the theatre culture, and that he was mostly worried about how judgmental the audience might be if they smelt on him that he was an outsider.

This was the main reason why Penelope took him to this particular play for his first time. The company’s principle was to make classical plays more accessible by modernising them. Dialogues were worked to include more contemporary language, and the clothes could be found in the streets of London while helping with the characterisation and meaning of the play.

The first hurdle had been at Colin’s, earlier in the afternoon, when they picked the clothes he would wear. “Well-dressed but not too fancy doesn’t mean much Pen.” But she had stumbled on a brown suit just the perfect amount of oversize, that he had worn at one of his brother’s galleries opening. It fitted the vibes for the theatre, well-dressed but not too fancy.

Penelope was wearing one of her classic black dresses that had an off-shoulder neckline that distracted Colin a few times when he was telling her stories from his trip to Columbia. The dress had been a gift from Gen who had an eye to pick the perfect clothes for any body shape. Penelope liked to wear it because she felt confident in it, and with her friend's seal of approval, knew she was right to do so. It also made Colin flustered, which was always a win in her book.

Once at the theatre, Colin stopped to the bathroom despite having told Penelope he would not need to when she had encouraged him to go at the restaurant. She had been right, the queue of the gender-neutral restroom was long.

Penelope had left him to find their seats and settle down. Hopefully, their seat-neighbours would be nice. The last time she had gone, there had been a class next to her who had snickered whenever an actor would say a swear word. She wanted Colin to have the perfect theatre experience for their first date seeing a play.

Benedict was in his element. He had friends that would go on stage, friends who worked behind the curtain and friends in the audience. The art world was quite small, and he loved how supportive of each other’s projects his friend group was. Going to see a play, a performance, or an exhibition, he was often busy with different events. And he would not change it for the world.

He was excited to see what Henry had done with this play. His friend had taken the role of stage director at the local theatre company close to a year prior and Benedict liked the choices he had made so far. There was a growing interest for his work and the reviews were good. It was not easy to reinvent theatre, but it was the goal Henry had set for himself. And from what Benedict had seen, he was impressed.

He was already situated in the audience, after having chatted with a friend a few rows below him and waited for the play to start by reading the program, looking at other names he would know when a voice interrupted him: “Sorry, I’m just passing through, I have the seats next to you.”

Looking up, Benedict was greeted by a lovely pair of breasts at his eyesight. They were attached to a lovely tiny woman who squeezed herself in front of Benedict. He tried to fold his legs further to give her some room.

“And I apologise in advance, my boyfriend will also need to pass by in a bit.”

“A small price to pay for being early, no worries.”

Benedict abandoned the program to look at his new neighbour. She was familiar to him, but he could not put his finger on how. He tried to go through his friends and the recent places and events he had gone to but to no avail.

Thankfully for Benedict, who would have spent the entire evening trying to remember from where he knew her, she had a better memory.

“Ignore me if it doesn’t ring a bell, but are you friend with Genevieve? I’m sure we’ve seen each other at one of her parties.”

Of course, Gen!

“Yes, we were familiar for a bit two summers ago.” He was trying to be polite; they had spent the summer in a situationship, sleeping with each other, knowing it would not lead to anything. It had been a great summer. “I could not place your face, but that must be it. I’m Benedict.”

“Penelope. And Gen works here, in the costumes department in case you needed a heads up,” she said with a teasing smile. She had to know what the nature of his relationship with Gen was.

Before he could answer back to her, that he had seen her name in the program, a voice behind him interrupted him.

“Sorry, just need to pass through.” And when Benedict turned toward the voice to fold himself again in his seat, the voice exclaimed: “Ben!”

Only then did he recognise the voice, and he exclaimed in return: “Colin?” He would never have expected Colin to be there.

Colin was looking at Penelope who had started to laugh before adding, “Of course it’s your Benedict.”

Benedict did not understand why she was saying it that way, before remembering she had mentioned a boyfriend joining her. So, she was the infamous girlfriend Daphne and Hyacinth were so keen to know.

Once Colin had passed his brother, Benedict heard him ask if Penelope wanted him to sit in the middle, and when he saw her shake her head with a smile and a squeeze of her boyfriend’s hand, Benedict could not help himself but to jump in.

“Let me sit next to my new friend Penelope, friend of Genevieve and girlfriend of my brother.”

Colin gave him a look before turning back to his girlfriend. “You’re sure?”

Before they could talk further, or swap seats, the lights in the room deemed indicating the play was starting, forcing Colin to settle on Penelope's other side. Before bringing his eyes back toward the stage, Benedict could not help but notice that Penelope had not let go of his brother’s hand since he had sat down.

Penelope had noticed Benedict’s eyes on her and her boyfriend’s joined hands. She also noticed the small smile he tried to hide after turning back toward the stage. So far, all the siblings had physical similarities, and she was sure she would discover more resemblances as she would get to know the family better. But the rictus Benedict had done to hide his smile was the first similarity that was not directly given by one of their parents. All four Bridgerton siblings she had met so far had done it in her presence. Francesca and Gregory, like for Benedict, when they had witnessed moments of intimacy between the couple. Colin much more often, but primarily when he felt really touched by one of her compliments.

She forced herself to forget about Benedict as the play started, while daring to check on Colin’s from time to time to make sure that he was having a good time.

At intermission, Penelope immediately turned to her boyfriend to gauge his feelings. The last time she had brought a boyfriend, she had to wake him up. With Colin it was different.

Feeling her worry, Colin bent down for a small kiss, before telling her, “Thank you for the invitation, Pen. I’m really enjoying myself.”

Benedict interjected before she could say anything, only giving her the opportunity to smile at Colin to signify her appreciation.

“Henry did a fantastic job with this adaptation. And I really like the actor for Fabrizio.”

Penelope had thought so too. Anytime he was on stage, her eyes were drawn to him. During the first act he had a small part, but she knew from her discussion with Gen that he had more room to shine after the intermission. She repeated so to Benedict who continued the conversation discussing their opinions on what they had seen so far.

Colin did not add anything but listened and hummed when he agreed with certain takes. Penelope felt flutters at his interest in her own interest. Most of the day had been about her, between her book signing and their theatre date, and Colin had been the perfect partner throughout all of it. Like it had happened many times before with him, Penelope felt herself fall in love with him again and more.

As she was reaching this conclusion, the lights dimmed again, like a cloud silencing the room for the rest of the play.

Colin had still not let go of her hand, but he started rubbing circles on the back of it when she gave him a kiss to his cheek. Just as Benedict had done before, there was that smile he tried to hide.

Benedict was impressed with the play, he had enjoyed the other he had seen from Henry, but this one was something else. He could not wait to congratulate him at the afterparty he had been invited to. He would also have to compliment Genevieve for her work. She had managed the perfect balance of showing of the characters without overpowering them. And maybe they could get familiar with each other again.

When the applauses were over, he turned back to the couple who was already getting ready to leave. Benedict had enjoyed talking with Penelope during intermission. She was very intelligent and observant. He could not wait to have further conversations with her and get to know her more. But maybe he did not have to wait until Colin deigned to bring her to family brunch for that to happen. As they were walking toward the exit of the theatre, Benedict told them, “I’m going to the afterparty. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if you came with me.”

“That’s nice Ben, but we had a big day today. I think we’re going to head home,” Colin answered. And as if to confirm what he said, Penelope yawned, before adding, “But it was lovely to meet you, Benedict. Say hello and congratulations to Gen for me if you see her.” The twinkle in her eyes meant trouble. He truly could not wait to know her better and to cause mayhem with her.

Before Benedict went towards the artist entrance, he went to hug Penelope and then his brother. He told her his sentiment of excitement of talking more about her opinion of plays the next time they would meet. When it was Colin’s turn for the hug, Benedict quickly whispered to him, “She’s great, brother. Really lovely.”

As he was waiting for his friends to exit the theatre to go to Henry’s, he watched the couple enter an Uber with Colin, forever the romantic, closing the door for Penelope before running to the other side of the car to enter it. He was really smitten. Maybe one day Benedict would have something similar. In the meanwhile, it was time to tease his besotted brother.

Bridger-blings

Ben: Guess who I met tonight

Ben: Hint, she was with Colin

Daphne: YOU MET HIS GIRLFRIEND??

Daphne: How is she? What’s her name?

Colin: Ben, you couldn’t keep it to yourself?

Greg: yeah ben, like a good brother would do

Greg: (colin am i back to number 1?)

Hya’: GREG YOU MET HER AND DIDNT TELL ME?????

Hya’: ur dead when you come back home 💀

Colin: @Greg, Anthony is my favourite brother currently

Daphne: Why did they meet her and we didn’t?

Colin: All three meetings were accidental

Hya’: 3????!!!???!??! as in three (3) meetings?????? who's the third??????

Francesca: Me. She’s lovely and that’s all I’m going to say.

Colin: And Fran is my favourite siblings atm

Eloise: @Ben gotta admire the shit stirring, nicely dipped after dropping the bomb shell

Ben: ty ty

Eloise: @Daph @Hya’: leave Colin alone ffs

Anthony: @Daph @Hya': As Eloise said so crudely, drop it please.

Anthony: @Ben: Did you really have to say it in the chat?

Ben: yup 😁

Sisters squad

Daphne: Fran pleeeeeeeeeease anything?

Francesca: No, we'll meet her when they’re ready. He wants to introduce her to mum first

Hya’: just a name? or a picture?

Francesca: No, we both know it won't be enough, you gremlin

Hya’: @Daph I’ll work on Greg when he comes back home, will keep you updated

Eloise: dont you want to leave them alone, fran said we'll meet her when theyre ready

The smaller bros

Colin: thanks for keeping you know what for yourself

Colin: you’re number one, but it would have been suspicious if I said it openly

Greg: KNEW IT

Greg: dw, I’ll keep my mouth shut

Chapter Text

With their mother away for a pampering weekend getaway that Daphne had gifted her for Christmas, the siblings had decided to cancel family brunch for once. Violet had seemed disappointed when she had learnt about it, but Hyacinth had heard Colin explain during their weekly meetup that they all saw everyone every week for brunch, in addition to other meetings during the week in smaller groups. It was just an opportunity to have a lie-in for once.

Hyacinth loved all her siblings, and she had a good relationship with all of them. As she was getting closer to her 18^th birthday, she felt her siblings slowly starting to see her as part of the group rather than just the baby of the family. Except with Anthony, who was like a father figure to her and Gregory as he had practically raised them with their mother, after their father had passed away before Hyacinth was even born.

As the last two of the family, her relationship with Gregory was also different than with the others. They had bonded in their childhood by teasing the Old Ones™, as well as each other. They liked to complain about the other’s presence, but she really loved her brother. Although she would never admit it out loud, he was most of the time in her top three of her siblings.

But not that morning. She was annoyed at him. There were the texts in the group chat where he had admitted he had met Colin’s girlfriend. Then he had come home too drunk for her to interrogate him properly as he had fallen asleep before she could get interesting answers. He had just drunkenly slurred “I know her and you don’t” over and over.

Hyacinth had struggled to fall asleep and then she had woken up early. So much for a lie-in. She slept more when there was family brunch.

She hated not knowing something, particularly when others knew about it. Especially if it was Gregory. It was a reaction of being the youngest in her family and having grown up without being told stuff. So often kept away from whispers and inside jokes. Gregory was supposed to be the brother who understood how unfair it felt. They had bonded over their annoyance at being kept in the dark. Instead, he had kept a secret from her.

Being up early gave her time to plot her revenge. She had seen some questionable things that Gregory had done at the party the night before. She could report it to Anthony. She also had mutual friends with Hermione and Lucy, some of Gregory’s friends he talked about too often for it to be innocent.

Hyacinth also had good skills to dig up compromising information (see her knowledge of Gregory taking body shots the night before as proof). And Gregory was sloppier with his social media use than Colin. The Old Ones™ would cite how they were raised to leave little trace of their personal life online because of stranger danger. Hyacinth would call them old.

Gregory was not only a reckless Gen-Z who did not care about what future employers could find. He was also a reckless idiot who forgot his sister could gather a lot of information from an Instagram profile.

Her first step was a good one – she went to Gregory’s followers and follow lists. The most recent ones were people he had met the night before. But then another account jumped out. PenDePlume. It was a private account. She had accepted Gregory but had not followed him back. (Sucks to sucks Gregory).

But Hyacinth noticed something else. Colin was following her. And PenDePlume was following him.

She could not help but smile, forgetting it was just 8am on a Sunday morning. She had found her.

It had to be Colin’s girlfriend. In his text, Colin had mentioned it had been accidental. Gregory had probably run into them, her older brother did live close to campus after all. The likelihood with her two gluttonous brothers that they would accidently meet at a food related place was quite high.

Hyacinth did not know how she had not found her in Colin’s follow list earlier. She had analysed it when she had learnt he was dating someone. PenDePlume had gone unnoticed back then. Not anymore.

Sitting up in her bed, Hyacinth went back to her page and clicked on the follow button. And then on the message one. Time to meet her brother’s girlfriend.

Hya-sickle : Hiiiii

Hya-sickle : i was just scrolling and then your account was suggested because two of my brothers follow you, so I got curious

Hya-sickle : anyway, I’m guessing you’re Colin’s gf so I wanted to introduce myself:

Hya-sickle : im Hyacinth~

Hya-sickle : colin’s 4^th, and best, sister ✨

It did not take too long before seeing a notification pop up: PenDePlume had accepted her follow request (and Hyacinth noticed, did not follow back either. Was she on the same level as Gregory?!). And before she got time to check out her account, a new notification showed up. She got an answer to her message.

PenDePlume : Hello Hyacinth :)

PenDePlume : Colin told me you had good detective skills, and with Benedict’s message last night, he was sure you would show up soon

PenDePlume : My turn to introduce myself: Hi Hyacinth, I’m Penelope, Colin’s girlfriend

She had gotten it right. Gregory and his sloppy social media usage had nothing against her. And now she had access to Penelope’s Instagram account. Time to continue her snooping.

There were not many posts of herself, and they were mainly from far away. She had a lot of posts about books and aesthetic photos of bookshelves. It was what Hyacinth would imagine Eloise would post if she had Ben or Colin’s sensibility for artistic endeavours. Recently, there were more photos of Penelope, and closer to her face. Colin had good taste.

