The Other One // A Simon Basset x Original Bridgerton Sister Story

Chapter 9: Lights and the Dark

"It is with great privilege I present Vauxhall's newest spectacle of illumination. Feast your eyes above and allow all that is radiant to overwhelm you!"

Sparks went off and guests gasped as the glass jars strung above them began to come to life, lighting together until the entire web of hanging decorations glowed a soft yellowy-orange.

"Wonderful light!" the announcer exclaimed.

Performers trickled through the crowd and Daphne stared above her in awe, as Eleanor stood by her side and Anthony approached quickly.

"Is it not the most bizarre?" Daphne asked him. "Look, brother."

Anthony seemed a bit too serious for Eleanor's liking.

"What is it?" Daphne pressed.

"Lord Berbrooke's barony is over 200 years old. His lineage is legitimate. He has had an excellent education, possesses no debts, never hurt an animal or a woman, and is even a decent shot."

Daphne looked confused.

"To speak strictly, there is nothing wrong with him," Anthony summed up.

"What should any of this..." Daphne tried to ask.

"You are to marry him."

"Nigel?" she confirmed, her issue with this evident in her tone.

"I had to find you a husband, sister. Now, be grateful it is done. It should be just as easy for you to fall in love with Lord Berbrooke as with anyone else."

Daphne looked defiant and angry tears begin to pool at the corners of her eyes.

"I will not hear of this."

Eleanor quietly watched on as Daphne walked away, leaving Anthony in a momentarily unreadable stupor.

"And what about me?" Eleanor summoned up the courage to ask.

"What?" asked Anthony in response, caught off-guard by Eleanor.

"Did you set up a marriage for me too?" Eleanor clarified. "Who am I to marry, according to you?"

"Oh," he replied.

That was all he said. Eleanor couldn't tell if it felt worse to be forgotten by her eldest brother or what she imagined it would feel like to be involved in one of his plots.

Seeing Colin in the distance with her mother, Eleanor walked away as well.

When Eleanor approached the rest of her family, she expected Daphne to be there sharing the news, or at least her mother and brother discussing the marriage arrangement Anthony had made. Instead, they were chatting about the lighting like many of the rest of the guests, with Daphne nowhere in sight. Eleanor didn't know where Daphne went, but she knew better than to mention it. Plus, if she told her mother about Anthony's plan involving Lord Berbrooke, the Viscountess was sure to storm off looking for the Duke, with hopes of forcing more time between him and Daphne in an attempt to thwart the lord's upcoming proposal. Eleanor certainly didn't know what was bothering the Duke, but she didn't think he looked very happy when he walked off earlier, and whatever it was, she didn't think it would be helped by the Viscountess making a sudden appearance.

Eleanor stayed put with Colin and the Viscountess, and as it turned out, Daphne carried on all alone through the garden. She paced back and forth in the dark taking deep breaths until she heard footsteps behind her.

"Whatever are you doing?" Lord Berbrooke asked, because of course he would happen to be there right at this moment.

It absolutely figured that the moment Daphne tried to take some space, the last man she wanted to see would arrive.