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Chapter Text

Anthony swallowed as he entered the receiving room at the Queen’s Palace. He was running just a bit behind for the meeting between the Queen, himself, his intended and her family. The Queen would no doubt wish to congratulate the happy couple and he was sure Lady Danbury would crow about her achievement of securing a match for her sponsor.

He’d wanted this, he reminded himself as he prepared to enter the room and face the woman he’d practically shoved aside in order to propose to another.

“Your Majesty,” he said, bowing to the Queen. He nodded greetings to Lady Danbury and Lady Mary, his soon-to-be mother-in-law. He kissed his fiancée on her hand and called her beautiful as she adorned herself in yet another shade of pink.

She wasn’t there. Kate was not present. It doesn’t matter, he thought. Her presence was not required. However, he couldn’t stop himself from asking, “And where is Miss Sharma today?”

Lady Danbury’s eyes narrowed but it was Lady Mary who responded. “She was feeling a bit ill this morning and elected to remain at home.”

Edwina giggled. “She will be well enough to attend me at our wedding, I am sure.”

“Of course,” Anthony replied as he allowed his mind to wander, subsequently ignoring the ongoing conversation.

Was she truly ill? Was it serious? If she was not truly ill, had she feigned illness to avoid being in his presence? That would not be like Kate at all. She was too prickly indeed to allow him respite from herself. Perhaps he would call upon her this afternoon, just to make sure she did not require a physician.

Upon arrival to Danbury House, he was informed that Miss Sharma was indisposed and turned away like a common caller.

***

“Welcome, Miss Edwina!” his mother chattered as she steered the Sharmas, sans one Kate Sharma, and Lady Danbury into the drawing room at Bridgerton House. “It is wonderful to have you. This is to be your home once you and Anthony are wed; I do apologize for taking until after the engagement to offer an invitation.” She flicked a glance toward her eldest son.

Edwina bubbled, “Thank you, Lady Bridgerton. I am quite eager to view what shall be my new residence with my husband.” A bit of squeal followed. Anthony resisted the urge to plug his ears.

As they each received a cup of tea, and a plate of biscuits was passed around. The ladies began their talk of wedding plans and the engagement ball. His attempts to join the conversation were negligible.

“Miss Sharma is not joining us again today?” He could not stop the question from exiting his mouth.

“Miss Sharma remains ill,” Lady Danbury stated. She gave him a hard look. “As she is not the one to whom you proposed, I dare say her presence is not required at the wedding planning discussions.”

“Oh, but I would so love to share every experience with Kate!” His intended smiled widely. “I shall tell her every detail that she missed today. I do hope she is feeling better by tomorrow so that she may accompany us on our promenade.”

Anthony felt a bit sick to his stomach. Would Miss Edwina’s effervescence never cease?

“Anthony,” his mother interrupted his thoughts. “Perhaps you could tell us your thoughts of a honeymoon?”

“I was quite hoping for a grand trip to continent, my lord! I have always desired to see France.”

Another squeal. And he was supposed to live with her for the rest of his life? “Unfortunately, mother, Miss Edwina, I believe the business of the estate and my duties with parliament will prohibit any possible honeymoon at this time.” Miss Edwina’s face fell but he could not bring himself to care.

“Oh,” she said with evident disappointment before hope filled her eyes again. “Perhaps a few days at Aubrey Hall, then? I should enjoy learning more of the house of which I am to be mistress!”

He cleared his throat. “As I said, Miss Edwina, I will be unable to take any time away from London at present. We should be able to make the journey to Aubrey Hall with the family when we retire for the summer.”

It was a lie, he knew. He would find an excuse to stay behind.

“I am sure Miss Edwina understands the importance of your duties and will be happy to postpone such a trip until a later date.” Lady Danbury cast a warning eye toward the younger woman who nodded in acceptance.

Lady Mary sought to redirect the conversation. “Perhaps we should discuss the flowers?”

***

The next day he could tolerate her absence no more.

With the jeweler in tow as the excuse for his early arrival, he trudged into the Danbury residence knowing Miss Edwina and the others had not yet returned from their morning errands. Propriety insisted that she see them since she was the only one in residence. They were shown into the sitting room to wait.

His heart kicked when she moved into the room. His eyes, starved of her for days, feasted upon her hair, her face, her lips. Her skin glowed in the light from the window just as much as he remembered and every part of himself sang with glee at her presence.

How dare she hide from him?

“Lord Bridgerton!” She startled as she realized his presence then quickly averted her gaze. “My sister and my mother have not yet returned home.”

As he could see for himself that she was perfectly well, he insisted on waiting for his intended. He introduced the jeweler, Mr. Brooks, who requested a slice of the lemon cake that rested on the table. Miss Sharma saw that he was served his refreshment and placed herself on the sofa, her eyes trained on the carpet.

She did not address him or even recognize his presence. Anthony found this unacceptable. “Lovely weather we’re having, yes?”

“You wish to speak to me of the weather?” Her voice was dull, not like herself at all.

Look at me, damn you! “Is there another topic of conversation that would be more appropriate?”

Her gaze moved back to the floor. “I can think of no topic of conversation that would be appropriate between us.”

What was she doing? Why would she respond in such a manner? “You have been absent for the past two days. Events of great importance for your sister’s marriage have occurred. Would you care to explain yourself?”

Her words were slow, almost stunted. “Indeed, I would not.”

“I would have your answer, Miss Sharma!” Perhaps his voice was sharper than he intended but fear began to creep up on him. She reminded him, just a bit, of his mother after his father’s death. Despondent, desolate, and uninterested. This was not Kate.

Kate was passion and fire, scorching him at every turn.

“I am not obliged to give it,” she said in that same quiet, monotone voice she’d had since she’d entered the room. She rose from her seat. “I believe the housekeeper can provide you with notice of Edwina’s arrival. Excuse me.”

Anthony was aghast. Did she think she could simply dismiss herself in his presence? “Where do you think you are going?”

“To pack. I am to travel to Cambridge.”

His heart, previously racing in his chest, threatened to stop. “Of course, you are not. It’s preposterous. You will remain in London until the wedding.” No, no, no! She would stay. He had a limited amount of time with her before she would sail for India, a world away from him. He would not allow her to spend what little time he had left in Cambridge of all places.

Absolutely not. She would remain here, with him. No matter how torturous it was for either of them.

“It is not your decision to make,” she said with her eyes trained on the blasted carpet. “You have made your decision. This one is mine.”

“You think to leave, to abandon your sister mere weeks before she is to wed.”

“I shall return for the wedding. I will always do my duty to my family.”

And what of your duty to me! He resisted the urge to cross the room and shake some sense into her. “Perhaps that is for the best, then.”

Just for a moment, her eyes, clouded with tears, reached his. “Indeed.” She bolted from the room, headless to his calls of, “Miss Sharma, wait, please!”

And then she was gone.

“Lord Bridgerton!” His fiancée’s voice called from behind him. “I am delighted to find you here early. And who is your guest?” Miss Edwina and her mother stood at the other entrance, gazing curiously at him.

Guest? Oh, fuck it, Anthony thought. “Um, it is not important, Miss Edwina. Mr. Brooks, we shall need to do this another time.” He bowed as the gentleman wiped his hands and took his leave.

“I was just speaking with Miss Sharma. She mentioned she is travel to Cambridge.”

Miss Edwina shrugged so Lady Mary responded. “Yes, Lord Bridgerton. Kate has extended family in that area. We felt this would be the opportune time for her to visit as she departs England the day after the wedding. Kate shall return to London the day before the wedding and depart in the early morning the day after.”

Gone, he thought. He would only see her once more. The day he is to wed her sister. And she would have left before he’d risen from his bed the next morning. The same bed he was expected to share with Edwina, the very thought of which left him cold and flaccid.

The next time he saw her she would be walking toward him down the aisle, clutching a bouquet of white roses.

He looked around the room wildly, avoiding any eye contact with his intended. He needed to leave, and quickly.

“Miss Edwina, I apologize. I will not be able to escort you to promenade this afternoon.” He walked out the door without another word, oblivious to the calls from his fiancée.

***

Violet Bridgerton sat at her dressing table and pulled her favorite brush through her hair. More silver, she noted with a bit of a shrug. She did not fancy aging but was relieved to find that silver suited her coloring. She tossed down her brush and stood to remove her dressing gown.

A knock at the door startled her.

“Yes?” she called as she retied the gown.

The door opened. For the first time in more years than she could remember, her eldest child stood at the threshold.

He looked ill, pale and clammy. His eyes when he looked at her were overbright and pained.

“Darling,” she gasped. “Whatever is the matter?” What could have driven her distant and angry son to knock on her door in such a state?

He stepped inside and closed the door. His chest heaved. “I fear I have made a grave mistake.” Ah, Violet thought as the light began to dawn. She’d been hoping he’d come to his senses.

“I need your help to make it right.”

Chapter Text

“Lady Danbury, I am so pleased you were available for tea on such short notice!” Violet Bridgerton greeted her old friend with considerable warmth. “Please, do sit down.”

“Why, thank you, Lady Bridgerton.” They served themselves their tea and accompaniments before Lady Danbury said, “Lady Bridgerton, it occurs to me that we have not properly celebrated our victory.” Her eyes lit with supposed glee. “It was indeed the match of the season and you and I can take much of the credit.” She lifted her teacup in cheers. “To the diamond and the Viscount.”

Lady Bridgerton smiled with narrowed eyes hastened on her old friend’s face. “Yes, Lady Danbury, you and I get the credit.” Her smile vanished. “For this debacle.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“It occurs to me, Lady Danbury that you are quite well aware of a situation of which I have just been advised,” she said knowingly. Lady Danbury titled her head back in suspicion. “Before we begin the discussion on how resolve this matter, I must ask why you did not share this quite pertinent information with highly interested parties. Namely, your coconspirator?”

Lady Danbury set her teacup back in its saucer and leaned back in her chair. “Oh. That.”

“Yes, Lady Danbury. That being a substantial problem with regard to the pending nuptials of my dearly beloved son, the head of my family.”

Lady Danbury sighed. “May I ask, Lady Bridgerton, how you came to learn of this particular set of circumstances?”

“You may not.” Violet would not divulge her source until matters were well and truly in hand.

“I was quite hopeful that a certain young Miss’s departure from London would quell certain conditions that might pose problematic for the wedded bliss of the Queen’s diamond.”

Lady Bridgerton huffed out a breath. “So you are the reason for the departure indeed?”

Lady Danbury shook her head. “I am not. At least, I am not directly responsible. Lady Mary suggested the journey when I perhaps advised that one might find more to occupy one’s mind outside of the city. Violet,” she pleaded, “that girl was struggling deeply to maintain her composure. I wished for her to have a chance to grieve in private. I feel no remorse for that.”

Her old friend would allow her no joy. “How the situation with the journey to Cambridge was conceived does not signify. What does signify is the farce before us.”

“What is it you would have me do?”

“You are going to help me rectify this situation.” Lady Bridgerton raised her eyebrow at Lady Danbury until there was a nod of compliance. “In a way that preserves the Bridgerton good name. You owe that to me, Lady Danbury, for your silence,” she said as she watched the dowager open her mouth in protest. “More to the point, you owe it to her.  Lord Bridgerton will be quite busy after the Bellingham Ball this evening, Lady Danbury. Attending to his family and his not unsubstantial burdens of the Viscountcy and Parliament.”

Shrewd eyes studied her. “And where might that leave a young, immature girl in the throes of a betrothal without the attention of her betrothed?”

Violet smiled. “Where indeed, Lady Danbury,” Violet said softly.

***

The carriage was stuffy and night air was thick. Anthony pulled at his cravat in attempt to ease his discomfort. There would be no comfort tonight, he knew.

“I do not see why we could not have sent our regrets for the evening. I am hardly in the mood to socialize.”

Eloise was sure to offer her support. “Mother, I concur. In fact, I believe I feel a headache coming on should like to return to Bridgerton House immediately.”

His mother shushed his sister and looked at him with patience, which only served to make him more irritable. “Darling, you will go in there this evening and behave as if nothing has changed.”

“I am quite confused, mother,” Eloise chimed in.  “Has something changed? Will it allow us to return home?”

Blue eyes flicked in her direction. “Do not concern yourself, Eloise. All will be well.” His sister rolled her eyes with frustration he greatly shared, and they sat in silence for the rest of the ride.

Music and an overabundance of perfume assaulted his senses as they approached the ballroom. His mother had a sparkle in her eye that had not been present a few days prior. Eloise, on the other hand looked quite green indeed. She kept pressing her hand to her bodice and grimacing. He inquired as to her health, but she waved him away.

“Let us mingle, shall we,” his mother said as she nodded him in the direction of a group of gentlemen on the other side of the floor, in the opposite direction of where the Sharmas stood with Miss Edwina’s eyes scanning the room, most likely for himself.

He took the opportunity to move quickly over to Lord Fife and his friends. “Ah, Bridgerton! Glad you could join us,” Fife said as he approached. Anthony initiated a conversation about crop rotations to appear interested in something other than his pocket watch. As Fife droned on about the intricacies of substituting wheat with hops prior to a fallow year, he kept his back to the room.

It was a vain attempt to pretend he had not seen his fiancée or her mother, but it also afforded him a look at Eloise who shakily eased herself into an empty chair.

His deceitful method bought him almost an hour of freedom until, “Lord Bridgerton!” Miss Edwina called happily from behind him. With no little reluctance, he turned to greet her.

“Miss Edwina, Lady Mary.” He bowed briefly to each of them as Miss Edwina looked at him expectantly. “I am surprised to see you here this evening.”

“Whyever would we not be here?” Miss Edwina looked confused, then leaned as if to share a great secret while waving a hand at the abundance of black and gold on display. “As lovely as this ball is, my lord, I dare say our engagement ball will be far superior!”

 At least she kept her voice down, he thought, as he glanced around to ensure no one had heard her callous remark. The Earl of Bellingham was quite powerful and would not take kindly to any insult put toward his wife’s efforts. No one save for the Featherington sisters seemed to have overheard.

Should he be forced into her acquaintance much longer, he would need to educate her on proper decorum, no matter how eager her game of one-upmanship. “Miss Edwina, your sister takes her leave tomorrow. I assumed you would wish to spend a last evening with her before her travel.”

Edwina shrugged. “She shall return for the wedding, my lord. She has completed all that was required of her, to be sure.”

“Kate shall be fine,” Lady Mary added. “It is not as if her presence is necessary.”

Her presence bloody well IS necessary!  “Of course, Lady Mary.”

“The music is quite good, yes?” she asked eagerly.

“Yes, of course.” He did not care about the music nor her subtle request for a dance. “Perhaps we shall dance later in the evening, Miss Edwina.” His tone left no room for conversation.

The trio stood in not so companionable silence as Anthony tried his best to think of a way to remove himself before he was required to ask Miss Edwina to dance. He did not believe he would be able to stand her childlike babble for any significant duration.

His reprieve would come quite soon.

“Lord Bridgerton,” a discrete voice approached from his right. He turned to find the Bellingham butler at his elbow. “I am afraid Miss Eloise has taken quite ill, my lord. A stomach bug, I believe. She appears to be in significant discomfort. The housekeeper is escorting her to your carriage, my lord. I have been unable to locate Lady Bridgerton.”

Oh, no, he thought. The last time Eloise came down with a stomach illness, the entire house caught sick. Even Colin was retching for days. Perhaps her headache was not quite false after all. “I shall see to her at once.”

“But my lord!” He turned to Miss Edwina as she put her hand on his arm. “We have not yet had our dance. Surely, you shall return after you see Miss Eloise at home?”

Anthony was incredulous. “Miss Edwina! My sister is ill, and my mother unable to be located. In my household, the health of my family is paramount over all things. That certainly includes dancing. It is my duty to see to her health. This is something a Viscountess should know.” Kate would have known. He shook his head in exasperation and felt no remorse at the stricken look upon her face. “I shall not return this evening. Good night, Miss Edwina. Lady Mary.”

He turned his back on the woman he was to wed in less than a month and stomped out of the room. No one attempted to waylay him as he made his way out of the residence to the Bridgerton carriage parked in the lane. He wrenched open the door.

“Finally,” Eloise declared, sipping a glass of lemonade as she lounged on the bench, looking to be in perfect health. “I feel like I’ve been waiting an hour.”

Anthony blinked then climbed into the carriage. “Is that glass stolen?” Not that it mattered, he simply couldn't think of anything else to say, as torn as was between relief at her health and anger that she’d caused him concern.

“I shall return, brother.” Eloise chuckled. “I was thirsty, and I did not know how long you would be. I hid the glass against my abdomen as I was doubled over. No one suspected a thing!”

He rubbed a hand over his forehead. “What happened, Eloise?”

“How should I know?” She shrugged as if she could not be bothered. “Mother told me that I was to feign illness for an hour and to make sure it was noted by the other attendants, then excuse myself to the carriage and request that you be summoned to take me home.”

Violet Bridgerton did nothing by half measure, but her daughter did nothing for free. “And just what do you hope to gain from your charade, Eloise?”

She smiled bigger than he’d seen all season. “Respite, brother! Mother has promised that if I were successful in my endeavors this night, I would be exempted from attending the musicale tomorrow or promenade on Sunday. Is it not delightful, brother? Two full glorious days of a stack of books and myself.”

Well done, mother. “Quite the coup, indeed.”

When he and Eloise arrived at Bridgerton House, his mother was already ensconced in the drawing room with a glass of brandy. “Ah, you’re home.” She cast a look of gratitude toward Eloise. “Well done, dear.” Eloise gave a theatrical bow and bid both a good night.

“So,” he said when they were alone. “What on earth was this about?”

“You asked for my help, Anthony.” Violet drained her glass and set it on a table. “You are receiving it, dear.”

***

Anthony looked up from his ledgers as his mother strode into his study. She tapped a paper against her hand but did not hand it to him. He said nothing as she took a seat on the other side of his desk. His quill found its way to the pad next to the ink blotter as he waited for her to begin.

“Anthony, I loved your father more than, well anything in this entire world.” Unsure why she should engage in such a topic with him, he nodded for her to continue. “When I think about your current situation, I wonder indeed what I would have done should I have been in her place.”

He had no time for riddles. “Mother, whatever do you mean to say?”

She pierced him with a steely stare. “What I mean to say, Anthony, is I wonder what I would have done if I had been forced to witness your father kneel before your Aunt Sarah and ask her to marry him.”

Shame, such a common companion of late, crept over him. “Yes, I understand—”

“You understand nothing, dearest.” If not for the look of grave sadness she gave him, he would have been quite irate with her indeed. Instead, he found himself struggling to meet her eyes. “I do not know if I would have been able to forgive him for such a transgression. My pain would have consumed me, not to mention my shame in the belief the man I loved found my sister to be more worthy of his love, of his name, than myself.”

He squeezed his eyes shut at the revulsion he felt for himself and his actions. “Why are we discussing this, mother?”

“Because it seems you may have an opportunity to determine if Miss Sharma is of a more forgiving nature than myself.” She handed him the paper she held in her hand.

Dearest Reader,

It has come to my attention that perhaps a proposal is not quite the fairytale it would so appear. At least, perhaps not for our illustrious diamond and her betrothed, one Right Honorable Viscount Anthony Bridgerton. It was apparent, dear reader, at the Bellingham Ball three nights hence that trouble was brewing in paradise when the Viscount was forced to provide reprimand to the younger Miss Sharma when said Miss objected his attention to the duty of family. An easily forgiven transgression of youth, perhaps? But what did the next evening bring but the sight of one Miss Edwina Sharma sharing a bench at the Corlene musicale with one Lord Evans, looking to be having a fine time. So fine a time, in fact, that Miss Edwina was again seen in the young Baron’s company during a promenade during yesterday’s fine afternoon as he escorted her on a turn around the lake. The Viscount Bridgerton was not present. A cuckolded Viscount or an abandoned bride? Or does it seem, dear reader, that the absence of the elder Miss Sharma has lowered the red flag that attracted these entities at all? Perhaps. Or perhaps it is simply a lesson; be careful of what you wish for you may indeed receive it.

Yours Truly,

Lady Whistledown

Chapter Text

Anthony entered the Danbury parlor with his mother hot on his heels. He nodded to Miss Edwina and Lady Mary as his mother stopped just inside the doorway.

“Lord Bridgerton!” Edwina’s eyes were wide as saucers. “I was unaware that you intended to call upon me this morning.” Her eyes flittered to her mother, who nodded reassuringly, then back to him. “May I offer you tea?”

“Thank you, Miss Edwina. However, I believe all of us are aware of the reason for my call today.” He held up the copy of Lady Whistledown he’d brought from Bridgerton House and watched closely as Edwina flinched.

“Lord Bridgerton, if I may—”

“No.” He cut Lady Mary off quickly as he would not allow himself to be diverted from his task. “My apologies, Lady Mary, but I have things I need to say.” Don’t smile; whatever you do, do NOT smile.

“Miss Edwina. Considering recent events, all evidence alluding to your preference for another gentleman, I believe the only proper course of action is to end the engagement.” He looked away for a moment when she sniffled so as not to become so riddled with guilt that he was diverted from his mission.

Her hand reached out to grasp his arm and he stepped back before she could make contact. “Lord Bridgerton, I do not desire to end the engagement! Nothing untoward has occurred as every meeting with Lord Evans has been properly chaperoned.” Her brow wrinkled in confusion. “I do not understand. We are a love match!”

Guilt swarmed within him that she could reach such a conclusion. Unfortunately, there was no better time than the present to disavow such a notion. “Miss Edwina, we are not a love match.” He flinched at her gasp.

“But the Queen declared us so! You did not dispute it, my lord.”

“Because one does not dispute the Queen of England, Miss Edwina,” he said with a patronizing tone. “But it is no matter now. As I have said, the best course of action is to end the engagement now before any vows are exchanged.”

“But I wish to exchange those vows!”

Her simpering was beginning to wear on him, but he reminded himself that this was of his own making. “Miss Edwina,” he said in a softer tone, “you cannot truly want this. You know as well as I that while you may be of age to become a wife, you are not prepared to become Viscountess Bridgerton. Do you truly believe you would be successful, or even happy, preparing Francesca and Hyacinth for their debuts into society or managing Eloise and her antics?”

Edwina stammered. “But my lord, your mother handles those necessities.”

Oh, good grief. “She does indeed, as Viscountess. When I marry, she will assume the proper role of the dowager and my wife will assume her duties, particularly as they relate to the presentation, courtship, and marriage of my sisters.” Did I not explain this before? I am rather certain I did.  “Being Viscountess is more than a title. It is more than a social calendar.”

Edwina’s eyes went wide and watery. “You do not believe me capable.” In that moment, Anthony thought his soon-to-be former bride looked no older than Francesca. “I do not believe you should be forced to be capable when you are not ready.” He said in the most gentle manner he could.

He cleared his throat. “I am acquainted with Lord Evans, I believe.” A half-truth at best; Anthony knew very well that Lord Evans was a distant relation of Lady Danbury, and that said Baron had wished to take a year to settle into his title before seeking out a wife in the next season. Ah, the pieces fall together.

Edwina wiped a tear from her face as he continued. “Am I to understand that you enjoy his company?”

