Missing Bridgerton Sunday Brunch was inexcusable.

You had to have a damn good reason to not be at Violet Bridgerton’s dining room table listening to what happened to the family the week prior: in jail, hospitalized, or not in London and unable to return by the time the clock struck 10 AM. 

There are several theories amongst the kids as to why their mum was so adamant about them coming to brunch. Daphne likes to think it is because they reminded her of their father. Benedict said the need to see them once a week was because Mum was a bit high-strung in general. Anthony and Colin think it’s both. Greg and Hy think it's Mum making sure they are all not getting in trouble. Francesca chalked it up to their mum not being used to the family house being quiet.

Eloise had a longer complex answer about money and societal expectations and everyone just told her to shut up.

They all agree that her mother just likes seeing all the love around the table. 

Simon (July 2016)

Daphne takes a deep breath and looks at Simon who gives her a smile. Today was his first official brunch as her boyfriend and Daphne was nervous. Even though they all know him already.

Because he is (was?) Anthony’s best friend.

They walk up the steps and Daphne takes another breath. “We can always cancel,” she whispers, giving him another out.

Simon just shakes his head and leans over to push the doorbell.

They stand and hear the whispering on the other side. They must be right on the other side of the door.

“I don’t see why we have to do this, Mum.” a voice grumbles - most likely Anthony. “We all know Simon.”

“It’s important to welcome Simon into the family properly.” a voice that is obviously Mama responds “I want Simon to see us as his family.”

“Yeah, besides Daphne will be happy.” Colin's booming voice adds.

Daphne looks at Simon and shakes her head. She pushes the doorbell again.

The door swings open and Anthony is there, glaring. 

“Hello. Welcome to Brunch, Simon.” Anthony says.

“Thank you?”

Daphne pulls Simon into the foyer and sees everyone standing there. “Did you guys line up to welcome us in?”

She hears the affirmative while watching the chaos that is Anthony trying to get away from them.

Anthony moves over towards Eloise and Francesca who are murmuring about some book they read.

“You don’t want to hear about this,” Fran says and Anthony immediately turns on his heels and moves toward Benedict.

“What time did you go to sleep?”

“You think I went to sleep?” Ben whispers back and Anthony rolls his eyes. 

Simon’s shoulder shakes with laughter next to her.

“You guys didn’t have to do this,” Daphne says.

“Well, Simon is officially a member of the family now with this act and we wanted him to feel welcome,” Anthony grumbles.

Daphne looks at Simon’s shocked but happy face and smiles. “Well, thank you. Can we have brunch now?”

“Yes.” “Finally.” “Please, I’m hungry.” “Move.” rang in the air as the siblings ran into the dining room.

“Welcome to brunch, Simon,” Mama says.

Simon grins. “Thank you, Violet.”

Kate (March 2017)

Anthony was too old to be sneaking women out of his mother’s house like a teenager. Everyone was there to have a fun-filled pre-birthday brunch for his mother, whose birthday was Monday. He and Kate had not been dating long, a few months of quick passionate meetups and volatile fights where they almost broke up. 

She enrages him. 

She fills him with desire. 

Being with Kate might be the best thing he does if he could actually control himself enough to not piss her off when he wants to tell her he’s falling in love with her.

The best thing about Kate is her love of privacy. They had met up last night at a dance club after he and his brothers had left the bar for their personal 2nd locations. They had danced and Anthony took her home to Bridgerton house instead of his place without even thinking.

Now, he’s trying to sneak her out at 9 AM to avoid the inquisition from his siblings.

“Who’s this?” “What’s going on?”

Anthony and Kate turn to see Hyacinth and Gregory standing in the foyer.

“None of your business. Go away.” Anthony hisses.

The front door opens and Benedict strolls in with a whistle. “Hello all.” He looks Kate up and down. “Who’s this?”

“Kate?”

They turn and see Simon and Daphne walking out of the old playroom with Eloise and Colin.

“Simon. Hi.”

“Hey.”

“You know who this is?” Hyacinth asks.

“She’s the new partner at Danbury,” Simon answers.

“Cool,” Greg responds.

“Nice to meet you, Kate.” Daphne smiles. “How do you know each other?” 

“Stop. All of you stop.” Anthony whispers.

“Why is everyone standing by the door?”

They all look up and see their mother standing at the upstairs landing looking down at her children.

“We’re meeting Kate,” Colin answers.

“Oh? Who is Kate?”

“Anthony’s…friend,” Eloise responds.

“Friend?” Mother looks at Anthony and he sighs in resignation.

“Anthony’s girlfriend, mum.”

They all turn to see Fran coming in from the yard.  “They’ve been dating a while. Is she staying for brunch?”

“Girlfriend?” Daphne asks. “Why didn’t you tell us you had a girlfriend?”

“Because of this.” Anthony waves at the scene. Eloise, Greg, Hy, and Colin are already interrogating Kate. Ben seems to be googling who she is and showing Mother on his phone. Fran just gives him a smirk.

He doesn’t know what he did to piss her off but he needs to apologize immediately.

