The Duke's Masked Wife 2: The Prince's Outcast Bride - Chapter 481

Chapter 481: Peaceful gathering (4)
After an hour of sitting around talking, Penelope took the ladies to where they could watch the knights train without being spotted as long as they were quiet.

Penelope stayed at the back of the group with Isabelle since Isabelle wasn’t too interested in the knights.

“What troubles you now?” Penelope inquired.

“Elijah is in Lockwood, Lily will go far, and though you are here, you are always only thinking of Tyrion. I like our parents’ company, but I will be the only child there,” Isabelle shared her concerns.

“I thought you said you were not a child? Do not pout, Isabelle. I was only teasing you. I understand your concerns about your siblings moving on with their lives, but we shall still make time for you. Did I not promise to let you stay here at times?” Penelope asked.

“You have, and I am happy, but how will I see Lily? I can only see Elijah if someone is going to Lockwood, or if he comes to visit. When he marries, he and his wife will be busy with the estate. It is not fair that I do not have a younger sibling,” Isabelle said, pouting.

It wasn’t fun to be the youngest.

“It is no secret that mother and father had a scare with your birth. Would you have liked for them to have another child, and we could have lost our mother?”

“No. That is not what I want,” Isabelle said, taking back her wish for another sibling.

“You want us to think of you and be near. I will speak to the others about it. We have grown up quite close, so we will miss each other. You must think of how scary it will be for Lily to go far. Or, how lonely it must be for Elijah to be at the estate,” Penelope said, hoping Isabelle thought of others.

“I didn’t think of that,” Isabelle spoke softly and felt guilty for thinking of herself.

“It is nothing to be ashamed of. I promise you that as your older siblings, we do think of you. We think of how our days are different. Lily will be the one furthest away, and I know she is nervous. We must be supportive of her now and think of how we will meet later,” Penelope advised Isabelle.

“As long as you write to let me know you wish to come here the day before, you may come. Or, I can come visit you instead. We can go on rides together and attend gatherings. Anything to give mother and father some time alone. What do you think?” Penelope asked, wanting Isabelle to feel remembered.

“I would like that, but mother says I shouldn’t disturb you since you are making up for lost time after your marriage,” said Isabelle.

“I can do both. When Tyrion is away, I can come to you. I have more ladies to visit now that I am back, so you can come along with me then. Once Lily is engaged, we will need to travel in secret to buy her gifts. You must keep it a secret,” Penelope said, placing her hands on her lips.

Isabelle chuckled. “I will. No matter what, you must see to it that you will all be here when it is time for my season. You have had so much fun being around each other for your season. I want to have fun as well.”

“I will make sure those two are here even if I have to drag them back myself. Promise me that you won’t be pouting and feeling like we are leaving you behind anymore.”

“I won’t. At least, I won’t speak of my feelings out loud to worry Lily when she is nervous. Kael appears to be the right gentleman for her, and I want her to be happy. I cannot wait for her to be engaged,” Isabelle said, her mood having changed now that she spoke to Penelope.

Penelope was relieved to see Isabelle back in good spirits, and as she looked at the floor for a moment, something caught her attention.

“Isabelle, are you wearing my shoes?” Penelope asked, grabbing Isabelle’s right hand so she couldn’t run. “How is it that you have them?”

Isabelle wished she were at Lily’s side instead of Penelope’s. “You forgot them on your first move to be with Tyrion, and since you had too many, I didn’t think you had any use for them. You only wear them when you want to match with Lily, and you don’t do that anymore.”

“But they are my shoes. We were all together when they were bought, and you had the choice of getting a pair. How do they even fit when we are not the same size?” Penelope wondered.

“I stuffed them a little. They are too pretty not to be worn. Allow me to have them, please,” Isabelle pleaded and hugged Penelope to make her give in.

“I am not going to take them from you, but I am confident you have taken so much from me that you could fill your wardrobe with it. Why don’t you ever take from Lily?” Penelope asked, since she was always the victim.

“Because Lily would make me take them off and give them back to her. I am happy that you are the one who will remain close. Oh, is it safe for Sutton to lean over there?” Isabelle asked, watching as Sutton waved her handkerchief like a flag.

Penelope’s eyes widened when she finally noticed what was occurring not far away from her. “No, it is not safe. Sutton, we were to be discreet.”

“She is being discreet. The men are all focused on your husband. I say the man who notices Sutton is here, waving her hand around like a damsel wanting to meet her hero, will be her husband. Oh,” Lily said, noticing one man looked up. “We have a winner. There is your husband, Sutton.”

“Should we make it look like you are about to fall so he will run to save you?” June jokingly suggested.

Sutton lowered her hand. “Risk my life for a man? I will have to find my husband on another day. That is a long fall.”

“Are you saying you would consider it if the ground were closer? That’s not any better,” said Lily.

“I would consider it. Think of it like this. A man sees me being dramatic over a fall that cannot hurt me, but he shakes his head and comes over to help me up. Then, I place my hand on his, and he gives me that sweet smile,” Sutton said, hugging herself.

Penelope shook her head at Sutton’s wild imagination and looked down at the knights to find that Tyrion was now staring at her. Penelope waved at Tyrion and planned to do him a favour by taking the ladies back to their table.