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“Frannie… we need to get going!” Anthony howled up the stairs of his mother’s townhome..
Anthony Bridgerton leaned heavily against the staircase, resisting the urge to stalk up to his sister's room and drag her to the car. Francesca was always the responsible one. Though, lately she had seemed distracted.
“Give her a minute, she’ll be down.” Violet Bridgerton said, walking into the entryway of the room and offering a quick peck to her eldest son’s cheek in welcome.
“She’s smitten over a boy” Violet added, a knowing smile gracing her features.
“A boy?” Anthony shook his head in confusion, then asked aloud. “Aren’t I dropping her off at piano practice?”
“Yes, but Janet’s nephew is visiting for the summer.” Violet responded. Janet Stirling, an acclaimed pianist had taken on Francesca, then age twelve, as a student four years prior. The woman having recently lost her son suddenly had stopped touring nationally, instead having taken on a handful of promising students. His sister and the woman got on famously.
“That doesn’t seem appropriate?” Anthony asked, a frown growing on his brow.
“Stop…” Violet added. “Janet is practically family and I’ve heard the boy is very sweet.”
Just as Anthony moved to question his mother further, Francesca charged forward down the stairs, completely skipping the last step before landing flat on the landing.
“I’m ready! Let’s go, we can’t be late.” Francesca said, bouncing toward the door and out to Anthony’s car.
Why was she smiling and why was she so put together? Immediately, Anthony thought to question her retreating form further but she was nearly halfway to the car.
“Anthony, be nice.” Violet scolded.
“When am I not?” Anthony added with a scoff, retreating behind Francesca before his mother could scold him further. Thirty years of age and his mother still scolded him. Some things never change.
----
As they sat beside each other on their way to Francesca’s piano lesson, Anthony took the time to look at her. His second youngest sister had always been the sibling with which he was least acquainted. It was the reason he was driving her to these lessons instead of his mother, he had offered feeling guilt that they had never formed a stronger relationship.
Francesca differed from the rest of them, always so measured in her behavior when compared to the group. Anthony wouldn’t call her shy, just that she rarely spoke just for the sake of doing so. He supposed they were similar in that way and he had just not taken the time to notice it.
He took the opportunity to glance in her direction while keeping his focus on the road ahead and Anthony again questioned why she was dressed so well this afternoon. Francesca normally went for comfort when visiting with Janet, usually something loose fitting with her hair in a loose bun. That was not the story today however, she sat to his side in what looked to be a rather nice sweater, well-fitting jeans, and a pair of stylish boots that were clearly built for fashion over utility.
“You look nice today.” Anthony remarked as she browsed through music on the car’s stereo.
“Not so different from any other day.” Francesca replied, still focused on finding a track she might prefer.
“No… not too different,” Anthony added casually, before continuing. “Any reason for the change?”
Francesca’s hand stilled and she gave him a knowing look as she fell back against her seat as she asked.
“She told you, I told her not to say anything.”
“Is it so wrong that I know what’s going on in your life?” Anthony asked.
“There isn’t anything going on, it’s just piano practice. The same as it is twice a week… every week.” Francesca countered. “Only Mrs. Stirling has a guest, so I thought it best not to look like a slob.”
“Hmm, okay.” Anthony remarked, eyeing her with mock suspicion.
“What?” Francesca asked in annoyance, her familiar sapphire eyes burning in his direction. “Michael is just a friend. This family spends every minute in each other's business.” She huffed, arms folded across her chest.
Anthony let out a laugh. Yes, this family could truly test one’s patience.
“Fair enough.” He added, when Francesca didn’t respond Anthony continued. “It’s the first time I’ve heard of you having… uh- interest in anyone.”
“It’s nothing like that. We’re not exclusively dating or anything.” Francesca replied, her hand flicking forward to indicate the lack of seriousness. Still her cheeks had just a hint of color to indicate that it was more than nothing.
“You’re sixteen years old, non-exclusive shouldn’t be in your vocabulary Frannie.” Anthony said, only slightly concerned about the idea of his teenage sister juggling multiple partners.
