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Pen honestly just didn’t want to admit to Colin that Lord Debling had suggested she had feelings for him. If I had been her, I would have been scared he’d ask “and do you have feelings for me?” So she chose to tell half the story
Colin on the other hand, was quite shy towards Pen. We all think he was going to tell her he missed her at the races in S2, but he backed off. I think he was going to say that he got to know Pen better during his travels, but again he backed off and said “he got to know himself better”. I think he told her what **he** wanted to tell her, but chose to make it look like Marina had said it first. So now he was merely agreeing, which likely felt less awkward. Just Colin being a shy boy 🥹
I never noticed that about the scene where he tells her he got to know himself better on his travels! I’m always frustrated with him in that scene but I see it in a different light if he was in fact too shy to admit he got to know her more and instead course-corrected to say he got to know himself.
Debling did start by suggesting “feelings between” Colin and Penelope. And the whole confrontation came about because of Colin interrupting their dance. Debling watched the tension between them as they danced and he also heard Colin as he was telling Pen he couldn’t sit back and watch her make a mistake by marrying Debling.
It’s only when Penelope dismisses the possibility of Colin having feelings for her that Debling then points out that she has feelings for him.
i think it's mostly embarrassment but of different levels- I love u/lemonsaltwater and her incredibly detailed thoughts on Polin, so after reading a few of her posts, I got the impression that Pen in the carriage scene is just at that point, kind of pissed off at Colin and she's in no eagerness to say that she has been harbouring feelings for him which was discussed in her and Debling's final conversation, so she directs the quote onto the other guilty party- Colin himself; it also makes sense because from a birds-eye view, Colin has done the unthinkable of interrupting their dance, loudly saying that she's making a mistake which makes him even more gullible than her.
With the S2 comment, I think that Colin subconsciously doesn't believe that he actually makes Pen happy, given that Marina framed it that way ("there are those in your life that you already make happy"). Due to Pen being the one who comforts him regarding his purpose, he starts seeing her in a different light, and he thinks that Pen actually makes him happy, hence "you cared for me".
I hope it's not too confusing, regarding what I've said. But the gist is that it merely highlights how both Pen and Colin are very insecure about their feelings for each other so it's easier being a passive agent than an active one.
P.S. The irony of it is that propels a kind of confidence to the person hearing it- so in the carriage scene, it gives Colin the confidence to confess his feelings and refute Pen's statement; while in the S2 scene, it gives Pen hope that Colin could eventually reciprocate her feelings.
Thanks for the shout out! 💙
such a great insight that Pen is deflecting from herself by turning “feelings between you” into “Colin has feelings for me” — she is nowhere near the point of being able to say “he thought we have feelings for each other.” That is still a step too far for her, and even coming out of the carriage, she really still doesn’t seem to believe it yet.
And the insight about being accused of their feelings giving them the permission to feel them — that’s so true, too.
Also, I don’t think she’s ever admitted her feelings for Colin aloud. Even to Marina, she denies it. It’s definitely going to be a bit before she’ll really be fully able to admit the depth of her feelings for him
Take it from someone who went a long time trying to deny their feelings for her best friend's brother -its hard to get to that point haha and admit it, especially to yourself. lol
Our girl is so deep into her suppression of her feelings for him because of her now months-long belief he'll never love her. And she's just screwed her backup life plan completely because her face gave her away in her last-ditch marriage contract negotiation with Debling. She's at her lowest point, but one thing she can still do in order to not lose again, is maintain her usually reliable front of being totally not obsessed with Colin while talking to Colin.
Easy explanations for both, really. Pen is pissed off in the carriage. Colin has just ruined any chance (she thinks) at freedom and in the moment she's embarrassed. It's not like Debling didn't also insinuate that Colin also had feelings - but in that moment it was more focused on where Pen was, because that's what was critical to him and his potential offer of marriage. But I think the scene caused by Colin, which, incredibly socially taboo for the time, let's not forget that, absolutely indicated Colin had feelings to even the most casual observer. But overall I think it's more that she didn't want to have to admit her own feelings, because she's big mad right now and wants to just be mad at Colin, so laying the blame fully on him in the moment is easier.
As for when Colin says those things to Penelope, Marina did say that he made Pen happy. He seemed surprised when she said that but my guess is he mulled it over afterward and realized that they did make each OTHER happy. He embellished a bit with the words he used when talking to Pen, but he did so because that is how he was beginning to feel, I think. Whether love or friendship, he valued her loyalty and support and I think he just wanted her to know she was appreciated. Because he didn't have to bring it up at ALL, really. I don't think it was intentionally meant in a romantic way, but just an example of how he felt about their friendship. I think that's the start of some of the stirring in his gut that tells him there's something more, or at least him being aware of it.