With great interest in her clasped hands, Edwina said, “He makes me laugh, my lord.”

“He is much closer to your age and only recently inherited the title of Baron. His sisters are older and already wed, and while his wealth is not comparable to that of the Bridgertons it is not insignificant. Marriage to such a gentleman would allow you to enjoy being the focal point in your marriage.”

“Whereas I would not be if I were to marry you.” Her eyes accused him of things he could not deny. “Is that correct, Lord Bridgerton?”

“Yes,” he said without apology.

“In that case, my lord, I feel you are correct.” She seemed less despondent than when he’d first arrived. “The engagement should end.”

“Splendid,” he said and quickly made for the doorway, oblivious to the open-mouthed stares of the three women in the room. “I shall leave my mother to assist Lady Danbury and Lady Mary in development of the appropriate announcement.”

He was halfway down the stairs to freedom when Lady Danbury called his name. With a polite smile on his face and curse in his mind, he turned to her. “Yes, Lady Danbury. How may I assist you?”

The dowager eyed him as she made her way to the landing on which he stood. “Let us talk privately, Lord Bridgerton. We have a few things to discuss.”

So close, he thought as he followed her into her study.

***

“I am quite proud of you, Anthony,” his mother told him as he escorted her on his arm through Hyde Park with the rest of his family trailing behind them. “What you are doing shows true character, dearest. We could not have asked for a more amicable dissolution of your betrothal to Miss Edwina.”

He sighed. “It is a means to an end, mother. I present myself to Lord Evans and Miss Edwina, shake the Baron’s hand and wish them well. In theory, this shows my acceptance and approval of a possible courtship between the two of them and I am then able to wash my hands of the whole bloody mess.”

“Really, Anthony?” He squirmed a bit under the sideways glance she sent his way. “And in exchange for your chivalry today?”

“Lady Danbury called Miss Sharma back to London. She is to arrive tonight.” The squeeze of his mother’s hand on his arm offered more comfort than it aught, he thought.

“Well, then,” Violet said with her chin raised. “Let us not dawdle.”

Another turn of the path brought them to their query. Miss Edwina stood with Lord Evans just between the path the Bridgertons occupied and the serpentine. Lady Danbury stood not far away with more of her relations. Several upstanding members of the ton were present, and to Anthony’s delight, within earshot.

“Would you like us to accompany you, brother?” Anthony turned to Eloise. “No, thank you, Eloise. This shall only take a moment.”

With his shoulders squared, he approached the man who had, quite unknowingly and unwittingly, saved his life. He shook his hand, complemented his former fiancée, wished them well and took his leave of them.

With a decidedly conscious effort, he avoided skipping back to the path like a schoolboy.

With more cheer than he’d felt in years, he again offered his arm to his mother. “Shall we continue?” Violet took his arm with a quiet murmur. “Did you say something, mother?”

“I said, ‘oh, dear’”

He tossed a questioning look her way but continued forward. The sooner they arrived back at Bridgerton House, the sooner he could begin his preparations for Kate’s arrival. “Do not be so despondent, mother. After tomorrow, everything will be as it should.” Kate will be home, he will explain the error of his ways, and secure the hand of his true Viscountess. It really could not be simpler.

His mother had other thoughts, however. “I would not place that wager, dear.”

***

The next morning, Anthony pestered his valet relentlessly. “No, Thomas, the blue one,” he insisted as the man held out an ornate gray waistcoat. “And certainly not that one,” he complained as his valet rifled through his dressing room, coming up with a garment that looked suspiciously like the one he’d worn when he’d proposed to Miss Edwina. “In fact. Thomas, go ahead and burn that one.”

His valet looked at him quizzically but continued his search. “My lord, I am afraid I need further description of the waistcoat you desire. Perhaps I’ll fetch another lantern as well.” He fetched the needed light and returned to his task. “My lord, it is not yet dawn. Are you certain a specific waistcoat is necessary?”

Of course it was.  “Indeed. It must be the blue one. No, not that blue one,” he griped as Thomas held out the wrong one again. “It had, eh, little squares on it perhaps? Aha!” he exclaimed when the correct one was located. “Thank you, Thomas! You have proven yourself quite useful this morning.”

He wondered briefly if Kate would recognize it, the waistcoat he wore during their first meeting in the park. She would, he thought. That mind of hers missed nothing. She would see it and be reminded of a time before all the upset, he was sure.

Once dressed to his satisfaction, he mounted his horse and rode for the park. It was just moments before dawn when he arrived, and he settled in to wait. Two hours later, he admitted a momentary defeat and made his way to Bridgerton House.

It would be fine, he told himself. She would need her rest after the two-day journey from Cambridge. She merely chose to sleep in that morning.

“Brother!” Benedict exclaimed when he stepped into the breakfast room. “You’ve arrived quite early today. To what do we owe the honor?”

“It is my house, Benedict. I do not require an invitation.”

His mother, ever seeking harmony, intervened. “Of course not, dearest.” She gestured to the place setting a housemaid laid at the head of the table. “You so rarely join us for breakfast, however.”

“Yes, well, it seemed prudent to begin the day at here instead of my quarters across the square.” His mother nodded in understanding. “So,” he inquired of his family, “what does everyone have planned for the day?”

With half an ear, he listened to his siblings speak their intentions. Breakfast was finished as quickly as he could make it so, and he situated himself in the drawing room.

He read his newspaper. He flipped through a book in which he had absolutely no interest. He quizzed Gregory on his Latin and deflected Hyacinth’s pleas for a dog. He pestered each and every one of them without mercy, such was his need for a way to pass the time. One by one, they dispersed to other parts of the house until it was just his mother.

“Am I correct to assume you are waiting for a visitor, Anthony?” It was just before tea and he told himself to be grateful she asked her question now and not after his siblings returned.

“Of course I am expecting a visitor, Mother. Kate will arrive at any moment.”

Violet set her needlepoint down quite abruptly. “Oh! I was unaware you had received correspondence indicating her intentions to call.”

“I have not, however I do not need to receive correspondence to know that she will be here. The engagement with her sister has ended. She will feel the need to take me to task over it. Given her strong opposition to my courtship of Miss Edwina and the subsequent events surrounding both the betrothal and it’s end, she will feel it necessary to dress me down.” With what he hoped was a casual manner, he strode to the window that overlooked the street in front of Bridgerton House.

Kate, where in bloody hell are you?

“It is early in the day yet. I am sure she has much to attend in her return.”

Violet was not so sure. “Hmm. And have you decided on a course of action if she does not call today?”

“She will be here, mother. I am certain.” He snapped his newspaper in front of his face to dissuade further conversation. “I would not make that wager, either,” he heard her mutter under her breath as she rang the bell for tea.

So Anthony waited. He waited through tea, through the excitement of seeing the footman in the doorway only to announce Penelope Featherington calling upon Elosie. He waited through the evening and finally dinner. With each passing hour his hope dwindled.

As eleven o’clock approached, he tossed back the remainder of his brandy. He stood as he had all day, in the drawing room of Bridgerton House, wearing the same blue checked waistcoat he donned that morning, and accepted his current circumstance.

Kate Sharma had no intention of calling upon him today.

Chapter Text

Kate Sharma rose with the sun. For the briefest of moments, she as back in Cambridge, away from London. She could breathe in Cambridge, as well as eat and sleep.

This was not the case in Mayfair. Not when she was reminded of him everywhere she turned, memories coupled with the possibility of having to look into his eyes again creating a vise around her chest, clenching tighter and tighter with every passing moment. She only slept if she kept busy, working herself to exhaustion. The days she did not do so, she tossed and turned, constantly subjected to the brightly burning ball of hope that had lived inside her when he’d called out, “wait!” from the steps at Aubrey Hall to his voice repeating, “That was meant for Miss Edwina,” over and over in her mind. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw him upon bended knee before Edwina.

It was enough to drive a woman mad.

Why had Lady Danbury called for her return? She could offer no assistance in any reconciliation between her sister and the Viscount. Edwina’s actions, if Lady Whistledown was truthful, were confusing to say the least but what was done was done.

It wasn’t as if the broken engagement tarnished her sister’s standing with the ton. According to the chamber maid’s exuberance when Kate had arrived from Cambridge the previous night, callers for Edwina, including one Lord Evans, had resumed just a few days after confirmation that the betrothal was ended. Surely Lady Danbury would not wish for Kate to guide her sister for the rest of the season?

A miniscule amount of comfort was found in the fact that Lord Bridgerton would no longer have cause to call upon Danbury House. It was quite unfortunate she would not be allowed to remain within the walls until she was finally allowed to leave for home, for India, where she would be free of these thoughts and feelings.

She rose to face the day and dressed in her riding habit and laced up her boots. She would need the exercise if she intended to sleep this evening. She plaited her hair and considered it done.

The hallway was empty and quiet. A sigh of relief escaped her. Her mood was not such to endure talk of the Viscount or current suitors. A day’s reprieve was all she needed. Then she would have her mask back in place and be the loving, doting sister that she desired to be to Edwina.

“Miss Sharma.” Kate stopped cold at the sound of Lady Danbury’s voice. “I am pleased to see you are awake. My sincere apologies but it would be best if you did not ride this morning. We have much to discuss.” Kate squared her shoulders and followed the older woman into her study.

“Before we discuss why I called you back to London, I shall inform you of upcoming activities.” She moved behind her des but remained standing. “Several gentlemen have inquired about your possible return and requested opportunities to call upon you.”

No, absolutely not. “Lady Danbury, I do not—”

“I have accepted their requests on your behalf,” she said with an irritating smirk. “I believe Lord Clarke and Mister Rutledge… not that one,” she said at Kate’s horrified expression, “the younger one, untitled, second cousin I believe, but quite wealthy. As I was saying, these gentlemen have expressed interest in renewing acquaintances with you. I have accepted. The next ball is in four days,” she continued, pointedly ignoring the vigorous shaking of Kate’s head. “You are to report to the modiste this afternoon to be fitted for new dresses.”

“I have plenty of dresses.”

It did not matter if she had dresses or not but she could not explain this to her sponsor. How could she tell her that she herself would never marry for duty? Kate would never marry for love, either. He did not love her as she did him, and she knew with all of her being that she would never love another.

“Oh, pish tosh, Miss Sharma!” Lady Danbury tossed up her hands in exasperation. “You’ve lost a full stone in the past fortnight. Let us not dwell upon the why and simply move on from here. You shall be fitted today. Madame Delacroix has promised the gowns shall be delivered in time for the next ball.”

With a barely audible voice, she asked, “Why?”

Lady Danbury pulled out her chair. “I shall tell you. It would behoove you to make every effort possible to secure a successful match for yourself. I understand why you would wish to return to India but you need to accept that return is not a viable solution if you wish for your family to remain in London.”

“I do not understand! You know as well as I that I am not what the ton would consider an eligible candidate for the marriage mart.” Lady Danbury shrugged. “Let us hope they change their minds.”

Once seated, Lady Danbury, still in her dressing gown, picked up a letter from her desk. The seal was broken. “I called you back to London because of this.” She waved the letter in the air but did not yet offer it to Kate. “It appears the Sheffields did not deign to wait for my announcement of the end of your sister’s betrothal to the Viscount. Instead, they decided to withdraw their promise to endow your sister regardless of rank. It seems Lady Whistledown reaches as far as Somerset.” A quick intake of breath was the only sound.

“Miss Sharma, does Miss Edwina realize the importance of a dowry for a young woman on the marriage mart?”

“Of course she does.”

“And does she realize that she in fact has no dowry?” The two women stared at each other. Kate was the first to break. “I told her I would see to it.”

Lady Danbury leaned back against her chair with a huff. “All this time and you have yet to inform her of the Sheffields’ stipulations.” It was not a question, so Kate felt no need to respond. “Miss Sharma, your family’s lack of knowledge will be rectified. Today.” She stood and strode past Kate’s chair. She looked back when the younger woman did not follow.

“Now, Miss Sharma!”

***

Market Street was busy and Kate was thankful for it. It was almost as if one could disappear in the sea of bodies and carriages that bustled along, each going about their business, none the wiser to the chaos that infiltrated her mind. Lady Danbury had provided one of her maids to accompany Kate to the modiste as the other women in the house had refused to attend.

Edwina had cried and Lady Mary had spoken harshly to her when she’d told them about the arrangement with Lord and Lady Sheffield. Edwina’s concern was that Lord Evans would lose interest in her once he learned that she had no dowry. She’d tearfully questioned how she was expected to marry anyone without one. Lady Mary had been aghast at the thought of begging to her parents for funds. The small, spiteful part of Kate wanted to ask mother just where she thought the dowry for Edwina to marry Lord Bridgerton was to have come from but redirected her thoughts away from such pettiness.

Kate had been so distraught after her mother and sister had left the room that she’d laughed outright at Lady Danbury when she’d reminded Kate of the appointment with the modiste. If Edwina was unable to secure a match without a dowry, just how in the world was Kate Sharma, a spinster beyond marriageable age, supposed produce such an achievement? Lady Danbury had given her her third earful for the day and sent her off.

“Miss Sharma, so delightful to see you again!” Madame Delacroix gestured to the fitting room as she eyed her form in her current day dress. “Please, let us make haste if we are to have the gowns ready in time. I see we shall need a smaller cut.” A bit of disapproval came through in her tone.

For the next hour, Kate was stripped, measured, and draped in fabric after fabric. “The darker one is fine,” she said, pointing to a fabric the modiste had discarded.

Madame Delacroix looked stricken for a moment. “My apologies, Miss Sharma. Lady Danbury has insisted upon more vibrant colors for your gowns, Miss. She requested mainly jewel tones.” Kate sighed but nodded her agreement. It was not her money she was wasting, after all.

“Miss Sharma,” Madame Delacroix said quietly while the maid left to browse in the other room. “I assure you that the colors we have selected with guarantee the attention Lady Danbury is seeking for you.” She leaned just a bit closer. “You, too, can have a wonderful match this season, Miss Sharma.”

***

Days passed, four or five, he could not be sure. The number did not signify.

Each day was the same. He rose early, dressed, and crossed the square to Bridgerton House. He broke his fast with his family and retreat to his study. Ledger upon ledger occupied his mind and his time. Staff brought him a tray at teatime. He left in the early evening to dine at Whites for dinner. He drank and socialized with the other gentlemen in attendance. He left White’s to accompany his family to whatever social event was held that night, desperate to see her face and despondent with the realization that Kate was not in attendance.

Not that he needed to see her to know the events in her life. Oh, no. The gentlemen at White’s had been plenty eager to discuss the courtships of the sister of the Viscount’s former fiancée. No less than five callers had been reported seen entering Lady Danbury’s residence, not including the callers for Miss Edwina. Lord Clarke was seen promenading with the young woman during the same time Anthony had been pacing in front of the windows of the drawing room. Another had been spotted riding with her and a maid in a curricle the next day.

And fucking Thomas Dorset had taken her to Gunter’s for ices.

Anthony forced himself to set the decanter down gently after refilling his glass. He was too much a gentleman to ruin a perfectly good brandy over the likes of Dorset. He tossed back his drink as Benedict called to him from the doorway.

“Brother, are you joining us tonight?”  Benedict was already dressed for the ball.

Anthony nodded. “Yes, I shall be ready to depart within the hour.” He ignored Benedict’s stare as he filled his third glass. “Was there something else, Benedict?”

“I was merely wondering how long this would go on?”

“How long what would go on?”

“Whatever,” Benedict waved his hand in a circle toward Anthony’s person, “this is.”

Anthony had no time for riddles. “Speak plainly or get out.”

“You look as Colin did when he arrived from Albania.” Benedict scrunched up his nose in derision. “Not the best look for you, brother.”

He cleared his throat and finally made his point. “Mother told me, Anthony. The end of the betrothal, the odd behavior for the past week or more.” Benedict took a step closer and lifted the decanter out of his brother’s reach. “As much as I love a drink, perhaps you could solve your problem like an adult.

“Just go speak with her!”

If only it were so simple. “She does not wish to speak with me. Her behavior has indicated as much.”

Benedict shook his head. “Of course she does not wish to speak with you, brother. You threw her over for the opportunity to gain the legal authority to fuck her sister. I would not wish to speak to you either.”

Anthony restrained the nearly overwhelming desire to punch his brother. “How dare you reduce her to such commonality? Miss Sharma does not think in such terms.” Did she? Surely not.

“My point, Anthony, is that this will not be easy. You need to speak with her. Of course she does not wish to speak with you; no woman in her right mind would! But you must try, and you must insist, if you truly wish to marry the woman.” Benedict turned, carrying the decanter with him. “Preferably after a bath and a shave.”

***

Anthony stopped short as he entered the ballroom. His heart must surely have stopped for a moment for why else would it kick so but to be restarted? He did not feel the gentleman behind him crash into his back, nor did he here the mild outrage due Anthony’s inconsideration.

She was here.

Kate Sharma stood on the opposite side of the room, standing somewhat stiffly next to Lady Mary. A beacon in vibrant purple, it was impossible to miss her. Mother and daughter watched as Miss Edwina participated in quadrille.

He took a determined step forward but was detained by his mother’s hand on his arm. “Gently, Anthony. Polite society does not need to be drawn into this mess.” Violet steered him to the left. “Let us make our way to the Sharmas in good time.”

‘In good time,’ Anthony discovered, was near to a quarter hour. It was torture, he thought. He was drawn to her like a magnet. Fighting the pull was a near to impossible feat.

“Miss Sharma,” he said when he and Violet finally made their way to the other side of the ballroom, “it is a pleasure to see you back in London.” Her eyes which had widened briefly when she noticed his approach, dropped to the floor.

Please, I beg of you, look at me!  “I trust your return from Cambridge was uneventful.”

“Lord Bridgerton, Lady Bridgerton,” she said in barely more than a whisper as she dropped into a small curtsey. “Indeed, it was.”

“Anthony,” his mother said, interrupting a truly awkward pause of Anthony staring at Kate and Kate staring at the floor. “Miss Edwina is returning from this set. It would be wise if you escorted her to the refreshment table.” Her voice was soft so as not to carry beyond their group. “We need to appear amicable, my dear, to keep the whispers at bay.”

Duty, of course, roused Anthony from his dream of pulling Kate into his arms and cursing her for her absence in his life. “Of course, mother.” He turned to Edwina who arrived on the arm of a young Baron. “Miss Edwina, would you care to join me for refreshments?” Her eyes flicked in brief annoyance but she accepted his arm.

“I understand this is not ideal, Lord Bridgerton,” Edwina told him as they move away from the others, “but I do appreciate your assistance in my efforts to maintain standing.”

He cared nothing for her standing at the moment but knew that he was ultimately to blame for any scorn she may feel from the ton. “Tis no trouble, Miss Edwina. I hope wagging tongues will not hinder your courtship with Lord Evans.”

“As do I, my lord.” They retrieved their glasses and turned to face the dancers take the floor for the next set. “I have not yet been cut and I should like to keep it that way.” Anthony nodded as he watched the dancers begin their waltz. “Understood, Miss Edwina.”

Couple after couple moved by them, blending together in a sea of black and pastels, until a flash of bright purple caught his eye. “Is that—”

“Kate, yes,” Edwina responded, sipping her drink as her sister waltzed with a rather broad shouldered man. “It is good to see her dance, is it not? Do you realize she has only danced in society once before, at Aubrey Hall? Mister Rutledge has called upon her two days in a row now. I dare say he brought her the largest bouquet of roses I have ever seen.” She continued, oblivious to the man next to her vibrating with anger. “Of course, tulips are her favorite, but Mister Rutledge would have no cause to know this, nor any of the others who've called upon her.”

Kate and her dance partner finally moved in front of them. Surely, she is not enjoying this. She smiled at him. No, his mind whispered. No, please don’t—

Her laugh carried to them and he snapped the stem off of his glass, splashing lemonade upon the floor.

“Lord Bridgerton!” He jerked his attention back to Miss Edwina and noticed the mess upon the floor. “My apologies, Miss Edwina. Let us move away.” They moved toward the table where Anthony deposited the broken glass, narrowly missing the reach hand of another patron as he kept glaring at the dance floor. He did not see Edwina’s head whip back and forth between him and her sister, understanding dawning in her eyes.

Edwina gasped. “Tis Kate,” she said quietly. “Is it not? You were eager to end our engagement not because of any fault of mine but because I am not Kate.”

He could not meet her eyes, surrounded as they were by the ton. Edwina grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out to the terrace. Neither noticed the discrete following of Violet Bridgerton.

Edwina rounded to face him. “You are in love with my sister!” Her chest heaved with ire. “You pursued me, you courted me! Lord Bridgerton, you proposed to me when it was my sister you desired! How.. how... how could you do this to me, or to Kate? You are no gentleman, sir.”

His head snapped up. “Miss Edwina, I would kindly ask you to mind your words. Were you a man I would call you out for such a remark. And why am I the only villain here? Your sister feels for me as well and did nothing to advise you of the situation.” Perhaps he would feel guilt at his words later, but in that moment, he wished to spread his misery.

“She wouldn't,” Edwina whispered. “Tis just like her, to put her own desires behind my own. To make sacrifices for herself so I would be spared and given what I wanted. You… You  knew she cared for you and yet still you asked me to be your wife? Oh, I am quite angry with you!”

“I can honestly say that my intent was never to cause harm.”

“Well, harm you have caused, intent or no. Now how shall you fix this mess?”

“How am I to endeavor to fix it when she will not talk to me? She refuses to speak to me. Even when she is not surrounded by suitors,” he growled.

“Ha! You should not be surprised my lord. My sister is beautiful and brilliant. Twas only a matter of time before the men of the ton saw beyond her facade. Although I would argue that the end of our engagement only lent credibility to her assertion that you were not a suitable candidate for myself.

“But I shall take pity upon you, my lord. If it is my sister you want, I must day you are doing everything wrong. I may well be able to assist.” She slanted her eyes toward him. “For a price.”

“What? You would extort the situation?”

“Without a moment’s hesitation.”

Good God, he thought. “What do you want?”

“A dowry.”

An astonished chuckle escaped him. “I beg your pardon? You were going to marry me without a dowry?”

“Oh, as if you cared about such things at the time.”

He grumbled, though her statement was true. “Why on earth would you expect me to provide you with a dowry?”

“I do not expect it, sir. Tis merely a...business arrangement. I help you and should your efforts to secure my sisters hand prove successful you would become my brother. As my brother you would bestow upon me a dowry. When Lord Evans completes his tasks over the winter and seeks to marry next season, my lack of a dowry will no longer be an issue.” He shook his head in exasperation.

“You realize my sister has no dowry either.”

He gaped at her. “I shall not require financial incentive to marry Kate!”

Edwina merely lifted an eyebrow as she stared at him. “Then do we have an agreement?”

He weighed the benefits of her offer. “A small one only, no more than five thousand pounds.” She sniffed and nodded. “Acceptable.”

“And I am not liable to pay unless and until Kate is my wife.” Edwina nodded in agreement.

“You have to make her angry.”

“What?”

“You have broken her heart, my lord, but worse yet you have wounded her pride. She will not forgive easily. She will build a shell around herself and allow nothing to penetrate it. Much as you would, I suspect now that I have seen your true nature. You must make her angry. Angry enough to break the shell.”

