Romancing Mister Bridgerton (34 page)

He paused, waiting for silence to fall over the room.

“…is that she is also the brilliant, the witty, the breathtakingly magnificent—Oh, you all know who I am talking about,” he said, his arm sweeping out toward the crowd.

“I give you my wife!” he said, his love and pride flowing across the room. “Lady Whistledown!”

For a moment there was nothing but silence. It was almost as if no one even dared to breathe.

And then it came. Clap. Clap. Clap. Slow and methodical, but with such force and determination that everyone had to turn and look to see who had dared to break the shocked silence.

It was Lady Danbury.

She had shoved her cane into someone else's arms and was holding her arms high, clapping loud and proud, beaming with pride and delight.

And then someone else began to clap. Penelope jerked her head to the side to see who…

Anthony Bridgerton.

And then Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings.

And then the Bridgerton women, and then the Featherington
women, and then another and another and more and more until the entire room was cheering.

Penelope couldn't believe it.

Tomorrow they might remember to be angry with her, to feel irritated at having been fooled for so many years, but tonight…

Tonight all they could do was admire and cheer.

For a woman who had had to carry out all of her accomplishments in secret, it was everything she'd ever dreamed of.

Well, almost everything.

Everything she'd truly ever dreamed of was standing next to her, his arm around her waist. And when she looked up at him, at his beloved face, he was smiling down at her with such love and pride that her breath caught in her throat.

“Congratulations, Lady Whistledown,” he murmured.

“I prefer Mrs. Bridgerton,” she replied.

He grinned. “Excellent choice.”

“Can we leave?” she whispered.

“Right now?”

She nodded.

“Oh,
yes,
” he said enthusiastically.

And no one saw them for several days.

Bedford Square, Bloomsbury

London, 1825

“I
t's here! It's here!”

Penelope looked up from the papers spread over her desk. Colin was standing in the doorway of her small office, jumping from foot to foot like a schoolboy.

“Your book!” she exclaimed, jumping to her feet as quickly as her rather ungainly body would allow. “Oh, Colin, let me see. Let me see. I can't wait!”

He couldn't contain his grin as he handed her his book.

“Ohhhh,” she said reverently, holding the slim, leather-bound volume in her hands. “Oh, my.” She held the book up to her face and inhaled deeply. “Don't you just love the smell of new books?”

“Look at this, look at this,” he said impatiently, pointing to his name on the front cover.

Penelope beamed. “Look at that. And so elegant, too.” She ran her finger over the words as she read, “
An Englishman in Italy,
by Colin Bridgerton.”

He looked ready to burst with pride. “It looks good, doesn't it?”

“It looks better than good, it looks perfect! When will
An Englishman in Cyprus
be available?”

“The publisher says every six months. They want to release
An Englishman in Scotland
after that.”

“Oh, Colin, I'm so proud of you.”

He drew her into his arms, letting his chin rest on top of her head. “I couldn't have done it without you.”

“Yes, you could,” she replied loyally.

“Just be quiet and accept the praise.”

“Very well,” she said, grinning even though he couldn't see her face, “you couldn't. Clearly, you could never have been published without such a talented editor.”

“You won't hear any disagreement from me,” he said softly, kissing the top of her head before he let her go. “Sit down,” he added. “You shouldn't be on your feet for so long.”

“I'm fine,” she assured him, but she sat down, anyway. Colin had been overly protective since the first moment she'd told him she was pregnant; now that she was only a month from her due date, he was insufferable.

“What are these papers?” he asked, glancing down at her scribblings.

“This? Oh, it's nothing.” She started to gather them into piles. “Just a little project I was working on.”

“Really?” He sat down across from her. “What is it?”

“It's…well…actually…”

“What is it, Penelope?” he asked, looking exceedingly amused by her stammers.

“I've been at loose ends since I finished editing your journals,” she explained, “and I found I rather missed writing.”

He was smiling as he leaned forward. “What are you working on?”

She blushed; she wasn't sure why. “A novel.”

“A novel? Why, that's brilliant, Penelope!”

“You think so?”

“Of course I think so. What is it called?”

“Well, I've only written a few dozen pages,” she said, “and there's much work to be done, but I think, if I don't decide to change it overmuch, that I will call it
The Wallflower
.”

His eyes grew warm, almost misty. “Really?”

“It's a little bit autobiographical,” she admitted.

“Just a little bit?” he returned.

“Just a little.”

“But it has a happy ending?”

“Oh, yes,” she said fervently. “It
has
to.”

“It has to?”

She reached her hand across the table and rested it atop his. “Happy endings are all I can do,” she whispered. “I wouldn't know how to write anything else.”

• Did you find mention of some of my “old” characters? You can find, in the columns of Lady Whistledown: Ned Blydon, Viscount Burwick (a secondary character in my first three novels and the hero of an upcoming novella); his sister Belle (heroine of
  Dancing at Midnight
  , now Lady Blackwood); Lord and Lady Riverdale (hero and heroine of
  How to Marry a Marquis
  ), Lucas and Jane Hotchkiss (also from
  How to Marry a Marquis
  ). Not to mention Robert from
  Everything and the Moon
  who hosts the Macclesfield ball—a very pivotal scene. And who could forget Lady Danbury, who made her debut in
  How to Marry a Marquis
  and has since appeared in all of the Bridgerton books. She's so much fun that I decided to give her a big supporting role this time around.
  