Although Colin had never brought anyone home, she had seen women pop up in his stories in the past. They had all been cute, but Penelope immediately stood out to Hyacinth. Not only was she really beautiful, it was as if her personality shone through her photos.

An element that struck out was the smile she wore in her latest posts. Hyacinth felt warmth in her chest when she saw that Colin was credited for the photos. Penelope’s smile was bright and reached her eyes, which were full of love. It was clear she was looking at the person taking the photo.

Hyacinth continued to dig around, with a bit of judgment in the millennial librarian look she had on, but nothing that her and Daphne could not fix over time with Christmas and birthday gifts. And based on the few photos where she was more dressed up, she could benefit wearing more revealing clothes. She had a wonderful body with an hourglass shape and great boobs.

She cringed at the comments Colin had left, but at least it was not the flame emojis like Gregory had done to his friend Hermione. And unlike Gregory, he was actually dating the woman he was giving cringe comments to (“who needs the sun when you’re here,” c’mon Colin, you can do better than that).

In the comments she also saw a woman with the handle portia.featherington who had written a backhanded compliment while calling Penelope her daughter. She now had a last name. A quick Google search later, with not much coming out, she found an old Facebook page, with barely anything on, and a LinkedIn profile which Hyacinth could not access because she was not decrepit yet and therefore did not have her own account. She would need to hack into Anthony’s or Simon’s account to access it.

PenDePlume : I feel like we’ve had enough time to dig around on the other’s profile. I’m surprised you haven’t asked any questions yet. Even Gregory had some

Oooooh she was good. Hyacinth could clearly see what she was doing. She would have to congratulate Colin on how well he had prepared his girlfriend. Distracting her from looking too far into her presence online by mentioning Gregory doing something better than her? And the worst part was that despite knowing what Penelope was doing, Hyacinth could not help but take the bait.

Hya-sickle : just gathering information to ask better questions

Hya-sickle : but as you mention greg, when did you meet him?

PenDePlume : Just Friday morning

PenDePlume : And because I feel like you will ask: Francesca on Saturday morning, Benedict in the evening

Hya-sickle : and now me ✨

Hya-sickle : anyway, first question, how did you meet colin?

Penelope was both a light sleeper and a morning person. She also happened to date someone who tended to snore in the morning. It was fine during the night but as the light would make its way through the blinds, Colin would start to make some noises. She found it cute and had not had the heart to tell him yet. Knowing her boyfriend, he would feel embarrassed about it and would try to find a solution to stop it. Regardless of the fact that it did not bother her.

It was actually one more thing that made her fall more in love with him. That was embarrassing, so she would keep it to herself and enjoy his snoring.

Still under the cover, she settled herself and fluffed her pillow against the headboard to do some reading while he was still sleeping. He must have felt her movement, because, in his sleep, Colin moved to settle his head against her midriff. With any other person in the world, she would have to fight her inner insecurities, but not with Colin. It was comfortable to feel him snuggle into her love handles. (It also made him hide under the cover, quieting his snores).

She made the executive decision that she did not care if it woke him up, even if it was early Sunday morning, and started to play with his hair that were out of the cover, massaging his scalp. She was convinced it would not wake him up, as it usually put him to sleep when she did that to him while they watched TV. After a minute with no movement on his part, she went back to her book while playing with his hair.

After finishing a chapter, she checked her phone to see what time it was, when she noticed Instagram notifications. A certain Hya-sickle wanted to follow her and had sent her messages. Penelope quickly put two and two together: Colin and Gregory were both following her, and her handle was similar to Colin’s youngest sister’s name. Hyacinth must have found her.

Her theory was soon confirmed when she read the messages she had sent her. Early in their relationship, Colin had warned her his sisters might find her. But as her account was private, she had not cared, and in the end it had not happened. Until now.

Penelope had accepted Gregory’s follow request after confirming with her boyfriend that he was comfortable with it. Gregory had reached out to her while the couple were having drinks on Friday night. He had sent her a message apologising once again for walking in on them. Colin had joked that she should not accept his follow request because it would give him ammunition to brag in front of the other siblings when they found out. She had found it funny (and hoped it would make Gregory less likely to tell the whole story of how they had met) and had accepted his request. Colin had put his foot down, asking her not to follow him back, at least not until she had met the whole family. Otherwise, they would never hear the end of it. Penelope took pity on her boyfriend and did not click on the follow back button.

With Benedict message in the siblings’ group chat, that Colin had showed her in the Uber, the couple were expecting more active search of who she was. Colin had even pointed out that following Gregory was a mistake if she did not want to be found. “Colin, I’m in the process of meeting your family. I’ve met three of them in two days. We’re passed the point of hiding.” Colin had not argued with it, despite his mumbling that he had wanted her to meet his mother first.

And now, as expected, Hyacinth had found her.

After answering her introductory message, Penelope went to check on her profile. Like a proper Gen-Z, there was not much on her profile itself, like Gregory’s. Colin had explained that apparently young people found it cringe to post other things than disappearing stories, unless it was meticulously thought-out. Penelope did not really understand the logic behind it all, but she was also not Instagram savvy (she was more used to Tumblr than Instagram), nor had she younger siblings that could teach her what was in or not.

She was all the sudden questioning her own personal feed. Was Hyacinth judging her for her cringe content to the point where she would request Colin to break up with her? Penelope was not really one to post on social media. Most of the photos on her profile had been put online after encouragement from her friends, or more recently, her boyfriend. Colin did take wonderful pictures, and he made her feel beautiful.

The opinion of a teenager should not matter to her, even if she was Colin’s sister. She would like for Hyacinth to like her, but maybe they could bond over how to improve her feed if it was too bad.

Looking at Hyacinth’s feed, she also discovered some old pictures of the family Hyacinth had posted for her 17^th birthday. She had seen a couple of child-Colin photos before, but there were new ones amongst them, including one where all three older brothers were dressed as fairies for Hyacinth’s fourth birthday. Unsurprisingly, Colin had not shown this one. But it made Penelope’s hearth squeeze, and her hand wandered to his cheek to caress him as a placeholder for a kiss she would give him later.

When Penelope reached the end of Hyacinth’s (small) feed, she realised she had not heard from the teenager since she had answered her. Based on how Colin had described his sister, her best plan of action was to distract her before she went too far deep into Penelope’s college photos. She needed to archive all this.

At least the distracting message seemed to work, Hyacinth was quick to answer back and shoot questions to get to know her brother’s girlfriend.

After some time, her book long forgotten, and the interrogation slowly turning to a discussion, Penelope felt something stir on her side. She felt small kisses travelling from her midriff toward her centre.

“Not now Colin. I’m busy talking with Hyacinth.” There was humour in her voice, and she chuckled at the speed at which her boyfriend stopped his kisses and emerged from under the duvet.

Whatever direction Colin had hoped their morning to go, it was quickly put aside. The scalp massage Penelope had given him had tussled his hair more than usual and it went hand in hand with the little “Wut?” he managed before looking around the room as if he were going to find his little sister there with them, in Penelope’s apartment.

Raising her phone to show him, Penelope explained, “She found me on Instagram. She noticed Gregory was following me.”

“She’s talking to you on Instagram?” mumbled Colin, still waking up.

Penelope took pity on her boyfriend and gave him her phone for him to read the conversation she had with Hyacinth. And with the kiss on his cheek she had promised herself, she got out of the bed to go to the bathroom.

When she joined him back to bed, Colin seemed to have caught up with everything they had chatted about and he asked her, “Do you mind if I message her from here? Or would you rather I text her from my phone?” Penelope shrugged back at him, she did not mind. He would tell her what he would say anyway. And it was his baby sister.

PenDePlume : Did you really have to write to Pen?

PenDePlume : Can you keep her handle to yourself, at least until she meets mum? You know Daph is going to be worse than you. Thanks, C

PenDePlume : Also, stop trying to give Pen a makeover, her clothes are perfectly fine

She looked over his shoulder with a smile as he typed his last message with a huff. She had not taken too seriously Hyacinth’s comment about her clothes. But she appreciated how ready Colin was to come to her defence. Maybe he would do great with meeting her own mother.

Before Hyacinth could respond to Colin’s message via Penelope’s phone, he put it down on his own nightstand, turning back toward his girlfriend.

“Now, where were we?”

Because Hyacinth had found Penelope all on her own, Hyacinth graciously let Gregory sleep in that morning. But she was ready to meet him once he finally got out of his room. Just because she had found all the information she wanted on her own, it did not mean she could not gather some more by interrogating her brother. Especially when she had been interrupted by Colin jumping in on her conversation with Penelope.

When they had chatted, Penelope had been mummed about her meetings with her siblings, but Greg’s in particular. It made her curious.

Hyacinth was in the kitchen, cooking herself a late breakfast/early lunch (it was not brunch, it is too sad to brunch alone), when Gregory finally showed up, his steps still heavy with sleep.

“So, Penelope,” she said instead of a ‘good morning,’ her back still turned towards him.

Always good to attack while he was not completely awake, more likely to make mistakes. And he seemed to struggle to come up with an answer. It took him a few seconds to finally settle on a weak “Who?”

Amateur

“Colin’s girlfriend, Penelope,” Hyacinth answered, finally turning to face her brother. “Whom you met on Friday.”

“Oh. This Penelope. Yes, we met on Friday.”

“You had 48 hours to tell me about it but didn’t. Why? What happened? You don’t like her?”

There was a hint of a blush. She must have struck a nerve with her questions. She thought back to the photos of Penelope she had seen, and she had an idea. Gregory probably liked her too much. Penelope was a beautiful woman, and Mother Nature had been generous with her breasts. Gregory was only a man.

“Latin got cancelled, I texted Colin about it, and he invited me for breakfast if I promised not to say anything about Penelope,” Gregory informed her, trying to act casual.

She needed to dig more. See if Colin had the same version, to hopefully discover the truth. There was something fishy about Gregory’s story. Particularly as Colin had mentioned the meetings were accidental in his text in the group chat.

teatime 🫖

Hya': how did greg meet penelope?

Colin: Asked me to come crash for a bit at the apartment, met Pen over breakfast

Hya': then why did you say it was an accidental meeting? like with fran and ben

Colin: Because he texted me when he was almost inside my building, wasn't a planned breakfast

Hya': mmmmmmmh

Hya': i'll allow it

Colin: ??

Hya’: was greg awkward as fuck when he met her?

The smaller bros

Colin: *screenshot*

Colin: new version of story fyi

Greg: nice save man

Greg: she's relentless, attacked me when i was barely awake

Greg: what did you say to her last question?

Greg: colin????

Greg: i wasn’t too awkward, right?

Greg: ????

The coquette girlies 🎀

Hya’: i found her

Hya’: can’t say more, colin would kill me, but it’s possible you can do it too

Daphne: HOW????

Daphne: I have two kids, I don’t have time for this Hya, help me please 😭

Chapter Text

writtenbytenderfeathers : omg, you know I told you how it was getting more serious with the bf?

writtenbytenderfeathers : well, recently we’ve been talking more seriously about the big “meet the family”

misunderstoodideas : ooooh getting proper serious

Penelope had met misunderstoodideas on Tumblr many years ago, when they were young teenagers. They had bonded over Merthur fanfiction, starting as fans of the other’s works. Misunderstoodideas had been the first to reach out to chat to compliment one of Penelope’s stories. Over the years, their friendship had blossomed, as they grew up alongside the other. It had started with compliments, evolved to beta-ing and sometimes co-writing, and had now become an everlasting friendship.

They had now been friends for half their lives, but they still did not know the other’s name. They still used their pseudonyms, although shortened to Misunder and Feather, and chatted almost daily. They shared their problems and successes, hardship and celebrations, but had never seen pictures of the other.

writtenbytenderfeathers : he wanted to do it properly, with his mum first and then his siblings

writtenbytenderfeathers : BUT I’ve already met 4 of them by accident in like 3 days

writtenbytenderfeathers : I think he’s more stressed about it than I am lol

writtenbytenderfeathers : and he wants them to keep it a secret so his mother can still think she met me first

misunderstoodideas : that’s cute, he’s a mama’s boy

misunderstoodideas : I like Mr. Perfect Penis, waaaaaay better than Mr. Penguin

As her best friend, Misunder knew things Penelope had never told anyone else, even her real-life friends. The feeling of anonymity and the friendship she shared with Misunder made her more secure to open up. Misunder had been the first one to rise the red flag about Alfie, noticing early on his toxic tendencies. It had taken time for Penelope to stop deflecting Misunder’s warning, too happy to finally have a man interested in her. Misunder had been her rock after the breakup and they had raged together over the fact that he had been the one breaking up, despite the fact Penelope had wanted to do it too.

When Penelope had started to mention Colin (known then as “the guy I’ve been seeing”), Misunder had immediately preferred him over Alfie. She was ready to listen to Penelope’s reviews after their dates and had been happy when he had become “the boyfriend.” With his new status, he had earned a nickname, like other past partners had done before. Alfie had been Mr. Penguin. Misunder had dated Handpress (who had turned into Hard Pressed after the breakup) and Frilly. Based on Penelope’s great review, Misunder had settled on “Mr. Perfect Penis” for Colin. Penelope had no reasons to fight it, so she had happily accepted the nickname.

misunderstoodideas : wait, you’ve met 4 of his siblings before his mum?

misunderstoodideas : two questions: 1) how did it go?

misunderstoodideas : and 2) how many siblings left?

writtenbytenderfeathers : all the meetings were accidents

writtenbytenderfeathers : well, his sister found me on insta, so it wasn’t an accident per say, but not planned

writtenbytenderfeathers: the worst was his brother who walked into us while bf was eating me out… that was awful 😭

misunderstoodideas : OMFG NOOOOOOOOOOO 💀💀

writtenbytenderfeathers : but I think they like me? At least bf seems happy

misunderstoodideas : bc you satisfy him 😉

writtenbytenderfeathers : shut up

writtenbytenderfeathers : anyway, I’m meeting his mum later this week, so we’ll see if there is another sibling that pops up before

writtenbytenderfeathers : but to answer you second question: yes, there could still be siblings popping up randomly because THEY ARE 8 OF THEM

writtenbytenderfeathers : idk how his mum did it

writtenbytenderfeathers : and, it’s a bit cringe but sweet, they are named alphabetically lol

writtenbytenderfeathers : ah also, you might like it as a fellow member of the ‘dead father club,’ but bf once joked that if his father had not died, they would probably be still working through the alphabet

writtenbytenderfeathers : Misunder?

writtenbytenderfeathers : You still there?

writtenbytenderfeathers : Sorry if the joke was too much, I know how it can get.

