Colin: You seemed to enjoy your dance with Lord Debling.

Penelope: I did. He’s the first gentleman who has ever wanted to dance with me.

Colin: That is untrue. You and I have danced many times.

Penelope: Lord Debling actually wanted to dance with me. He made me feel like I was special to him and said I was lovely. You only ask me to dance out of pity. You do not count.

Colin: You should be careful encouraging the affections of Lord Debling. I realize you enjoy his company but he is not well known by the ton and may not be right for you.

Penelope: Lord Debling is an outsider among the ton and I respect him all the more for that! He is kind and intelligent and interesting. And I do not need to marry a member popular society the way you do.

Colin: What is that supposed to mean?

Penelope: It means you are a Bridgerton. You are expected to choose someone popular and beautiful. No one would ever dare make you or your future wife feel unwanted or unwelcome. But people like he and I are not treated the way you are. He sees me, he makes me feel special, as though he would be proud to call me his. He would choose me. He understands me.

Colin: I understand you Penelope.

Penelope: Not the way he does. You would be ashamed to choose someone like me. You felt the need to make it known that you would never settle for someone like me. You do not even consider me a woman, because you believe I am beneath you.

Colin: I do not like it when you talk about yourself that way——

Penelope: The way you talk about me with your friends?

Colin: I told you I was sorry. You are my dearest friend in the world, I am trying to look out for you.

Penelope: Your friendship is important to me Colin… but I am not the girl you once knew. I am alone in the world but with Debling I do not have to be. With him I could be more than the insipid wallflower people spill drinks on and ridicule. I am a woman to him. If he wants me, I am his.

Lord Debling is looking for a love match and he takes an immediate liking to Penelope Featherington but he can see there is something between Miss Featherington & her friend Mr. Bridgerton who keeps a suspiciously close eye on her. Penelope assures him that they are childhood friends so Debling makes a point of telling Colin that he will do everything in his power to make Penelope happy because she’s is exactly the sort of woman he’s hoping to secure for his wife. Debling goes on to express his surprise that Colin did not marry her himself since he clearly cares for her and must know that it would be a terrible waste for such a remarkable woman to become a spinster when she’s such a rare jewel and Colin appears quite taken with her.

Colin immediately tells Debling that Penelope is his oldest and dearest friend and with no father or brother to look after her, he has promised to look out for. He insists he only wants what is best for his friend but Debling’s not fooled and proceeds to watch their interactions very closely.

Forgetting that they shared the first dance of the evening together, Colin takes Penelope’s hand for a dance and he is clearly unsettled by his conversation with Debling. He tries to ask Penelope if she thinks she might come to love Lord Debling but she doesn’t want to talk about it and it’s clear Colin believes Penelope is forming an attachment to the gentleman. He is visibly bothered by this.

When the dance ends, Violet, Anthony and Portia Featherington all notice that Colin fails to bow and release Penelope, instead he keeps her in his arms, starting a third dance which is immediately noticed by another several members of the ton because more than two dances is improper and widely considered to be an engagement announcement. When Penelope tries to tell Colin that people are watching them, he doesn’t care.

Again, Colin asks Penelope if she believes she might come to love Lord Debling and she tells him she is fond of him but does not know if that will ever become love, adding that she has had to abandon any hope of love in order to focus on securing a match at all. It dawns on Colin that Penelope is guarding her affections which seemed unlike her. He asks if she is scared to risk her heart because of what he said last season. He tells her not to let anyone or anything ever make her feel unworthy of great love, that she’s more deserving of happiness and devotion than she realizes and Penelope nearly bursts into tears hearing that from Colin of all people and she flees the ballroom.

Colin immediately follows Penelope out into the garden insisting that she’s the best person he knows and she will make some gentleman a very lucky and happy man no matter who she chooses to marry. He insists she should not rush or settle, that she should wait for love. Penelope pleads with him to stop but Colin continues, insisting that she doesn’t see herself the way he sees her. That she thinks she’s invisible but he sees her and he thinks she’s perfect. Intelligent, loyal, kind and beautiful… everything a good man could ever hope for and right there in a moonlit garden, Colin Bridgerton kisses Penelope Featherington and it is glorious. But they’re witnessed by Cressida Cowper who intentionally brings Colin & Penelope’s disappearance to the attention of Lord Debling who leaves the party but later wishes Penelope every happiness with her Mr. Bridgerton when their paths cross again after the engagement between Miss Penelope Featherington & Mr. Colin Bridgerton is announced.

Colin: You seem troubled Pen, the way you left the ballroom was unlike you. I wanted to make sure you are alright.

Penelope: It is Lord Debling… I just needed some air.

Colin: Has he done something? You must tell me if he has behaved inappropriately.

Pendelope: Quite the contrary actually. He has been kind, attentive, and everything someone like me could ask for really.

Colin: So what is the problem?

Penelope: Lord Debling has admitted to me that he has always wanted a love match and believes himself to be falling in love with me… he was so sincere, it was lovely. I have never felt so wonderful and so awful at the same time.

