Work Text:
When you and Anthony married, you had expected for Anthony to be busy at times, being Viscount Bridgerton and being occupied with Eloise’s debut, but you had hardly expected for your husband to stop coming to bed all together. You hardly saw him throughout the day, him opting to stay in his study and work through balances and papers that he deemed important.
You really only saw him at breakfast, in which he stuffed his face in a matter of 10 minutes, pressed a kiss into the crown of your head, gave a goodbye to the Bridgerton family, and rushed off to his study. You at first thought that he was seeing Sienna again. When the two of you were just friends, you had saw how he looked longingly at her during Daphne’s season. You wished above anything that he would look at you that way. When she left however, Anthony began to dote on his own family, and with time, you and him began to court. For the longest time, you doubted his love for you.
When you first suspected he was seeing Sienna again, while he was out at his club, you ransacked his study. Your filtered through papers, looking for Sienna’s name or anything else that could have belonged to Sienna. When you found nothing, you put the office back in place and left to sleep.
Now that the possibility of Sienna out of the way, you turned to the possibility of Anthony overworking. So one night, you stayed up as long as you could with your mother-in-law, reading in the main room.
You heard Violet sigh and looked up from your book. Your nightgown was covered by a soft blue robe and your [H/L] [H/C] hair out of the braids it had been in before. Violet set down her book on the side table and stood.
“Well, I must be getting to bed. I must take Eloise to the modiste in the morning.” Violet said softly. She brushed her dress for imaginary crumbs and walked over to you. She brushed your hair down and kissed your forehead.
“Good night, Violet.” Violet smiled at you.
“Good night [Y/N].” She replied before walking out of the room. You sighed and looked at the candle that was still burning in the candlestick next to you. You closed the book and pulled your legs out from under you, grabbing the candlestick and putting your book on the sofa. You walked over to the doorway with the candlestick, walking towards the door to Anthony’s study. The door was open and you could see the soft candlelight coming from inside.
You placed your candle on a table outside the room and walked inside. Anthony was hunched over a stack of papers, his quill in one hand and the other hand holding up another paper. When you slippers hit the wood floor, he looked up. Immediately, the frustrated frown that had been etched on his face slipped and his face softened. He set the quill and paper down and leaned against his chair.
“Sweetheart. Why aren’t you in bed? It’s late.” Anthony said. You shrugged and walked over to him, Anthony grabbing your waist so that you may be standing as close to him as possible. You stroked your hand over his hair.
“I’m worried about you, Darling. You are working much too long, you can hardly think throughout the day. Come to bed and leave this for the morning.” You pleaded. You knew that it was a very low chance that he would actually take your advice but you could try.
He shook his head.
“No, I have to finish these tonight. They are very important, my dear.” Anthony took a long breath as he looked back down at the pages. “I’m very sorry.” You nodded and kissed his temple before moving from his arms.
Anthony’s face fell.
“Alright. Well, I’ll be in bed, whenever you come there.” You said as you walked out the doorway and into the dark hall, the soft light of the candlestick illuminating your way to Anthony’s bedroom.
@
You were just dozing off, the smell of Anthony’s cologne invading your nose from his pillow, when the door to the bedroom creaked. Your eyes snapped open and you shot up to see who was entering your room. Your heart was pounding before calming when you saw Anthony pressing a finger to his lips, a candle in his other hand.
He closed the bedroom door behind him and walked over to his side of the bed, setting the candle down. As he stripped from his day clothes and opted to sleep in a pair of sleeping trousers, you pulled the covers back so he could tuck in.
“What are you doing here? Don’t you have to finish work?” You asked quietly as Anthony slipped into the warm bed next to you. He blew out the candle, leaving only the moonlight streaming through the curtains to light the room. Anthony pulled you down onto his chest, and you felt sleepy as his heart thrummed and his warm fingers ran up and down your bare arm.
“I believe that I have been neglecting my wife. And I apologize my love, that was never my intention.” Your heart swelled at Anthony’s words.
“Thank you darling.” You felt Anthony press a kiss to your head.
“Go on to sleep my dear. I will be here.” And with his words of encouragement, you fell into a comfortable sleep, surrounded by the scent and warmth of Anthony.