Penelope was getting worried. Misunder did not usually disappear in the middle of conversations. At least not without saying anything. During their teenager years, when they still lived at their mums’, it was more common. They had both mastered the art of the quick “brb” before disappearing when a sibling or a parent interrupted them. But they had long overgrown the fear of siblings reading over their shoulder.

Maybe she should not have shared Colin’s joke. Even for her, some days were harder than others, and Misunder had actually been close to her dad. Maybe she was having a bad day, and Penelope had unknowingly added salt to the wound.

She was worriedly biting on her lips, typing out another message to her friend, when Colin popped his head in her small office. He had been cooking for their dinner while she had gone to check on Misunder and discuss the feedback she had given her on her fic.

“Hey, got a weird question to ask you,” started Colin before he registered his girlfriend’s worried face. “You okay, Pen?”

“Mmmh, just waiting for a message back, nothing you can do about it. What was your weird question?”

“Okay, I don’t know what this is about, but I was told to see if ‘Merthur, ‘Feather’ and ‘Mi-zunder’ rang a bell?”

Penelope felt her eyes expand three sizes when she heard these words coming out of his mouth. She could not comprehend. Why was Colin saying these words to her? How did he know about it? She had shared her fandom experience with him, talked about fanfiction, and he had been clueless. He knew nothing about all this. How did he know about her pseudonym? And her friend’s?

Her mind was still trying to make sense of all of it. She could not give him an answer, which, in itself, was a response.

She started to register what was happening in her surrounding when she heard through Colin’s phone a voice screaming: “Put my best friend through the phone!”

Home alone, with no social obligations. Eloise had planned her Sunday to be both productive and lazy. With family brunch cancelled, she had enjoyed a lie-in, caught up on some reading, and listened to a podcast in the bath. Then, she had gone outside to buy enough food for lunch and dinner at the Indian place right around the corner from her place.

During the afternoon, she had worked on her latest fic. Feather, her best friend, had given her feedback a few days prior. Eloise just needed to go over them before she could publish her new update. People had been pestering her about it, but between work and some writer’s block, it had been a struggle. She just wanted to finally finish this chapter and get it over with.

As any review session from Feather’s feedback, it always ended up with them chatting on Discord. Over the years of knowing each other, they had never met, nor seen what the other looked like. They had talked about meeting up when Feather had moved out of the outskirts of London into the city. But they were both too nervous to see how it would affect their friendship. The topic had come back a few times over the years, but it had never turned into anything. Between Eloise’s fear of change and Feather’s problem with self-confidence, they were afraid it would cause a drift in their friendship. They had agreed to let the universe do its job. If it were meant to be, they would meet one day.

After Feather’s break-up with her asshole boyfriend (Eloise had always hated Mr. Penguin), they had joked that they would invite the other to their wedding and that would be how they would meet. Eloise was not sure she would ever get married, despite coming from a family that revered to the idea of marriage, she had never drawn to the concept for herself. Feather did not share her reluctance for marriage, but after her breakup, she had been convinced she would end up alone for the rest of her life (Eloise really hated Mr. Penguin and what he had done to her best friend).

A few months ago, Feather had started a new relationship, which seemed to be going well, and to be way healthier. So well that Feather was already meeting the family, even if it was not going as planned. It had reminded Eloise of their joke. She would not be surprised if he were the boyfriend who would become more. Based on the way she talked about him, Mr. Perfect Penis was different than anything Feather had experienced before.

But, as they continue to chat about Feather’s boyfriend’s family, something tickled Eloise’s brain. Something was not adding up. Or rather, something was adding up too much.

How many families had a dead dad, eight siblings named alphabetically and lived in London? Sure, it was a big city, but not that big.

And what were the odds Feather would bring that up when her brother, who had been dating someone new for a few months, had hinted at his willingness to start introducing his girlfriend to the family. And based on the sibling group chat, there were three siblings who had met said girlfriend. Eloise would not put it passed Hyacinth to be the sister who had found her on Instagram. She probably just had not announced it in the chat, for whatever reason.

It was all too much to be a coincidence.

Grabbing her phone, she texted Colin. If she were wrong, she would rather try his way than Feather’s. He would not understand it, but he also would not question his sister. He was used to her antics, and would forget about it soon, if it led to nowhere.

📖bookworms🪱

Eloise : Are you with your gf atm?

Colin : Why?

Eloise : I’ll explain later, but can you ask her a question and tell me how she reacts?

Colin : What is this about? Did Daphne steal your phone?

Colin : she’s been pestering me nonstop since this morning

Eloise : I’m home alone dumbass

Eloise : Just ask her about ‘Merthur,’ ‘Feather’ and ‘Misunder’

Eloise : See if she reacts or not

Eloise : I’ll explain later

Eloise waited for a couple of minutes. She could not take her eyes out of her phone, despite the dings coming from her computer. Feather was probably asking about her lack of reaction from her.

Colin : What did you make me do el? You’ve broken her

So, it was her. Colin was dating her best friend. Feather was dating her brother.

She could not wait, and immediately rang Colin.

“Put my best friend through the phone!”

Pen had looked up at him when Eloise’s voice rang through his phone. At that very moment, it felt like Colin was trying to solve a puzzle only his sister and his girlfriend had the pieces of. And he was trying his best to catch up between Eloise demanding his best friend and Penelope’s eyes jumping between her laptop and Colin, or rather his phone.

As if Eloise’s voice had been the song of a siren, Penelope stood up and walked towards Colin. She seemed to understand why Eloise was calling for her best friend. Instead of giving his phone, he put his sister on speaker, announcing it for all to hear.

“Feather, it’s you, right?”

“Misunder?”

“You’re Colin’s girlfriend.”

“And I’m guessing you’re one of his sisters.”

Colin was standing there, holding the phone, and observing his girlfriend. Her shock was slowly turning into excitement, a big smile showing up on her lips. They apparently knew each other.

“Eloise, number five of the alphabet.”

“The alphabet, of course,” Penelope answered laughing. “Please don’t say anything to your mum.”

“Your secret’s safe with me, Feather.”

“Penelope,” she corrected.

“Penelope, I like it. It suits you.”

Eloise had called for her best friend, but they were just introducing themselves. Penelope noticed her boyfriend trying to make sense of this conversation and paused whatever Eloise had started to say to quickly explain that they were online friends, had been since they were 13 years old. That his sister was actually the friend she chatted with so often. That they were best friends but had never met each other. Both women explained it to him elements of their friendship, talking in perfect unison as if they had done it their entire life. Eloise, who tended to talk non-stop when she was excited, managed to pause to let Penelope add her own perspective to their story.

It warmed his heart to witness this moment, to see Penelope’s excitement to exchange with her friend after finding out she was her boyfriend’s sister.

“I’m guessing we’re going to meet in person before your wedding, Feather,” teased Eloise through the phone. Penelope laughed before checking on Colin to observe his reaction. They had just been dating for four months, and although she was in the process of meeting his family (literally), they had not talked marriage yet. But they were both serious about their relationship. And, even if he did not understand their inside joke, Colin surprised himself at how calm he was about the topic coming up. It made sense to associated marriage with Penelope.

Based on the smile they shared, she agreed with him. He could not help but to embrace her with his arm that was not holding on the phone. Penelope helped him, enlacing him with both her arms and snuggling her face to his chest, where she could probably hear his heart beating fast.

Eloise, obvious to the mood change in her best friend’s apartment, continued to talk. “So, Colin, you’re the famous boyfriend. I heard it was going well.”

“If you say so, I will trust your own best friend,” Colin answered back, looking down to his girlfriend, sharing a small kiss.

At that moment, he was overwhelmed by the love he felt. He felt secure in his relationship with Penelope, and he loved the fact that she was familiar with Eloise. He loved them both and they loved each other. Before he had even known her, Penelope had already had an ally in his family.

“I can’t wait to tell the others I was the first to know you. Even before Colin!” Eloise added before her signature cackle. Which stopped abruptly. Followed by a guttural sound of fake gagging. “Feather. I forbid you from talking about my brother ever again. I know too much.”

Still hidden against his chest, Colin felt his girlfriend tense up. Looking down he saw her blush as deeply as she had done with Gregory.

Since they had started dating, one of the things Colin loved about Penelope was her blush. The lovely shade of pink she wore when he complimented her made it even more gratifying. But when Gregory had walked in on them, she had turned a shade he had never seen before. And here it was again, just three days later.

“Misunder. Please forget everything I ever told you.” Colin was starting to worry. Had Penelope complained about him to her best friend? Penelope had told him about the woes of online dating as a woman and all the creeps she had interacted with. Maybe he had been one of them too, and he had Stockholm-syndromed her into a relationship. His imagination stopped abruptly when Eloise spoke again.

“How am I meant to forget about my brother’s perfect penis?”

Oh. That was completely different than what he had imagine. As if it was possible, Penelope’s cheeks turned a shade even darker. He could not help but laugh.

“Please stop talking,” came in Penelope’s small voice. With his free arm, Colin rubbed his girlfriend’s back to try and reassure her.

“OH NO! Did Greg walk in on you guys?” Here was her cackle again. At least she might forget about his perfect penis.

Colin felt his own cheeks heat up. He had hoped this event would stay between the three concerned people. Less likely for it to spread. And now Eloise was aware of it.

“Please keep that to yourself. And everything else. I’m going to hang up for all of our sakes,” Colin said before ending the call. Finally free from holding the phone, he wrapped Penelope with both his arms. And started to laugh nervously. Soon joined by Penelope.

When Eloise had first texted him, he had not expected that to happen.

Penelope tried to apologise through her laughter. As bashful as Colin had first felt when he had found out Eloise knew too much about his love-life, he found that he did not care. Eloise would not divulge it to anyone, if not for him, for Penelope. Eloise loved fiercely, and he knew she loved Penelope. From what he knew about Penelope’s life growing up, he was glad she had had an ally like Eloise by her side back then. And she would be an ally when Penelope would join him to family brunch.

Later, when the couple had stopped laughing and had discussed more about their relationships with Eloise, and what she knew about them (“I need to prepare for what she might throw at me, Pen. It was in-house sabotage”), Penelope went back to her laptop to find a message from her friend.

misunderstoodideas : I’m really happy for you Penelope. I know how much you love him, and how much he loves you. Can’t wait to meet you in person. Please bring bleach with you, I’ll need it after all the images I have in my head bc of you

misunderstoodideas : ❤️

writtenbytenderfeathers : ❤️

Gremlin Nation 👹

Eloise : Greg youre really a dumbass

Eloise : going to Colin unannounced, you got what you deserved

Greg : did Colin tell you? He promised he wouldn’t tell anyone

Eloise : Penelope did no such promises

Eloise : but dw I’ll keep it between us

Eloise : you better grovel, I don’t want you to make her run away

Chapter Text

Today was the day. Penelope was going to meet his mother.

Despite his original plan for Penelope to meet his mother first, Colin was actually glad the universe had other plans. The many ways Penelope had met his siblings had been so natural (except for Hyacinth) and successful, it made him more at ease for tonight’s introduction. After each encounter, Colin had received messages from his siblings about how great Penelope was and how happy they were for him. They all liked her.

His mother had also admitted she already liked Penelope based on the way he lit up when he talked about her. It could only go well.

Colin had made sure to keep his schedule for that Wednesday afternoon free, allowing him the time to cook a good meal for his mother, and to have time to thoroughly clean his apartment. It was not in bad shape, but he had neglected it in recent weeks. The couple spent most of their free time at Penelope’s, and when they were at Colin’s, cleaning was not his priority. While his mother would not comment on it, especially not in front of Penelope, Colin knew she would notice the dust settled on his shelves.

Penelope had asked him countless time if he needed her help, which he always refused. He only accepted her offer to pick up dessert from Chez Charlotte, a bakery the both of them loved, as a distraction. It meant he did not have to think of a dessert himself. And it gave Penelope an excuse to visit the bookshop-bakery-café place to chat with the bookshop side and see if they would be open for a book signing in the future. The numbers she had received for Loving a Viscount were looking great after just a week. Colin was convinced Chez Charlotte would be interested in P.A. Feathers.

Penelope’s detour also delayed her arrival at his apartment, minimising the chances for her to help him out. Penelope would go to Chez Charlotte after work, which meant she would arrive approximatively an hour earlier than Violet had been invited. That gave Colin time to finish everything, both meal prepping and cleaning. Once his girlfriend arrived, he would have time to give her a pep talk and encouraging words without any other worries.

Colin only knew what Penelope had told him about her relationship with her own family, particularly her mother. He also knew it was just the tip of the iceberg. Penelope was open about her therapy appointments and the work she had done, and continued to do, in order to undo years of belittlement in the hands of her mother. Colin was proud of the women Penelope was. He knew his own mother, who had had her own difficult relationship with her mother, would see what a great woman Penelope was.

Penelope had worriedly asked him questions about his mother, as if she was studying for an exam on Violet Bridgerton. What she liked, her relationships with her children’s spouses, and how she could increase her odds for Violet to like her. Eloise had texted him that she had received messages from a worried Penelope throughout the day.

Both Colin and Eloise had tried their best to reassure her, but Penelope was an overthinker when she was stressed. She needed to imagine all the worst-case scenarios to feel prepared.

Penelope arrived as he was putting away the mop. He had perfectly timed his tasks: he had finished cleaning, the curry was simmering, and he had showered as the living room’s floor was drying. Colin had decided to cook a recipe he had learnt during his travels in Thailand. Both his mother and Penelope loved it. It was his go-to meal for important events, like when he had first invited his mother to see his new apartment, or the first time he had cooked for Penelope. It was the perfect meal to introduce the two most important women of his life.

Now, it was time to try and distract Penelope. (Or answer her questions about his mother).