Colin: I do not understand.

Penelope: For so long I thought I might never find someone who could love me but now I appear to be getting everything I have prayed for yet all I can think is how I can not say it back.

Colin stills, unsure why he suddenly felt like he couldn’t breathe.

Colin: Why do you think that is? Is it too soon perhaps? You have not known him very long, maybe you will grow to love him.

Penelope: I realized that I will never love him. He deserves a wife who will love him with all her heart. How could I marry a good man and deprive him of that? I would be a good wife to him, I could keep his home and bear his children but I know I will never love him the way he deserves… I fear my heart will not let me?

Colin: Why do you doubt… does your heart belong to someone else?

Penelope just looks at him.

Colin: Penelope?

Penelope: I’m being foolish. My heart does not matter. He is a good man and I should be grateful for his love… I should go before someone catches us alone together.

Colin: Answer me, why do you think you could never love him?

The look in Penelope’s eyes is unlike anything Colin has ever seen before. She seemed sad and tired and he’d never felt more eager to understand her, to help her, to make everything right in the world for her. He would give anything just see her smile the way she used to. He loved her smile. Somewhere along the way Penelope’s happiness became vital for his and seeing her this way tormented him and Colin realized her pain was his as well. And then she said the last thing he ever expected and changed his world forever.

Penelope: Because I was a foolish girl who lived in dreams and gave my whole heart to someone who will never want my heart or choose me or love me… not even in another man’s wildest fantasy.

Stunned to realize what Penelope just confessed. That it was he who she loved. That all those years when she’d been kind and loyal, encouraging and true, he’d had her heart and he’d taken her for granted. He’d flirted with dozens of other women and courted her cousin, he’d told her she wasn’t a woman and made her feel small and worthless and it was unintentional but by some miracle she still loved him. Penelope loved him the way he had always wanted to be loved and she could never imagine forsaking that love she had for him and it humbled Colin. The revelation broke his heart and healed it all at once and Colin was utterly speechless. But when Penelope turns to leave him, he did not speak or think, he instinctively reached for her and right there in the garden under the glowing moonlight, Colin Bridgerton kissed Penelope Featherington and it was perfect.

A season 3 conversation between Colin & Eloise:

Colin: You may be able to walk away from Penelope forever because she has done something that you do not approve of or that you cannot understand, but I am not so fickle hearted. I will not abandon her. I will do everything in my power to try and understand why she has done the things she has done, and to try and move past her faults and mistakes because I know her heart and she is a good person. I cannot imagine my life without her. How can you be so quit to forget years of loyal friendship? Are you truly so disloyal?

Eloise: You call me disloyal!? Do you even know what she has done? Do you have more faith in Penelope than in your own sister?

Colin: I do. She is our oldest and dearest friend, and I know how stubborn you can be.

Eloise: You might feel differently if you knew what I know.

Colin: I know that my life is colder and darker without Penelope in it. I imagine you must miss her. I was traveling for months and I thought of her often and deeply missed her friendship. Why are you so unwilling to talk things out so you can forgive and move past—

Eloise: Ask her yourself!! Only do not be surprised when she won’t tell you because she keeps secrets and cares nothing for the pain she causes others.

Colin: Of course she cares! I have never mentioned this before because I knew you would probably never let me live it down but she warned me about Marina. I just refused listen and Penelope hates that she chose to be disloyal to her own family to save me from being tricked into a lifelong commitment with someone who was willing to lie to me and make me her fool. I may have decided to forgive Marina’s actions but make no mistake, it took a very long time for me to do that and I honestly believe it was only possible because she was thwarted. Penelope acted out of desperation and fear of what would become of me if she didn’t stop the wedding and I can honestly say that I am grateful because I was being impulsive and reckless. She hates herself for hurting Marina!

Eloise: She— wait, you know!?

Colin: Yes! I also know that what she did saved Daphne from Nigel Berbrooke and you from your own foolishness! Thinking you could lie to the Queen and get away with it!? All because you decided to ignore every rule of propriety to see a print shop boy who might have ruined you and our entire family! And you think Penelope is the only one in the wrong!? I think it’s time you looked in the mirror Eloise, and be honest with yourself about the part you played in everything that happened.

Eloise: Why would she confide in you but not me?

Colin: Because I allowed her the chance to explain. You should consider doing the same. Especially since you’re about to be sisters.

Eloise: You can’t be serious, you don’t want to marry Penelope. You’re too busy flirting and traveling the world so you can bore us all with your stories.

Colin: I can still travel with a her. In fact, I’ll be grateful for the company and flirting with Penelope is something I particularly enjoy. I have asked her to marry me and she has consented to be my wife. So I encourage you to mind your tongue and be civil because nastiness and hostility directed at my bride will not be tolerated, sister.

Eloise: Oh my god… do you love her, brother?

Colin: With everything I am and everything I will ever be. We understand each other, we’re truly happy to know we will always be together. Please, make things right Eloise. Do it for me and for yourself, and do it for Penelope. She misses you, and I know you’ve missed your friend. Talk to her.

