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Chapter Text

Taking in a deep breath of the rich sea air, you could not stop yourself from reminiscing on the events in your life that led you to standing alone on a bustling port near your hometown of London.

Thinking back, you could not identify the exact moment your life had taken such an unexpected turn. You just knew that at some point, it did. You also knew there were many moments in your past that could have been the catalyst for how you ended up here.

The moment of your birth came to mind as you began to take in all the activity occurring around you.

You had been born to the Marquis and Marchioness of Dorchester almost twenty-five years ago on what you were told was a beautiful Summer morning. Your father’s noble line went back centuries and your mother was the high-born daughter of an Earl. Though their match had been arranged, you knew they had loved each other by the time you arrived. Even in your earliest memories of them, there was nothing but contentment in their eyes as they looked at you and one another.

Your childhood was a joyous one! Filled with laughter and play as your parents indulged all of your childish whims, you remember feeling like the epitome of happiness in your little bubble of three.

You remember the feeling because you remember when it started to slowly slip away from you.

Beginning when you were eight, laughter seemed to leave your life when your mother did. Lost at sea when the ship she was on capsized during a storm, it took a while for you and your father to get used to her absence. And because you so strongly resembled her, it took a while for your father to get used to you.

Never really being able to look you directly in the eyes again, a distance grew between you two as you both grieved the late Marchioness.

But as the years went by and the pain minimized, so did that distance. You were fourteen when you finally felt like your relationship with your father was starting to repair, but those feelings changed when he brought a new woman into your life.

A well-born widow with a daughter of her own near your age, your father insisted she was exactly what you needed. Marrying your father when you were fifteen, things began to slowly change with the addition of her presence. Gradually being excluded from dinners and family outings under your new stepmother’s influence, you could not remember when you last spent time in the presence of your father.

But you do remember the next time tragedy struck your home.

No more than six months into your father’s second marriage, your new step-sister fell ill with a fever. In your kindness, you had tried to care for her only to become sick yourself.

In order to keep the sickness from spreading to others in the house, a physician had suggested you both stay quarantined within your rooms for everyone’s safety. A week later, you walked out of your room completely on the mend.

Having succumbed to her illness that same day, your sister-by-law never left her room again.

You could not be sure how her death affected your stepmother as she never allowed you to see her emotions, but you did know how her daughter’s death affected the way she interacted with you.

Not even pretending to be polite with you anymore, she only spoke to you when completely necessary and with barely concealed disdain. It was a wonder your father never noticed, but you were smart enough to read through the lines.

She did not like you and she wanted you to know it.

That is why you know the true catalyst moment of your life came when your father died three years later. At the young age of eighteen, you remember being told that he had an unexpected heart attack and that, thankfully, he did not have to suffer for long.

Since no will could be found, you were left in your stepmother’s care and she was left with all of his assets. However, because she could not be bothered with you, she arranged for you to live with your father’s sister—located in another country—for the foreseeable future.

And that is where you have been for the past seven years. You had truly started to believe that you would never see London again when you received one fateful letter. A letter that made you realize your life was about to shift once more.

“My Lady?”

Turning to look in front of you, you saw that you were being addressed by what looked like a footman.

“Yes?” You replied with the slightest bit of hesitance.

Bowing before you, the footman said, “I am from the Danbury Estate. I was sent by Lady Danbury to escort you there as soon as you arrived.”

Handing you a letter with her family seal on it, he and another footman proceeded to pick up your trunk before leading you to a carriage. Helping you in and closing the door, you leaned back and got comfortable as they made the horses pull off. As the carriage began to move, you remembered the letter.

Breaking the wax seal on the envelope, you pulled out a slip of stationary and saw the words,

“Welcome Back”

Written elegantly on a notecard and nothing else.

Despite what you were up against, you could not help allowing one small, genuine smile to grace your lips as you turned to look out the window and take in all the sites you had missed.

Chapter Text

Since the two footmen had picked you up in the early afternoon, and it took about an hour to reach the Danbury Estate, you arrived at the decadent mansion just in time for tea.

Being told your luggage would be taken directly to your room upon arrival, you were immediately escorted to the drawing room in order to officially greet your host.

The butler escorting you properly announced your presence before stepping aside and allowing you in. As you entered the beautifully decorated room, you saw a person who had to be Lady Danbury rise from their seated position with a practiced grace you marveled at. Once at her full height, she turned and finally laid her eyes on you. You watched as her face blossomed into an expression of inviting warmth. When an equally warm smile spread across her lips, you knew that you had made the right choice in coming here.

Dropping into a respectful curtsey, you opened your mouth and said,

“Lady Danbury, please allow me to say what an honor it is to make your acquaintance once more. I cannot thank you enough for allowing me to stay in your wonderful home.”

A small smile grew on her face, and there was a moment of silence where she just regarded you before she said,

“So formal?”

Though you were a little confused as to what she meant, she continued before you could ask.

“As I recall, I was Aunt Agatha to the young lady whose mother I practically raised. I know it has been some years since we have last seen each other, but I would hope something as frivolous as time would not cause me to lose such a title.”

She finished with a teasing note and her arms held out to you.

As understanding filled you, you could not stop yourself from racing into her arms and melting into the maternal embrace.

“Of course not,” You said over her shoulder. Pulling away, you smiled brightly before continuing.

“You will always be my Aunt Agatha.”

Returning your smile, Lady Danbury grasped one of your hands gratefully as she led you both to sit down on the chaise. She dismissed the remaining servants from the room before giving you her undivided attention. You two then spent a while catching up on each other's stories. You told her about your travels and she told you about all the gossip you had missed while away from the ton. It was a pleasant conversation that you were enjoying until she unintentionally brought up the elephant in the room.

“And how is the Marchioness?”

In a poor attempt to avoid the question, you decided to take a long sip of your tea rather than reply. Taking note of this oddness, Lady Danbury continued to ask her questions.

“Will she be joining us before the start of the season or will she arrive at a later date?”

You kept your eyes focused on the now empty tea cup held in your hands as you finally answered.

“She will not be participating in the season with us.”

Confusion settled on your Aunt’s face as she asked,

“Whatever do you mean, child? Every mother wants to be there for her daughter’s first season.”

With a tight smile, you absentmindedly replied, “Yes, well, Stepmother prefers to not be involved,”

And hurriedly added almost as an afterthought, “With the season! She does not like being involved with the season!”

Another moment passed before Lady Danbury asked,

“Does the Marchioness know you are here?”

Swallowing, you said, “She knows I am here in London, yes.”

Picking up on what you were not saying, your Aunt finished your statement.

“But she does not know you are staying with me, correct?”

Faced with the truth, you could only nod.

Still not seeing the reason for keeping that a secret Lady Danbury asked you why you would do such a thing.

With a deep sigh, you explained.

“She does not react well when I come into contact with things that were connected to my mother.”

Needing more information, Lady Danbury imploringly said, “Meaning?”

Rather than try to explain again, you decided to give an example.

“She once caught me looking at a miniature of my mother. My father had commissioned a few of them over the years and kept them in a small chest box.”

Looking down, you admitted, “I just wanted to be reminded of what my mother looked like, even if it was just from a likeness on a painting.”

Your eyes had taken on an unseeing look as you got lost in the memory. They sharpened into focus when you remembered the way it ended.

“Stepmother threw the whole box into the fireplace, and made me watch as it burned.”

Silence rang out as your words sunk in. Trying not to recall the pain of that memory, you continued talking.

“That said, I have learned what not to share when it comes to my mother.”

Now feeling exposed, you tried to make the conversation slightly more lighthearted and jokingly finished,

“And staying with my mother’s favorite Aunt definitely falls on that list.”

Rolling her eyes at your attempt at humor, Lady Danbury snippily replied,

“I was your mother’s only Aunt.”

Before she stood with the assistance of her cane and began a slow pace in front of the fireplace.

A long while passed while she contemplated all the information you had given her. Things began to slowly sink into place as she suddenly understood why you had stopped reaching out to her after your father remarried. But if you were forbidden from interacting with any components of your mother’s life, then what were you doing here now?

Voicing that exact question as she returned to her original seat across from you, she watched as you tried very hard not to fidget under her scrutiny.

After you took a moment to figure out how to answer, you finally began to speak.

“Stepmother has presented me with…a challenge to say the least. I simply must outmaneuver her if I am to be the one to come out on top, so to speak.”

Having gotten a refill of tea while Lady Danbury paced in front of you, you took a delicate sip while she asked another question for confirmation.

“So…you two are in a contest of sorts?”

But knowing your dilemma was direr than any frivolous contest, you could not help clarifying your situation with outright honesty.

“Lady Danbury, we are in a fight to the death. I have been forced to participate because I know she hopes it will be me that perishes.”

Shocked, your Aunt asked in an unbelieving voice, “My apologies, but has she somehow, despite being a lady, challenged you to an affair of honor?”

Letting out a small laugh at her words, you stated through your chuckle,

“No, we shall not be meeting at dawn to duel,”

Before you suddenly grew somber and said,

“Though, I suppose that would be one way to put an end to all of this.”

Fed up with the mystery of it all, Lady Danbury simply made her demands.

“Dear girl, do stop beating around the bush and tell me what is going on.”

Only withholding the truth for another moment, you realized almost instantly that it was foolish to try to keep a secret from Aunt Agatha. She had been able to read you like a book from the day you were born.

Therefore, you only allowed one more moment to pass in which you weighed the pros and cons of confiding in her before you chose to be truthful and tell her of the news you had recently learned yourself.

“Stepmother says she will engage me to her Uncle if I do not marry before the end of this season,” You said in a quiet voice. “He has said things before that lead me to believe he will not be…kind.”

Appalled, Lady Danbury exclaimed, “Uncle?! Is that man not twice your age?”

Not being able to withstand the unsettling nature of the situation, you could only confirm the answer to the question in a hollow voice.

“A little more so I am told.”

Finally comprehending the situation you were in, your Aunt digested this information like medicine she did not want to take. It was terrible going down, but would be useful later. Now that she knew, she could do something to help. That said, she had to ask you one more question.

“And what do we have in the arsenal to avoid such a fate?”

She could not help but notice the slightly sly smile growing on your lips while you answered,

“I am so glad you asked.”

By the time you finished explaining, she was proud to say her smile was just as sly.

Chapter Text

You spent hours discussing and refining strategies.

By the time dinner was announced, you realized you and Lady Danbury were more like-minded than you initially thought when it came to scheming, but that just made you even more grateful to have her as an ally.

With there still being a few weeks before the official start of the season, you spent your time relearning the dances and etiquette of a proper, young lady. This was something you decided was necessary given you had spent the last seven years out of the country. Knowing there was little room for error in the coming months, you felt you should do everything you could to increase your chances of having a successful season. Soon, your skills returned to you as if they had never left.

When the time came to attend your first ball, you were more than prepared for everything that would come with it. And because you helped Lady Danbury plan her infamous first ball of the season, you knew every aspect of the grand party that was to be had. You both agreed that knowledge was power, so having an idea of what was to happen gave you an advantage over the other debutantes.

Having the support of your Aunt also helped to strengthen that advantage. Taking you to the modiste after seeing the limited amount of clothing you had been allowed to bring, she ordered you an entirely new, enviable wardrobe that fit you perfectly. When she continued her generosity by gifting you a set of family jewels, you were officially ready to be reintroduced to society.

As you walked into your first ball, you realized the reintroductions would be necessary.

No one seemed to remember who you were, but they apparently all knew about you.

Overhearing two conversing Mamas, you learned that the gossip column belonging to a Lady Whistledown had announced your return to England just this morning. Emphasizing the fact that you were the daughter of a Marquis, the author spoke favorably about you and welcomed you back to the ton in their column.

“Hopefully, that will work in my favor”

You thought as you took a sip from your flute of sparkling wine.

Stood next to the refreshments table in your beautiful ball gown, you raised the glass back up to your lips as you took in the sights around you. You could see many affluent members of society mingling with one another as music played in the background. Seeing many fake smiles, you felt a pang of amusement hit you as you wondered why people with so much power voluntarily withstood people they do not like for the sake of propriety.

Slightly shaking your head to yourself, you thought,

“That could never be me.”

You were brought out of your musings when you heard a familiar voice to the side of you ask,

“Are you looking for someone?”

Turning, you were surprised to see you were being addressed by the person you remembered as Anthony Bridgerton.

Up until your father died, you spent countless afternoons at the Bridgerton House. One of your best playmates had been the eldest daughter of the household, Daphne Bridgerton, so you were over there a lot. The last time you saw any of them was when you were fifteen and your father was getting remarried. They all came to the wedding, but after your stepmother officially received her title, she slowly cut off any and all contact you had with them. Soon, ten years passed without a word.

But even a decade of time could not make you forget what Anthony looked like.

You were only speechless for a moment before you found your words.

“No, my Lord. I was merely taking in the sea of faces.”

You said with a kind smile.

You saw his eyes narrow at the sound of your voice before he found himself asking,

“My apologies, but have we met before?”

That is when you remembered your earlier reflection that no one seemed to remember you. And it would appear that included the brother of your former best friend.

You could understand why he did not recognize you. You were merely his younger sister’s playmate the last time you saw each other. Since he had already inherited the title of Viscount when you first met Daphne, he was always busy whenever you came over. Therefore you truly had only ever seen him in passing.

But a glance was enough to make your young heart flutter.

So it should have come as no surprise that his intense gaze now made your heart pound furiously in your chest.

Trying to keep your composure, you went to answer his question when you saw Lady Danbury approaching from behind him.

“Come child, the Queen is about to make an announcement.”

Giving an apologetic smile and a quick curtsey, you walked past Anthony to make your way over to your Aunt.

Because your back was to him, you did not see it, but Lady Danbury later told you that his eyes never left your figure as he stared after you inquisitively.

You reached her just as horns sounded to get everyone’s attention and the Queen stood to address the crowd.

Once it was completely silent, she began to speak.

“In a room full of flowers, your Queen seeks out a gem. That is why it is my pleasure to announce to you this evening, the season’s Diamond.”

