Falling for a Bridgerton : a Bridgerton fanfic

chapter 28 : garden fever

Eloise was in the prime of her life.

Everything was going just exceptionally. With Daphne's visit, her mother had backed off bothering Eloise with preparation for the imminent season, her friendship with Pen had never been better and most importantly, she was in love.

Or was she?

Eloise never experienced love before but what she felt for Mabel sounded quite similar to how her mother explained her love for Eloise's father and how Daphne felt for Simon.

Could I really be in love?, Eloise pondered. Yes, Mabel is a girl but surely love knows no gender; it knows no bounds.

Eloise smiled to herself, having quickly fixed the existential crisis in her mind in mere seconds.

She displaced her thoughts in the back of her mind and turned her attention to Penelope, who sat in front of her with her head stuffed in a pillow.

"Penelope, what's wrong?"

"I'm so stupid," Pen replied with a grumble that came out muffled through the pillow.

"Pen, my brother's the stupid one. If he can't see how great you are, then he's an idiot. It's plain and simple."

Pen came over earlier tonight with an assortment of cookies and biscuits in hand. Her eyes were watery and as soon Eloise opened the door, Pen had ran in and plopped on the bed.

After some minutes of quiet sobbing which quickly turned into insults (mainly directed at herself), Penelope told Eloise about what happened at the party.

Eloise silently chided her brother in her mind, wondering how he could be so clueless. From what she heard, Pen was exactly the girl he's been looking for.

It's silly how someone could look everywhere except for the one thing in front of them. Like losing an item and spending an enormous time looking for it only to realize it's been hiding in plain sight.

Pen turned onto her back, her eyes swollen and cheeks puffy. She glanced at Eloise, "Please tell me your love life is going better than mine,"

Eloise smiled cockily for a second before realizing she shouldn't brag when her best friend was going through it. "It's going good," she muttered casually.

Pen rolled her eyes, "Yeah, right. It's just 'good.' Please don't lie for my sake."

"Okay, fine," Eloise sighed. "It's been amazing. But Mabel hasn't written me in a week. She hasn't replied to any of my letters. I don't know if I should feel alarmed or not."

"Is there anyway you can talk to her? Without writing of course?"

Eloise cupped her cheeks in her hand and paused, "I know where she lives. It's not that far, I'm sure I could visit her without causing much trouble."

Penelope stood up and dusted off the cookie crumbs of her dress, "That sounds like a great plan. You should do that. Tonight."

Eloise stopped Pen from taking a step closer to the door, "Wait Pen, I don't have to see her tonight. You can stay and we can talk."

Pen smiled breathily, wiping the hair out of her face, "Eloise, i've done enough crying and talking for a lifetime, please at least one of us should have a love life."

Eloise kissed Pen's cheek as they walked to the door, "Alright, but come and see me tomorrow. And bring me more cookies." And with a wink goodbye, Eloise looked around her room, wondering how many bedsheet she would have to string to sneak out tonight.