There would be no scandal. Penelope’s reputation would remain intact, and he was engaged to the love of his life.
Harry could not imagine a better turn of events.
Chapter Thirty-One
“Penelope, please tell me this is some tasteless joke.” Her mother stared at her with shock in her eyes. “Some silly game you and Harry have concocted to tease us.”
Her heart hurt at her mother’s disbelieving tone. She had been afraid of this. That they would be furious. That they would reject her and her dreams. Penelope stood before them with her head bowed. Their dinner sat on the table before them, forgotten and growing cold. Not that it particularly mattered. Penelope had no appetite.
“It is not a joke, Mama,” she said in a low voice. “Harry agreed to pose as the author of the novels so that I could write and publish them without causing a scandal.”
“How on earth could you believe you would get away with this?” her father demanded to know. “You not only risk your reputation, but your brother’s as well? And for what? Some silly novels for silly young ladies?”
“They’re not silly!” she snapped, her temper flaring uncontrollably for a brief moment. She blinked, pressing her lips together when she comprehended that she had just shouted at her parents. They appeared as startled as she was.
“Watch your tone, young lady,” her father growled. “You will not speak to us in such a fashion.”
“Yes, Papa,” she murmured, casting her eyes to the floor once more, ashamed. “I am sorry.”
He released a deep breath, his glare softening. “Now, sweetheart, please explain this to us more carefully. You and Harry falsified the identity of the author of those novels, fooling your publisher and the public, because you were afraid of a scandal?”
She nodded. “Yes, Papa. That is it.”
“Then why are you telling us now? It would seem to me you would be better keeping silent on the matter.”
That is my thought exactly.
“Harry no longer wishes to keep the secret just between us two,” she confessed. “He plans on proposing to Lady Dorothy during his visit to her home tonight, and he does not want to keep the truth from her. I had tried to convince him otherwise, but he was adamant. I fear the secret may get out now, despite his confidence that Lady Dorothy will remain silent. My hand was somewhat forced.”
“I see,” her father said with a slow nod.
“Dear Lord, what shall we do?” her mother cried, turning to her husband. “This will ruin her reputation! Lord Romwich will never wed her if this gets out.”
She knew her mother was only concerned for Penelope’s wellbeing as she saw it, but the words still stung.
“Mama, you need not worry. Lord Romwich loves me…”
“Oh, that does not matter.” Her mother’s eyes shimmered with tears. “He may love you with his whole being, but the Duke and Duchess will never stand for this.” Her eyes suddenly shot wide. “Oh, no. Harry! They will force Lady Dorothy to reject his proposal!”
The Baron rested his hand on his wife’s shoulder. “Now, now, my love. Let us not lose our heads just yet. The only other person who knows is Lady Dorothy, and Harry seems to trust that she will remain silent on the matter. I think we should trust his judgement in this.”
Penelope did not share her father’s faith in Lady Dorothy’s ability to stay tight-lipped. Harry was blinded to her faults by his love for her, but Penelope was afraid it was inevitable the lady would let the secret slip. It appeared her mother shared her sentiments, if her expression of incredulity were any indication.
“My darling Bienholm, you are a man, and so naïve to the predilections of ladies,” she scoffed. “Lady Dorothy will not be able to resist the temptation that secret holds over her.”
“That seems hardly fair, my dear,” the Baron said with a shake of his head.
“I do not care what seems fair,” her mother snapped. “I care about our children’s futures, and this secret could ruin them both.”
Penelope stood silent as her parents spoke like she was not in the room. It was irritating and hurtful, but she did not know what she could say to make the situation less awkward.
“Have you told Lord Romwich?” her mother suddenly asked, turning her gaze on Penelope.
“No.” She shook her head. “I have not told him.”
Her mother released a sigh. “That is a relief, at the very least. Though, I am sure his sister will not keep it from him for long. She is a dreadful gossip.”
“Mama! That is rather uncharitable of you.”
Especially given your own loose-tongue.
“You must not speak of her so. If all goes well, she will be your daughter-in-law soon.”
“Only if she can keep her mouth shut!” her mother declared. “Oh, Penelope, how could you do this to us?”
She stared at her mother in shock. She had known this would be a hard truth for the lady to accept, but her reaction was proving more insensitive than Penelope would have imagined. At the end of the day, she thought her mother’s love for her would prove greater than her ambitious to rise up in society. Penelope had thought, eventually, her mother would see that writing was the key to her happiness.
She did not believe such now.
“This was not about you, Mama,” Penelope hissed, her anger bubbling back to the surface. “This was not about you, or Papa, or Harry for that matter. I did this for me and my happiness. Writing is my passion. It is the only thing that fulfills me. I was not willing to give that part of me up simply because of my sex. I would not sacrifice one part of myself for the other.”
