Penelope woke up the next day with an ache in her lower back like she had been beaten with something. She expected to wake up feeling well after a long night’s rest, but her body was sore and ached where she didn’t want it to.
Penelope rubbed her eyes, and when her vision cleared, she saw Tyrion still fast asleep before her.
Tyrion’s arm was around her waist, keeping her resting against his body. With his strong grip, she couldn’t get out of bed unless she disturbed his slumber.
Instead of failing at sneaking out of bed, Penelope remained still, hoping that with a little bit more rest, her body wouldn’t feel so sore when she was ready to walk around.
Penelope looked at the drapes and was able to see a glimpse of the bright sky.
Had they missed breakfast?
Penelope shifted her head to lie on Tyrion’s arm, and when she did so, his arm around her waist moved.
"Are you awake?" Penelope asked, suspicious.
Tyrion was always in bed when she woke up, but he was also the first to wake up.
Tyrion smiled. "I’m a little disappointed. I wanted to see what you would do when you thought I was asleep."
"I wouldn’t do anything indecent to a sleeping person, even if it is my husband. I’m afraid you will be disappointed each time," Penelope replied.
Tyrion held Penelope’s right hand and placed it on his bare chest. "You are only touchy when you are deep in slumber."
"I am not," Penelope said, refusing to believe his accusations. "It is you who touches me. Look at how you are holding me."
"I have to hold you to please you. If I leave the bed, you inch closer to the edge in search of my body. It feels so wonderful to be loved by you," said Tyrion.
Penelope couldn’t believe a word of what Tyrion said. She had never heard her maids or parents speaking of her moving around so much in her bed, so she doubted it would start now with Tyrion.
"You are teasing me with lies,’ Penelope accused Tyrion.
"I wouldn’t lie to you," Tyrion replied.
"I still do not believe you. I think we might have missed breakfast so," Penelope stopped, groaning after she tried to sit up.
This sent Tyrion into a panic.
"Does it still hurt? Should I send it to one of the palace doctors?" Tyrion asked, ready to send a knight.
"No," Penelope said, staying still for a moment. "I would rather not have this spread like wildfire in the palace. It is the morning after, so I will have to bear with this for the morning or perhaps the day. My plans for the day are ruined."
Tyrion released Penelope so she would move around without any restrictions. "I will be here with you all day. What plans did you have?"
"I thought of visiting my family and overlooking the work around our home. There is much I have to do as the lady of this mansion. I want to do well, so no one questions how our home is run," Penelope explained.
Penelope continued to say, "If anything goes wrong here, the blame will not go to you, but me, since I am the lady here. I will get Winston to help me, and we must employ a headmaid to help him."
"Do as you wish," Tyrion replied.
Tyrion didn’t care about Penelope being so involved in the fine details of their home since Winston took care of everything, but Penelope had something to prove. She was trying to make up for her past mistakes, and instead of stopping her, he would support her.
Penelope had the potential to become a remarkable woman like the queen and the duchess. This was the time she would start to blossom and surprise the town.
"Soon, I would like to attend social gatherings with you. We cannot avoid the town forever, and I miss the time I spent with my siblings. Lily has always been the one eager to get married, so I want to be at her side if you don’t mind," said Penelope.
"I wasn’t going to suggest that we should never attend social events again. There are some yet to come that both our families have attended each year. We will still attend them. What we must do is be careful," Tyrion said.
"I know. I will be more aware this time around, though I know that no matter what I do, there will be something twisted," Penelope said, expecting the worst.
Penelope had a target on her back because she had taken the most eligible man in town from her peers.
Penelope poked at Tyrion’s chest as a punishment for him having so many women who sought to marry him.
"Are you trying to poke a hole in my chest?" Tyrion asked, tickled instead of wounded by her poking him.
"Somewhat. I know this is awful timing, but about that carriage you burned. We shall hear of it again," Penelope said, certain of it. "While that was the first time I had received such an expensive gift from a suitor, there were others close to the price of a carriage."
Penelope continued to say, "I once tossed away the gifts I didn’t want, which was all of them, but then there was a suitor who thought I had kept a necklace he sent for me and spoke as though I owed him. I regretted not returning it."
"Who was this fool?" Tyrion asked, wanting to add them to his list.
"I will not have you spend the day trying to kill someone, and Elijah dealt with them on my behalf. Men are quite odd. Even though you may show the ashes, it will still be spoken of. They enjoy having something to spark chatter. Please, take care of it for me," Penelope pleaded.
Penelope didn’t want to be bothered with conversations about a carriage she never wanted in the first place, and one she wanted to send back. She didn’t want a reason for Cassius to approach her.
"I will take care of it," Tyrion promised.
Tyrion didn’t want any man who once courted Penelope and might be so foolish as to continue courting her now to approach her.
"I will personally let him know that I burned it. Go back to thinking of me and not him," Tyrion said, pulling Penelope back to his chest.
They still have time to rest a little longer before doing what they had planned for the day, or they could stay in bed all day, and no one could question it.
Tyrion wanted to do the latter, but he knew his busy wife had much to do in due time, so he enjoyed holding her for now.