Eloise walked away from Violet, looking around for Penelope. She needed someone to talk to. "Pen! Pen, Pen, Pen... We must leave." Eloise said, trying not to panic as she walked up to a confused Penelope. "The queen, she-- I somehow managed to charm her. She seems to, in fact, like me. I don't--" She started to stammer.
"Eloise, you must calm down." Penelope tried to say to her.
"Eloise Bridgerton."
The two girls turned to Cressida and the other debutants she hung around. "The diamond. Perhaps now you might stop spending time with insipid wallflowers all evening and refine your circle of friends. I may have an opening--" Cressida began to say.
"I would rather die," Eloise confessed so blatantly, making Penelope nearly spit out her drink.
Nothing else was said as Cressida scoffed while Eloise and Penelope walked out of the place to get some fresh air.
"Forgive my youngest siblings today... I must apologize--"
"No need to apologize, my lord. I enjoyed spending the morning with your wonderful family." Evelina smiled, dancing with Anthony.
"Indeed, Your Highness..." He nodded, surprised to hear it. "Seeing as we did not get to talk so freely... I wish to speak to you of proposing..." Anthony started to say.
"Yes... A week is long enough for courting. If you wish, I could speak with my mama about having your family over for dinner, and you shall ask my mama and my eldest brother, George, who is returning to Mayfair. And you shall ask for their blessings since my father... my father is far too occupied with parliament." Evelina said as Anthony raised his brow.
"A week is too short? My... Won't the rumors truly be insufferable?" Anthony asked with a slight chuckle.
"For a marriage of the ton, I am sure. But speaking with my mother, she informed me that it is traditional for royals to marry hastily without anyone nearly batting an eye." Evelina said, looking over to her mother.
"And you believe it to be true?" Anthony asked her, twirling her around.
"Indeed, my lord... I am a princess by birth. And yet, soon a viscountess by marriage, is that not so?" Evelina asked when Anthony nodded.
"Then, I shall have to find you a ring in the place for the ring I wish to give my future bride that is at Aubry Hall," Anthony said when Evelina nodded.
"Then, I do hope that you get something simple. I confess to having many beautiful jewels, but I do not wish to carry something so heavy on my finger if I am to wear it for the rest of my life." Evelina chuckled when Anthony smiled at her response.
"Very well... Your Highness."
"And please... call me Evelina if I am to be your bride, my lord." She smiled at him, bowing her head at the end of the dance.
"Anthony..." He said since she wanted to drop the formalities. "And your brother is truly coming to Mayfair?" Anthony asked, sounding a little bit nervous.
"Yes... My mother made him come back. It shall be an interesting time while he is here, seeing as I have not spoken to him in far too long." Evelina chuckled, making Anthony smile at her.
"I'm afraid I am nervous to make the acquaintance of the prince regent..." Anthony said with a slight chuckle, walking to the side of the dance floor with her.
"Oh, please... My brother is far from as scary as my mama." Evelina chuckled at him when he smiled, holding his hands behind his back.
"I do not doubt that." He smirked at her.
"How you managed an entire season of these absurd events alongside people like Cressida Cowper is beyond me. And it's not just her. It is all of them. Staring at me as if I were some fine china teapot. How did you do it on your own, Pen?" Eloise asked with a scoff while the two best friends walked out to the flower meadows.
"I do not share your difficulties, El. "Insipid wallflower," remember?" Penelope sighed, mocking Cressida Cowper's insult toward her.
"Ugh. That is not-- Cressida is incensed that even her new dress cannot hide her character." Eloise sighed, giving up on walking to sit down in the meadow, when Penelope followed suit.
"It's not that bad, you know? The wallflower thing." Penelope said, making Eloise hum in response. "I always get the first glass of lemonade. I know who all the best dancers are just from watching. I can always tell when a suitor is serious about courtship just by how he looks when a young lady dances with another. The wall even affords me the chance to hear what the footmen say in secret." Penelope smiled, thinking about what she looked forward to when it came to the season since the only gentleman she had danced with had been Colin a few times.
"You've been keeping it from me." Eloise smiled, looking at Penelope, who quickly turned to look at her in fear. "You do not have to pretend any longer, Pen... You like all of this." Eloise chuckled, making Penelope laugh in relief.
"Well, it can be amusing." Penelope smiled as Eloise just hummed in response again. "I know you have begun to think little of her, but is Lady Whistledown still not a source of amusement?" Penelope asked her best friend.
"It's not that I think little of her. When she was gone, I thought I would miss her. I thought I needed her to make sense of this world. But... now she is back, reporting on the same old things. Just another reminder of how trapped I am." Eloise admitted, sighing as she laid back in the meadow, looking up at the starry sky. "I can feel people's eyes on me. Every time I walk into a ballroom, I know they are comparing me to Daphne. She was so good at being the diamond, and it made my mother so happy. I can never live up to that. I do not want to live up to that, but it does not make it any easier to know you are constantly disappointing people just by walking into a room." Eloise sighed when Penelope grabbed her hand to comfort her before lying in the meadow next to her.
"I never thought of it that way." Penelope sighed, looking at the starry sky too. "No one truly notices me. I suppose that is what I like. When you're invisible, you have all the amusement you want without any of the expectations popularity brings. It frees you." She added, sighing to herself as she realized something that she had not thought of before.
"Do you think that is why Whistledown remains anonymous?"
"Perhaps..."
"Do you think that is why Cressida is so cruel?" Eloise asked with a scoff.
"No. I think she just wears her hair too tight." Penelope smirked, making the two girls laugh and lightening the mood.
~season 2, episode 1: "Capital R Rake"~
~1139 words~