“How am I to do so when she will not speak to me?” Did no one else witness what he had in the ballroom?

Edwina’s eyes flashed with triumph. “When have you ever abided by my sisters wishes? What angers Kate is the same that angers you; simply get in her way.”

Chapter Text

Anthony quickly learned that Miss Edwina’s advice of ‘simply get in her way’ was quite easier said than done. He’d left Edwina on the terrace during the ball with every intention of asking Kate for a dance. She could not very well deny him within the bounds of propriety. Unfortunately for himself, Miss Sharma had finished her dance by the time he returned to the ballroom and had immediately developed a ‘quite severe headache’ according to Lady Mary and returned home.

His duty to Eloise kept him from storming after her. At the very moment he turned to exit the ballroom, Eloise had approached him for sanctuary. Just a few paces behind her was Lord Hutchinson, a man whose reputation put Anthony’s to shame. By the time he’d dissuaded Lord Hutchinson from pursuing his sister in the most tactful manner of which he was capable, the other Sharmas had departed, and his mother was stifling her yawns with a gloved hand.

“Are you well, dear?” his mother asked during the carriage ride home.

I am anything but well. “Of course, mother.”

Violet Bridgerton was no easy to deter, however. “Miss Sharma looked quite lovely tonight, did she not?” Anthony nodded.

Indeed, she had, when she’d looked anywhere but at him. Her eyes, always shrouded with intelligence and wit, had recently been sheathed in pain when they met his. Not that this was often, of course. Perhaps twice over the course of the evening, all told.

Why would she look at him, after all that he’d done?

“She seemed quite happy to be dancing tonight,” Eloise said with surprise.

“And why shouldn’t she?” his mother retorted.

“I am simply surprised Miss Sharma would find enjoyment in such tedium, or overzealousness which is indeed worse as demonstrated by Lord Hutchinson. Surely Mister Rutledge cannot be interesting enough to hold the attention of an intelligent woman.”

“She is an accomplished dancer,” Violet said with conviction. “I cannot recall a single ball, outside of the Hearts and Flowers ball, of course, in which Miss Sharma was asked to dance. She is a beautiful young woman and while I understand that you, Eloise, have a much different opinion, most young women quite enjoy being asked to dance.” Anthony felt the heat of her stare but did not interject. “It makes us feel noticed and appreciated, as much as society will allow. It can be a bit of a painful experience to stand on the sidelines, set after set, ball after ball, and watch all the other girls be chosen while you yourself are left to meander with the matrons and chaperones. It seems that Miss Sharma has garnered the attention of several gentleman of the ton, and not a moment too soon, I dare say.”

A gentleman would walk away from her, Anthony thought, as his mother’s words stabbed at him like knives, pricking his very soul over his failures and misguided intentions.

A gentleman, one with honor, would allow her to find whatever happiness she could with Mister Rutledge, whatever Lord that Lady Danbury tossed her way, or even fucking Dorset so long as the man treated her well.

A gentleman would accept his errors and retreat, thus allowing the lady to find a most suitable match, one who asked her to dance without the prompting of another, one who sought her out for the pleasure of her company, who had never viewed her as merely a competitor to be bested.

Despite his arguments to the contrary, he knew Miss Edwina was correct; Anthony Bridgerton was no gentleman.

***

Edwina squared her shoulders and left the kitchen, where she’d unabashedly harassed the kitchen staff for assistance, with two mugs. The drink would be much needed sustenance for her sister and give her the opening she needed.

She’d put this conversation off too long, she knew. Once up the stairs, she carefully cradled both mugs in her arms as she opened the door. Her sister, similarly dressed in her nightgown and dressing gown, started from where she sat on the side of the bed.

“Didi, I thought perhaps this would help you sleep.” She handed her sister a mug of warm, spiced milk. It was the same treat Kate had brought to her so many times in India when Edwina had felt anxious or overwhelmed. She registered the surprise on Kate’s face.

It was then that Edwina noted her error; Kate was the caretaker to such an extent that the concept of someone bringing her a beverage for comfort was alien indeed.

Well, Edwina thought, she would have to adjust.

“Thank you, bon.” She sipped her beverage, a soft moan escaping her mouth. “We have not enjoyed this drink in many months.” Edwina sipped as well, enjoying this small amount of home. “Tis true, we have not. I thought perhaps this was the best time.”

Never let it be said that her sister was a coward, Edwina thought, when Kate dived right into the necessary but difficult conversation.

“Edwina, regarding the situation with the Sheffield’s—"

“I understand,” Edwina said, interrupting her sister.

“You do?” Kate stared at her in surprise.

“I believe so, yes. You thought to obtain a dowry the only way available to you.”

“Yes.”

Edwina tried to choose her words carefully as she reached out to grip her sister’s hand. “Kate, I know that you would never arrange something regarding my future with malicious intent.  While I do have questions about some of your, um, actions over the last few months, I need you to know that I understand that you would never deliberately cause me harm or wish me ill.”

“Never, bon,” she whispered fiercely.

“Kate, you have never questioned me about the Viscount.” Kate tensed at the title and turned her head away, but Edwina pressed on. “You have been back in Mayfair for several days now. I half expected you to crow about being right.”

“I would never celebrate your pain, as you are aware.” Edwina waited for Kate to continue but only observed the tremor of her hand when she lifted her mug to her mouth.

“I suppose I will simply tell you since you won't ask outright. The Viscount requested that I end the engagement. And he was correct. There is much I did not consider when I accepted his proposal.  I was quite infatuated with the idea of being Viscountess, of living in such a magnificent home. Perhaps I wanted to be admired by others, a vast change from what we experienced back home.”

“But I do not love him, Kate. And neither does he love me.”  She rolled her eyes behind her sisters back as she turned to hastily place her drink on the table next to the bed.

“In fact, if I had not been chosen the Queen’s diamond, I suspect the Viscount would never have entertained even the thought of courting me, let alone proposing. I should think the Viscount would require a woman more mature, more aware than myself of the deeds and tasks necessary for the role of Viscountess. Perhaps someone more...” like you, she wanted to say but dropped off when Kate rose and moved to stare out the window, her back to her sister, arms wrapped around her midsection as if they were all that held her together.

Why did I not see this?

“Is there anything else, anything at all, that you would like to talk about, didi? Many changes have occurred in the last few months, to say nothing of these last weeks. Is there anything you would like to tell me?”

Kate shook her head. In barely more than a whisper, she said, “I wish only for your happiness, bon.” Edwina’s shoulders fell. She would need to do more to encourage her sister to confide in her.

“I do quite enjoy my time with Lord Evans, Didi. He is fun and humorous, and he seems to enjoy engaging in conversation with me. I do become rather eager to be in presence again soon after I’ve left it.”

“I am happy for you, bon. I am glad you have found a light at the end of this darkness.”

Edwina drained the last of her milk. “Perhaps there is someone who inspires such feelings in yourself? Someone to whom you find your gaze drawn, who lights a spark in your heart?” As she was closer to stamping her feet in frustration than she would like, she accepted defeat.

“We shall promenade tomorrow,” she said with certainty. “Perhaps Lord Clarke or Mister Dorset shall accompany you. Lady Danbury will chaperone, of course. It will be a lovely day.”  She feigned a yawn. “I shall bid you good night.” She left without waiting for her sisters reply.

***

Ever the dutiful son, when his mother insisted upon promenading with the family the next day, Anthony escorted his mother and younger sisters to the park.

He’d attempted just that morning to call upon Miss Sharma but had been turned away by Lady Danbury before he'd even been announced. It seemed Miss Sharma had a bevy of callers at her disposal that morning and no additions would be entertained. “Perhaps next time you will not arrive empty handed,” was Lady Danbury’s only explanation for why she would refuse him entry.

While he knew it no less than he deserved, the knowledge did not quelch the anger that rose in him at the thought of another man bringing her flowers or offering his arm to her. He refused to even entertain the possibility of another man proposing, becoming the first to kiss her, to touch her, to father a child with her as the mere thought of such nonsense turned his mood murderous.

She was his, and he was hers. That was the end of it. He simply needed to convince her of this.

The Bridgerton’s arrival at the park was evidence of the depth of work ahead of him. Miss Sharma was gathered with her sister and another woman with whom Anthony was not acquainted. The trio was engaged in a rather impressive game of battledore and shuttlecock with significant distances between them. Lady Danbury stood a few paces away under a tree. On the opposite side of the group, just apart from the women, stood one Thomas Dorset, offering advice to the ladies on stance and reach. Anthony took a step forward, a low growl forming in his chest, only to be stopped by his mother’s grip and a quick shake of her head.

“Oh!” Eloise exclaimed. “I’ve not played in some time. I believe I shall ask if they have an extra racket.” Before Anthony could stop her, she departed their group. Now he had no choice but to engage with the enemy as his mother and Hyacinth joined Lady Danbury.

“Dorset,” he said as he approached. The man nodded in response and returned his attention to the game.

Kate, seemingly unaware of his approach, swung out with her racket, connecting with the shuttlecock, and sending it flying toward Miss Edwina. “Sorry, bon!” she called as Edwina bustled forward with more speed than grace to make her connection. The third woman made her own swing just as Anthony made himself known.

He cleared his throat and spoke. “Miss Sharma, perhaps you should move a bit farther if you intend to use such a lengthy swing.” A bit of direction should set her stewing, he thought. Unfortunately, Lord Bridgerton was once again wrong in his estimation of Miss Sharma's response. 

She froze, so completely that the  hurtling shuttlecock escaped her notice and hit her square on the head with a resounding smack.

“Miss Sharma!” Anthony rushed toward her as Edwina called out her name in shock. “Are you well?” He lifted up an arm to block Dorset’s approach but almost gasped in indignation when Kate turned, not to him, but to Dorset to respond.

“I am fine,” she told him with an uncomfortable shake of her head as everyone gathered around her, even Lady Danbury expressing concern. “I should pay much better attention."

Anthony moved his shoulder in front of Dorset to block his attempt to offer his arm. “I believe perhaps the game should be called to allow Miss Sharma a bit of recovery, yes?” She refused to look at him or even reply. The woman had the audacity to turn her back to him! This has gone on long enough. “Miss Sharma, I shall escort you to the benches.”

Dorset flicked a glance in his direction but did not yield. “I shall escort her to the benches, Lord Bridgerton.” It was all he could do not to shove his fist into Dorset’s face.

“Mister Dorset,” Lady Danbury interrupted. “I believe someone is trying to get your attention.” She nodded up the slight hill at the elder gentleman standing with his hand raised. “We shall see to Miss Sharma’s health.”

Kate’s spine went straight even though she kept her face toward the dowager as minor chaos raged around her. “I am well, I assure you.”

With a smug expression Anthony watched as Dorset took his leave. For the life of him, he could not remember why he’d introduced the two of them in the first place.  Dorset had nothing with which to recommend himself as a suitor for Kate.

“What are you doing?” Edwina hissed at him as Kate was saying her goodbyes.

Anthony looked around to ensure that everyone else was distracted before he replied. “You told me to get in her way. I believe this is what I am attempting to accomplish,” he whispered back to her and watched her eyes go round.

“I said get in her way! I did not say accost her in the park thus potentially causing her further embarrassment than you already have done!” She tossed her head and breathed deeply through her nose. “Lord Bridgerton,” she began in a much calmer voice, “as it appears you require further assistance making any headway at all with my sister, I must insist that you follow my lead.”

“What are you—”

Edwina spoke over his hushed tone. “Didi!” She called out to her sister as she rejoined the slightly dispersed group. Her words caught the attention of the dowagers. “Lord Bridgerton has invited all of us to dine at Bridgerton House tomorrow night.” His heart thundered as Kate’s eyes snapped to Edwina’s with an almost imperceptible shake of her head. “In a show of harmony between the families. We must continue to show that there is no ill will between us.”

“Yes, Lady Danbury and I were just talking about an opportunity to gather everyone!” Violet nearly crowed with delight. “Anthony, what a marvelous idea!”

For a second, for just a bare second before her gaze cast again to the ground in melancholic despair, Kate’s narrow, irate eyes met his.

Chapter Text

Anthony could barely contain his excitement as he barked orders at anyone who crossed his path. The cook was instructed to find the nearest Indian chef and craft a menu pleasing to both the English and Indian palate and present it to the Viscount for consideration in no more than four hours. The chamber maids were instructed to place fresh flowers in all guest rooms on the very off chance they were used, with tulips requested for the blue room on the east wing, second door from the left. Mrs. Wilson, the housekeeper, was charged with seeing that all rooms were polished to a gleam. His valet was instructed to ready a specific wardrobe for the occasion.  

“Hyacinth!” he bellowed as he strode into the drawing room to find his sister seated at the pianoforte. “Gregory and yourself shall join us in welcoming the Sharmas for dinner tomorrow. Please refrain from teasing, arguing, fighting and otherwise annoying your brother.”

Indignation colored her reply as she paused her playing. “Shall Gregory receive the same warning, brother?”

“Already done. Eloise?” He waited for her to glance over at him from her seat on the settee, her nose buried in a book. “Please be sure to keep conversation civil and appropriate for guests. No one shall be interested in your views on the misogynism of marriage.” He ignored her eye roll.

“Brother, I dare say that at least one our guests may well share my opinion, but I shall acquiesce.” He desperately hoped her assessment was incorrect but she’d given her agreement not to rouse the question so he considered it all that could be done on that front for now.  

“May I ask why the Sharmas have never been here for dinner before?” His head whipped around at Colin’s question. “It seems odd that I cannot recall a single time in which they were extended an invitation.” He was saved from a response by Benedict’s call.

“Anthony?” Benedict called from a chair at the tea table. “Is the house not properly polished as it is? Did you not just barely a fortnight ago stomp through the house and demand that only the best dishes and silver be made available at a moment’s notice?” A smirk graced his face. “Oh, never mind, brother. That was when you were newly betrothed. To Miss Sharma’s sister. My mistake.”

Anthony walked over to his brother and leaned down mere inches from his face. Devilish mirth sparkled in Benedict’s eyes. He whispered, “if you have any hope to avoid becoming a eunuch, you shall be on your best behavior tomorrow night. If you are about to say or do something that is not helpful to my cause, I encourage you to simply stop talking altogether. If you cannot or will not assist me to this end, I warn you, Benedict, do not contribute to my failure.” Benedict raised his hands in surrender, a motion that could not be trusted but again, it would do for now.

A quick survey of the library and smaller parlors revealed them to be up to standard. His study required but a quick buffing and a fresh arrangement of flowers. The hall in which the wedding portraits of prior Viscounts and their wives resided had been freshly tended with no obviously blank spaces (a fact that was not lost on the current Viscount). He made a note to request additional flowers or greenery for the halls as he knew Miss Sharma quite enjoyed the outdoors and would appreciate the addition.

His chest puffed with pride. This was the first time she would see his home. He knew she would not be interested in china or silver, or which flowers would be set out for the occasion, but he wished to display them anyway. Not to brag, exactly, he reasoned to himself, but to show evidence of the life he could provide for her.

His knowledge of her upbringing and financial situation was more apparent to him than it had previously been. It was intolerable to him that she should know anything less than the finest quality of all things. She would no longer know strife or struggle, but instead know a life of luxury that he was in fact quite desperate to provide for her.

She shall worry for nothing, he thought. I will take care of her.

Anthony rushed forward as the doorman announced the arrival of the Danbury carriage, but Eloise beat him to the door to welcome them. Benedict would have smirked at the pout on his brother’s face if it hadn’t been such an improvement over the scared-puppy expression he’d sported most of the day.

“Now, the only room that is really worth mentioning,” he heard his sister call as she walked with Miss Sharma up the stairs to the drawing room, “is the library. In fact, there is a treatise there I believe you will find most fascinating.”

Miss Sharma smiled indulgently at his sister while offering slight admonishment. “Miss Eloise, you have a truly beautiful home. You must be most grateful.” Only Benedict saw his brother strut like a peacock at the description of his house.

The five women exited the staircase just as the housekeeper gave the five-minute warning for dinner service. “Miss Sharma,” Colin said, stepping in front of Anthony, “may I escort you to dinner?”

Her shoulders visibly relaxed as Anthony’s course was necessarily diverted. “Of course, Mister Bridgerton. Thank you.”

You poor bastard, Benedict thought as he watched Anthony’s expression move rapidly from one of cautious hope to murderous rage to sadness in the space of a moment. The farther away Miss Sharma moved the deeper the sadness. What I would give to feel so much for another person.

Benedict escorted Lady Danbury to her seat, took his own, immediately called for wine, and proceeded to be entertained by the evening. The meal was lovely, the first course quite good. A wonderful lamb with a unique red sauce was accompanied by asparagus and the obligatory savories. Benedict noted Miss Sharma and her mother ate slowly, appearing to savor their meals.

He was also entertained by the wonderful game of cat and mouse Miss Sharma appeared to be playing with the Viscount. Anthony would stare at her with quiet reverence. Every time he tried to engage her in conversation she would deflect, and quite well. With every deflection came a lift of Anthony’s glass (eager to keep up with his brother, Benedict made sure to drink when he did). For her part, Miss Sharma appeared quite miserable. She kept her eyes trained down as much as possible and only engaged in conversation when asked a question directly. If her eyes accidentally met Anthony’s or if someone were to call attention to his presence at the table, her glass would reach her mouth.

Twice during the first course, Miss Sharma’s glass was refilled. Of course, his brother (and Benedict himself) was on his fourth, so there was perhaps nothing of note there.

His mother, a crafty woman if ever one existed, had seated the table with sheer brilliance. Anthony was at the head of the table, with their mother at the opposite end. Anthony was bracketed by Lady Mary and Hyacinth, while Violet hosted Edwina and Lady Danbury on either side. Next to Lady Danbury were Eloise and Francesca, while Gregory sat next to Hyacinth and Colin next to Edwina. His mother had cagily placed Miss Sharma next to Lady Mary. Close enough to Anthony to hold a conversation but not so close as to have a private one.

And Benedict thought he had the best seat of the night, square in the middle between Gregory and Colin. The seat afforded him an almost round-table view. Thanks to the acoustics of the room, talk from both ends of the table would carry to him quite nicely. Cross-table conversation was allowed since this was to be a “family” dinner.

This was evident when Hyacinth and Gregory began their bickering, just as the first course was served. It continued midway through the meal.

“You cannot have the last bit of asparagus, Hyacinth, it is mine!” Gregory declared as he waved his fork toward the single spear on the serving tray.

“What if I want it,” she cried indignantly to her brother. “You have yet to finish your first serving, why should you be able to lay claim to last remaining spear?” She began to waive a butler to pass her the tray when Kate interrupted her action.

“Miss Hyacinth,” she asked with a bemused look, “I have never seen you eat asparagus when it was served several times at Aubrey Hall. It always sat on your plate as the first course was removed. Even now a spear sits on your plate untouched.” Hyacinth’s shrug did nothing to settle her confusion.

“All of my children have such quirks, Miss Sharma,” Violet offered as an explanation of Hyacinth’s behavior. “Once, I believe I was carrying Eloise at the time, Edmund, my husband, told Anthony that he simply was not allowed to appropriate an old storage room as his bedroom at Aubrey Hall—”

“I hardly believe we must regale Miss Sharma with youthful offenses, mother,” Anthony called from the other end of the table with a disgruntled scowl.

“Oh, nonsense,” Violet replied before she continued. “As the eldest, Anthony was a bit tired of his siblings following him everywhere and trying to sleep in his bed, so he petitioned Edmond to allow him to move to a room on the third floor. Edmund forbade him, of course. Anthony campaigned so fiercely after that that Edmund eventually relented and let him stay there for a night to get the feel of it. Two hours later, Anthony came back down the stairs declaring the room horrid and too drafty to be used for anything other than a broom closet!” Violet laughed as Anthony expression turned thunderous.

“He was always telling himself he wanted one thing, usually the thing we told him he could not have, and then changing his mind as soon as he had it because he’d realized he never wanted such a thing to begin with. Oh,” she shrugged, seemingly exasperated with it all, “children, I suppose.”

Benedict leaned back as the second course was served, some sort of fish with rice accompanied by peas. He took a sample of the rice and hummed in appreciation. It had quite a unique aroma and somewhat mild heat that was quite pleasant. The Sharmas should come for dinner more often, he thought.

Deciding he could outrun his brother should he try to make good on his threat of turning Benedict into a eunuch, he said to Kate, “Mother is quite right, you know.” He grinned at Kate’s questioning look. “Regarding Anthony’s predilection for self-destruction. Miss Sharma, I do not mean to imply that you are in any way responsible for my brother’s behavior—”

Miss Sharma appeared terribly affronted. “I should hope not, Mister Bridgerton, as I could in no way be responsible for his lordship’s—"

“But you may as well have waved a red flag in front of his face and yelled, ‘charge!’  Why, the very moment you told him he could not court your sister with the intention of marriage made it quite the game indeed. And we all know just how much the Viscount does not care to lose.” He gave her a moment to recoup herself and close her mouth as she took in the chuckles and nods of agreement from the Bridgertons at the table. Anthony’s thunderous glare told him would regret his indiscretion, but Benedict was having too much fun.

Anthony’s throat clearing was loud enough to be heard at the other end of the table. “You exaggerate once again, Benedict—”

“Oh, he absolutely does not!” Eloise received a scowl for her trouble.

Anthony drained his wine glass again and gestured to the steward to fill it. “In any case, what is the marriage mart if not the ultimate game of social politics? It is the woman who must accept to be courted or accept a proposal. It is in fact the women who have the final say.”

“Indeed she does, my lord, but would that not assume the lady in question has access to all pertinent information?” Edwina inquired with a knowing look.

For the first time that evening, Kate addressed Anthony directly. “I do understand why you would assume such a notion, my lord. A man such as yourself would never be able to relate to a woman’s place in society and the limitations placed upon her. We are to behave as if subjugated, enthralled to the will of men with little choice in our own futures unless a man grants us such favor.” Kate’s chin lifted a notch at Eloise’s lift of her wine glass in cheers to her words.

“Perhaps,” he allowed, “but then I as a man and a Viscount also experience quite a few limitations due to my role in society. For example, I do not have the luxury of threatening to run away to another country every time a difficult conversation arises.” A gasp rang out just before Kate ever so carefully returned her silverware to the near empty plate in front of her. “When I am asked to make a decision, I am not allowed the indulgence of deflection in order to preserve my pride nor to abandon a family that requires my leadership.”

This was an unfortunate time for Colin to attempt swallowing. Edwina, more of a sport than Benedict had taken her for, thumped him heartily on the back with a murmured, “Do not engage, we’re finally getting somewhere,” subsequently inspiring the smallest of smirks from his mother.

Lady Mary quickly called Benedict attention back to that end of the table. “You must admit, dear,” she said to Kate, “His Lordship does make a valid point.”

Caramel colored eyes as wide as saucers landed on Lady Mary. “How could you possibly—”

“I simply mean that every time anyone attempts to engage you in conversation about possible futures for yourself, you have always retreated to your decision to return to India. Alone, I might add.” Kate, like Anthony a few minutes prior, drained her glass and signaled the steward, while Anthony smiled in triumph that someone, anyone, agreed with him. “Darling, I only mean that you are the only one requiring yourself to enter a life of servitude. I understand the challenges you believe you might face in acclimating to a life here—”

“What challenges?”

