Penny tried to recollect where she had seen the pendant before. She knew she was familiar with it but where? Obviously it wasn't the charm stones as the woman was a vampire who didn't appear to appear she would possess one. Not because she appeared to be poor where she couldn't acquire one because it didn't fit into the picture.
Sitting at the table when the meal was announced, Penny and the others headed to the dining room which was quite big and had a long dining table which she had never seen before. While her eyes looked at the decor, she heard Sylvia who was next to her,
"Mr. Bingley usually hosts parties for the council and sometimes the ball or any other event is hosted here which is why he has enough rooms and space for people if they ever need to stay."
"Feels like a reputed inn-house," Penny murmured, taking a seat at the table having Sylvia and Mrs. Keith who sat one seat away from them right now as another woman and joined them. Damien sat on the other side, not too far but not too near either.
"It actually is one. Mr. and Mrs. Bingley owns a series of inn-houses for the pureblooded vampires and some of the human elites in different towns and in different lands. They are vampires but their lifestyle is nothing short to a pureblooded vampire," Sylvia continued to explain to Penny in a hushed tone without attracting others' attention to pull them into what they were speaking about.
Inn-houses was expensive to stay compared to the local inn's which one could find in the village or the smaller towns. Not that the local inns-were cheap but it was decent enough to have a roof if one had decent silver coins or shillings. The inn-houses were similar to mansions, only that the rooms were rented to people and the food was served just like in a family atmosphere. Looking after the stay, food, travel and any other necessities over their stay there.
"You see there," Sylvia said, her head jerking to the right, "The one with the midnight coat. That is Donovan Bingley, Mr. and Mrs. Bingley's son," Penny looked at the man who sat next to an old man who appeared to be his possible grandfather. The young man appeared quiet, listening to what the old man had to say and offering a few of his words.
When the food was served on the table, Penny's mouth only watered at the sight of it. Moving from one land to another sure had its own perks, thought Penny to herself. The roasted and grilled meat was placed on the table, freshly cooked vegetables sitting along with it and cut fruits which looked as if they were only torn out of the tree today. Though there was some meat that she didn't let her eyes hover for too long on it due to the heads of the animals, she decided to stick to things which she could eat while also letting her curiosity float and bring the food on her plate.
As the meal continued at the table, the conversation went on with people trying to catch up speaking with the one they had no opportunity before. Penny was no exception to it as she was pulled into the conversation.
"Yes, it rains quite a lot in Bonelake," she said to a middle-aged couple who were having a decent conversation, "You will not see the sun much out there and even if you did it is very scarce," she explained to the woman who nodded her head.
The woman leaned forward and said to Penny, "I was there for one week and my God. I thought Valeria was gloomy back then but Bonelake is even worse. I don't think I would ever want to live there. Maybe just a few visits because my niece and nephew live there. They got married and had to move," the lady then asked, "Do you know Walter and Caitlin?"
"Artemis," her husband said as if in soft warning of not wanting to inquire about them which Penny caught right away. With the woman who stopped speaking, the man said, "We haven't seen them in a very long time."
The man had placed his hand on the woman's hand under the table but that didn't stop the woman from speaking more about them, "After they got married we were unable to see them because they got busy I think. We used to look after them after what happened to their parents."
Another woman who was sitting next to Penny who had been listening in to their conversation said, "Oh! I remember them, such cute little children. Always very polite. I am Mrs. Grimitlin," the woman raised her left hand to shake hands with Penelope.
"Penelope," Penny introduced herself. After starting to mingle with the higher part of the society, there were times how she felt awkward with only giving out her name and not her last name. It was because she didn't know what her last name was.
"I remember when Artemis used to comb Caitlin's long hair, it was beautiful hair hahaha," the woman chuckled and Penny smiled before subtly turning her head back to her plate.
The woman named Artemis then said to Penny in hope, "If you were to ever find her or him," she added, "Do let us know."
"Of course," Penny nodded her head in agreement. It wasn't like she went out to meet and greet people right now but if she were to come across the sibling she would be sure to drop a word about it.
As she continued to have her meal, Penny could sense eyes on her. Not one, not two but too many which made it difficult for her to open her mouth and eat in the beginning but as time passed, she started to ignore the gazes after noticing where it was coming from. Mostly it came from women who held an interest when it came to Damien, to think he was actually this popular, Penny took another bite from her fork.