She gave a dramatic pause and you could see the anticipation building in the room. You took your eyes off the Queen to discreetly look around at all the wishful Mamas clutching at their daughters in the hopes that it will be their child that wins this honor. You began to wonder who it would be when you heard something you did not expect.

You heard your name.

Loud and clear.

You heard your name!

You heard it as the Queen made her announcement with pride to the entire ton and gracefully gestured towards you for them all to see.

Shock hit you so hard you could only turn to Lady Danbury with an astonished look and a wide smile on your face. She wore a proud smirk as she applauded with the rest of the crowd.

With all eyes on you, you were elegantly escorted to stand in front of the Queen. You dropped into a respectful curtsey with your head bowed before you felt the Queen lift your head with her forefinger underneath your chin as you once again rose to your full height.

Seeing the most eligible bachelors beginning to line up behind you, the Queen picked out the most affluent one before addressing him in front of you.

“Viscount Bridgerton.”

The shock of being named Diamond of the Season did not compare to learning that Anthony was currently standing behind your back.

Turning to look at him, you heard the Queen continue.

“Have you met my latest gem?”

As your eyes met, you could see him looking at you with a spot of familiarity twinkling in his gaze.

And you had one thought within that moment as you realized with a thrill one simple thing,

“He remembers me.”

Chapter Text

You were in a slight daze as you were led to the dance floor.

Not really hearing the conversation between her Majesty and Anthony, you had to work very hard to keep the surprise off your face when he offered you his hand.

You had looked towards the Queen for guidance when this happened, and in return, she gave you an encouraging nod with a slightly devious smile on her face that somehow brought you comfort.

So with your hand on his arm, you both made your way to the floor for the first dance just as music started to ring out. Other couples had joined you and you all began to move in sync as the beautiful sounds filled the room.

You had a hand on his shoulder and he had one on your back as you danced through the first movements. A few more moments passed where you just went through the steps before he spoke.

“I did not know you were back.”

Surprised, your gaze over his shoulder switched up to his face only to find his eyes already on you. Swallowing, you found the wall over his shoulder again as you responded.

“Yes, I did not make it known to anyone.”

He kept his eyes on you a moment longer as he thought back on the last few minutes of his life.

He had started this morning willing to take a wife.

He had entered this ball ready to marry the Diamond.

And he had initiated this dance not prepared to believe his luck.

In fact, he had been beyond prepared to hear your name leave the Queen’s mouth as she made her declaration. He knew it well since he thought about it often, so it was surprising to hear someone else announce it to the entire room.

Even so, it was all the confirmation he needed to be assured that the beautiful, young lady he had been talking to at the refreshments table, was you.

Up until you two had spoken, he had been trying to get to you for what felt like hours. Having spotted your radiant beauty the moment you walked into the ball, he made several attempts to make his way over to you, but kept getting stopped by pushy mothers shoving their daughters in his face. He nearly thought he had lost sight of you when he spotted the rich color of your skin by the refreshments. As he neared you, it became increasingly clear that you outshined everyone in the room. And thanks to the Queen, he now knew he was not the only one who shared this opinion.

Glancing up to look over your shoulder, Anthony heard you boldly say in a soft voice,

“I am surprised you remember who I am.”

Through a quick chuckle, Anthony replied more to himself than to you.

“As if I could forget the name.”

As you recalled him asking if you had met only minutes ago, you sarcastically murmured loud enough for him to hear, “Well, you did forget the face.”

However, before your words could truly sink into the air around you, he declared without hesitation,

“I forgot nothing.”

Taken back by the strength of assurance in his voice, your eyes found his once again.

“I simply did not want to get my hopes up.”

Your brows furrowed and you went to ask him what he meant just as the music came to a close and you realized the dance was over.

Giving him a curtsey as he gave you a bow, you both rose at the same time.

Not quite ready to leave your presence, Anthony held his hand out to you once more and asked,

“Would you like to come see my family? I know they have missed you.”

As he saw you hesitate just the slightest bit to take it, he quickly added on,

“Daphne is here!”

And really, a chance to see your former best friend was an opportunity you could not pass up.

Therefore, you could only light up and smile as you took his hand and he led you to another part of the magnificent room. Finding his family on the outskirts of the crowd, you easily made your way towards them.

You could not help joyfully saying, “Daphne!” as she came into view.

Looking around to see who called her, her eyes widened as she gasped your name.

You both hurriedly made your way towards one another and gave the biggest hug once you met in the middle.

Not realizing you had an audience, it was like you were young girls again as you each pulled away with bright smiles and began frantically trying to catch up.

“How have you been?!”

“Where did you go?!”

“Is that a ring on your finger??”

“Who made your dress??”

You would have kept going if Daphne’s mother had not intervened.

“Ladies, while I am sure there is much to discuss, perhaps we can discuss it at a later date.” She finished with a kind smile and her arms opened towards you.

Remembering this woman was like a second mother to you, you gladly returned her embrace as you happily exclaimed, “Lady Bridgerton!”

When Lady Danbury joined the fray, you all quickly made plans to have tea as soon as possible.

As Anthony watched on at how natural you were with his mother and sister, he had a startling realization.

“I may have to alter my plans.”

Chapter Text

Plans for tea were set for as early as the next day as you four discussed it.

The excitement you and Daphne felt at being reunited was palpable and could not be contained! Rather than force you to wait till the next social affair of the season to meet up, both Lady Danbury and Lady Bridgerton agreed that such a reunion should take place sooner rather than later in the privacy of your homes. Since you were simply borrowing Lady Danbury’s lodgings, it was the Bridgerton’s who extended an invitation to come over for tea. It was an invitation you were happy to receive and one you eagerly waited to use as night turned into day. But in your excitement, you forgot one thing.

You had been named the Diamond of the Season.

As such, you should have been expecting the number of bachelors that arrived at the Danbury Estate to call on you the next day, but you were still taken back when you saw how long the line of men truly was. While a part of you wanted to find a way to get out of speaking to so many people, the bigger part remembered that your future was on the line here, so it was in your best interest to find a way to get through this instead.

Realizing there was no way for you to make it through the queue of potential suitors and make it to the Bridgerton’s for tea, you quickly composed a note explaining your situation and sent your regrets to Daphne.

Knowing she would understand, you settled onto one end of the couch in the drawing room and began to slowly make your way through the line of gentlemen. You watched each man enter the room holding a gift that was meant to be a token of affection for you. But as the room filled with flowers and chocolates, you knew that their affection had to be false when each man sat down next to you and only took the time to talk about himself.

Your mind had started to become increasingly numb as you lost count of how many esteemed members of society you had been forced to converse with when there was a sudden commotion at the door.

Turning your head to see what was going on, you could only allow your jaw to drop the slightest bit when the butler announced to the room with a hurried touch,

“Viscount Bridgerton.”

And in an almost bizarre fashion, the man who owned the name quickly pushed his way into the room.

Seemingly out of breath from getting here in such a rush, Anthony had to take a couple of deep breaths before he addressed the room that was staring at him. Turning to your Aunt after composing himself and giving a quick bow of his head, he said,

“Lady Danbury,” In a greeting voice before turning towards you and doing the same.

“My Lady,” He finished by looking directly at you.

Sending an apologetic smile to the gentleman seated next to you (who had been going on and on about something you could not remember), you stood from the couch to give the Viscount a respectful curtsey.

Before you could open your mouth, Anthony cut in and said,

“I hope you are well?”

Giving a grateful nod at finally being asked about yourself, you replied with a slightly timid smile,

“Yes, I am well.”

You ended up staring at one another for a moment before Lady Danbury promptly cleared her throat.

Clearing your own, you finally said,

“Forgive me, my Lord, but we were not expecting you today.”

The lord in question had to pause as if he had not considered that before he found his words.

“Yes, well, I was breaking my fast with my family when we received your note. I am afraid my sister insists you keep your appointment.”

With a look of confusion, you could not help curiously asking,

“...and she sent you here to relay that message?”

Like the older brother he was, he scoffed lightly at the idea of his little sister commanding him to do anything. As if begging you to never think such a thing again, Anthony said, “Please,” before he finished stating what really happened.

“I volunteered to make the trip.” And allowed a small, confident smile to remain on his lips after his declaration.

You could not pretend that your stomach did not instantly erupt with butterflies when you heard his words, so you had to remind yourself to try to hold onto your decorum-dictated poise. Still, Anthony could not pretend he did not see a small smile growing on your face.

Bringing you out of your musings, your Aunt chose to voice the very question you had just been about to ask.

“May I inquire, Lord Bridgerton, why such a busy man would take the time to do such a time-consuming thing?”

Though, perhaps you would not have asked it in that way.

Having seen the way he looked at you the night before, Lady Danbury assumed that whatever excuse he came up with, it would be one that hid his true feelings.

And Lady Danbury was nothing if not always right.

So when he said, “Frankly, I felt duty-bound to come.”

Your Aunt did not keep the knowing smirk from greeting her lips as she gave an intrigued, “Oh?” With a raised brow.

Taking that as his cue, Anthony began to explain.

“Yes. You see, I have a great love for my family. So if any opportunity to bring them happiness presents itself, I feel obligated to take it.”

Locking eyes with yours, he said,

“Your presence would bring great happiness.”

Although it was understood your presence would bring happiness to Daphne, Lord Bridgerton knew he had included himself in that statement, whether he acknowledged it or not.

But with that statement, your stomach began doing flips. You were grateful that your complexion did not allow you to blush as it would have been a dead giveaway as to how you felt in this moment. But as your body began to fill with giddiness at Anthony’s words, the gentleman whose name you had forgotten chose that moment to stand indignantly and sharply say with an exasperated whine,

“The Lady is already occupied!”

Neither you nor Anthony appreciated the way the man spoke of you as if you were a toy about to be taken away from him, but it was Anthony who said something about it.

“Good sir, the Lady, as you put it, promised to have tea with my sister. Since the Lady is as honorable as they come, I am sure you would not want to be the cause for why she has to break her word.”

As the man next to you started to sputter while trying to come up with a retort to such a clever verbal trap, your Aunt came to your rescue.

“I shall have no one question the honor of my niece!”

Turning toward her butler in the room, she decisively said,

“Prepare a carriage! We are going to Bridgerton House.”

But before the butler could leave to make the arrangements, Anthony cut in once more.

“Actually Lady Danbury, there is no need,” he said with a triumphant smile. “I have come in a carriage of my own with the hope that you would allow me to bring you both to Bridgerton House myself.”

Turning back towards you, he explained,

“There is more than enough room for you, your Aunt, and myself, so we should be quite comfortable on the journey there.”

Realizing that all eyes were on you as they waited for you to make a choice, you decided to turn back to what you now knew was a childish gentleman and apologetically said,

“Forgive me Sir, but it seems I am already engaged for the afternoon. Perhaps we can get to know one another at a later date?”

You ended it like a reasonable question, but you said it like a rhetorical statement that needed no answer and took joy in the way the man gave a huff and stomped out of the room past Anthony.

Telling the butler to inform the crowd of suitors still waiting outside the door that afternoon tea was over since you were leaving the premises, you could easily hear the symphony of disappointed groans echo from the hallway and shared an amused smile with the Viscount when you did. Holding his elbow out towards you, he then said,

“Please, allow me.”

And escorted you and Lady Danbury outside to his carriage after they had all left. He waited for the footman to open the door before helping you inside. When he did the same with your Aunt, you expected her to get in on the same side as you as propriety dictated. So when she climbed into the carriage and sat the opposite way, your eyes widened as you looked at her questioningly.

You almost could not believe that when Anthony climbed in and easily decided to sit next to you, she chose to reveal that it was all an ingenious plan by sending you a discreet wink from across the aisle. Shocked, but having nowhere to go, you tried to make yourself comfortable in your chair before taking a slight glance at Anthony. Having never been so close to a man before, you could only swallow inconspicuously as the Viscount settled into the seat. When he ended up consequently pressing his side into yours, you could only think,

“Uh oh…”

Just as the doors closed and the carriage began to pull off.

Chapter Text

You pulled up to Bridgerton House feeling tense to say the least.

With every bump in the road, you and Anthony had been thrown together multiple times within the carriage. Profusely apologizing on both ends every time it happened, you both continued the cycle before deciding to accept the inevitable closeness. You still tried to remain as motionless as you could in order to reduce the number of incidents, and so, arrived at his beautiful home a little stiff.

However, that stiffness instantly melted away when Anthony climbed out of the carriage first and stuck a hand out to help you down as well. Taking it gratefully, you could not help but notice the gentle firmness of his grip as he held on until you were safely on the ground.

When his helping Lady Danbury down did not seem to take nearly as long as your assist did, you tried not to read into it.

Entering Bridgerton House, you were immediately taken with the grand decorum of the foyer before you heard an unexpected exclamation of your name.

Turning, you saw Daphne and her mother making their way towards you from the hallway. Returning the embrace Daphne gave you, you were instantly confused when she pulled away with a smile and said with excitement,

“What ever are you doing here? I thought you could not make it today.”

Not seeing Anthony frantically shaking his head from side to side behind your back until after she finished speaking, Daphne could only freeze when you replied.

“Oh? Well, Lord Bridgerton said you insisted we keep our appointment today...”

Looking back at him for confirmation, you only saw him encouragingly start to nod his head when your gaze fell on him.

You turned back with a weak smile now feeling unsure of yourself. That feeling only grew when the new Duchess unthinkingly said,

"I did?"

Seeing her brother throw his hands up in exasperation behind you and Lady Danbury, she finally understood what was happening and said again with a bit more confidence,

"Yes! I did."

Relieved, you saw her give you a warm smile as she entwined her arms with yours and began to lead you all to the Bridgerton drawing room. She took an unnoticed glance at her brother, before looking at you with a brighter smile. If the peek she took told her anything, it was that you were soon to get an upgrade on your title as her unofficial sister.

You both took seats on the couch as your Aunt, her mother, and the Lord of the house found seats elsewhere. You had thought it odd that Anthony had remained with you all, but before you could dwell on it any longer, your once best friend began to ask you a question she had inquired about the night before.

"So, where have you been?"

Only explaining that you had been staying with your father's sister out of the country, you strategically tried to move the conversation away from such a topic.

