Page 74 of Snapdragons
Mr. Fortier received a few elbow nudges.
“No,” Penelope said, “but she did have something I was not expecting.”
“What is that?” Lord Aldric asked.
Penelope let her gaze shift to Lord Jonquil. “An undeniable hint of red in her hair.”
All the laughter left his face, replaced by a hesitant longing. In what was little more than a whisper, he asked, “My Julia?”
Penelope nodded. “And two absolutely beautiful children.”
Mr. Layton dropped a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Your family is here, Lucas.”
Lord Jonquil pushed out a shaky breath. “I’ve missed them.”
“We know.” Mr. Layton gave him a friendly shove. “Go hug them. You’ve been apart long enough.”
Penelope watched through the door as Lord Jonquil stepped inside. No one seeing his face could ever doubt the all-consuming love he felt for his wife. And the tender way he’d said her name solidified that truth all the more.
Lady Jonquil turned at the sound of his voice. She smiled. “I grew tired of waiting.”
As the family reunion played out in the drawing room, Penelope remained just outside the door. The Gents passed through the threshold, offering their greetings to “Our Julia” and her boys. Niles, though, stopped at Penelope’s side.
He took her hand. “You look nervous.”
She quit trying to hide it. “One thing has been clear since my arrival: Julia is extremely important to all of you. What if she doesn’t approve of me?”
He pressed their hands to his heart. “She will.”
“My neighbors never have. My brother currently doesn’t. She might very well declare that I don’t deserve to be part of your group.”
“In that case, there would be but one thing to do.” He closed most of the gap between them.
“What’s that?” She managed a calm response despite the sudden fluttering of her heart.
He shrugged. “Hit something.”
Oh, how she adored him.
“It is good to see you smile, Penelope.” He raised her hand to his lips. “Now, screw your courage to the sticking place. It is time to go meet a lady who, I predict, will become a dear and lifelong friend.”
“But what if she doesn’t?”
He set his other arm around her, and she breathed again. “What happened to my bold Penelope who sniffedout her runaway bridegroom and arrived here demanding an explanation and a chance?”
“Bold as brass, I was.” She leaned her head against his shoulder, the one that didn’t boast a sprig of white snapdragons on the lapel. “But as Liam pointed out, it wasn’t very thoughtful of me. I’ve caused a great many people far more inconvenience than I ought.”
He held her close. “His censure has undermined you and left you questioning your own worth. I hate seeing it.”
“I’m trying to be a good person.” She brushed a finger along one tiny blossom.
“You already are a good person, Penelope Seymour. You need to find a way to trust that.”
She looked up at him. “And you are a person worthy of having what you want in life, not merely accepting what is foisted on you. I hope you trust that.”
“And the both of you need to realize that when a door is open, the threshold is entirely transparent.” Lord Aldric stood just on the other side of that threshold, watching the both of them with a hint of a smile in his characteristically solemn expression.
Beyond him, the others in the drawing room were doing a poor job of disguising the fact that they had been watching the exchange prior to Lord Aldric’s interruption.
