A Wallflower's Bloom

Chapter 6: The Dances

The Dances

After the Queen has left, a bunch of ladies and gentlemen from the ton had started to flock around the Featheringtons. They were all curious to see Penelope closely, to see the beauty that charmed the Queen herself, and to admire the sparkling exquisite piece hanging on her neck. There were also a lot of gentlemen who had asked her for a dance, mostly new faces that had just introduced themselves to the red-haired girl.

Amidst the crowd, there stood Colin Bridgerton who had been long observing Penelope since the Featheringtons' arrival. Penelope felt her insides stiffen as she saw the face of her childhood friend. It has been a long while since they last saw each other. Through these last months, Colin had lost the baby fats on his face but still remained as charming and handsome as he is. No matter how much she missed him, the only thing that entered her mind were the words Colin had proudly said to his friends.

"Pen." The third Bridgerton son greets her.

"Are you mad? I would never dream of courting Penelope Featherington. Not in your wildest fantasies Fife." Those words echoed pain on Penelope's ears. But despite being hurt and angry at the man in front of her, and as a lady with proper etiquette manners, she greeted back the Bridgerton boy.

"Good evening, Mister Bridgerton." She said coldly as she bows her head.

"Good evening, Pen. Are you well? I did not see you the other night." Colin says.

"As you can see, I am well to attend this ball Mister Bridgerton." Penelope's icy words continues to hunt the unknowing Colin.

"Mister Bridgerton? Are we not calling on our Christian names anymore?" Colin asked as he was not used to hearing his friend call him by his family name. A question he regrets to have brought up as a couple set of eyes turned toward him, including that of the dowager Baroness, Lady Featherington. He then remembered his mother's warning. He decided to be careful with his words not to attract unwanted attention to them.

Penelope has been trying to get suitors this season, and if word comes around that she is acting so familiar with a gentleman like him, might cause some rumors that will affect his friend's prospects.

"Well, may I ask for a dance Miss Featherington?" He casually asks just to change the topic. He knew it would be better to converse with the red-haired lady during the dance so that less bystanders would be able to hear their words.

As much as she would like to decline, Penelope hesitantly raises up her wrist for Colin to write his name on the card. It was set on rules that if a lady is to decline a man asking for a dance, then she will have to sit out all the dances for the remainder of the evening. A consequence Penelope could not afford to give up. It took her this much to have her dance card full of names and she will not let this chance slip away just because of Colin Bridgerton. She is determined to have a suitor and if she needed to endure faking a smile and conversing to the man she hates right now, she will dutifully do so. Just to secure her chances of finding a husband from the ton.

Colin smiles at her as he finished writing his name on the piece of paper hanging on her wrist. He wrote his name on the country dance making her card missing just one final dance.

"I will pick you up once our song starts." Colin happily left her as he goes along to look for his sisters. The man innocently thinks that sharing a dance with Penelope will make his night better.

After getting introduced to a few of the eligible bachelors, Penelope Featherington had excused herself from her mother and sister to proceed to the refreshments table. She badly needed a drink as she felt her throat and lips dry after all the smiling and exchange of words with different people at the crowd.