“Well, you must stay for brunch,” Mother calls out and Anthony turns to see Kate looking at him. She doesn’t seem at all uncomfortable about being surrounded by the chaos that is his family.

She fits perfectly in the middle of it all.

He nods. “Yes. You should.”

Her smile lights up the room.

 Pen (February 2019)

Colin huffs and stares around the dining room at everyone eating and talking in little groups amongst themselves. He looks at Pen who is in a deep conversation with Eloise and Fran before clearing his throat.

No one listens so he does it again.

“Are you getting sick?” Ben asks and scoots away from him toward Hy who huffs and pushes him back.

“No. I would like to say something.”

“To everyone?” Greg asks from across the table. 

“Yes.”

“Hey shut up!” Hy yells and all the conversation stops. “Colin has something to say.”

The entire table turns and looks at him and he gulps.

“Um…”

“Did you really just stop brunch for ‘um’?” Anthony asks. Kate hits him in the stomach.

“No. I was going to ask why you guys didn’t welcome Pen to brunch.”

“Really? Pen’s been coming to brunches longer than Hy.” Eloise points out.

“Hey!”

“As your friend. She’s my girlfriend now.”

“So? We know Pen.” Eloise snarks.

“We knew Simon.” Colin waves his hand at Simon who does not appreciate the attention on him.

“Welcome to brunch, Pen,” Ben says. “Happy now?”

“No! Welcome her properly.”

“We’re happy you’re here, Pen. Sorry about Colin.” Fran says.

“He was dropped on his head as a baby,” Greg adds.

“How do you know?” Colin asks. “You weren’t even born.”

“You were dropped,” Anthony confirms.

“Penelope,” Mum says. “We’re so happy that you are here. You’ve always been a part of this family but your place has grown and we are all so excited.” 

Pen smiles. “Thanks, Violet. Thanks, everyone.”

Everyone murmurs and smiles before going back to their food.

Colin sits and sighs. He smiles at Pen’s blushing cheeks and goes to pick up his scone…that is missing.

Ben gives him a cheeky grin as he chews.

Sophie (January 2020)

Ben hugs Sophie to him and rocks her as they stand on the doorstep in the cold, waiting for someone to let them in. He checks his watch - they are on time.

He pushes the doorbell again.

After a moment, Mum answers the door.

“Benedict? Is something wrong?”

“We’re here for brunch.”

“Anthony told me that you all decided to cancel since it’s New Year’s Eve and we’ll see each other tonight.”

Ben frowns, pulls out his phone, and looks at the Sibling Chat and all 285 of his missed notifications.

The Sibling Chat that he muted because the noise was bothering him and Sophie at dinner.

The Sibling Chat that had decided to skip brunch today and who was supposed to tell him.

Eloise.

He’d get her back for this later.

“Well, come in. I’m sure we have enough for the three of us to have something.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that, Violet.”

“Nonsense Sophie. Come in.”

Sophie looks back at him and he smiles. She smiles back.

He watches his mother link arms with Sophie and walk her in the kitchen.

Sophie looks right at home.

He turns his attention to his phone. He has people to yell at.

Gareth (August 2021)

Hy smooths down her dress before moving over to Gareth’s tie.

“It’s going to be fine.” He whispers and Hyacinth wishes she could believe him. Her family was chaotic. Gareth had met everyone in small groups for small periods but had never been with everyone at once for a full day. She didn’t know if he could handle it.

She opens the door to see Daphne rocking a grumpy Augie while Simon digs in the baby bag.

“It’s not here,” he says.

“I thought you packed it.”

“I thought I did too.”

Hy pulls Gareth around them and walks right into Kate and Anthony in the middle of a whispered argument.

“But you love tulips.” Anthony cries.

“The upkeep cost isn’t worth it for the garden,” Kate says back.

“We’re getting tulips,” he growls.

Gareth looks at her and Hy just shakes her head. When she walks into the den, she sees Colin looking miserable while Pen and El talk on the couch with him sitting between them. Greg and Ben are playing Mario Kart and the pushing and shoving is going from playful to serious very quickly while Sophie watches in horror.

Hy turns to see Fran texting on her phone and ignoring everyone. Hy leans over and immediately gags when she reads the sexting that is on screen. Gross Fran.

“Oh, Hyacinth. Gareth. You’re here, good.” Hy and Gareth turn around to see Mum smiling at them. “Welcome to Brunch.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Bridgerton,” Gareth says. Hy squeezes his sweaty hand.

“Violet, please.” Mum claps her hands and the chaos around them stops. “Brunch.”

Everyone gets up and goes to the dining room saying hi to Gareth as they go.

“Well, I was right.”

Hy nods. 

He was.

Cressida (October 2021)

Eloise sits behind the wheel of her parked car and looks at Cressida, who is checking her emails. 

“We can leave whenever you want.”

“I know, Eloise.”

“My siblings can be a lot.”

“I know.”

“And I know you are not used to big families.”

“I like Fran, Pen, and Colin.”

“I know you do. But this is like 7 Colins. Well, 6 and a Fran.”

