Archive of Our Own ^beta

Ever since the Featheringtons moved in across the street, Penelope had never been denied the entry to Bridgerton House. Her bond with Eloise began the moment the girls met when they were small children, becoming inseparable ever since. It didn’t matte if they were in the middle of their afternoon tea, getting ready to promenade or bickering in the drawing room.

Which included those moments in which the Bridgerton children were receiving lessons by a governess. Giving the amount of children in the house and their wealth, they could afford to receive lessons multiple times a week, much to their dismay. Some of them complained, others silently went along with it, others were enthusiastic about learning something new.

Anthony was smart, yet he still complained. Benedict was studious and exceptional at art, but a little lazy to start. Colin took his time, but his improvement with time was noticeable, especially his writing skills. Daphne preferred dancing, but she put effort in every subject. Eloise had a lot of potential, but always complained whenever she found something uninteresting.

Francesca was a great student, but had a hard time concentrating in anything which didn’t involve music. Since Anthony and Benedict were old enough to be sent to Eaton, none of them received lessons at home anymore. Colin, Daphne, Eloise and Francesca, being of similar age, usually had their lessons together. The youngest, Gregory and Hyacinth, were still babies.

While boys and girls were divided when it came to fencing, which was taught to boys, and dancing, taught to girls, there were lessons in which they were together. History, arithmetic, reading and writing and many others. There was a room in Bridgerton House which was designated for the children’s education, though they used the drawing room as well.

That afternoon, the children were in the middle of a writing lessons with their governess Amelia when ten-year-old Penelope Featherington walked into Bridgerton House’s drawing room, accompanied by one of her servants. “Good day, Bridgertons.”

“Penelope.” Violet greeted from the drawing room’s settee. “The children are in the middle of their writing lessons, but please do come inside.”

“I can leave if they are busy.” Penelope offered with a smile.

“Please stay!” Eloise raised her voice from the table, clearly displeased with whatever they were writing about. “Mama, can I play with–”

“You cannot do anything until your governess says your lessons are over.”

Eloise whined, smashing her head against the table. “This is not fair.”

“Eloise, stop whining!” Daphne nudged her sister. “You are making me lose focus.”

“You would finish faster if you started writing instead of complaining so much.” Colin teased. “Good day, Pen!” The boy waved his hand at her.

“Hello, Penelope.” Francesca joined her brother’s greeting.

“You may sit with me if you want, Penelope.” Violet patted the space next to her. “We can speak while they finish. Daphne and Colin will do so quicker than Eloise, I assume.”

“Actually, lady Bridgerton, may I join their lesson?” Penelope timidly asked.

While the Featherington did have a governess, the family’s wealth wasn’t enough to keep it for long. Once the three girls had learnt the basics – or at least Portia’s definition of the basics, the governess visited the house less frequently. Penelope always wondered what her education could have been if they had more money or a mother who wanted literate daughters.

Books were Penelope’s refuge. Nothing could stop her from getting invested in reading since the governess stopped visiting Featherington House. Her ability to read improved and so did her knowledge – as well as her writing skills, who she practiced on her own. She really enjoyed learning and wanted to take any chance she got at receiving more lessons.

“As long as Amelia does not mind another student.” Violet gazed at the governess, asking the silent question.

“By all means, Miss Featherington, do join us.” Amelia offered an encouraging smile. “We have just read a short passage from this book,” She handed it to Penelope the moment she sat down. Colin had moved to the chair next to his so Penelope could sit between him and Eloise. “And we were practicing about rewriting it with different words. Let me know when you have read all of it.”

“Thank you.” Penelope took the book in her hands, her eyes quickly reading through the passage Amelia indicated. “I’m done.”

“How do you read so fast?” Colin gave her a friendly kick from under the table.

Penelope couldn’t help a giggle. “I read a lot at home.” She explained. “Sometimes, I can finish an entire book in two or three days, if I’m really invested in it.”

“Three days? That is awesome.” Colin’s eyes went wide. “Even quicker than Eloise.”

“What did you say about me?” Eloise had only caught her name, but any excuse to escape from doing what she was supposed to worked for her.

“Just write your piece, El.” Penelope tried to avoid any further bickering between the siblings.

Quill in hand, Penelope lost track of the world around her. While she had yet to discover how far her passion for writing went, Penelope’s skills showed from a young age. She was average in other topics, but exceeded in writing in a way very few children of her age did. Her feet kicked on their own under the table, accidentally hitting Eloise and Colin twice.

“Are there a limit to how many words we have to write?”

“Just half of a page will suffice.” Said Amelia. “Come on Eloise, you read more than anyone else in this house, I’m sure you have enough vocabulary to come up with something.”

Seeming a little motivated, Eloise took the quill again. “What have you written, Pen?”

“That is cheating.” Daphne kicked Eloise under the table. “Do it on your own.”

With a groan, Eloise finally seemed to concentrate, writing slow but concisely. Penelope was the one who finished first, seeming as she didn’t lose focus even once until she was done with what she had to so, and Colin didn’t take long to be the next one, chatting with Penelope in whispers to avoid bothering Eloise and Francesca as Amelia reviewed their work.

“You do have a way with words, Miss Penelope.” Amelia assured. “Might I ask, has your family hired a governess?”

“My mama hired one, but we only see her once a month now.” Penelope admitted after a small silence.

