Chapter Text
March 1944 - War Office, London
Benedict Bridgerton was staring down at the papers in front of him, his eyes going blurry as he looked at the words that were on the paper and reading the details of Operation Mincemeat which was getting underway and his brain was struggling to understand the complex nature of what they were trying to do.
He was having to write a short report for his commanding officer Ian Fleming to present to his boss on how it fit in with Operation Barclay but honestly, over the last 3 months his mind had been elsewhere.
Over Christmas, the officers in the War and Cabinet office had hosted a big party to try and lift morale and they’d invited the secretaries and the Officers to bring their wives on the strict instruction that no work was talked about.
It had been the most magical night of Benedict’s life, he’d met a woman but weirdly, he’d never gotten her name.
They’d danced, they’d gone for a walk by the river and talked until the late but his companion had an early start, she’d not told him which office she worked in but he remembered she’d said she worked in the basement with the typists pool but he knew there was several offices down there and Churchill’s department was down there and a lot of important members of the War effort and he didn’t want to make her late.
But they had not exchanged names and she left before he had a chance to ask her out the following day and he so he was determined to try and find her in the office, he knew he would know his mystery lady in a heartbeat, he remembered her blonde hair and her green eyes, the way his entire body tingled when he’d met her, he’s spent most of the night when he got home drawing her.
He was an artist by training and it had only been the War that had caused him to give it up. Anthony had been called up to serve as had he, given their ages but his analytical brain and his attention to details were what had made the Army decide his talents were better suited in the intelligence office to that in the field. Anthony had requested to be sent abroad to serve knowing he would hate an office job, it was why he along with his best friend were sent to France to work as Scouts and other duties.
So Benedict was acting as head of the family whilst Anthony was away and his mother was writing to him regularly and he was able to pass on news of Anthony who was in France acting as a Scout and he was sending his wages home to help with his younger siblings.
Two years they had been away serving in the Army and it was only a matter of a year before Colin would be called up if the war didn’t end soon.
Their father had died 4 years earlier, just a month before their youngest sister was born, he had been 16 and Anthony was 17 about to turn 18 and there was a large weight on their shoulders and a large family to support so when the notice came, they went to serve.
Benedict was the one who would go home every few months to see their family whilst Anthony was away.
But the day after the Officer’s Party, Benedict had wandered around the War Office like a lost puppy looking for his mystery lady. He hadn’t been able to get down into the typists pool, but he’d heard from his ex-girlfriend Tessa that there wasn’t anyone with light blonde hair in there, there was a brunette with green eyes and it left Benedict baffled and determined to find her but as time went on, he was getting more and more desolate that he wasn’t able to find her.
He’d had to start to wonder if perhaps he’d met an Officers wife… or sister but those he knew, no one knew who he was talking about but they had remembered a woman in a silver dress but every man he’d asked had a slightly different description to what they remembered and all it did was left him befuddled.
His friend Henry Granville joked with him that he could help the War Office finding spies and discovering things that the Germans were up to that no other man had been able to decipher but he couldn't find one woman in the entirety of London and the War Office.
So he stopped looking, or at least stopped looking as actively and he was sitting at his desk, reading through the Memo about Operation Mincemeat when he’d felt the tingles again as he saw a woman dash past the door, a flick of dark blonde hair and skirts disappearing and as he went to get up to stick his head out and look his boss appeared at the door “Bridgerton!”
“Sir!” Benedict said, saluting “what can I do for you, Major Collins?”