Cressida nods and locks her phone. “It’s going to be fine.”

Eloise nods and they get out of the car.

The door opens and Fran stands in the doorway. “Figured I’d warn you before you go in. Hi Cress.”

“Hi, Fran.”

Eloise sighs. “What’s going on?”

“Greg and Hy war. Colin pissed Pen off by accidentally deleting her manuscript. Simon is getting it back now. Daph and Ant are mad at each other but no one knows why and Kate is currently three mimosas deep with Ben and Sophie.”

Eloise pinches her nose. “Are you sure?”

Cressida laughs and steps inside. A roar of “Cressida!” greets her.

“Well, she’s a keeper.”

Eloise looks at Fran’s delighted face.

Eloise nods in agreement. Cressida is a keeper.

Lucy (March 2022)

Greg shuts the door quietly behind him and looks at Lucy who is trying not to laugh at him.

“Brunch starts in 5 minutes. If we are already there, it won’t be a big deal.”

“If you say so,” Lucy responds and Greg pulls her towards the dining room. 

The house is too quiet. Normally everyone would be running around, yelling or trying to negotiate who was going to sit by who. He knows the in-laws would be trying to figure out who wasn’t coming and game planning accordingly.

He pulls Lucy towards him as they turn the corner and sees everyone already sitting at the table, looking at them expectantly.

“Welcome to Brunch, Lucy!” everyone yells.

Lucy giggles. “Thanks.”

Greg blinks in shock at everyone smiling.

“Gregory. Sit down.” Mum says to him.

Greg blinks and sees Lucy looking up at him expectantly. He slides in his seat.

“Let’s get started.”

Michaela (January 2017)

It’s the annual Bridgerton Foundation Winter Gala and the perfect night to do this. The family will be so busy schmoozing that Fran can say what she needs to say and then disappear with Michaela in a back room somewhere. Fran smoothes the lapels of Michaela’s suit jacket before looking at her. Michaela is scanning the room.

“You sure you want to spring me on your family like this?” she asks.

“Do you want to meet them at brunch?”

“And be unable to sneak off with you later and have my way with you? Absolutely not.”

Fran smiles and kisses her on the lips. 

“I’m having my way with you and you know it. Let’s go.” 

Fran scans the ballroom and sees Daphne, Simon, and Ben standing around and chatting. Perfect. She pulls Michaela over.

“Where’s Mum?”

Ben turns and looks Michaela up and down. “Who’s this?”

“My girlfriend Michaela. Where’s Mum?”

Michaela gives them a wave. They all blink back in shock.

“Um…I think by the podium” Daphne points.

“Thanks.”

Fran pulls Michaela behind her as they weave through the crowd.

“Fran!” Fran turns to see Colin, Pen, and Eloise sitting at a table. She stops over by them.

“Hey,” Eloise says. “Who’s this?”

“My girlfriend. Have you seen Mum?”

Pen and Colin choke on their drinks before coughing.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Penelope. Eloise’s best friend.”

“And mine. I’m Colin. Fran’s brother.”

“The tapeworm. Yeah. And the romance writer.” Michaela says.

“Tapeworm?” Colin says to Fran who shrugs.

“How long have you two been dating?” Eloise asks.

“Since September. Never mind, I see her.”

Fran pulls Michaela with her and Michaela gives them a nod as she stumbles behind her.

“Fran?”

Fran turns to see Greg and Hy standing a bit back from the bar.

“What?”

“Could you get us some champagne?” Hy asks.

“No.”

“We’ll tell Mom about your girlfriend.”

“That’s what I’m trying to do now so no.”

Greg looks at Michaela hopeful.

“Absolutely not, kid.”

Greg huffs.

Fran pushes them aside and walks towards the edge of the stage. She sees Anthony reading his cue cards as Mum fixes her earrings using a nearby tray.

“Fran. What are you doing back here?” Anthony asks.

“Introducing Mum to Michaela. Mum, this is Michaela. My girlfriend.”

“Oh?” Mum says. “Nice to meet you, dear.”

“Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Bridgerton. Fran said great things about you and the family. But she’s never said how beautiful you are.”

“Oh, you are a charmer.” Fran sees her mother blushing and she frowns at Michaela.

“Girlfriend?” Anthony chokes out.

“Yes. You’re needed.” Fran points to the stagehand who is waving him up. Anthony seems to freeze in confusion before walking up the stairs and onto the stage.

“Well, I need to give my speech but Fran do you plan on staying?”

“Do you need me to stay?”

“Yes, so I can get to know Michaela better.”

“We’ll be here, Mrs. Bridgerton.”

“Oh, Michaela. It’s Violet.”

“Well, I don’t know how comfortable I feel calling a beautiful woman a violet. But I don’t want to be rude.”

Mum titters before walking up the stairs to wait for Anthony’s introduction.

“You were flirting with my mother.” Fran hisses.

“I was getting her to like me so she doesn’t keep us too long,” Michaela whispers back.

“Oh.” Fran looks Michaela up and down. “I love you.”

“I love you too. Stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?” Fran answers coyly.

Michaela just gives her a wink.