“You were thinking selfishly,” her mother responded in a choked voice. “You did not think of how this could affect your family. You did not think how this could affect your future!”
“I did think of those things,” Penelope insisted. “That is why I called on Harry to help me. So that I could protect the family, and still pursue my dreams.”
“That is enough of this, now,” the Baron snapped, looking between the two ladies. “You both must calm yourselves. Fighting like this does no one any good.”
“Papa’s right. I told you this so we could work together to think of a solution, not to provoke you.” Penelope tried to calm her racing heart and keep her voice at an even tone. Her father was right. Fighting would do them no good at present.
No matter how awful her mother was being.
Her mother fluttered her hands like a confused bird.
“Yes, yes, you are right, darling.” She spoke to the Baron, but her narrowed eyes were locked on Penelope. “We must be calm. Rational. We cannot think of a solution if we are too busy arguing.”
The Baron nodded, looking relieved. “Very good. Now, my dears, I think we had best wait to have a reasonable conversation with Harry, and perhaps Lady Dorothy as well. We must all be assured that we each are in agreement that the secret shall remain just among our family. I think hearing Lady Dorothy’s promise to do so from her own lips will go far to assuage you both of your fears.”
“Would it be in our best interest to wait?” he mother asked. “Should we not try immediately to come up with a plan?”
The Baron patted her shoulder. “There is little that can be done now. If what Penelope says is true, and Andrew does tell Lady Dorothy the truth along with his proposal this evening, there are few people she could accidently tell by morning.”
“I…I suppose you are right,” her mother conceded with a hesitant nod of her head. “It should be safe until the morning.”
Penelope agreed, but that did not ease her anxiety. While her parents had voiced their concerns regarding the consequences of her deception, they had yet to truly address her reasoning behind it. Or their expectations of her from this point onward.
“Mama, Papa, please…I need you to understand that I did not do this with any wish in mind to hurt either of you.” She met their gazes, though she wished she could cower and hide. “It was something I had to do. Tell me you und
erstand that?”
Her father held up his hand, looking suddenly exhausted.
“My dear, let us hold off further discussing this issue. Much has been said already, and your mother and I need time to come to terms with this new reality. We can discuss your reasoning and your punishment tomorrow.”
“My punishment?” Her voice softened with trepidation. Though she had always worried at the scandal her secret could cause, it had never occurred to her to be worried about a punishment should her parents find out. What could they possibly think to do to her?
“Yes, punishment,” her mother jumped in with a snap of her fingers. “You did not think you would put your family at risk with your selfish choices and not suffer the penalty for such foolishness, did you?”
“Mama, please…”
“I believe it is time we retired,” the Baron interrupted, standing from the table.
“You have not had dinner,” Penelope pointed out softly.
He glanced at the table before clearing his throat. “I find I no longer have an appetite.”
“Nor have I,” her mother sniffed, taking the hand her husband offered to assist her to her feet. Together, they moved past Penelope and out of the dining room without another word. They did not even glance back at her as they marched into the hall.
She was left alone and heartsick, with little hope of receiving their forgiveness by the morning.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Penelope woke up the next day with a heavy feeling of dread weighing her stomach. She did not wish to get up and face her parents and their disappointment again. Laying in her bed, she wondered if she could feign some sickness in order to stay confined to her room.
She sighed, knowing that was not an option. Sooner or later, she would have to face the Baron and her mother. She could not hide from them forever, and she was sure her mother would not allow her to try. Forcing herself from her bed, she began readying for the day ahead.
Penelope’s lady’s maid was just finishing pinning her hair when a terrible shout echoed through the house. Startled, the maid dropped the pins and Penelope jumped in her seat.
“What on earth was that?” Penelope gasped.
“I do not know, Madam,” the lady’s maid replied. “Would you like me to go and find out?”
Before Penelope could reply, a second roar could be heard, and she leapt to her feet.
“Was that the Baron?” Penelope’s heart thudded as she hurried to the door without waiting for the maid’s response. Bursting into the hall, she picked up her skirts and ran toward the dining room. She could hear her father shouting again and again for her mother.
What has happened? What has provoked such a panicked reaction from him?
Her usually calm and collected father simply did not have outbursts. It was completely at odds with his character.
Penelope met her mother outside the dining room door. The lady’s eyes were wide, her complexion waxen.
“What is going on?” Her voice was laced with anxiety as they both hesitated before entering the room.