"Forget about me though! What of that ring on your finger? Who is the lucky beau?"

Blushing slightly, and glancing down at the diamond with fondness, Daphne told you all about the story between her and her husband, Simon. Telling you she already had a nearly one-year-old baby named Augie, you could not help informing her,

"I am so pleased for you Daphne! Making a love match within our station is so rare. I am very happy it found you!"

Daphne delicately chuckled at your kind words before you both turned towards Lady Bridgerton as she asked with a smile,

"And what of you, my Lady? Have you found anyone who has piqued your interests?"

Taking this moment to take his focus off the letter he was pretending to write as he sat at a table away from the ladies, Anthony made sure to tune into your response.

But being the strategist you were, you evasively answered the question.

"Well, a debutante can never have too many choices."

You said with faux haughtiness. Taking your answer for what it was, Lady Bridgerton gave an amused laugh. You all paused to take sips of your tea, and after she placed her cup back onto her saucer, Lady Bridgerton decided to ask the girl she practically helped raise another question.

"What of any new hobbies? I know the last time you were here, it was books that called to you."

Smiling bashfully at the reminder of one of your most favorite pastimes, you tried to be modest as you replied.

"Oh, yes, I have definitely picked up a skill or two during my time away."

Giving a slight laugh at your choice of words, Daphne said with a touch of reprimand, "Come now, do not be shy about telling us of what I am sure are your many talents."

Grateful to your friend for the push, you decided to be a bit more forthcoming.

"Well, I suppose I am fond of languages."

Delightfully surprised, Lady Bridgerton repeated your words with a question.

"Oh! Languages, you say?"

Becoming somewhat excited yourself, you continued to explain.

"Yes! I just find them fascinating! Especially the romance languages."

And while Anthony knew that in this case, "romance" was a word referring to a specific group of foreign tongues, he still could not stop himself from freezing as he heard you use it in a sentence. But luckily, no one noticed as all the attention was on you since you were the last to speak. However, it was your Aunt who spoke next.

"Dear girl, what ever is a romance language? Is it some new form of communication for you debutantes to use as you ensnare available men?"

You all gave jovial laughs at the absurd question before you chose to answer anyway.

"Certainly not, Aunt!" You said through your laughter. "The romance languages are modern languages that evolved from Latin. As such, they share grammatical and phonetic similarities. So if you can learn one, it makes learning the others much easier."

Impressed at the way you were able to simplify such an explanation, Lady Bridgerton could not help curiously asking,

"And pray tell, do you speak any of these languages?"

And though her mother had asked you, it was Daphne who began to answer on your behalf.

"Well if French is one such language, I know that she speaks that exceptionally well. She was even the one to help me with my French when the tutor could not break through to me."

Not used to such praise, you almost became shy before you remembered your mother's words that said allowing your light to shine a little did not mean you were dimming someone else's. So you placed a thankful hand over Daphne's, before turning to address the room from your seated position on the couch.

"Yes, French is one such language. I also know Spanish and I am currently trying to learn Italian. It is a goal of mine to learn all five of the most common romance languages spoken in the world."

And then finished your statement by giving a small smile and taking a casual sip of your tea while the rest of the room looked at you with shock.

Not realizing Anthony had been paying attention all this time, you almost jumped when you heard his voice incredulously ask,

"You speak three different languages?"

Surprised, you turned towards him before correcting him with visible confidence and a slightly teasing smile on your lips.

"Forgive me, my Lord, but I know enough Italian for it to be considered four, not three languages."

Instantly deciding that was his favorite look on you, Anthony replied.

"Ah, well if that is the case, then it is I who must beg your pardon."

But since you were feeling slightly emboldened in his presence, you did not think about the rest of your audience when you immediately responded from behind the cover of your teacup with a touch of innocent playfulness,

"Lord Bridgerton, you may beg for my pardon for as long as you like."

And took another calculated sip as the room once again paused at your words. Every lady present, except for you of course, took a discreet glance at the Viscount in order to gauge his reaction while sly smiles grew on their lips. Speechless at the speed of your wit, Anthony could only stare at you with shock before he quickly joined the joke and composed his expression into one of good-natured deferment as he conceded to your words. Turning back to face the still blank letter sitting on the table in front of him, he rested his elbow on the wooden surface and put one hand to his temple while taking a much-needed breath.

As the ladies behind him continued to converse and you and Daphne continued to catch up, you all once again paid no mind to the Viscount's presence. He wanted to keep it that way since the more he learned about you, the more resolute he became in the decision his mind was making.

"This is the woman I am going to marry."

Chapter Text

A few weeks had passed since your wonderful tea with the Bridgertons.

You were happy to say your friendship with Daphne had returned to what it once was, and your status as best friends had been re-established.

You knew it was official when Lady Danbury informed you that it had been reported about in the Lady Whistledown column. Commending you for making such an advantageous friendship, the author of the column publicly wondered if your friendship was remade in order to get closer to a certain Viscount.

While you knew that it was a ridiculous notion, you also knew you could not fault the anonymous writer for coming up with such a theory. It did not escape your notice, or the notice of the ton, that every time you made plans with Daphne, her eldest brother seemed to accompany you both.

Whether it was a pleasant stroll through the park or a mundane trip to the modiste, he was never far behind when you were involved.

You soon grew used to his presence and began to happily anticipate being in it just as much as you looked forward to spending time with Daphne.

“If not more so.” You sometimes secretly thought to yourself.

And though you did not know it, Anthony was beginning to feel the same way.

Starting off by telling himself that he was only accompanying his sister in order to confirm his choice of wife, the Viscount had reached a point where he could no longer pretend seeing you was for practical reasons.

In fact, seeing you made him want to defy all logic.

Because logically speaking, he knew he should try to minimize the contact he had with you if you were to become his Viscountess. Knowing that any love that developed between you could only lead to devastation, Anthony had tried to keep you at arm's length.

But the more he got to see and interact with you, the more drawn in he became.

So he figured it was a good thing this Lady Whistledown had all but declared you as his in the latest issue. In the eyes of the ton, the appearance of a courtship was almost as binding as an actual one, and so made other potential suitors back off.

But while this worked in Anthony’s favor, he was unaware that it most certainly did not work in yours.

Your stepmother’s ultimatum had only begun to ring louder in your ears as time went on. The more time that passed without a proposal in sight, the closer you knew she was to victory. And while you would not change your friendship with the Bridgertons for one second, you had to admit that your reunification with them had unintentionally presented a few challenges.

To overcome these challenges, you and Lady Danbury agreed that it was in your best interest to mingle with as many eligible bachelors as you could at tonight’s ball.

Pulling out your most impressive gown, you easily drew attention as you and your Aunt entered the remarkable soiree.

You both had been making the rounds for a while when you unexpectedly ran into Lady Bridgerton. Stopping to converse for a moment, you were not surprised when you were soon joined by her eldest son.

Bowing before you, Anthony had just been about to ask you to dance when an older gentleman rudely pushed his way into your little circle and presumptuously stuck his hand out towards you.

“A dance, my Lady?”

His words formed a question, but his tone demanded compliance.

Not impressed with his manners, you tried to let him down gently.

“Thank you for the offer my Lord, however I am already engaged at the moment.”

And gave what you hoped was a kind, undeserving smile.

But that smile instantly disappeared when, instead of graciously accepting your refusal, the gentleman rolled his eyes and scoffed out,

“Do not be daft.”

Raising a brow of surprise, you said,

“Pardon?”

Jutting his hand out towards you once more, the man continued.

“Let us not pretend this will not be the best offer you get tonight, so try to be worthy of the title of ‘Diamond’ and accept the dance.”

You all stared at him for a moment with astonishment before Anthony calmly said with steel in his voice,

“I am not sure we understand your meaning, Sir.”

Glancing at Lord and Lady Bridgerton as if they were not in their right mind, the so-called gentleman turned back to eye you up and down with poorly concealed disdain before unabashedly saying,

“Well, look at her.”

Still not understanding what he was getting at, you all immediately froze with shock when he finished by explaining,

“Her color makes her undeserving of such an honor. It is only because the Queen favored her that she is worth anything.”

While you were in awe at this man’s audacity and boldness, you could not say you were entirely surprised.

However, what did surprise you was when Anthony took an aggressive step forward and threateningly asked,

“What did you just say?”

As if taken aback by the ferocity coming off of the Viscount, the pathetic man replied as if he had done nothing wrong.

“What? Her color alone makes her inferior.”

That seemed to be Anthony’s breaking point as you saw that familiar thunder cloud his face. But before he could do anything, your pride made you speak up first.

“You are wrong.” You said with so much strength, the lowly Baron standing in front of you paused and offendedly said,

“Excuse me?”

Looking him directly in the eye, you repeated yourself.

“You are wrong.” Making sure to emphasize that you were talking to him.

“My color alone means I will endure more than you could ever hope to handle with more grace you could ever hope to possess.”

Taking an unafraid step into his personal space to ensure your point got across, you continued.

“Either way, that will not take away from the fact that you are a Baron and I am the daughter of a Marquis. I will always be your superior in every situation, and you would do well to remember that.”

Done with your dress-down, you returned to your original place by Anthony’s side. With a kind smile that did not match your tone, you finished the last words you ever wanted to say to such a vile person.

“Now, be a dear and politely excuse yourself once more so I no longer have to remain in your abhorrent presence.”

You all watched as he gaped at you like a dying fish before he embarrassedly gave a quiet, “Excuse me,” before hurriedly walking away.

After he was far removed from your group, your two maternal figures and the young Viscount turned towards you feeling both impressed at your words and concerned for your wellbeing.

Suddenly feeling overwhelmed at the attention, you abruptly said,

“It is a bit stifling in here. I shall step outside for some air.”

And quickly made your way to the double doors that led to the terrace.

Placing your hands on the railing of the balcony once you got there, you took in a few breaths of the cool, night air in order to center yourself. You had been quietly staring off into the distance when you heard a voice behind you say,

“You know you are correct, yes?”

Turning around, you saw it was Anthony standing there with his hands behind his back.

With a sigh, you said, “What I know is that ignorance is ignorance and I refuse to tolerate it just like I refuse to apologize for the color of my skin.”

Making eye contact with him, you started to say, “And if you were looking for such an apology, I am afraid…”

But he cut you off with a gently raised hand and said with sincerity,

“I would never want you to apologize for being who you are.”

You both stared at one another in silence before he began to nervously fidget.

“In fact,” he said swallowing, “Though this might not be the best moment, it is because you are yourself that I would like to ask…”

Coming close enough to take your hand in his, he finished his question.

“...if you would like to become my wife?”

Not being able to keep the surprise from your face, you could only hold his gaze as he went on.

“It would not be a love match,” he unknowingly lied. “But you would be taken care of. You would have as many liberties as you so wished and you would want for nothing.”

And then lightly shrugging, he added with a teasing smile one more perk to persuade you.

“Additionally, our marriage would also make you and Daphne official sisters.”

A short, delighted laugh slipped out from behind your lips before you could stop it.

Looking down at your still entwined hands while wearing a small smile, you heard Anthony ask,

“So, what do you say?”

Meeting his eyes, you thought about the situation you were in. You thought about the fate that awaited you if you said no. You thought about the reaction your stepmother might have if you said yes. You thought about a hundred different things in the span of a few seconds before you opened your mouth and said,

“Anthony, I think there is something I must tell you before I give you an answer.”

And proceeded to explain.

Chapter Text

Even though you could still hear the muffled sounds of conversation and music just beyond the other side of the terrace door, the longer Anthony went without saying anything, the more deafening the silence around you became.

You had been patiently waiting as he continued to pace in front of you quietly. In all honesty, you would have allowed him to keep pacing if not for the fact that your honor would be called into question if you two were discovered alone.

So after he went another moment without uttering a word, you chose to say,

“My Lord.”

While you eyed him promptingly.

Pausing in his steps, the Viscount took a much-needed calming breath before turning to face you. When he met your gaze but still said nothing, you heaved out a sigh and closed your eyes. Raising a hand to soothe your temple, you began to say,

“I can understand that this might not be pleasant to hear, but⏤”

However, Anthony chose that moment to finally join the conversation.

“Pleasant?” He repeated with disbelief, “How is this even possible?”

You had gone to answer, but Anthony did not notice as he continued his tirade.

“Truly! How does a mother just throw away her child to a man twice her age??”

Done with being interrupted, you narrowed your eyes and took an assertive step forward as you firmly declared,

“That woman is not my mother!”

You both locked eyes as your words sunk in. You held each other’s gaze for a moment longer before you sighed again and took a step back. After taking another second to compose yourself, you began to explain.

“She is, and only ever will be, my stepmother.” You quietly started off. “And even then, she is my stepmother in name only.”

Continuing with a slightly bitter smile, you confirmed what Anthony had slowly started to realize.

“She has never cared for me and has arranged for it to be so that she never has to.”

You looked off to the side for a moment, trying not to fall deeper into Anthony’s understanding eyes. But it could not be helped when the next words you said sounded as if they were filled with held-back emotion. Meeting his gaze as tears burned the back of your eyes, you voiced the reality of your situation with a touch of heartbreak.

“I have to marry this season, or she will engage me to her Uncle.”

Comprehending the need for such sorrow, Anthony comfortingly took your hand and imploringly said,

“But I have now offered my hand. You do not have to go through with it!”

Abruptly pulling your hand away from his, you made sure to look directly into his gaze when you frustratedly asked,

“But what is one loveless marriage for another?”

Freezing on the spot, the young Viscount instantly thought about the words he used to propose as he watched while you continued.

“In these past few weeks, where we have done nothing but get to know one another, why do you think I have never once brought this up?”

Not even giving him a chance to reply, you answered your own question.

“It is because had I wanted a marriage of convenience, I would have simply thanked my stepmother for arranging such a match.”

Your expression and tone were strong as you spoke. However, both suddenly softened when you admitted to him,

“But that is not what I want.”

Trying to make him understand, you declared with an innate passion,

“I want someone who will want to be there for me. I want someone whose loyalties I will never have to question.”

Giving a wishful sigh at such a fantasy, you said,

“I want someone who wants to be my greatest friend.”