Violet was excited to meet the infamous Penelope. She had rung Colin the day before, after coming back home from her spa treatment Daphne had gifted her for Christmas, to confirm the dinner was still on. Over the phone, Colin had been the chatterbox she knew and loved. Colin was such an excitable person who wore his heart on his sleeve. She loved that about him. Hopefully, Penelope loved that about him too.

Since she had gotten back home, Violet had heard from the grapevine (Hyacinth) that some siblings had met her already, which made others (Daphne) jealous. Gregory had admonished his sister for divulging the secret Colin had asked them to keep. Apparently, Colin had wanted his mother to think she was the first to meet his girlfriend.

In truth, Violet did not care for it, and she had cleared the air over their phone call. She was just happy that Colin felt safe enough in his relationship to take this important step of introducing his family into it, regardless of the order it happened.

Violet had decided to take the bus rather than the tube to go to Colin’s. It meant it took a bit longer, but it gave her the opportunity to cross the park close to his house. Violet had tried to argue that she did not need the spa treatment, but she could now admit it had done wonder to her back. She was now [redacted] years old, and she had forgotten what it felt like to get out of bed without any pain. Violet was happy to enjoy a small walk when she still felt light in her steps.

It gave her the opportunity to reminisce on Colin and his relationships. He had come to her a few times to talk about them with her, like he had done with Penelope when they first started dating. (Although that time he had immediately told her it felt different, good different). Usually, the topic would dwindle down after a few weeks before he would tell her they had broken up. With Penelope the topic never stopped. Each Thursdays, when they met for lunch, he would mention her at least once (it was rarely just once).

Violet had been excited when he had talked about introducing her to the family. Sure, she had hinted at it, she wanted to meet the woman who made her son smile after all. But she had also hinted at it when he was dating Marina. Despite them dating for 9 months, Colin had never taken the bait, and Marina had only met Daphne of all the family. From what Colin had told Violet after their breakup, she was happy she had not met Marina in the end. Her daughter had confirmed it, admitting to her mother she had not liked her brother’s girlfriend, nor the way she treated him.

Daphne had not met Penelope yet. She had made sure everyone knew about it and understood how annoyed she was about it. Violet had asked a few questions about Colin’s current girlfriend to her children who had. Her goal was to gather intel on how they felt about her as a person, not to find out more about Penelope. Thankfully, they all seem to love her, praising her personality, her kindness, and most importantly how good she was for Colin.

Violet saw her son every Thursdays, which was still the plan for the next day. Her Wednesdays were for Agatha at lunch and then in the evening, she usually had dinner with Gregory and Hyacinth, the two children still at home. Although, as they were growing older and more independent, their presence was dwindling down, particularly Gregory. Her youngest son was making friends at university and liked to stay on campus. He had been given the option of moving closer to university, but he had decided to stay home to “save-up” as if it was a real worry. Gregory had not been ready to leave the nest yet. And to be honest, she had not pushed as she was not ready for him to leave just yet.

She had weekly meet-ups with most of her children, even if their lives and jobs made it complicated. Particularly for Anthony and Daphne, as there were now children in the mix. Thankfully, there were also the family brunch every Sunday. It was not mandatory, but she liked that her children behaved as if it was. That meant she saw them at least once a week.

It had been a major step in Daphne’s relationship with Simon when she had first brought him for brunch. He already knew Anthony from university and Violet had met him beforehand, but it had been overwhelming for Simon to meet the other siblings. To this day, Simon was still mostly silent around the table, preferring smaller groups. On that first day, all the attention had been on him. Violet had wanted to make sure he felt welcomed, the younger children had tried to get him to play with them in between questions on his favourite characters of kid TV shows. The older brothers, with Anthony as a leader, had questioned Simon’s intentions with Daphne. In Anthony’s defence, he had known him the longest, including his wild life at university, before meeting Daphne, who was 8 years his junior. As Violet liked to say, to her children’s dismay, the biggest reformed rakes made the best husbands. Violet had trusted her daughter and asked her sons to do the same. The couple was now happily married and had grown their family with Violet’s first two granddaughters.

Anthony had brought Kate to brunch early in their relationship. Too early some might say (there had been a fight afterwards between the couple), but her first born had wanted to make sure the family approved before he allowed himself to admit he loved the woman. Benedict and Colin had teased their brother to no-end about Anthony going on a date with Kate’s sister, which was how Violet had learnt about it. She had been on the verge of telling them off when Kate had done it on her own. Gregory and Hyacinth had continued the tradition of asking questions anyone older than them did not understand the reason behind (something about a streak on ChatSnap?) Despite all of it, Kate had held her head high and had managed to convince the entire family, just like Simon had done, that she was a perfect addition to the Bridgerton family. They had only recently grown their own family with their little Edmund, named in memory of Violet’s late husband.

Her other children had dated, she had briefly met some of them, but aside from John, who had been so dear to Francesca, none had been important enough to formally meet the family.

Violet was proud of the relationships she had built with her children. They felt safe coming to her to ask questions and discuss their insecurities. Benedict with his fear of settling down and fear of ending up alone. Colin with his relationships that felt empty. Eloise working through her feelings about her bisexuality. Francesca on getting back up after losing John. Gregory wanting to know more about her marriage with his father. Hyacinth and her first crushes.

As Violet arrived at Colin’s door, she thought to herself that she hoped Penelope would be an important part of her son’s life for a long time. Violet had not met her yet, but she already felt right for her son.

With that thought, she knocked on the door.

Penelope jumped when she heard the knock at the door. She had been jumpy the entire day, even her colleagues had commented on it. She wanted the dinner to go well. She needed it to go perfectly, even better than it had gone with Colin’s siblings. Based on the texts Colin had showed her, they all loved her. She just needed Violet’s approval.

Penelope did not have a good relationship with her own mother, she did not care what Portia might think of Colin. But it was different for her boyfriend. He was close to his family, even closer to his mother. Violet’s opinion was important. She could not mess it up.

Colin, as the perfect host, had gone to welcome his mother after one last squeeze of Penelope’s hand for reassurance. Penelope hovered behind him, not sure what she should do.

“Mum, this is Penelope. Pen, my mother,” Colin introduced after taking his mother’s coat to hang it next to Penelope’s.

“It is a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Bridgerton.” Penelope was proud of herself, her voice had not wavered from the stress. Practicing this sentence in front of the mirror had paid off.

“Please, do call me Violet. And the pleasure is mine.” Hopefully, Violet did not feel how Penelope had first tensed up when she had been hugged. It had gone quickly, especially as Penelope finally understood where Colin’s skills for hugs came from. The embrace lasted a few seconds, but Penelope had felt safe and as if nothing bad could ever happen.

Colin invited them to sit at the kitchen island, offering them a glass of wine and appetizers, while he started the rice cooker and added the finishing touches to the curry.

Recently, Penelope had grown to dislike that island, thanks to Gregory. But at this very moment, she was relieved she did not have to sit alone in the living room while Colin was hidden in the kitchen. Instead, he helped with the flow of the conversation.

During the conversation, Penelope was observing Violet, and she could feel Colin’s mother was doing the same. Penelope had seen photos of Violet, between the photos around Colin’s apartment and her Instagram’s stalking of the family. She had also heard stories from Eloise over the years, without knowing she would become her boyfriend’s mother. Violet had a calming aura surrounding her, which Penelope was grateful for.

The conversation flowed easily and naturally. There were no awkward silence or missteps. Penelope had worried she would be a blubbering mess, but she surprised herself with how at ease she felt. Violet was curious to learn more about her as a person, not just as her son’s girlfriend.

With Colin’s status as a mama’s boy, Penelope had secretly wondered if Violet was going to behave as a Boy Mum. Thankfully, from Violet’s own answers and her questions, she did not make Penelope feel like competition. This dinner was not about gauging her qualities, but to meet her son’s partner.

Penelope also learned more about Colin, with some stories from his childhood (“After getting a haircut, he decided Daphne needed one as well. Sneaking into her room in the middle of the night to cut half of her hair”).

Violet also shared her surprise when Colin had told her about using dating apps. “I could not imagine Colin doing that. He has always needed to form a bond with someone before exploring more. Imagine my surprise when he told me he had met his special someone there.”

Penelope blushed at that. To be described as Colin’s special someone by his own mother on their first meeting. When she looked at her boyfriend, she met his eyes that were already on her, sending all his love her way.

After a while, they settled around the table, their plates full of Colin’s curry. They enjoyed eating the meal he had perfected over the year, but it did not stop the conversation, which continued to go smoothly.

At one point, Violet asked about the different meetings with the other siblings. They had kept them to themselves, which made Violet even more curious about it. Penelope tensed slightly at that topic of discussion, there were some revealing elements to these stories.

“Well, Greg was first,” Colin said, taking the lead on the stories. “His class was cancelled, and he texted me to come crash here. He joined us for breakfast.” Penelope felt herself blush at Colin’s retelling. Apparently, it was the story him and Gregory had agreed on. When she had shared it with Eloise, she had cackled again before promising their secret was safe with her. Penelope also worried what Violet might think of the implication that Penelope had spent the night, requiring breakfast at Colin’s. But Violet did not raise any comments.

“Then there was Fran, at Pen’s book signing,” Colin started listing, ready to continue before being interrupted by his mother.

“You’re a writer? Colin, you never told me that! You said she was a librarian.” Penelope interfered before Colin tried to explain himself. She described her two jobs and answered Violet’s questions about her books.

“Fran told me about them. I’ll have to suggest them to my book club. I’m excited to read them, Penelope.” Here she was blushing again.

Sensing she needed the attention away from her and her books, Colin continued with his list. “Remember the play I was telling you about before your trip? We ran into Ben there, he’s friend with the stage director.”

The rest of the evening continued to go well. The conversation flowing without any hiccups. Violet had promised she would tell off Hyacinth for her sleuthing and she laughed at the fact that Eloise had known Penelope all along. During the night, there was even a moment when Violet and Penelope shared a moment teasing Colin about his eating habits.

When it was time to bid their farewell, Penelope did not tense up when Violet hugged her again. She had welcomed it immediately.

She also welcomed Colin’s hug he gave her after coming back up. He had accompanied his mother outside of his building to watch her leave in the Uber he had hired. This hug lasted longer, and Penelope felt all the worry she had accumulated over the last few days evaporate. It had gone well.

“She really loved you,” Colin whispered in her hair, not letting go of the hug. “She’s invited you to brunch on Sunday if you want.”

Penelope felt tears in her eyes. Colin had joked about Violet adopting her. But at that moment, she truly felt like she was being welcomed in a new family. A family who loved her for who she was. She had barely met the family, with only a couple of siblings left, but she felt already more love than she did when she visited her sisters.

Colin must have felt her emotion, even with her face hidden in his chest, because he did the very Colin thing to do and tried to add a joke to the conversation. “Well, only if you bring pastries from Chez Charlotte, she loved them tonight.”

With a wet laugh, Penelope finally let go of the hug to face her boyfriend. After a kiss, she nodded her head and said, “Guess I’m going to meet the last Bridgertons on Sunday.”

Chapter Text

“You’re sure your friend won’t mind if I tag along?”

“No, Colin. Eddie’s excited to meet you,” Penelope reassured her boyfriend. “And knowing her, there will be so many people you might actually not meet her.”

Colin could try and continue asking questions about this party, but he knew Penelope would have an answer for everything. Especially because earlier in the afternoon he had already asked too many questions on how to dress, what he should bring, and if he really was invited. After all, it was the first time he would meet her group of friends.

Thankfully, Penelope was understanding of his anxiety of meeting her friends – just as he had been with her before meeting Violet. Colin knew that meeting her friends was more important to her than introducing her boyfriend to her mother.

“Then I’m ready when you are,” he finally said, trying his best to hide his anxiety behind a smile.

As he waited for Penelope to add the finishing touches to her outfit, he tried his best to fight his feelings of insecurities. Penelope was three years younger than him, but she was so much more accomplished than he was. For starter, she was a published author, something he had just started working towards, as he had only recently admitted in whispers, in the dark, to Penelope. She was also a university graduate, whereas he simply was a private art school graduate, as Anthony had, not so-subtly, hinted at when Colin was struggling to settle his freelancing. And Penelope had achieved it all by herself, while Colin had both the financial security and the Bridgerton name attached to him.

The apartment he lived in was owned by Anthony (he paid rent, but still), whereas Penelope had hunted down this small place. Despite it being technically a two-bedrooms, one of them could be considered a closet in Colin’s opinion (Penelope used it as her office), it was her own place. Colin’s place was neutral, with a sprinkle of memorabilia from his travel, Penelope’s apartment was full of her personality, with furniture found in flea-markets and books overflowing everywhere you looked. Colin could not wait to move in together, in a bigger flat, not owned by Anthony, when the time would come.

It was probably too early to think about that, but he was meeting her friends later that night, so they were taking steps in the right direction in his opinion. And after Eloise’s joke about marriage, the idea of settling down with Penelope came up more and more in his mind. It was better if he thought about that than questioning his worth.

But before his mind could continue down the path of their future lives together, it short-circuited when Penelope came out of her room. Her dress seemed to have been made for her, a green colour that made her creamy skin glow, her hair pop, and her eyes stand out. And the shape draped perfectly over her body, showing off her best assets. (Colin was definitely a boob guy, but most of all he was a Penelope’s boobs guy). (Or simply a Penelope’s guy).

“Need a minute or can we go?” she asked, chuckling at his reaction. She would have to wait to be in the lift for Colin to manage a “You’re beautiful,” but the wait was compliment enough.

As Anthony was parking the car, he noticed Kate, who had stepped outside as there would not have been enough room for her to get out of the car otherwise, was on the phone with someone. He could guess what this was about, which was confirmed when he himself extirped himself from his Range Rover as smoothly as possible (Kate had told him it was not a good idea to buy such a big car for London, but he had been too stubborn to listen to her).

“Edmund drank his bottle without a fuss and he’s now sleeping,” his wife told him, taking his hand. It was the first evening they were both leaving their son. He was just three months old. Sure, he trusted his mother, who had taken care of 8 children, but it was still nerve-wracking. Violet had promised to send them regular updates, but they had gone to eat something before going to his sister-in-law’s birthday party, and his mother had not sent them anything. “She was writing a text when I called her.”

