Chapter Text
It was a shame, really, that Edwina came down with a horrid cold the moment she stepped foot into Aubrey Hall. She had hoped to use the days their two families were alone together before the other prominent families of the Ton arrived, to get to know Lord Bridgerton and his family better, deepen their courtship and – if all went well – see it to a proposal before the return to London.
The attention the Viscount had paid her over the past weeks had been very kind and attentive, courting her valiantly, but Edwina longed to get a proper grasp of the man. She wanted to really get to know him to make an accurate judgement on how good of a match their spirits would make. Ballroom conversations, and small moments surrounded by the rest of the Ton had given them only so much space to talk freely – or talk at all.
She knew that they were of similar minds when it came to the topic of children (the both of them wanted them) and their families (both had agreed on the importance of their respective families and a desire to keep them close), but Edwina felt like they had much more to discuss before she felt comfortable accepting a proposal. Before she would bind herself to this man for the rest of her life and become his in every sense of the word, his in the eyes of men, God, and the law to do with as he pleases. Before she could accept him, she wanted to pick his mind on so many more topics, like his interests, his dreams for the future or what he would expect from his wife. Edwina wanted to be sure he was right for her and would do right by her.
It had all started out so perfectly, their journey went by a lot faster than she had anticipated, and Aubrey Hall, a magnificent house surrounded by plenty of well taken care of land, was everything a young woman could dream of. The Viscount had gathered his family on the front steps of his ancestral home, and she had felt so lucky when they all greeted her openly and with easy smiles. The Bridgertons were a welcoming bunch, though obviously on their best behavior. Edwina was glad she wouldn’t need to overcome the hurdle of an overprotective sibling the way Lord Bridgerton had to with her own sister.
The Viscount had introduced her to the last member of his family she had not yet met, the Duchess, before he officially welcomed her to his family seat, the pride in his voice evident. Pride easy to come by in the face of such a beautiful home.
Sadly, they merely exchanged pleasantries before everyone was ushered inside. Being near him was always nice, but never quite enough, the special something Edwina had secretly dreamed she would have – would feel – during her courtship was not there. She had to remind herself that there would be so much more time for these feelings to blossom if they married and were allowed to be alone, without any distractions. And surely, they would blossom if the two of them got to know each other and saw each other agreeably matched.
Edwina entered Aubrey Hall on her mother’s arm, a part of her had wished that she could’ve done so on the Viscounts, but he had hung back, overlooking their families, instead of joining their little procession inside.
The entrance hall was grand, a display of the family’s wealth and history. All Edwina could do was to look around fascinated while chatting to the Duchess, hoping to ask after the origins of some of the paintings when she started sneezing.
By the time her mother and Lady Danbury had bundled her up and got her settled in her room, the sneeze had turned into a cough.
Edwina had tried to assure her sister, mother, and Lady Danbury that she was fine, that a little rest would renew her spirits, but they wouldn’t hear of it. Someone had sent for a doctor and Edwina endured the man’s examination for her anxious mother and sister, who had been fretting over her the whole afternoon. He had attested her with a rising fever and a cold, on his orders she was to stay in bed at least for a couple of days.
It took quite a while to convince her mother and Lady Danbury that she was well enough to be left with only Kate watching over her. Finally, the two ladies had gone down for dinner and Edwina then turned her persuasiveness on her sister.
She begged Kate to be on her best behavior for the week and get to know the Bridgertons in Edwina’s place, so the trip would not be for nothing. Her sniffling nose and the persistent cough must’ve made for a miserable enough picture that her sister took pity on her and obliged without many objections.
Kate, the ever-obedient sister, took Edwina’s request to heart and must’ve set out with a list to check off the names of every single Bridgerton, because she came back soon after with her findings about each one of the Viscounts siblings, present at Aubrey Hall.
This is how Edwina spent a whole afternoon listening to an excited Kate chatting on and on about how lovely the Bridgerton children were. Kate talked about the love for art she had in common with Benedict, the books she had discussed with Eloise, and the games she had indulged Hyacinth and Gregory in playing. The relaxing morning Kate had spent with Francesca, who had played the piano for her while they were talking about the girls’ favorite composers. She told her about the fascinating tales Colin had shared from his travels and the advice Daphne had given her on how to best navigate the Ton.
She saw how much care her sister had put into getting to know each individual Bridgerton sibling, and how eager she was to share her findings with Edwina in great detail. Kate always took her tasks so seriously but for once Edwina could only be glad for it.
It took several hours, but later that night Edwina realized that Kate had not spoken a single word about the Viscount, about Anthony – hadn’t, in fact, for several days now. While she had taken every chance to rant about all his bad qualities previously, Edwina could only guess that Kate had taken to avoiding him instead of picking a fight with him at every turn.
Perhaps it was for the best, in a few days she would be restored to good health and would be able to join the fun around the estate, there was no need for Kate to keep the Viscount busy in the meantime. Or to agitate him to the point that his displeasure with Kate would in turn reflect badly upon Edwina.
*
One evening, her mother, sister and Lady Danbury regaled her with the tale of what appeared to be the Bridgerton families favorite sport – a ruthless game of pall mall. Between the three of them they managed to paint such a lively picture that it nearly felt as if she had truly been there for it, though she never quite got the answer how cutthroat the game must’ve been for Kate to end up with mud all over her dress.
