Chapter Text
Dearest Gentle Reader,
A new season approaches. Mayfair is filled with the bustle of servants opening town houses as the ton make their way back to London from their country estates. Invitations to Lady Danbury’s ball, marking the official opening to the season, have already been seen being dispatched to every household of note, even those not yet in residence.
Which lovely young debutantes will be successful in the marriage mart? Which will be designated to wallflower - or, heaven forbid, spinster status? Which eligible bachelors will finally agree - or be forced to agree - to settle into Holy Matrimony? Will any matches be made for love rather than family betterment? Never fear, dearest reader, for This Author shall be at hand to report on the matches and scandals of the season to come, and they are expected, as always, to be legion.
One scandal already brews, for there has been much speculation in the off-season after a declaration made at the Featherington’s extravagant and eventful season-ending ball proceeded to spread like wild fire. No, dear readers, I do not refer to the Viscount Bridgerton’s proposal to the sister of the woman he spent all of last season courting. You may recall this column covered that subject extensively at the time. Indeed, you will be pleased to hear that the Viscount and his beautiful bride are, by all accounts, extremely happy in their wedded bliss, and none who spend more than a few moments in their company can doubt that theirs was the greatest achievement any man and bride could aspire to on this unforgiving marriage mart - a true love match.
No, dearest readers, This Author refers not to the Viscount, but to one of his multitudinous siblings, Mr. Collin Bridgerton. Though I doubt many of you require the reminder, the order of the Bridgertons is made easier by their esteemed parents naming them alphabetically, thereby making Mr. Collin Bridgerton the third child bestowed upon the late Viscount by his lovely now-Dowager Lady Bridgerton. If this fails to differentiate them in your minds, as all the Bridgertons are alike in their handsome features, excellent manners, wealth, and breeding, the letter C in the alphabet is also the first letter of the word ‘charming’. Mr. Collin Bridgerton, This Author would argue, is the most charming of all the Bridgerton siblings, a great favourite among the ladies with whom he flirts with no noticeable partiality. Part of his charm is the way he bows to his mother’s wishes - out of genuine affection for the Dowager Viscountess, not out of any difficulty in cutting the leading strings as some men suffer - by choosing at every ball to dance with at least one wallflower, in spite of being much sought after as a partner by the more popular debutantes. This kindness alone sets him apart from other gentlemen of the ton, and thus it is to no one’s surprise that he is considered to be one of the greatest catches of the upcoming season, mere third son or nay, as even the most discerning observer could never tell which partners the gentleman in question may or may not have preferred.
That is, of course, until the Featherington ball at the end of last season, when all was made clear. Mr. Bridgerton bestowed his pity dance on this occasion upon the youngest daughter of the hostess, indisputable plump wallflower Miss Penelope Featherington. The pair have been seen dancing in the past - indeed, it is hard to miss any Featherington on the dance floor when their gowns are as garish as their hair - and Miss Penelope Featherington’s dance card rarely has any other gentleman’s name on it after a ball. How she feels about this is unmistakable; anyone with a discerning eye might observe her blushes and smiles in Mr. Colin Bridgerton’s direction. Until the Featherington ball, his feelings on the subject were so well-hidden behind his charming smiles that, if the Bridgerton fortune were ever be lost, one might assume Mr. Colin Bridgerton would be able to make it back with a career on the stage.
In fact it should come as no surprise to you, gentle reader, that when asked by another gentleman if he had any plan to court the youngest Miss Featherington, his reply was adamantly negative - “Not in your widest fantasies!” While This Author doubts any of the gentlemen surrounding him at the time had ever fantasised of such an eventuality, many observers of the scene could clearly see that it had, until that very moment, been a fantasy of Miss Penelope Featherington’s - who was passing directly behind Mr. Colin Bridgerton at the moment of this utterance, and, like half the ton surrounding them on the lawns, could not help but hear his declaration.
I beg you, dear reader, to not cast your disfavour too heavily upon Mr. Colin Bridgerrton’s shoulders. You will, after all, agree with This Author that the gentleman was simply speaking the truth. As one plus one equals two, there is no possible way that Mr. Colin Bridgerton could ever be romantically interested in the likes of Miss Penelope Featherington. Between this disappointment and the rift between Miss Penelope and her erstwhile best friend, Mr. Colin Bridgerton’s sister Miss Eloise Bridgerton (the fifth Bridgerton, for those familiar with the alphabet) it is no wonder that the comings and goings across Grosvenor Square between the Bridgerton and Featherington households are, at the beginning of this season, at an all-time low.
This Author believes and hopes that forgiveness and restoration on that front, at least, may yet be achieved, for it is rare to find such depths of friendship and devotion between two young ladies of the ton. Whether time away from each other was enough to heal some wounds or allow fury to dissipate enough for explanations and apologies, however, has yet to be ascertained. This Author has it on good authority that at least one party desires this outcome above all else.
Yours in scandal and in truth,
Lady Whistledown