Chapter Text
“Good morning Sir. Will it be the blue or the green coat today?” Dunwoody asked as he pulled back the curtains to let in the glorious sunshine.
Colin had expected to wake with a sore head after the ball and late night at Mondrich's. Instead he felt surprisingly refreshed and rested. Perhaps it was still the sense of accomplishment which coursed through him. The evening before he had finally felt a sense of purpose. He had protected his best friend Penelope from the evil scheming of her cousin and he had righted the wrongs he had committed against Mr Mondrich by filling his club with customers.
“How about the light blue coat Dunwoody?” He asked absentmindedly, thinking instead on what he wished to have for breakfast.
“Sir, did you not wear that yesterday?”
That was odd. He had been certain that he had worn the dark blue coat the day before. Perhaps his brain was slightly addled from the festivities the previous evening. “If you are certain Dunwoody then dark blue shall do.”
“Very well Sir.”
Once he was ready for the day, Colin made his way to the breakfast room with a spring in his step, humming a jaunty tune.
“Good morning family.” He said jovially as he entered the room. A murmur of greetings came from them as he filled up his plate.
“Someone is in a happy mood today.” His mother said as he took his place at the table.
“Why should I not be? The sun is shining, the food is plentiful.” He gestured to his full plate. “And last evening was marvelous.”
“Oh? Did you go somewhere last evening?” She asked curiously.
He paused with his fork halfway up to his mouth. How could she not remember that they had attended a ball the previous evening? Had his mother been so deep in her cups last night that she was now suffering the after effects of it. “The ball?”
“Which ball was that dearest? I do not recall there being one yesterday.”
Beside him he noticed that Francesca had stopped eating. Opposite, Benedict was giving him a curious look. Further along the table Eloise was looking rather engrossed in her book, Gregory and Hyacinth were bickering as usual and Anthony was doing his best to hide behind his newspaper.
“The Featherington ball?” He was not sure why his statement became more of a question but the whole conversation was unnerving him. Perhaps it was the confused look on his mother’s face as he had replied.
Eloise chose that moment to close her book with a loud snap, making everyone at the table jump and turn to look at her. “Do not be simple brother, the Featherington ball is tonight.” She gave him a condescending look, almost as if he were dumb. “If you have been cavorting around London you would do well to come up with a better excuse than a ball which has not occurred yet.”
A hush fell over the table as his mouth dropped open; even Anthony peaked out from behind his newspaper.
“Eloise! You should not speak like that to your brother.” Their mother admonished her, but Eloise as was her wont did not hear as she was already waltzing out of the room.
Slowly conversation returned to the table, but Colin, under the pretence of finishing his breakfast, did not join in. His mind was racing. How was it that his whole family had forgotten the ball which had occurred the previous evening. Had they all been drunk?
He watched as Anthony carefully folded his newspaper and made to get up from his seat. The newspaper. The newspaper would have the date printed on it. That was it, that was the proof that Colin needed to confirm that he was not going mad. That the Featherington ball had indeed taken place the previous day.
“Are you finished with that Ant?” He asked, pointing at the newspaper.
“Happy reading, little brother.” Smirking he held out the paper to him, just slightly out of Colin's reach.
“How many times have I to tell you children that it is not polite to read at the table.” His mother said exasperatedly.
Giving her his most charming smile he reached out, taking the paper from Anthony and said. “Perhaps one more time Mother.” At her unamused expression he added. “I shall be quick, I only wish to check one thing.”
Immediately, Colin unfurled the paper and scanned the top to find the date he knew would be printed there. When he found it his stomach dropped to his feet. It was the previous day’s date.
The shock must have shown on his face for Benedict leaned across the table and quietly asked him. “Is everything alright?”
“Is this today’s?” He pointed dumbfoundedly at the newspaper in his hand.
“Delivered fresh this morning.” Benedict said with a grin, which was quickly replaced by a concerned look. “Are you sure you are well Colin?”
“Yes.” He managed to croak out.
But Colin was not well, he was not well at all. The date at the top of the newspaper was wrong, everything about this day was wrong.
He glanced at the top of the newspaper again, just to ensure he had not misread it. He had not, it was still showing the same date. Colin looked around the table and noticed that his mother and Francesca were wearing the same dresses as he remembered from the previous day, something which never happened. What was going on?
He was so caught up in his thoughts that he flinched when someone placed their hand on his shoulder. Looking up he saw that it was Benedict, he had not even noticed him getting up from his chair.
“I believe you could do with some fresh air Colin.” Then addressing their mother he added. “We are heading out for a walk, Mother. It is a glorious day after all.”
“That sounds lovely darlings. Fresh air and sunshine is always good to clear the head.” She looked pointedly at Colin as Benedict dragged him out of his chair and out of the room.