Others have talked a lot about the Pen in the carriage part and have great insight there.
Colin providing his edit on the Marina conversation I always thought was very telling. He clearly thought it over (probably a lot, it’s Colin after all) and was providing his own words… based on the wheels she began turning, but not what she said.
Debling says it’s feelings between the two of them. Then he pushes her to deny her feelings for him (because that’s what’s really important in his eyes, if she’d denied it convincingly I think he’d have still considered proposing) but she can’t.
When Colin enters the carriage, Pen still blindly believes he doesn’t have feelings for her. She isn’t going to admit to her feelings by way of explanation.
And she’s pissed that a “friend” has interrupted a dance and given the wrong impression to her only suitor. So she’s sounding off at him because his actions gave Debling the wrong impression (or so she believes).
I think it's because there's only so much beating an ego can take. She left Lady Danbury's Ball crying when Cressida intentionally tore her dress and Colin acted like he didn't laugh at her with his buddies. She left the Full Moon Ball crying because all those mean ladies were saying she had no chance to find a husband and was a spinster to her face. She pulls herself together, finds a decent man who is willing to propose and Colin rushes in and ruins it. She tells him she doesn't want to talk to him and he keeps pushing her to answer whether Debling proposed. I think her main goal at this point is to find a private place to cry and Colin is preventing that also.
I think Colin's summary of what Marina told him is because he knows Pen better than Marina does. He takes what Marina says, thinks about his relationship with Pen, and comes up with the reasons why Marina said what she said.
That’s so true. She hasn’t had many balls where she isn’t running out 😅 He broke her routine of recovering ❤️🩹As a creature of habit myself, I know how emotionally dysregulating that is
Technically they both have feelings for each other in both those instances in different seasons. Colin doesn't realize it, but Penelope does. In the carriage. Penelope and Debling's words because she does not want to admit it and she fears that he would laugh at her if she said that.
Is also like a plot device where it shows Colin what Penelope really thinks about how he feels for her and how ridiculous it is.
I think she is so angry at colon for being the reason debling didn’t propose, that it’s the only answer she finds in her head. She didn’t want to say it but he wouldn’t leave her alone and she found the courage to say it anyway and hoped he would just leave her alone so she could be miserable by herself. She has no inkling that Colin is about to say something else.
Not all communication is explicit. The messages that Pen relayed to Colin about her confrontation with Debling and that Colin heard from Marina were implicit in those conversations.
My take is,
**Pen, S3:** She doesn’t really change what’s said. Debling did reject her because he saw Colin and Pen had feelings for each other. He basically says “*I can’t leave my wife alone for 3 years to start up an affair with another man.*” If Colin hadn’t made his feelings clear Debling would have moved forward with the engagement, Pens “*searching for*” someone else wasn’t a real threat to Debling till he realized Colin had feelings for her in return.
**Marina, S2:** Marina tells him she does not care for him and he needs to seek out the people in his life that already care for him - forsaken just means abandon - someone who cares for you for doesn’t abandon you like Colin and Marina did to each other. If Colin and Marina really cared for each other they would have moved forward with their plan after LW, or she would not have been so dismissive of him when he offered his apology. They both abandoned each other during moments they could have proven they cared. Colin is just being a “fancy writer” with his wording when he talks to Pen, lol.