Anthony grumbled, he had been the one to encourage Kate to phone Violet for updates, when Kate was convinced, based on the time, that the grandmother was too busy for updates, doing exactly what she had stated on the phone. Anthony disliked being wrong, particularly if Kate was right.

“C’mon Ant, let us at least try to enjoy the party for a bit. We don’t need to stay late, Edwina will understand.”

Anthony was not excited for this evening. When he had imagined his first night out with his wife after the birth of their son, it had not been for a birthday party of someone a decade younger than he was. He particularly did not like to be reminded of how many years there was between himself and Edwina.

Anthony had technically met Edwina first. One of his colleagues had wanted to set him up on a blind date, and when he had showed a picture, Anthony had agreed. But the picture showed two sisters – Anthony had noticed the older one, Fife had the youngest in mind (“Why would I set you up with the old one, she’s old?” “She’s not old, she’s younger than me”). The date had been awkward, Edwina had been too shy to say no to Fife (and relieved it was not with him), but she had brought her sister to be present at the restaurant in case she needed to intervene. And intervene Kate did. She was not happy that someone so much older than her sister would want to go on a date with her, and she was not happy with the way he had behaved. Anthony and Kate continued to run into each other, both being lawyers and having mutual friends, which allowed Anthony, after months of trying, to finally explained what had happened.

And a few years later, he was now married to Kate, with a son, and he was going to celebrate his sister-in-law’s 26^th birthday (which was still younger than he was when they had gone a date together five years ago).

Kate had planned to arrive early to the party, in part to help Edwina with the finishing touches, and in part to Irish goodbye without feeling too guilty. Edwina had rented a room in the basement of a bar, which would be privatised until midnight, before opening back up with the other patrons and with a DJ. Even if they wanted to leave earlier than that, both Kate and Anthony had agreed that it would be the latest they would stay. They had a three-months old at home, they were too old for DJs.

Unfortunately, there were only beers and other alcoholic drinks downstairs, so Anthony took the opportunity of Kate being busy with her sister, to go back up and order themselves some more sophisticated drinks at the bar. He was not above beer, but as he was driving, he only allowed himself one drink, and he would prefer a glass of Bourbon. And Kate, who was still breastfeeding, in addition to being tired, had told him she would not drink any alcohol that night, so he ordered her a mocktail.

But as he was walking back towards the stairs, he noticed someone familiar.

“Colin?”

Colin and Penelope had just arrived at the bar where Eddie was celebrating her birthday. It was quite packed, which was to be expected according to Penelope. It was a place she and her friends went regularly, and when the downstairs was locked for private parties, the upstairs was always packed. The only time Colin had come there was to pick up a drunk Penelope, but he had not entered the bar, he had just rung her from the outside.

But with the little knowledge he had of that bar, he knew that the voice calling his name was not supposed to be here. What would his older brother do in such a bar? It could not be him.

Except it was him, unsurprisingly with a Bourbon in his hand. That was more normal.

“Hi Col, good to see you,” Anthony said as he finally reached his brother. “You know this place?”

Colin felt Penelope, who had been behind him (“You’re so tall, you can make way, I’ll follow you”), move to his side to see the reason why he had stopped. Colin put his hand around her shoulder before answering his brother.

“Hi Ant. Pen does, just joining her tonight.”

“Nice to meet you Penelope, sorry I can’t shake your hand,” he said showing the two glasses in his hands. As if the context was prone to handshaking. He turned back to Colin when continuing, “We’re here for Edwina’s birthday, I’m sure she would be happy for you to join us if you’re not meeting anyone else.”

Before Colin could answer, Penelope interjected, “You know Eddie?”

Both brothers’ heads turned toward the petite woman. Penelope’s Eddie was Kate’s Edwina? Colin tried to remember photos he had seen of his girlfriend’s friends, only to realise he did not know what this Eddie looked like. But Colin knew who she was – he had even walked down the aisle with her at Kate and Anthony’s wedding.

“You know Edwina?” asked Anthony just as Colin answered Penelope. “He’s married to her sister.”

All three wanted to know more about their connection, but they were in a packed bar. It was then that Penelope was pushed hard on her back, not falling only thanks to Colin. Anthony moved his head, inviting them to follow him downstairs.

No one else had arrived while Anthony had gone to the bar, the sisters were still working on decorating the room with balloons.

“I’m bringing some guests!”

“Colin!” Kate exclaimed.

“Colin? And Pen!” added Edwina. And when she realised the two were holding hands, she let go of the balloon she had blown, but not tied yet. “Colin is your boyfriend?!”

Anthony was amused to see the meeting unfold. Colin knew Edwina, but not well. While Kate and Edwina were close, they were not constantly in each other’s business like the Bridgertons were. Colin and Edwina had just met a few times at some family gatherings, at his wedding, at his house when Edmund was just born.

It was also nice to meet the infamous Penelope. Since she had met their mother, she had been openly the topic of discussion in the sibling group chat. Most of the siblings had met her already and had sung their praises. From the little discussion he had with her, Anthony had to agree.

As a 36-years old at a 26-year old’s party, Anthony felt out of place. Colin had been roped by Kate and Edwina to help with the handling of beers while the guests arrived. Knowing his wife, it was a way to help Colin meet Penelope’s friends while occupying his hands. A nervous Colin was a nail-biting Colin, not really a nice image to project when meeting new people. He was grateful that his wife was thoughtful of his little brother. Even if it meant he was abandoned.

However, it did not take long for Penelope to join him, on the side of the room.

“I like to be a wallflower too.”

“It’s more that I take my role of the ‘older and a bit creepy’ guy seriously,” shot Anthony back, a small smile indicating he was only joking. She was dating Colin so he figured she would get it, but he also did not want to make a bad first impression.

“So, I should look disgusted while talking to you to help with this image?”

“No,” Anthony chuckled, he shot a look at his brother, who was looking at them nervously. “Colin already wants to come save you. I don’t want to know what he would do to me if you looked miserable.”

She turned back to her boyfriend. Anthony noticed her give Colin a thumbs up before she turned back to him. He also noticed the look full of love his brother gave Penelope. A look he knew he gave to Kate. A look he had been teased about by Colin himself. Revenge was coming.

“If you want to be safe from Colin, I can be the one making you miserable.”

“He would like that, I’m sure,” laughed Anthony. From the accounts from his siblings, he had gathered Penelope could manage herself on her own. But there had also been messages from Colin asking them not to go too far with her when she would come to family brunch on that Sunday.

“So, I’m guessing you’re the old guy Edwina dated but then married her sister.”

Anthony had made the mistake of taking a sip of his Bourbon (which was starting to run low) after challenging Penelope to make him miserable. He simply had not expected her to attack him where it hurt, particularly that evening.

“It was just one date,” he finally grumbled, when he stopped coughing up his drink. “And a misunderstanding.”

Their conversation continued, evolving from teasing to getting familiar with one another. After some time, Kate joined them, and later Colin. It was when the group grew bigger that Anthony took the time to take in Penelope. Hyacinth had commented on her beauty, but Anthony did not know what to expect. Colin had not had many girlfriends, even less that he had met, but from the photos Anthony had seen, there had never been a constant in their looks.

Colin did tend to like smaller girls, but Penelope was particularly small, even with the heels she had on. And standing next to Colin, the tallest of the Bridgerton brothers, their size difference was even more noticeable. Something else that was noticeable was her tits. The dress she had on put them on display. It was hard not to let his eyes linger on her neckline, even with his wife standing next to him. (He would bet that she had noticed them as well, and that she was jealous of them).

But the biggest thing he noticed was how the couple fit together. Not just physically, with Colin holding her to his side as if she was part of his body. But also, in the way they talked. The way they talked and listened to the other was as they were shining a light on the other.

Earlier, when they had brought Edmund to his mother, Violet had talked to them about Penelope and how special she was. Now that Anthony had met her, he could not help but agree.

The party went on, and having Colin present there as well, made it easier to mingle without feeling like an old creep. (Even if he was scared to say he was Edwina’s brother-in-law, knowing she had told the story to her friends, based on Penelope’s comment.) But a couple of hours in, with Kate yawning more and more, Anthony decided it was time to call it a night. Violet had kept the parents informed with pictures of Edmund sleeping, and if they left soon, they would arrive in time for his next feeding.

Despite their plan to leave without saying anything, just text Edwina once in the car to thank her for the invitation, Anthony saw Penelope on his way out and had to say something.

“Penelope, we’re leaving. But it was lovely to meet you.” And in the hug he gave her, he added, “See you at brunch.” Despite the low light, he noticed her blush.

“Goodnight Anthony, drive safely.”

In the car, on the way to his mother’s, Kate shot the planned text to her sister before opening the discussion on Penelope.

“I can’t believe she’s friend with Edwina. What a small world.”

“It was a good idea to go tonight. I’m glad we got to meet her like this instead of at brunch.”

“Me too. She was more comfortable that way. And I cannot wait to say to Daphne that we’ve met her too.”

Anthony had to laugh at that. Daphne loved to say she was the closest to Colin. She had been mad that their other siblings had already met her.

“That’s what she gets from living outside of the city. Less likely to run into her.”

The car fell silent after that, except from Kate increasing number of yawns. It was after a particularly big one that she said, “Have you seen her tits, Anthony? Even while breastfeeding I don’t have that. Colin is a lucky guy.”

Anthony had nothing to add but laugh.

Bridger-blings

Anthony: It was lovely running into you Colin, so was meeting Penelope!

Daphne: ??????

Daphne: Colin???? WHY???

Hya’: fhdshajkfa

Hya’: Anthony that’s just mean

Greg: 😭😭😭

Greg : u could have sent it in private

Daphne: @Anthony: how did it happen?

Eloise: @Anthony: you’re cruel

Francesca: @Anthony You know Daphne won’t sleep tonight because of you, right?

Daphne: @Colin when do I get to meet her????

Daphne: @Colin do you hate me?????? 😭

Ben: @Anthony, @Eloise, @Fran, @Greg, @Hya’: let me make a chat so we can talk about how great Penelope is

Greg: roooooofl what did daph do to you guys?

Colin: Thanks Ant, hope you drove home safely!

Colin: @Ben: why am I not invited?

Daphne: @Colin, ANSWER YOUR PHONE RIGHT NOW

Chapter Text

Daphne had spent an awful night. First, there had been Anthony’s text when she was getting ready to go to bed. Simon had tried to distract her, but she was fuming. She was now the last person in the family who had not met Colin’s girlfriend. Colin who had ignored all her calls and messages.

Then, when she had finally managed to fall asleep, she was woken up at 4:37am when Amelia had joined her and Simon in their bed. Their daughter had picked up the habit of slipping into their bed in the middle of the night a couple of months prior (when Belinda had just started to sleep through the night). Usually, Daphne managed to fall back to sleep, but as if Millie could feel her mother’s restless energy, the 3 (and a half!) years old had turned and twisted and kicked Daphne. After a particular nasty kick, Daphne decided to give up on sleep. Especially after checking her phone and finding no message from Colin.

Even if Millie had gone back to her bed, Daphne would not have managed to fall back asleep. She was too annoyed. It was official, she was the last person in the family who had still not met her.

It particularly hurt because she had thought she had been the closest to Colin. At least regarding the topic of relationships. She had told him about her relationship with Simon first. She had told him that she was pregnant with Amelia first. She was the only one who had met Marina, his ex with whom he had had his longest relationship. After their mother, she had been the first one to find out he was seeing this Penelope. (At least now that she had met almost all the siblings, Colin was not gatekeeping her name anymore.)

Yet, she was the only one who had not met her.

At 5:14am, she texted her brother again, secretly hoping he had forgotten to mute his phone before going to bed and that she could wake him up as part of her revenge.

C&D

Daphne: Colin. Why did Anthony meet your girlfriend?

Daphne: When do I get to meet her? At your wedding?

Daphne: At the hospital after she’s given birth to your first child?

Daphne: At your funeral when I’ll need to console your widow but I won’t know what she looks like?

Daphne: When Colin???

As the hours went on, she was growing increasingly more annoyed with his lack of response, despite knowing that he was most likely still sleeping. He was lucky not to have toddlers to wake him up at ungodly hours. He just had a mysterious girlfriend Daphne knew nothing about. (Well, she knew her name, but unlike Hyacinth she did not have the same skills, time, or brain power, to find people on social media.)

He also had the luxury of sleeping in late during the weekend. He would not get back to her for hours, if he did not ignore her like he had done the night before.

Daphne would need to wait five more hours before receiving an answer from her brother. Thankfully, at one point Millie woke up, soon followed by Bel, which busied Daphne. Two children under four was a nice distraction, especially as Daphne tried to keep them quiet while Simon slept. Hopefully, he would reciprocate and take care of the children while she napped in the afternoon to catch up on her lack of sleep.

Colin: Just like with the others, it wasn’t planned

Colin: No one knew Pen was friend with Edwina, we ran into each other at her birthday party

Colin: And just so I know, is my funeral due to you murdering me?

Daphne: Why would I admit to wanting to kill you over text? I watch true crime

Colin: I want the court to know that it was not a no

Colin: And I’m bringing Pen to brunch tomorrow, you’ll met her then. Like all the other siblings were meant to originally

Colin: Not my fault you’re not in London anymore, makes it harder to run into each other.

It had been a difficult decision to move in the outskirts of the city. But Simon’s godmother, Agatha Danbury, had offered them to buy out her house the same week Daphne had found out she was pregnant with Amelia. Agatha had raised her family in this house and Simon had spent a lot of time there as a child, after his mother’s passing. Agatha was getting older, and it was difficult to maintain such a big house all alone. Simon loved this house, and it was perfect to grow their own family. And, in Daphne’s opinion, it was not that far from the city centre, just in the suburbs.

Her siblings liked to tease her about it, because they knew it had been a touchy subject for Daphne in the past. When she had first moved out, it had been difficult to settle into the new normal of living away from her siblings. She was not a walk away from them anymore, it required more planning. She had also had the worst case of morning sickness in the first months, while trying to hide her pregnancy, making it harder to leave the house to meet her brothers and sisters. The siblings had started to make an effort after she had cried about it to Simon. Daphne had never seen the texts he had sent her family, but it had done the trick, and she had received more visits, even after her morning sickness had settled. Nowadays, it was not rare to receive a visit from one of her siblings at least once a week.

