The Duke's Masked Wife 2: The Prince's Outcast Bride-Chapter 245: Throwing stones and hiding hands (1)

The long-awaited day of the queen’s tea party soon came, and as Tyrion promised, he accompanied Penelope in the carriage to be in the palace while she was there.

This time, Tyrion sat beside Penelope and held her hand, but his attention was elsewhere.

Penelope squeezed Tyrion’s hand so he would look at her and asked, "What troubles you now?"

Penelope guessed it was something about Tyrion’s visit to see Cassius. She was waiting for him to share what occurred, but Tyrion didn’t speak of it.

"Are you worried about my time in the palace?" Penelope asked.

Tyrion looked down at where Penelope squeezed his hand. "No. I will be nearby if you need me, and Damien isn’t to leave your side. I am thinking about a talk I need to have with my father. I shall let you know what it is if it goes well."

Tyrion gently caressed the back of Penelope’s hand with his thumb. "Enjoy yourself today."

"I intend to do so even if the ladies are nosey. I have always enjoyed what your mother hosts. It feels good to return to the palace. It must be even better for you since the court is almost gone. You must be safe too," Penelope said, worried about Tyrion.

"I will be fine. You might hear of something strange today, and when you do, act natural. I have gotten a favour from my brother for him to court Amelia," Tyrion revealed.

"Do you hate Teo?" Penelope asked since it was the only reasonable explanation.

"Do not be so alarmed. Teo will not marry Amelia. I learned that she employed Warren to speak about your mother, so I am only playing the dirty games she has started. Don’t waste your time with her today. She will get what she deserves," Tyrion promised.

Penelope was certain that if Amelia believed Teo was going to propose to her, then she would ignore her other potential suitors. If Amelia goes all season focusing on Teo and not other men, then her season might end up wasted.

It was unfortunate, but Penelope didn’t have it in her heart to feel sorry for Amelia.

Penelope’s thoughts were interrupted by Tyrion toying with her hair.

"This is why I think of cutting my hair," Penelope said, but she didn’t attempt to move it out of his hold.

"Why would you do such a thing when you have such lovely hair?" Tyrion asked, refusing to let it happen.

"The days are hot, and it becomes uncomfortable to have my hair so long. If you want to have hair to toy with, then you should grow out your hair even more. It is time for us to part," Penelope said, looking at where a palace maid waited for her. "I hope you have fun as well."

Damien got off the carriage and went to the door to open it for Penelope. He offered his hand to help her out and then stepped back as Tyrion exited the carriage.

"I can walk with you-"

"No!" Penelope exclaimed, cutting Tyrion off. "No other lady will have a gentleman by her side unless it is a guard. I shall not be the one to bring her husband around. Stay where you are and do not cross paths with the ladies."

While it was sweet, Penelope could survive the next few hours without Tyrion.

"I was going to walk you up to the front doors there," Tyrion said, pointing to the large doors where guests entered and left. "I am not going near those ladies. I shall leave them to you."

"Oh," Penelope replied, wanting to smack her face. "Here is good for us to part. Have a good day," Penelope said, awkwardly turning away from Tyrion to leave first.

Tyrion watched Penelope with a smile. "She is lovely when she is shy, isn’t she?"

Damien looked at Tyrion. "Respectfully, I don’t want to respond."

Damien learned his lesson, and he wasn’t going to make the mistake again.

"It wasn’t for you to answer. Enlighten me on why you stand here when my wife is following a maid," said Tyrion.

Damien cleared his throat and hurried off to catch up to Penelope.

Damien had done many dangerous jobs for Tyrion, but he had his hardest one today. He had kept Penelope safe while she sat among ladies who always looked to be plotting something dangerous.

Penelope looked behind to see how close Damien was and then faced the maid. They both needed to be vigilant, even though she would be sitting with the queen.

Penelope soon entered where the ladies were seated and spotted familiar faces.

So far, Lily, Julie, and Rue were present and all sitting at the queen’s table.

To Penelope’s surprise, Amelia was also seated at Hazel’s table.

’Did Tyrion tell the queen about his plans?’ Penelope wondered.

Hazel smiled when Penelope neared the table.

"Princess Penelope," Hazel greeted Penelope, bringing attention to her arrival.

Penelope walked up to Hazel and curtsied. "Queen Hazel. Thank you for being so kind as to bless me with an invitation."

"You are always welcome, dear. That will be all," Hazel said to the maid who escorted Penelope. "Your seat is right next to me."

Since Penelope married into the Castros, it was only right that she sat beside the queen as a princess.

Penelope sat down and got a good look at the others seated at the table.

Selina was also present, along with two young ladies Penelope couldn’t remember the names of. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Since most of the ladies at the table were close to Penelope, the day was off to a good start.

"I hear my son will also be in the palace," said Hazel.

"He is. We arrived together, but he has other matters in the palace to see to, so he will not come here," Penelope replied.

Hazel knew better than to believe that was the only reason she wouldn’t see Tyrion. Whenever there were too many ladies in the palace, Tyrion would do his best to hide.

Hazel was curious if Penelope’s presence in the palace would bring Tyrion here. It was only ladies present, but there were many awful incidents which happened at such gatherings. The most shocking one was the young lady who fell to her death, and the blame was placed on Penelope.

"Well, I hope to see him today. We are still waiting for a few guests, but you should have some tea and cake until we get started. Please serve the princess," Hazel instructed the maids.

Across the table, Amelia stared at Penelope. She tried to think of how she would make a move to create a friendship with Penelope.

"Princess Penelope," Amelia spoke up, bringing the attention to herself.