The Trouble with Dance Cards: A Polin Story

Colin tries to take Penelope by the hand for a dance while she’s in conversation with another man and she politely declines because she promised that dance to the other gentleman first. Penelope misses the look on Colin’s face as he watches her smiling up at this supposed gentleman as though he hung the moon, but his mother, and Eloise notice and realize in an instant that there’s an undeniable difference in Colin this season. Particularly whenever Penelope Featherington is near.

Later Colin attempts to get rid of Penelope’s dance card due to his irrational irritation with what he refers to as the ungentlemanly style of the man’s penmanship, noting the sloppy flicks and rushed nature of his signature. But Penelope wants to keep it because this was the first time a gentleman ever asked her to dance and Colin immediately takes offense because he’s danced with her at many balls and parties.

Penelope reminds Colin that he may have taken her hand and she may have gone along but this gentleman sought her out and put his name on her card because he wanted to dance with her so badly he was unwilling to risk another man claiming her and losing his chance to hold her hand and sway her to lovely music at a beautiful party surrounded by flowers and candlelight. That man wanted to make her feel special. Colin recalls dancing with Penelope the night of Featherington ball and the fact that he told Penelope she was special to him but this man apparently made her feel so special that she wanted to keep his caveman’s scrawl like a treasure for all eternity and it made Colin see red.

Agitated, Colin reminds Penelope about how he’d actually told her she was special to him while they danced in the past, but Penelope insists that the dances they’ve shared were not real and Colin counters that they were very much real dances but she silences him by clarifying that his dances with her were out of pity and yes, he said she was special but seeing as how he also said that she does not even count as a woman to him, she cannot see why he cares. She doesn’t count as a woman to him, so why should he count as a man to her?

Colin is suddenly and uncharacteristically eager to show Penelope that he meant what he said, he wants to make her feel more special than any stranger at a ball could, so he makes it a point to ask her to dance but Penelope tells him not to be ridiculous because the ball is over now and there isn’t even any music. No sooner does she say this, than Colin begins humming and singing softly while taking her by the hand and swinging her out into a stunning garden illuminated only by moonlight but Penelope is worried they might be seen and pulls away. Colin looks absolutely crushed and she feels guilty because he really does seem wounded. To ease the sting of her rejection a bit, Penelope explains that if they were seen people would say that he was courting her.

Colin replies that he doesn’t care what anyone says because they know the truth but Penelope tells him that she cares, just as the skies open and it starts raining. When Penelope turns to go back inside, Colin grabs her hand, and starts running, then swings her into a nearby gazebo and Penelope bursts out laughing at the abruptness of his actions and it’s an infectious round of giggles as they take in how soaked they both are. Suddenly, Colin doesn’t care if the rain ever stopped or the sun ever came out again so long as he could dance with Penelope make her giggle whenever and wherever they were. He playfully twirls her in a brief whimsical motion and dips her as though they were ending a very slow and romantic waltz, it’s a magical little moment and their eyes meet.

The spell is broken when Penelope realizes people have seen them. She tells him to stop this because when it becomes clear that he is not courting her, she will be the one ridiculed when the whispers start up. Some will say he could have his pick of beautiful women, he can’t be courting her, and inevitably someone will recall how he said he never would court her and they’ll start disparaging her and her family on promenades or while she’s at the modiste or minding her own business sipping lemonade at a party. Because everyone knows Colin Bridgerton announced that he would never want her, because he could do far better than Penelope Featherington.

Penelope leaves Colin standing under the shelter of the gazebo, the rain still pouring down as she rushes away leaving him cold and wet and wishing he knew why suddenly all he wanted in the world was to be with Penelope but she didn’t even wish to be seen with him. The desperate loneliness that one thought brought on left an ache in Colin’s chest like nothing he’d ever felt before.

Colin invites Penelope to tea at Bridgerton house intentionally failing to mention that his mother, Eloise and Kate would be out visiting the modiste, and the rest of his family were either in lessons or busy elsewhere.

Penelope is not announced upon her arrival at Bridgerton house since she was such a frequent guest of Eloise who had insisted she was always welcome since they were children. Colin forgot this.

Colin is caught off guard while giving himself a pep talk in the mirror because he thought he was alone when Penelope walked in. She’s overheard him and knows he’s nervous about seeing her because he meant what he said last night, he misses her. His friend. His Pen.

Penelope: Are you practicing a grand speech for me, Mr. Bridgerton? You really need not bother.

Colin: Penelope, I did not see you there.

Penelope: Yes, you are making quite a habit of that. You realize we cannot be alone together since I did not bring a maid. Where are your footmen?

Colin: I sent them away because I wanted to speak with you privately… Penelope, I want you to know that I am sorry.

Penelope: The only thing you are sorry for is that I know how little you really think of me.

Colin: What I said that night made you believe that I am embarrassed to be your friend. I will never be ashamed of you. I am ashamed of my treatment of you. I hurt you… the last person in the entire world who I would ever want to hurt…

Penelope: I heard you practicing. You need not continue. It changes little. The damage is done. But for what it is worth… I believe that you did not intend to hurt me.