Kate practically growled her response to the Viscount. “Tis none of your concern, my lord.”

Lady Mary, however, felt quite differently regarding the topic. “I only mean to say, Lord Bridgerton, that Kate is perfectly capable of securing a beneficial, and dare I say happy,” she shot a look at her eldest child, “match for herself as these last few weeks have indicated.” She turned back to Kate. “Unfortunately, every time the topic is broached or a something happens that is not in your favor, the first thing out of your mouth is returning to India. My love, it is fine if you truly wish to return but to do so out of fear of change or fear of anything, really, is a discredit to yourself.”

Anthony nodded to the woman next to him. “Quite right, Lady Mary.”

“Once again, I do not believe this is your concern, Lord Bridgerton.” She tipped her glass back once again. “Perhaps we might move to more appropriate topics—"

“Miss Sharma,” Anthony stood from his seat as he addressed her. “Perhaps we should take a walk in the gardens so that we might speak privately.”

She scoffed at him and waved her now empty glass. “Because that worked so well the first time.” Her eyes widened and fixated on the tablecloth as she realized what she’d just revealed. Of course, everyone else’s eyed widened as well, his own included. No one spoke for a full minute.

“Kate,” Lady Mary asked softly, “what first time?”

All eyes flickered from Kate to Anthony. “Nothing!” they responded in unison, looking anywhere but at each other.

Lady Danbury would allow them no leave, however. “I believe Lord Bridgerton and Miss Sharma are referring a meeting that occurred in the gardens of Aubrey Hall. A bee sting, I believe?” Her owlish eyes blinked toward the Viscount, but Benedict did not miss the stunned expression his mother had as she briefly turned to Lady Danbury before returning her attention to the other end of the table.

Oh, Lady Danbury, I believe you are in trouble.

“You were present when Kate was stung?” Edwina called out to Anthony, quite in shock.

“Anthony! You will answer me this,” their mother said sternly with her mouth in a hard line. “Exactly how many private meetings have you had with Miss Sharma? Do not forget to include where and when.”

“Mother, perhaps this is best discussed privately—”

“Hyacinth, Gregory, Francesca,” Violet interrupted her eldest, “you are excused from the table. Please retreat to the drawing room where you will take your dessert.”

“But mother, surely we can—”

“Now, Gregory.” The children grumbled but removed themselves from the room.

“Anthony,” his mother continued. “Your answer.”

“Oh, quite a few, I would imagine.” Lady Danbury was spilling all the secrets this night, Benedict thought with glee. He’d not had this much fun at dinner since the incident with Colin’s tea. “Let’s see. There was the meeting in the park, was there not, Lord Bridgerton?”

Benedict could practically hear his brother’s teeth grinding. “Lady Danbury, there has been nothing untoward that has occurred—”

“What about during the hunt? I am sure there were occasions for private conversation as the maid I allowed for Miss Sharma’s chaperone was one with quite shoddy horsemanship. Then I believe there was the library, was there not? Oh, let us not forget your study, Lord Bridgerton? Miss Sharma, did you not follow Lord Bridgerton into his study after your dance at the Hearts and Flowers ball?”

“Kate!” Lady Mary appeared to be having quite the fit as her voice reached octaves reserved for only the most skilled sopranos.

“Lady Danbury, I do not appreciate the implication you are making of Miss Sharma’s character!”

“Nothing happened!”

Anthony turned to Kate, quite perplexed now. “How can you say that? Had it been anyone but Daphne to enter that room – “

“Daphne saw you?” Oh, no! Mother did not like that.

Kate set down her glass, a bit farther away this time. “Lady Bridgerton, I assure you, there was nothing to see. Nothing untoward occurred.”

“Other than you were alone. With a man. One who happens to be my son.” Her eyes pinned Anthony in his place. “One who knows proper behavior. We will speak of this, Anthony.” His brother squared his shoulders at her threat.

“Kate,” Lady Mary said softly as she rose from her seat. “You have kept so very much from me. As well as your sister. We shall discuss this at length, young lady.” The former glared daggers at the Viscount who came as close to squirming as Benedict had ever seen him do and the latter appeared quite… pleased for reasons Benedict could not ascertain.

Lady Mary turned to face Violet. “Lady Bridgerton. Thank you for a wonderful dinner. The kedgeree was particularly wonderful, and quite a delightful surprise.”

Anthony’s chest puffed at the complement as he’d been responsible for ensuring the cook found a menu pleasing to the Sharmas. Yet he remained silent, allowing only a brief gaze, so painful in its longing that the rest of the table had to look away, land upon Miss Sharma.

“Lord Bridgerton.”  Lady Mary turned to face his brother with a ferocious expression. “You will arrive at Danbury House at ten o'clock tomorrow morning. You and I have much to discuss. After that meeting, you will be allowed to speak with my daughter for one quarter hour, and only in my presence. It is obvious the two of you have things to discuss—”

Kate rose from her seat as well, just the slightest bit unsteady, with eyes starting to glisten. “As Lord Bridgerton has made quite obvious from his actions, he and I have absolutely nothing—”

“Hush, Kate.”

Kate took a step back at her mother’s words. Unfortunately, it sent her right into the side of Eloise’s chair. “I’ve got you, there you are now,” Eloise said as she steadied her friend. Eloise looked across the table at Benedict with her eyebrows raised quite high. Benedict covered his mouth to hide a smile.

“Lord Bridgerton, you will have said one quarter hour to say whatever it is you felt you needed to say in private to my daughter tomorrow morning in my presence. Kate,” she turned to where her eldest had begun to sway ever so slightly. “You will have a considerable amount of tea and then we shall have a very long discussion indeed. Edwina,” she called to the other end of the table. “Please assist me in escorting your sister to the carriage.”

“Miss Sharma, if you need to lie down prior to—”

“No, Lord Bridgerton,” Mary interrupted. “I will see to my daughter. Thank you for an enlightening evening.”

Everyone was quiet as the Sharmas said their goodbyes and Anthony escorted them to the hall to wait for the carriage.

“So,” Eloise called as she looked around the table. “Have we decided upon a victor for this round?”

Chapter Text

Mary Sharma questioned everything in her life until this point as she left Kate’s chamber and prepared herself for bed. When, exactly, had she lost the ability to see, to hear, to understand, to participate in her life? When had life become mere existence? She knew the answer, of course. It had happened when her husband died. The intense current of soul-crushing despair had dragged her under the murky, brackish waters of desolation with nary an anchor or foothold. She’d known her daughters had suffered as a result but until this very night she’d been unaware of the totality of damage her own pain and withdrawal had caused them.

Kate has suffered, she corrected. Edwina, her sweet and compliant Edwina, had flourished under Kate’s tutelage and guidance. Surely Edwina had struggled with the loss of her father, and subsequently her mother. But she’d had Kate to fill the void, hadn’t she? Someone with whom to laugh and love and learn and grow. Mary understood now that Kate had had no one, for Mary had left her as surely as her biological parents. First her birth mother, then her father. Then Mary herself. All of them had left her, in one form or another.

It was no longer a mystery to Mary why Kate would seek to inoculate herself against a match, why she would fail to advocate for her own desires and grasp fiercely at returning to India alone. Kate did not desire and independent life; she was fearful of further abandonment. She hid that fear under the pretense of duty and responsibility, terribly frightened to admit she wanted anything for herself so as not to be presumed a burden. Not that Kate had articulated as much, of course.

And that bastard had simply reinforced Kate’s belief that she was not worth keeping.

Oh, Kate, she thought morosely as she slid between the high-quality sheets Lady Danbury’s sponsorship afforded them. We will come back from this, my darling. One way or another.

“Am I to understand,” Mary said as she addressed Violet and Agatha over a private breakfast in the green parlor of Danbury House the following morning, “that Lord Bridgerton met my eldest daughter in an unsupervised meeting in the park, courted Edwina, fell in love with Kate, proposed to Edwina for reasons I simply cannot fathom, panicked at the realization that Kate might well be hurt by such an action, went crying to you,” she gestured toward Violet, “and then the two of you fabricated a scenario which allowed you both to acquire a method of ending the engagement?”

“Yes.” Agatha appeared bored with the discussion already.

“Not exactly, Mary.” Violet sighed, flicking a disgruntled look toward Lady Danbury. “Tis true that I was aware that Anthony was not eager to continue with the engagement to Miss Edwina. At no point during the courtship nor the engagement did he appear eager to wed her. He asked for my guidance when he was informed that Kate would be leaving London for the remained of the engagement period. I simply provided an opportunity for my son to show his fiancé his true self.”

“I do not understand,” Mary shook her head. “What can you mean by ‘true self?’ No!” She held up a hand. “We shall return to that in a moment. Let us cater to the immediate topic. You were aware that Lord Bridgerton was engaging in unchaperoned meetings with my daughter? With Kate?”

“Of course not!”

“Oh, I certainly knew.” Two pairs of eyes snapped to Lady Danbury. “And how did you come to be aware of such indiscretions?”

“I pay my staff very well. They are loyal to me and only me.” Agatha reached for a cigarette, daring the other ladies to object. “And several of the incidents at Aubrey Hall occurred in plain sight. All one required was to open one’s eyes.”

Mary knew her eyes were wild but did not care enough to try to calm. “At dinner you mentioned the bee sting. You were witness to Kate being stung?” Her head shook at Agatha’s nod and then again when her friend finished the tale of what she saw.

“Agatha,” Violet began, allowing Mary a moment to collect herself. “If you witnessed such behavior, why did you not come forward? Anthony would have been obligated to marry Kate—”

“And our children would not be in this predicament!” Mary swiped at a tear that escaped her flooded eyes. “Perhaps because they are not your children you feel no responsibility for them.”

“Mary—”

“That is not true.” Agatha’s voice stabbed with the ferocity that frightened the highest of nobility. “It is because of our friendship that I advocated to the Queen for Edwina to be chosen as the diamond. Had I no affection for the girl, I would never attempt to facilitate a match of her to one of my kin. I also have immense respect for Kate, for all that she has done for your family.

“Returning to the bee sting, I did not feel it was my place to demand he marry Miss Sharma when he was so close to a proposal to Edwina. All three of us were eager for the match if you recall. I did not wish to muddy those waters unless it was absolutely necessary.” She tapped the ashes off her cigarette. “I did address it with Kate. The night of the Hearts and Flowers ball, I encouraged her to speak with her sister. I believe she was about to do so when Lord Bridgerton charged out of Aubrey Hall to propose and then it was simply too late.”

Agatha looked at her friend with pity. “Mary, I mean absolutely no disrespect to you when I say this but if you had bothered to attend to Kate with half of the energy you provided to Edwina this season you would have seen it for yourself. It was obvious from the very beginning. Even the night of the soiree for Edwina’s suitors, Lord Bridgerton could not be persuaded to take his eyes off Kate. I do not recollect the man so much as looking twice at Edwina, except when he knew Kate was watching him, which was every bit as often as when he watched her.

“Miss Sharma was adamant that she would not seek a match for herself. I was not about to sabotage a match between the most eligible gentleman of the ton and the diamond of the season, and I make no apologies for that. I only spoke out last night because it is time for the secrets and half-truths to come to light.” A sigh escaped the dowager as she reached across the table to grasp her friend’s hand in comfort. “Dry your tears, old friend. I do not say this to cause you pain—”

“But it does cause me pain, Agatha.” Realization from the night before dawned anew with the burn of a thousand cinders. As much as she would love to place the blame for this debacle on the shoulders of Lady Danbury, she herself was equally if not more so at fault. She’d not been the mother to Kate that she’d promised she would be.

How weak I’ve been, she thought. But no more.

She cleared her throat to begin again. “You will tell me now, both of you since I’ve had just about enough of secrets. What do you know and how do you know it? And furthermore, what is the plan going forward to fix this calamity?”

***

Her wish that the Earth would open and swallow her whole while she was sleeping had been in vain, she realized as she awakened.

The sun hurt her eyes, forcing Kate to keep her gaze to the carpet as she made her way to the breakfast room where there would surely be tea. It was quite late in the morning and her stomach did not appear pleased with her overindulgence the previous night. If her head did not explode, Kate would consider it a fine day indeed.

“Didi.” Her sister’s voice brought her up short. Edwina was seated at a table in the breakfast room. The meal, a rather malodorous spread in Kate’s view, was laid out on the table in front of her. “It is rather late for you to join us, is it not?” The mischief in her sister’s eyes was the only relief of the day.

She had not had the opportunity to speak with her sister the night before. In truth, she’d avoided her sister as best she could which proved easy enough as her mother had been determined to speak her mind. How was she ever to explain herself, she wondered? How could Edwina possibly understand everything that had happened when Kate could barely reason it out?

“Good morning.” Kate squared her shoulders and joined her sister at the table.  She finally noticed that Edwina sat at the table alone. “Where is everyone, bon?”

Her sister handed her a cup of tea before responding. Kate sipped it gratefully. “I am not quite sure. By the time I had wandered downstairs, both this room and the drawing room were empty.”

She nodded and gingerly sipped her tea. After determining that it would stay in her stomach, she squared her shoulders. “Bon—”

“Later, didi.” She startled when Edwina reached over and grasped her hand in hers. “You and I have much to discuss but we shall do so later. After your head has returned to normal, perhaps?”

Kate ducked her head and managed to avoid her sister’s eyes. “Thank you, Edwina.” Bread had somehow ended up on her plate, so she tentatively nibbled at a corner of it. “I am sure I will be feeling perfectly fine very soon.”

“Not to mention, didi, that your day shall be quite full. Lord Clarke is to call on you today according to what mama said last night. Oh, and I believe Lord Bridgerton is set to arrive in a matter of minutes?”

“What?” That could not be true, she thought as she twisted in her seat, frantically trying to remember which wall possessed the clock. No, she had more time, she had —

She had all of ten minutes.

Oh, no.  She was not prepared for this. Her talk with Mary last night had been more than enough discussion regarding the Viscount. Mary’s words cluttered her already foggy mind.

How could you do this? How could you think so little of yourself, believe yourself to be so unworthy? How could you not confide in me? Kate, how could you keep quiet when he proposed to Edwina? Where is that demanding, feisty girl who once upended a flowerpot on the head of a royal’s son because he slighted her in favor of another? And had I known everything that had transpired between you I would have applauded had you yanked him to his feet and kicked him in the balls. No one asked you to become a martyr for this family!

She could not face him, she simply could not. Her nerves were too fraught, her mind too confused. She was not the brave woman her mother believed her to be, not in this instance. How was she to stand before him, speak to him after making such a fool of herself in front of him at dinner, in front of his family, in front of…

Oh, God, in front of his mother.

Everyone knew the power Viscountess Violet Bridgerton wielded in the ton.  If Lady Bridgerton determined her behavior as so far below reproach to warrant extrication from the ton, Edwina would be ruined, no matter how smitten Lord Evans appeared. Perhaps she would be kind, Kate thought. If anyone would understand how Lord Anthony Bridgerton could drive a woman to drink, surely it would be his mother. Kate would not be able to live with herself if she caused any further harm to Edwina’s future.

“Lord Bridgerton for Miss Kate Sharma!” the doorman announced, causing Kate to slightly stumble her way out of her seat. It’s too soon. He’s too early. He entered the room and immediately her eyes cast themselves to the floor as if her body refused to allow something that would confuse her mind.

Edwina took charge when she saw her sister falter. “Lord Bridgerton! Good morning, my lord. Tis a fine day, is it not?” 

“Eh, yes, Miss Edwina. Tis a fine day, indeed.” Her sister beamed at his response, confounding Kate. Why was she so friendly toward the Viscount? Edwina had explained that there was no ill will between them but this exchange, the cheerful words and lack of tension of any sort was most odd.

“Miss Sharma,” he began as he turned once more to Kate, “I would like—” He stopped when the door at the east end of the room leading to Lady Danbury’s private sitting room in which guests were typically not allowed suddenly opened. “Mother!” he said with surprise. “Whatever are you doing here?”

“Lady Bridgerton!” Kate and Edwina executed quick nods. “Mama, I did not realize you had risen as yet.” And why was she meeting with Lady Bridgerton and Lady Danbury so early in the day? Trepidation filled her as her stomach rolled dangerously. Could her behavior have been so abhorrent that it required a morning call? A spark of ire calmed her stomach. This was entirely Lord Bridgerton's fault. Had he not extended the invitation to dinner, the situation to overindulge would never have presented itself. Yes, she could lay blame squarely at his lordship's feet. 

Lady Bridgerton nodded to her son. “Good morning, Anthony. We were having a private conversation.” She adjusted her gloves and glanced at Lady Mary who nodded while Lady Danbury took the seat vacated by Edwina. “I shall take my leave, of course.” She turned to Kate before stepping toward the doorway.

“Miss Sharma, I am pleased to see you this morning.” Oh, dear. Whyever would she be pleased? Kate could barely remember speaking with the dowager more than a handful of times over the course of their acquaintance. Should she not be angry with her after the events at dinner? More confused than ever, she took a step closer.

Kate squared her shoulders. She would act with all the grace and dignity she could muster. “Lady Bridgerton,” Kate said quietly as she met the dowager’s eyes, “I would like to offer my apologies for my behavior in your home last evening. It was most unfortunate.”

Lady Bridgerton smiled softly. “Nonsense, dear." Oh, goodness. Did she just wink at me? "And please, I insist that you call me Violet. If I may call you Kate as well?”

“Oh, of.. of course,” she stammered in reply, missing the glances between the other ladies in the room as she attempted to ascertain why the dowager would request such familiarity. Lady Bridgerton took her exit and Kate exhaled in relief.

Mary, having stood quietly by as Lady Bridgerton made her exit, saved Kate from further acknowledging Anthony’s presence. “Lord Bridgerton?” She held open the door to the parlor that the dowagers had recently vacated. “I believe we have an appointment.”

Anthony snapped his chin up and straightened his shoulders. “Indeed.” He passed by Kate on his way to the door. “Miss Sharma—”

“Now, Lord Bridgerton.” Kate startled slightly at the venom in her mother’s voice, but it was outweighed by her gratitude. She’d now have a reprieve before facing him, however slight it was.

Chapter Text

Later he would applaud her tenacity, and certainly her gumption, for speaking sharply and directly to a Viscount. Lady Mary stared him down as he would an animal in the sights of his rifle. Now, however, his mood pricked at the thought of being subjected to the situation much longer. No doubt she knew it all by now, if not from Kate and Lady Danbury, then certainly from his own mother.

Good God, woman, speak your mind and be done with it.

Anthony sat across from Lady Mary, not at table, as that would have afforded him the benefit of a physical barrier, but across an open space. The widow had arranged two armless chairs facing each other, so close it was a wonder that their knees did not touch. Any other circumstance would have lended comfort and familiarity to the reason for the positioning. As neither of those were present, he could only assume her goal was quite the opposite. She had not spoken in minutes, only glared at him. He resisted the desire to squirm, but the urge became more paramount with each passing moment.

“How dare you?” He flinched. There was no answer he could provide. He’d made mistakes, horrible mistakes. The only path forward was, well, forward and he needed to see this through.

“Lady Mary,” he began as he urged his mind to formulate a decent response.

“Be silent.” He promptly shut his mouth but could not stop his spine from snapping straight at the insult. You must win her favor, he thought.

“Your behavior toward my daughter, both of my daughters, has been reprehensible. Truly atrocious. Were it strictly up to me, you would leave this house and never breath the same air as my children ever again.”

Over my dead body. “I understand—”

“Unfortunately, it is not strictly up to me. Pity, that. I do not like you, Lord Bridgerton.” Anthony bristled inwardly but had to concede that his behavior would not have endeared him to Kate’s mother. “You are callous, thoughtless, and cruel. You have caused my daughter unspeakable pain. You are no gentleman. I was willing to believe a great disservice had been done to you when Lady Whistledown reported so flagrantly regarding Edwina’s behavior, but I have come to learn that it was a blessing indeed. It allowed my daughter and myself to observe you as you truly are instead of the false persona you used to get my daughter to agree to marry you. And when we should be well rid of you, here you are, like a pest that will not yield for the crops, back again to destroy what remains. You do not deserve her.”

“Lady Mary, I assure you that Miss Edwina and I have come to an —”

“I am speaking of Kate!” For the first time since the door shut behind them, her voice rose above her normal speaking voice. “Although in truth you deserve neither child. If it was within my power, I would subject none other than that wretched Cowper girl to your hand,” a distant look taking over her face as eyes traveled over the room. The mere mention of Cressida Cowper caused his testicles to shrivel. “A more viscous, power hungry twit I’ve yet to encounter, the very antithesis of pleasant she is. Now that is what you deserve. Not Edwina who would have sweetly and blindly lived the meek, miserable existence that marriage to you would have provided, nor Kate who would champion the cause of every sibling in that household of yours—”

Exactly! She is exactly what my family needs, and everything I have ever truly desired in a wife. “I wish to offer for her,” he interjected, interrupting her tirade.

Her head snapped back. “I beg your pardon?”

“For Kate. I desire to offer for Kate.”

Her eyes narrowed at him. “Offer for her? I see. I must ask you a question, Lord Bridgerton. Do you know why Kate was adamant to return to India? Of course, you do not; that would require insightfulness and forethought. Neither of which you possess, judging from what I have witnessed. Rather than waste time explaining why I believe this to be a terrible idea, I shall offer you an opportunity. You have ten minutes to convince me not to take Kate as well as Edwina and board the next ship bound for India.”

***

Kate sat on the sofa next to Anthony. Her mother in a chair, slightly removed from them but albeit quite close. Lady Danbury had removed herself to the far end of the room, although Kate was confident that the woman would hear every word uttered. Edwina, the luckiest one of them all, had hightailed it out of the room mere seconds before the door to the green parlor had opened.

She looked at the floor, at the table in front of her, at the portrait of Lady Danbury in her youth that hung on the wall to her right. Anywhere but at him. This was not simple, however, as she had not been in such close proximity to the man since his sister had discovered them in the study. His leg, such a short distance from her own that she could almost feel the heat of his body seeping through the silk of her dress. She could hear the faint rustle of his clothing each time he took a breath, but she was steadfast in her resolve to avoid reaction.

Anthony wished to speak with her, this she knew. But for the life of her she could not quite remember why. There was nothing for the two of them to discuss since the engagement had ended. As the arrangement had been halted prior to her return from Cambridge, there was no viable reason for discourse that she could discern.

This was more difficult than she’d anticipated.

“Miss Sharma, perhaps I might be able to interest you in a promenade?”

“Unfortunately, I am unable to—”

“She is already promised to promenade with Lord Clarke this afternoon.” Kate could have kissed her mother for her interruption.

“Yes, I do apologize Lord Bridgerton,” she said with no evident remorse as she addressed the table once again. “It would seem my afternoon is not available to any additional activities. As it happens, I believe I am also to walk Newton right now. He has not been out all day in fact.” She rose and began to step away from him when he rose beside her. She swore silently.