“Don’t be gross.” Francesca replied. “I’m not Ben.”
“I thank the lord for that daily.” Anthony added, his hands lifting together in mock-prayer before returning to the steering wheel.
“Again…” Exasperation was laced within Francesca’s response. “We’re just friends, I don’t think he even likes me in that way.” She reiterated her previous claim with less vigor and then turned to look at the passing scenery outside her window.
Anthony remained silent for a moment, noting the change in tone. Francesca, despite her more subtle demeanor, always held a level of confidence and sureness the rest of their siblings did not. At age five she fell in love with music so she pursued it and at seven she found her instrument in the piano so she mastered it. It was odd to see her unsure of anything but he supposed that was the way in matters of the heart.
He could hardly relate, Anthony Bridgerton at age thirty had rarely allowed himself the vulnerability that could lead to heartache. Sure, he had found passion but never more than that. As Anthony again eyed his sister, barely on the edges of adulthood and still afflicted with the stirrings of heartache, he knew why such attachments were not for him.
“Must be a fool if that’s the case.” Anthony said, shoving her shoulder.
When Francesca turned her attention back to the radio, a small smile on her face, Anthony found himself smiling as well.
“Anthony! Stop the car!” Francesca screamed.
As his foot came down hard against the brake pedal and his eyes darted back toward the road he could have sworn he saw an angel. A very angry angel from the expression on her face.
“You almost hit Miss Sharma.” Francesca remarked, her hand monetarily held to her chest before opening the door.
----
“You should pay more attention to the road.” His angel added in an irritated tone as he searched the back of her vehicle for a tire iron.
His Angel… Ha! Anthony now wondered if the woman was some temptress of the underworld sent to afflict misery upon him. The woman in question was one Kate Sharma, or Miss Sharma, a teacher at Francesca’s all girls secondary school. Francesca’s favorite teacher.
“Why would you jump in front of a moving vehicle?” Anthony added, exasperated that this back and forth had yet to stop.
“I told you… My dog is sick and I needed assistance.” Kate retorted, then pointing to said corgi in the back of the vehicle whom his sister was worrying over.
“Well, you have no tire iron.” Anthony replied, realizing he would have to be the bigger person and move from the argument.
“Yes… th-that might be a problem.” Kate added with a look for worry toward the backseat of her car.
“You can drop me off at Mrs. Stirling’s House and then take Miss Sharma to the veterinarian’s office.” Francesca added, having stepped out of the vehicle with one miserable looking corgi in her arms.
----
The journey to Francesca’s piano lessons was a short one, having taken only a few additional minutes from Miss Sharma’s location. She had left them with a promise of waiting however long it might take to make sure “Sweet Newton” was ok. The dog was a demon much like his keeper, one that also seemed to take issue with Anthony Bridgerton.
“Why is it so angry?” Anthony asked, glancing back in the rearview mirror at Kate comforting the miniaturized Hades in the back of his SUV.
“It is a He, and He has a name.” Kate replied softly, petting the dog that seemed to be rotating from a state of distressed panting and growling toward the front of the vehicle.
“I’ve done nothing to him but offer my assistance.” Anthony grumbled, his eyes once again drifting toward the rear view mirror. He watched Kate lean over to press a kiss against Newton’s head, her sweater sliding to reveal a soft shoulder connected to an even more perfect neck.
Anthony groaned, he was jealous of a dog. The mutt probably sensed it. Weren’t animals aware of threats? Predators… because surely that was him. He wanted her the minute he saw her, it didn’t matter if the situation was appropriate.
“We’re here, why don’t you go inside with Newton and I’ll park.” Anthony said, breaking the silence in the vehicle as he pulled in front of the veterinary clinic. He watched as she carefully picked up the pup, who whined at being moved.
“Thank you.” Kate added with a small smile before exiting the car and heading into the building.
Anthony expelled a short breath, wondering how such a small gesture felt like so much.
----
“You’re going to wear a hole in the floor.” Anthony said, his eyes watching Kate pace back and forth in the lobby of the pet doctor’s office. Watching as she paused and gave him a curious look before coming to sit next to him.
