This chapter is dedicated to @Jennifer_Goliah. Thank you for the gift and the Golden ticket!
***
If anything, she preferred remaining unnoticed. The attention belonged to Francesca, exactly as it should. After several moments, Lady Beatrice finally turned.
"Oh," She said, as though only just remembering. "Miss Penelope Anderson."
Every conversation nearby seemed to soften that even those nearby listeners leaned almost imperceptibly closer.
Lady Beatrice's smile remained flawless. "I do hope you have accepted my deepest sympathies."
At once, silence reigned in the room, and Lady Sophia stiffened, and Francesca glanced anxiously toward her sister.
Penelope merely inclined her head. "You are most gracious." She said, hoping her voice remained composed and less distant.
Not taking the hint, "I was simply devastated upon hearing what happened," She admitted, but her tone suggested quite the opposite. "What dreadful misfortune."