But, as Colin had pointed out, living outside of the city made it harder to run into each other. And, until recently, she had been the only one with children. Childless adults did not realise how difficult it was to drop everything and change plans to join them for an impromptu drink after work. She needed to ask Simon, find a sitter, not stay too late because she would get woken up early by her children.

At least there was family brunch, which Daphne tried her best to never miss. It allowed her to see all her siblings. And their eventual partners.

Daphne: But it’s not fair that I’m the only one who has not met her

Colin: Daph, do you want us to meet up so you can meet Pen before brunch tomorrow?

Daphne: Yes.

“Pen, do we have something planned for this afternoon?”

They had finished quite late the night before at Edwina’s birthday party. They were thinking of leaving, a couple of hours after Anthony and Kate had left, when the DJ had started his set. A drunk Colin was a dancing Colin. Adding good music and Penelope as a dance partner, he could not be stopped (not that Penelope had tried).

He had felt like celebrating the success of his introduction to Penelope’s friends. He already knew Edwina, but he had also met more friends, including Genevieve (who had introduced herself as a “friendly acquaintance of Benedict”). He had gotten to know them, joked around, and from what Penelope had reported, they all liked him.

Penelope herself had successfully met Antony, who had also liked her. Colin had not told his girlfriend, but after Violet, Anthony had been the person he had been the most nervous to introduce Penelope to. His older brother often took the paternal role in the family, which had created tensions when Colin was a teenager. Colin wanted all his siblings to like his girlfriend, but he needed Anthony’s seal of approval. He had consumed a few celebratory drinks after his brother’s message (and ignored Daphne’s).

There had been many reasons to dance and celebrate.

In the end, they had stayed until the bar was closing, in the early hours of the morning. Colin felt it now that he was waking up. A hard reminder that he was approaching his thirties, he was not Gregory’s age anymore. After the party, they had walked to Penelope’s place, which was thankfully not too far from the bar. They had gone to bed a couple of hours before Daphne had started to blow up his phone again.

His decision to ignore her while at the party might have been a mistake. He had let her anger simmer. He needed to make up to her, to hopefully minimise her revenge.

“I just have to pick up the pastries I promised your mother,” answered Penelope, who had just gotten out of the shower, sadly already dressed for the day. She sat down at her vanity and looked at him through the mirror before adding, “They won’t open until 11 tomorrow, it would be too late to pick them up before going to your mother’s. Why?”

“Daph knows you met Kate and Anthony yesterday. She’s jealous and wants to meet you before tomorrow.”

“But it wasn’t planned,” explained Penelope, as if Colin had not been there the night before.

“She knows, she just doesn’t care. She doesn’t want to be the only one who has not met you.”

“Does she know I’ve not met Eloise or Hyacinth in person?”

While they were talking through the mirror, Colin had walked closer to her, resting his hands on her shoulders and rubbing small circles.

“Pen, she’s jealous. There is no logic behind it. I can tell her you’re busy if you don’t want to meet her. It’s up to you, I don’t mind.”

It was a strange feeling for Penelope to see a family fighting for the right to brag over the fact they had met her. To see a family that loved each other deeply and who were ready to welcome her into their ranks so easily. Eloise had told her there was a group chat between the siblings who had met her and there had been a debate to know who Penelope liked best. She had shared this information solely to brag that she had easily won. And to make fun of Gregory, who had not fought too hard, he knew what he had done. (When Penelope mentioned it to Colin, he had been mad that they had actually made a group chat without him to praise Penelope, he deserved to be there too.)

Penelope’s own family was far from that. They had not cared when Penelope had told them she was dating someone when she saw them at Christmas. They had just asked her to warn them if she wanted to bring him one day, so that they could plan one more plate. She was not even friend with her sisters, and now her boyfriend’s family was fighting over her.

“I’m sure we can happen to run into her when we go pick up the pastries for tomorrow. We can stop for a coffee.”

Daphne had squealed when Colin had ‘happened to mention’ that he and Penelope were going to Chez Charlotte that afternoon. Simon, who had emerged from their bedroom earlier than Colin had woken up, had easily accepted the change of plan. They would go to the garden centre next Saturday. He could take the children outside while Daphne went to the city to meet Colin and his girlfriend.

During her travel to the city (on a direct train that took just 20 minutes, thank you very much), Daphne tried to convince her body that she was not sleep deprived. She had slept 5 hours, which was more than enough for a mother. She would get some coffee at Chez Charlotte, and it would do the trick.

She had tasted some of their pastries when one of her friends had brought some for a playdate with their children. Daphne had promised herself she would go there, but she had never found an excuse to do so. She was excited to indulge herself without having to share with her children. Just with Colin (he could eat more than her children, but at least he would not drool on her plate, and he had his own money to replenish if he ate all the pastries).

Daphne arrived first and was quick to ask for a coffee and an assortment of pastries, including some of their tartes tatin she had already tried (and dreamt of since). And then she waited, as patiently as she could, for the couple to arrive.

That meant she saw them before they saw her. They were waiting at the red stop, on the other side of the street from the café. It gave her the opportunity to observe her brother and his girlfriend without them knowing. Penelope was small, made more noticeable by her green coat that arrived under her knees. And the fact that she was standing next to Colin, the tallest of her brothers. Her red and curly hair was flying around her face because of the wind. Whenever that happened to Daphne, she looked like a dishevel wet dog. For Penelope, she looked like the main character in a movie.

Colin said something that made her laugh, which made Daphne look at her brother. He was watching Penelope with so much love in his eyes, Daphne could feel it despite the distance. Colin must have been transported to another planet after making his girlfriend laugh at his joke, because he did not react when the light finally turned green. Penelope had to grab his hand for him to follow.

Penelope tried to tame her hair upon entering the café, while Colin looked around until his eyes landed on his sister’s. He bent down to tell something to Penelope before pointing at Daphne’s table. Both women shared a smile before Penelope walked to join the queue to the counter and Colin joined his sister to her table.

“Daphne! What a surprise to see you here!”

“Ha ha Colin, very funny,” Daphne answered, standing up to hug her brother. “That way I can see how unromantic you are, leaving your woman buy you coffee.”

“She was supposed to pick up some pastries for tomorrow now, she’s just asking them if they can keep them in the fridge while we drink something,” Colin explained, sitting down and analysing the selection of pastries Daphne had picked. “And I wanted a moment with you to see how mad you were at me. Oh! Tartes tatin!”

While they waited for Penelope to join them, Daphne smoothed things over with her brother. Yes, she had been mad, but she appreciated the efforts he had made for her to be able to meet his girlfriend. She then filled in her brother on her life and how her children were doing. At their age, so much happened in so little time, and Colin had not seen them in almost two weeks now. Amelia had changed her mind three times on what her favourite colour was since then.

When Penelope finally joined them, holding Colin’s too sugary drink and a tea for herself, both siblings stood up. Colin to help her and take the drinks from her hands, Daphne to hug her brother’s partner. Finally, it was her turn to meet the infamous Penelope, who seemed surprised at Daphne’s reaction.

“It’s so lovely to finally meet you, Penelope,” said Daphne, looking pointedly at Colin when she said the ‘finally’.

“You too, Daphne. And as Colin said, keeping the best for last.” They all knew Colin had never said that, but they all decided there was no point in saying it out loud.

Penelope took off her coat and Daphne immediately loved her style. She would not wear it herself, but it suited her perfectly. And it matched with Colin’s. Penelope knew how to play with layers without using them to hide her body. She was wearing a tweed dress over a black turtleneck, but somehow it did not flatten her chest. Daphne was impressed. And jealous of her cardigan which looked extra comfy.

“Daph, you asked to meet Pen, hopefully it’s not just to look at her.” Penelope blushed at her boyfriend’s comment. Her lack of sleep was catching up on her, Daphne had forgotten to make polite conversation while looking at her brother’s girlfriend. With an apology, Daphne started the conversation with Penelope, after complimenting her cardigan.

The trio stayed for almost two hours at the café. At one point, Colin went to pick up more pastries after finishing the ones Daphne had bought. Daphne really liked Penelope. She was a lovely woman, intelligent and full of interesting conversation. She had not changed her behaviour when Colin had gone. Daphne also appreciated how she was not afraid to tease her boyfriend when it was needed, but there was not a hint of meanness behind it.

The only girlfriend of Colin she had met had been Marina, a few years back. Colin was younger and less confident than he was now. She could tell he had settled, and she had not been impressed with his then-girlfriend. Marina had been snarky and short-tempered. What had broken the camel’s back had been how she had rolled her eyes when Amelia, then a 5 months-old baby, had started crying. Daphne could not imagine how she behaved when she was alone with Colin. Later, she had danced in her kitchen when Colin had called to tell her they had broken up (she had stopped immediately when her brother had explained how he had walked in on Marina sleeping with another man).

Penelope was drastically different. She was kind and wore her heart on her sleeve when it came to Colin. And she had gushed over the stories Daphne had shared about her children.

When it came time to say their goodbyes, Daphne was happy and relieved. She had finally met Penelope, and she loved her. She was perfect for Colin, who look the happiest she had ever seen him. He was more at ease with life.

After saying their goodbyes, Daphne left Chez Charlotte first, leaving the couple to queue to grab the pastries for the next day. Before leaving to catch her train, Daphne could not help herself and looked back at the couple from the outside. Penelope had almost disappeared under Colin who was embracing her.

Bridger-blings

Daphne: It was lovely running into you Colin, so was meeting Penelope!

Daphne : @Ben: can you add me to the group now

Hya’ : kdjfhkjds did she met us all on accident?

Francesca : ‘accident’ coming from you Hyacinth?

Colin : yeah, what a nice ‘accident’ to run into you Daphne

Eloise : did Daphne just copy Anthony’s msg from last night?

Daphne : shut up

Daphne : at least I’ve met her in person unlike you and Hyacinth

Eloise : idc, I’ve known her for a decade longer than all of you

Colin : reminder, Pen is coming tomorrow, can you try and behave?

Penelope’s fanclub 🏆

*Ben added Daphne to the chat*

Ben : Welcome Daph

Daphne : I was told there was a ranking for who she preferred, I’d like to throw my hat into the ring

Chapter Text

“Pen, you’ve met them all.”

“Not Hyacinth. Not Eloise.” Both best friends were stressed to finally meet in person after more than a decade of friendship online. They had not expected for it to happen, especially not this quickly.

“They love you already. They all do.”

Colin and Penelope were walking to Violet’s house for brunch. There was a small walk from the tube station, and Penelope did not know exactly where the house was, making the journey feel longer. At each cross-section, she felt nervous butterflies jump around in her stomach.

When Violet had met her son the day after their dinner, she had asked for Penelope’s phone number to officially, and personally, invite her to family brunch. Penelope had been eager to accept the invitation, excited to be included in such an important tradition for the Bridgerton family. Before she had remembered she would see all the siblings all at once. She worried she was not ready for the chaos that was the Bridgerton family.

Colin had done his best to prepare her, and Friday night at Edwina’s party, Penelope had asked Kate questions about her experience of her first brunch. (“Are you sure you want to hear about it? You won’t want to go anymore.”) The couple had agreed on a safe word in case she got overwhelmed and Colin would find an excuse to extirpate Penelope from the situation. Whatever it might be. However he had to do it. She just had to mention The Odessey and he would come to her rescue.

As they continued walking, everything was becoming more and more real. Over the span of ten days, Penelope had met her boyfriend’s entire family. But it had happened organically, one by one. Colin tried to remind her how successful all of the run-ins had been. She had nothing to worry about. He was rubbing circles on the back of her hand, while swinging the bag of pastries they had picked up the day prior, in his other hand. Colin also reminded her of the group chat Eloise had told her about, where they were all singing her praises.

“They still refuse to add me, too afraid of being overthrown with all the good things I have to say about you. But I’m sure Eloise will show you.”

Penelope was going to tell him she had already received screenshots from her best friend showing the official ranking when a voice called for them from the other side of the street.

It was Francesca, who had just gotten out of the bus. They waited for her to cross the street and join them before continuing. Penelope could not help but notice that the direction she was coming from was not from the neighbourhood where Francesca lived. But rather the direction she had gone to when she had taken the tube to Michaela’s after their first meeting. Good for her.

As they walked the rest of the way to Violet’s, they caught up on what had happened since they had met at Penelope’s book signing. Francesca had finished reading Loving A Viscount and had loved it. She was full of compliments and was curious about the secret identity of a character in the story. Colin himself was eager to find out who was the secret gossip. But Penelope refused to tell him. Thankfully, she had promised he would be the first to find out, and he had seen her type away at her computer. Hopefully, he would find out soon.

When the siblings stopped in front of an ornate gate, Penelope was stunned. She knew Colin’s family was comfortable. But people do not have such big houses when they are comfortable. Houses like this are for really rich people. She felt under dressed in her old green coat, her Primark Midi dress and old second-hand bag.

“You grew up here?” she asked Colin in disbelief. He pulled on her hand to encourage her to keep walking. He chose to just answer with a chuckle. Yup, he was rich rich.

Hyacinth had woken up excited, which meant it was the second week in a row where she had not enjoyed sleeping-in on a Sunday morning. But it was worth it. Hyacinth was finally meeting Penelope in person. She was proud she had managed to find her online, and their friendship had been blossoming over DMs. She could not wait to properly meet her.

She had been waiting in the front room, looking through the window, to watch for her arrival. She had ignored her mother when she had asked for help in the kitchen. Gregory could take care of organising the fridge while their mother was setting the plates in the dining room. Hyacinth had to keep watch.

Finally, three figures passed the gate. Francesca was walking with them. When her eyes finally settled on Penelope, who had her mouth open looking at the façade of their house, Hyacinth decided she could not wait. She jumped to her feet and ran to open the door before they had time to ring the doorbell.

They were just stepping on the deck, and Hyacinth did not want to waste any more time. She sprang into Penelope’s arms, squeezing her into a tight hug. She was so excited. Thankfully, Colin had a good grip on his girlfriend (and had probably expected his sister to behave that way) and grabbed on to them before they could fall down the stairs outside the house.

