Chapter Text
The first person Colin Bridgerton ever punched for Penelope Featherington was her very own father.
She and Eloise were just nine years old and playing quietly with their dolls in the grass. Colin, who was thirteen at the time, had been lying under a tree nearby, eating a bag of crisps and pretending to be annoyed at being thrust into babysitter duty. It wasn’t that bad; he didn’t have any plans, and Eloise and Penelope didn’t really bother him much.
Archibald had stormed into the park in a rumpled suit; his gait was uneven as he marched right up to where the girls were playing. Penelope had smiled at her father at first, excited to see him. “Dad!” She waved, but then it crumpled into fear as he got closer.
Colin had been confused as to what was happening when Archibald’s hand shot out and clamped around Penelope’s arm without ever saying a word to her. Then he pulled until she was on her feet and started dragging his daughter away by the wrist. Penelope had yelped when he grabbed her and started to cry as he forcefully tugged her forward. Colin watched her feet skidding through the gravel when they got to the path. “Dad, you’re hurting me.” She pleaded as she tried her best to keep up with him.
Colin was on his feet and running towards them instantly. He didn’t care that it was her dad or that he was an adult; he was not going to let Penelope be manhandled in his presence. “Let her go!” Colin yelled, getting up in Archibald’s face and shoving at his chest.
Her father had stumbled backwards, and Colin was very pleased that he was already almost the same height as him. Archibald let go of Penelope, who immediately began rubbing her arm; the skin was red and welted. Colin had never felt rage as he did then. “She is my kid,” Archibald snapped, straightening his jacket. His voice was slurred and smelled of hard liquor. “I’ll take her where I please!”
“I don’t give a fuck, I won’t let you take her if you’re going to hurt her.” Colin challenged. Eloise had approached Penelope and was trying to soothe her tears.
Her father’s lips curled into a sneer as he stared Colin down. “You think you can tell me what to do, boy?” Archibald hissed.
Colin was not intimidated by this ridiculous, small man who hurt his daughter to feel big and tough. “Leave her alone, you’re scaring her.”
“She’s scared of everything, and she's coming home, now!” It all happened really quickly after that. Archibald turned towards Penelope and grabbed her again, his fingers digging cruelly into the same spot. Penelope whimpered at the contact, and Colin saw red. The next thing he knew, there was a sharp cracking noise, his fist was throbbing, and Archibald had blood spurting between his fingers as he cupped his broken nose.
The fury in her father's eyes very clearly told Colin he couldn’t believe he had been struck by a “boy”. Colin knew, even as a boy, he was ten times the man Archibald Featherington was. “You little shit…” Archibald stared hate at Colin as he wiped his mangled nose.
Colin took a second to shake out his sore hand before squaring his shoulders and stepping towards him. “Grab her like that again,” he said, voice a warning, “and I’ll do worse.”
Adrenaline was pumping through him, and he was shaking as he glared at Archibald. It was Eloise who broke the silence. “Colin,” she whispered, wide-eyed. “Mum’s coming.”
Colin glanced over his shoulder to see Violet Bridgerton, already pretty close to them, walking with an unmistakably purposeful stride across the grass from the direction of their house. He wasn’t surprised she heard the commotion; they lived so close that she often opened the door and hollered to get them home for dinner.
“You should be ashamed of yourself, Archibald.” Her tone was lethal as her inner lioness emerged. She walked right up to them and took a deep breath before she turned towards Colin. “Take the girls home. Penelope will be spending the night at our house.”
Archibald opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off by Violet. “I will speak with Portia about it.” She gestured for Colin to get moving, and he quickly gathered the still crying Penelope in his arms as Eloise ran to grab their dolls. “Make the girls something to eat. I will be there shortly. Archibald, and I need to have a conversation.”
Penelope clutched his shirt, her face against his shoulder as he carried her. “Drunk in the middle of the day and scaring children.” Colin smiled as he listened to the venom in his mother’s tone, her rant fading out as they got further away.
Eloise trotted ahead of them with her arms full of dolls and an empty knapsack, glancing back every few seconds to make sure they were still following.
Colin had a question bouncing around his head; he knew he had to ask, but was worried about the answer. “Pen, has your dad ever hurt you before?” He asked softly. He really wanted her to feel like she could be honest with him.
“Sometimes,” she sniffled. “He spanks me when I’m too loud… or if I break something.” She looked over Colin’s shoulder towards her dad, like he might hear, then said, “he gets mad easily, but he doesn’t mean to.” Her wide, round eyes were unsure as they met his. “Mum says I should talk less, so I don’t make him angry.”
“Then your mum’s wrong,” Colin said flatly, fighting the urge to go back and punch Archibald a few more times. She stared at him, clearly unsure of what to do with that. Finally, she gave a small nod, leaning her head against him again.
When they got into the house, Colin put Penelope down. Eloise put the dolls back in the knapsack and beamed at Penelope. “Mum says you’re sleeping over,” she said matter-of-factly. “Let’s go pick a movie to watch tonight!” The two girls disappeared down the hall together, and Colin went into the kitchen to make some cheese toasties for the three of them.
It was twenty minutes later when his mum came back into the house, the girls were colouring in the other room, and he was in the middle of eating his sandwich. He was bracing for her to start in on him about how violence was never the answer, but he would endure because he needed to talk to her about what was going on in Penelope’s home. She surprised him then by getting an ice pack from the freezer and placing it on his knuckles before sitting beside him, looking tired and slightly concerned. “Tell me exactly what happened.”