A little over an hour later, Penelope arrived at her grandmother’s home along with her sisters.
Melanie Harris, Penelope’s maternal grandmother, would visit the town once in a while so she could be with her grandchildren.
Penelope tried not to share that she did not wish to frequent her grandmother’s home anymore, so there wouldn’t be any accusations of someone poisoning her mind.
More importantly, Penelope didn’t want to spoil the visit for Isaebelle.
"You should smile," Lily advised Penelope. "It is our fault for not telling mother or father that these visits bore us. Mother’s name will come up at some point, and if it does, I do not know if I will be able to bite my tongue."
"You must. Mother doesn’t need any more drama," said Penelope.
"She wouldn’t be pleased to hear that we are forcing ourselves to come here. To think this home used to be so much fun for us in the past, but now I can hardly look at it and not be upset," Lily said, questioning her decision to go inside.
Penelope was the first one to follow Isabelle inside. "We didn’t know the full story then. I have caused enough trouble for this family, so I will also try to hold back."
Lily caught up to Penelope and said, "We help each other when it becomes overbearing. Hopefully, one of our aunts will be here."
Penelope and Lily entered the small home together with two lines of guards behind them. They now travelled with six guards. Two for each Collins child.
"Oh!" Melanie Harris gasped, surprised by the number of guards strolling into her home. "No guards are allowed inside. What do they think I would do to my grandchildren?"
"They are not for you, grandmother. With all the dangers around us, they are here to protect us. It is more than usual today because of my father’s orders. Please excuse them," Penelope said, greeting with a curtsy.
Melanie was not fond of the guards. Her grandchildren always came with guards from their younger days, and there had been plenty of times Melanie caught the guards scrutinising everything she did.
"Is there something I must know about? Trouble in the estate?" Melanie asked.
"It is only what happened at the ball," Penelope answered.
"Oh, I did hear of that. What a shame," Melanie said, leaving shortly after to head to the kitchen.
"Mother is well in case you were worried," Penelope said, though she knew it was not on Melanie’s mind.
How was it that Isabelle said their grandmother was ready to move on?
"Of course, she is fine. She has that man beside her. Your father, I mean," Melanie corrected herself.
Melanie wasn’t concerned about any danger going her daughter’s way. When she once couldn’t get close to Alessandra because of the overprotective duke at her side, who was going to get close to harm Alessandra?
"I was hoping that your mother would come along with you so we might speak. I am not getting any younger and neither is she. We must settle this before one of us dies. No guards," Melanie said after turning around. "There is no danger inside. Guard the outside."
Melanie frowned, annoyed that the guards did not move on her orders. It was little things which upset her. For how many more years must this go on?
"Reed," Penelope said, turning to face the man behind her. "The others should guard outside while you stay, since it is uncomfortable for my grandmother."
Reed moved upon Penelope’s order and led the others outside so he would be the only one to return.
"Now they move," Melanie said, feeling insulted.
"It is not purposely done to upset you, grandmother. They strictly follow our father’s orders, or listen to us sometimes. I hope you can understand," said Lily.
"It is fine. I have never been properly welcomed by your father and your mother allows it. He gets involved in things he has no business being in. I suppose I am meant to stay quiet because they allow me to see all four of you," Melanie said.
"Grandmother," Penelope said, her patience slipping away. "I think you have gone on to speak about something else. Something else that shouldn’t be said to us."
"Why not? You are of age to speak of this. Where has Isabelle run off to? Did she smell the cookies I made?" Melanie asked, looking around for the energetic one.
Penelope looked at Lily. She didn’t know how much more she could take of this.
The mere fact that they were of age was the issue. Once they reached a certain age, Melanie began to speak of her issues concerning their parents. It made the visits uncomfortable since their mother had not once badmouthed Melanie.
It was no secret that Melanie had run away from her first husband, leaving behind a young Alessandra who was raised by her father, who no longer loved her once he thought her beauty had faded, and a cruel stepmother.
It was from Melanie’s own mouth that Penelope learned her grandmother wished to ignore the decisions she made in the past, like never once returning to see her daughter or write to her, while Alessandra wished to speak about the past before moving on.
"Respectfully, grandmother," Penelope said, stopping for a moment after Lily touched her hand. She smiled to make what she had to say easier to hear.. "I don’t want to hear about your issues with my mother. I don’t like feeling in the middle."
Melanie placed her hand on her chest, surprised Penelope felt like she was in the middle. "I don’t believe I have placed you in the middle. It must be something you heard from your mother or father."
"No," Penelope replied, shaking her head. "You don’t believe us, so I find myself repeating this, and I don’t mean to offend you. My mother doesn’t speak of you. If she had any ill feelings toward you, I don’t think she would have allowed us to keep visiting."
"No ill feelings, yet she doesn’t want to meet with me?" Melanie replied, shaking her head at Penelope. Penelope was only a young girl, so she didn’t understand.
"I think that is fine. I always think it is wonderful of her to have put her feelings aside for years and allowed us to get to know you as well as our aunts. She didn’t need to do that. I wouldn’t have done it," said Penelope.
Penelope did not like that after her mother was so kind for years, her grandmother was still not satisfied.
Melanie was not fond of Penelope’s back talk. "You are far out of line," she said.
"I am only speaking of this since you speak of your issues to us. I am asking that you do not do it anymore," Penelope replied.