Colin must have understood the importance of that hug for Hyacinth (of course she was going to embrace her future sister-in-law), and let them be, following Francesca to greet their mother who had joined them at the door. However, when the formalities were done, he took pity on his girlfriend and told his sister, “Hyacinth, I don’t think Penelope can breathe!”

“I’m so happy to finally meet you in person,” Hyacinth said when she finally let go.

Violet was the next person to greet Penelope, with more civility than Hyacinth, but with a hug, nonetheless. The demure woman let a little squee come out of her body, to the surprise of everybody, when Penelope pointed at the bag of pastries Colin was still holding in his hand.

“Come in, don’t let the cold get in,” Violet started before getting distracted by the car rolling up in the driveway. Anthony’s Range Rover was arriving. “My grandson! Colin, can you show Penelope around and bring the pastries to the kitchen.” Then, she grabbed the hands of her two daughters and dragged them with her, telling them to “Come help your brother with their bags.”

Colin led his girlfriend through the house. They had put away their coats in a closet by the entryway. He showed her the front room where his mother held her book club when she was hosting, the living room, where they would hang out after brunch, the dining room where they would eat, his father old office, the tearoom, the bathroom… Penelope was getting overwhelmed. She had thought it would be because of the chaos, but there were no siblings in sight. Just an enormous house.

“Colin, if you show me one more room, it needs to be the library because I will need to read The Odessey,” she said, looking pointedly at him. He immediately understood her plea, he stopped in his track and lowered himself to be at her eyesight.

“I’ll stop the tour for now, but I do need to go to the kitchen, you’re ok to come with or do you want to stay in one of the rooms you already know.” There was a twinkle in his eyes. They both knew she would rather face a new room than to stay alone.

Ignoring a few new doors, Colin continued down the hallway to enter the kitchen.

With Hyacinth’s attack hug, they had not noticed Gregory had not come to greet them. But as Colin and Penelope entered the kitchen, they heard his voice. He was standing in front of them, his back turned towards them. He was looking at the garden through the window, phone in hand.

“I got to go, I can hear my siblings arriving,” he said through the phone. After a small break to let the other person talk, he added, “Ok Luce, call you later. Love you!”

When he finally turned to go meet his siblings who had arrived, he was faced with his brother and his girlfriend. Both wearing immense goofy smiles on their faces.

“We have to stop meeting in kitchens.” He knew he had nothing else to say to diffuse the situation. They had to have heard too much to try and deny it.

“So, Luce, eh?” Colin asked, while Penelope walked to Gregory to greet him, laughing at the interaction. He had it coming.

“Can we keep that between us?” Gregory was not above begging. Or blackmail. He was hoping they would understand how it felt to be walked on during an intimate moment. If he could keep his mouth shut, so could they.

Colin was finding the situation hilarious, especially because it happened with Gregory (and at least, all three of them were fully clothed this time), but the look of panic in his brother’s eyes made him worry. What was really happening behind this plea.

“Don’t worry, we won’t say anything,” Penelope announced, as she walked towards the fridge. She had grabbed the bag of pastries from Colin’s hand and busied herself to reorganise the fridge to find a spot for the box.

Colin had walked closer to his brother, to greet him in a hug. But as they embraced, he discreetly asked his younger brother, “You’re being safe, right?”

When they let go, Gregory, shot a quick glance at Penelope, still busy with the fridge, before answering in a low voice. “Her family’s complicated. We don’t want things to go around, especially with Hyacinth and her big mouth.”

If words got out about their relationship to Lucy’s father, Gregory could say his goodbyes to ever seeing her again. He would probably force her to drop out from university too.

“Just know you can always come to me. I won’t judge,” Colin told his brother. It was important to him that Gregory knew he would always find a safe place at his brother’s. “I’m happy for you, Greg.”

Penelope had finished with the fridge and was walking in their direction when Anthony’s voice rang through the hallway.

“They’re still in the kitchen mum, Colin did not bring her to his old room.” He winked at Penelope while dropping the bag of bottles on the counter. She had teased him at Edwina’s party, it was only fair he would tease back. But Penelope still felt herself blush at the implication that Colin might have brought her to his childhood room for a tête-à-tête.

Thankfully, Kate followed Anthony to the kitchen and distracted him from teasing Penelope further.

“Can you go take Edmund from your mother with the nappy bag, he needs a change.” Kate was a girl's girls, and she had come to Penelope’s rescue.

The family was settled in the tearoom while waiting for the rest of the siblings to arrive. Ben and Eloise were expected to arrive together, as they lived in the same neighbourhood. Daphne and her brood were coming by car. For the same reason Anthony had chosen to drive, it was easier to bring everybody in one piece without forgetting anything when travelling by car. Daphne had called her mother earlier to warn that Belinda was in an awful mood. There was going to be a lot of screaming.

For the moment, the only grandchild there was Edmund. He was happily guzzling in his grandmother’s arms. Penelope was grateful for this cute little baby, because it meant the attention was not all on her.

“So, how did Daphne manage to meet you, Penelope.” Well, Edmund did not steal all the attention. They were all curious to know how it had happened, as their sister had refused to say anything. Hyacinth was just the one who dared to ask the question.

“We decided to let it slip when we were going to Chez Charlotte to pick up the desserts for today.” Penelope chose not to share the amount of messages she had sent Colin. They could draw their own conclusion on why they shared their plan.

“Well, I think it’s nice you got to meet us all before today,” said Violet, putting an end to any comment from her children.

Colin wrapped his arm around Penelope’s shoulder and said, “Yes, it wasn’t what we had in mind when we were talking of meeting the family, but it all worked out really well.” Penelope looked up at him, blushing slightly, to have the perfect amount of pink on her cheeks. It had all been perfect.

“Maybe wait until brunch is over, we might still scare her when we’re all together,” Gregory said. Now that they were outside of the kitchen, and he was convinced Colin and Penelope would not say anything. He was finding his footing back.

“It’s not game night, it should be fine,” Francesca argued. Penelope did not want to imagine what happened in game night. Colin had just told her they were all competitive, even more so when playing against each other. She also remembered a story Eloise had told her years ago about one of her sisters who had broken a bone. One day, she will have to find out. And by the looks of it, Kate was not going to be an ally in this craziness.

The conversation continued, until the doorbell rang, followed by the front door opening and Daphne’s voice calling out their arrival. And then came Belinda’s scream. Violet had shared the warning that her youngest granddaughter was in a sour mood, but all the childless adults flinched at the noise.

While the house was grand, it would be too cramp for the entire family to greet each other in the entryway. Violet and Gregory were the only ones that went to welcome the family and help them settle in, while the rest remained in the tearoom.

When Daphne and her daughters reached the tearoom, Belinda had stopped screaming, but her eyes were red. It was clear she had been crying for a long time. Poor Simon and Daphne, who had been stuck in a car with her.

However, all of Belinda’s worries disappeared when her eyes landed on Penelope.

“Penope!” She was running towards what was supposed to be the only stranger in the room, while calling for her name.

Everyone was looking at the pair, the small child hugging Penelope’s legs, while Penelope was trying to crouch to greet the toddler.

“Hello Belinda, what a surprise.” Her voice was full of laughter. Of course she knew Colin’s niece.

The room was still trying to make sense of what was happening when Simon’s laughter erupted. He had finally joined the family with Gregory after emptying the boot of the car.

“Good morning, Penelope.”

“Morning Simon.”

“No! No! No!” One could have expected it was coming from one of the children, but Belinda was still happily hugging Penelope and Amelia was hovering over her sleeping baby cousin. No, it was coming from Daphne, who was showing her daughters what a real tantrum looked like. “Don’t tell me you’ve known her this entire time!” She was screaming at Simon.

“If it helps, I didn’t know she was Colin’s girlfriend.” He was trying to hide his smile, which angered Daphne even more.

“Neither did Eloise, but both of you still knew her!”

It took a little bit of time for Daphne to calm down and accept that, yes, she had been the last one to meet Penelope (at least there was still Eloise who had not met her in person). Simon and Penelope explained to the room that she did story-time at the library on Wednesdays afternoon.

“When I have mummy-daughter gym class with Millie.” Daphne had never gone to the library during story-time, she was busy with their other daughter. But Belinda had always loved going there and retelling the stories she had heard. She had probably mentioned Penelope’s name in the past, but between her pronunciation of her name and the chances that this same person was also Colin’s girlfriend, no one had put two and two together, not even Simon.

Daphne’s mood was soured for a good part of the day, replacing her daughter as the person in a grumpy mood. She was happy that Penelope was joining the family so easily, and for all the connexions she had unknowingly had with her family. But why had they not had anything that linked them together?

As Daphne was lost in her thoughts, the doorbell rang again, followed by Benedict’s voice calling for their arrival.

Eloise was late for brunch. It was not unusual for her to be late, but today, the reason was different. Probably for the first time in her life, Eloise had nervously changed three times before settling on the basic t-shirt/jeans combo she was now wearing.

Today was not a normal brunch. Today, she was meeting her lifelong best friend for the first time.

And if it was not nerve-wracking enough, it was going to happen in front of her entire family. Penelope knew everything about her. She knew everything about Penelope (despite having tried to forget some things about Penelope and her relationship with Eloise’s brother). Over their 13 years of friendship, they had shared all their thoughts.

Thankfully, Benedict had offered to go together to their mother’s. She probably would have found a way to cancel otherwise. And he knew she would have tried. It was nice to have someone by her side, who tried to distract her from her worries.

Eloise was afraid of how everything might change.

She hated change. Since her father had passed away unexpectedly, it had been something Eloise had despised. After his death, the whole family dynamic had changed. Anthony had taken up the role of their father. Her mother had become a shadow of herself for months, replaced by Daphne. Benedict and Colin had tried to smooth things as much as possible to make things easier for Anthony. Francesca and Gregory had become more quieter. And then Hyacinth was born, and things had shifted even more.

But most of all, she had hated how she had changed despite herself. She had fought against this change. But the sadness of losing her father had forever changed who she was as a person. She would never be the person she was before losing her father. She would never become the person she could have been if he had not died. At 9 years old, her entire life had changed forever. She had to mourn her father and the life she would never have.

Meeting Penelope had been a welcome seldom when she was entering her teenage years. While she had not known Eloise before she had lost her father, Eloise had shared with her all her feelings. And Penelope had been there to listen. She never let Eloise go easy, happy to point out her prejudices and mistakes. When Eloise would tell her stories about how one of her brothers had bothered her, Penelope did not blindly side with her. she asked questions, offered different perspectives, and proposed solutions on how to proceed.

Eloise loved her best friend deeply. And she was afraid that meeting in person would change everything.

“I’ve only met her once, but I don’t think you’re going to lose your friendship with Penelope when you meet in person,” Benedict said as they were approaching their mother’s house. She had not been a great conversationalist on their way there.

“I know. But everything's going to change.”

Eloise knew that her family thought she was afraid of losing her friendship with Penelope to Colin. But that was not the reason Eloise was afraid. She was actually happy for both her brother and her best friend. They had found their person and were perfect for each other.

No, her fear was that Penelope might dislike the person Eloise was behind the screen. That the image she had built of her best friend was nothing compared to reality. She was afraid of disappointing her best friend.

They had finally reached their mother’s home. Benedict would never let her run away. He did not even give her time to prepare before ringing the doorbell and entering the house.

They all knew who was at the door. They understood the importance of that moment. No one moved at first. Then Colin rose from the couch, grabbing Penelope’s hand, and walked towards the entryway, dragging his girlfriend behind him.

Penelope was grateful for any intimacy they were going to have. She had been relieved that Eloise had not been there when she first arrived. She did not want their first meeting to happen in front of the entire family. Doing it in front of Colin and Benedict felt more natural. Even if she expected the rest of the family to quietly wait, trying to listen in to what was said.

When they rounded the corner and her eyes landed on her best friend, all her worries disappeared. It was a weird feeling to meet this woman she had never seen before, but who she knew like the back of her hand. Both best friends forgot about the two brothers and walked into the other’s arms. Just like the rest of the family, Eloise’s hug was perfect. She felt the love go through her body.

And just like Colin’s hugs, Penelope felt at home in her best friend’s arms.

“Hi Misunder,” she mumbled still squeezed against Eloise. She was surprised by the emotions in her voice.

“Hello Feather, it’s good to meet you.” Eloise too was emotional.

When they finally took a step back, they were both a crying mess. Neither had expected to be this emotional, this early.

“I’m so glad we’re meeting now and not at your wedding. We would have ruined your photos.” They were laughing together, and it felt like the most normal thing in the world. It was easy to forget that they had never met before. That a few minutes ago, they were balls of nerves.

They did not see Benedict’s reaction at Eloise’s sentence. Nor did they hear Colin’s laughter. Penelope had explained their inside joke, about meeting for the first time at one of their weddings. Colin also did not care what conclusion Benedict was going to reach. At that moment, he was just happy to witness his sister and his girlfriend finally able to share their love in person. He was himself emotional, albeit not as visibly as the two women.

“El, why don’t you go in the library for a moment, just the two of you. We’ll come get you when it’s time to go eat,” Colin offered. They deserved a moment together.

Penelope did not care about the idea of discovering a new room, she blindly followed Eloise who was dragging her towards her favourite room, speaking a mile a minute, telling her about their classics collection.

Colin was relieved, it had gone well, none of their worst fear had happened.

“Marriage, eh?” asked Benedict when the two had disappeared behind the library door.

“It’s a joke they have between each other.”

“Sure brother, I think you should tell that to your lovey-dovey eyes.”

Brunch went as chaotically as expected. Everyone was around the enormous table, all 14 of them. Edmund was attached to his mother for the first half of it, making it hard for her to eat. He had fallen asleep when Anthony had taken him, when his turn for eating was over. Daphne and Simon were helped by Gregory and Francesca for their daughters, who decided they needed to run around the table after each bite they took. Daphne had decided to let them do it, hoping they would crash for a nap in the afternoon.

Penelope was surrounded by Colin and Eloise, both refusing to leave her side. She was at her happiest, the two most important people in her life were next to her. Her time in the library with Eloise had been perfect. It had given time to breathe away from the family, while also getting comfortable in the presence of her best friend. Like they had done in the early stage of their friendship, they had used books as a conversation starter. After 20 minutes alone together, no one could have told they had just met in person for the first time that day. When Colin had come to invite them to the table, he had been happily surprised to find them snuggled against each other on the couch in the library talking about books while holding hands.