However instead of leading them towards the front door as he had expected, Colin felt himself being led to the gardens instead. When they were a suitable distance from the house, Benedict pushed him down onto a bench and dropped himself beside him.
After a few minutes in which Benedict calmly lounged in the morning sunshine and Colin fidgeted, Benedict asked “How much tea did you have yesterday Colin?”
What a strange question to ask, but he thought back to the previous day anyway. Well no, not the previous day, the one before that. He groaned, oh what a mess all of this was.
“No more than normal, I would say.” He replied to a very sceptical looking Benedict.
“Are you certain? For you seem to have dreamed up quite the fanciful notion of having attended the Featherington ball before it has even taken place.”
Dreamed up? Tea?
The pieces slowly fell into place in Colin’s head and he felt relief wash over him. Of course that was it, Benedict had provided him with the answer. He must have taken some of his special tea the evening before to calm his nerves over his impending confrontation with Lord Featherington. With such thoughts on his mind it would be little wonder that he had conjured up how he wished the whole scenario to unfold. There was nothing for him to worry about after all.
“Ah! It seems I might have overindulged last night”
“Well next time inform me for I have no wish to miss out on all the fun.”
They smiled mischievously at each other and a comfortable silence enveloped them as they enjoyed the fine morning weather. Just as Colin was contemplating heading back inside Benedict turned to him and asked. “Why did you take so much of the tea yesterday?”
“I have had a lot on my mind recently.” He said honestly. “Needed some clarity about certain things.”
“Certain things or certain people? Like perhaps a certain Featherington?”
How did Benedict know about that? He thought he had been so careful in his investigations of Lord Featherington. “Have you been speaking with Anthony?”
“Anthony? What does he have to do with this? If anything he is more blind than you are.”
“You are not making any sense brother.”
Benedict grinned at him. “Be evasive if you will, but I saw you two being rather cosy at our dear brother’s failed nuptials.”
Cosy? He had spoken to Lord Featherington at the wedding but he would not have described their conversation as cosy. Colin was very confused.
Benedict however was still rambling on. “...in all fairness she did look rather pretty that day.”
She? Pretty? Oh. “Are you speaking of Pen?”
“Who else would I be speaking of other than darling Pen?”
How could he explain to Benedict the meaningful conversation him and Penelope had shared at the wedding? He would not understand, no one could understand the special connection that they shared. So instead he fell back on his usual defence whenever anyone questioned him about their closeness. “Penelope is a dear friend...”
“Yes, yes." Benedict cut him off impatiently. "A very dear friend indeed if the way you look at her is anything to go by.”
He really should not continue this conversation, nothing good could come of it, he could tell by the twinkle in Benedict’s eyes. “And how exactly do I look at her?”
“Well let us just say you generally have a rather good vantage point above her.”
Colin could feel the tips of his ears burning. “You are disgusting, do you know that?”
“That is not a denial little brother.” He said, smirking in that infuriating manner he had.
“I am done speaking with you.”
Rising from the bench and ignoring Benedict's guffaws, he purposefully made his way back to the house. There were still many things he needed to prepare before the evening’s festivities. He could probably do with practising his speech to Lord Featherington a couple more times. As he reached the doorway he could still hear Benedict laughing at him from where he was sitting on the bench. If his cheeks were pink as he walked past a mirror in the hallway, Colin told himself it was merely from the sun.
That evening he prepared for the ball with extra care, picking his favourite waistcoat. Surely if he appeared confident, he would feel confident. Tonight he was not an aimless wanderer, tonight he had a purpose. Colin had gone over everything he wished to say again and again that afternoon. He was as prepared as he was ever going to be. Adjusting his cravat in the mirror one last time, he made his way to the door. There would be no mistakes tonight.
As he arrived at the ball Colin was struck by how familiar everything looked, almost as if he had been there before. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Of course he had been there before, he had been to Featherington house countless times, it would look familiar. Grabbing a drink from a passing tray he downed it in one, hoping it would settle his nerves. His eyes landed on a rather gaudy arrangement of feathers and dried flowers. Had he seen those decorations before? Was Lady Featherington reusing such items from previous balls? He took another drink, clearly he needed it if he was worrying on how old certain ornamentation was.
Taking a turn around the room he spotted Lord Fife very slyly escorting Miss Goring out a side door, they looked rather cosy. Should he intervene? A lady’s reputation might be at stake, it would be the gentlemanly thing to do. However he never made it to his destination, almost literally bumping into Penelope who seemed to have been heading for the same doorway.
“Pen!”
“Colin! Are you enjoying the ball?” She looked rather flustered.