“Perhaps I might accompany you while you attend to Newton.” Had she looked at his face, his wistfulness would have been evident.

“I cannot allow that.” Kate’s shoulders visibly relaxed with her mother’s pronouncement. “As I have said, Lord Bridgerton, you are not to be within earshot of my daughter without my presence. Edwina is to receive a caller quiet soon thus I am unable to accompany you.”

Kate missed the brief glare Anthony sent to her mother and the smirk she gave in return. She was not deaf, however, so she did not miss his reply as he turned to face her directly. “I would like to call on you tomorrow.”

Forgetting herself for a moment, she met his eyes with shock. Had she been a more romantic sort, she would have sworn she saw hope in his gaze. “Why on earth would you want to do that?”

He cleared his throat. “First, I would like to ease any tension between our families, and because I believe you and I could possibly learn to enjoy each other’s company. Not to mention that, as you stated quite clearly yesterday evening, to nearly our entire families might I add, I have taken liberties with your presence on multiple occasions. It is only right as a gentleman,” he chose not to respond to Lady Danbury’s audible scoff, “that I pursue the possibility of courtship.”

Fire bubbled beneath her skin as tears once again burned the back of her yes. Remembering their audience, she called upon the fire. He had no wish to call upon her but only to satisfy some responsibility he felt toward her. “I see, Lord Bridgerton. You wish to call upon me out of duty.” She nodded angrily. “A way absolve you of any wrongdoing, regardless of my own desires—"

“That is not what I meant—”

“It is not necessary, I assure you, my lord.” For the first time since he’d uttered the words, “Will you marry me?” in front of the Danbury carriage outside of Aubrey Hall, she faced him fully.  “I believe tensions between our families are at perfectly appropriate levels given the events this season. As no true liberties were taken, I believe your notion of duty is quite misguided indeed.” The scowl on his face hastened her resolve. “Also, I believe last night my mama has made it clear that she will not tolerate any—”

“I will allow it,” Mary said.

“What?” Kate was aghast with betrayal while Lord Bridgerton smiled broadly. “Surely not, mama.”

“You are lucky I have not insisted that he marry you immediately.” Kate opened her mouth to argue. “Close your mouth, darling.  From what I understand from, well, everyone, is that I would be well within my right to do so. Kate, if you remain unmarried you are subject to certain restrictions within London society. Until such time as you have accepted an offer from another gentleman, it would behoove you to entertain Lord Bridgerton’s suit. For a brief time, at least. You have other callers, and I am sure a proposal will be forthcoming. Lord Bridgerton will simply have to find an available time to call upon you when you are not otherwise entertaining if he wished to throw his hat in the ring, shall we say.”

If she had not been so focused on keeping her breathing steady, she would have noticed Anthony moving closer to her. So close in fact that she could smell him. She’d never known that scent of sandalwood could weaken her knees. How was she to survive the torment of his presence? She stepped away out of self-preservation.

“Very good then,” Anthony said, more chipper than she’d ever heard him, and utterly unphased by her glower. “I shall call on you tomorrow morning then.”

***

“Brother!” Benedict called out as Anthony made his way through the crowded room at White’s. “Please join us!” His brother gestured to an empty chair at the table he shared with one other than Thomas Dorset. He cringed at the company his brother kept.

“Dorset,” he said with a nod before placing himself in the offered seat. “It is rare to see you at White’s.”

Dorset sipped his beer and angled himself back in his seat. “Indeed, but I had the time and wished to connect with a few colleagues regarding an upcoming excursion.”

His ears perked up. This day was going positively swimmingly. He’d bared his soul to his once again future mother-in-law, managed to look into the eyes of woman who held his very soul, secured permission to court her, and now one of his competitors was leaving town. A fine day indeed. “You are going on an excursion, then?”

Dorset chuckled knowingly. “Not at all, Bridgerton.” Anthony could feel his eyes narrow and did not require the cautions glances from Benedict to remind himself to hold his temper. “I merely provided a bit of information to those that are.” He finished his beer and signaled for another. “You shall be forced to deal with me for the remainder of the season, I’m afraid.”

The porter was quick with Dorset’s glass and produced one for Anthony as well. “And just how is it you intend to spend your time for the remained of said season, Dorset?”

“Oh, I’m quite sure the man will find much to entertain him,” Benedict said as he slapped the gentleman on the shoulder. “Having much success with the ladies this season are you, Dorset?” The other man shook his head in chiding. “There is more to a season than the women in it, you know.”

Anthony raised his glass in a toast. “To a good season then.” The clink of crystal rang out. “How do you plan to end your season, Dorset? I understand you’ve been courting Miss Sharma for a spit of time.”

Dorset stared at him, then his eyes went wide as a grin spread across his face. “Ah, so that’s why you’ve been such arsehole during our meetings of late.” He sipped from his glass and leaned forward, his voice almost a whisper. “You have no cause for concern with regard to me, Bridgerton.” He nodded toward a table at the other end of the room. “Tis with him you must concern yourself.”

Anthony wrenched himself sideways to view the table Dorset indicated. Lord Clarke appeared to be holding court with several gentleman, one of which was Mister Rutledge. Lord Clarke who’d called upon Miss Sharma that very afternoon. And Mister Rutledge, the insolent wanker who’d made Kate laugh at a ball just a few days prior. Only Benedict’s hand on his arm stopped him from rising.

“As much as I fancy Miss Sharma,” Dorset continued, drawing Anthony’s attention back to himself, “and as much as I think she would make a truly amazing wife, both in the bedchamber a outside of it,” he said, ignoring Anthony’s growl of warning, “I am not inclined to propose. I am quite fond of the lady; we’ve become friends. I wish her nothing but happiness and I fear I will be unable to provide it.” Once again, he nodded to the other end of the room. “The other two contenders, Lord Clarke and Mister Rutledge, have different notions. Lord Clarke is quite fascinated with getting the lady underneath him.”

Benedict moved his hand from Anthony’s to his shoulder to keep him seated. “Brother,” he said softly. “Do nothing rash. Do not react. There are too many eyes in here and our family does not need additional talk.” Anthony nodded at his brother’s words and took a steadying breath.

Dorset nodded when Anthony had himself under control and continued. “It gets worse. For you, I mean. Mister Rutledge, contrary to Lord Clarke, appears to be quite besotted with Miss Sharma. It’s been said that he’s called his parents to London to meet her.” Thomas looked at Anthony with more sympathy than he expected. “I am sorry, Anthony. It would not surprise me if he were to make an offer within the next fortnight.”

And just like that, Anthony felt the same urge to flee as he had the afternoon he’d accosted Kate in Lady Danbury’s sitting room with the jeweler. So flee he did.

Chapter Text

Anthony Bridgerton stood, not for the first time, on the stairs in front of Danbury House clutching flowers in his hand. The difference was that this time it mattered. He bit back a bit of shame at the knowledge that the times he’d stood here before when courting Edwina had not in any way mattered to him beyond fulfilling what he believed to be his duty. He could not even recall what flowers he’d presented to Edwina because they too had not mattered. They had simply been props, strategically placed to gain her favor, and if he were truthful, to irritate her sister.  

Today was different. This mattered. They flowers mattered as well as they would hopefully convey the message that he would not be able to tell her with words. Tulips, which he now knew were her favorites, cozied up with Lily of the Valley. His mother’s suggestion, of course, as he’d struggled between the two choices. Sweat threatened to bead on his brow as he pondered the front door. A deep breath did little to calm him as he was admitted by the doorman and then escorted up the stairs to the sitting room.

The first thing he saw upon entering the room was her glare. Miss Sharma appeared quite irate at his presence, practically fuming from her position in the middle of the room as her mother sat on the settee behind her. Anthony forced himself not to shout with glee for she was looking at him. Not around him, through him, or somewhere over his head, but at him.

“Miss Sharma.” He stepped toward her once, then twice more. Too close for propriety but close enough to drown himself in her eyes while ignoring the flaring of her nostrils in irritation. You are so beautiful. “For you,” he said as he held out the bouquet. Her glare deepened but her ungloved hand reached out to grasp at the stems. For the briefest of moments her finger grazed his. Her eyes widened and her lips parted before she stepped back.

“Thank you for the flowers,” she said softly.

“Lord Bridgerton.” The sound of her mother’s voice wrenched his eyes from hers. “Please be seated,” she said, gesturing to a chair across from Lady Mary.

He nodded and took his intended seat. “Thank you, Lady Mary. Miss Sharma,” he said as he turned to face her. His voice dried up momentarily as her eyes distracted him.

How did one begin the courting of the love of one’s life when one had made offences such as his? So much he wished to say if only they were alone, and if only she would hear him.

I shall do penance every day for the pain I have caused you. I love you. Marry me. Share my life with me for there can be no one for me but you. Say you’ll stay with me, love me as I am for no one understands me as you do. Build a family with me, the family I told myself I could not have, I beg of you.

Lady Mary cleared her throat and they looked away from one another. “You look lovely, Miss Sharma.”

She gave a shake of her head and rose to her feet. “Thank you, Lord Bridgerton. Unfortunately, this is not an opportune time for a call. I have just remembered I have not taken Newton for his walk yet this morning. I shall need to—”

He rose amidst her excuses. “I shall accompany you.” He could not restrain his smirk as she scowled at him. I shall see your bet, and raise you, he thought even as she shook her head in denial.

“Mama,” she said, turning to Lady Mary for support. “Surely this would not be appropriate.” Her voice was quite desperate.

“I’ll allow it,” Lady Mary responded, stunning her daughter into silence. “Lady Danbury shall accompany you.” As if by magic, the dowager appeared in the doorway.

“Splendid.”

The three of them made their way to the street, Lord Bridgerton’s offered arm steadfastly ignored by Miss Sharma. Newton led the way from his lead held by his mother and Lady Danbury walked exactly one pace behind them.

The quiet tension proved too much for Miss Sharma’s curiosity. “What did you discuss with my mother yesterday?”

“I do not believe this is what you and I are to discuss at present. If you recall the conversation at dinner the other evening—"

“There is nothing else for us to discuss.” Kate tugged Newton to the right, heading for Hyde Park. It appeared they would promenade regardless of her previous arguments against it.  “You shall tell me what the two of you spoke about and that shall end the need for any conversation between us in the future, including any farce of courting between us.”

Lord Bridgerton smirked. “In that case I shall never tell you.”

Kate gasped and turned to face him, Newton pulling against his lead at the halt of movement. “You would withhold it from me simply to be irritating? Simply to vex me?”

He brightened at the mention of vexing her. “Of course not. I will withhold the information from you to preserve the chance at future conversation.” It made perfect sense in his mind; surely, she would see the beauty of his reasoning. “Vexing you is merely an extraneous benefit.”

“Then I shall gladly deprive you.” Kate glared at him and set a course to return to the house.

Anthony’s attempts to engage her in conversation were met with minimal, trite remarks that left him frustrated but grateful she was addressing him at all. Less than fifteen minutes after leaving, they again arrived at the Danbury residence. The dowager saved him in the end.

“Lord Bridgerton, I understand you have accepted your invitation for the Johnsons’ ball tomorrow evening?” Lady Danbury inquired as Kate secured Newton’s leash a bit more tightly to dissuade him from investigating the gardens too closely. “It is to be one of the last of the season. It should be quite the spectacle. I understand Lady Johnson has quite a plan for the sets.”

He had no idea if he had or not, and less of one of why he should care about a set other than the one Miss Sharma spent in his arms. “Of course,” he said with a bright smile. He would present uninvited if need be. “Are you attending, Miss Sharma?”

Kate raised her chin at Lady Danbury’s narrowed eyes and faced him squarely. “Yes, my lord. Lady Danbury happily accepted for all of us in residence.”

“Lovely,” he grinned at her.

While he would question his boldness in front of Lady Danbury later, he stepped forward. His hand grasped hers and as her eyes widened, he bent his head to press his lips to her thankfully thin gloves. If his finger happened to sweep under the short hem at her wrist to skim the thin skin to be found there, it was surely an accident, as was her quick inhale.

He felt the shudder she tried to suppress before she jerked her hand free. Hope, hope he had not felt since the moment he knelt on the ground outside of Aubrey Hall surged within him. She felt for him, he knew it. His actions, abhorrent though they’d been, had not snuffed every fiber of feeling she had for him. Damaged but not gone completely.

He was wistful in his reply. “I will surely see you there, Miss Sharma.”

***

Lady Mary stood on the mezzanine with her hands on the rail. Her face betrayed none of the angst she felt at the scene below. Kate, her strong, beautiful daughter was being twirled around the dance floor by Mister Rutledge, rather stunning in a bright blue dress. Lord Bridgerton stood at the edge of the dance floor, his glare less hidden than he might have wished.

“Are you certain in your endeavors, Lady Mary?” Lady Bridgerton asked from her right while Lady Danbury scoffed from her left. “You had the opportunity to seize your victory,” the elder dowager said. “Whyever do you insist upon this?” She nodded to couple dancing below.

Mary sighed. Perhaps her friends were correct, she thought. Perhaps she should have insisted that Lord Bridgerton marry Kate to hasten the proceedings. Yet, she could not bring herself to force such a choice upon her eldest daughter. It was true that Kate would need to marry, and hopefully quite well, to secure the family. As Lord Evans had not yet proposed to Edwina, there could be no guarantee that her future was secure either.

But she felt compelled to give Kate the opportunity to choose. At six and twenty, Kate was finally able to experience courting, and by multiple gentlemen. She would not choose for her daughter as she had done previously with benign neglect.

“Mama!” Edwina whispered loudly as she squeezed her way next to Lady Danbury. “Mama, you must stop this. Mister Rutledge has requested a second dance with Kate this evening. You must not allow it! Everyone will think—”

“Everyone will think he is considering a proposal.”

“Exactly! Mama, you must direct Kate toward Lord Bridgerton. It is quite important.”

“Oh, I am well aware of why it is so important, young lady,” she said with a sidelong look to her youngest daughter. “I know exactly how much you stand to gain from such a union.”

Edwina gasped. “How?”

“You should be more careful the next time you attempt extortion to make absolutely certain that your conversation is private,” Lady Bridgerton said softly. Edwina had the decency to look ashamed. “I cannot say that I blame you, Miss Edwina. A woman can only play the hand she is dealt, can she not?”

Mary tuned them out as she continued to observe the scene below. She would not allow herself to be distracted from her goal of her daughter’s happiness.

***

Anthony had reached the end of his patience. The set plan Lady Danbury had mentioned was quite unique indeed. Of the ten sets available, seven were waltzes. Seven! Who’d ever heard of anything so preposterous? To add further insult, he’d only managed to secure one dance with Miss Sharma. While he should consider himself lucky that his set with her was a waltz, he was too irritated that Rutledge had secured a waltz as well as a quadrille. The rest of her card was full. Even Benedict had secured a dance with her, the traitor.

The set was ending, and Rutledge had yet to release Kate. As the other couples parted and made their ways to the recesses of the ballroom, Kate and Rutledge lingered. Rutledge grinned and Kate…giggled?

Well, this is absurd, he thought. He marched forward, blindly edging lollygaggers out of his way.

“Miss Sharma.” He removed her hand from Rutledge’s grasp, oblivious to Kate’s gasp at his impropriety. “I believe this our set.” He nodded to Rutledge who, other than an irritated glance and a bow to Miss Sharma, retreated to the sidelines.

“That was quite rude, Lord Bridgerton.” Oh, her stern voice did things to him. With her hand in his he drew her closer. “Perhaps,” he allowed. He slipped his left hand to her shoulder, just above the neckline of her dress to rest the tips of his fingers on her skin. Mine.

The music began and they moved as if one. There were no words between them. There was no need for them. Everyone faded into the background as they drowned in nothing but each other.

Yet, all things must come to an end, even the splendid ones.

“I believe you an apology to Mister Rutledge, Lord Bridgerton. He has done nothing to earn your misbehavior.”

Like hell, Anthony thought as he sent her into one of the final turns of the dance. “You seem quite protective of Mister Rutledge’s delicate nature, Miss Sharma. Why is that do you suppose?”

She scoffed at him as she often liked to. “We are friends, Lord Bridgerton. He has been a wonderful companion and I have the utmost respect for him as well as his immediate family.”

Family. She’d met his family? Already? Wasn’t it just a few days ago that he’d heard Mister Rutledge had called his family to London? “I was not aware that you were acquainted with his family.”

Their feet slid in unison as the dance came to an end. “I have. They joined us for luncheon yesterday with Lady Danbury.”

He could tolerate this no more. He had to know.

“Is he what you want?” His eyes beseeched her for the truth. “If this is true you must say it, you must tell me explicitly that he is the one you desire.” He cared not who heard him as the other couples swarmed on their exits.

“As you did, with Edwina?”

He had the grace to look chagrined. “I am aware of my missteps in the course of our acquaintance. I merely request that you not echo my own errors. Is he? Is he what you want?”

She shook her head slowly and turned away. “You have never concerned yourself with my desires, my lord. There is no reason to begin to do so now. Good evening, Lord Bridgerton.”

“Miss Sharma, please wait—"

***

“Drinking again, are we, brother?” Colin called from the doorway of Anthony’s study where he leaned casually against the frame. Anthony tossed back the rest of his drink and set his glass on the desk with a sigh.

“Colin, this is not a good time. Whatever it is can wait.” Pest that he was, Colin was undeterred. He sauntered inside and filled a glass of his own. Anthony looked at him quizzically. “Are you incapable of following instruction?”

A grin pierced his brother’s face. “According to many a teacher, yes, quite.” He settled himself into a chair on the other side of the desk. “Quite an interesting event last evening, wouldn’t you say?”

“Not particularly.”

“No? Wasn’t it you who left a conversation with Miss Ewing, mid-sentence of course, to secure a dance with Miss Sharma? Or you who seemingly dragged said lady away from Mister Rutledge only to hold her much closer than propriety allows, after which she stomped away, angrier than swatted bee?” Anthony’s hand jerked at his words. “And what was this business in the smoking room about thumping Lord Clarke on the back with such force that his cigar almost lodged in his throat?”

“It is not your place to question my actions, brother. I am the—”

“Viscount. Yes, of course. We bow to you and only you. You’ve made that known.”

“Colin, every single thing I have done has been—”

“For the family, yes.” Colin grinned at him. “I know this song quite well, Anthony. I’ve learned to sing along. However, brother, I would kindly ask you to be silent and let me speak. If you can bring yourself to listen to the words of a mere third son.”

How could he think such a thing? “Colin, I do not see you as a mere—” He stopped at his brother’s raised eyebrows and gestured for him to continue.

“You claim that you take these actions for the best of the family. I believe your intentions to be true, brother. Unfortunately, in your haste to complete your duty, you fail to reconcile several significant facts, the first of which is that we are the ones who are subjected to resentful approach.”

“I certainly do not resent any of you!”

“Please do not lie to me, brother. In your position I would likely resent us as well. But the fact is that your family loves you. When you act regarding duty instead of your own happiness, you inevitably make your family miserable. Without direct intent, of course, but the fact remains the same. I worry less for myself and the older children as we have the option for independence, but Eloise and the younger ones will be under your roof for some time to come. Why should they suffer your ill humor due to your misguided notions of what is best for them when what is best for them is what would make you easier to live with?”

His mouth stood agape at the audacity of his brother. How dare he speak to him thus? But is he wrong, a voice in his mind questioned. “Colin, I do not know what to say.”

Colin finished his drink and set his empty glass on the desk next to Anthony’s. “I only broach the topic with you because of Hyacinth. She was quite upset after your snappish behavior at breakfast. Our sister has quite the spine. For her to be put out by your behavior should be an indication that appeasement is due.”

Anthony nodded. “Yes, of course. I shall speak with her before dinner.”

“Wonderful. Thank you.” Colin made his way to the doorway but turned back. “Oh, I almost forgot. I came in to tell you that I witnessed Mister Rutledge enter the jeweler’s shop to meet with Mister Brooks.”

For the briefest of moments, time stopped. Anthony stood up with such force his chair hit the wall behind him. “What? When?”

Colin shrugged and offered a sheepish look. “Perhaps an hour ago now, I wager. I thought you’d want to know.”

Colin had enough self-preservation to remove himself from his brother’s path as he barreled past him, barking for the carriage.

Chapter Text

Benedict just barely spun out of Anthony’s way as his brother bounded around the corner. “Whoa there! Where is the fire, brother?” Benedict’s eyebrows flew up.

Anthony’s eyes were wild, and his chest was heaving. His gazed darted between Benedict, the stairs, and the space behind him. His hand reached out to Benedict’s shoulder seemingly to steady himself. Benedict had never seen his brother quite this disheveled.

“Anthony? What is the matter? Talk to me, brother!” He should get him to a chair, a bed, something, he thought as Anthony stuttered and stammered at him as he removed himself from Benedict’s path.

“Mother?” Benedict called as Colin came up behind him.

“Yes, dear?” she asked, turning around before reaching the staircase.

Benedict huffed out a breath. “What just happened?”

Violet Bridgerton smiled ever so slightly. “Nothing at all, dear.”

Colin was a bit more forthcoming. “Anthony just received a bit of startling news is all. Shall we make our way to White’s?” he asked, clamping a hand on his shoulder. “I fancy a beer after a job well done.”

Benedict stuttered. “What news? What job? Colin? Mother?” Neither party seemed eager to answer his request, but Benedict would not be deterred. He simply stood still.

“I happened to have knowledge of Mister Rutledge entering the, um, jeweler’s shop earlier today,” Colin admitted after a somewhat uncomfortable standoff. “I, ah, thought it would be prudent to inform him,” he finished with a nod.

“Mister Rutledge? You saw him enter the jeweler’s place of business?” Colin and Lady Bridgerton both nodded. “And you thought it would be ‘prudent’ to inform our quite excitable and irrational brother that the man courting the woman he himself wishes to wed entered the jeweler’s shop less than twenty-four hours of Anthony making a fool of himself in front of the entire ton? I struggle to imagine that both of you believed this to be a veritable option.”

Colin shrugged his shoulders. “Ben, he has a right to know. Anthony has certainly made mistakes, but he is doing what he can to set things right.”

“Set things right? And for Miss Sharma? Who are we to say that this is right for Miss Sharma? Both of you know very well that he will go straight to Lady Danbury’s demanding answers and then toss some ridiculous semblance of a proposal to Miss Sharma that would likely offend even the most stalwart of women. Miss Sharma will undoubtedly refuse and thus be that much more likely to accept an offer from Rutledge!”

“Lower your voice, Benedict,” his mother commanded. “Things may very well play out the way you believe they will. We cannot control that. The fact of the matter is that your brother has been remiss in his handling of this situation, and it needs to be concluded sooner rather than later. Tis in your brother’s hands now. I’ve no doubt that things will resolve the way they aught.”

He was left staring after them, his mouth slightly ajar. How could they see this in any positive light? Why on earth would they risk such a fiasco?

***

“Didi?” Kate raised her head to find her sister hovering in the doorway of the breakfast room. Her stomach clenched. She’d been avoiding conversing with her sister since night of the dinner at Bridgerton House. Of course, if she were honest with herself, she’d been avoiding Edwina since her acceptance of Lord Bridgerton’s proposal.

