Bewitched (2 page)

Two

“Penelope, are you quite ready to go?  The carriage has been waiting for fifteen minutes.”

“Coming, Aunt Laura
.
I’
m just fetching a wrapper.
”
Penelope gritted her teeth
.
In all
she
had no desire to attend yet another dinner party in which Colton would be in attendance—
no doubt with
Miss Featherton
surgically
stitched
to his arm
—but her aunt and uncle would not hear of allowing her to stay in
.
Penelope knew why
.
H
er father was hoping to marry her off before the start of the next season.

“Terribly expensive,”
Papa had
said before shipping her off to London after Christmas
.
“
All of those gowns and shoes
.
See if you can’t snare a husband over the winter, eh?”

Drawing a shaky breath
,
Penelope gave herself one last perusal in the mirror
.
The length of her
wavy auburn
hair was p
iled loosely atop her head while
a few wispy tendrils
framed
her head and brush
ed
along her shoulders
.
Smooth emerald green silk molded over her
torso and flared into a full skirt
in a simple
,
but elegant style
.
The ensemble was a bit lower cut than she would have liked
,
but Aunt Laura assured her the feature was essential in attracting a husband
.
Penelope was a
lso a
little worried about the gown’
s
brilliant
color
,
but
once more
h
er aunt
insisted
the hue offset
Penelope’s
green
eyes and pale skin
irresistibly
.
Penelope was quite certain that not
hing about her was irresistible—not with all those freckles—
but…
perhaps
Colton
would
noti
ce.

Enough!

Penelope whirled
from the looking glass
, attempting
to stem all thoughts of Colton
.
Best to put him from her mind and set her cap on someone else
.
There were a few eligible gentlemen left in London for the winter
.
Colonel Holbrook for one
.
A bit older than she, but a likeable fellow all the same
.
Very pleasant
disposition
.
She reached for the gau
zy wrapper waiting on her bed and stopped short.

There
it
was
.
That blasted, silly love potion
.
Penelope’
s dark
mood instantly black
ened. The shimmering vial
stared up at her
.
Mocked her
.
The soft lamplight in her bedroom
tinged the clear liquid a
pinkish hue
.
Pink—the
color of love and other romantic not
i
ons
.

Rolling her eyes,
Penelope swiped the
bottle
from the vanity
.
It really would be best just to dump the Gypsy brew out
.
She could even lie and tell her cousins she’d used the concoction
.
Perhaps then the twins would leave fanciful notions of love spells behind.

Mind made up, Penelope marched
to the chamber pot and popped the stopper from the small glass bottle
.
Curious she lifted the vial to her nose
.
Hmm…
Not bad
.
She sniffed again.
S
we
et.
W
ith
a hint of
cinnamon?

“Penelope!
”
Aunt Laura’s irritable voice erupted from the hall directly outside her door
.
“
Are you ill or do I have to drag you down to the carriage
?
”

“I’m
sorry.
”
On impulse Penelope corked the vial and shoved it into her handbag
.
She threw the wrapper around her shoulders and rushed to
the door
.
“I’m coming
.”

*
             
*
             
*

“We’re a little late, but fashionably so,” Aunt Laura
, Countess of Landon,
declared,
as she lead
Penelope, Marie, and Kate into the assembly area of
Mrs. Layton’s dinner party
.

The house was filled w
ith
guests milling about sampling wine and refreshments
.
A gaggle of young women surrounded the pianoforte while one played a lovely aria
.
Kate quickly joined them
.
S
he was remarkably accomplished when it came to music; Penelope
and Marie were
not so fortunate
.

Marie sidled close, linking her arm through Penelope’s
.
“Did you bring it?”

Penelope’s heart thumped heavily
.
She knew precisely what
it
her cousin referred to and
it
was all but burning a hole through her beaded reticule—at least Penelope feared as much
.
“Yes,” she confided softly
.
“I had thought to give it to Colonel Holbrook.”

Marie’s green eyes sparked with
surprise and
curiosity
.
“Really?
I didn’t realize you returned his interest.”

