Eloise Bridgerton

Eloise Bridgerton - Chapter 20

Theo handed his long overcoat as he stood in the entrance hall, looking around.

"Similar to Barclay Mansion?", asked a familiar voice.

Theo whipped around and saw Eloise. He swallowed deeply as she came towards him.

"Uhh.... yes I suppose all the ton's houses are the same", said Theo to her.

Eloise smirked and said "You're one of us now."

"That remains to be seen", said Theo, seriously.

"What do you mean?", asked Eloise with a slight frown.

"Well, the chances of me being exposed tonight as a fake are high. I could pretend through a dance and conversation, but an intimate country dinner is far different."

"You are not a fake", said Eloise strongly. "You're more genuine than most of the people in that room. Don't worry, you'll be fine. Once you get through the first few minutes, the wine will be flowing and no one will really notice what you're doing. It's best to stay away from Cressida Cowper though. She thrives on gossiping and humiliating people. And be careful of....."

Eloise hesitated at the end of the sentence. Despite her anger at Penelope, Eloise still could not reveal the identity of Lady Whistledown.

"Be careful of?", questioned Theo.

"Just ... .be careful of who you sit next to and what you say and do", finished Eloise. "I am not aware of the seating."

"Seating", scoffed Theo. "If any of my chums could see me know they wouldn't believe it and even if they did they would fall off their seats laughing."

"You may want to avoid using the word 'chums', said Eloise.

"Ah Lady Eloise, can a conversation be complete without you correcting me?", asked Theo with a smile.

"I don't believe so, Lord Barclay", said Eloise tilting her head slightly.

Before either could say anything else, they heard the thrum of voices and Eloise indicated that Theo should walk ahead of her into the dining hall.

Theo navigated through the room, until he finally found his name on a small place card. He took his seat and found himself sitting next to Lady Reddington on his left.

Lady Reddington gave him a brief nod and then turned to speak to Benedict Bridgerton on her other side. Theo raised his eyebrows and then turned to his right. Penelope Featherington sat next to him.

"Lord Barclay", she said in a soft voice.

"Miss Featherington", Theo said courteously. "Err... how are you this evening?"

"Very well, my Lord", she said.

They lapsed into silence as the first course was served. Theo looked down at his plate and at the silverware next to it. He blinked a few times, his mind having gone blank.

Theo began to panic as he noticed that the guests were picking up their silverware as gentle conversation broke out on the table. He didn't dare turn to look at Lady Reddington.

"It's the smaller fork", whispered a soft voice to his right. Theo snatched up the fork and speared food on it, heaving a sigh of relief. He turned to Penelope Featherington and said "Thank you", relief coursing through him.

She gave a small smile and looked down. As relief normalised his breathing, another flashed through his mind.

Penelope Featherington had told him which fork to use.

He pushed the thought away as Lady Reddington engaged him in conversation.

"All in all the dinner was a relative success", thought Theo to himself as he joined the other men for a drink. Except for Eloise.