“I believe it is time we spoke,” her sister said briskly before gliding into the room and taking a seat on the opposite side of the table. As she did not avail herself of the offerings of the table, Kate assumed she’d eaten with everyone else.

Kate took a steading breath and met her sister’s glance. “Alright, bon. What is it you wish to say?”

“I have questions. I would appreciate the courtesy of honest answers, didi. I am not angry, but I remain confused about a few things. When did you realize you were in love with him?”

“To whom are you referring?” Evasion seemed her best tactic.

The younger woman narrowed her eyes. “Didi, do not be coy. It does not suit you.”

Kate pushed the remains of her plate away. “I do not know how to answer you. I suppose I felt compelled by him from our very first meeting. But I how would I call it love when we had only just met?” Yet it had been, and she knew it.

Later she would commend Edwina for her composure as the younger woman simply folded her hands on the table. “The ride in the park? The one you told no one about?”

“Yes,” she said softly. “It felt as if there could have been… something between us at that first meeting.”

“And yet you did not tell me.” There was no question. “Your words and actions indicated you despised each other.”

I did despise him. His words and actions were a blatant contradiction of what was told to me by my own soul. I had no choice but to despise him, however briefly.

“At Lady Danbury’s ball, I overheard a conversation between Lord Bridgerton and other gentlemen of the ton. He was quite frank in his desire to wed only a lady of a certain caliber and was quite clear in intention to have a marriage free of love. A marriage of duty only.”

Edwina nodded. “And then he began to court me.  You did warn me, didi.” Her sister sighed and hefted the tea pot stationed on the table to pour herself a portion. “Perhaps it would have been best had I headed your warnings, but we cannot go back.”

Her hands wrapped around her cup in a most unladylike manner, the only indication of her inner turmoil. “You mentioned several…occasions in which you interacted with the Viscount with no chaperone. Why did you not tell me of his feelings for you? Had you confided in me his interest, I would never have agreed to his proposal.”

Kate’s eyes squeezed shut as her chest constricted at the pain of saying it aloud. “He has no feelings for me, Edwina. How could he? I am neither who nor what he wants. I am simply the one who got in his way.”

Edwina shook her head in denial. “That is not true, didi, but I see that I will not be the one to change your mind on the matter. Only the Viscount will be able to provide you the clarity you require, and only if you allow him to do so.” Her eyes traveled to the window.

“The rain appears to have let up. Might I suggest a walk in the garden, perhaps with Newton? Some time in nature with your beloved canine child might do wonders for your state of mind.”

Kate huffed then chuckled as she realized she had been summarily dismissed, and by her baby sister. “I suppose a turn around the garden would not hurt matters.”

***

The rain, though abated, had left the road an utter mess. Divots and ruts peppered the lanes with nary a spot missed. The carriage bounced and lurched in time with Anthony’s pounding heart as he shouted at the driver to go faster. He cursed himself for taking the carriage instead of riding by himself.

Would he make it in time? Had Rutledge already secured her hand, or did he require the ring first?

The only ring that would adorn her finger was his, damn it all. He shoved aside the bitter voice in his mind that reminded him he’d once placed that ring on another’s finger to be dealt with later.

He saw her, just a flicker of purple, out of the corner of his eye as he bounded out of the carriage. Without thought to the footman or the carriage door, he aimed straight for the garden. “Miss Sharma!” The figure grew as his feet carried him closer.

“You cannot marry him!” he shouted as he nearly ran down the path. “Do you understand me?! You cannot marry Rutledge.” He reached her and crossed his arms over his chest lest he wrap them around her and make for the carriage for a most impromptu trip to Scotland. That was out of the question, of course, as his mother would never forgive him.

“Newton, home!” Kate instructed. In his tirade, Anthony hadn’t even noticed the furry creature but there he was, gnawing at his’s boots. “Newton!”

“Newton!” Anthony’s voice added to Kate’s finally got the creature’s attention. “Home!” he instructed with authority and a point down the path that would lead him to the door. Another time he would be shocked that creature obeyed him but right then he was simply seeing a means to acquire Miss Sharma’s full attention.

His heart fluttered in his chest at the sight of her. Regal and stunning, she stood beside a stone bench with her back to a cluster of trees. The remnants of the weather sent a small gust of wind, billowing out her dress as if her stomach was swollen, ripe with child. The image along with the dream of her body pregnant with his child weakened his knees.

He had to stop her.

“Lord Bridgerton, why are you here?” she asked, her voice sharp. “If you would like to call upon someone in the house, I suggest a more appropriate time—”

“You cannot do this. I’ll not allow it to happen,” he said speaking over her. He effectuated his statement with a sharp nod.

Her head titled to the side as if questioning her own hearing. Or perhaps his sanity? “Cannot do what my lord?”

“Marry Rutledge,” he shouted in exasperation. What did she think he was talking about?

Her mouth fell open. “Why would you think… Oh, never mind! I refuse to have such a conversation under these circumstances—"

“Wait!” he hollered as she stepped away from him. “Miss Sharma, do not walk away from this conversation! You cannot do this. Surely, you realize this. You cannot do this, I’ll not allow it.” He reached out to grab her hand and followed when she jerked back.

“You do not tell me what to do!” she bellowed at him as she backpedaled away. “Do not do this, I shall not allow that, his lordship says. All the while speaking utter nonsense! Leaving the nonsense for yourself to determine, I will not head your insistence that there is anything you’ll not allow. I shall make my own decisions, Lord Bridgerton, it is of no concern of yours!”

“You are my concern, and you cannot wed this man. He is not for you, Miss Sharma. He will never be the one to bring you happiness. I am the one—"

“I am not yours to command!” She turned from him and once again he reached out to grasp her arm. She jerked it from his grasp, her elbow accidentally connecting with his face.

“Arh!” he called out and she turned to face him just as his foot slid in the slippery grass. His head connected with the stone of the bench. Kate’s face, her captivating eyes widening in shock, a gasp escaping from her lips, was the last thing he saw before darkness engulphed him.

Chapter Text

Anthony swatted away the hand that reached for the beefsteak he held to his face and grumbled. “I am fine! Please leave me be!” He was aware that his prone position on Lady Danbury’s settee surrounded by the ladies of the house left him little room to speak with authority but found himself unable to abstain. “I insist you stop clucking at me!”

Lady Danbury squinted at him while Edwina snickered. “I declare he’s well,” Lady Danbury offered as she stepped back.

“You lost consciousness, my lord!” Kate exclaimed with an exasperated look to the rest of the household.

“For less than a minute!” Anthony protested.

“We must call the physician—”

“Oh, I do not believe this is necessary, darling,” Lady Mary told Kate as she inspected the Viscount’s wounds. “You appear to have given him quite the shiner, darling. Although I am not absolutely certain that gash up there won’t require a needle and thread.” She stepped back and gestured to the others. “Let us give the man a moment to breathe.”

Kate blinked in confusion as Mary, Edwina, and Lady Danbury left the room, the door all but closed behind them.

His mind went blank. He was finally, finally alone with her and his traitorous mind decided to metamorphosize into a barren, cavernous hollow. As he observed Kate’s incredulous stare toward the doorway, it was obvious she was as taken aback by the ladies’ actions as himself. The knowledge that he wasn’t alone, even upon such a minute precipice, consoled him.

“Please lie still,” she said softly as she turned back to him. “I will do what I can with the injury to your head.”

“Miss Sharma, I assure you there is no need—”

“You took a blow to the head. You lost consciousness. You are bleeding.” She spoke softly as one would to a befuddled child. “I shall clean your wound and then determine if there is a need to send for the physician.” Her glare left no room for argument.

She made her way to the far corner where she opened a cabinet and retrieved a bottle of antiseptic and a short stack of cloths. She placed the items on a small tray, added a bowl of water, and carried it back to the settee. Perched on the table in front of him, she tended to his head.

So close, he thought as she tutted and tsked. She sat so close to him. He knew he would give all he owned for the privilege of being able to take her in his arms.

“Do not marry him.” He could not keep the pleading from his voice as her eyes, wide with apprehension, met his. She jerked back the hand that had been dabbing a stinging liquid onto the gash in forehead and rose to pace away. She was quick but not quick enough to hide the tears that began to fall.

As she stood at the far end of the room, each and every one of his mistakes returned to him. He cursed himself for so many things. For his misbehavior the night of the conservatory ball, and then pretending even for a moment that the speech he gave at Lady Danbury’s soiree had anything whatsoever to do with another woman. For continuing the farce of courtship after the Pall Mall game where he’d realized, where he’d known, that no other woman would ever fit him, and his life, so well. For not immediately begging for her hand when she’d eased him through the roughest attack a panic he’d experienced in years after seeing her stung. For letting her leave that blasted library when every instinct within in demanded that he be the one to offer her comfort through every single storm she might encounter for the rest of her life. For going to Edwina the night of the Hearts and Flowers ball when it had Kate, Kate, whose very presence had called to him from that balcony. And most of all for offering for Edwina.

“Please don’t marry him,” he pleaded. “I have no right to ask that of you, no authority whatsoever, yet I must beg you. Please do not marry him.”

Her shoulders shook with the force of her tears. Finally composing herself, she turned to him. Sorrow filled her eyes and the knowledge that he was the cause of it was his ultimate undoing. “I told myself that I would do what is necessary to ensure the survival of my family.”

Anthony flinched in denial. No, no!

“Yet I know that I cannot. I am not like you, my lord. I cannot shackle myself in marriage to a someone I do not love above all others. I simply cannot do it. I have seen a wonderful marriage, filled with love. I have felt love, Lord Bridgerton. I shall settle for nothing less for myself than mutual devotion. I should rather live my life alone than engage in such a farce.

“Why did you propose to my sister?” she asked softly after a moments’ silence, her cheeks stained with tears. Each knew her true question. Why not me?

“Stubbornness, idiocy, fear,” he croaked. “Have your pick of the lot.” He swiped an arm across his face.

“I am deserving of an answer, Lord Bridgerton. A true one.”

“You do deserve that, and much more besides.” He sighed and titled his head back to stare at the coffered ceiling. “My mother became so desolate when my father died that she all but disappeared from our lives, for years in fact. As I suspected I should not outlive my father, I swore to myself that there would be no love in my marriage. I would never put someone through the horror that my mother lived through, nor my children the incredible pain of having a parent present only in body.

“But I was mistaken, Miss Sharma. I thought that if I denied what I felt, if I could ignore it, then it would go away. I would learn to be at peace with the unfortunate circumstances of my marriage and secure in the knowledge that when I die, I shall leave no one behind to be merely a shell of a person.

“But I cannot deny it, I cannot ignore it. It is too vital a part of me.”

He gasped at the pain that ran through his chest and squeezed his eyes shut. “My mother once said to me that my father was the air that she breathed and when he was gone, there was no air. I did not understand her at the time, not truly. I only knew the shell she had become and vowed not to repeat her actions. I did not know that I had no way of controlling… anything really.

“I know what I have done is unforgivable. And what is worse is that you watched me do it! You were made to stand there holding your sister’s glove so that I could place my most treasured of family possessions on the finger of someone who could never have my heart. How could she have done, when it has belonged to you since moment we met in that park.

“I love you,” he whispered. “I have always loved you.”

A touch pressed against the cut on his forehead, and he opened his eyes. He hadn’t felt her approach the settee or position herself on the floor beside him. She pressed a cloth to the injury. “I, too, know what it is to be the only one available to maintain a household due to grief. When my father died, Mary was… indisposed for quite a while. Edwina was but ten years old. I raised her from that point. I taught her everything she needed to know to secure a good match for herself.

“I have tried to explain to you several times, my lord—”

“Use my name. Please.” Her gaze flicked to his, but she nodded.

“Anthony. I tried to explain that I was responsible for her in the same way that you are responsible for your sisters. I was not inflating my role in her life. We have no father, no brother to stand for us, and so I stood for Edwina.”  

“And who stood for you?” It sure as hell wasn’t me. But it should have been. It will be.

Her spine straightened. “I need no one to stand for me, I assure you.” But I want to, he thought. “My point is that I can understand feeling compelled to behave in a particular fashion in order to preserve the wellbeing of one’s family.”

He wrenched himself into a sitting position, desperate with hope, and groaned when the pounding in his head intensified. “Does this mean—”

“This means your injury is substantial,” she evaded as she moved to sit next to him. “You must lie down, and we will call for the—”

“Kate,” he said softly as he brushed at the wetness her tears had left on her cheek. “I love you. And I believe, I must believe, that you feel the same for me.”  His breath was haggard now. “You must tell me. I cannot live like this any longer. I must know if there is hope that you might wish to build a life with me as well.” Her silence was killing him, and he filled the void the only way he knew how. “Perhaps I could—”

“Of course, I love you. How could you think otherwise, you daft man?”

Relief shuddered through him. This was his chance, and he would seize it with both hands. “Kate, will you—”

“But you must know,” she said hurriedly, “that we cannot reverse history, my lord. I do not know how to trust you.”

The slam of her words caught his breath. He had broken her heart, as if such a statement could encompass such vast pain. He vowed to spend the rest of his days earning her trust by any means necessary. He leaned forward and gently rested his forehead against hers, his hands cupping her face. He nodded in agreement. “I would most appreciate the opportunity to gain your trust.”

Unable to resist another moment, he ever so gently brushed her lips with his. “Please, my darling, I beg you. Let me try.” Her hands shook as much as his when she gently pulled his lips back to hers. Hope flared in him for a moment before they wrenched apart at the telltale sound of a cane moving down the hall.

***

“I see you’ve had a spot of trouble, Anthony.”

Anthony jerked to attention at his mother’s voice and carefully placed his newly poured whisky from a treasured bottle his father has provided him upon his eighteenth birthday. Perhaps it wasn’t quite a proper drink for a lady, but Anthony knew his mother well and poured her a glass as well.

“Just a mishap, mother, nothing of concern.” Violet squinted at his face, obviously wishing to comment on the bandaged wound and the bruise forming around his eye. “Hurts like the devil, however.”

She accepted her glass with a nod. “I imagine it does.” She took a seat and sipped deeply. “Am I to understand that Miss Sharma did not embrace your intrusion this afternoon?”

He chuckled. “No, she certainly did not. At least not when I first arrived.” He sipped from his own glass and set it aside. “She said that she does not trust me.”

“Can you blame her?”

“No. But she has agreed to offer me a chance to prove to her that I am trustworthy. And I shall do so,” he said, reaching for his glass once again. “Beginning at the garden party tomorrow at the Lancaster’s. It seems that Miss Edwina and her mother will not be able to attend. Miss Sharma has graciously agreed to let me escort her tomorrow. And of course, there is the Smith’s ball the day after.”

Violet smiled. “I am happy for you, my son! This is much more than I expected. You shall need to act swiftly and creatively with the season winding down but I trust that a multitude of opportunities will present themselves. There is also the option of inviting the family for another visit to Aubrey Hall after the season. The family enjoyed her previous visit. I'm quite sure your siblings would love the opportunity to visit with her again.” Anthony nodded in agreement. “This bodes well, Anthony.” She finished her glass and set it on his desk. As she rose to leave, Anthony called out to her.

“Mother, thank you for insisting Colin share his information with me.” He watched his mother raise an eyebrow.  “I shudder to think where I might be should he have kept it to himself.”

“Indeed, Anthony. Those pesky signet rings are dreadfully important to one’s correspondence.”

Anthony blinked at her in confusion as she exited the room. Signet ring? Why on earth…  Comprehension dawned slowly. “Mother!”

Chapter Text

The high summer storm that had battered the windows tempered to a slow and steady rain, the ratta-tat-tat a constant companion to him as his quill scratched against parchment. The weather had thrown off Anthony’s plans of requesting a promenade with Miss Sharma since neither of them would relish traipsing around in a sodden park.

It was no matter, of course. He would request her presence for luncheon, instead. Rather, he would have his mother request her presence as she would find it much more difficult to reject an invitation from the current Lady Bridgerton. He called out to one of the housemaids passing in front of his door to have his mother send a note to Danbury House.

Satisfied with the ledger in front of him, he turned it over on the stack to give to his valet and picked up another from his solicitor. How on Earth did his family spend so much on parchment, he wondered? His duties took up a fair amount of the purchase, but it seemed the amount doubled or more each passing year. He made a mental note to inquire with his mother about the correspondence of his siblings. Perhaps Eloise spent considerable time writing to Francesca in Bath. His name was signed at the bottom and another sheet was overturned.

Only seventy-five more to go, he thought.

Reaching for yet another paper, he looked up to find his brother leaning against the door jamb. “Benedict. Did you need something, brother?”

Benedict shook his head but stayed in his place of semi-repose. “You always look so official when you’re like this,” he said, gesturing at the scene before him. “Coat off, sleeves pushed up, stacks of paper all around. Truly the Viscount.” He gave a little sarcastic bow.

“Benedict, if there is nothing you need, I would really like to continue my work so it might be finished by midday.” He picked up the ledger in front of him and scowled at the amount, his brother already forgotten. He blinked in surprise when Benedict strode further into the room and dropped onto the sofa across from his desk. “What do you want?”

“Oh, just to inquire as to your wellbeing, brother.” He tossed Anthony a grin and adjusted the portfolio he held on his lap. “How goes your courtship with Miss Sharma?”

“Slowly, as permission to court her was granted less than forty-eight hours ago.”

“It is early days yet. She’ll have plenty of time to reject you with cause, I’m sure.” A chuckle escaped him when he met Anthony’s glare. “I’m teasing you, brother. I have every confidence that the two of you will make a most successful match.”

Anthony blinked at his brother’s sentiment. “Thank you, Benedict.”

“Do you know how I know?”

Anthony raised his head from his work again. “What?”

“Do you know how I know you’ll make a successful match with Miss Sharma?”

He shook his head. “I could not begin to fathom your reasoning but I’m quite sure I won’t be able to stop you from telling me.”

“Quite right, brother.” Benedict leaned back against the sofa and crossed one leg over the other. Apparently, he was settling in for a long conversation. “This,” he gestured to the scene in front of him, “is what we know of you. Well, what the little ones know of you. They don’t remember when you would laugh, joke, and generally enjoy yourself. In fact,” he said quickly to thwart Anthony’s interruption, “I don’t think I’ve heard you laugh with true mirth, true enjoyment, since father died.”

“My duties do not lend themselves to time for—”

“Except once,” Benedict interrupted. Anthony blinked at him. “Once, in more than a decade, Anthony. It’s quite sad, really.” He opened the flap of his portfolio and pulled out a heavy sheet of parchment that he slid onto the desk in front of his brother. Anthony’s breath caught in his chest as he looked at the sketch.

“The two of you had been gone so long looking for the Pall Mall balls that day that I went looking for you. And what did I find but my stalwart, ever dutiful brother sitting in a puddle of mud with a beautiful woman looking the happiest I’d ever seen you.” He rose from the sofa and moved to stand next to his brother, peering at the sketch over his shoulder. He rested a hand on Anthony’s shoulder.

“Twas the first time in more than ten years, Anthony, that I had seen you revel in the joy of simply being in another person’s presence. I’ll be honest, it was one of the reasons I goaded you into allowing Miss Sharma to accompany us on the hunt. I was hopeful once again just a bit of the brother I knew.

“Not my best work, of course, but I had to sketch from memory as I couldn’t very well ask the two of you to recreate the scene.”

Anthony’s hands shook as he picked up the sketch. His fingers longed to touch the lines, but he resisted for fear of smearing the charcoal. “When did you do this, Ben?”

“At Aubrey Hall. The, um, tea incident was quite long lasting. I did a sketch of everyone in the family, trying to choose their happiest moments because I was flying high off my acceptance into the academy and still under the effects of whatever it was Colin had in that pouch. I tried desperately to think of a time when you’d appeared truly happy. This was it.”

With great reverence, Anthony laid the sketch on a spot he’d cleared on hid desk.  “Why did you give it to me? Why now?”

Benedict shrugged. “In truth, I forgot I had it until we returned to London. At that time, I decided I would ask Miss Sharma if she would like to take it with her when she left for India.” Anthony’s head whipped around to stare at him, and he shrugged again. “You are not the only one happy in that scene. However, since the situation has quite changed, I felt perhaps you would enjoy it.” He clapped his brother on the shoulder and moved toward the door.

“Benedict!” Anthony called to him. “Do something for me.”

“Anything.”

Anthony released a shuddering breath. “If… When you meet someone. Well, when you meet that someone, do not run… What I mean to say is, be better. Be better than me.” He hazarded a look at him, half expecting scorn. Benedict gave him a solemn nod. “I shall make every effort should the opportunity present itself.”

With his brother gone, Anthony took a deep breath and pushed his hands through his hair. Ledgers could wait. “Thomas!” he hollered for his valet.

***

“Surely it will be the wedding of the season!” Edwina exclaimed over tea. “Didi, will you have a gown made or simply alter one? The ice blue gown you wore to the Conservatory Ball would—"

“Oh, surely she’ll have one made.” Mary interjected. Edwina nodded at her mother.

“Didi, I realize you might not prefer it, but you are welcome to wear the gown Madame Delacroix began for me.” Edwina was blind to the gawking looks the other ladies sent her. “I shall not wear it and it should not go waste.”

“Let us not forget your trousseau, Miss Sharma,” Lady Danbury interjected. “I believe we should schedule an appointment immediately so Madame Delacroix has a chance to provide all the items you shall require. Now—”

“Wait!” Kate took a deep steadying breath. “I am not engaged. I have not even ended Mister Rutledge’s suit yet.” She moved her cup out of the way lest her shaky hands upend it. “I agreed only to allow Lord Bridgerton to escort me to yesterday’s garden party. And tonight’s ball. I have accepted no offers from him other than…”

“Courtship, Miss Sharma.” Lady Danbury’s gaze pierced her in place. “In London we call it a courtship, with the intention of marriage. Judging by the florist shop’s worth of posies littering every available surface in my home, Lord Bridgerton appears to quite ardent in his endeavors. This time ‘round, at least.”

“She is right, didi.” Edwina ignored Kate’s discomfort. “You agreed to his courtship only two days ago and already he has presented for breakfast at mama’s invitation, escorted you to the garden party, and had you to lunch at Bridgerton House. Let us not forget that the flower deliveries seem to occur on the hour, even with last night’s storm and the rain today! When the Viscount was courting me, I believe I encountered him all of four times before our trip to Aubrey Hall.”

“Indeed,” Mary offered. “In hindsight, he was not very attentive to Edwina.”

“Of course, he was not,” Edwina agreed. “I believe Mister Benedict Bridgerton was correct the night of the dinner at Bridgerton house when he stated his brother was more interested in besting my sister than courting me.” Lady Mary nodded in agreement as Lady Danbury offered, “Every time you smiled at the man, he had to look over at your sister to make sure she was aware of his victory! The Viscount is quite audacious to be sure.” All three of them cackled like mad.

“I am sitting right here,” Kate said with indignation.

“Darling, we are simply excited for you! We wish to ensure you are prepared for your marriage. And if we have a bit of fun at the Viscount’s expense, I declare he quite deserves it.”

