Penelope sat down and waited for Tyrion to take his seat beside her as everyone else sat down for dinner. She didn’t realise how much she missed how full her parents’ dinner table was.
Penelope reached for Tyrion’s hand to hold it under the table, but it was noticed.
"Penelope, will you be here all day tomorrow? If you are, it would be a wonderful time for us to go searching for a dressmaker. I must get new dresses," said Isabelle.
"No," Penelope said, apologetic. "Tyrion and I will leave early in the morning once the sun has risen. We have a home to get back to, and Tyrion has important matters he must return to. I will come again," Penelope promised.
Isabelle nodded her head, but she didn’t believe Penelope.
"You have the queen’s gathering to prepare for. There will be many influential ladies from around the town all in one place. I am quite certain that questions about your marriage will come up," said Lily.
Tyrion picked up his glass of wine and sipped on it. He had forgotten about his mother’s gathering in the palace.
It was expected that an invitation would be sent to Lily and Penelope.
Penelope glanced at Tyrion, nervous about what he thought. She had not spoken to him about her plans to go to the palace, but as she sneaked a glance at him now, Tyrion didn’t appear to be bothered.
"I am prepared for all questions about my marriage. I will answer the innocent questions and ignore the others. You must be prepared as well, Lily. Many seem to think that you were meant to marry the same time as I did," Penelope said, trying to shift the conversation.
Penelope squeezed Tyrion’s hand, trying to bring his attention to her, but little did she know that Tyrion had been paying attention to her.
Tyrion set his glass down and peered at Penelope. He wished she would be a little more playful with his hand.
Since Penelope wouldn’t do it, Tyrion teased her by moving his hand to touch her leg.
Penelope jumped, startled by the sudden placement of his hand, but she soon realised what he was doing.
Penelope bit her tongue, wanting to avoid bringing attention to it. Unfortunately, Tyrion saw this as an opening to toy with her some more.
Penelope was now tasked with keeping a straight face so it wouldn’t be noticed. She did not think she was enough of a woman to have such a talk with her parents.
Penelope moved slowly to grab Tyrion’s hand and squeeze it. It did not work to stop Tyrion since he smiled like he enjoyed how Penelope hurt him.
On the other side of the table, Elijah wished he could be blinded so as not to see his sister and friend act as fools.
"For how much longer must I sit here, mother?" Elijah asked, looking away from the childish pair.
Alessandra didn’t understand why Elijah wanted to leave so quickly. "Our food has not been served. If there is somewhere important you must run off to, then don’t let us keep you."
Elijah tapped his fingers on the table, his eyes meeting with his father’s for a moment.
The message from his father’s gaze was clear. He was to stay put and enjoy the dinner since his mother was happy to have them all together again.
"No, I will stay," Elijah replied.
To survive the dinner, Elijah planned to avoid looking in Tyrion’s direction.
"Elijah, when will you get married?" Isabelle asked.
"When I decide I want to. How many times will you question me?" Elijah inquired.
"Until you have found a wife. I have many of the ladies and their mothers speaking of you. Some of them approach me and I can tell they wish to spoil me to win over my favour. Would it be so wrong if I gave the ladies false hope?" Isabelle wondered.
"Yes," Elijah and Alessandra answered in unison.
"Isabelle, you must remember that there will come a time when it is your season and you will not want any of your siblings to meddle. If you trouble them now, I will not stop them from troubling you when it is your time," Alessandra warned Isabelle.
Isabelle pouted, but listened to her mother.
Elijah smiled, enjoying the silence that followed. "I will enjoy every bit of your season."
"Mother!" Isabelle whined.
"I am staying out of it," Alessandra replied.
Penelope laughed. She imagined that Elijah would be the most protective when it came time for Isaebell to get married, so many of her suitors wouldn’t stand the chance.
"And what of you, Lily?" Penelope asked, curious if Lily had set her eyes on someone. "Is there anyone you are thinking of marrying?"
"I have not found anyone yet. Perhaps I should stay here with my father forever," Lily said, knowing her father would like it.
"This will become my home," Elijah reminded Lily.
Lily smiled, planning her future. "That is even better. I would never be rude to your wife should you ever marry."
"No," Elijah said, refusing to keep Lily here.
"Then I will only stay until you marry, but it seems that won’t happen. You have so many ladies chasing after you to be at your side, yet you cannot pick one. Do you have trouble with women, brother?" Lily asked teasingly.
Elijah looked to his mother for help.
"Oh, I see. You are so attached to mother that you don’t want to marry. If you don’t marry, mother will stay here. Stop being a little boy, Elijah. We will always see her," said Lily.
"You cannot stay here," Elijah said, his mind made up.
"Do not worry. If I do not marry this season, I will not stay with you. I would follow father since he is the one who spoils me. So far, the one good thing to come out of this season is Penelope’s marriage. All the men who approach speak of money and how wonderful it must be to have the duke as my father," Lily shared.
"Well, isn’t it wonderful?" Edgar asked, seeing it as good praise.
It was the first wise conversation he heard his daughters’ suitors have.
"It is wonderful, but why are they speaking of you when they are trying to court me? That is the easiest way to have me remove them as someone I wish to marry. I will not marry anyone who loves to speak of you," Lily said, disgusted by speaking of it.
Lily reached for her water, and when she picked it up, she asked, "How long are we going to ignore what Penelope and Tyrion are doing with their hands?"
"Lily!" Penelope exclaimed.