The Bridgerton Eight

There's More To Us Than They Say

Thursday—November 26th, 2020

Night of Lady Danbury's Thanksgiving Bash, 8h45pm

As they danced, Penelope decided she didn't care if Colin had only asked her out of pity. It really didn't matter. Dancing with him was so much fun, she could be herself and he didn't hold her like he feared she might break at any second. He let her twirl and jump and lose herself, and this would always be one of her most cherished memories.

When the dance ended, they heard a loud female voice bark out, "Mr. Bridgerton!"

They both froze. It was a voice they both knew. It was a voice everyone knew.

"Save me," Colin groaned.

Penelope looked over her shoulder to see the infamous Lady Danbury pushing her way through the crowd, wincing when her ever-present cane landed on the foot of some hapless person. "Maybe she means a different Bridgerton?" Penelope suggested.

"I'll give you ten bucks if you don't leave my side," Colin blurted out.

Penelope choked on air. "Don't be silly, I—"

"Twenty."

"Done!" she said with a smile, not because she particularly needed the money but because it was strangely enjoyable to be extorting it from Colin. "Lady Danbury!" she called out, hurrying to the elderly lady's side. "How nice to see you."

"Nobody ever thinks it's nice to see me," Lady Danbury said sharply, "except maybe my grandson, and half the time I'm not even sure about him. But I thank you for lying all the same."

Colin said nothing, but she still turned in his direction and swatted his leg with her cane. "Good choice dancing with this one," she said. "More brains than the rest of her family put together."

"It is always a delight to see you, Lady Danbury," Colin said, giving her a brilliant smile.

"Glib, this one is," Lady Danbury said to Penelope. "You'll have to watch out for him."

"I find that hard to do," Penelope said, "as he never seems to be in town."

"See!" Lady Danbury crowed again. "I told you she was bright."

"You'll notice," Colin said smoothly, "that I did not contradict you."

The old lady smiled approvingly. "So you didn't. Perhaps you're getting smart, Mr. Bridgerton."

"It has occasionally been remarked that I've always been smart, eh, a little bit."

"Hmmph. The important word in that sentence being little, of course."

Colin looked at Penelope through narrowed eyes. She appeared to be choking on laughter. Colin decided it was definitely time to go. "I think I see my mother..."

Lady Danbury turned to Penelope. "How much did he pay you not to leave him alone with me?"

Penelope exploded with laughter. "I'm so sorry, Colin," she gasped, clasping a hand over her mouth.

"Oh, no, go right ahead," Colin said expansively. "You've been such a help already."

"You don't have to pay me," she said.

"I wasn't planning to."

"How much did he offer?" Lady Danbury asked again. "You shouldn't accept anything less than fifty from this one," she told Penelope.

Colin smiled blandly. "Isn't it considered impolite to talk about money in mixed company?"

Lady Danbury let out a noise that was either a wheeze or a giggle—Colin wasn't sure which—then said, "It's always impolite to talk about money, mixed company or no, but when one is my age, one can do almost anything one pleases."