Lady Danbury stood from the table. “I would agree, Lady Mary. Speaking of preparations, Kate, I will schedule an appointment with the modiste for tomorrow morning. We shall see to your gown and trousseau with haste.”

“But I am not engaged! Why the need for such expeditious action?!” She fumed when Lady Danbury brushed her words aside and quit the room.

“Didi, I have taken the liberty of selecting your gown for tonight’s ball. I have discussed everything with the maids. I just need to finish selecting your jewelry. You shall look splendid this evening! And once you and Lord Bridgerton are finally wed, I shall be able to accept Lord Evans’s proposal when he offers it!” Kate shook her head in confusion, but Edwina politely ignored her sister’s stunted protest as she, too, fled the room. Kate blinked and blinked again.

“Darling, we so excited for you. I understand you are not yet betrothed, but Lady Danbury is correct. You need to begin preparations. When the Viscount does propose, and you of course accept his offer, I suspect things will move quite quickly indeed.” And so, Kate was left alone at the table, wondering exactly how her life had changed so drastically in just over forty-eight hours.

She could admit, to herself at least, that the other ladies were correct. He’d accepted Mary’s invitation to breakfast before he’d left Danbury House after his injury. He’d arrived a bit early, his eagerness palpable. There’d been no need to inform him that she’d been stealing glances toward the doorway for more than a quarter hour before he’d arrived. And though Lady Bridgerton, Violet, she corrected, issued the invitation for lunch, she would bet her most prized possession that it was due to the Viscount’s suggestion.

The flowers began to arrive the same afternoon as his fall. While Edwina exaggerated about the bouquets arriving on the hour, every second hour would have been close to the mark, she supposed. She expected flowers, of course, because that is what a gentleman did; they sent flowers during a courtship to win favor. She had not expected the sheer volume of posies he sent but the variety surprised her as well. Roses were expected, of course. But he sent far more. Roses, tulips, delphiniums, lilies, and several others she was unable to name, all in a sunburst of colors that created an intricate color palate for Lady Danbury’s tabletops.

If she’d selected blooms from each arrangement and gathered them in small bouquets to place in her bedchamber, creating a menagerie of scent and color, surely this was her prerogative.

She learned much about the Viscount while spending so much time in his company. For instance, she learned he was capable of quite intense singular focus. When intent on a specific goal, everything else fell away for him. In his endeavors to remain a gentleman, he’d not once in the past two days attempted to find a moment alone with her. She told herself she was not at all disappointed he had not attempted to kiss her again, even after breakfast the day before when they were graciously allowed to say their goodbyes in private.

She learned he was particularly susceptible to praise. A compliment of his visage would earn a smirk and a bit of peacocking while praise of his demeanor with his siblings or his accomplishments with his estates would cause a much different reaction. His eyes went round before his spine straightened the smallest bit and the rigidity of his shoulders eased a fraction.

She learned that while his family was his devotion, he struggled between his roles of Viscount enshrined in duty and the role of elder brother who wished to dunk his youngest siblings in the Serpentine and relish in their squeals of delight.

She had not expected to learn just how much she wished to be to the one to help him find his balance. Nor had she expected to falter as much as she had when the doorman had led her past his office when she’d arrived at Bridgerton House. She hadn’t meant to look inside but it had been there, and she’d been nervous so she’d sought whatever visual distraction she could find. At first, she’d been embarrassed that such a personal moment had been captured on paper. Benedict’s doing, she knew. After a moment, she’d felt indignation. How dare he be so presumptuous to hang her likeness on the wall of his study?

And yet, by the time she’d made it up the stairs to the sitting room where she was properly announced, she’d been a jumble of every emotion a woman could experience.

Could it be true, she’d wondered?  Was he so sure of his desire for her to have such a place of honor in his life?

And just what was she ready to do about it?

***

“Do not think I did not notice, my lord.” She ignored his scowl as Anthony twirled her about the dance floor. “Your cunning is not so great that I would be taken by your deception.”

His step faltered slightly. “Of what deception do you speak, Miss Sharma?” His eyes became enraptured with a point just over her shoulder. Her shoulders became noticeably tense.

He was keeping a secret, of this, she was sure. The specifics of said secret remained a mystery but she knew it involved Edwina. Just a few moments ago, she’d witnessed a look pass between them. Not one of interest or flirtation, though.

But there was something, she thought as she gripped his left shoulder. She knew they’d made peace of a sort; she would not call them friends but Edwina’s enthusiasm for her courtship with the Viscount, her comfort level with him at breakfast, the subtle nod just a moment ago, they meant something.

Trust, she thought, did not come easily to either of them. Whatever it was, whatever he was hiding, she would listen.

At the end of the set, Kate stood by the refreshment table speaking the with Duchess of Hastings, Anthony at her side. Just as yesterday at the garden party, he refused to leave her side. While she would like to believe that he desired her company just that much, she suspected part of the reason was his need to scare away any other gentlemen that deigned to ask her to dance. Already, two had scurried away with their tails between their legs due to her companion’s scowl.

“You might be a bit nicer to them, you know,” she said to him quietly as she surveyed the room. “It is possible that you might need to interact with them in the future, perhaps with a business matter; a positive experience now would be beneficial later.”

He scoffed at her. “Absolutely not. I’ve maintained my estates for more than a decade on fear alone. Not my tenants, mind you, but the other men of the ton with whom I do business on occasion, what with Parliament and such. Fear, Miss Sharma, is the finest motivator.”

She watched out of the corner of her eye. “Is it indeed, my lord?”

“Mama looks quite happy this evening,” Daphne commented, interrupting Anthony’s rebuttal as she watched her mother smile widely as she watched the dancing couples twirl. “Did you know, brother, that mother told me last season that she has not danced since father was alive? Is that not astounding?”

“Mother had no wish to remarry, you know that, Daph. These balls serve two purposes only; first, they allow the host to show off their wealth, and second, they allow access to the marriage mart. If a woman is not seeking to marry, rather, if no one is seeking to marry the woman, she need not be asked.” Despite his words, he looked at his mother and her enthusiasm for the setting with an unexpected softness.

“I find that quite sad indeed.” Daphne turned to Kate. “Miss Sharma, I do hope you shall be attending the Hastings ball next week. We’ve started a bit of tradition in hosting the closing ball of the season. Rather informally, of course.”

Kate nodded. “Yes, your grace, I do believe Lady Danbury has accepted the invitation for everyone. Thank you for including us.” The Duchess was animated in her response and regaled Kate with her delight in the success of establishing herself and duchy as such an important part of the season.

Anthony turned to Kate as the set ended. “Miss Sharma, my sincere apologies but I must ask that you excuse me for a set.” Kate was confused but nodded in agreement. “Of course, Lord Bridgerton.”

Oh, she thought as she watched him approach his mother and request a dance. The surprise and delight on Violet’s face lit the entire room. She allowed her son to escort her to the floor as they took their positions for the quadrille. Kate felt her heart fall that very final step.

Oh, shit.

Chapter Text

Under normal circumstances Kate avoided, to the best of her ability, causing another person pain. She knew others existed who reveled in the delight of mental torment. People who gained pleasure from the anguish of those around them, all to seem superior. This was not Kate. On this occasion, however, she had no choice. She would not allow herself to be a party to someone else’s misconstrued understanding of her affections.

“Mister Rutledge, thank you for meeting me so early,” she said, boldly covering his bare hand with her gloved one as they sat together on bench in Hyde Park under the watchful eye of Lady Danbury. She took a deep breath and plunged forward. “I am sorry, but I must end our courtship.”

To her surprise, he nodded. “I anticipated as much, given the talk at White’s last night of the events that transpired at the ball yesterday. I was informed that Lord Bridgerton practically growled any man who so much as looked in your direction.” Kate had the grace to look chagrined. Perhaps she should have spoken to Mister Rutledge yesterday, but the notion had not occurred to her.

Yesterday she hadn’t decided.

“Forgive me my forwardness, Miss Sharma, but I feel I must ask. You have great affection for Lord Bridgerton?” Swallowing her own guilt, she met his kindly eyes and nodded. “It is widely known that he has great affection for you as well, despite any of that other business,” he waved a hand in the air.

“Other business?” Was there more talk, she wondered?

He cleared his throat. “Well, of course there is the previous betrothal to your sister, and then of course the rumors of how he could only seem to inquire as to your whereabouts when in your sister’s company after said betrothal.” He blinked at her confused expression. “Oh, my apologies. I thought you were aware of his behavior.”

She slowly shook her head. “No, sir. I was not aware. How exactly did you become aware if you do not mind my asking?”

“Miss Sharma, you understand that servants talk. For reason I cannot fathom, many choose to speak with my valet.” He shrugged as if gossiping were a common occurrence for men of the ton. “And in truth, the men at White’s could put Whistledown to shame with their need to expunge secrets. In fact, it was when I learned that the Viscount had indeed proposed to your sister and not to you as I had expected, given his constant searching for you at every gathering, that I decided to approach the topic of courtship with Lady Danbury. By the time I managed it, however, the engagement had already been called off. The talk at the time was centered around your sister’s new courtship and the Viscount’s duties with Parliament so I took a chance.”

Kate shifted uncomfortably on the bench. “Was there—”

“Your name was never impugned, I assure you, Miss Sharma. I would never have stood for it. And shudder to think of Lord Bridgerton’s reaction given the tussle he had with the Duke of Hastings about his sister. Of course, this is when they were newly wed...”

“I…”

“It is alright, Miss Sharma. While I find you to be an exceptional woman, I do not begrudge you the match you have with Lord Bridgerton. A fool could see what is between you. To that end, only a fool would deny such a connection.” He looked a bit sheepish when he said, “I’m sure you will forgive me if I am the smallest bit put out.”

If only all men were as forthright, she thought.

***

“Have you told her?” Violet asked Lady Danbury and Lady Mary as the three of them observed the scene before them. The older Bridgerton male siblings, along with Lord Evans and the Duke of Hastings, were engaged in a sparring match in the Bridgerton House garden while the girls stood on the sidelines offering critique and criticism. The dowagers were seated on a bench in the gazebo. “She should know. I understand withholding the information initially, but time is of the essence.”

Bringing the girls to watch their brothers spar was not exactly proper but Kate had advocated for it. Violet considered her acquiescence preparation for officially handing the title of Viscountess over to Kate and had not hesitated in telling her friends just that.

“I have not. Not yet.” Lady Mary sighed softly. “I simply want to be sure that marriage to the Viscount is what Kate wants for herself.  I do not wish for her to have a rushed decision.”

Lady Danbury grimaced at her friend’s reasoning but nodded as well. “Have you mentioned to Lord Bridgerton the need for urgency?” she asked of Violet.

“I have not.” Her heart twisted as she watched her son steal look after look over his shoulder toward his not-quite-yet intended, even as Colin lunged forward with his foil. “I’ve meddled quite enough, I suppose.”

“Indeed, you have,” Lady Mary retorted with a sideways look.

“Oh, posh, Mary! Had I not intervened, Anthony and Miss Edwina would mere days away from their wedding, Kate would be in Cambridge ready to depart London the very moment her sister was wed, and we would be dealing with three, no, four,” she said with a nod toward Lord Evans, “very unhappy individuals.”

“You misunderstand, Lady Bridgerton. I was not referring to that instance of meddling but rather the one that came after.” She sent her friend a knowing look. “That scheme of having Lord Bridgerton believe that Mister Rutledge was commissioning an engagement ring.” Her head shook in dismay. “Violet, that could have blown up in all of our faces.”

“And yet it did not,” Lady Danbury defended. “In fact, I would say Lord Bridgerton’s courtship of Miss Sharma has improved quite dramatically as a result.

“We did manage a visit to the modiste this morning. Her gown will be ready, and her trousseau will be rushed as quickly as possible. Luckily, Madame Delacroix began working on the gown the moment Lord Bridgerton gave Lord Evans his blessing to court Edwina and we’ve been able to pass it off as a new design the modiste was working on that just happened to be close to Miss Sharma’s measurements.”

“I would like it known that I did not agree to such action. I was not even made aware until very recently that such an order had placed.” Mary was obviously not pleased.

“Mary, with all do respect, it is my money, and I shall spend it as I see fit. Had the situation not taken the wonderful turn that it has, all of the items could have been re-cut for Edwina.”

Violet nodded in agreement. “How did you persuade her to attend the visit?”

“We bullied her,” Mary said in a droll voice. She was obviously perturbed at the underhanded methods of acquiring obedience from Kate but not enough to stop it.

***

“I fail to see why we’re subjected to such barbarism,” Eloise quipped beside Kate as she observed her brothers’ fencing practice. “It’s quite vulgar, is it not?”

Kate could not restrain her smile. “It is, indeed, Miss Eloise. But one can learn much from observation of such sport. For example, Lord Bridgerton appears superior but if you watch closely,” she nodded toward the scene of parry and riposte, “he is much better when he is on the attack. His strategy is to attack before defense is needed. Mister Benedict, however, prefers not to attack but defends quite well. His lack of offense, rather his lack of desire to go on the offensive, is quite telling. Mister Colin spars in an adequate fashion but his skill is more apparent when facing off with Mister Benedict, not the Viscount. Now, if we could just persuade His Grace to spar with Lord Bridgerton, well, then we would have scene before us.”

Daphne nodded in agreement as Eloise continued to roll her eyes in exasperation. “You are quite observing, Miss Sharma. I daresay you have provided exceptional summation of each of their personalities.” She leaned in closer to whisper. “I, too, would love to Simon and Anthony spar, but I fear it would get out of hand quickly. The two of them together, well, it is not always pretty or polite.”

“Then we shall endeavor to avoid such actions on this particular day,” Kate whispered in return.

The ladies applauded politely as the Viscount disarmed another brother. Anthony, noting Kate’s rather obvious eyes on his form, strutted over to them, his movements every bit the lord of the manor. His lame did little to hide his physique that Kate suspected was quite svelte. And if he stood, wearing those white breeches, in just the right angle to the sun she could imagine seeing the lines of…

“Miss Sharma?” She jerked to attention at Anthony’s voice, blushing a bit at the knowing smirk on his face and ignoring Daphne’s stifled giggle. “I believe mother has called for tea. Would you care to accompany me into the house? I can escort you to the drawing room before I retreat to change my attire for something more appropriate.”

Kate inhaled sharply through her nose, a bit embarrassed at being caught ogling the man. “Of course, Lord Bridgerton.”

“Have you made any astute observations this afternoon, Miss Sharma?” Anthony asked of her as he escorted her up the stairs.

“Oh, several, my lord.”

“Care to share?” Kate couldn’t suppress a shudder as his finger slipped under the hem of the glove that covered the hand tucked into the crook of his elbow. “I would be delighted to know.”

Kate flushed under his teasing. To be near him, to be allowed to stand in such close proximity, was so novel she struggled to stay with their conversation. Wasn’t there something she wanted to discuss with him?

She pulled away as they made their way past the landing on the stairway. A discreet glance showed the other family members out of range of hearing. “May we speak privately, please? I wish to continue our conversation from last night.”

Confusion marred his expression. “Last night? Oh.” He nodded his head and directed her down the hallway in the opposite direction of the drawing room. “What is it you would like to discuss, Miss Sharma?”

“Secrets, my lord.” She clasped her hands in front of her, lest she grasp his shoulders to shake him. “You’ve been keeping secrets.” She continued on, despite the stricken look on his face. “I do not care for secrets, my lord. I understand that I too have kept secrets and have harmed my family in doing so.

“I told Miss Edwina that were I so lucky as to secure your hand that I would provide her with a dowry. Lord Evans is wealthy, but his estate is much newer than my own. A dowry, while perhaps not absolutely necessary, would make the marriage a grater possibility.”

She froze briefly in the middle of the hallway. “You...you intend to provide her with a dowry?” Why would he do such a thing? It was not his responsibility to provide for her sister's future. “Why, my lord? Is your guilt that great?”

His eyes flickered again to her somewhere past her shoulder. He was choosing his words carefully. “Guilt played a role, of course. The Sheffield’s withdrawal of their own funds certainly factored into my offer.”

How could he possibly know this? “And how were you made aware of the Sheffield’s offer?!”

“Um, that is no matter,” he said, discomfort evident. “But there is something else.”

“What else, Lord Bridgerton?” Kate replied, holding her breath.

"It regards the end of my betrothal to Miss Edwina. Rather, how the betrothal became severed. I shall tell you everything that I know."

Chapter Text

The gray clouds and their accompanying drizzle perfectly suited Kate’s mood. Heavy limbs and a downturned mouth graced her form as she sat, slouched low in the chair by the window in Lady Danbury’s parlor.

How did one react when their very understanding of the world was challenged? Should she rage and rail? Weep and cry? He had lied to her, filled her mind with false information. No, that wasn’t true, she corrected herself. Lord Bridgerton had not lied, perse. He had told her nothing that was untrue. He had simply kept vital information to himself.

How was she to trust him now? Or his family? Or her own, come to that. While Mary and Edwina had not been privy to the original scheme, they’d known of it. Edwina had exploited it. Mary had, while not at first, eventually allowed it. Heaven only knew Lady Danbury’s role in the blasted mess.

“Didi.” Kate took a resigned breath at her sister’s voice. “You cannot avoid me forever.”

I should like to try, she thought unkindly. She gave herself a mental shake. Edwina was not the true culprit for this mess; she merely made the best of her situation. “What is it, bon?”

A scrape of a chair across the floor broke the moment’s silence. “Please talk to me, Kate. I understand that you are upset with what transpired between our family and the Bridgertons. Perhaps I may offer a bit of clarity as I’m sure you have questions.”

A sigh escaped as Kate turned from her station at the window to face Edwina. How young she looks, Kate thought. So bright and eager, excited for life and all it holds. One would not expect her capable of such deviousness.

“I have one question, bon. Why?” Edwina held her gaze with no shame. “Why would you allow the farce of the Bridgertons’ to continue?”

Edwina smiled rather gently. “Because it was the right thing to do. For everyone.”

Kate scoffed. “Lies and extortion are hardly the right things, bon.”

Edwina offered a chuckle. “Everyone is where they are meant to be now, Kate. Lord Evans is perfect for me, just as I believe I am perfect for him. The Viscount is courting you, and I am quite sure he will make you an offer soon.”

Kate’s head jerked up. “I have not decided if I shall even entertain the man again, let alone agree to become his wife.”

Edwina blinked in surprise. “Didi, surely you cannot be thinking of requesting Lord Bridgerton end his suit.” Her sister huffed as she moved from the table to drop into the chair near Kate. “As much as I would love to put all of the blame for the entire debacle at the feet of Lady Danbury, the Viscount, and his family, I simply cannot.”

“What can you possibly mean? Bon, it was a scheme to give cause to break your engagement. And then you blackmailed the Viscount!” Kate’s spine snapped straight at the mere thought of her sister, her baby sister whom she’d raised since the tender age of eight, had stooped so low as to extort money from her former betrothed. “Which means you are correct and will of course have your own blame to shoulder, as does the Viscount with all of his lies.”

Edwina smiled sweetly and shrugged at her sister’s comment. “I truly believe it was the best possible outcome. Kate, I do not know exactly what the Viscount told you as I was not present for your conversation with him, but he truly is not to blame. Neither is his family, nor Lady Danbury. I was disenchanted with the Viscount when I realized he was unable to give me what I want, what you and mama have given me all my life. Tis true that Lady Danbury put Lord Evans in my path. But it was I who sought to engage with him while still betrothed to the Viscount.” She brushed absently at her skirt. “And the dowry scheme seemed the most expedient at the time. While Lord Evans might not require a dowry, the presence of one will provide a stronger likelihood of his proposal.”

“And you are quite certain he intends to propose?”

Edwina nodded. “I am. I do not expect such a thing this season, of course. He is new to his title and will have much to learn. However, I believe early next season he will make an offer.”

Kate sighed. Everyone was happy. Edwina would marry a man she truly wished to marry. Lady Danbury would see Edwina married to the man she’d first envisioned matching with her sister. Mary would be provided for. Should she marry the Viscount, she knew Anthony would provide for Mary until such time that Lord Evans did so. Perhaps even beyond the wedding, if necessary.

Why could she not be happy for herself?

Was what they’d done really so terrible? Was it truly any different than what she’d done herself, with the dowry scheme with the Sheffields? Perhaps not, she mused. In both situations the parties involved had struggled to make the best of their situations. Kate had made a deal with Mary’s parents in an effort to secure financial security for Mary and Edwina. The Bridgertons and Lady Danbury had created a scenario that allowed Edwina to see what marriage to the Viscount would truly be. In the end, all situations were, truly, the best for everyone involved.

“Perhaps that is true,” Kate allowed. “Yet I do not appreciate the effort of everyone involved in the attempt to manipulate my affections.”

Edwina snorted. “No one schemed to manipulate your affections, didi. Lord Bridgerton has had your affections since the day you met, has he not?” Kate squirmed under her scrutiny. “All that was manipulated was the presence of the one person who stood in the way of Lord Bridgerton finding a love match: me. And Kate, as I have already told you, I am quite content with the way things stand. Lord Evans is a much better match for me. Kate, I will be a better wife to Lord Evans than I could ever have dreamed of being to Lord Bridgerton.”

“What can you mean, bon?”

“I could never stomach a marriage to a man never looked at me, to a man who never truly saw me. I do not wish to be a wife whose only purpose is to provide the heir and the spare. This is all I would have been for Lord Bridgerton.” A smirk graced her sister’s lips.  “The same cannot be said for you, though. I’ve seen the way he looks at you, as well as the way you look at him. Your choice is simple, didi. You either forgive him or you do not. You are wise, Kate. I only pray that you are wise enough to know the mistake you would be making were you to choose to walk away from him.”

And so Kate was left with only her thoughts as she pondered her future.

The next day arrived with another dreary façade outside the window. It had been three days since she’d seen Lord Bridgerton.  She’d had the doorman turn him away each time he’d tried to call. Today was Wednesday and she knew he would be busy with his duties at Parliament all morning and into the afternoon. This was the only chance she would have to speak privately to the mastermind behind all of this. She quickly penned note that banished all attempts at propriety.

She invited herself to a private tea with one dowager Viscountess Violet Bridgerton.

***

“Thank you for seeing me, Lady Bridgerton.” Kate resisted the urge to fidget under Violet’s knowing gaze as she sat in a lovely parlor somewhat removed from the drawing room and any of the other household members. I did request a private meeting, I suppose. To buy herself a moment, took a sip of awful English tea.

“Please, call me Violet. I believe we have no need for such formality.”

“Violet, then.” Kate nodded nervously. While her anger was somewhat abated, she would never forgive herself if she did not confront this woman. What right did she have to interfere in the lives of others?

She cleared her throat to begin. “I would like to address with you the information I obtained last I was here.” The urge to fidget was stronger than Kate could ever remember.  “The information from Lord Bridgerton. This is to say, he informed me of something, some events that have taken place and I wish to address them. With you, of course. I feel that I must—”

“The scheme, Kate?” Violet took pity on her stammering. “The one that allowed for Anthony to end his betrothal to your sister?” Kate’s head bobbed slowly in surprise. She had not expected Lady Bridgerton to be so forthcoming, or to come to the heart of the matter so quickly.

