Page 2 of Persuading Penny
“That’s all right. What’s that, Helen?
“The way Sir Elliot viewed his ‘two other children’ as being of inferior value,” she said. “There’s something so harsh in that assessment. And to say of Anne...” She opened her book to more accurately quote, “...but Anne, with an elegance of mind and sweetness of character, which must have placed her high with any people of real understanding, was nobody with either father or sister; her word had no weight, her convenience was always to give way – she was only Anne.” She closed her book. “Every time I read that line, it makes me sad, and it makes me love Anne all the more.”
“Fortunately, Lady Russell saw more in Anne,” Charlotte said.
“Indeed.”
“My favorite line is...”Louise cleared her throat. “It sometimes happens that a woman is handsomer at twenty-nine than she was ten years before; and, generally speaking, if there has been neither ill health nor anxiety, it is a time of life at which scarcely any charm is lost.”
“Brilliant. Just brilliant.”
Donna stood up. “I’m a little partial to the idea that the navy ‘cuts up a man’s youth and vigor most horribly; a sailor grows old sooner than any other man.”
Helen laughed. “You’re getting ahead of yourself. That’s in chapter two.”
“All right, everyone,” I said as I stood up. “We have a nice luncheon set up at the back...just a little something that we’ve prepared for you. After a brief pause, we can move onto chapter two.”
The young brunette got up, and I immediately went to her before she joined the others for the luncheon.
“Excuse me. I don’t believe we’ve met,” I said, offering my hand. “I’m Keely Lee, the organizer of this little club.”
A bright smile on her face, she took my hand and gently shook it. “No, we’ve not had the chance to officially meet. This is my first time here. It’s a pleasure meeting you. I’m Penelope Copperfield, but everyone calls me Penny.”
“Are you new to Bath?”I said.
“No, not at all. I’ve lived here for years.”
I scrutinized her face. “Are you sure we’ve not met before? Your face...your green eyes in particular...I’m certain I’ve seen you somewhere.”
“Perhaps,” she said with a shy smile.
She laughed lightly, a sweet and enchanting sound. “I can see you’re still searching. I’ll save you the trouble. We have met before, though quite briefly. But there was a great crowd around us, so I’m not surprised you don’t remember.”
Intrigued, I looked at her and waited for her to go on.
“At the Yardley charity ball a few weeks ago.”
“Oh,” I said, suddenly remembering. “Yes. You were wearing that gorgeous off the shoulder pale peach gown. How could I forget.”
“Yep. That was me.” She ran her hand over her head, smoothing the strands of hair that had escaped her ponytail. Then she looked down at her everyday attire. “I’m miles away from that peach gown, aren’t I?”
“Hello,” Abbie said as she came to us, a plate of crustless sandwich wedges in her hand. She held the plate out to us as she simultaneously offered her hand to Penny, introducing herself.
“It’s wonderful meeting you,” Penny said, waving away the offer of a sandwich. “You have a great reading voice.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll take one of those,” I said, taking two.
“It’s nice meeting people who love Jane Austen as much as I do,” Penny said. “Of course, there’s plenty of that here in Bath, although you’d be surprised by the number of people who’ve never read her.”
“Yes, believe it or not, I’ve met some,” Abbie said with a laugh.
“Are you two here for the summer?”Penny said.
“No,” I said. “We live and work here. In fact, we’re preparing for our next project. The movie adaptation of Jane Austen’sPersuasion.”
Gaping, she looked at me, then Abbie and back at me. Then she creased her brow and looked more intently at me. “Oh, you must be...oh, yes. I’ve heard of you. You’re the one who filmed Northanger Abbey out at Tillsbury Estate, aren’t you?”