Colin: Please allow me to make amends, let me help you. You deserve to be happy Penelope, I need you to be happy.

Penelope: It is no use Colin. I feel ridiculous. Even without my mother’s awful dresses. Nobody notices me.

Colin: I do. Because you are the best person I know, Penelope. You only have to let people know you. That is all it will take. And if you want to practice so you will not be nervous with suitors, I will help you... you can practice on me. Go on, what would you say if I were a suitor?

Penelope: Your eyes…

Not gonna lie (and I’m sure it’s the plot of plenty of AUs and fics), but I’d kind of love for Colin to ask Benedict to find out why Penelope is avoiding him and Eloise. Only Benedict is still plagued with self doubt about his artistic abilities and Penelope noticing his confidence is low, instinctively encourages him towards pursuing his passion no matter what anyone says, to do it for himself because it makes him happy and something about what she says to him really helps and he starts to realize Penelope is more than just his sister’s friend, she’s more of a friend to their whole family and he isn’t thinking of her romantically but the more he gets to know her, the more he likes her and begins to think she would make a wonderful wife for Colin. So Benedict starts to drops comments about how great Penelope is, how she’d make some lucky man very happy, and Colin is clearly unsettled by his brother’s sudden interest in Penelope as a wife.

Where Colin had never seemed to care about Penelope speaking to other men, something about her growing friendship with Benedict worries him. He tells his brother to be careful not to toy with her affections when really, he’s more nervous that Benedict isn’t toying with her at all, but that he’s seriously considering marrying her. When Colin calls on Penelope one day and discovers Benedict is already at Featherington house giving Pen an art lesson, he’s utterly caught off guard and makes a spectacle of himself trying to pretend he’s unbothered by their fondness for each other and easy conversation.

Then I want Colin to overhear Portia Featherington telling Mrs. Varley or Prudence that perhaps they were wrong and Penelope was not hopelessly in love with Colin Bridgerton all this time, maybe she has set her cap for Benedict. Colin hearing Penelope’s own mother say that Pen loved him begins thinking back to their interactions since Penelope entered society. Looking at their friendship with new perspective has Colin’s head spinning and he returns that night seeking a private word with Penelope and before he can even think about what he’s doing, he’s kissed Penelope and she responded to his kiss in a way that makes Colin certain that she loves him and wants him but when he proposes, Penelope refuses him, saying he never wanted her and he’s probably just lonely and has sworn off women so long that he’s forgotten that he told her himself, she doesn’t count as a woman.

Penelope: Something very special happened tonight, Colin.

Colin: Indeed, our dance tonight was unlike any other Penelope. I am glad that you noticed.

Penelope: How could I not? I have waited for this my entire life. A beautiful ball with beautiful flowers and music and there he was. Watching me.

Colin: Wait, what? Who?

Penelope: Lord Debling, of course. We spoke earlier and he asked me to dance but you had already claimed my waltz. I figured he would ask another lady, only he said he doesn’t fancy anyone else. Did you see the look on his face when you spun me? He looked so unhappy, almost jealous. Over me! And he brought me a lemonade and talked to me after our dance.

Colin: So you danced with me to make another man jealous?

Penelope: Not exactly, it was a lucky happenstance. He is going to call on me this week and he has already asked for my first waltz at your mother’s ball.

Colin: I assumed I would claim your first waltz.

Penelope: Well now I do not need your pity dance because someone actually wants me. I have a real suitor!

Colin: I do not dance with you out of pity.

Penelope: Yes you do. But you do not count anyway Colin! Lord Debling is the only man who’s ever truly noticed me. He’s handsome and kind and even titled and he has chosen me. I’m so lucky.

Colin: I did not realize that I was not a man in your eyes.

Penelope: Oh Colin, you know what I mean… you are, you.

Colin: I see now how badly you have wanted to settle down, Penelope. But will he stay in town for you?

Penelope: Debling is not keen on the ton and wishes to raise his family in the country.

Colin: And you would leave everything you know, for him?

Penelope: I must. I know you have never thought of me as a woman but I am more than the plain girl across the square whom everyone ignores. This is my chance for happiness. I will not be alone anymore, if leaving London is the price I must pay, so be it.

Colin: Have you been so lonely Penelope? I did not realize.

Penelope: Why would you? It is not as though you have taken the time to consider the way it has been for me since I entered society. I am as alone in a crowded ballroom, as I am in my own home. I have always been alone and unseen. But someone good sees me now… I finally matter.

Colin: You always mattered.

Penelope: Not really. Not enough. We both know that I have never really mattered to anyone. I have been mocked, ignored or mistreated by everyone I have ever loved. Nobody truly cares for me. But this is my chance. He is my chance. I cannot lose him. You said you would help me, did you mean it? Because if you did then, this is your chance. Tell me what a man wants. Teach me how to make him happy. I will do anything. Help me, please Colin.

