A jilted groom. A broken-hearted bride-to-be. A royal wedding in shambles. Sensational? Quite. But true? This author may traffic in chatter and speculation, dear reader, but misinformation? Never. Explanations of why Miss Edwina absconded from the altar may be greater in number than anyone could possibly fathom. But we must not forget, it was Her Majesty the Queen who placed the young miss on that special stage so that she could make her grand exit. Allow this author to hope for Her Majesty's sake, as well as both the Sharmas and Bridgertons, that an official explanation emerges swiftly, lest the ton are run away by their tawdry imaginings.
Pen and I are sitting in Eloise's room. Eloise herself is lying on her bed surrounded by issues of Lady Whistledown.
"You saved them all?" I question.
"You must have, what, every issue ever printed," Pen reasons.
"Double that," Eloise tells her. "There are two copies here of everyone."
"Why would you..." I start.
Eloise does not let me finish, "The queen thinks it is me. That I am Lady Whistledown."
"Are you being humorous?" Pen questions.
"She has given me three days to confess," Eloise explains. "She is threatening my family, Pen. I should get rid of these. If the queen discovers I have all of these, it will only make me appear that much more guilty."
"But you are not guilty," I reason.
"El, this is a terrible mistake," Pen insists. "We will somehow arrange to see Her Majesty. We must implore her to listen to reason."
"Oh yes, because Her Majesty has always been so reasonable," Eloise remarks.
"But why would the queen think it is you?" I question.
"Yes, you are outspoken and opinionated and..." Pen starts.
"One of her footmen saw me visiting Theo," Eloise informs us. Pen scoffs. "I know. I should have listened to you both. I was selfish, and now I may have even put Theo into harm's way too. The queen must think he has something to do with Whistledown."
"But he does not, and neither have you. El, this is madness," Pen states.
"I should warn him," Eloise insists.
I shake my head. "No. No, you should not."
"You should stay as far away from Theo and that print shop as you can," Pen instructs. "You should wait for Lady Whistledown to print her next issue. Then, with any luck, you can use that in order to prove your innocence."
I sit out in the garden. I have become so used to it. So used to Colin showing up. To our late-night talks that would surely get into trouble should anyone find out. Colin smiles as he sits down beside me on our bench.
"I have not seen you since Miss Edwina called off the wedding," I state.
Colin nods his head. "My mother has been forcing all of us to try and save our family's reputation."
"I know your mama would hate to hear this, but I am rather impressed by Miss Edwina's decision," I confess.
"Her decision to leave my brother at the altar?" Colin questions.
I laugh. "Yes. Miss Edwina could have turned a blind eye, but she stood up for herself. It is rather admirable."
"I suppose you may be right," Colin tells me. "Even if it did ruin my brother's reputation."
"It did not ruin Anthony's reputation. You are Bridgertons. Your family will survive," I tell him. "Onto another subject."
Colin laughs. "Yes, another subject."