You had been looking at Anthony while you spoke and he had remained still as he listened.

After you finished, it only took him another moment’s hesitation before he came to a decision.

Gently taking your hand in his again, he quietly stated while looking into your eyes,

“I can be your friend.”

Swallowing and looking down at your now entwined hands, you said just as quietly,

“Friendship is not courtship.”

Suddenly pulling you in by your hands till your chest was pressed against his, your eyes met as he confidently challenged your words.

“Friendship makes the best courtship.”

Furrowing your brow, you hesitatingly asked,

“What ever do you mean?”

Keeping you just as close, Anthony took his turn to look down at where he was gently gripping your gloved hands and began to speak.

“My parents always said the best foundation of any marriage was friendship.”

Glancing back up to your eyes, he continued.

“That is what I am offering.” He said with hope and conviction. “Friendship.”

After looking off to the side for a moment, he started to say,

“And if stronger feelings appear…”

He almost seemed nervous as he began to speak. But by looking into your eyes once more, he found the courage to finish without pause,

“...then we will happily welcome them.”

Still in his arms, you openly regarded him for a few seconds before a sly expression started to grow on your face. As a smirk began to touch your lips, you lightly asked,

“Can I have your word on that, my Lord?”

Not expecting such a response, Anthony said, “Pardon?”

Elaborating a bit further, you repeatedly said,

“Can I have your word that you will happily tell me when these stronger feelings appear?”

Startled, he quickly wondered aloud, “Why is it ‘when’ and not ‘if’?”

Taking a glance down to his lips and then back up to his eyes, you revealed a truth you had only just figured out.

“Because,” You quietly said with nothing but confidence. “We are already halfway there.”

Remembering all the times he must have purposefully sought you out, you thought back on how he only seemed to smile when you made a joke. You thought back on how he always appeared to find reasons to make physical contact with you. And you thought back on how comfortable you felt in each other’s presence.

The more you reminisced, the more you could not believe you had not noticed it sooner.

Anthony’s eyes widened at your revelation and watched as you unconsciously bit your lip in order to contain the wide smile you had as you realized it. When his expression changed to one of suppressed yearning due to watching such an action, and he finally took note of your proximity, he knew your declaration could not be denied.

Conceding and sighing with defeated fondness, he asked with a small smile and slightly narrowed eyes,

“Why do you need my word?”

With a mischievous look on your face, you simply replied,

“Well, I have heard you are a man of honor, and a man of honor would keep his word…”

With a teasingly raised brow, you inquired with a coquettish smile,

“So will you be honorable?”

In a flash, Anthony’s mind decided that being an honorable man was one thing. Remaining honorable in your presence was another.

But as entranced as he was with such a desirable expression on your face, he could only give into your request by nodding while he stared at your smile. When he saw you light up, taking his acquiescence as a victory, he could not stop himself from beginning a slow descent down to your perfect lips.

But before he could reach them, you both heard the terrace door open and you each sprung apart.

Turning towards the doors with wide eyes at being caught in such a position, some of your panic was instantly alleviated when you saw it was just your Aunt and his mother standing in the doorway.

But a portion of that panic also remained as Lady Danbury demanded to know,

“What is going on here?”

Turning your heads towards one another to find a response, Anthony’s eyes told you that the ball was in your court since you never gave an answer to his proposal.

Looking back at your Aunt and Lady Bridgerton as they too waited for an answer from you, you decided to give a content smile while reaching out to take Anthony’s hand in yours before saying,

“Well, I suppose we have an announcement to make.”

Chapter Text

Confirming your engagement with the Viscount was a little nerve-wracking to say the least. But as you watched both Lady Bridgerton’s and Lady Danbury’s expressions morph into ones of delighted surprise, your nerves instantly disappeared.

You and Anthony were still holding hands when the two women rushed over to you. They began to ask questions about a wedding you had not even had a chance to think about planning.

While being bombarded with questions, you took a moment to glance at Anthony in order to see his reaction to your answer as well. You easily fell deeper for him when you saw that he had the widest grin on his face. Seeing him so happy at being engaged to you let you know that you had made the right choice.

Giving his hand a small squeeze when you made eye contact with him, you returned your attention back to the esteemed ladies in front of you since they had yet to finish asking questions and making suggestions.

With a touch of fond exasperation, you interrupted them by saying,

“Please! We have only just gotten engaged. I have no idea what the wedding should look like!”

Hearing that seemed to be simply unacceptable for the two women. So, after moving to stand on either side of you, they each looped an arm with yours and began to lead you back into the ball while they continued to discuss your future wedding.

Turning back to look at your newly minted fiancé, you shot him a look that said, “Save me!”, as you were escorted through the terrace doors.

Your jaw visibly dropped when he raised his brows with a shrug and sent you a look of feigned apology that clearly said, “Good luck with that!”

You barely had a chance to catch his amused reaction at the betrayed expression on your face before you were forced to turn around and engage in the conversation.

Soon wondering if you were going to announce your engagement here at the ball, Lady Bridgerton asked if she should go back for her son. She had just begun to turn when you stopped her by saying you would rather inform the rest of the Bridgerton clan first before you told the rest of society.

Loving that you were already doing your duty as the future Viscountess by thinking of her other children, Lady Bridgerton had to pause before she decided to take one of your hands in hers and say with sincerity,

“You are going to make a wonderful addition to the family.”

Melting at the kindness of her words and the motherly look in her eyes, you made sure your gratitude was known as you gave your thanks with just as much sincerity.

Lady Danbury was just as touched at her friend’s words on your behalf and chose that moment to say with faux haughtiness,

“Well, I would say we have done what we came here to do, my dear girl. Would you not agree?”

A sense of giddiness started to fill you as the reality of your engagement hit.

You were to marry!

Not only that, but you were to marry the man who had been inspiring passionate feelings in you since you were a young lady, not the man your stepmother had chosen for you.

The amount of butterflies that filled you in this moment made you feel like you could walk on air!

With a bright smile you could not contain, you replied using that same haughty tone,

“Yes, I would say we have.”

Giving a decisive nod at your agreement, your Aunt turned to your future mother-in-law before saying,

“Then I think we will retire for the evening now that there is no longer a need to find a suitable match for my niece.”

Side-eyeing you with a smirk, she finished by saying,

“Not when the perfect match has already been made.”

Entertained by your antics and agreeing with her words, Lady Bridgerton gave a joyful smile as she said to you both,

“I completely understand. I will send a correspondence tomorrow to set up a dinner so that we may break the happy news to the family together.”

Nodding your heads at her plan, you each said your proper goodbyes before making your way out of the ball.

Anthony had missed you by a few seconds when he returned to his mother’s side just in time to see you walking away. As Lady Bridgerton watched her son watch you, she found that she still wore a smile as she told him,

“You chose well.”

Giving his mother a boyish grin, Anthony returned his gaze to your retreating figure as he confidently said,

“I know.”

You and your Aunt, on the other hand, had climbed into her carriage before either of you spoke again.

Choosing to speak first, your Aunt said,

“Now, it is because I love and care for you, just as I loved and cared for your mother, that I have to ask,” Lady Danbury began, “Is this what you want?”

Giving an effortlessly happy smile, you replied with barely contained elation,

“This is more than I could have ever hoped for!”

Content with seeing you so cheerful, Lady Danbury allowed her own smile to show before saying,

“Then good on you for securing such an enviable match with the highly sought-after Viscount. If you were not the talk of the ton before, you certainly will be now.”

Giggling at her words, you said with a laugh,

“I am not marrying to be envied!”

Though, with Anthony looking as good as he did, you could easily see how the unmarried half of the ton would feel that way.

Continuing, you began to say, “I am marrying for—”

But cut yourself off as you almost said ‘love’.

Although you knew your heart pounded furiously whenever he was around, you were not so naive that you believed you knew enough about one another for it to be called love.

“Not yet, at least.” You eagerly thought.

Starting again, you chose to say instead with a hint of false decorum,

“I am marrying for security.”

Even though you had caught yourself from saying ‘love’ just in time, your Aunt still seemed able to guess which particular word you were originally going to use.

Eyeing you knowingly, Lady Danbury asked,

“And are we sure that is all?"

Your eyes widened as you understood what she was suggesting and then remembered that you were basically an open book to her.

Not knowing how to respond to her question, you remained quiet for a moment before she chose to answer it herself.

“Because from what I have seen, that boy cannot keep his eyes off of you and you seem to share the same affliction whenever he is nearby.”

With a look that said, ‘Do not take me for a fool’, she repeated her inquiry.

“So I ask again, are we sure that ‘security’ is all you are marrying for?”

As what she implied hung in the air, you could not stop the bashful smile that spread across your lips after she spoke of Anthony and his actions. You tried to hide it by looking down into your lap, but a quick glance up told you that she now definitely expected an answer.

Clearing your throat, you admitted with a slightly shy smile,

“So…this may be more than a marriage of convenience.”

Your Aunt regarded you quietly for a moment before she slowly leaned in as if she were about to share a secret. Leaning in with her, you saw a look of pleased satisfaction cross her face as she whispered conspiratorily,

“That is what I was hoping you would say.”

Easing back into her chair, you knew the conversation was over when she turned to look out the window. You followed her example now wearing a wider smile and contentedly enjoyed the rest of the journey home.

Chapter Text

True to her word, you and Lady Danbury received Lady Bridgerton’s letter early the next morning. Its contents happily invited you both to dinner later that night.

It was a miracle you were even awake to receive the parcel given you were up late thinking about your future husband. Now that you knew it was going to be Anthony, you found yourself looking toward your eventual wedding with excitement rather than trepidation.

It took effort to keep your excitement contained throughout the day, but you knew the effort was necessary. You meant it when you said you wanted to tell the rest of Anthony’s family about your upcoming nuptials before the rest of the world, so you had to be mindful about what you said and how you said it while in the presence of servants who were known to gossip.

Still, that did not stop your Aunt from discreetly trying to pull answers from you about your imminent wedding.

You soon found it amusing to give evasive opinions on what you might like before you told her that nothing would be considered official until your announcement to the Bridgerton’s was made and accepted.

So as your carriage pulled up outside their home just in time for the dinner hour, you were not surprised that an element of anxiety remained with you. You could only hope they would be just as happy about the news as you were.

You tried to hide your nerves as you and Lady Danbury were escorted into the drawing room where you found all eight Bridgerton children waiting with their mother. They were all preoccupied with their own devices until you both entered.

To no one’s surprise, it was Lady Bridgerton and Daphne who immediately moved to greet you. But, in meeting Anthony’s eyes from across the room, you could see he had been the one who wanted to greet you instead.

Tapering down the smile that wanted to grow on your lips, you returned your attention to Lady Bridgerton as she reached you and said,

“Welcome to our home once more,” She began. “I trust that you have had a pleasant day?”

Sending a secretive smirk in your direction, your Aunt chose to answer for the both of you.

“Well after the twists and turns of last night, how could we not?”

Picking up on her meaning, Lady Bridgerton’s smile started to turn just as secretive as Daphne reached out to take your hand.

“Come, meet my husband! I have been dying to introduce you two.”

Dragging you over to where you had missed another man playing marbles with the youngest Bridgertons, Daphne waited till her husband stood up before introducing you both. Giving your proper name and title first, your best friend then turned while saying,

“And this is Simon, the Duke of Hastings.”

You each gave a cordial bow towards one another as etiquette dictated. But after that one move, the serious decorum that momentarily surrounded you seemed to leave your conversation when Simon took a teasing glance at Daphne before saying,

“So, I am told you were around during my wife’s formative years. Surely, you have many interesting stories you could share?”

Giggling at the mortified look growing on your friend’s face, you immediately decided you liked this man as you instigatingly replied,

“Well, one or two stories do come to mind.”

Hurriedly turning back to you, Daphne glared playfully and insistently said with disbelief, “You would not!”

Looking back at her just as playfully, you could only shrug and say,

“What? As your husband, he has every right to know about the time we wanted to find fairies in a pond only for us to come back empty-handed and covered in mud.”

Simon instantly gave a laugh as you finished, loving the image you created in his head of his wife. You were just about to join in on the laughter when you heard a voice behind you repeat your words.

“Covered in mud, you say?”

Eyes widening the slightest bit as you heard Anthony speak, you flusteredly thought,

“Well that backfired.”

And could only turn your head and watch as he joined your little group. Feeling a touch of embarrassment because he also heard your story, you listened as the Viscount then continued with obvious amusement while looking directly at you.

“I would think that you would have wanted to leave the mud behind, no?”

There was an undefined challenge in his eyes as he spoke to you, and since you were never one to back down, you forgot about your embarrassment as you narrowed your eyes with humor and airily responded.

“Not at all. The mud made great accessories for our dresses.”

Catching eyes with Daphne, you finished by jokingly saying,

“Well, it did once the mud dried and we could no longer get it out.”

You all laughed once again at the ending to your absurd story before you heard the butler step into the room and announce dinner.

You watched as Simon naturally offered his arm to his wife before escorting them both into the dining room.

You were about to make your way there as well when you saw Anthony extend his arm out to you from the side of your gaze.

He had just made eye contact with you when he said,

“May I?”

Giving a small smile at his request, you replied without hesitation, “You may.”

Easily taking his arm, you allowed him to lead you from the room.

Making it to the dining table to find everyone getting ready to settle into their seats, you were just as nervous as you were happy to find that you and Anthony were going to be seated next to each other for the duration of the meal.

You could only assume that was Lady Bridgerton’s doing and mentally thanked her for it as you sat.

Since you had basically grown up in this house alongside the other Bridgertons, this was not the first meal you were having at their table. As such, you were more than comfortable conversing with your fiancé’s many siblings. You pleasantly spoke with Benedict about his art, Colin about his travels, Daphne about her baby, and Eloise about her books. You continued by talking to Francesca, Gregory, and Hyacinth about the latest game they had learned to play, and even spoke with Lady Bridgerton about the next soiree she might host.

As Anthony watched you maneuver through each conversation flawlessly, he could not help taking your hand underneath the table and giving it a grateful squeeze. He was grateful for your kindness to his siblings. He was grateful for your enthusiasm with his mother. And more importantly, he was grateful for the obvious love you had for his family. Everything about you just seemed to be perfect.