Necessary Bridgerton season 3 scene:

Anthony: Colin, do you have any idea why Portia Featherington has sent over her requirements for reupholstering the Featherington carriage as though that is a Bridgerton expense?

Colin: I spilled something on the seat the other day and told her to send me the bill for that.

Anthony: What on earth could you possibly have spilled that would necessitate new upholstery?

Benedict: **chuckles suspiciously**

Anthony: And why are you so amused, what am I missing—

Colin: Have I mentioned that I asked Penelope to marry me?

Anthony: You did? I didn’t even know you were courting— oh dear god, you didn’t…

Colin: I did. And she said yes.

Benedict: Multiple times no doubt.

As fun as it would be to have Colin shock and stand up to Portia to ask for Penelope’s hand in marriage, I’d also like to see Portia stand up for Penelope against Colin because she’s heard about what he said at Featherington ball too and she wants better for her daughter than a man who’s so oblivious to her daughter’s feelings.

Colin: Thank you for seeing me Lady Featherington. I am here because I would like to marry Penelope. I have come to ask for her hand.

Portia: Well this is unexpected. Particularly because the gossip amongst servants following my ball last season was that you declared to anyone with ears that you would never want Penelope. I am sorry to disappoint you but she has a suitor. Lord Debling has intentions to propose. Penelope is to be a titled lady.

Colin: You would refuse me in favor of a man neither of you truly know.

Portia: He is a titled gentleman whose position demands respect and he has courted my daughter faithfully and doted on her.

Colin: And what about your daughter’s happiness? Do you not think Penelope should be able to decide for herself? She might be happier with me.

Portia: Penelope has done well for herself this season. In part, I believe, because she has finally stopped pining for you.

Colin: What can you mean?

Portia: What I mean is that I have observed Penelope as she watched you flirting and dancing with every pretty young lady you could get in front of, and then she watched you nearly marry her cousin. You never looked to her once but now you say you wish to marry her? You are a fickle-hearted man with a wandering eye and no regard for my daughter’s feelings. Marriage to you would guarantee her constant humiliation among the ton.

Colin: I was a boy then. I did not know any better. But I would never be unfaithful or seek the favor of other women if I were to marry Penelope. I would be faithful to her.

Portia: Her father once said the same thing to me yet once we wed, he spent all his time gambling and whoring and I was forced to endure in silence. You do not love my daughter. Why are you choosing Penelope, why now?

Colin: I care very much for Penelope. I wish to ensure her happiness and safety.

Portia: Lord Debling will do that Sir. You are free to continue practicing your flirtatiousness with every beautiful woman you meet, far away from my daughter. I shall not condone you distracting her any more.

Colin: You refuse me without even allowing Penelope the choice of who she would prefer for a husband?

Portia: No. I have seen the look in her eyes when you work your charm on her. I ask that you stay away. I know what is best for her… and it is not the boy who made her cry for months because she believed that he actually cared about her only to find out he was acting out of pity.

Colin: I made her cry? Penelope and I have discussed that night. I know she was angry and hurt but she said she forgave me. She never said…

Portia: Did you need it spelled out for you? Very well, you broke her heart. I will not give her to you so you can break her spirit too. The answer is no Mr. Bridgerton, please see yourself out.

How cute would it be to get a flashback of Colin & Penelope first meeting as children (on the show) at a picnic or garden party and she overhears him being picked on a little for being a late bloomer and shorter than other boys his age, even shorter than his younger sister Eloise. Colin feels humiliated because he was self-conscious about his stunted growth, but Penelope walks over and is nice to him. She assures him that he is bound to get taller like his brothers and even if he didn’t he would still be a Bridgerton, and she can’t imagine anything better than being a Bridgerton because everybody knows his family are nice and everyone likes them. Then she offers to share her sweets with him just as Violet comes over to find him and Lady Bridgerton takes a quick liking to the little redhead for cheering up her son so well since Colin loves sweets. So she introduces Penelope to Eloise and the two girls become inseparable… but technically Penelope was Colin’s friend first.

At the moment I’m enjoying imagining Penelope and Debling dancing to Dark Horse while Colin watches with a look in his eyes that is a cross between fear and panic, perhaps because Penelope had never looked more beautiful than she did that night while in another man’s arms, out of Colin’s reach for the first time ever. He tries to keep his composure but then Penelope looks up just as she’s smiling and laughing at something Lord Debling has said and she catches Colin’s gaze and sees it in his eyes. Unable to look away from Colin, Penelope’s smile disappears and before the dance is even over, Colin has taken Penelope’s hand and pulled her away from the titled lord in front of the entire ton, guiding her outside to speak to her alone and Penelope doesn’t know what is happening since she was just finally dancing with an eligible gentleman who chose her and here was Colin interrupting.

It could not possibly be because he was jealous of seeing her in another man’s arms, and wanted her to be only his, no, that was something Penelope only would have imagined in her wildest fantasies but something was definitely happening now. Colin Bridgerton did not want to see Penelope dancing with that man, that much was clear.