Penelope was about to comment that low money was the main reason why, but knew Portia was always preoccupied with status and wanted to appear wealthy, so she said nothing. She was just ten, but already knew her mother did her best with what she was given. Portia could be mean, inconsiderate and tactless, but she loved her daughters fiercely.

“That is a shame.” Amelia didn’t comment further. “Lady Bridgerton asked me today to come twice a week, you may join our lessons more often if you wish to.”

“Truly?” Penelope smiled from ear to ear.

“Of course.” Amelia nodded. “Knowledge is not something one should ever be deprived of. Besides, your presence seems to motivate Eloise, and I could use that.”

“I can hear you.” Eloise frowned, her eyes gazing at Amelia before looking back at the paper.

“I would also like for Pen to join our lessons.” Colin encouraged, his kind eyes looking in Penelope’s direction.

“When did you start calling her Pen?” Eloise lost focus again. “That is my nickname for her.”

“You cannot own a nickname.” Colin teased back. “I will call her Pen if I want to.”

“Children.” Violet scolded from the couch. “Please Amelia, do go on.”

“Thank you, lady Bridgerton.” The governess sighed, more than used to the bickering among the children. “Colin, your descriptions are very good.” She praised. “You should practice your writing more, the potential is right there.”

“Thank you.” A light shade of pink grew on Colin’s cheeks.

“Very well then, you two.” Amelia’s eyes switched between Penelope and Colin. “Dismissed. I hope to see you at our next lesson, Miss Penelope…?”

“Featherington.” Penelope and Colin answered in unison.

“Penelope Featherington.” Amelia nodded. “I heard you enjoy reading, never cease doing so.”

“I will not.” Penelope was giddy as she stood up, leaving Eloise, Daphne and Francesca, who were almost finished with their writing pieces as well.

“Pen, come.” Colin whispered, catching her wrist and pulling her into a corner. “There is something I want to show you, follow me.”

No one said a word when Penelope and Colin left the drawing room, their excited steps loud against the wooden floor. When they reached Colin’s room, the boy closed the door behind them and immediately knelt next to his bed, taking two wooden swords from under it. He threw one to Penelope’s feet and taking the other in one of his hands.

“My fencing instructor forgot to put them away yesterday.” Colin’s lips curved into a mischievous grin. “I heard you and Eloise wanted to take part in fencing lessons.” He moved his free arm behind his back. “What do you say?”

“That is true.” Penelope spoke as she knelt down to take the sword. “Though I do not know anything about fencing.”

“That is alright, I can teach you!” Colin offered, a wide smile on his face, playfully wielding the sword. “The idea is to stab–”

“Stab?!” Penelope raised her voice.

“That was not the best word to use, I admit.” Colin giggled at her scandalized face. “The tip of the sword has to point to your opponent’s chest – careful enough to avoid hurting them, obviously. Like this.” Colin pointed the tip of his sword against in the area below her neck – the tip of his practice swords was round and had a piece of cloth tied around it, so even if they accidentally hit each other, there wouldn’t be any serious damage. “Oh, and with the other hand behind your back.”

“I’m going to be horrible at this.” Penelope mimicked Colin’s posture, a foot behind the other, her free hand on her back.

“I thought so about myself at first, but I’m not so bad.” Colin grinned. “When I’m older, I’m going to beat my big brothers at fencing. En guard!”

Penelope was clumsy at first, losing a couple of times before she got used to defending herself, not doing as bad as she thought due to the clear disadvantage her inexperience gave her. The fact that Colin was constantly laughing – not at her, but with her, made all the tension in her body evaporate quickly, replaced by a warm and fuzzy feeling inside her chest.

“Ha!” Penelope smiled victoriously the only time she was able to point the tip of her sword against Colin’s chest. “Got you.”

“Very good!” Colin sat on the floor then, catching his breath. “I was not expecting you to beat me even once, my fault for underestimating you.”

“That is because I have a good teacher.” Penelope sat on the floor in front of him, letting go of the wooden sword. “Shall we tell El? She was very upset about us being unable to join your fencing lessons.”

“When she is done with her writing activity, sure.” He assured. “By the way, can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“It has been long since you visited us for the last time.” Colin started carefully. “Did something happen? I thought you fought with Eloise at first.”

Penelope took a moment to find the right words. “From what I heard, your mama was extremely devastated after your papa’s passing.” Her voice lowered. “I did not want to intrude when she was having such a difficult time.”

“I see.” Colin swallowed. “It was hard at first, I remember her locking up in her room and not meeting us even to eat.”

Penelope’s chest tightened, the sorrow in Colin’s voice tone and his sad eyes almost making her cry. “Is she better now?”

“Yes.” He whispered, his smile bittersweet. “My brother Anthony is different now though, more distant and irritable, he gets angry for no reason.” He paused. “Can I get a hug?”

“Of course.” Penelope sat next to him, enveloping Colin in a tight embrace, her fingers moving up and down his arm. “I’m glad things are better now.” At least from her little interaction with Violet earlier, Penelope assumed she was better, but wanted to make sure by asking Colin anyway. “Are you better?”

“Yes.” Colin leant against her, the closeness causing a warm and fuzzy feeling to grow in his chest. “And I’m so very happy that you are back.”

Penelope’s cheeks turned pink. She couldn’t help it, Colin was just so sweet. “Me too.”