“I do not know,” Penelope said with a shrug. “I heard his shout, and came to investigate…”
At yet another of the Baron’s shouts, the two rushed into the dining room, one after the other. They froze at the sight of the Baron who stood at the end of the table, red-faced and furious, the morning newspaper clutched tightly in his hands.
“My Lord! What is the problem? What has you so upset so early in the morning?” Penelope’s mother asked, moving around the table to reach his side.
His wild eyes bounced from her to Penelope, then back to his wife.
“This is the problem!” he declared, slapping the newspaper. “It appears we were right to worry about the secret leaking.”
Penelope’s heart seemed to stop in that moment. “Wh…what do you mean, Papa?”
He tossed the paper onto the table, and she hurried to it to pick it up.
When she saw the front-page headline, she cried out.
“It appears all of London now knows your secret, Penelope,” her father growled. “I fear you both were correct in your worries last evening. Scandal appears inevitable.”
Across the top of the page, in bold black letters, were the words Literary Duplicity: Miss Snowley True Author of Famous Snowley Novels. Mr. Snowley a Pawn in His Sister’s Game of Deceptions.
It felt as though the world tipped beneath her feet and she stumbled into the table.
“Penelope!” Her mother ran to her to grab her arm and steady her. “Are you all right, sweetheart?”
She was far from all right. Staring down at the paper, its headline seemed to taunt her.
How did this happen? How could it have gotten out so soon?
She had thought they would have time to plan and prepare. To avoid being taken by surprise like this with their guards down. Her mind was a whirl, and it felt like the world was spinning around her.
“Penelope? Sweetheart? Talk to me, darling?” Her mother’s voice seemed to echo from a distance, despite the lady being right next to her. Dark spots creeped in at the edge of her vision, and her stomach roiled.
Penelope was certain she was about to be sick.
“Sit down, sweetheart, before you collapse!” Her mother’s grip on her arm tightened as she guided Penelope into one of the chairs around the dining table. Kneeling at her side, her mother took hold of her hands. “Breath, sweet girl. You must breath.”
It was only in that moment that Penelope realized she was gasping for air as though she were drowning. Was that not the case in a way, however? It felt as though a wave were crashing over her, pulling her down into the murky blackness below. It was so tempting to just let herself be pulled into the deep, dark, nothingness. To release all this overwhelming worry and panic…
“Penelope! You must pull yourself together!” Her mother’s voice turned harsh and she snapped her fingers in front of her daughter’s face. “This is not the time for you to lose your wits.”
Penelope blinked, her mother’s hard tone like a hook yanking her back to reality. The world came back into focus around her, and she turned her gaze to her mother, who still knelt at her side.
“I am sorry, Mama,” she murmured. “I…I do not know what came over me.”
Her mother’s gaze softened. “There is no need to apologize, darling. It is not unreasonable for you to react this way to this terrible turn of events, but there is no time for it. We must think of a way to mitigate the damage this story is certain to cause to your reputation.”
“How?” Penelope asked. “How can we possibly fix this?”
Her mother appeared thoughtful for a moment.
“We must ensure this does not derail any of the plans in place for you or Harry,” she said at last. “We must appear a united front against the gossip that has no doubt already begun to swirl, and we should immediately send a message to the Duke and Duchess of Lockeder with our deepest apologies and our hope that they will not think poorly of you.”
“The Duke and Duchess?” Penelope’s mind was struggling to keep up with her mother’s words.
“No doubt they have seen this drivel,” her father snarled. “I would not blame them if they forbid either of their children to associate with ours.”
“Bienholm!” Penelope’s mother exclaimed. “That is not helpful at present.”
“We need to face this reality,” he snapped back. “If the Duke and Duchess shun Penelope and Harry as a result of this scandal, they will have no hope of repairing their reputations. Especially Penelope!”
“Enough!” her mother yelled, but Penelope knew he was right. When the Duke and Duchess found out, they would likely wish to disassociate themselves from the Snowley family. They could try to keep her and Andrew apart…
Andrew! What will he think?
He would see the story as well. He would know her secret. Whether his parents allowed it or not, would he even want to be with her anymore?
The thought sent a f
resh wave of panic rushing through her.
No, I cannot lose him because of this. He loves me! He would not abandon me.
Yet, she could not be sure. It was not only the fact that she and Harry had deceived all of London, but she had lied to Andrew. Suddenly, she wished she had done as Harry had with Dorothy and told Andrew. If she had confessed all before now, she would not be agonizing over his response. She would not have to wonder if he would be angry at her for keeping the truth from him.
I have to see him. I have to explain!
She tried to push from her seat, but her knees wobbled.
Lustful Memoirs 0f A Bewitching Lady (Steamy Historical Regency Romance) Page 22