Pausing, you looked towards Anthony when you felt the pressure on your hand. Once you were looking into his eyes and saw that it was a deliberate action, you smiled and freely gave a squeeze back. After returning your smile, Anthony let go and went back to his meal. However, after watching such a display from across the table, Colin could not help loudly asking,

“Brother? What has you grinning so widely down there?”

When everyone stopped to look at you two, you tried to come to his rescue by saying,

“Oh, we were just laughing at an earlier joke.”

While your smile remained untameable.

But that seemed to be the wrong thing to say as all the Bridgerton siblings grew expressions of confusion at the same time.

Bold enough to voice her confusion, it was Eloise who said to the table,

“Anthony? Laughing?”

Looking at her second eldest brother sat across from her, she doubtfully asked Benedict,

“Have you ever seen such a thing?”

Playing along, Benedict responded with a touch of feigned concern,

“No, I cannot say I ever have.”

Rolling his eyes at their antics, Anthony finished taking a sip of his wine before he stood to address the room with some exasperation.

“Yes everyone! I laugh now.”

You all gave amused chuckles at his expense.

You then watched from your seated position as his expression visibly softened in the most adorable way once he laid his eyes on you. Reaching out to take your hand in his again, Anthony waited for you to stand as well before speaking once more.

“In fact, I am pleased to announce that I will continue to have laughter in my life because this enchanting woman,” He said while looking at you, “Has done me the greatest honor in choosing to become my wife.”

With a look of pride, he finished speaking and turned to look out towards the table.

Sound left the room as everyone but Lady Bridgerton and Lady Danbury looked at you both with shock. But the silence only lasted a moment longer before all of his siblings instantly stood up in order to congratulate you at the same time.

Getting warm hugs from all sides, you knew you would never again have to wonder who your family was as his readily welcomed you into the fray.

Once you were all seated again, it was Daphne who asked when you would announce your engagement to the ton.

Turning towards one another with genuine smiles on your faces, you answered by saying,

“Well, we only knew that we wanted to inform you all first.”

However, after placing your still held hands on top of the table for all to see, Anthony spoke up after you finished and said,

“But now that you all know, I will ensure it is properly announced in the papers within the coming days.”

And while addressing you, assuredly added,

“With your permission, of course.”

Still wearing a smile, you gave a definitive nod at his plan.

The meal joyfully continued on with each of his siblings asking excited questions. You were able to answer most of them until Hyacinth eagerly asked,

“What do you think the Queen will say?”

Your mind took a second to process her words as you realized with a start that the Queen would definitely have something to say about your engagement. Being the one to “introduce” you two, you could only imagine the reaction her Majesty might have once she found out. As her Diamond, you knew she would inevitably be invested in whomever you were marrying.

Looking back to Anthony as he realized the same thing, you both had the same thought as you locked eyes,

“Well, that should be something to look forward to.”

But, as you also decided that the Queen was something for another day, you both returned to engaging in conversation with the rest of the table. And as the night went on, it did not escape your notice that he never once let go of your hand.

Chapter Text

As he promised, Anthony had an announcement put in the papers in the days following the dinner.

You were so caught up in your happiness that you honestly forgot he was even going to do that. Now that all the important people in your life knew and supported you and Anthony, you were unconcerned with anyone else’s opinion.

But that did not stop the rest of the ton from giving their unsolicited opinions to you anyways.

Since the announcement had been made, you kept getting stopped by random people at random times for various reasons. Some wanted to warn you that a former rake would never be a good husband. Some wanted to ask how you were able to secure such a match. And some simply wanted to congratulate you on your news.

Regardless, everyone was now aware that you and Anthony were to be married.

The idea was still so foreign to you that you found yourself constantly wondering if you were in a dream. Two months ago, you were as poor as a pauper with very little hope that you would be able to escape the fate your stepmother had waiting for you. Now, you were engaged to marry your childhood crush who also happened to be one of the most esteemed men in society.

“Reality has never looked so good.”

You thought with a thrill as you reflected on the future.

You and your Aunt were currently sitting in the day room as you made plans for your upcoming wedding. In order to avoid any suspicious rumors of scandal, both families had agreed that you would properly have the banns read for the next three weeks, as was required by law, before you would marry the following week.

This was the compromise your future mother-in-law had made with her son since he had wanted to seek out a special license so you could marry within the next few days instead.

He was eager, to say the least.

You supposed you were as well as a month of waiting seemed like an eternity to you. But as you continued to sit here and make plans for the wedding, a month of time also seemed like it would not be long enough to get everything done.

There were a hundred minuscule details that you apparently had to decide on. As the list in your hand grew longer and longer, you wondered how you were ever going to make it through such a pile.

As you continued to try to figure everything out, a footman entered the room holding a silver tray. When you and Lady Danbury turned to acknowledge him, he bowed and extended the tray out to your Aunt while saying,

“A letter, my Lady.”

Lady Danbury thanked him as she took it before she dismissed him. When she turned the envelope around and saw the wax seal was that of the royal palace, she made sure to show it to you before breaking it open.

You watched with anticipation as she pulled out the slip of stationary and began to read aloud.

“You are hereby cordially invited to have tea with her Majesty this afternoon…”

She continued by reading the details before holding the invitation out to you.

You took it in order to confirm those were the exact words written on the card since you could not believe you had received such an invitation. While you knew the Queen would have something to say about your impending nuptials, you had no idea she would want to say it to your face.

You then tried to reel in your panic as your mind instantly started to think about what you would wear, what you would say, and how you would say it since you knew the Queen expected nothing but excellence.

In the end, your panic was brought down to a manageable level by the time you and Lady Danbury were being escorted down the hall that led to the royal sitting room at the palace. You could only assume that was because you saw Lady Bridgerton and her son there to meet you at the door.

Surprised, but grateful for their presence, you all exchanged your greetings before you took Anthony’s arm and spoke to him in a hushed tone.

“What do you think she will say?”

You asked with a slightly worrisome voice.

In a comforting gesture, Anthony put his hand over the one you had on his arm and said,

“I am sure it will be nothing but positive things.”

Choosing to agree with his optimism, you took in a breath as the doors were opened and the Queen’s presence was announced.

You all then entered the room to see that her Majesty was already seated.

After he led you in, you gave a small thanks and let go of Anthony’s arm in order to take a seat next to your Aunt as was proper.

But since the Queen had taken note of how comfortable you and the Viscount had looked while walking in together, she said with a small amused smile on her face,

“Please, do not sit apart on my account.”

You all paused for a moment before you gave her a shy, but thankful smile and proceeded to switch seats with Lady Bridgerton so that you were now sitting next to Anthony.

Once you were all settled, and the tea had been served, you immediately gave your attention to the Queen as she began to speak.

“Lord Bridgerton, it has come to my attention that you have finally decided to marry.”

Though her words made a statement, the raised brow she gave as she spoke told you all that this was a question she wanted answered.

“Yes,” Anthony replied while turning to give you a small smile, “It was the easiest decision to make once I met this amazing woman.”

Surprised at his kind honesty, you looked into your fiancé’s eyes and visibly melted at the sincerity you saw in them.

After watching your little interaction, the Queen’s amusement returned as she said,

“You are free with your compliments, Viscount.” She began with a smirk, “As her future husband, I hope you know that it is now your duty to rain down as many compliments as you can on my Diamond.”

All the women smiled when he responded by saying, “It would be the greatest honor to do so for the rest of my days.”

Still wearing a subtle smile, the Queen allowed her penetrating gaze to fall on you before she addressed you directly.

“And how are you, child? Reveling, I hope, in your victorious match?”

Then added on while giving a sly glance to Lady Danbury and Lady Bridgerton,

“No doubt helped along by my introduction.”

You did not even try to hide your grateful grin as you said,

“Yes, your Majesty. It has been a wonderous few days! I can only hope that I have lived up to the expectations you honored me with when you chose me to be the Diamond.”

Briefly remembering that awful Baron from the most recent ball, you finished by saying, “I know not everyone agreed with such a choice.”

After recognizing the look on your face, she regarded you quietly for a moment before putting her teacup down onto the saucer. She then began to speak as a reflective look grew in her eyes.

“People are always jealous of the things they cannot be.”

Locking her eyes with yours, she confidently declared,

“Because your loveliness cannot be matched, people will always try to rain down on your parade. But it is because you shine extraordinarily bright that I chose you to be my Incomparable.”

Continuing, she said,

“Take the title for what it is and never allow anyone to steal away your light, dear girl.”

Picking up her cup once more, she finished by saying,

“Because if anyone ever tries to, they will have me to deal with.”

And then proceeded to take a delicate sip of her tea as if she had not just made a threat.

Grateful for her words, you took a moment to swallow down your emotions since you knew that her explicit support was not something to take lightly before you looked at the Queen with gratitude shining in your eyes.

“Thank you, your Majesty.”

Her smile was kind as she waved off your thanks, but it suddenly turned predatory as she began to hunt for the unreported details of your engagement.

“Now, tell me, when is the wedding to take place?”

Grinning like fools, you and Anthony looked towards one another as you answered.

“It will be a week after the banns are read.”

Deciding that met with her approval, the Queen gave a nod before also asking,

“And pray tell, where will it be held?”

This time, it was Anthony who answered.

“We were thinking of having it at Aubrey Hall, my family’s estate in the country.”

However, the Queen’s sudden gasp told you that she had a different idea.

“No!” She disagreed with an excited gleam in her eyes. “I was the one to bring you two together, so I will be the one to oversee your wedding.” With a definitive look, she said, “It will take place here. At the palace. For all to see!”

Taken by the surprise of her offer, you could not keep the astonishment from your voice as you began to say,

“Your Highness, we could not ask that of you—”

But she cut you off by insistently saying,

“You did not ask. I simply decided.”

Happy with such a decision, she began to stand which signaled the end of the tea. You all stood with her as she said,

“But I do encourage you to take your trip to the country. For once you return, things will be nothing but hectic.”

Nodding, you all gave your proper bows as she exited the room.

With Lady Danbury and Lady Bridgerton now leading in front of you both, you and Anthony followed behind as you made your way toward the doors you had originally come through.

As the two women in front of you talked about what was just discussed, Anthony leaned down to quietly say to you,

“I really am looking forward to showing you Aubrey Hall.”

Looking back up to him, you smiled and gave an intrigued, “Oh?”

Smiling as well, Anthony said, “Yes, there is a particular gazebo that I would like to show you.”

Confused, you repeated his word and questioningly asked, “Gazebo? What is so special about a gazebo?”

You did not notice Anthony’s smile turn devious as he replied with a bit of coyness,

“Its location is what makes it special.”

Knowing that it was in a reclusive corner of the estate gave Anthony many ideas for how you both could possibly spend your time together.

But before he could think about it any longer, you all had reached the carriages which meant it was time to say your goodbyes.

Taking your gloved hand, your husband-to-be made sure to hold your gaze as he raised it to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss to your knuckles. Lowering your hand, but still keeping ahold of it, he said,

“We will make all the arrangements tomorrow and will depart for the country in the coming days.”

Still visibly swooning at his intimate gesture, you could only nod your head at the plan and allow him to help you into the carriage after Lady Danbury.

Your Aunt was eyeing you as you settled in and waited for the horses to pull off before she said with a teasing note in her voice,

“I saw that.”

Your eyes went wide as you instantly became flustered at knowing she had witnessed Anthony’s lips pressing against your hand. So, you cleared your throat and proceeded to avoid her gaze by looking out the window instead.

While she laughed at your embarrassment, you decided that after everything that had transpired, you could allow a small smile to remain on your face as well.

Chapter Text

You were up at dawn in order to be on time for your journey to Aubrey Hall. Since the trip would take most of the day, you knew you would have to get an early start if you wanted to arrive before nightfall.

With your trunks secured to the back of the carriage, you and your Aunt made your way to Bridgerton House first as was planned.

Upon arrival, you saw all the Bridgertons gathered outside standing in front of a slew of their own carriages. As they prepared to figure out who would sit where, a footman helped you step down and outside of your Aunt’s carriage so you could say good morning to everyone. Once they spotted you, all of Anthony’s family members said their greetings before Anthony himself made his way over to you.

He had just opened his mouth to say something when you heard his mother cut in and say to him from a distance,

“You will be sitting in the first carriage, dearest!”

Since Lady Bridgerton’s tone gave the impression of a command rather than a suggestion, you understood that Anthony had just been about to ask to join you in Lady Danbury’s carriage. The disgruntled look that grew on his face as he learned that would not be the case only confirmed your suspicion.

Tickled at how miserable he instantly looked at such an idea, you tried to lift his spirits by saying,

“It is only a half days journey, my Lord. We shall see each other again in no time.”

But your husband-to-be decided to come for your heart when he simply replied,

“An hour away from you is too long, let alone half of a whole day.”

A smile easily grew on your face at his words, but before you could respond, Daphne had made her way over to you both and said,

“Stop your whining, brother. Simon and I should love to keep your fianceé occupied on our way to Aubrey Hall.”

Looping her arm with yours, she turned to you while saying,

“Besides, we have much to catch up on.”

Recognizing the teasing, mischievous look in her eyes, your smile suddenly turned shy as you realized you were most likely going to be gossiping about your best friend’s brother for the majority of the trip.

And as you pulled off, that is exactly what happened.

With Simon and Lady Danbury catching up across the aisle, you and Daphne sat next to each other and conversed in hushed tones as she asked you question after question about you and Anthony.

While you answered each of her inquiries, Daphne began to comprehend the feelings you had for her brother. Since you spoke about him the way she spoke of the Duke, she knew that you would soon be looking at your relationship as a love match rather than as the marriage of convenience you told her it would be.

Either way, in all your conversations, time flew by.

Before long, you were all pulling up to the decadent estate as the sun began to set.

Resembling the country home you had grown up in, you immediately fell in love with the place as you took it all in. Becoming more impressed when you saw it from the inside, you heard Lady Bridgerton announce that dinner would be brought up to everyone’s rooms since no one felt like changing to come back down after such a long journey.