Confused and shocked at the scandal that his behavior would inevitably cause, Penelope goes along with Colin; breathless, alarmed and eager to know what he is thinking with this behavior because he’s made a spectacle of them and people will talk.

This is how I imagine the first 4 episodes of season 3 and the episode 4 cliffhanger could go:

Lord Debling is looking for a young lady who is not consumed with the ton and would be content being less involved in society and more focused on important pursuits like educating herself, someone who wants to be a good wife and mother to his children. Someone he could make happy, because he is very much looking for a love match and Lady Danbury, whom he likes and respects for her sharp wit has told him she knows a young lady who he might be perfect for him, Miss Penelope Featherington. Lord Debling is eager to meet the lady but they have not yet been introduced. Debling has however been introduced to, and quickly became friendly with, Mr. Colin Bridgerton so he made particular note of Colin’s sister Eloise who, in addition to being very pretty, he deduced was also intelligent and uninterested in society.

Effortlessly charming and easy going, Debling managed to surprise Eloise Bridgerton, because for the first time ever, she found herself actually enjoying a bit of friendly conversation with a gentleman of the ton who views women as intelligent and capable, but then she is distracted by Colin beginning a dance with Penelope and watches the two intently; her once trusted and dearest friend feeling like a stranger now. Debling notices the way Mr. Bridgerton seems quite taken with his lovely dance partner so he asks Eloise if the lady is her brother’s intended, assuming the two were courting but Eloise scoffs and says her brother would never court Penelope, insisting Colin is merely being protective and brotherly, watching over Miss Featherington because they are old friends and her father has passed away.

Debling realizes that the curvaceous redheaded beauty is the young woman Lady Danbury wants him to meet, so he watches the way she carries herself and how gracefully she dances with her friend. He wonders how she could still be unmarried when she was so undeniably fetching with blue eyes shining brightly and cascading hair so lovely, Debling simply could not help himself from heading in her direction. Then Penelope’s eyes met his and without any hesitation Lord Debling asks his new acquaintance, Mr. Bridgerton for an introduction to his beautiful friend. Penelope is positively glowing at the compliment and before Colin could blink Debling has taken Penelope’s hand from his and Colin is surprisingly caught off guard by the way his stomach suddenly dropped.

For Debling the introduction sparks something strong and his first dance with Miss Penelope Featherington begins like a dream. Their conversation is a natural and flirtatious banter, everything about meeting this woman feels like fireworks. Watching from the sidelines, Colin is visibly shaken when the handsome lord immediately asks for a second dance which is rarely done unless a couple is quite seriously courting, and Penelope doesn’t take her eyes off her new dance partner until the last moments of the song when she glances at Colin and the look on his face is undeniably intense.

Lady Danbury goes over to Colin to point out that Lord Debling seems quite taken with Penelope and how nice a match they would make. Then she mentions how she’s only ever seen Miss Featherington look at one other man that way. Colin is about to question who when he realizes she is implying that Penelope has feelings for Colin. He insists she thinks of him as a childhood friend and nothing more, so Lady Danbury reminds him that his parents were once children together and old friends have the potential to make remarkable love matches, before walking away. When the dance is over, Colin immediately takes Penelope’s hand insisting they find a private place to speak because things with Lord Debling are moving very quickly and she hardly knows the gentleman. But just as the mood seems to change and Penelope feels certain Colin is not only jealous but also somehow seemed like he was about to kiss her, they hear something and discover Francesa Bridgerton alone with the Earl of Kilmartin, John Stirling and they’re kissing.

Colin is furious and protective over his little sister but keeping a level head because although John Stirling is an Earl and a gentleman, he is also a stranger who neither he, nor his sister really knows. In fact, Francesca had only just met the man that very night, and now this Earl had the power to ruin both his sister and Penelope. But John gives his word that he intends to call on Francesca and offer for her in the morning, and Penelope simply asks that none of them say anything about her and Colin being alone because they were only looking for a place to speak discreetly and she does not want to force Colin’s hand. Colin is fully aware that he had nearly kissed Penelope and she knew it but his sister and her Earl didn’t need to know that so they all parted, promising to keep their indiscretions secret.

Later when Eloise asks her little sister if she’s nervous about marriage, Francesca confides in Eloise that she has fallen in love with the Earl and cannot wait to marry and start her own family with him. She confesses they’ve already kissed and how Penelope and Colin caught them the night they met. Suddenly, Eloise is panicked because she knows that Penelope is Lady Whistleddown and has written about the Bridgerton’s before. And now she was in the perfect position to reveal this secret, so despite the fact that Eloise hasn’t spoken to Penelope in months, she is determined to protect her little sister and she goes to see Pen, ready to swallow her pride and beg her not to ruin her sister but Penelope swears that she would never do that to Francesca because she is like a little sister to her, and she’s happy for the couple.

