Falling for a Bridgerton : a Bridgerton fanfic

chapter 22 : the party pt. 1 | pen & colin

It was Hyacinth's birthday, and Daphne and Simon decided to throw the party at their estate. It was mainly a gesture of sympathy due to the severe distress that came with Violet's unexpected condition.

She was feeling much better this week, and so the duchess invited her family to celebrate together at her house, away from the town that seemed so very gloomy lately.

The entire Bridgerton family attended, as well as Penelope & Mabel.

To her surprise, Eloise was actually asked to invite Mabel at her older sister's request.

She had heard such wonderful things about Eloise's new friend, she just had to meet her.

Eloise knew she should feel somewhat happy to be able to spend more time with Mabel, but she cringed at the thought of introducing her to her entire family. The closer they got to Mabel, the closer they got to her secret.

She thought about uninviting Mabel a thousand times, but Mabel had written her a letter stating how excited she was to meet the rest of her family, that Eloise couldn't bear to disappoint.

Unfortunately, for Amelia's sake, Anthony could.

Violet and Daphne had invited Amelia, but Anthony had shut it down immediately. His reason was that his family would just scare her away, not wanting to admit to any of them that he wasn't ready to introduce her yet.

Yet.

Funnily enough, it wasn't the notion of their ruse or the fact she wasn't who she said she was that prompted him to say no; he really didn't want to scare her away. Right now, she was the only good aspect of his life, the only thing he finds himself looking forward to, and he wasn't going to jeopardize that any time soon. 

~~~~~~~~~

The party had begun to die down as the sunset gleamed warmth over the guests. The remaining attendants were twirling and spinning on the dance floor, most of them drunk with spirit.

Penelope sat on the side, smiling at the music emanating from the orchestra as she sipped her lemonade.

Eloise and Mabel had run off a while ago, and she wasn't about to disturb the lovers. She smirked to herself, happy at the thought of seeing Eloise smiling all day, trying to find different ways to impress Mabel.

She closed her eyes, as the orchestra started to play one of her favorite songs, trying to absorb what was left of the remaining sunlight and enjoy this truly wonderful day.

She was interrupted when she heard a cough. She opened her eyes warily and was met with a sight of a hand placed in front of her.

"Dance with me?"

She stood up and bowed "It would be my pleasure, Mr. Bridgerton."

Colin took her hand and led her to the dance floor. She glanced at his hands in hers, wondering if it felt as natural to him as it did to her.

He placed one hand around her wrist and the other around her waist. He leaned closer, and she looked away, not wanting him to see how flushed she was.

"So," Penelope was desperate to divert his attention, "I can't believe your brother is dancing," she chuckled.

Colin followed her gaze to Anthony, who was dancing with a girl they had met earlier that day. Rosalie Warner was her name, Penelope remembered.

Anthony truly seemed happy as he danced with her, a sight that was shocking to all guests present.

Colin chuckled at the scene, "I'm just surprised he made it through the day sober."

They laughed, and she could feel Colin's grip on her waist tighten. She wondered if he felt as delighted as she was.