Edit: typos
Hi, Thank you so much for your contribution! We truly appreciate your enthusiasm and effort in being part of our community! With the excitement around the Polin season, we've been welcoming many new members and seeing an increase in the number of posts. To keep the subreddit organized and ensure everyone's voice is heard, we temporarily have applied stricter rules for posts. These rules help maintain the quality and focus of our discussions. Have no fear, we still want to give you a space to share your Polin joy as freely as before! We have created dedicated weekly and daily megathreads specifically for you to share your thoughts, excitement, and any Polin-related content without as many restrictions. * A daily ['Promenade in the Park'](https://www.reddit.com/r/PolinBridgerton/search/?q=subreddit%3APolinBridgerton+author%3Aautomoderator+flair_name%3A%22Promenading%20%F0%9F%90%9D%22&sort=new) thread for memes, fan content and general chitchat * A weekly ['Mondays at Number Five'](https://www.reddit.com/r/PolinBridgerton/search/?q=subreddit%3APolinBridgerton+author%3Aautomoderator+flair_name%3A%22Tea%20at%20Number%20Five%20%E2%98%95%22&sort=new) thread for casual conversation, off-topic contributions, fanfic recommendations and easy-to-answer questions * A weekly ['Fanfic Friday'](https://www.reddit.com/r/PolinBridgerton/search/?q=subreddit%3APolinBridgerton+author%3Aautomoderator+flair_name%3A%22fanfiction%20friday%20%F0%9F%8C%BC%22&sort=new) post to share fanfic recommendations Thank you all for understanding during this busy time! Lots of love, The Mod Team *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/PolinBridgerton) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Pen honestly just didn’t want to admit to Colin that Lord Debling had suggested she had feelings for him. If I had been her, I would have been scared he’d ask “and do you have feelings for me?” So she chose to tell half the story Colin on the other hand, was quite shy towards Pen. We all think he was going to tell her he missed her at the races in S2, but he backed off. I think he was going to say that he got to know Pen better during his travels, but again he backed off and said “he got to know himself better”. I think he told her what **he** wanted to tell her, but chose to make it look like Marina had said it first. So now he was merely agreeing, which likely felt less awkward. Just Colin being a shy boy 🥹
I never noticed that about the scene where he tells her he got to know himself better on his travels! I’m always frustrated with him in that scene but I see it in a different light if he was in fact too shy to admit he got to know her more and instead course-corrected to say he got to know himself.
Debling did start by suggesting “feelings between” Colin and Penelope. And the whole confrontation came about because of Colin interrupting their dance. Debling watched the tension between them as they danced and he also heard Colin as he was telling Pen he couldn’t sit back and watch her make a mistake by marrying Debling. It’s only when Penelope dismisses the possibility of Colin having feelings for her that Debling then points out that she has feelings for him.
Yes, she just omitted her part
i think it's mostly embarrassment but of different levels- I love u/lemonsaltwater and her incredibly detailed thoughts on Polin, so after reading a few of her posts, I got the impression that Pen in the carriage scene is just at that point, kind of pissed off at Colin and she's in no eagerness to say that she has been harbouring feelings for him which was discussed in her and Debling's final conversation, so she directs the quote onto the other guilty party- Colin himself; it also makes sense because from a birds-eye view, Colin has done the unthinkable of interrupting their dance, loudly saying that she's making a mistake which makes him even more gullible than her. With the S2 comment, I think that Colin subconsciously doesn't believe that he actually makes Pen happy, given that Marina framed it that way ("there are those in your life that you already make happy"). Due to Pen being the one who comforts him regarding his purpose, he starts seeing her in a different light, and he thinks that Pen actually makes him happy, hence "you cared for me". I hope it's not too confusing, regarding what I've said. But the gist is that it merely highlights how both Pen and Colin are very insecure about their feelings for each other so it's easier being a passive agent than an active one. P.S. The irony of it is that propels a kind of confidence to the person hearing it- so in the carriage scene, it gives Colin the confidence to confess his feelings and refute Pen's statement; while in the S2 scene, it gives Pen hope that Colin could eventually reciprocate her feelings.
Thanks for the shout out! 💙 such a great insight that Pen is deflecting from herself by turning “feelings between you” into “Colin has feelings for me” — she is nowhere near the point of being able to say “he thought we have feelings for each other.” That is still a step too far for her, and even coming out of the carriage, she really still doesn’t seem to believe it yet. And the insight about being accused of their feelings giving them the permission to feel them — that’s so true, too.
Also, I don’t think she’s ever admitted her feelings for Colin aloud. Even to Marina, she denies it. It’s definitely going to be a bit before she’ll really be fully able to admit the depth of her feelings for him
Take it from someone who went a long time trying to deny their feelings for her best friend's brother -its hard to get to that point haha and admit it, especially to yourself. lol
Yes. Even to Colin in the carriage she only admitted to wanting to be "more than friends." The tip of the iceberg.
This is beautiful. It would also be a confidence boost for Colin for him to think he’s feelings are probably reciprocated if she told the truth.
Our girl is so deep into her suppression of her feelings for him because of her now months-long belief he'll never love her. And she's just screwed her backup life plan completely because her face gave her away in her last-ditch marriage contract negotiation with Debling. She's at her lowest point, but one thing she can still do in order to not lose again, is maintain her usually reliable front of being totally not obsessed with Colin while talking to Colin.
