Page 9 of Snowed In with the Runaway Bride

"Yes."

By the time he returned, she would be a settled married lady. Perhaps a mother.

The thought turned her stomach, and she lay her fork down to reach for her wine glass instead. "Kendal will miss you very much."

"Will he?"

"Of course. He is your brother, after all."

For a moment, he looked as though he wanted to say something else, but the aunt on his other side drew his attention and he courteously turned to speak with her after a nod to Penny.

Penny looked up to see Pippa watching her from her seat across and towards the middle of the table, her expression difficult to read in the candlelight. Penny nodded, and Pippa looked past her.

To Kendal.

Penny was only able to exchange a few more commonplaces with Hugo before the conversation around the table became general, with relatives who had not seen each other since the previous Christmas calling to each other across and down the table. Penny allowed it to wash around her as she concentrated on her dinner, conscious of Hugo at her side. The tiny wooden swallow he had given her while she was ill was upstairs, and she suddenly felt foolish for having brought it at all.

When the dowager at last gave the signal that dinner was over, Kendal rose as well, to Penny’s surprise. It seemed he had decided to have the men join the women in the drawing room immediately rather than have a separate drinking party of their own.

Hugo drew her chair out and extended his arm for her to steady herself. She rose to her feet, uncertain how she was feeling.

The pressure of the family all around was beginning to work on her. Perhaps she ought to stay. Perhaps she ought not to break the engagement. After all, she was nearly five-and-twenty and would be labeled a jilt by all of Society for throwing over a duke. Even with her father’s fortune, it might not be so easy to find another match.

Kendal moved to her side and she accepted his arm, turning away from Hugo. They led the procession to the Gold Drawing Room, where the servants had placed a pianoforte earlier that day. She was resigned to a jolly evening of family singing, as the Dalstons were wont to do at Christmastime. Fortunately, she would not be asked to play, not after the fiasco when she had been fifteen and horrified the whole crowd with her lack of skill. After that, she had left the musical performances to Pippa, who was far more talented than she.

Kendal seated her near the fire and stood behind her at the mantel, scanning the crowd as they filtered in. She looked around for Pippa, but Beatrice slid into the open seat before her sister even arrived in the room.

“There you are, Cousin Kendal. I wished to speak to you now that the house party has properly begun.”

“Yes, of course,” Kendal said, his tone resigned.

“For what day shall I schedule the theatricals? We will need to begin rehearsals at once.”

“Of course. Er… will you have enough players?”

Beatrice grinned a sly grin to herself. “We should have more than enough for this one.”

Pippa finally entered on the arm of Kendal’s cousin Yardley, her expression a little grim. When she saw the seat next to Penny was already occupied, she ignored Penny’s frantic eye-rolling to call her over and instead went to stand in a corner.

Hugo remained near the door, a glass of brandy already in his hand, and Penny frowned. Hugo was usually quite abstemious, but he had had more than one glass of wine at dinner, and here he was with yet another drink.

Most peculiar.

Cousin Beatrice moved away after a few more words and Penny gave her a distracted smile of farewell. Kendal began to stroll through the room as well, conversing with various relatives, leaving Penny behind. Even her mother was ensconced with a group of Kendal’s female relatives while Penny sat alone.

There seemed to be a strange tension in the room that evening. Or perhaps it was only herself who was feeling oppressed.

She jumped when the dowager’s voice cut through the buzz of conversation in the room. “Would you be so kind as to play for us, Miss Philippa?”

From her corner, Pippa looked frozen in horror for a moment before saying, “Of course, your grace.”

As Pippa moved towards the pianoforte, Penny rose to her feet as well. She might not have Pippa’s musical talent, but perhaps she could help her choose the music.

She had to dodge several groups of relatives to reach Pippa, only to find her sister was already engrossed in a low-voiced conversation with Kendal as they sorted through the sheets of music stacked on top of the instrument.

More than a little vexed with both of them, Penny moved forward, her steps silent on the thick Aubusson carpet.

As she approached them, with shocking clarity she heard Kendal say, “It was you I kissed, wasn’t it?”