Chapter Text
A masquerade ball in Mayfair! Eloise could feel her heart jumping around so much, one might think it would pop out of her mouth the moment she'd open it for cry out in joy and excitement. Under usual conditions, she couldn't have thought of anything that bored her more than a fricking ball. But things had been far from usual for quite some time now. She hadn't spoken to Penelope or Theo for such a long period that they had almost been erased from her consciousness. Which had only been working well because she hadn't seen either of them.
While she wanted to be as far away from Penelope as possible after finding out about her betrayal, she didn't want that for her relationship with Theo. However, latest events made things more difficult and even dangerous, which led her to stop visiting him. Eloise had decided it was for the best not to apologise for the way she left. She knew that hearing from him again could make her crumble and she needed to be strong to leave things in that terrible state. Being apart didn't make her feel any better, but at least it became easier the more weeks and then months went by.
That was before this very opportunity came to her like a dream coming true, falling right into her lap. It couldn't be a coincidence! Although Eloise didn't believe in such trivial things as fate, she also knew how rare the occasion of a festivity like this was. Or perhaps one could call it better luck, given the circumstances.
Because if there were higher forces to be around, one would have to ask oneself why things were the way they were. Or, even worse, remained as fixated as they had always been. If there truly was something beyond the blue sky, fluffy clouds and cool, fresh air surrounding them, she believed that Theo would already be courting her. They would never have fought because there would have been no reason to.
In a world where ridiculous things like fate or gods existed, nonsense like class differences could not possibly be existing. In fact, she wouldn't even have met him because men and women would be sharing the same rights, so there would have been no need to fight for them, either in public or in secret. She sighed heavily.
How easy life could have been if people would just start thinking with their brains instead of following stupid man-made rules like toddlers. Perhaps she and Theo would have met at one of the many seasonal balls anyway, and their acquaintance would not have differed from anyone else's.
What would it be like, to be living like this - utterly boring, would it be not?
Dancing while having mindless conversations was not what Eloise Bridgerton did stand for. It wouldn't matter if it was Theo or anyone else then who accompanied her, because she needed him to be different from all of that. If he could not offer that escape from reality, why would she be interested in him at all?
But Theo Sharpe was very different from anyone she knew, thankfully. She stopped her wandering thoughts and a plan began to take shape in her mind. The only people in society who truly knew his face were the Queen's men - although she had no clue who exactly or how many were involved when the two of them were seen - and that damned Lady Whistledown, also known as her not-so-best friend-anymore. She still hadn't forgiven Pen for all the damage she had done and doubted she ever would.
But all of that chaos had happened months ago. If Theo wore a more noble outfit suitable for a ball, no one should be recognising him. Perhaps she could steal him some of her brothers' older, worn-out clothes from last season? The ones from Colin or Benedict should be fitting. She didn't want to consider what could happen if he would be unmasked.
It was no easy decision to write the letter she put next to a ball's invitation, knowing precisely she could easily be rejected. If one could call these few words a letter at all, a cryptic note would probably describe her work better.
If you're in need of any help with proper clothing, leave me a sign. - E.
Although this whole idea seemed to be foolish, Theo would know that revealing any more information would entail an even greater risk. But Eloise knew she could never be able to forgive herself if she didn't at least try to take this opportunity. She could apologise to him later when they finally met face to face again. If they met, that is. If he hadn't moved on yet or marrie- No! She forbid herself from thinking those kinds of thoughts until the end. Hope might destroy her someday if she lit up that spark again, but Theo Sharpe was certainly worth it. Resolutely, she hid her message in one of the books he had given her almost a year ago. Then she called for John.