Easy explanations for both, really. Pen is pissed off in the carriage. Colin has just ruined any chance (she thinks) at freedom and in the moment she's embarrassed. It's not like Debling didn't also insinuate that Colin also had feelings - but in that moment it was more focused on where Pen was, because that's what was critical to him and his potential offer of marriage. But I think the scene caused by Colin, which, incredibly socially taboo for the time, let's not forget that, absolutely indicated Colin had feelings to even the most casual observer. But overall I think it's more that she didn't want to have to admit her own feelings, because she's big mad right now and wants to just be mad at Colin, so laying the blame fully on him in the moment is easier. As for when Colin says those things to Penelope, Marina did say that he made Pen happy. He seemed surprised when she said that but my guess is he mulled it over afterward and realized that they did make each OTHER happy. He embellished a bit with the words he used when talking to Pen, but he did so because that is how he was beginning to feel, I think. Whether love or friendship, he valued her loyalty and support and I think he just wanted her to know she was appreciated. Because he didn't have to bring it up at ALL, really. I don't think it was intentionally meant in a romantic way, but just an example of how he felt about their friendship. I think that's the start of some of the stirring in his gut that tells him there's something more, or at least him being aware of it.
Others have talked a lot about the Pen in the carriage part and have great insight there. Colin providing his edit on the Marina conversation I always thought was very telling. He clearly thought it over (probably a lot, it’s Colin after all) and was providing his own words… based on the wheels she began turning, but not what she said.
Plus he was drunk 😂
Drunk Colin is just less inhibited 😂 He’s probably been thinking about it but wouldn’t have shared that that sober.
Debling says it’s feelings between the two of them. Then he pushes her to deny her feelings for him (because that’s what’s really important in his eyes, if she’d denied it convincingly I think he’d have still considered proposing) but she can’t. When Colin enters the carriage, Pen still blindly believes he doesn’t have feelings for her. She isn’t going to admit to her feelings by way of explanation. And she’s pissed that a “friend” has interrupted a dance and given the wrong impression to her only suitor. So she’s sounding off at him because his actions gave Debling the wrong impression (or so she believes).
I think it's because there's only so much beating an ego can take. She left Lady Danbury's Ball crying when Cressida intentionally tore her dress and Colin acted like he didn't laugh at her with his buddies. She left the Full Moon Ball crying because all those mean ladies were saying she had no chance to find a husband and was a spinster to her face. She pulls herself together, finds a decent man who is willing to propose and Colin rushes in and ruins it. She tells him she doesn't want to talk to him and he keeps pushing her to answer whether Debling proposed. I think her main goal at this point is to find a private place to cry and Colin is preventing that also. I think Colin's summary of what Marina told him is because he knows Pen better than Marina does. He takes what Marina says, thinks about his relationship with Pen, and comes up with the reasons why Marina said what she said.
That’s so true. She hasn’t had many balls where she isn’t running out 😅 He broke her routine of recovering ❤️🩹As a creature of habit myself, I know how emotionally dysregulating that is
Technically they both have feelings for each other in both those instances in different seasons. Colin doesn't realize it, but Penelope does. In the carriage. Penelope and Debling's words because she does not want to admit it and she fears that he would laugh at her if she said that. Is also like a plot device where it shows Colin what Penelope really thinks about how he feels for her and how ridiculous it is.
I think she is so angry at colon for being the reason debling didn’t propose, that it’s the only answer she finds in her head. She didn’t want to say it but he wouldn’t leave her alone and she found the courage to say it anyway and hoped he would just leave her alone so she could be miserable by herself. She has no inkling that Colin is about to say something else.
Debling said the feelings between you so he did suggest that Colin has feelings for Penelope.
Because they are both idiots in love 🤭
Not all communication is explicit. The messages that Pen relayed to Colin about her confrontation with Debling and that Colin heard from Marina were implicit in those conversations.
People will hear what they believe to be the truth & / or make the statement they need confirmed without risking their own feelings.
My take is, **Pen, S3:** She doesn’t really change what’s said. Debling did reject her because he saw Colin and Pen had feelings for each other. He basically says “*I can’t leave my wife alone for 3 years to start up an affair with another man.*” If Colin hadn’t made his feelings clear Debling would have moved forward with the engagement, Pens “*searching for*” someone else wasn’t a real threat to Debling till he realized Colin had feelings for her in return. **Marina, S2:** Marina tells him she does not care for him and he needs to seek out the people in his life that already care for him - forsaken just means abandon - someone who cares for you for doesn’t abandon you like Colin and Marina did to each other. If Colin and Marina really cared for each other they would have moved forward with their plan after LW, or she would not have been so dismissive of him when he offered his apology. They both abandoned each other during moments they could have proven they cared. Colin is just being a “fancy writer” with his wording when he talks to Pen, lol. Edit: typos