The next day, Edwina had sent her sister off to take her dinner with the Bridgertons, while their mother kept her company over the trays that had been sent up from the kitchen for them. While she was nibbling on her food, her mama marveled on how well Kate got on with the youngest two Bridgertons.
Ever since their father had died, Kate had refused the notion of finding a husband for herself. It broke her and their mothers’ hearts, as they knew that Kate had a deep longing for children of her own – and Edwina couldn’t believe that her sister had lost her romantic heart either. Both of them hoped that maybe the time she was spending with the young children would sway Kate’s made-up mind.
Thus, it was much to Edwina’s delight to hear that Kate was regularly found with Gregory and Hyacinth, teaching them the games the Sharma sisters had played in their own happy childhood.
*
A couple of days abed turned into a week, her cough persisted but at least the fever had gone down, and yet Edwina could still only hear stories of the activities everyone got up to.
The day the rest of the invited guests were set to join them, her mother brought the breakfast tray with an amused smile. She had just left her other daughter in the sunroom, Kate and Benedict Bridgerton had planned to each do a still life painting before they wouldn’t find another quiet minute in the house for the foreseeable future. The quiet must’ve not lasted long because when Mary had bid her daughter goodbye, she and Benedict had apparently been egged on by the Viscount and Colin Bridgerton to turn their leisure morning into a drawing competition.
Upon hearing this Edwina had mused to her mother how, after her marriage to the Viscount, she might have to try and set her future brother-in-law up with Kate. Her and Benedict Bridgerton were of a similar age and their shared interest in arts was promising. She could already see a nice, peaceful future where the Sharma women didn’t need to be separated, Kate would stay in England and marrying into the same family would keep them close to each other.
It seemed like half the Ton had arrived at Aubrey Hall soon after, their chatter could be heard all the way from the front lawn up to Edwina’s window.
That afternoon Kate had – somehow – ended up joining the gentlemen on their hunt, though most Edwina heard of the excursion had been a rant on loud, incompetent men who weren’t able to properly track quarry. When Edwina had asked after the Viscount and his brother, Kate ensured her that they had been on their best behavior and that their time was overall agreeably spent.
Between the exhaustion of her cold and the happiness in the face of Kate’s good relationship with the family Edwina hoped to make her in-laws soon, sleep found her quickly that night.
Thus, she wasn’t woken up when Kate snuck out of their room at midnight after she had been scared awake by a summer storm thundering outside their window.
Neither was she woken by her sister’s return in the early morning hours, after the storm had finally relented, a book clutched tightly to her chest. Creases on her cheek as if she had slept with her face pressed to fabric not long before.
*
The excitement for Lady Bridgertons annual Hearts and Flowers ball seeped into every crack of the house the next day, so much so that even Edwina, still confined to her bed, was bursting at the seams with glee. The doctor had cautioned her to keep to her bed still, but she had felt much recovered already.
She was left in the care of a maid, tasked to keep her company, and entertain her, while her mother and sister would join the ball downstairs. Kate had looked beautiful when Edwina had sent her off, hair pinned up, a few loose strands curled to frame her face, and a soft anticipating smile on her lips that Edwina had never seen on her sister’s face.
Her mama was the first to return, anxious to get back to her sick daughters’ bedside. Edwina couldn’t really be mad that her mother cut off her evening short for her sake, as it gave her ample chance to pester her for any detail about the ball.
Lady Mary was happy to indulge her daughter and gave a thorough account on the decorations, the dresses the other ladies in attendance wore, and what pairs had taken to the dance floor.
Eagerly she shared that Kate, who had tried to stay out of the action by chatting with Eloise Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington, had been asked for a dance. The man in question had been the third son of a Baron and Lady Danbury had promised that the gossip about him was nothing but honorable. Maybe there was a chance after all for Kate to stay in England, maybe the right dance partner would convince her.
Then Edwina steered the conversation to the man she had hoped to dance with this evening, if she hadn’t fallen ill, the Viscount. Her mother was happy enough to gratify her daughter’s interest as the man in question had proven himself to be quite a hero that night. Cressida Cowper apparently had started provoking poor Penelope Featherington, after Kate and Eloise were swept away to the dance floor, when Viscount Bridgerton intervened. Giving Miss Cowper the direct cut, he had asked the youngest Featherington to join him on the dance floor and spend the set making her laugh. Edwina wanted to swoon right there and then; this was how a true gentleman should behave.
He had danced the next set with Kate, her mother told her, and Edwina was glad to hear that he not only had asked her sister, but that they apparently had made it through a set of dancing without any sort of argument. Her mother described the dance almost as friendly, while they exchanged only a few words it sounded to Edwina like the man she was courting and her sister had finally found it in themselves to bury their hatchet.
Edwina fell asleep soon after, even though she had tried her hardest to stay awake as she had hoped to press her sister for every single detail of the ball as well. Deep asleep, Edwina didn’t wake up when her mother gave her a kiss on the head and left for her own rooms – she too missed Kate entering the room, dress rumpled, hair opened, and eyes swimming in guilty tears. She missed how her sister distractedly traced her swollen lips with a finger, before – at the sight of Edwina peacefully sleeping – guilt fully overcame her and Kate had started to sob, quickly pressing a pillow to her face to muffle all sounds.
So it went that Edwina recovered, just in time for their scheduled departure back to London, none the wiser that their stay at Aubrey Hall had irrevocably changed her courtship with the Viscount after all.