The Duke's Masked Wife 2: The Prince's Outcast Bride-Chapter 194: Warning (2)

"I did not follow you here if you were thinking it. I was present before you arrived, and you have taken all the attention of the workers," Harper said, envious of what was displayed.

It was a stab to the heart to witness the prince be so involved in the selection of Penelope’s materials. It was even harder to watch as Penelope could pick out what she wanted and get it without worrying about money.

Though Harper was present, she wasn’t here to buy a large quantity of material. She was here to buy a tiny piece to add to the second-hand dresses her mother recently purchased in hopes of making it appear expensive.

Harper had been waiting for the right chance to ask the owner if she could buy a tiny amount, and whilst the owner had been busy, she thought of taking a piece and leaving without buying.

Tyrion and Penelope’s entering the shop was what stopped Harper from making a terrible mistake.

"I did not think you were following me. It is not like you could have been in my mind earlier to know I would come here. Now, if you don’t mind, I would like to carry on with looking around just as I am sure you want to do," Penelope said, walking by Harper.

Harper turned around to follow Penelope. "I wanted to apologise for my behaviour the last time we saw each other. I was out of turn."

Penelope touched a black material she wanted for Tyrion. "I have long forgotten about it. It must be hard for you to try pleasing Amelia and the others. No matter what you do, they always look down on you."

Harper frowned.

What did Penelope know?

Penelope couldn’t know anything since she was hardly around the ladies these days. She was hiding away in her home most days, and it was only now that Penelope was around the town, flaunting her marriage.

"You have gotten it wrong," Harper said, trying to muster up a smile. "Amelia, Octavia and all the other ladies are my friends. I am even closer to Lady Selina, who is rumoured to be the lady to marry your brother."

"I wouldn’t listen to that rumour if I were you. If Elijah ever has plans to marry anyone, he wouldn’t let the chance slip by. A ring would be on her finger by now," said Penelope.

"It takes time-"

"I know my brother," Penelope interjected. "When he wants something, he never shuts up about it. I have not heard of his interest in Selina from him, therefore I don’t pay it any mind."

Penelope tapped the materials she wanted, and behind her, Matilda kept a note of them to tell the workers.

"I have seen for myself that your brother fancies Selina. You may deny it, but it seems to be true," said Harper.

Penelope smiled. "Rather than trust my relationship with my brother, I should believe you who has spoken to him once in a blue moon. That is more sensible, isn’t it?"

"Already, I hear the animosity in your voice. I didn’t come here to argue with you, but rather to apologise. That behaviour I showed was unsightly, and I don’t want you to have that opinion of me," said Harper.

"You shouldn’t bother yourself with what I think of you, because you are never in my mind. You did not need to apologise to me, for I already know the position you are in. To protect yourself from their ways, it is best to attack their common enemy," Penelope said, confident that it was what Harper did.

Penelope had seen this many times. Ladies of weaker standing would place themselves beside ladies like Amelia and do their dirty work. It was their way of staying protected so they wouldn’t be an outcast.

Sometimes they were gifted old items like jewels for their hard work.

Harper tried her best not to snap at Penelope. "Just because you have been so unfortunate as not to make any friends among the ladies doesn’t mean that I haven’t. They are my friends."

"Are they?" Penelope asked, deciding to humour herself with Harper. "If you lost everything you own now, would they remain at your side? Would they offer you a helping hand? Or, would they make jokes about your circumstance? I will give you time to think."

Penelope kept walking, and from where she was, she noticed that Tyrion was intently watching her. She smiled so he wouldn’t worry about her.

Harper was the least of Penelope’s worries.

"They would," Harper answered.

Penelope chuckled. "Oh, I hope that is so. Perhaps they only despise me and look forward to my downfall. Still, I would watch my back if I were you. I am curious why you approached me to apologise. Do you fear your friendships are rocky?"

Before Harper could respond, Penelope said, "Do not think I would suddenly have an interest in being your friend when they leave you."

"They will not!" Harper raised her voice.

The ladies had taken a liking to Harper as of late, so she believed her spot in the circle was secured.

"I will do my best to be positive, but I prefer to be truthful. They will drop you, Harper. Unless you marry a man who they will consider to be on the same level as their husbands, should they marry, they will leave you behind," said Penelope.

From where Penelope stood, the last time she spoke to Harper, the ladies watched Harper with amusement and laughed, not because they found her words to be funny. They were laughing at Harper because she was their joke.

Harper was known to be the girl who wanted to be accepted, and with the talk about her family’s current status, which Penelope didn’t want to repeat, some ladies looked down on her.

Penelope pitied Harper once. Now that Harper tried to come at her to put on a show for the other ladies, that pity was gone.

"I have found a good man to marry, so I will never need to worry about anyone questioning my husband’s standing. I came here to make amends with you and to start over, but you have made that very difficult," Harper said, keeping her tone low to avoid the attention of the prince.

Harper understood why it was so difficult for the other ladies to become friends with Penelope.

How wonderful it must be for Penelope to act as she did, all because she had two powerful names backing her. The rest of the ladies couldn’t be so careless.

"Do you? Then I am happy for you. Focus more on him than those ladies. This must be the end of our talk," Penelope said, bored.

"No," Harper said, ready for the true purpose, she approached Penelope. "There is a matter of a man you know and I want to know."

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