“Come into your office, I have news and do not wish to pass this on in the corridor” the Major said and Benedict stepped aside to allow his superior into his office and closed the door and gestured to his seat behind the desk but the Major just stood in front of the desk
“There is no easy way to tell you this but your brother, Captain Anthony Bridgerton was injured in the line of duty…” the Major started
Benedict felt his knees go and he sank into the chair in front of his commanding officer “He… is… is…”
“He is okay, he was injured as he and a fellow scout, Captain Basset, I believe you know him…” Benedict nodded and the Major continued “were clearing out an area the soldier’s had taken, Captain Basset carried him to safety and back to the camp, he is being cared for and his wounds treat but he is injured enough that he is being medically discharged and sent back to Kent when he arrives from France.” the Major explained
“Oh right, well that is good news” Benedict said “not that he is injured but that he is alive and well”
“Well, i’m not sure i’d say well, he took a lot of shrapnel to the back and the report only just made it over, there has been hell on with the messages lately but he’s got a nurse taking care of him, the Army’s requested she goes back to Kent with him, she wasn’t thrilled but it meant getting home” The Major said
“Well sir, I’m aware of how difficult my brother can be as a patient having been there through a broken arm as a child so I am sure he driving his nurse mad but I shall inform our mother than he will be returning home in a few weeks time” Benedict said
“You both will be” the Major said
Benedict blinked “I beg your pardon sir? My… My service isn’t up yet?” Benedict said tentatively.
“We are aware, Lieutenant Commander Fleming has some work you can take with you to Kent and I believe a family connection is there serving as a Major now, a Major Edward Rokesby?”
“He’s my two aunt’s brother in law” Benedict said and the Major looked confused “his older and youngest brother married my father’s sister’s”
“Oh right, anyway. Apparently, Major Rokesby made the request that you be redeployed to him so you can go home and support your brother and family. Some strings got pulled and once your brother returns in a week, you will be heading back to Kent. If these operations work, the war will be over, Herr Hitler will be finished. Lieutenant Commander Fleming will be in contact later in the week to debrief you here and take over your roles here and then provide you with the details for your assignment in Kent, understood?” the Major asked
“Yes sir, thank you sir” Benedict said and saluted as he watched Major Collins leave, part of him didn’t want to return to Kent, he was still determined to find this woman but being home for good, would be nice.
His mother was struggling with Hyacinth and Gregory, at the tender ages of 4 and 6 they were driving everyone mad, in the last 6 months they had been through 4 governesses, even Eloise at the age of 12 wasn’t this unruly,
He knew he’d be able to come back, Henry his best friend was remaining in London, he lived in London where he, his sister, his sister’s friend Geneiveve and Henry’s friend Peter, hid their real relationship status from the world.
As far as the world was aware, Henry and Geneieve were together and Peter and Lucy were together. When the reality of the matter was quite different and only a select trusted few knew the truth to which Benedict was one.
He’d promised to take their collective secrets to the grave because he knew how much trouble his friends would be in if they were ever discovered.
He was sure he could get Henry along with Lucy who was trying to covertly find his mystery woman now she’d replaced a girl who’d just left the office to continue the search whilst he was in Kent taking care of his brother and helping his family.
He had been trying to perfect his drawings of his female companion, he was sure he would find her eventually, somehow.
He was a hopeless romantic, he had spent his formative years listening to the love stories of his Aunts and Uncles, his father and mother’s story. Edward Rokesby’s had been one of his favourite stories and how Cecilia had cared for him when he was injured when she came to look for her brother and how she’d pretended to be his wife after they had been corresponding via Cecila’s brother.
He wanted an epic love story like that, he wanted someone to love him like that. His family was rather affluent and well off and had a title. Anthony technically was a Viscount and Simon, Anthony’s friend, was a Duke but they were still part of the War Service that had been brought in to ensure they had enough men serving in the armed forces.
People knew his surname, they knew his father, how he’d died in a tragic accident, that Anthony had inherited the title at 18 and with Anthony abroad, as close to the front line as he could get, there was a real possibility that the title would move to Benedict and there were a lot of women who were trying to sink their claws into him.
He wanted someone who wanted him for who he was. His lady in silver had said she didn’t need to know his name yet, it was why she didn’t hers, names weren’t needed. She’d asked him questions about life, about art, they’d discussed Byron and Blake, Chaucer and Proust and it had been an incredible evening, someone who was interested in his mind rather than anything else… though she’d definitely been interested in his body as well, the way she’d melted into him when he kissed her…
It was what made him so determined to find her but knowing he was going home, he was just hoping that Lucy would be able to come up trumps with her investigations but for now…
He had to arrange to get home and tell his mother that he and Anthony were coming back.