Tyrion was rewarded with a kiss, but to his dismay, it was only a peck on his lips.
His gaze was fixed on Penelope, noting how excited she was to attend the gathering.
"Would you have agreed not to go if I stood my ground?" Tyrion inquired.
"Yes. I would have considered your feelings since she is your grandmother. I value your opinion as I hope you value mine. I want to cut this foolish battle with your grandmother short so I don’t need to face it later on," Penelope said. "She needs to see that I am not a child to order around."
Penelope stepped away from Tyrion and pulled her dress up to go to the door.
"Think of all the future dinners we will have with your family. I don’t want them to be filled with drama. With your grandmother trying to provoke us to return," said Penelope.
"Every dinner with my grandmother is troublesome. What you are doing will never change that. What if I wanted to sit with your grandmother, Melanie? How would you feel?" Tyrion asked, curious.
"I wouldn’t stop you. Maybe you will be able to talk some sense into her. I don’t hate her, but I am not fond of how she speaks about my mother before us. Once I was old enough, I realised she tried to paint my mother as the villain," Penelope said, thinking of her past.
Penelope continued, "My mother doesn’t deserve what is said by my grandmother, and I regret not noticing what my grandmother was doing sooner. I don’t want to be anyone who speaks terribly of my family."
"Then I will not meet with her," Tyrion said.
"You may meet with her if you please," Penelope said, having no issue with it. "Though I am certain she will say that I am not acting ladylike, so you will need to be careful. She is quite proud of my aunt Melody, who has become a governess."
Penelope thought of sending letters to her aunts to let them know what happened, but didn’t want to be the one who started up more drama.
Penelope held Tyrion’s hand. "I hope when the time comes, we will both be understanding grandparents. I do not believe our grandmothers could have been so stubborn in their youth. They must have become like that over time. I don’t want to be that way."
Tyrion caressed Penelope’s face. "You will not be anything like them since you are Penelope Castro. From what I have heard, my grandmother has always been a stubborn woman. I do not know much about Melanie, but her stubbornness seems to come from casting blame on others."
Penelope rested her head against Tyrion’s hand.
"It seems you had a long day filled with much to think about. You should wash and rest," Tyrion said, discarding his plans. "I will have the maids prepare your bath."
Penelope looked up at Tyrion. "You will not join me?"
Tyrion moved fallen strands of hair from Penelope’s face. "If I join you, you will not get much rest."
"Is that so bad?" Penelope said, her confidence soaring from his reaction. "I am not tired. I will not have you claiming that I tire easily. You will wait here whilst I get Matilda to prepare a warm bath for us."
Penelope left Tyrion’s side and walked to the door.
Penelope opened the door, and as usual, she found Matilda and Damien standing at a good distance from each other.
Penelope opened her mouth, ready to tell them to be at ease around each other, but gave up since it wouldn’t be of any use.
"Matilda, have the servants prepare warm water for my bath. Make it plenty for myself and my husband. You must wait until I send for you to dress me. That is all," Penelope said, giving one final look at Damien before closing the door.
Now that Penelope saw Damien, she was reminded of her run-in with the brothers today.
"Tyrion, there is something I must tell you before you hear it from Damien. I crossed paths with Cassius today and met his brother Quinn. It was not a conversation I wanted to have," Penelope said, biting her lip when Tyrion turned around.
"I was walking around the town with Rue and Julie when he approached us. I do find it odd that he always seems to be nearby. I still think his crash with our carriage is suspicious. He spoke about the carriage he sent," Penelope shared.
"And?" Tyrion urged Penelope to continue.
"He thought it odd that I kept his carriage, though I turned down his advances, and when I shared it was gone, he assumed that you were jealous, so you got rid of it. This is why I don’t hold onto expensive gifts. Men are always ," said Penelope.
Still, Penelope knew there was nothing to be done since they didn’t know where Cassius lived.
"It was the first time I was seeing his brother, who seems to be a sensible man since he pulled Cassius away, but I assure you that I don’t have any interest in creating a friendship with either man," Penelope promised.
Cassius screamed trouble.
By now, everyone should be aware that Penelope was married to Tyrion, yet Cassius continued with his advances.
Tyrion’s silence worried Penelope. She touched his shoulders to calm him.
"I did not know if Damien would share it with you, but I wanted you to hear it from me. I expect a man like Cassius to twist what occurred and make it seem like I wanted to speak. I wanted to be away from him," Penelope assured Tyrion.
"I believe you, Penelope. I don’t have any reason to believe you would want anything to do with that man. I will speak to him so he will not stand before you again. You must always remember that I trust you," Tyrion said, kissing her temple.
"Excuse me for a moment," Tyrion said, having business to take care of. "I won’t be long."
Penelope grabbed Tyrion’s hand to stop him. "You won’t scold Damien or the other guards, will you? They did act upon my order to keep Cassius from us."
Tyrion smiled. "I am not going to scold anyone. There is something I must have Damien do for me. Trust me."
Penelope let go of Tyrion so he could leave. As long as her guards were not blamed, she was not worried.
Tyrion opened the door and closed it behind him so Penelope wouldn’t overhear.
"Damien," Tyrion motioned with his hand for Damien to come closer. "The next time a man with an interest in my wife stands before her, do not wait for her order. Remove them with any force needed."
"I will," Damien answered.
"Send some men out to search for Cassius. Have them search the kingdom high and low to find where he hides and bring his head to me," said Tyrion.
He would bury Cassius right next to where Zane laid so the two men could rot together.