• Also in Lady W's columns: Michael Anstruther-Wetherby, brother of Honoria, the heroine of
  Devil's Bride
  by Stephanie Laurens!
  
• In the first chapter, Penelope is reading a book called
  Mathilda
  by S.R. Fielding. This is from
  Dreaming of You
  by Lisa Kleypas, one of my all-time favorite romance novels! The heroine is a novelist, and
  Mathilda
  was a huge bestseller.
  
• The working title for this book was
  Mr. Bridgerton, I Presume
  .
  
• One of my summer jobs in college was working as a travel writer for
  Let's Go
  :
  Greece & Turkey
  . I spent seven weeks on Crete, Cyprus, and a couple of islands in the Dodecanese. I drew upon my memories of Cyprus for Colin's writings. His descriptions of Scotland are mine as well, drawn from my visit in spring of 2001.
  
• Romancing Mr. Bridgerton
  is fourth in the Bridgerton series. #1 is
  The Duke and I
  #2 is
  The Viscount Who Loved Me
  , #3 is
  An Offer from a Gentleman,
  and #5 is
  To Sir Phillip, With Love
  .
  
• Lady Whistledown, the gossip columnist featured in,
  An Offer from a Gentleman
  “narrates” her own anthology in
  The Further Observations of Lady Whistledown
  . This book is not, however, a part of the Bridgerton series.
  

Copyright © 2004 by Julia Quinn

What is the order of the Bridgerton books?

Julia Quinn:
Book 1:
The Duke and I

Book 2:
The Viscount Who Loved Me

Book 3:
An Offer From A Gentleman

Book 4:
Romancing Mr. Bridgerton

Book 5:
To Sir Phillip, With Love

Book 6: When He Was Wicked (coming summer 2004)

Will you write books for all eight Bridgerton siblings?

Julia Quinn:
Yes.

Will you write books about their children?

Julia Quinn:
I don't know.

Why was there no mention of Lady Whistledown in
To Sir Phillip, With Love
? I thought for sure there would be a scene where Eloise learned the truth!

Julia Quinn
: Because Lady Whistledown had nothing to do with the plot for
To Sir Phillip, With Love
. The introduction of Lady Whistledown and “the big secret” would have been irrelevant, not to mention confusing for readers who have not read the previous Bridgerton books.

I do like to refer to items from previous books (Anthony's fear of bees, for example, or Colin's ravenous appetite), but only when they make sense within the framework of the story I'm currently telling. While the Bridgerton books are a loosely connected series, each title, first and foremost, must stand on its own as an individual novel.

I did think about this, however, while I was writing the novel, so my answer is: Colin didn't tell Eloise because he was so furious with her for running off. Keeping her (a woman who likes to know everything!) out of the loop would be, to him, the perfect revenge.

Will you ever write a story for Violet Bridgerton?

Julia Quinn:
The answer, I think, is no. Her love for Edmund was so strong and deep that I have difficulty imagining her ever remarrying. I have received requests to write their story, but I wonder if it would be too bittersweet, since so many readers would already know that he would die young.

What about Francesca Bridgerton? She was a widow in
Romancing Mr. Bridgerton
. What happened to her?

Julia Quinn
: I'm still figuring that out. Look for her story (in which she finds love with her second husband) in summer 2004.

Who will get a story after Francesca?

Julia Quinn:
Hyacinth.

Will you ever write a story for Violet Bridgerton?

Julia Quinn:
The answer, I think, is no. Her love for Edmund was so strong and deep that I have difficulty imagining her ever remarrying. I have received requests to write their story, but I wonder if it would be too bittersweet, since so many readers would already know that he would die young.

What happened to Posy Reiling (from
An Offer from A Gentleman
)?

Julia Quinn
: Posy married a vicar and now lives a few miles away from Benedict and Sophie in Wiltshire. Check out
To Sir Phillip, With Love
for a little update on her.

In
Romancing Mr. Bridgerton
, you thank Lisa Kleypas and Stephanie Laurens for the gracious use of their characters. Which characters were those?

Julia Quinn:
I thought it would be fun to pay a little homage to my friends and colleagues, so in chapter one of
Romancing Mr. Bridgerton
, Penelope is reading a book called
Mathilda
by S.R. Fielding. This book played a big role in
Dreaming of You
by Lisa Kleypas (S.R. is actually Sara, the heroine). And in the
Lady Whistledown
column opening chapter nine, I mention Michael Anstruther-Wetherby, who is the brother of Honoria Anstruther-Wetherby, heroine of
Devil's Bride
, the first book of Stephanie Laurens's Cynster series. (I think he's supposed to get his own book one of these days.)

Copyright © 2004 by Julia Quinn