As you were all wishing everyone a good night, you saw Anthony approaching you once more in order to say good night directly. Taking your hand so he could kiss it goodbye, you felt him slip something into your palm as he pulled his hand away.

Making a fist to hide whatever it was, you swiftly hid your hand behind your back as you thanked Lady Bridgerton for her hospitality before being escorted to your room.

Waiting till the maids had left and you were settled in for the night, you eagerly opened your fist to reveal a folded piece of paper.

Unfolding it, you saw what must be Anthony’s handwriting neatly written on the page. Reading the first few lines, you finally understood that these were instructions. To be more specific, they were directions to the gazebo your fiancé had previously mentioned.

Asking you to meet him at dawn the next day, Anthony made sure to detail exactly how to get there on his note.

Excitement immediately filled you at the thought of having a secret rendezvous with your future husband. So much so, that you barely got a wink of sleep as you waited for dawn to approach. However, that did not stop you from energetically springing up the moment you saw the first rays of sunlight enter your window.

After dressing for the day, you peeked your head out of your bedroom door and looked both ways to ensure no one was coming. You then began to quickly, but quietly, follow the directions out of the house and to where you knew Anthony was waiting for you.

Spotting the gazebo, you easily made your way up the few steps that led to the elevated platform where you saw the Viscount reflectively sitting on a bench. The reflective look left his eyes as they landed on your figure and he stood to welcome you.

Taking both your hands in his, you could not stop the delighted giggle that left your lips as you said to him in greeting,

“This is madness! Do you know what will happen if we are caught unchaperoned?”

A sly smile grew on Anthony’s face as he shrugged and replied,

“I suppose they would force us to marry.” Using one of your hands to guide you to the bench, he continued by saying, “But since we are already engaged, I do not foresee that being a problem.”

And prompted you both to sit down.

You gave a laugh at his logic as you settled into your seat before you turned to him and asked with false decorum,

“Then why have you summoned me here today, Lord Bridgerton?”

Absentmindedly fiddling with your fingers, he answered your question.

“Well, I did say I wanted to show you this structure.”

Agreeing, you began to look around as you replied,

“Yes, because its location is somehow special,” You easily recalled.

As your eyes took in the sights around you, you curiously said, “But I still do not see what makes it stand out.”

Placing a hand on your cheek in order to guide your eyes back to his, Anthony whispered,

“It is special because it allows me to do this.”

Before he leaned in and gently pressed his lips to yours.

He only allowed his lips to linger for a moment before he slowly pulled away to gauge your reaction.

When he saw that you could only look at him with wide eyes, he started to say with a touch of contrite humbleness,

“My apologies,” He began while looking at your entwined hands, “It is just, I have wanted to do that for a while now.”

You stared at him for a moment longer before you found the courage to timidly ask,

“Could…could you do it again?”

Feeling himself get hit with the sweet sensation of relief that you wanted this just as much as him, Anthony could only nod while giving you a dazzling smile as he leaned in once more and gave into your request.

Making sure to guide you through it, you both felt consumed with excitement as his slow pecks turned into long kisses that filled you with a foreign sensation.

You do not know how much time passed before you both pulled your lips away while allowing your foreheads to remain pressed together.

Looking into his eyes, you quietly admitted with a note of embarrassment,

“That was the first kiss I have ever had.”

Smiling at your admission, Anthony decided to make one of his own as he said,

“That was the best kiss I have ever had.”

Seeing you joyfully light up at his declaration made Anthony melt and forced him to lean in once again.

This time, he kissed you with a passion you did not even know existed. You became caught up in the feeling of his lips on yours before the feeling of sunlight beaming on your face brought you back to reality.

Pulling away to look at the position of the sun, you gasped when you saw how high it had risen and instantly stood up to frantically say,

“Anthony! The morning meal will be served soon!”

Seeing that you were right, your husband-to-be also rose from his seat and said,

“Follow the directions on the note back to the house. I will go another way.”

Nodding, you turned to follow his instructions when you felt his hand tug on your arm and turn you back around. As soon as you were facing him, you were immediately met with Anthony’s lips once more.

Pulling away, he pecked your lips one more time before saying,

“Till we meet again?”

This time, your nod was much more distracted as he finally allowed you to leave.

You saw everyone settling in at the dining table when you made it back to the house and felt yourself become anxious when your Aunt asked about your previous whereabouts while saying that she did not see you in your room on her way down.

Since Anthony had apparently beaten you to the table, you made sure to avoid his gaze as you answered by saying,

“Oh, I was just exploring the grounds.”

Which was technically true.

You complimented Lady Bridgerton on her wonderful home to make your statement more believable as you served yourself some tea.

While the hot liquid filled your cup, you heard Anthony casually say,

“I can give you a tour later on if you would like?”

As if he had not just finished kissing you senseless minutes before.

Not knowing how he was able to appear so calm, you had to find your cool before you responded.

“Yes, that would be lovely.”

Speaking up with a kind smile, Lady Bridgerton said, “I will accompany you both since we would not want to leave you lovebirds unchaperoned.”

Taking a discreet glance at Anthony, you smiled and thought with a hint of irony,

“No, we would definitely not want that.”

As you sipped your tea before engaging in the morning conversation.

Chapter Text

The days you spent at Aubrey Hall easily reminded you of your childhood. From the time you woke up to the time you went to sleep, every hour of the day was spent doing something enjoyable.

You seemed to spend time with every Bridgerton since you had arrived at their estate. Of course, Anthony was the first to accost you with his tour of the house.

As his mother insisted, she did end up joining you both. But you did not mind so much since your Aunt also tagged along which kept Lady Bridgerton preoccupied as they led the tour in front of you. This essentially left you and Anthony with as much privacy as you would be allowed according to decorum.

But now that you knew what his lips felt like against yours, you found it difficult to keep your thoughts as proper as your conversation.

You kept flashing back to the moment when your lips first met, and every time it played out in your mind, you wanted to raise your fingers to touch the kiss you still felt lingering.

You had no idea such a simple action could create such complex feelings inside you.

And yet, here you were.

Your secret rendezvous with Anthony had unlocked emotions that you were not even aware existed. The burning passion that seared through your body in that moment was unexpected and unlike any other sensation you had experienced before.

You supposed that ignorance must have been bliss because now that you were aware of such a feeling, your mind was constantly preoccupied with your wonderful memories of what Anthony’s kiss felt like.

It was soft and gentle. It was deep and fiery. It was everything you did not know you wanted and more.

As time slowly passed at Aubrey Hall, you kept finding yourself caught in a daydream as you thought about your husband-to-be.

And despite appearing calm and collected, Anthony was assuredly doing no better.

The growing agony of being near you while being unable to touch you was starting to consume him.

Though he knew he would be beyond saving once it happened, he could not find it within himself to regret having gotten a taste of you.

But the problem with a taste is that it only made him crave you more.

So he was grateful for the time he got to spend in your presence as you took your tour. Because when it ended in the foyer, Daphne grabbed and ushered you away claiming that it was her turn to spend time with you.

Over the course of a week, you divided your time with all of the Bridgertons. However, the one you ended up spending the most time with was Lady Bridgerton.

Now that you were to become the next Viscountess, your future mother-in-law had taken you under her wing and began to show you how a house was run. Since your stepmother had neglected to teach you any of this, you were grateful to say the least.

Your gratitude continued to grow when Lady Bridgerton admitted she was showing you these skills so she could have your input for this weekend’s upcoming ball that was being hosted in your and Anthony’s honor.

As affluent members of society, the Bridgertons were expected to host at least one grand event for the season, and what better than a ball to celebrate your engagement to Anthony.

“Lady Bridgerton, are you certain this is not too much?”

You asked as you took in all the activity going on around you. The servants of the house were bustling around in order to make everything look perfect for the soiree. And saying you were impressed was an understatement.

It was becoming increasingly clear that no expense was spared.

From the flower arrangements to the refreshments, everything screamed elegance, class, and grandeur.

You could only hope you would one day be able to host a ball as wonderful as this one would be.

Taking your eyes off of all the activity, you turned to Lady Bridgerton as she said with a smile,

“How many times must I ask for you to call me 'Violet'? We will be family soon.”

Since becoming engaged to her son, she had insisted on many occasions to call her by her given name, but you found it difficult to do after addressing her properly for so many years. Still, it brought a warmth to your heart to know that there was no longer a need for formalities with your future relatives.

Through a small laugh, you said,

“My apologies, Violet. I am simply in awe of your talents. This ball will surely leave people in a state of amazement.”

With a laugh of her own, Lady Bridgerton waved off your words by saying,

“Oh, you sweet girl. This is the least I could do for my son and his bride.”

Suddenly feeling someone take your hand, you turned and watched as Anthony gave it a kiss in greeting before he lowered it and curiously asked his mother,

“What is this about ‘your son and his bride?’”

Since he did not let go of your hand after he lowered it, you interlaced your fingers with his as you answered on Violet’s behalf.

“I was simply telling your mother that the ball will no doubt be a wondrous affair given how hard she has worked on it.”

As you finished, Lady Bridgerton made sure to kindly add on,

“Do not be so modest, you helped just as much as I. Give yourself some credit, dear.”

Your smile was bashful as you responded.

“Well everything I did, I learned from you. So the credit is truly yours.”

Before his mother could give a retort, Anthony intervened by saying,

“I am sure you have both done a superb job. I should feel so lucky to have such capable women in my life.”

And finished with a smile directed at both of you.

As your own smile grew on your lips at his words, you gave his hand a squeeze before you turned to him and asked,

“Was there something you needed?”

Nodding his head, he said,

“Yes. Daphne wonders if you know what you will be wearing to the ball?”

With a sly look growing on your face, you eyed your fiancé as you said,

“And allow me to guess, you volunteered to find out for her?”

You made such an assumption since you could easily recall another time Daphne had apparently needed to get in touch with you only for her brother to show up.

With a playful look, he shrugged and honestly replied,

“Well, I wanted to see you. So yes, naturally I volunteered.”

Laughing and shaking your head with fond amusement, you turned back to Lady Bridgerton who had been watching your interaction with joy on her face and said,

“I do not believe I brought a ball gown with me. Do you think there might be one I could borrow?”

As if the mere idea offended her, Lady Bridgerton was quick to say,

“Nonsense! This is your engagement ball! We cannot have you in an ill-fitting dress.”

Nodding her head decisively, she turned to walk away and said over her shoulder as the distance grew between you,

“We shall call for the seamstress! I am certain she will be able to put something together for you in time.”

And continued walking in order to make the arrangements.

It would appear her need to have you in an acceptable gown outweighed her need to make sure you were chaperoned while in the presence of her son. So with her absence, you were left alone with your fiancé.

Well, as alone as you could be with servants running back and forth around you.

You ended up facing the Viscount as he offered his elbow to you.

“May I escort you to the drawing room? That is where I last saw Daphne.”

Agreeing, you took his arm and he began to lead you down the hallway.

You walked in silence for a few moments before Anthony unexpectedly said in a quiet voice,

“Do you think about it?”

Though you had an inkling of what he was referring to, you still asked with curiosity,

“Do I think about what?”

Glancing down at you for a moment, Anthony made sure to look ahead again as he simply replied,

“The gazebo.”

And allowed a coy smirk to grow on his lips.

Swallowing inconspicuously, your mind frantically tried to decide on how to answer before you chose to be truthful.

Responding with a breathless, “Yes”, Anthony nodded his head at your answer and asked,

“How often?”

As if he were discussing the weather.

Hesitating was not even an option as you immediately replied,

“Often.”

As his smirk turned into a genuine smile at your words, he then chose to say in admittance,

“Me too.”

While you felt your heart begin to speed up, you then heard him declare in what could be mistaken for a whisper,

“In fact, I often think about the next time we will visit the site. There is so much more for us to try, do you not agree?”

You tried to suppress the scandalized gasp that wanted to leave your mouth, but the Viscount still heard your small, sharp intake of breath.

Quickly looking around to ensure no one else heard him, you quietly hissed his name in reprimand.

“Anthony!”

Shrugging, he innocently said,

“What? I was merely sharing a thought.”

Knowing good and well that was not at all true, you tried to rid your mind of the anticipation you felt building at the picture he had created in your head as you reached the drawing room.

After shooting him a discreet look for pulling such tempting, scandalous thoughts from your imagination, you noticed Daphne was still in the room as were a few other members of his family.

As you chose to sit next to her in order to discuss your dress, you made it a point to ignore Anthony and the hidden expression of deviousness he was eying you with.

Daphne then helped you figure out a design so that you were able to tell the seamstress exactly what you wanted when she arrived.

Lady Bridgerton must have paid to have your order expedited because your gown arrived a few days later just in time to start getting ready for the ball.

Looking at your reflection after getting dressed, you knew without a doubt that you were nothing but dazzling.

Watching Daphne approach you from behind in the mirror, you heard her ask while she adjusted her gloves,

“Are you ready?”

Taking one more glance at yourself, you took in a deep breath and thought,

“Here we go.”

As you turned and followed your friend out of the room.

Chapter Text

While Daphne entered the soiree with her husband, you and Anthony were told to stay back so you could make a grand entrance.

And what an entrance it was.

The crowd parted ways for you both as you made your way into the ballroom. You both looked so happy and radiant as you walked in, that the members of the ton immediately started to applaud in celebration of your engagement.

As you were escorted into the room on the arm of your fiancé, the joyful music that was being played in the background swelled to make your entrance that much more dramatic.

After the crowd finished applauding for you and Anthony, you were both pulled away from each other by different groups.

Anthony was accosted by a gaggle of gentlemen who wanted to congratulate him on securing the illustrious Diamond.

You were accosted by a swarm of ladies who wanted to commend you on securing the elusive Viscount.

You both dutifully held the conversations you were in while periodically making eye contact with one another from your positions apart.

When the number of people that surrounded you started to dwindle, you and your husband-to-be made your way toward each other again before making your way over to where his family stood with your Aunt.

After you finished approaching them, you made sure to give your thanks to Lady Bridgerton for arranging such a beautifully extravagant ball on your behalf.

“Truly! I knew it would be wonderful, but I was still unprepared for such magnificence.”

