By Thursday, Eliza was full-on debating whether to share Penelope's secret with the very worried Vanderwahls. Penelope still hadn't turned up and even though Eliza demanded Martin tell her when the post arrived, he never came to her with any letters.

Her parents were preparing to leave for the countryside and she wondered whether to tell her own parents Penelope's secret and get their advice on what to do. However, she worried her mother would demand Eliza tell Lady Vanderwahl and she just didn't know if she was ready to face that yet.

The other problem Eliza faced was knowing Penelope had been seeing someone with possible intentions to elope, but not knowing who the man was. Where could she start looking for Penelope?

As the footmen were loading her parent's trunks into the motorcar, Eliza decided to stay mum. She had wondered if Penelope had sent a letter of her whereabouts and it just hadn't arrived yet. No reason to ring more alarm bells just yet.

"Promise you'll behave while we're gone?" Mary asks Eliza as they stand near the car. They watch the last hatbox get loaded up and Eliza turns to her mother and replies, "I promise. I'm going to the ball tomorrow and after, I have no intentions of leaving Winter house."

"You are young darling. We don't want you to get into trouble, but we do wish you'd adventure out a bit. Go have fun, go to the theater, get some things at Harrods or visit the Savoy for tea. Put yourself out there a bit," her mother tells her, but Eliza knows she'd never do any of that without Penelope.

Mary and Edward leave quick kisses on Eliza's cheeks before they leave her. She watches as the emerald green and gold motorcar disappears into traffic and spins around to head back inside.

Eliza knows she doesn't have enough time to call in a seamstress to create a gown for the ball, so as much as she doesn't want to leave the house, she knows she needs to get some shopping done.

After securing Eliza's favorite silk hat, adorned with two large feathers onto Eliza's pinned up strawberry curls, Lucy reaches for a pair of cream cotton gloves and hands them to Eliza.

"Shall I hail a cab my lady or will you be traveling by foot?" Lucy asks, as Eliza pulls the gloves over her long dainty fingers.

"You can hail us a cab. You will be accompanying me," Eliza answers flatly. She knows Lucy loves going into the city, especially Harrods, so she wasn't at all surprised when Lucy lets out a squeal of glee before rushing off to go change. Her mother doesn't particularly like how close Lucy is becoming to Eliza, but Eliza has two people she can trust and rely on and one of those people is currently missing.

After pinning her own hat on, Lucy meets Eliza on the front steps of the Winter's stately London home and within minutes, is securing them a hansom cab. With the tightness of the corset and thickness of the crinoline and dress fabric, Eliza suddenly understands why her parents rushed out of the London heat. She could hardly breathe without perspiring.

When the cab drops them onto the street opposite the entrance to Harrods, Lucy grabs Eliza's arm and in awe.

"Golly, isn't it just the most magnificent building? I never get tired of seeing it." Both women stand and admire the massive stone building, with the equally massive Union Jack flying about in the breeze above it.

"We can admire it in the fall. It's too hot to stand out here and gape," Eliza replies, pulling Lucy across the street. Harrods had only reopened a few months ago, so the store was busy with onlookers and shoppers. Lucy pushes through women eagerly fingering silk hats and scarves while Eliza notices many shoppers pushing their way to the food hall, eager to gape at the assortment of treats.

"After I find a gown, we'll go see what the hubbub is about," Eliza tells Lucy as they see more shoppers rushing off down to the food hall. Tea and biscuits are always a nice treat after shopping.

As they make their way past the jewelry display, Eliza's heart stops a beat when she spots Bridgette Walscott admiring an emerald brooch. Not wanting to be caught, Eliza quickly dips behind a taller Lucy and whispers to her to hurry past. She thinks she's in the clear when she hears her name being called in the distance. She spins around and sees Bridgette now standing with her mother.

"Lady Eliza, it's a surprise to see you out in public," Bridgette says with a fake air of politeness, one that always comes on when her parents are around.

"Yes, just popped in to get a gown for tomorrow," Eliza answers quickly, while moving slowly past the jewelry cases.

"For tomorrow? You're going to Evangeline's then are you?" Bridgette asks in surprise and Eliza gives a quick nod in response. Bridgette hands her mother the sparkling brooch before taking a few steps closer to Eliza. Instinctively, Eliza takes a half step back, accidentally knocking into Lucy.

"This isn't because of Lord Bradshaw is it? Because if you were hoping for the newcomer to fill out your dance card, well...I'm afraid that won't happen. You see, he's already spoken for," Bridgette says while batting her long eyelashes. Not surprised in the slightest that Bridgette already got her talons in Bradshaw, Eliza replies, "Oh, no that's not-"

"Because he told us you bothered him at the Tennyson's. Practically threw yourself at him in the library," Bridgette says mockingly.

"That's- no, I didn't-"

"It's okay Lady Eliza, really I don't blame you. You've had what? Three seasons now and still no ring. I'd be at the point of throwing myself around too, but just know to stay away from Bradshaw. He's not up for the taking," Bridgette says with another fake smile before spinning around to face her mother and the brooch now being packaged up.

When Eliza grabs Lucy's hand she's fuming. She can't believe that Bradshaw had to mention the library when there was nothing to mention! She hadn't thrown herself at anyone and she had hardly bothered him.

When the two women make it to the dress department, Lucy pulls her hand out of Eliza's tight grip and says, "Oh don't let that sow get to you my lady. That's just what she wanted."

With pink cheeks, Eliza looks to Lucy and replies, "I'm not upset about Bridgette. I'm irritated that Bradshaw thought I was throwing myself at him."

"She said that to get a rise out of you."

"Well, he had to have said something if they knew I had run into him in the library. No one witnessed it," Eliza says bitterly before taking a deep breath to calm herself. She hadn't thought of him since the Tennyson's dinner party, but now she had hoped to see him at the ball tomorrow night so she could set him straight on a few things.

"Come now, let's find you a gown that will have Lord Bradshaw wishing you had thrown yourself at him," Lucy says with her chin high in the air. She grabs a flustered Eliza and pulls her over to a saleswoman. She tells her Lady Eliza Winter needs something impeccable for the ball tomorrow night and the saleswoman frowns.

"You're certainly waiting until last minute deary," the saleswoman says before sauntering off to pull dresses for Eliza. Eliza wanted to retort that if her parents hadn't sprung this on her, she would have had a seamstress come directly to her home so she wouldn't have to worry about running into people like Bridgette Walscott.

It was fine for Bridgette to crack jokes about Eliza's status seeing she was similar in age but also unwed. Bridgette had three older sisters, one only eighteen months older that her mother had to matchmake before getting to Bridgette. Eliza is not only the only female Winter, but the only heir. She should have had multiple callers come to her after her first appearance three seasons ago, but her foyer remained empty. Gossip and reputation apparently weighed more heavily than family lines and fortunes in this London crowd.

After vibrant silk dresses were gloriously displayed before Eliza, she unenthusiastically decides on a rose-pink silk gown with a box collar and gold details. She had finally calmed down as the women packaged up her new purchases, but she was still irked to have been bothered by it in the first place. She knew the last thing she needed was for more rumors to start spreading around. She might be known as Crazy Eliza, but she is also still a lady and wanted to be thought of as such.

Eliza throws in a new pair of lace gloves for Lucy, hoping one of them can be happy about this adventure, and Lucy is indeed grateful for the new purchase. Lucy gives instructions on where to deliver the gown and accessories, while Eliza ponders over what could possibly be lying in wait down in the food hall. After everything is finally settled, Eliza loops her arm through Lucy's and says, "Let's go see about some tea and biscuits. A good biscuit can always cheer me up."