He took her in as she stood before him. Her hair was pinned in a rather elegant style and her dress was a deep golden yellow. She normally wore yellow dresses but for some reason this one seemed more familiar to him than usual. Had she worn it before? No. It was almost an exact match for the one she had worn in his imaginings…
“That dress is rather lovely” He blurted out.
“Thank you” She squeaked and blushed prettily, fidgeting with the beading on her skirts. “My mama had it especially made for the ball.”
At that moment over her shoulder he spotted Cressida entering the ballroom with her mother in tow. As he had expected she was wearing the fake ruby necklace. It was time to put his plan in motion. He looked back down at Penelope.
“I was just…”
“Will you…”
They both laughed awkwardly at having spoken over each other. “If you will excuse me, I shall see you later Pen. There is something I would speak with you about.”
“Of course Colin.” She curtsied prettily and continued on.
Colin made his way towards Cressida, plucking another drink from a passing tray. If he was to dance with her and relieve her of her necklace he would need all the liquid courage he could get.
He extended his hand to her. “Miss Cowper, would you do me the honour of dancing with me?”
“Certainly, Mr Bridgerton” She took his offered hand and he led her to the dance floor.
Colin was on a wonderful high. Everything had gone exactly as he had planned, almost precisely as he had imagined it the day before. Taking the necklace from Cressida had been simple, explaining to Penelope that her cousin was a fraud had not. But once they had been interrupted by Lord and Lady Featherington, everything had been easy once again. The right words had flowed from him, just as he had planned. The cad had been properly dealt with and would not cause issues again.
Now he was sharing a celebratory dance with Penelope and he felt like he could take on the world if only so that she would keep looking at him like that. Her hands felt warm in his and he wondered how they would feel without the impediment of gloves between them. How they would feel as she traced them down his…He shook himself out of his dangerous thoughts, cursing Benedict for putting them there in the first place. As he focused back on Penelope he realised she was thanking him for all he had done for her family.
He replied automatically, the words tumbling from his mouth as if he had already uttered them before. “I will always look after you Penelope. You are special to me.”
“As are you, to me” She said, looking up at him adoringly.
Wait. Those words. She had said them to him before. They were exactly the same as in his tea induced imaginings. Why would his mind have conjured this scenario? It was not something he had ever thought on before. The fog from the alcohol he had consumed throughout the evening suddenly lifted. Panic began to rise within him. He looked wildly around the ballroom, everything suddenly coming into sharp focus.
It had not been the tea or his imagination or any other excuse he had come up with, he was literally repeating the previous day. That was why everything had seemed so familiar, that was where he had seen Penelope’s dress before, how he had known that Cressida would be wearing the fake ruby necklace.
Thankfully the dance was coming to an end and he made a swift exit towards the gardens, leaving behind a bewildered looking Penelope. His head was swimming as he made his way past gossiping groups and promenading couples who were enjoying the cool night air. Unsteadily he sat himself down on a bench and tried to focus on his breathing as his mind raced.
How was such a thing even possible? For all that he had read and travelled, Colin had never heard of any similar occurrence. Surely time could not repeat itself? Was he going mad?
The party continued on around him and he was not sure how long he sat there. When he heard laughter and footsteps behind him he got up to make a hasty exit. Unfortunately he was not quick enough.
“Bridgerton!”
Colin sighed and turned around to face Lord Fife and his merry band of idiots who were making their approach to where he stood.
“Tired of the entertainment on offer already?” How was Fife able to make such an innocuous statement sound entirely so crude.
Colin was in no mood for this conversation. “I just needed to clear my head.”
“I’m sure you did.” He wiggled his eyebrows at Colin. “...after the interesting way you were dancing with the Featherington girl.” Why did he have to turn the most innocent of things into something lewd. His companions all laughed at the insinuation. “Are you courting the girl, Bridgerton?”
It should not have caught him off guard, nothing else had that evening but his mind went blank. How could he explain to these men that his interactions with Penelope were entirely innocent, that they were simply the dearest of friends. All that kept running through his mind were the words he had already uttered once before and he felt them fall from his lips once again.
“Are you mad? I would never dream of courting Penelope Featherington. Not in your wildest fantasies Fife.”
All the men guffawed around him at his declaration and he let out a light chuckle. A tiny niggle of guilt, which had not been there the previous evening, settled over him. Before he could dwell on it too long he realised that Fife was speaking to him again “...could do with something stronger to drink. Do you know anywhere with good drink and quality company, Bridgerton?”
They all turned to him expectantly.
He sighed. “I might know a place.”
That is what he would do, he would take them all to Mondrich’s and get blind drunk until he could not remember a single thing from this mad evening. Hopefully tomorrow would literally be a new day.