You said as you tamed the urge to stare at the room in awe.

Nodding, Anthony agreed with you by saying,

“Yes, thank you Mother for your extraordinary efforts.”

Her smile was bright as she replied,

“It was my absolute pleasure, my darlings.”

Daphne was also smiling at your happiness as she chimed in and joyfully said,

“Now that you have arrived, you two can open the ball with the first dance!”

Choosing to eye you playfully, the Viscount held his hand out to you while saying.

“Shall we?”

You gave a content grin as you nodded and took it.

Like the start of your first dance with him, he led you to the middle of the floor where you stood opposite each other before giving your proper bows and curtsies.

As the music rang out, he placed a hand on the small of your back while you placed one on the cusp of his shoulder and began to move.

You tried not to dwell on the fact that you had an audience, but that was difficult to do with all eyes in the room on you.

Sensing your growing apprehension, Anthony sought to distract you as he said,

“Do you remember our first dance?”

With a slight laugh, you replied,

“How could I not? I remember being in a state of disbelief for most of it.”

Laughing with you, your fiancé said,

“How strange. So was I.”

His statement tickled your curiosity and made you look into his eyes as you asked,

“What were you in disbelief about?”

He took a moment to find the courage to respond before he answered honestly by saying,

“I simply could not believe I had you in my arms.”

Surprised, you gave an astonished,

“What?”

Which prompted him to continue after pausing for a second to gather his thoughts.

“You used to come by the house so often, I grew accustomed to seeing you there. I started to miss your presence once we stopped hearing from you and truly thought I would never see you again. So imagine my shock upon finding you by the refreshments looking as beautiful as ever.”

While smiling at his compliment, comprehension started to dawn on you as you recalled that conversation.

“So that was why you asked if we had met before. You wanted to make sure it was me.”

When he nodded, he had no idea that he had just secured himself a place in your heart.

For years, you believed you had gone unnoticed by him and you had decided to be fine with that. Even when you spared him a thought during your ten-year separation, you were convinced that such thoughts were feeble since they were onesided and would lead nowhere.

Learning that the man you daydreamed about not only took note of you, but cared enough about you to be sad at your absence did something to you as you looked at your fiancé in a new light.

As your mind started to fill with a warm sense of affection for him, Anthony decided to ask,

“Why were you in a state of disbelief?”

And though you should have been prepared for the question, you still found yourself caught off guard. Though you wanted to be truthful, you were unsure of how the truth would be received.

However, because you both agreed to be honest with one another, you ultimately decided to give an honest answer in the form of a question.

“How is one supposed to feel when the man they care for asks them to dance?”

Eyes widening at your words, Anthony locked his gaze with yours as you stared back at him with hidden nervousness.

After a moment passed where he said nothing, you swallowed before you quietly spoke again.

“You once said that if stronger feelings appeared—”

“—Then we would happily welcome them.”

Your fiancé finished for you while looking deep into your eyes.

You gave an entranced nod while you stared back.

He went to speak again, but before either of you could utter another word, the music came to a close.

You were brought back to reality as the round of applause given by your audience resounded throughout the room.

A quick glance at each other's eyes told you that this conversation was not over.

You and Anthony then curtsied and bowed respectively before making your way back over to where you last saw your family members.

As you approached a second time, you saw that the only person who remained in their original spot was Lady Bridgerton as everyone else had dispersed in order to mingle.

You could see she was holding a conversation with someone as you reached her moments later.

You were just about to greet the person she was speaking to when they turned around and you saw it was your stepmother.

Chapter Text

There was a slight ringing in your ears as you frantically tried to process what was in front of you.

Excluding the letter she sent you which detailed her marriage ultimatum, you had not had any contact with your stepmother in the seven years you had been away.

To say you were surprised to see her at your engagement ball was a fact and an understatement.

It also happened to be a monumental concern.

Because in the entire decade you had known this woman, you still had yet to have an amiable interaction with her.

So you could easily imagine the way this was going to go when you finally opened your mouth and said in greeting,

“Marchioness.”

Since she had only ever allowed you to call her by her title.

Uttering your name like it was the last thing she wanted to do, you watched as she eyed you up and down before saying with a forced smile.

“How…pleasant to see you again after all this time.”

You immediately recognized that any politeness coming out of her mouth was there to lure you into a false sense of security. But since you had grown up around her, you knew how she operated.

It was only because you did not want to make a scene that you simply steeled your voice as you asked,

“What are you doing here?”

Her smirk was arrogant as she replied,

“Well, where else am I supposed to be when I hear my late husband’s daughter is getting married?”

Her question was rhetorical, but that did not stop Anthony from answering anyway on your behalf.

“I would suppose you would want to be wherever you have been for the past seven years, no?”

Because she did not know what was going on in this moment, Lady Bridgerton ended up saying her son’s name in reprimand as she watched him glare daggers at the person you called stepmother.

The Marchioness seemed momentarily surprised by Anthony’s input, but she quickly recovered as she turned and looked down her nose at him.

“Hmm…I take it you are her fiancé?”

The Viscount made sure to take hold of your hand as he assertively replied,

“Yes, I am.”

Her forced smile started to turn wicked as she said,

“Perfect. You are the one I am here to speak to.”

Having told him a few stories of her cruelty, Anthony was aware of how low she could stoop and could not stop the look of wary confusion from passing across his face as he said,

“Me?”

There was a disturbing look of joy in your stepmother’s eyes as she responded.

“Yes. You see, I could not help but wonder if your bride has told you of her situation?”

Without hesitation, Anthony coldly replied.

“If you are referring to the one where you forced her to find a husband in order to avoid marrying your Uncle, then yes, I am aware.”

You heard Lady Bridgerton gasp as she learned this news and you all looked at the Marchioness with obvious contempt at the reminder of her callousness.

It was when you said with your own hint of arrogance, “I do not keep secrets from my intended.”

That a furious look grew in your stepmother’s eyes as they flickered back and forth between you and Anthony. Taking in your held hands seemed to upset her on a fundamental level. So she did not even try to stop her voice from raising as she basically yelled,

“Did she tell you that she has no dowry?!?”

Since her exploding voice carried, almost everyone in the near vicinity had heard her and hushed as they turned to take in the spectacle she was making.

You tried to ignore that as you said with heated confusion,

“What do you speak of? My father left me—”

“Your father left me with his assets, and I say that you are as penniless as a beggar.”

Her words had an instant effect as members of the ton immediately began to whisper to themselves at the drama they saw unfolding.

Only allowing your attention to fall on the crowd surrounding you for a brief moment, you returned it to your stepmother and took notice of the triumphant smirk she wore on her lips, and realized this was her plan all along.

By telling everyone you had no money, she essentially got you shunned from society as no one wanted to interact with a person who could not afford their station.

As she watched that realization sink in, she eyed you one more time with that familiar look of smug disdain as she said,

“Let us see how willing he is to marry you now that he knows how worthless you truly are.”

And gave a haughty smile before turning and walking away.

As you felt the stares of your guest burning into you after her exit, you immediately felt overwhelmed.

Muttering a quiet, “Excuse me,”

You hurriedly made your escape from all the prying eyes and the ball.

Allowing your feet to carry you wherever they chose, you were surprised when you ended up in the empty drawing room.

Starting to pace, you attempted to control your emotions as you repetitively walked back and forth.

But as your hands began to shake and your breathing turned ragged, you could not say you were doing a good job.

You were so preoccupied with trying to regain your composure, you did not hear someone else enter the room. It was only when you turned to continue pacing that you saw Anthony standing in front of the door he had just closed.

You came to an abrupt halt as you spotted him and made eye contact. After you stared at one another for a moment, you dropped your gaze to the floor as you said,

“I would understand.”

Still watching you with concern, Anthony asked,

“You would understand what?”

Swallowing down the tears that made your throat tighten, you responded in a hollow voice.

“I would understand if you wanted to break off our engagement.”

Looking almost offended at such a suggestion, Anthony sounded taken aback when he said,

“Why would I ever want to do such a thing?”

You could not stop the slightly bitter laugh that left your lips as you explained the obvious reason.

“The Marchioness has ruined my name! There is no way you could marry such a walking scandal.”

Suddenly grasping the severity of your situation, you forgot about Anthony as your eyes took on an unseeing look while you began to quietly think out loud.

“This means I will not be able to find a husband,” You whispered. “This means I will have to marry her Uncle.”

Taking in multiple breaths to prevent yourself from breaking down, you brokenly said,

“Oh dear God, she has won.”

This time you could not stop the tears from flooding your eyes as you gave voice to your reality.

But being unable to see you so upset, Anthony rushed over to you and comfortingly took your hands in his as he declared,

“She has not won!”

Shaking your head in disagreement, you despairingly started to say through a sob,

“Anthony—”

But the Viscount was quick to cut you off.

“No! She has not won because we will not call off the wedding. Do you understand me?”

Still lost in the anguish of coming so close to happiness only to have it ripped away, you said,

“But there is no way that can happen now. You heard her, I have nothing to give you!”

Anthony’s voice and eyes were imploring as he responded.

“None of that matters to me!”

As his gaze looked into your heartbroken one, you shook your head once more. With your stepmother’s final statement ringing in your ears, doubt was filling your mind as you said just as imploringly,

“But it has to! With nothing else to offer, why would you want to marry me?”

His reply took no time as he all but shouted,

“I want to marry you because I love you!”

There was a pause as his words resounded throughout the room and echoed off the walls.

There was no mistaking what he said, but you still inquired in a small voice,

“What?”

Taking in a short breath, Anthony looked deep into your eyes as he quietly declared,

“You are the first thing I think of when I wake up and the last thing I wonder about when I go to sleep. I live to see you laugh and it breaks my heart whenever something causes your smile to vanish. There will never be a time where I do not want to stand by your side. So please, do not take away my chance to do so for the rest of my days.”

He finished just as quietly as he started and kept his eyes focused on your entwined hands as he awaited your response.

You regarded him for a moment and then slowly pulled one of your hands away, which Anthony took as a bad sign, before you lifted it and lightly placed it against his cheek.

Surprised, he raised his gaze to yours and watched as your mouth transformed into a genuine smile before you leaned in to place a gentle kiss on his lips.

In the wake of his declaration, your thoughts about your stepmother and the consequences of her actions easily fell by the waist side. If you believed your feelings for Anthony were overwhelming before, you had no idea what to call what you felt for him in this moment.

There was elation and euphoria.

There was joy and jubilation.

There was an entire spectrum of emotions that effortlessly replaced the morose sadness that had consumed you before.

And it was all because of him.

Pulling away, you saw he was still in a state of shock which caused you to chuckle lightly.

Deciding to make a declaration of your own, you said while still smiling widely,

“Oh, my Love. I did tell you we were already halfway there.”

After hearing your statement, Anthony’s face broke out into an expression of pure happiness as he wrapped his arms around you and hugged you close while he spun you around.

Laughing heartily, you giggled out,

“Anthony!”

Just before he placed you back down.

Looking into your eyes once more, the Viscount did not even attempt to stop himself from placing a passionate kiss on your lips once your feet were securely on the ground.

Allowing his forehead to rest against yours after he pulled back, Anthony almost sounded breathless as he said,

“So, you will become my wife?”

It took no time at all for you to confidently nod your head as you said with a grin on your face,

“Nothing would make me happier.”

And though you knew there would be a fallout from your stepmother’s actions at the ball tonight, neither of you cared as you leaned in to press your lips together once more.

Chapter Text

The days following the ball were easily spent waiting for the other shoe to drop.

You did not know what form it would appear in or where it would come from, but you knew there would be some kind of aftermath to your stepmother’s outburst.

When it came time for you all to make your way back to London, you had started to become cautiously optimistic that the fallout would not be as bad as you initially thought.

At least, that was your hope.

From one perspective, your stepmother had shown the world her true colors during her attempt to hurt you. Her behavior was anything but dignified and you knew people had taken note of that.

But on the other hand, her announcement of your apparent destitution was a blow that could not be ignored. You knew that as insignificant as other people’s opinions were to you, the weight behind them was powerful and had to be acknowledged since you were a member of society.

And it is difficult to be a member when society knows you do not have the necessary funds to participate.

Though your stepmother had made it crystal clear after your father’s death that she would share nothing with you that she had received in inheritance, you had the vaguest memory of your father swearing that no matter what happened to him, you would always be taken care of.

This promise made you believe you would at least have a respectable dowry set aside for when it came time to marry.

That said, your mind had settled into a perplexed state by the time you had returned to your Aunt’s London residence. While you knew your relationship with your father had been distant at the end, you also knew without a doubt that he had loved you and could not have wanted you to be left fending for yourself after his death.

Really, the more you thought about it, the more you realized it did not make sense.

Deciding to share your confusion with Lady Danbury, she told you that she would have her solicitors look into it as she agreed that things did not seem to add up.

You both awaited their response, and in the days that followed, you finally felt the consequences of the Marchioness’ actions. It hit you once the weekend approached and you noticed that you had yet to receive an invitation to any social events that had taken place over the week or were going to take place over the weekend.

You soon understood this was the ton’s way of excluding you from society when Saturday came and went in the same fashion. That was when your Aunt decided it was time for some damage control.

Inviting over Lord and Lady Bridgerton, Lady Danbury made sure to gather you all in the drawing room in order to discuss a plan.

You and Anthony had just sat next to each other when the butler entered the room and presented your Aunt with a letter.

After taking a moment to read it to herself, Lady Danbury eventually announced in a serious voice,

“We have all been summoned by the Queen.”

Taking in a surprised breath, your wide eyes turned to Anthony as he turned toward you.

As things stood, there was only one reason you could think of for why the Queen would want to see you and it had to be that she wanted to strip you of your title as the season’s Diamond due to your lack of wealth.

While you certainly did not want to bear that shame, it was not as though you had the power to refuse an order from her Majesty.

So, despite your reluctance to go, you all stood to make your way to the carriages.

Just as you were about to pass through the threshold of the door, a footman approached with a parcel and held it out to you while saying,

“This just arrived for you, my Lady.”

You thanked him and took it before turning to make your way to your Aunt’s carriage as the Bridgertons made their way to theirs.