Eloise is grateful and she finally does the thing she wished she’d done the night she discovered Penelope’s secret, which was to ask her oldest friend why she did it. Why did she start Whistledown? And Penelope tells Eloise everything, including how she had always secretly been in love with Colin, and her heartbreak over what she heard him say right after Eloise walked out of her life, and how alone she has felt for months. Lastly, Penelope admits how sorry she is for keeping secrets and that she misses Eloise and the old friends reconcile.

When Colin finds out at breakfast the next day that Eloise and Penelope have rekindled their friendship and Eloise had plans to visit Featherington house that afternoon, he is visibly effected by the mention of Penelope’s name, and his family takes the opportunity to be a little nosy and very meddlesome, encouraging Colin to pursue Penelope before her new suitor, Lord Debling swoops in and claims her.

Just when they’re certain Colin is going to pack up and leave town again just to avoid getting nagged about marriage, Hyacinth chimes in to say that Lady Penelope Debling has a lovely sound to it, but she would have much preferred Mrs. Penelope Bridgerton since then Pen would officially be a part of the family since she always felt like she belonged with them. At that something inside him seems to snap and Colin asks Anthony for permission to choose a ring from the family collection because since he doesn’t have time to court her properly, the least he could do is give his future wife a nice piece of jewelry.

Later, when Penelope enters her drawing room happily thinking she’s going to spend some much needed time with her best friend who she’s missed terribly, she walks in to find Colin has come for a visit and been in conversation with her mother, having secured permission to take Penelope on a carriage ride. They were to be unchaperoned so he promised to bring Miss Featherington just around the square and then straight back to Bridgerton house for tea with Eloise and his family.

It was a particularly romantic but brief carriage ride where Colin confesses that seeing Penelope with Lord Debling made him realize that he would never be able to live with himself if he didn’t try to win her. Then they were kissing and touching and it was wildly inappropriate, ruinous behavior but they didn’t care because nothing had ever felt so right before and they were so happy to be together. And before it even dawned on Penelope that she had yet to tell Colin the truth about her secret life as London’s most notorious gossip, they’d arrived at Bridgerton house and announced their engagement to his family.

The episode 4 cliffhanger for season 3 in my head at the moment:

Penelope knows Lord Debling is going to propose to her because she heard he has plans to call on her mother to ask for her hand the next day. So she is bracing herself to accept a good and kind man who she likes but does not love, even though it was her intention to find a husband this season.

Before Penelope can bring herself to promise before god and her family, to love this man and vow to be only his forever, she wants to tell Colin the truth, that she has always loved him but she’s going to except Lord Debling because he wants her and has chosen her.

Colin is shocked but moved by Penelope’s confession and takes her in his arms and for a moment they’re blissfully happy and completely swept away but just before their lips can touch Penelope stops him because they cannot kiss. She doesn’t wanna do anything that would force his hand and she knows that Colin is a gentleman who would feel obligated to marry her if he compromised her. Colin is surprised and disappointed because she just said she loved him, but then she reminds him that he said he never wanted her. Then she wishes him every happiness and leaves.

Neither Colin nor Penelope can sleep that night. She sits at the window of her bedroom catatonic til the sun rises. He was home drinking and unable to think of anything else. Both of them are reliving that moment where they almost kissed but did not, Penelope with regret, because she could’ve known what it was like to kiss the man she loves just once before promising herself to someone else, who she wasn’t sure she could ever love, but to whom she would be loyal and faithful.

Colin, however, is reliving their past, remembering years of interactions between him and Penelope, realizing all the times, she was good to him. How she respected him enough to think of his happiness over her own, to accept that he did not want her, even though it hurt her. And suddenly all he could think of was how he would never find anyone who made him feel the way she did. He would never know another woman who understood him, and cared for him with such devotion or who he trusted so completely. Penelope wanted Colin to be happy but he was finding himself terrified that if she married another man, he might never be happy again.

Later that morning, when Penelope was told she had a caller and her mother summoned her to their drawing room, she put on a brave face, and prepared herself to accept Lord Debling’s offer and to let go of the dream of Colin Bridgerton once and for all. But when she entered the drawing room, it was not Lord Debling who stood to greet her, it was Colin and he was there to ask for her hand. Stunned and silent, Penelope looks between her shocked mother and a sincerely hopeful Colin but before she could respond, Lord Debling’s arrival was announced, and it was more than Penelope could handle and she faints just as the screen goes black.

My imagined Bridgerton season 3 episode 4 cliffhanger:

After seeing Colin & Penelope together at the season’s first few balls and events, Lady Danbury is convinced that there’s an attachment between the two “friends,” and since she has taken a liking to Penelope and she’s fond of all the Bridgertons, she decides to test her theory by sending a few handsome gentlemen Penelope’s way to see Colin’s reaction.

First the dimwitted but very handsome Mr. Harry Dankworth and then the charming and mature Mr. Marcus Anderson were encouraged to entertain the lovely but shy Miss and maybe even dance with her. Penelope naturally charms these men and Colin notices the way they are looking at her from across the room. Suddenly, a jealous Colin has swooped in to drag Penelope away, escorting her most scandalously behind closed doors alone to tell her those are not the sort of men she should be flirting with.

