"If there is a man you wish to know, then get to know him. You don’t need to question me," said Penelope.
"It turns out that I must, since there might be something between the two of you-"
"I have been doing my best to be polite to you, but I draw the line at what you are trying to say now. I suggest you stop now before you try to cross waters you cannot get out of," Penelope warned Harper.
There had been plenty of questions about her marriage to Tyrion, but they had all been about why it happened so fast. Was assuming that one of them had an interest in other people what would the town turn to now?
"You did not allow me to finish. It is not I who thinks there is something more to your relationship with this man. It is he who thinks it," Harper clarified.
"And there is danger in you repeating it. We are not friends for me to think your intentions are pure for speaking of this. I am a married woman. If there is a man you wish to be close to, you don’t need to be worried about where I stand with this person," said Penelope.
Harper should have enough sense to think of how this all sounded.
"I didn’t think you would stray away from the prince," Harper said, keeping an eye on the prince.
"Then why must you ask me about this stranger? Again, we are not friends. I don’t have any interest in who you court, and there has to be a reason why you would not go to your friends to speak about this man. You should leave my sight," Penelope advised Harper.
Why else would Harper come to her about a man unless she wanted to know if there was some truth to a secret relationship?
Normally, the ladies would be friendly to Penelope to get close to her brother or create a fake friendship because their fathers thought they needed to get close to the daughter of a wealthy duke.
Harper folded her lips into a thin line. She did want to inquire if Penelope had a special kind of relationship with Cassius, but with the prince now drawing closer, she had to forget about asking.
"It was wrong of me," Harper apologised. "I only wanted you to know what was said and for me to be assured that I am not doing anything to make an enemy out of you. I was going with what he said. If I wanted to spoil your name, I could have said this to the other ladies."
"I won’t," Harper promised. "Consider this my first act of kindness to you to prove my heart."
"You won’t because you wouldn’t want the other ladies to think that you are chasing after a man who claims to be close to me. Not because your heart is good. I only love my husband. Unless the man you hold of interest in is my husband and he shows some interest in you, don’t come to me," said Penelope.
"It was a harmless mistake on my part. Must you be this way?" Harper asked, her eyes filling with water. "I didn’t mean any harm."
"We have both seen the aftermath of what appeared to be harmless mistakes. Whatever you were told was wrong. He might be left off easily, but you know others will think I have another lover. I cannot do this now," Penelope sighed.
Penelope wanted Harper out of her sight, but first, she had to know what man Harper spoke of.
"Who is he? Who is the man who has led you to think that I am close to him?" Penelope asked.
Harper was fearful of Penelope speaking to Cassius, which would upset him and ruin her chances.
Rather than answer Penelope, Harper started to walk toward the door, forgetting the cloth she held in her hands.
"Wait!" Lavinia called out upon seeing Harper leaving. "You must pay first."
Harper stopped and looked at the cloth in her hands. She angrily set it down. "It isn’t worth my money."
"Harper," Penelope said just as Harper took a step forward. "I will find out who it is. It is better to tell me now."
"Since it isn’t as I was told, you shouldn’t need to learn the name of this man. I have taken up quite a bit of your time. It is time that I reunite with my mother and head home," Harper said, desperate to get out of the shop.
"I need to be aware of who speaks of a relationship that doesn’t exist. If you were in my shoes, you would want to know. Unless there isn’t a man you are courting," Penelope said, realising how to get her answers.
"There is a man!" Harper exclaimed, angry that Penelope did not believe her. Penelope wasn’t the only one who could be courted. "He is kind and has spoiled me so far."
"Have the others seen him? This sounds like another plot for you to fit in with the others-"
"No! Cassius is-" Harper gasped. She covered her mouth with her right hand.
Why was it Cassius again?
Why was it always him?
"I didn’t," Harper said, trying to think of a way to throw Penelope off of Cassius. "He is kind. I must have misunderstood what he said. Please don’t tell him," she desperately pleaded.
Harper reached for Penelope’s hand, but Penelope was quick to pull away.
"Listen, Harper. I mean this with great sincerity when I say this. I don’t know Cassius well, but I don’t think you should court him or let him court you. There’s a strange feeling that I get from him, and for your safety, you should avoid him," Penelope said.
Penelope knew Harper wouldn’t trust her, but she had to say it.
Though Harper bothered her, Penelope didn’t want Harper to end up with Cassius. None of the ladies should be with Cassius.
Harper released a dry laugh. She no longer tried to reach for Penelope’s hands.
"Why shouldn’t I court him? You must admit that it is you who looks down on me, Penelope. Why can’t I be with a man who is as successful as he is? Why is that so wrong?" Harper asked, taking a step toward Penelope.
Harper couldn’t get any closer to Penelope as a guard approached them. She was once again reminded that the prince was present, and when Harper looked at where Tyrion stood, she noticed the glare he sent her.
Harper looked down at the floor. "You’ve already gotten your husband. Don’t ruin the chances for the rest of us."
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