Violet smiled widely. “Indeed, I encouraged Lady Danbury to proceed with her original intention of introducing Miss Edwina to Lord Evans. He’s grown into a rather delightful young man. New to his title, as I’m sure you know, but quite intelligent and I feel he will be a remarkable husband to your sister.”

“Um,” Kate sputtered as she tried to formulate a response as quickly as possible. “Yes, I believe Edwina is quite taken with him.” Her hands clenched together under the table. “Lady, er, Violet, I would like to address your role in what transpired. I believe it goes far beyond encouraging Lady Danbury to make an introduction.” With courage, she held the Dowager’s gaze. “I would like to know your role. The whole of it.” Her chin lifted with her statement.

Violet smiled appreciatively and delicately sipped her tea. “Tis quite simple, dear. I arranged for Eloise to pretend to be quite ill at the Bellingham Ball a few weeks back.”

Kate blinked. “Please continue.”

“Oh, that’s all, dear.” She selected a shortbread from the tray in the middle of the table. Her shoulders gave a small shrug as she watched Kate gape at her words.

“Anthony put on a farce, a façade if you will, with Miss Edwina. One that led her to believe inaccuracies regarding my son’s character. She was quite upset when Anthony needed to leave the event early to tend to his sister, and Anthony responded in a manner befitting his…true character.” Violet struggled not to smile as Kate’s brow crinkled. “He was quite busy for the next few days with other duties. During this time, Edwina had become quite interested in Lord Evans, a much better match for her indeed. It really was only a matter of removing the rose-colored glasses from your sister’s eyes and all that required was a moment in which my son showed his true nature. One with which I believe you are already quite familiar?

“Kate,” she said gently, “Miss Edwina is a lovely young woman. But let us be honest. She and Anthony would have been miserable together.” Silver clanged against china as Violet removed her spoon from her cup.

“I shall tell you something I hope we can keep between us, Kate. When Anthony came to me and said that he’d made a mistake in offering for Miss Edwina, I was ecstatic. I knew my son held no affection for her. I knew he would live to regret his actions. Yet, he is a grown man. I could scarcely forbid him from proposing to whomever he chose. I waited, hoping every day that this would be the day that he would come to his senses. And he did! All it took was Anthony understanding for even a moment that you would be removed from his life if he continued his course.”

Kate sat in silence as her mind whirled. How was she to take this all in? How could this woman sit and recite these events so calmly?

“And I place no blame with your sister for the dowry plan. Well, not anymore. While I was perhaps perplexed that Anthony would agree to such a thing, I can understand a jilted young lady wishing to take extreme measures to secure her own future.”

Kate took a deep breath and plunged her voice forward. “Violet, I find myself thankful for your involvement in what has happened these last few weeks.” It was true, and she found she could no longer deny it, even to herself. “However,” another deep breath moved her shoulders as she continued, “I would appreciate, in the future, if you did not meddle in the relationship I have with your son.”

“Of course I would not meddle, dearest!” Violet smiled so kindly Kate forgot, for just a moment, that she was speaking with one of the most powerful women of the ton. “Once you are Anthony’s Viscountess, my work will be done, and there will be no further need for my meddling, as you say. Now,” she said as she rose from her chair, “we should not dawdle the day away. We must continue your introduction to the staff and education of the house and its grounds. I believe if we begin on the third floor and work our way down…”

Why does everyone seem to forget that she and Anthony were not yet betrothed, she wondered? Her mother and household seemed prepared to pack her up and ship her to Bridgerton House at a moment’s notice and his own mother appeared ready to hand of the key to the front door that very instant. Now over the worst of her anger, she was certainly inclined to forgive Anthony for the raucous mess he made of things, but she could not quite understand why every person seemed to be two steps ahead of her.

“Kate?” Violet called from the doorway. “Are you ready, dear?” She rose from her chair to join the dowager as if pulled by an unseen force. “On the third floor we have the guest rooms and the servants’ quarters. When I moved into Bridgerton House with Anthony’s father, the nursery was on that floor, but I could not stand to be so far from the children, so I moved it to the second floor, and closer the Viscount’s rooms. The walls are a pale blue but I’m sure whatever color you decide upon with be quite divine…”

Oh, she is very good…

***

Anthony veered left at the end of the hall, intending to sneak into the drawing room for a biscuit that would surely be waiting before heading to his study and the work that waited until the dinner hour. Parliament had been tremendously long, tedious and boring, more so than usual meaning everyone had been forced to stay well past the time they would usually break for nourishment.

“Anthony?” his mother called from behind him.

He turned with a sigh as his stomach rumbled in disagreement. “Mother, I only have moment before I need to see to the books. I shall join you for dinner after I’ve done the tallies—”

“That shall have to wait, darling.”

“Wait? Why? Mother, I’m famished. Surely this can wait.”

“Kate called today.”

His head spun as he whipped himself around. “She was here? What did she say? Why on Earth did you let her leave?” He silenced himself at his mother’s raised brow.

“Before she left, she mentioned that she would not be opposed to receiving a call from you today, time permitting of course.”

Anthony blinked before his mind caught up with his mother’s words.

She was ready to see him. Perhaps she’d forgiven him. If not, he would simply throw himself at her feet and beg forgiveness.

“I believe time is of the essence, Anthony.” His mother’s statement interrupted his reverie.

“Indeed. I must go.” He rushed out without so much as a backward glance, completely forgetting his hunger, missing his mother’s softly whispered, “work quickly, darling.”

In less than twenty minutes Anthony found himself approaching the door of Danbury House. His mind was blank of everything, save the need to see here. It had been so long, he thought. Countless hours he’d waited for a sign that she was willing to see him, that he had not ruined everything they had between them. For the longest three days of his life, he’d pined and pleaded entry but it was not granted. He found himself grateful that his flowers hadn’t been turned away as well.

The doorman opened the door with a nod and he rushed up the stairs, refusing to wait to be announced. At the top of the stairs he stopped short, confused by the scene before him. Servants carted trunks and armfuls of clothing through various doorways, far too many for one person. Why, it looked as if the entire household were moving, he thought with exasperation.

Surely if Lady Danbury were going to visit Clyvedon she would not need such an arsenal, he thought.

“Anthony!” He turned at the sound of her voice and stopped short at the sight of her.

She stood tall and regal at the top of the stairs he’d just climbed. Oh, how he’d missed her. Every moment without her was torture.

“Kate,” his voice said with reverence. He reached to grasp her hand. “Darling, please tell me you’ve forgiven me, that we can move on from this.”

Her eyes searched his with a bit more sadness than he liked. “I am ready to talk,” she acquiesced. “And while I find the methods employed by our families abhorrent, I suppose I cannot fault their conclusion.”

Anthony felt the release of tension throughout his entire body. His stance widened slightly to ensure he did not fall over, such was his instability. “Kate.” He pulled her against him and rested his forehead upon hers. “Darling, thank you. I know the events that transpired were not as you would have wished but I am truly grateful to have ended up exactly where I am.”

She raised herself onto her toes and pressed her lips to his brow. “As am I.”

“Kate, you must resume your packing!”

He jerked at Lady Mary’s voice. “Packing?” He looked quizzically at Kate and her mother who stood down the hallway to the right. “Whatever for? Kate?”

She sighed and gripped his hands in hers. “I am sorry for the late notice but it appears we are to have a stay at Lord Evans’ country estate.” She cleared her throat, her nerves telling. “His Lordship has invited Edwina and my mother, and Lady Danbury, of course,” she rambled, “to stay at his estate at the end of the season. I shall not be allowed to remain here alone, obviously so I am travel with them.”

Ice flowed down his spine. “No, it’s impossible. For how long?”

“A few months,” she mumbled.

“I beg your pardon,” he said, certain he’d misheard.

“A few months,” she said more loudly. “We are to visit with Lord Evans for two months following the end of the season. Which is in five days, obviously.”

His heart hammered in his chest. “Two months? In Norwich?” It was not possible. “No. Absolutely not. It is not possible.”

“Anthony, what else do you suggest? I cannot remain here alone. Mary would never allow me to stay at Bridgerton House. I have no other option.”

No, no, no! You will not leave me again; I will not allow it! “Marry me,” he said breathlessly. “Marry me, Kate, this week. I can go right now to the archbishop to request a license. We can be wed before they’re to leave. We can finally be together.”

Her head started to shake but he cut her off before she could refuse him. “I realize this is quicker than either of us intended but can you not see that this is meant?” He desperately wished her eyes weren’t so wide with shock. “If you’re still cross with me over everything with Miss Edwina you shall have the rest of our lives to punish me.”

He fell to one knee, clutching her hand in desperation, oblivious to the trio holding their collective breath that gathered behind them. “Please, Kate, I beg you. Marry me,” he pleaded with her.

A tear leaked out of Kate’s eye as she struggled to breath. “I… I don’t…”

Chapter Text

Anxiety thundered through him, his constant companion of late. Not so much with the ledgers in front of him, but with other, more personal aspects of his life. Could he do this, act as he was expected, when history had shown him that the anxiety and fear he felt was for a damned good reason?

He pondered his most recent quandary as he set down his quill and let out a sigh. So much had changed in so little time. He was content, of course, yet he felt he had not sufficiently prepared himself for this part of his future.

He was not ready for this.

He gazed at the portrait his brother had gifted him as it hung, still in its place of honor, on the wall in his study. Was it only a year ago, he wondered, that Benedict had captured that scene? So much had happened since that day. The rest of the house party at Aubrey Hall. His betrothal to Edwina followed by its hasty cancelation. Her sister leading him a merry chase. His proposal to Kate.

And then everything that happened after. A lifetime of chaos in only a one single year.

He shook his head and checked his pocket watch. There was just enough time to pilfer whatever snacks Colin hadn’t gotten his hands on before he needed to dress for the event this morning. He rose from his desk and took the stairs two at a time.

“Anthony!” The man in question turned his head toward his brother as he stepped into the drawing room. “You must do something about this.”

Oh dear.  What had happened now? “About what, Benedict?”

“Your wife!”

“Now, darling, we need to be kind at such a time in her life,” Violet interjected from her seat on the sofa. “She is feeling a bit distraught and uncomfortable, understandably so. It is not Anthony’s fault, or hers.”

Benedict rounded on her in contradiction. “But it is Anthony’s fault, mother! If not for his actions, the woman would not be in this situation and would not have driven little Hyacinth to tears! He has turned the quite reasonable woman into a shrew.”

Anthony was tired of his head moving back and forth between them. He lost his patience. “What pray tell did she do?! And what is this about Hyacinth in tears?”

The argument between Benedict and Violet stopped. “Nothing, dear. She is only having a difficult time this morning. It is to be expected, especially today.”

“What did she do? Well, I’ll tell you,” Benedict declared as he paced to the window and back. “She sniped at me for complementing her dress.  She stuck her entire head out the window for all of Mayfair to see, demanding air when Miss Johnson brought in tea, said the smell was too nauseating to remain in the same room. I think Miss Johnson might just now be finished crying in the hall closet. She finally settled into that chair,” he pointed to the armchair next to the still open window, “then burst into tears when Gregory offered to assist her to her feet after she said the chair caused pain in her back. Which cannot be true as that’s been her preferred chair since you were wed. Then she shoved aside Hyacinth’s attempts to comfort her, crushing the poor girl’s good temper, and swept out of the room!”

Anthony ignored the smile his mother failed to fully hide behind her hand. “I am not certain what you expect me to do about this—”

Benedict was exasperated. “Help her, brother! We’re to leave in less than an hour and you are the one who will face your wife’s wrath if we are so much as single minute late. I believe we were threatened with dismemberment. She has been this way for more than a fortnight. You did this to her, so fix it!”

A ten-minute search of the house later and Anthony found his wife in the darkest corner of the sitting room attached their bedchamber. She sat next to an open window and fanned herself furiously with one hand and rubbed her back with another. Tears stained her face.

“Kate,” he said softly. “Darling, whatever is the matter?” He crossed the room and knelt before her. Her beauty was staggering, even in her current state. Her eyes were swollen from crying and sweat gathered at her hairline. Ever so gently, he placed a hand on her swollen belly and was rewarded with a kick.

He stamped down the fear that rose exponentially with each day as her time grew closer. Memories of Hyacinth’s birth came forth unbidden.

What if I lose her? I shall not survive it.

With a pained smile, he pushed aside his tortured musings. “Darling, you look splendid. How can I help you?”

Kate was in no mood for his compliments. “I am overheated, my back aches dreadfully, I am miserable,” she complained to him. It was so out of character for her to admit to any discomfort he could do nothing but blink at her.

“Did you know that the maid had to put my shoes on for me? I cannot reach my feet, Anthony.” More tears gathered but she held them back. “I cannot seem to be more than five meters from a chamber pot. I am starving but fear I would vomit anything I might consume. I know made a spectacle in the drawing room and I shall apologize to Hyacinth, and your mother of course.”

Anthony chuckled. “But not to Benedict?”

She glared at him. “The man said he could see the lovely color of my dress five minutes before the rest of me arrived. I do not remember exactly what I said but I am quite certain he deserved it.”

His mother might have raised a few fools, but those were his siblings. “I am sure he did, darling, and more besides. Kate, we must make haste. We must leave soon if we are to arrive on time.  You have diligently reminded us that we might suffer physical injury should we be even a moment late.”

Kate sighed. “I know. Send in the maid. I shall see how quickly she can repair the damage I’ve done to my face.”

“On the bright side, love, once we’re home you shall not be forced to don footwear for as long as you like.” He wasn’t entirely sure her feet would fit into her shoes much longer, but he wisely kept that supposition to himself.

She smiled in relief and pulled him closer for a kiss. “I shall hold you to that.”

***

“I cannot believe that my baby sister is finally married.” Kate sighed and leaned just a bit more into the hand that was massaging her back through the lilac silk of her dress. Anthony pressed a bit more firmly as he stole a discrete glance at his watch with his free hand, secretly elated that he could provide her with respite.

Her back had been paining her for much of the day, it seemed, and getting worse at the day got on. Perhaps Benedict had been correct; he was very much the cause of her discomfort. Anthony supposed that was one thing that had not changed in the ten months since they’d wed.

“Do you wish we’d done things differently?”

She looked at him quizzically. “I do not understand.”

Anthony cleared his throat and glanced around at Lady Danbury’s drawing room where they’d taken refuge from the wedding breakfast continuing downstairs. It had been in this very room that Anthony had glimpsed his life without her. He would forever be grateful for his mother’s guidance and his wife’s forgiveness. Yet, a part of himself would always wonder if Kate had wished for the fanfare denied her by their families’ scheming.

“The wedding. Do you ever wish we’d done things the traditional way. Had the banns read, married in church, had the large breakfast…”

Kate scoffed at him. “There were so many people at our wedding breakfast I believe no one was left on the streets of Mayfair.”

“Kate.”

She shook her head even as he said her name. “No, my love, I do not. Had it been up to me alone, we would have wed in the Bridgerton morning room, just as we did, and immediately absconded across the square. I knew the moment you proposed what I wanted.”

Anthony chuckled.  “I believe your response was ‘I don’t know,’ then you ran down the hall.”

“I came back! And in less than a minute, if you’ll remember.”

That she had. It had been the longest minute of his life. The only reason he hadn’t followed her or fled the residence entirely had been pure shock. Whatever he’d expected, it had not been that.

But then she’d returned, with tears streaming down her face and an uncharacteristically shy smile on her yes. “Yes, Anthony. I will marry you,” she’d said. His heart had stopped right then and there. He’d grabbed her from where she’d stood and spun her in circles, stopping only when the thumb of Lady Danbury’s cane had approached.

“You knew what you wanted, but did you anticipate what would come next?” He dropped a kiss onto her shoulder, unable to restrain himself. Her neck arched in approval.

She sighed and leaned harder against his still rubbing hand. “Did I anticipate that between your family and mine, the wedding was planned from the day of the week down to the flowers and the cake, my gown completed as well as my trousseau, and the paperwork for the special license waiting for you to take to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and that we would be married in three days’ time? Absolutely not. It was quite beautiful,” she said wistfully. “And thoughtful as well. I realized later that they’d anticipated every request I might have had.”

He had to chuckle. “Never let it be said that Violet Bridgerton and Agatha Danbury would fail in their mission.”

A voice roused them from their memories. “Ah! There you are.” Lady Danbury stood in the doorway, as regal as ever. “Lady Bridgerton, I believe your sister is changing into her traveling dress and wished a word with you. Lord Bridgerton, may I ask for your escort back to the breakfast?” Her voice left no word for argument.

***

Kate made her way slowly down the hall, her hand rubbing soothing circles on her belly since no one was about to chastise her for such impropriety in public. My darling, you are making your mama quite unpleasant these last few days. Should I not love you more than anything, I would be quite put out. In truth, she knew she waddled. How could one not waddle when she seemed carry a full stone between her hips? Kate chose not to dwell upon it. There would be time for that later, after Edwina was on her way to her new home. She pushed open the door to the bedchamber Edwina had occupied for over a year and found her sister looking quite panicked as she fidgeted with the buttons on her pale pink spencer.

“Bon,” Kate called.  “Whatever is wrong?”

Edwina’s head whipped toward the door that the sound of her sister’s voice. “Didi!” she cried. “You must help. I am in an awful state.” She rose to pace back and forth alongside the bed. “Mama tried to help me, but she would only speak in generalities, and I need someone to provide me with answers, Kate!”

Kate stepped forward as quickly as her condition would allow and gripped her sister’s hands. She met Edwina’s wide-eyed panic with calm. “Tell me what is going on.” She drew her sister to the bed and perched beside her as best she could.

“I do not understand what I am supposed to do!”

“When?”

“Now! Today!” Her sister remained quite agitated.

Kate tried a different tract. “Edwina, right now you are to go downstairs, say your goodbyes, and allow your husband to escort you to your new home.” Kate sighed as Edwina’s eyes widened even more. “You spent significant time there last year. You cannot be this nervous over the prospect of living there.”

“No!” Edwina burst out. “Not living there but living there with him! What am I supposed to do with him?  No one will tell me. All mama said was that I would share a bed with him and that my husband would guide me.” Realization dawned as Kate took in her sister’s words. “Didi, you must explain it to me. You know I prefer to be most prepared.” Edwina gripped her hands painfully. “I shall need to provide him with children, and I have no idea how to go about it, and you obviously do,” she said with a sweeping gesture toward Kate’s quite pregnant form. “Tell me what I need to know.”

Kate took a deep breath and nodded. She’d hoped this task would fall to Mary, but it appears her hope was in vain.

Twenty minutes later, Edwina’s face was frozen in disbelief. Or was it revulsion, Kate wondered.

“You… you…” Edwina stuttered. “You and Anthony did… Oh, my.” Her face scrunched up most unpleasantly. “Did you know about these…actions before you married him? Wait, what am I saying, of course you did. You spent significant time with newly wedded women at the palace in Bombay. You would have gleamed much information indeed. Oh, God, Kate, I was engaged to the man! You knew what I would be expected to allow him to… do to me and you said nothing! My word, the thought of it turns my stomach.” Edwina huffed and shuddered as she scrambled to her feet. “I may never forgive you for this, you realize?”

Kate could not stop her laugh, nor the joy she felt in knowing that she could laugh at such a thing. “I assume the notion of such activities with Lord Evans inspires other feelings?”

Edwina slanted her a look. “I suppose I am not opposed to it, even though it seems like such an odd activity.”

Kate shook her head. “It is not, Edwina. Perhaps at first it is awkward, but it is a rather beautiful way to share yourself with someone you love.”

“And you truly find pleasure in this? In…being with your husband in this manner?”

A dreamy smile stretched Kate’s lips as memories of that very morning assaulted her senses. “Yes. And that is all I will tell you on that subject. You shall have to find out the rest for yourself.”

“Hmp!” Edwina straightened her dress. “Well,” she said as she grasped Kate’s hands to pull her to her feet. “If I, too, am to blow up to the size of a dirigible, I should at least enjoy the process of getting there.”

***

“Lady Danbury, I cannot thank you enough for all you have done for me, and my family,” Edwina gushed to the dowager as she made her way over the gravel to the waiting carriage. “I am truly grateful.”

“You are most welcome, my dear.” The dowager ushered her closer to where Lord Evans and the rest of the entourage had gathered to see them off. “I shall expect an invitation to visit you to arrive before the end of the season,” she said haughtily as she delivered Edwina into Mary’s waiting arms.

Mother and daughter stood together quietly for a few moments before Mary whispered something in her ear that had Edwina flicking her gaze between Anthony and Kate before looking away with a furious blush. Anthony wondered at it but quickly drew out his watch as Kate, who was nestled into his side, hissed in pain, and reached around to the small of her back.

“Kate,” Edwina addressed her sister as she disentangled herself from her mother, “I shall miss you most dreadfully.” She did her best to hug her sister and shrugged when the best she could do was press against her free side.

“I shall miss you as well, bon.” Kate swiped at a single tear that traitorously escaped her watery eyes. “Be happy, sister.”

Tears, handshakes and well wishes abounded as Edwina and her new husband said their final goodbyes. Finally seated, Edwina waved goodbye as the carriage pulled away.

“Darling,” Mary said as she slipped an arm around Kate’s waist from her other side. “Are you feeling alright?”

“Quite,” she said with huff as she watched her sister ride away into her startlingly bright future.

She’d done it, Anthony thought reverently as he once again pulled out his watch for a quick glance. She’d traveled halfway across the world to offer her sister only the best possible future. Through many trials and tribulations, she’d accomplished her goal.

“Hmm,” Mary said with a knowing look to Anthony on her other side. “How far apart are they?”

“What?” Kate asked, most distractedly.

“Eleven minutes,” Anthony answered in her stead.

“Well,” Violet said from the other side of Anthony, “I believe we should be making our way to Bridgerton House, yes?”

“Anthony,” Mary interjected, “you’ll call for the midwife?”

“Already done,” he assured them.

Kate’s body relaxed as the pain in her back faded. “Midwife?” she asked in surprise. “My back pains me from being on my feet, that is all. Surely there’s no need to tear the midwife from her lunch for a sore back.”

“Darling,” Mary said softly, “it is time. I strongly suggest we move along to Bridgerton House as Violet has suggested. You would surely feel more comfortable at home. Things might progress quite quickly now.”

Anthony swallowed back his fear with a reassuring squeeze of his arm from his mother. He would be brave, for Kate, and for his child.

Just as he turned to Kate to offer his agreement with Mary’s suggestion, the Bridgerton carriage pulled up.

“My love,” he said as he turned to her, taking in her wide, teary eyes and clenching hands. “I believe your mother is quite correct.” He opened the door to the carriage and held out his hand to her. “Let us prepare to meet our son.”

Kate gazed at him in wonder. “How could you possibly…?”

He smiled gently as his mother offered a discrete cough. “I have seven siblings, Kate. I know a thing or two about the process.”

A million words passed between them as they stood with their eyes locked on the other, surrounded by their loved ones, faced with the inevitable and fearsome transformation before them. Seconds ticked by as each of them acknowledged that from this day forward, their lives would irrevocably change.

Kate, his wonderful, amazing partner in all that life had offer, smiled dazzlingly. “Yes, my love. I believe that would be most appropriate.”

The End