Once everyone was in, the horses pulled off in the direction of the palace.

After getting settled, you started to open the parcel you were given when Lady Danbury asked what it was.

Responding that you did not know, you continued to unravel the package until you held in your hands a letter from her solicitor and a thin ledger.

Once you opened the former and began to skim through its writing, you genuinely could not stop the gasp that left your lips. With disbelief, you hurriedly opened the ledger which confirmed everything that had been said in the letter.

After going over it twice to be sure you were reading things correctly, you quickly showed both documents to your Aunt and were not surprised when she gave a small gasp as well before looking at you with shock on her face.

Soon hearing the driver announce your arrival at the palace, you realized you would not have time to discuss this since you were shortly being helped down and outside of the carriage.

As your Aunt stepped down as well with the letter and ledger in hand, you knew on an intuitive level that those documents had changed your perspective on how this royal interaction was going to proceed.

Seeing your thoughtful expression after exiting his own carriage, Anthony made his way over to you and asked,

“Is everything alright, my Love?”

You nodded, but before you could say anything, you all were being escorted into the palace.

You had just finished processing what you had read by the time you and Anthony, along with Lady Bridgerton and Lady Danbury, had reached the throne room. Walking in proudly, you saw the entire court was present and looking at you.

It was because you knew you were being judged that you kept your head up high and your eyes focused ahead as you made your way to the front of the room with grace and elegance on your side.

When you were all finally in front of the Queen, you happened to notice your stepmother was also present and standing close enough that you saw the pleased expression she was eyeing you with.

In that moment, you felt something shift.

Before you could give it any more thought, the Queen, who had been regarding you quietly, turned her head toward your stepmother to say,

“Marchioness, I have been made aware that you do not plan on providing a dowry for this young lady here,”

She said while gesturing to you.

“Can you provide an explanation for why that is?”

It was obvious your stepmother had thought the same as you initially did about the reason for your summoning because she looked more than surprised to be addressed by her Majesty.

Attempting to recover, she only hesitated slightly before she opened her mouth and falsely replied,

“With the upkeep of the estate, there is nothing left for her, your Highness.”

And it dawned on you after she spoke that the shift you felt upon seeing her was your resolve deciding that you no longer had to allow your stepmother to rule your life with the lies you now knew she was spewing.

So you unthinkingly declared with confidence,

“That is not true.”

Quirking a brow in your direction, the Queen gave you her attention as she said,

“You have something you would like to say?”

You only paused for a moment before you responded with strength,

“Yes, your Majesty. I do.”

Holding your hand out to your Aunt, you felt her place the contents of your package into your open palm before holding it up for the Queen to see.

“This is a letter I received not even an hour ago that explains the details of what is in this ledger. If I may, your Majesty?”

The Queen gave a nod, which allowed you to approach, and handed her what was in your grasp.

After returning to your original spot in front of her and next to Anthony, you announced as she opened the ledger,

“Your Highness, what you hold is my father’s missing will.”

Anthony and his mother looked at you with surprise as you heard your stepmother gasp. The crowd behind you also started to murmur amongst themselves at such a reveal since those of nobility knew how fundamental a will was to anyone’s family.

“Silence!” The Queen commanded.

When the room went quiet, she looked back to you to say,

“Continue, child.”

After taking in a breath, you started to explain.

“My father died when I was eighteen years old. I was so lost in my grief that the absence of a will did not seem all that important to me since all I could comprehend was the fact that my father was gone. But before I could even think to question it, I was sent away.”

You side-eyed your stepmother as you said this and then returned your gaze to the Queen as you went on.

“As I know you have heard, I recently was told that I was left nothing after his death.”

Gesturing to the ledger you gave her, you said,

“But according to the documents in your hand, that is a falsehood.”

Unafraid, you turned to look the Marchioness directly in the eyes and continued the explanation that you both knew was going to be her downfall.

“My father had a copy of his will made before he died. In that will, he left instructions that clearly named me as his sole heir.”

As a scowl started to appear on her face, you took joy in saying,

“My stepmother knew this as it was apparently signed into her marriage contract with my father.”

Seeing your stepmother start to shake with rage at your revelation, you allowed her to witness your victorious smirk before you turned back to the Queen to expose the most shocking part.

“In those instructions was a stipulation. If I was not married by the time I turned twenty-five, then I would inherit. If I was married, then by law, my inheritance would go to my husband.”

Narrowing your eyes as you glanced toward your stepmother one more time with distaste, you revealed what you had only realized minutes ago.

“I turn twenty-five next month, your Majesty. That is why the Marchioness informed me at the start of the season that I had to marry or she would engage me to her Uncle at the end of it. I suppose the plan was to have me married off to him before my birthday so I could unknowingly sign over to them everything my father had left me.”

Looking back to the Queen, you continued your explanation by saying,

“And since she did not expect me to find a husband of my own, she had to find a way to stop my union to the Viscount.”

Turning to Anthony, who was watching you speak with awe, you smiled as you said,

“But she did not know that our relationship was a love match.”

And watched a fond smile bloom on his face as he nodded his head in agreement before your eyes found the Queen once more.

“Still, that is why she told him and the ton that I had no dowry. She did it in the hopes that he would call off the wedding which would have left me no choice but to marry her Uncle and allowed them to inherit.”

The Queen’s steely gaze was harsh as it fell on your stepmother a moment later.

“Is this true, Marchioness?”

And before she could say anything, her Highness said,

“Be reminded that lying to your Queen is treason and a crime punishable by death.”

You all watched as the Marchioness swallowed thickly before her eyes fell to the floor. In the most defeated voice you have ever heard her use, she quietly answered,

“Yes, your Majesty. It is true.”

Saying your stepmother’s actual name in disgust, the Queen’s voice rang out as she declared,

“You are hereby stripped of your title and all that comes with your station. You are no longer welcome at court nor are you welcome in England from this moment on.”

Waving her hand in dismissal at the malicious woman, the Queen said,

“Be gone before I prevent you from leaving at all.”

Looking at you one last time, you pleasantly watched as your stepmother dropped her eyes back to the floor in submission before scurrying out of the throne room in embarrassment like the rat she was.

That was when you knew you would never have to see her again.

Turning back to her Majesty, you saw her proud smirk as she looked at you and said after a moment of silence,

“Well, I do believe we have a wedding to plan.”

Allowing a grin to grace your lips, you turned to Anthony who was already watching you with his own look of pride. As he smiled at you with nothing but love, you finally felt a sense of triumph wash over you.

Chapter Text

You felt like you were truly tasting freedom for the first time.

Following your audience with the Queen where your stepmother’s hidden agenda had been publically exposed, an enormous weight had been lifted from your shoulders.

With her banished from the country, you were no longer burdened with the choices she wanted to make for you and knew you could start to enjoy the life you wanted to live.

And with her removal from society, living had never been so rewarding.

The title she had inherited from your mother was rightfully passed on to you, so you would be getting married as a Marchioness, not a simple Lady.

With your station now being closer to royalty than it was to commonality, her Highness had taken it upon herself to treat your wedding like it was a royal affair and planned it as such.

That said, it was shaping up to be quite the ordeal.

You had top chefs in charge of the wedding breakfast, world-renowned seamstresses in charge of your dress, and her Majesty’s royal staff in charge of everything else.

As far as the Queen was concerned, your only job was to say ‘I do’.

And what a task you looked forward to fulfilling!

With you and Anthony so close to becoming one, you could not seem to stop smiling as the date of the ceremony approached.

The morning of, you all but threw yourself out of bed as soon as you saw dawn beginning to creep in through your windows.

After quickly taking the bath that had been drawn for you, you stepped back into your room wearing a robe only to find your Aunt and your best friend waiting on you.

Momentarily confused at their presence, you hesitatingly asked what was wrong.

But they only smiled at each other before looking at you.

“Nothing is wrong, dear girl,” said Lady Danbury still wearing a small grin.

Daphne’s grin was bigger when she finished your Aunt’s statement by saying,

“We are simply here to dress the bride.”

Understanding filled you, and your bright smile returned as they proceeded to get to work.

With the amount of money the Queen must have spent on such an intricately, beautiful gown, you were grateful to have at least two sets of hands to get into it.

But once you were in, what a sight you made.

With the delicate silks and fabrics adorning your body, in addition to the gems and precious stones that were woven in, you looked more like a princess than the marchioness you were when the tiara veil was placed on top of your head.

Taking in the vision your reflection created, you eyed yourself with awe before turning back to the women standing behind you to nervously ask,

“Do you think Anthony will like it?”

Lady Danbury was quick to scoff.

“Child, that man would like anything on you. Even if it was a burlap sack.”

You all had finished chuckling at such a statement when Daphne took your hand. You looked to her as she said with the utmost assurance,

“There is nothing to fear! My brother will undoubtedly find himself in a state of utter reverence once he lays his eyes on you.”

You grinned and gave your thanks for her kind words before your Aunt promptingly spoke again.

“Shall we, ladies?”

Nodding, Daphne carried the train of your dress as you all began to make your way to the chapel.

Upon arrival, you were met outside by Daphne’s husband who was waiting by the doors.

Saying his name as she saw him, your best friend then proceeded to curiously ask,

“What are you doing out here?”

Bowing his head in greeting, Simon then inclined his head to you while saying,

“Well, I was thinking. Since Lady Danbury is the closest thing to family I have, and you are her niece, that makes us family as well. So as a member of your family, I was wondering if I might have the privilege of walking you down the aisle?”

Your expression was one of surprise before it turned into one of delight as you said,

“It would be an honor.”

Having become good friends with him through your numerous visits to see Daphne, you could not think of a better person to give you away.

The Duchess smiled and gave her husband a kiss on his cheek for his thoughtfulness before she and your Aunt proceeded inside.

A few moments passed before music could be heard and you knew it was all starting. You took Simon’s offered arm just as both doors opened in front of you.

Due to you now holding a title as well as the Queen’s favor, everyone who was anyone seemed to be in attendance for your big day.

But it was through the sea of people that you saw the one you really wanted to.

There, standing at the altar with his back turned, was your husband-to-be.

As you made your way down the aisle with the Duke, you felt nothing but happy anticipation for what awaited you at the front.

Once there, you gave Simon a grateful look as he handed you off to Anthony.

And you knew in that moment that nothing would compare to the feeling you got when he finally was able to see you.

While taking in the sight of you, Anthony’s eyes became filled with absolute wonder as he proceeded to take your hand from Simon.

Audibly swallowing, he continued to take long glances at you even as the Archbishop began to speak.

It would have gone almost unnoticed if not for Anthony’s silence when it came time to repeat the vows said to him by the priest.

Turning your head slightly to look at the Viscount, you could not help smiling when you saw the dazed look he was currently eyeing you with before you whispered his name to get his attention.

“Anthony?”

Replying without hesitation, he said,

“Yes, my Love?”

Which caused a few laughs to spill out behind you and made your own smile wider since he definitely had not whispered and was easily heard by those closest to the front.

Glancing toward the priest and then back to Anthony, you fondly responded,

“It is time for our vows.”

And that seemed to bring him back to reality as his eyes widened.

Clearing his throat to gain some composure, he finally turned his gaze to the priest and said,

“Apologies.”

Shaking his head in amusement at young love, the Archbishop once again said the vows meant to be spoken by the groom and Anthony repeated them.

You did the same when it was your turn, and before you knew it, the priest was pronouncing you man and wife!

Turning toward each other wearing equally bright grins, your new husband did not even wait for permission before he leaned in to plant an eager kiss on your lips.

Breaking apart at the sound of good-humored laughter and applause from those in attendance, you and Anthony shared a silent look of love, hope, and promise before turning to make your way down the aisle as a couple.

And as you took your first steps together as one, all you could think about was the fact that you had never been happier.

Chapter Text

The marital bliss you experienced after wedding Anthony never did seem to fade.

You really had no doubt that your love developed ever more with each passing day.

As the sun rose over the horizon each new morning, you and your husband awoke slightly more enamored with one another than the night before.

Every time you shared a look, a touch, a kiss, it exponentially added to what you felt for him and what he felt for you.

Sharing that love was an easy feat when your son made his appearance in the world not even a full year into your marriage.

With him being the perfect combination of you and your husband, you counted your blessings every day for the gift that child was.

And a few years later, you soon had to start counting those blessings again when you fell pregnant once more.

This pregnancy was much the same as the last one.

With Anthony catering to your every whim like the dotting husband he was, time seemed nonexistent as you found yourself within your own little paradise. Before long, you were brought back to reality when it came time to call for a physician as your water broke in the early hours of the morning.

You were in labor well into the afternoon, but after bringing a daughter into the world, you could not help smiling as you peered down at the mere babe cradled within your arms.

You relaxed into your husband who sat next to you on the edge of the bed. He had been gently stroking the tiny curls on your baby’s head when he murmured out to you,

“What should we name her?”

Looking back at the newborn you held after taking a glance at Anthony, your grin was content as you said just as quietly,

“Well, we named the first one after your father.”

Anthony pressed a kiss onto your temple as if giving thanks before he replied while also gazing down at your new daughter.

“Then we shall name this one after your mother.”

You gave him your own kiss of thanks that was interrupted when you heard a knock on the door. It was briefly followed by the door opening to reveal your eldest and his nanny.

“Beg pardon, my Lord, but the child wanted to meet his newest sibling.”

Smiling, you both waved him in with open arms after dismissing the older woman.

At only a few months older than three years, he was still a toddler who needed help climbing onto his parent's bed, and Anthony assisted in such.

Placing the boy on his lap, your husband encouragingly said to him,

“Come meet your new sister.”

You watched as your son began to move cautiously toward the baby you held while excitedly peering down at what was encompassed within those swaddling blankets.

As a little grin grew on his little face, his parents found it difficult to contain theirs.

You looked toward Anthony wearing that bright grin only to find it matched on his face when you made eye contact. You both went back to watching your children interact for the first time, and felt a peace settle over you at the realization that this was your family.

This was your hope.

This was your dream.

This was your heart.

And though you knew this was not the end to your story, you still could not help thinking that, in this moment, you had truly found your happily ever after and took great pleasure in rejoicing in it.