“Where did that idiom originate anyways?” Kate asked, momentarily distracted from her worry.
No reply was offered as a haze fell over him, distracted by the heat of her being pressed up against him. Why did health offices always have such close seating? The discomfort it provided in this situation, while not unpleasant, was wholly unwelcome in the moment.
“I’m not sure, it just seemed right to spare the poor doctor from having to replace the flooring.” Anthony finally responded with the quip. Kate shook her head with a smile. Despite the craziness of the afternoon he was happy to still possess that talent.
The pair both sat in relative silence for the next few minutes, the only noise between them the occasional ring of the phone or the muted speech of the staff.
“Francesca tells me you’re a Viscount.” Kate asked, looking toward him with a smirk.
Anthony groaned, adding. “It’s just a title, we aren’t in the 19th century. There is no power behind it.”
“Do I have to call you My Lord ?” Kate asked mockingly, her bright laughter filling the silent space.
Briefly, he envisioned scenarios where she might use his title and it left a heated feeling within him. If nothing else it seemed his discomfort had provided her with a distraction so he continued.
“No, please don’t.” Anthony replied. “It’s an honor to have so much history in one's family but it still requires a day job.”
“So no country estate and tenants to lord over?” Kate inquired with a surprising air of interest.
“Nope, the family switched toward manufacturing a couple of generations ago and there was a country estate but it was sold around the same time.” Anthony remarked, adding with a chuckle. “I couldn’t even imagine the cost of heating and cooling such a place.”
“It must be interesting to have a storied family history.” Kate mused, before looking toward him again. “... and to have such a big family nearby.”
“You know an awful lot about my family, Miss Sharma?” Anthony remarked in jest.
“Francesca does talk about the lot of you often.” Kate replied.
The revelation was somewhat surprising considering Francesca’s more reserved nature with the rest of them. His mother worried at times that she might feel like a bit of a blacksheep. Anthony found himself glad that his sister had this woman to share with.
“How about you? Large or small family?” Anthony asked.
“Small” Kate replied, a pensive look crossing her face. “I have my step mother and sister, both are a distance away now. My father passed… a few years ago.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” It was a loss that he knew all too well. Anthony watched as she kneaded her hands against the top of her thighs and he knew her temporary respite from the worries of the world had faded.
“Newton was actually a gift from my father, a few years…” Kate trailed and for a brief moment he thought she might cry, her face pinched tight with emotion before it passed. She stood briefly considering crossing to the front desk before again taking a seat.
“I’m sure he’ll be fine.” Anthony offered, placing his hand atop her own. She pulled away, her face turning to him a look of pain, disbelief, and anger mixing into one.
“You can’t know that.” Kate sharply countered, before turning to look away from him.
“No, I suppose I can't.” Anthony said softly. “I do hope for the best. I've learned over the years that planning for disaster has never brought me any relief.”
She said nothing, only offering a nod and a look of empathy. Anthony wondered just how much Francesca had shared. His decade of turmoil around his own mortality was no secret within the family. Anthony regretted that he had left his mother and older siblings the task of handling so much of his hang ups over the loss of his father. He had always wondered what feelings were stirred within Francesca over the loss of Edmund Bridgerton.
With Gregory and Hyacinth, it had always seemed as if they had lived a different life from that of their siblings. Devoid of living memories of their father and too young to have experienced the visceral mourning of their mother and older siblings, Anthony had always thought the grief had a secondary feeling for them. As if they were only a captive audience to the grief.
Francesca had lived through the trauma, loved their father, witnessed her family's trauma. As Anthony perused his memories he tried to remember if he could remember her ever crying about it. Had he ever seen her grieve? He might have, but he felt a weight on his chest at the thought that he couldn’t conjure up a single specific moment. Hoping that maybe his mother or siblings could do so.
It felt illicit to make the inquiry now, but he had to know.
“Ha-has Francesca ever spoken about our-my father?” Anthony asked at almost a whisper.