“Penelope, I did have a question about Colin.” All the conversations stopped when they heard Hyacinth. Everyone braced themselves for what she was going to come up with. “What were the photos Colin used on his profile?”

Colin could not have stopped his groan if he had tried. He had hoped they had forgotten how he had met Penelope.

“Oh.” She looked at him, trying to decipher how he felt about her talking about it. “I don’t remember exactly what the photos were, but he was charming.”

There was a loud exclamation from every adult around the table. They all knew it was a lie and that she was trying to protect her boyfriend.

“I remember you found him really hot,” Eloise pipped up. If she had to hear in details how charming Colin had been in the early stage of their relationship (and later on too), Penelope could talk about his dating profile in front of the Bridgertons.

“It was a few photos I had taken during my travels,” Colin said, coming to Penelope’s rescue. He was hoping that if he was open about his photos, the topic might drop sooner.

“That’s so fuckboy energy, Colin!” exclaimed Hyacinth, before being told off by Simon to be mindful of her language. Amelia and Belinda were still at the table, although they were busy running after each other.

“Well, the photo that really intrigued me was one where he was sitting on a couch at home,” Penelope explained. “He was holding a book and had his glasses on, I found him really cute.”

“Wait, the photo I took of you, Colin?” Francesca asked.

“Yeah, the one from when were in Scotland with Mic.” His sister burst out laughing.

“You don’t remember what you were reading?” The entire table looked at Colin who shook his head. Francesca continued, “I’m pretty sure you were checking out the book I was reading, because Michaela had teased me because it was the third time I was reading it.”

All the sudden, Colin remembered what book he had been holding.

“To My Duchess,” he said. All this time, what had been the spark for their relationship, what had made Colin stand out to Penelope, had been her own book. (Well, even without the book, she probably would have swiped right, but the book had increased his rating.)

The room, who were all aware of Penelope’s writings all burst out laughing.

“I think the universe had a clear message for the two of you,” Violet said, as a way to, once again, close the conversation. Hyacinth would have to ask further question about her brother’s Tinder profile another time. Maybe Eloise could give her some intel.

Penelope had gone to the restroom when the family was transitioning from the dining room to the living room. It had been a nice respite to be alone for a couple of minutes. She was not used to so much energy, conversations going in parallels and inside jokes between siblings. She loved it, but she would need to take a nap when they got back to Colin’s.

Even the soap was fancy, she would really need to tell Colin he should have prepared her more for the wealth he had grown up in. She touched up her makeup a bit. She had redone it after her crying session with Eloise, but she had laughed hard enough to get teary eyed during brunch.

When she exited the bathroom, Penelope jumped. Benedict was waiting for her.

“How are you holding up?” he asked, obvious to the scare he had just given her.

“You Bridgertons are a lot,” she laughed. “I’m happy I got to meet all of you before coming today. I don’t know how Kate managed.”

Benedict laughed, no one knew how she had survived, not even herself. But he was happy she had, just as he was happy Penelope and Simon were still standing today.

“I really enjoyed meeting you that night, Penelope.”

“I did too, I’m sorry we practically ran away, but with my book signing that morning, I was drained.”

“Don’t worry about it. I actually wanted to talk to you about the afterparty,” he started, looking nervous. Penelope did not know Benedict well, but from what she knew about him, it was out of character. Colin had told her the only time he had seen his brother be insecure, it had been about his art. He had told her that after she had met Benedict, while showing one of his painting Colin had in his apartment.

“You said you knew Gen, right?”

“Yes,” she was trying to understand where he was going. In their conversation it had been clear she was friend with her. “You know she’s dating someone now.”

“Um, I didn’t, but, uh, that’s not what I wanted to ask.” He was growing more and more nervous. “Do you know other people working at that theatre, who could have gone to the afterparty?”

“I’ve met a few of Gen’s colleagues at parties, I wouldn’t say I know them. Nor do I know if they were at the party,” she answered, observing his reaction. He looked deflated at her response. “What is it you want to know, Benedict?”

“You can’t tell anyone. Not Eloise. Not Colin,” he started, looking around to check no one was listening in. Once she nodded, he continued, “I met the most wonderful woman at the party. We spent the whole night together, but when I asked Henry, he didn’t remember her, nor did he know who she was.”

As soon as he had started talking about this mysterious woman, his nerves had disappeared. “What’s her name, maybe I can ask Gen if she knows her,” Penelope offered. She wanted to help him.

“We never exchanged our names.”

“Benedict! What did you do to her that you did not have time to ask for her name?” Penelope laughed. She had not expected that, despite what she had heard from Gen about him.

“Get your mind out of the gutter. We just talked and danced. We just never got around to introduced ourselves to each other.” There was laughter in his voice, but Penelope heard how hurt he was at the situation he was in.

“I’m good with faces, maybe you can draw her, and I can have a look. Maybe, I’ll remember her?”

His eyes lit up. “Penelope, you’re a genius!” He hugged her with force, before running upstairs, leaving Penelope alone in front of the restroom. She hoped she could help Benedict.

Penelope had joined the family back in the living room, where they were eating the Chez Charlotte’s pastries Penelope and Colin had brought. Benedict had followed soon after Penelope, coming back from his old room and grumbling about not having the right material. She would have to wait to see the face of this mysterious woman.

The atmosphere was calmer, in part because Amelia and Belinda were playing next door with Gregory and Hyacinth. The remaining adults were sitting in smaller group, in quiet conversations. Penelope was sitting with Kate, Francesca, and Eloise. Eloise had practically been glued to her best friend since they had met. No one would have guessed she had almost cancelled coming in. She had taken a bit more distance when Kate had handed off Edmund to Penelope. Eloise was more comfortable with babies than she had been when Amelia had first joined the family, but she was still wary of them and the smells they could produce.

Since Penelope had taken a hold of Edmund, Colin had not been able to take his eyes off his girlfriend. She was such a natural, even when he had grabbed strongly at her hair. She had reacted softly, distracting him without stopping the conversation she was having. Since then, Edmund had fallen asleep, snuggled against her chest, comfortable in the warmth of his arms. Colin had to agree with the peaceful sleeping baby, he too loved falling asleep in Penelope’s arms.

“You’re staring,” Anthony told him. Colin was standing with his older brothers and Simon, talking over a glass of Bourbon. His focus on the conversation had drifted towards Penelope a long time ago, and he did not care.

“Even Hyacinth can be more discreet than that,” Simon pipped up. That one hurt. It made Colin finally drag his eyes away from his girlfriend.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” That was weak, and they all knew it. Colin loved being an uncle, and he was great at it. It was no secret that he dreamt to be a father in the future.

“First marriage, now babies, we’ve just met her, brother.” Colin, who had drawn his eyes back to his girlfriend, turned to Benedict with haste. He tried to shake his head discreetly, but it was too late. Anthony and Simon had heard Benedict. They did not know the context, but their imagination could do wonders.

“Colin, I love Penelope, but isn’t it a bit soon? You don’t even live together,” interjected Anthony. In the past, Colin had been volatile and quick to act before thinking. He was not completely wrong to worry about his brother’s actions.

“I know, and it’s not on the table yet,” he said, pointedly looking at Benedict. “And you know it, Ben.” Simon and Anthony nodded, still not fully understanding what exactly was happening between Colin and Benedict. “But it’s also not something I’m opposed, when the time comes,” Colin admitted.

“When it does feel right, don’t forget to talk to her,” Anthony encouraged.

“If you want to get a feel for it, Daphne and I are always looking for a sitter. And Pen is great with Bel.”

“Thanks, Simon. But as Anthony said, I shouldn’t take decisions without talking to her first,” Colin joked. It helped diffuse the situation a bit, and the conversation continued without his relationship with Penelope being the main topic. It gave him the opportunity to look back towards Penelope who was still holding the sleeping infant.

She was also looking at him, and just as they had done when Eloise had first talk about marriage during their phone call, the couple shared a smile that meant everything to Colin. Maybe the discussion of their future was coming sooner than he had expected, but he did not mind it at all.

As the day advanced, the chaotic energy had settled. Daphne and her family had just left, needing to go back home before nap time. Otherwise, they would have a tired screaming Belinda, which was worse than the grumpy Belinda they had heard at their arrival. Benedict had left soon after them, promising Penelope he would get in touch with the portrait of this Lady in Silver as they said their goodbyes.

At some point, both Hyacinth and Gregory had disappeared to their room upstairs. They had to do some studying before the following day. Hyacinth had complained loudly about her homework, to which Gregory had countered that she should enjoy it while it lasted, because at least it was not an exam like he had.

With all the departures, the conversation had lulled. Everyone was digesting everything they had ate. Penelope was nestled between her boyfriend and her best friend who had both fallen asleep cuddling against her. She had made the mistake of scratching Colin’s head which had put him to sleep almost instantly. Eloise, despite no head massage, needed some respite after a night of worries that her meeting with Penelope would not go well. Now that she was pressed on her best friend’s shoulder, it was all forgotten.

Too aware of her surroundings, at her boyfriend’s mother’s house, with some of his siblings she had met just once, Penelope fought hard not to join them to dreamland. She would never recover if she happened to drool on Violet’s couch. (She would also miss out on Colin’s soft snores.) Penelope would have to wait until they had gone back home to Colin’s before her much-needed nap.

Lost in her thoughts of the nap she would have with Colin, Penelope was surprised when Kate talked to her.

“Penelope, I haven’t had the time to do it yet, but I wanted to compliment you. I’ve started reading To My Duchess and I love it!” Penelope had not expected that. She knew that Eloise had read her books when she had learnt their titles, and she had received praises from her best friend. (She had known Penelope had published books, but they had both agreed that for anonymity’s sake, Penelope would not tell her more than that. When she had learnt they were romance novels, she had not minded that much.) But she had not expected the rest of the family to read them too.

“Yes, I’ve just started Loving a Viscount, and it is really lovely,” Violet added. “I really love your writing style.”

“I had recommended your book since I’ve read it, but they had to wait and meet you before starting them, I suppose,” said Francesca, rolling her eyes. She had been a fan for so long, she had needed to share her love for the book with someone. Thankfully, Michaela had actually followed her suggestion, unlike her family of heathens. The Bridgerton ladies, which obviously also included Kate, had a group chat for book recommendation, where Eloise had added Penelope as soon as she had gotten her phone number.

“Even Anthony’s enjoying it, he’s been stealing my book.” Anthony, who had been too busy watching his son to follow the conversation looked at the women when he heard his name. After Kate quickly explained what they were talking about, he confirmed his liking.

“Really well written, and intriguing.” He looked shy to be enjoying her writings. It was expected, most of the people who read her words were women.

“Eloise was also able to confirm for me the inspiration for some descriptions,” Francesca said to Penelope, who felt the blood drain from her face. Oh no. “Good for you, Penelope,” she added with a wink.

Penelope was grateful that the other did not seem to understand what Francesca was hinting at, although Kate seem intrigued and ready to ask some questions to learn more. If Penelope had to talk with someone from the family about what she had used as inspiration from her relationship with Colin for her story, it would be with Kate. But not in front of Violet and Anthony. Catching the woman’s eyes, Penelope mouthed a “Later,” hoping the topic would drop soon.

Thankfully, Anthony came unknowingly to the rescue, asking questions about the mysterious gossiper in her novel. She had settled on their identity and had been hinting at it more and more in the third tome she had started writing. Colin had asked her so many questions, Penelope was ready for any interrogation now. It was fun to watch the four adults give their ideas in the hopes that Penelope might flinch and give them a clue.

“Benedict told me he thinks it might be one of the staff members. How we don’t see much of them, but they are always here to eardrop,” Francesca told the room.

“Benedict has been reading it too?” Penelope asked, surprised.

“Penelope, we’ve all been reading your books since we found out,” Violet said. “It’s a bit raunchy for Hyacinth in my opinion, but she had already downloaded it on Kindle.”

“We have a whole group chat to compliment you,” Anthony added, to Violet's surprise. She wanted in as well.

“My fan club?” It felt weird to call it that, even if it was how they had christened the group chat. She knew of its existence, but based on what Eloise had told her, she had thought it had only been to plead their case in their ranking for who she liked best. Not to discuss her books. When she had published her first novel, she could not imagine anyone was going to buy her book, and now there was an entire family discussing and theorising about it.

“I really need to be added to it,” came in Colin’s voice. It was heavy with sleep, but he was determined to be a member of the “Penelope’s fanclub” group chat.

Eloise was still sleeping on the couch but was alone in the room now. Anthony and his family had left, bringing Francesca with them as they could drive her to her place on the way to their home.

Colin and Penelope were in the entryway with Violet, ready to go back to Colin’s. Penelope had started to yawn more and more, signalling to her boyfriend it was time to go. She was drained after this family brunch, but she would not change it for the world.

She had truly felt welcomed and loved. She had never experienced that and had not expected it to feel so natural. Even after meeting all the siblings individually, seeing them all together, how ready they were to embrace her in the family, Penelope had a lot of feelings to go through. She felt as if she was part of the family.

“Thank you for coming, Penelope,” said Violet when she was hugging her goodbye.

“Thank you for inviting me, Violet. I’m really grateful.”

“I hope we’ll see you next week. You know it’s a standing invitation, you’ll always be welcome here.” Penelope felt teary eyed. There had been too much love thrown her way throughout the day, and Violet was doing it again. Sensing her emotions, Colin wrapped his arm around her shoulder, leading her towards the door.

“I can’t wait to see you next week,” Penelope managed to say, but her feelings could be heard in her voice. Thankfully, Violet did not react to it. Standing by the door, she waved goodbye to the couple who was walking away.

When they were away from the house, walking alone in the deserted street, Colin told her, “I hope you had a good time.”

“I really did. Your family is wonderful Colin.”

They continued to walk in silence, both thinking back on the day and how it had gone.

“I know we’ve talked about it a bit, but just how much did you tell about me to Eloise?” Colin asked breaking the silence.

Bridgerton Family 🩵

*Violet added Penelope to the chat*

Violet: Welcome Penelope! See you next week!

Penelope: Thank you! 🥰

Colin: ❤️