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Authors: Jennifer Wenn
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youngest son’s mind as she did.
“I always forget how crowded this place becomes as the social Season in London comes to its end.”
She woke up from her past-dwelling thoughts and followed Thomas’s gaze toward the socializing peers surrounding them. Fashionable gentlemen flirted discreetly—or not so discreetly—with elegant ladies who pretended to be offended but whose laughing eyes told a different story.
This was the life which awaited Penny in London, and she knew without doubt it wasn’t for her. Some people—like Francesca—thrived in settings such as this.
But not Penny.
She needed solitude.
She needed space.
But most of all she didn’t need to be thrown at a bunch of strangers, people she was supposed to know and therefore have spirited conversation with.
She, who couldn’t even have a normal conversation with her own father without stuttering, was supposed to impress her family’s acquaintance with her wit and her humor. Charmaine had mastered the art of talking about nothing with anybody.
But not Penny.
“It is quite strange that they still have this much to talk about, considering they have spent most of the last couple of months together,” she mumbled with a forlorn smile, and Thomas gave her a curious look.
“How do you mean?”
“Oh.” Penny blushed. She had not been aware of speaking her thoughts aloud. Embarrassed down to her toes, she couldn’t help but wonder what he must think of her. She must seem the most dimwitted person alive.
But as she looked up into his face she could see only curiosity and kindness. There was not a trace of the usual frustration she met from her family when she spoke without thinking first.
“It just amazes me that some people thrive while interacting with others. If I had spent over three months in London with the same people, I would have searched at once for a quiet corner when arriving at my country home. Not seeking the first place to meet the same people again, chatting about the same things we have been talking about for months.”
Thomas gave her a slow and unreadable smile without responding to her unusual thoughts, and Penny felt her cheeks growing hotter. She was thoughtlessly talking this courtship to an end before it even started.
“I tend to be a bit partial to solitude, I’m afraid. I enjoy my own company too much sometimes.”
Thomas laughed. “I’m so glad to hear this. I too find the social life a bore and much prefer to spend my precious time with my books.”
“You do?” Penny lit up, and her earlier embarrassment started to fade.
“I admit I do. That’s why I haven’t been to London the last couple of years. It’s a complete waste of time, in my opinion. You know, most men of my acquaintance think less of me because of my decision to stay put. ‘Boring Saint Thomas’ they call me, and don’t understand how I can choose to spend my time alone in the country when I could use my time chasing as many skirts as possible…”
This time it was Thomas who blushed uncomfortably when it occurred to him how openly he had spoken. Penny couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. He wouldn’t know she spent most of her waking hours with the Darlings, who tended to talk much more colorfully than he just had done.
It wasn’t easy to get to know someone new when etiquette ruled your every move, especially if you were an unmarried lady in search of a husband. You were supposed to hold back every spontaneous thought and hide your amusements as much as possible.
You never know if the perfect man or someone connected to him would happen to be watching, so you must always control your urges and behave as properly as you can. Her mother’s words of wisdom echoed in Penny’s head and efficiently removed the amused smile from her face. Her first spontaneous reaction had been to tease him about his blunder, but the remembrance of her mother’s words stopped her effectively.
She did find Thomas a most suitable prospect for
“I always forget how crowded this place becomes as the social Season in London comes to its end.”
She woke up from her past-dwelling thoughts and followed Thomas’s gaze toward the socializing peers surrounding them. Fashionable gentlemen flirted discreetly—or not so discreetly—with elegant ladies who pretended to be offended but whose laughing eyes told a different story.
This was the life which awaited Penny in London, and she knew without doubt it wasn’t for her. Some people—like Francesca—thrived in settings such as this.
But not Penny.
She needed solitude.
She needed space.
But most of all she didn’t need to be thrown at a bunch of strangers, people she was supposed to know and therefore have spirited conversation with.
She, who couldn’t even have a normal conversation with her own father without stuttering, was supposed to impress her family’s acquaintance with her wit and her humor. Charmaine had mastered the art of talking about nothing with anybody.
But not Penny.
“It is quite strange that they still have this much to talk about, considering they have spent most of the last couple of months together,” she mumbled with a forlorn smile, and Thomas gave her a curious look.
“How do you mean?”
“Oh.” Penny blushed. She had not been aware of speaking her thoughts aloud. Embarrassed down to her toes, she couldn’t help but wonder what he must think of her. She must seem the most dimwitted person alive.
But as she looked up into his face she could see only curiosity and kindness. There was not a trace of the usual frustration she met from her family when she spoke without thinking first.
“It just amazes me that some people thrive while interacting with others. If I had spent over three months in London with the same people, I would have searched at once for a quiet corner when arriving at my country home. Not seeking the first place to meet the same people again, chatting about the same things we have been talking about for months.”
Thomas gave her a slow and unreadable smile without responding to her unusual thoughts, and Penny felt her cheeks growing hotter. She was thoughtlessly talking this courtship to an end before it even started.
“I tend to be a bit partial to solitude, I’m afraid. I enjoy my own company too much sometimes.”
Thomas laughed. “I’m so glad to hear this. I too find the social life a bore and much prefer to spend my precious time with my books.”
“You do?” Penny lit up, and her earlier embarrassment started to fade.
“I admit I do. That’s why I haven’t been to London the last couple of years. It’s a complete waste of time, in my opinion. You know, most men of my acquaintance think less of me because of my decision to stay put. ‘Boring Saint Thomas’ they call me, and don’t understand how I can choose to spend my time alone in the country when I could use my time chasing as many skirts as possible…”
This time it was Thomas who blushed uncomfortably when it occurred to him how openly he had spoken. Penny couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. He wouldn’t know she spent most of her waking hours with the Darlings, who tended to talk much more colorfully than he just had done.
It wasn’t easy to get to know someone new when etiquette ruled your every move, especially if you were an unmarried lady in search of a husband. You were supposed to hold back every spontaneous thought and hide your amusements as much as possible.
You never know if the perfect man or someone connected to him would happen to be watching, so you must always control your urges and behave as properly as you can. Her mother’s words of wisdom echoed in Penny’s head and efficiently removed the amused smile from her face. Her first spontaneous reaction had been to tease him about his blunder, but the remembrance of her mother’s words stopped her effectively.
She did find Thomas a most suitable prospect for
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