Automatically
,
Penelope’s
gaze sifted through the crowd in search of the Colonel
.
“Yes, well, I don’t know
.
It isn’t as though I believe
it
will actually work, but I thought bringing the vial might give me a bit of confidence.”

“It
will work,” Marie stated matter-of-
factly
.
“All you need do is pick a man and see that he drinks it.”

Penelope sighed
.
“So you keep telling me.”

A
head
of them
Aunt Laura wave
d to a woman across the room then
turned back to
Penelope and Marie
.
“You girls have fun
.
I am going to have a quick word with Lady Coleridge
.”

“Of course, Mama.”

“Oh, and, Penelope.
”
Aunt
Laura speared her with a
n all too knowing,
reproachful look
.
“Try not to be a wallflower.”

“Impossible given the color of my gown, Aunt Laura.”

An amused smile tugged
at her aunt’s
mouth
.
“You are very clever, my girl
.
Now put
those brains
to good use
and go snare
a husband.”

Marie squeezed her arm and yanked her down the hall
.
“Come along,
Penny
.
I have a feeling that tonight is the night for you.”

Penelope gulped
.
“That’
s what I’m afraid of.”

Drapes of soft
white and rose
hung
from the windows and
swathed the furniture, the colors made for a
festive
setting
with Valentine’
s Day just around the
corner, but left Penelope with a pit of dread in her
belly
.
Romance could not be pull
ed from thin air or Gypsy magic
.
T
his plan was utter
madness
,
and
s
he a fool ten times over
for even considering it.

“Look over there.
”
Marie
nodded toward
a group of men across the room
.
“It’s Colonel Holbrook.”

Penelope’s stomach dropped
.
Oh, dear
.
The colonel stood amongst several uniformed officers smiling and laughing
.
With sandy hair and pale blue eyes
,
he had a very pleasant face and an agreeable mannerism to match
.
Not quite forty, he cut a fine figure in his gold trimmed uniform, possessed a respectable living, and would no doubt make
a perfectly good
husband
.
A girl coul
d certainly do much worse, but…
Penelope sighed
.
No excitement t
rickled through her veins when she
gaze
d
upon him
.
There was no quickening of her puls
e or telltale clammy
palms
.
The sad truth was that
Colonel Holbrook’
s presence had absolutely no effect on her
.

The vial in her handbag suddenly weighed a stone
.

“Quickly,
Penny
, where is the
potion
?”

Penelope s
hook her head
.
“
Marie, t
his is a bad idea
.
I think we shoul—”

Marie snatched the handbag from Penelope’s wrist
.

“Ma
rie!
Give th
at back!” Penelope reached for
the reticule strap but her cousin twirled away, plunging her hand within
.

“Ah, here it is.”

“Hand it over,” Penelope demanded
.
“I am not playing games.”

“Neither am I.
”
Marie tossed the handbag back to Penelope
,
but kept the vial clenched in her palm
.
“We are going to try this.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

Penelope crossed her arms
.
“Then you try the potion out first.”

Without missing a beat
,
Marie plucked a glass of white wine from a passing footman
.
“I’m not the one who’
s been p
ining away
from
a broken heart,” she said pointedly
.
“
Ever since Colton jilted you it’
s as though something
in you
is broken.”

My heart
.

Marie nimbly opened the vial and emptied the contents into the wine
.
“You shy away whenever
a man so much as smiles at you.
”
She swiftly handed Penelope the glass
.
“
You left Kate and me no choice but to get drastic and take matters into our own hands.
”
For one long moment their eyes locked
.

“I thought I’d done rather well hiding my broken heart,” Pe
nelope murmured, glancing down
.
Ripples scurried along the surface of the wine as a result of her trembling fingers.

“Not from me.
”
Marie smiled and gave Penelope’s
free
hand a quick squeeze
.
“Now go see to it the man of your choosing drinks this.”

Penelope
stared
skeptica
lly into the sparkling liquid
.
“You cannot possibly believe this will work
.
”