Cressida sat on the edge of the chair, and if she found it less than pleasing, Penelope could not tell from her mien. Her posture was elegant, her smile never faltered, and she looked as cool and composed as anyone had a right to be.wI'm sure you're wondering why I'm here," Cressida said.
There seemed little reason to deny it, so Penelope nodded.
And then, abruptly, Cressida asked, "How are you finding married life?"
Penelope blinked. "I beg your pardon?"wIt must be an amazing change of pace," Cressida said.wYes," Penelope said carefully, "but a welcome one."wMmmm, yes. You must have a dreadful amount of free time now. I'm sure you don't know what to do with yourself."
A prickling feeling began to spread along Penelope's skin. "I don't understand your meaning," she said.wDon't you?"
When it became apparent that Cressida required an answer, Penelope replied, somewhat testily, "No, I don't."
Cressida was silent for a moment, but her cat-with-cream expression spoke volumes. She glanced about the room until her eyes fell on the writing desk where Penelope had so recently been sitting. "What are those papers?" she inquired.
Penelope's eyes flew to the papers on the desk, stacked neatly under Colin's journal. There was no way that Cressida could have known that they were anything special. Penelope had already been seated on the sofa when Cressida had entered the room. "I fail to see how my personal papers could be of your concern," she said.wOh, do not take offense," Cressida said with a little tinkle of laughter that Penelope found rather frightening. "I was merely making polite conversation. Inquiring about your interests."wI see," Penelope said, trying to fill the ensuing silence.wI'm very observant," Cressida said.
Penelope raised her brows in question.wIn fact, my keen powers of observation are quite well known among the very best circles of society."wI must not be a link in those impressive circles, then," Penelope murmured.
Cressida, however, was far too involved in her own speech to acknowledge Penelope's. "It's why," she said in a thoughtful tone of voice, "I thought I might be able to convince the ton that I was really Lady Whistledown."
Penelope's heart thundered in her chest. "Then you admit that you're not?" she asked carefully.wOh, I think you know I'm not."
Penelope's throat began to close. Somehow—she'd never know how—she managed to keep her composure and say, "I beg your pardon?"
Cressida smiled, but she managed to take that happy expression and turn it into something sly and cruel.wWhen I came up with this ruse, I thought: I can't lose . Either I convince everyone I'm Lady Whistledown or they won't believe me and I look very cunning when I say that I was just pretending to be Lady Whistledown in order to ferret out the true culprit."
Penelope held very silent, very still.wBut it didn't quite play out the way I had planned. Lady Whistledown turned out to be far more devious and mean-spirited than I would have guessed." Cressida's eyes narrowed, then narrowed some more until her face, normally so lovely, took on a sinister air. "Her last little column turned me into a laughingstock."
Penelope said nothing, barely daring to breathe.wAnd then..." Cressida continued, her voice dropping into lower registers. "And then you— you! —had the effrontery to insult me in front of the entire ton."
Penelope breathed a tiny sigh of relief. Maybe Cressida didn't know her secret. Maybe this was all about Penelope's public insult, when she'd accused Cressida of lying, and she'd said—dear God, what had she said? Something terribly cruel, she was sure, but certainly well deserved.wI might have been able to tolerate the insult if it had come from someone else," Cressida continued. "But from someone such as you—well, that could not go unanswered."wYou should think twice before insulting me in my own home," Penelope said in a low voice. And then she added, even though she hated to hide behind her husband's name, "I am a Bridgerton now. I carry the weight of their protection."
Penelope's warning made no dent in the satisfied mask that molded Cressida's beautiful face. "I think you had better listen to what I have to say before you make threats."
Penelope knew she had to listen. It was better to know what Cressida knew than to close her eyes and pretend all was well. "Go on," she said,her voice deliberately curt.wYou made a critical mistake," Cressida said, pointing her index finger at Penelope and wagging it back and forth in short tick-tocky motions. "It didn't occur to you that I never forget an insult, did it?"wWhat are you trying to say, Cressida?" Penelope had wanted her words to seem strong and forceful, but they came out as a whisper.
Cressida stood and walked slowly away from Penelope, her hips swaying slightly as she moved, the motion almost like a swagger. "Let me see if I can remember your exact words," she said, tapping one finger against her cheek. "Oh, no, no, don't remind me. I'm sure it will come to me. Oh, yes, I recall now." She turned around to face Penelope. "I believe you said you'd always liked Lady Whistledown.
And then—and to give you credit, it was an evocative, memorable turn of phrase—you said that it would break your heart if she turned out to be someone like Lady Twombley." Cressida smiled. "Which would be me."
Penelope's mouth went dry. Her fingers shook. And her skin turned to ice.
Because while she hadn't remembered exactly what she'd said in her insult to Cressida, she did remember what she'd written in that last, final, column, the one which had been mistakenly distributed at her engagement ball. The one which—