Penelope is livid because she was not flirting with them yet, she’d barely even spoken to them. But more importantly she needs a husband and Colin said he would help but now he’s getting in the way and potentially ruining her by taking her by risking them being caught alone. It’s the final straw for the newly blooming wallflower who sees no other way to get through to the man. Penelope asks why he is meddling when he isn’t her brother or father and he certainly isn’t jealous since he doesn’t even think of her as a woman and would rather die than court her himself so she cannot understand what his problem is.

Colin tells Penelope that she should not be willing to settle for just any man who speaks to her. She needs someone intelligent enough to protect her and her future but certainly not a known charmer who’s old enough to be her father. That she deserves the sort of man who understands and respects her and puts her first. Someone who will love her. But Penelope’s heard enough and insists that it took her a long time to realize that she cannot keep waiting and hoping for love because this is her third season and she has to give up on love and settle for the security of a convenient marriage with someone kind so she could to a life for herself and to plan her future with a good man.

Penelope turns to leave and Colin instinctively grabs her pleading with her not to go. He appears pained and desperate and she can’t bear the look in his eyes so she asks why he is doing this and begs him to just be honest with her. Colin confesses that he wants her, that he hasn’t been able to think of anything but her for weeks. That she’s all he sees. That he wants to hold her hand and dance with her and talk to her, to make her smile and kiss her. That he’s mad for her and can’t bear it and as he’s telling her, he’s wrapped his arms around her like he’s terrified of losing her. Penelope can hardly believe what is happening but finds herself touching his lips to silence him. She leans in and their foreheads are touching as her hands slip into his hair and he leans forward and kisses her.

Their first kiss is sweet, but it very quickly deepens and hands are moving, clothing was shifting and Colin has her laid out on a chaise. His hands were warm and her skin was soft and everything felt right. Penelope knew that what they were doing was wildly inappropriate and so did Colin but neither of them cared because all that mattered in that moment was that they wanted each other so desperately. Colin asks if she wants him to stop, she tells him that she wants him, that she wants whatever this is between them, forever. She tells him she’s his if he is sure that he wants her and he tells her, he’s never been more sure of anything in his life. That he needs her, that he belongs to her. That he will always belong to her. Body and soul.

Just then Eloise enters and they break apart. She is furious and accuses Penelope of trying to trap her brother but she won’t let Penelope get a word in and Colin is immediately defending Pen because she’s his intended and she’s going to be his wife so he demands that Eloise treats her with more respect and gets over whatever she is mad about. Eloise glares at Penelope and asks if she’s told Colin her big secret or if she intends to trick him into a lifelong commitment with Lady Whistledown.

Colin is shocked when Penelope confesses, admitting that she had to do something to earn money to support herself and her family because her father had gambled away everything including her dowry and that she’d wanted to tell them but couldn’t risk anyone knowing, Eloise looks surprised but Colin is speechless. He tells her he thought he knew her but he was wrong and he has much to consider. Colin leaves. Eloise tells Penelope that she should have known better than to lie to the people trusted her. Penelope tells Eloise that she has a large family full of good people who love her, that she’s blessed with so many wonderful things because she’s a Bridgerton. But their friendship was the one good thing in Penelope’s life. That Eloise was the sister of her heart and the only person she was sure loved her in her whole life. Penelope was simply too afraid of losing Eloise to risk telling her. Because if she lost Eloise she would be completely alone in the world, and clearly she was right because the instant Eloise found out she abandoned her and never even cared enough to find out why Pen did what she did. Whistledown was the only way Penelope could make enough money to save herself and her mother and sisters. That she was raised to be a fine lady, the daughter of a Baron, who never questioned her mama. Lady Featherington had taken Penelope and her sisters to a poor part of town when they were girls and warned them that they could be ruined and end up shunned from society with nothing if they didn’t obey their mama. That Penelope would likely have been forced to be her mother’s unpaid companion and if she lived to old age, Pen would be on the street like a beggar with nothing. Left to starve or worse. She did it because it was the only way she could think of to save herself from that fate.

Before Penelope leaves she admits to Eloise that she would never have tricked Colin or married him without telling him the truth because she was in love with him and only ever wanted him to be happy, and the worst part was that she thought he might love her too but now he would hate her forever. Eloise tries to go after Pen, but Cressida Cowper stops her to mention that she heard quite the commotion coming from the room her brother went into with Penelope Featherington. That she wouldn’t have imagined that pudgy little nobody capable of doing anything remotely interesting but then she heard Eloise clear as day, calling Penelope Featherington of all people, Lady Whistledown and now she would personally see to it that little snake got was she deserved for daring to mock her in her gossip rag.

Eloise Bridgerton, who has never been at a loss for words was left horrified and heartbroken and without a clue of how to save Penelope when she spots Lady Danbury who is looking at her as if she too heard everything. Penelope was right not to tell a soul it seems. Because once Eloise knew, it was only a matter of time before she opened her big mouth, ruined her brother’s chance at happiness and put Penelope’s very life in jeopardy.