“Only briefly… Mostly she has spoken about him in the context of you and your mother.” Kate replied, giving him an encouraging smile before continuing. “I think she has a lot of admiration for the pair of you… worries for the both of you.”
A quirk of the lips and a light nod was all he could offer, glad that his sister wasn’t silently suffering through her own pain. Still, a gnawing feeling sat in his core that she worried over their own.
“It doesn’t matter the age… as a child or an adult. The loss feels different but it’s always there.” Kate remarked without looking at him. He wondered if their life experiences were similar enough that she was able to know where his thoughts had traveled. “You should ask her about it. I think she would appreciate it.”
Anthony meant to thank her before they were interrupted.
“Miss Sharma?” A voice called out into the room.
----
“Newton is recovering well. However, we would like to keep him overnight to be safe.”
Thomas Dorset… Anthony scoffed, and when both pairs of eyes looked at him he realized he did it aloud. The scrawny boy he had attended Eton alongside was nothing like the man placed before them in this moment.
“He may have consumed something toxic, so we’ve run some blood work. However, he is recovering well so I have no worries of long-term impact.”
The man looked so smug and why was Kate looking at him as if he had hung the moon. Anthony knew why he had never liked the man.
“My staff had told me you had car troubles, we would be more than happy to drop him off for you tomorrow if you are unable to make the trip” Thomas finished.
“Not a worry Dorset, I am more than capable to assist Miss Sharma if she needs assistance.” Anthony said tersely.
“Oh” Thomas remarked, looking between the pair and adding uncomfortably. “Are the two of you…”
“No”
“That’s hardly a professional question, Dorset.”
Kate shot a look of annoyance at Anthony before replying further.
“Thank you, I’m sure I can manage my own way.” Kate offered politely to the doctor, before adding. “Can I see Newton before we leave?”
----
“I can’t believe that man was so unprofessional.” Anthony remarked again for the upteenth time as they drove from the veterinary office to retrieve Francesca from her lesson.
Kate scoffed. “I have no clue what your problem is with him. He was nothing but polite.”
Anthony moved to push the issue further but was interrupted as they pulled up to the home of Mrs. Stirling.
“Who is that with Francesca?” Kate asked, looking out her window.
Anthony looked out the same window to see his sister sitting upon the steps of the building, a boy of nearly his own height seated at her side. Francesca laughed as he made a remark, the boy’s face entirely too close to her own. Looking down, he saw the pair's intertwined hands.
“Clearly, he wants to be more than friends.” Anthony mumbled, before pressing the horn to alert Francesca of their presence.
“Did you say something?” Kate asked.
“Nevermind… It was nothing.” Anthony responded.
They waited as Francesca said her protracted goodbyes and made her way to the car, climbing into the backseat of the vehicle. Anthony caught her eye in the rearview mirror, Francesca’s eyes rolling in response.
“Are we just going to sit here?” She asked in exasperation.
“Is that Michael?” Anthony asked, still looking at her.
Francesca ignored his question, instead inquiring on the wellbeing of Newton.
Kate let out a loud laugh.
----
“I’ll pick you up tomorrow at half past eight?” Anthony asked, facing Kate, as the SUV came to a stop in front of her vehicle. Spare tire newly installed. “They open at nine.”
She wouldn’t need the help and from what Anthony had learned about her, he was left to believe she probably wouldn’t appreciate it.
“I’d love that” Kate responded, her lips quirking up ever so slightly before opening her door and stepping out of the car.
Anthony watched as Francesca stepped out as well to switch seats, offering the older woman a goodbye, in the form of “See you next week”. He waited for Kate to pull away onto the road with a wave before continuing back on the road. A comfortable quiet settled between the siblings as they continued toward their mother’s home.
“How did things go with lessons today?” Anthony asked, knowing she would hear the deeper meaning.
“Good.” Francesca replied simply, her cheeks turning pink. Turning to him, she asked.
“What did you think of Miss Sharma?”
“She’s nice.” Anthony replied, his simple answer mimicking her own.
“Nice?!” Francesca asked incredulously, before adding brightly. “She’s wonderful!”
“I know.” Anthony said, briefly turning to offer his sister a smile.