Stealing Glances || Anthony Bridgerton

IV

☆ Elegance Personified ☆

I walked along mother as we moved to the side, while the next lady got called out. When the door opened, a stunning tall woman walked the aisle. From then on, I knew she also was going to get the queen's approval.

My focus faltered from the walking debutante, when I caught sudden movements in my peripheral vision. From the swarming crowd on my left, a guy in white ruffled shirt beneath a black fitted coat walks towards me. His muscly biceps bulging on the sleeves of his coat. Curved on all the right places were his black hair that highlights the aesthetic facial features he has.

Slowly, he moved out of the dozens of people headed toward my direction. I knew then that it was Viscount Anthony Bridgerton. What I don't know is that he did that to talk to me.

"The moment I laid my eyes on you," he said, eyes sparkling with burning passion. "I was sure that the queen will favor you, my lady."

From where I was standing, I concentrated to not blush from his compliments. "Why thank you, good sir."

"Anthony Bridgerton," he introduced as he reached out for my hand and gently kissed it.

It was a thoughtful gesture. The kind that makes your heart flutter.

"Lady Calypso Nightingale," I introduced, casually staring at him eye to eye. "I'm delighted to meet you."

He smiled at me. Out of nowhere, I noticed a shift in his movement. His face was moving closer to mine. Beyond shocked, I stood there unmoving, only staring at his rosy pink lips and wondering how it would felt if they touched mine.

I took a deep breath, just as our lips were about to touch. Any second now, I hear my thoughts.

Then there it was. The feeling of warmth hitting you in all the right places. The familiar comfort that you have always longed for. All describing being woken up by the blinding rays of the sun as your sister pushes the curtains to the sides while you were caught in a dream between the easing comforts of the sheets.

"Rise and shine, my darling Callie," singsonged by Stella. "We need the whole day to beautify yourself for Lady Danbury's ball."

Using my right arm, I blocked my eyes at the direct hit of the sun. "Why did you wake me up?" I subconsciously shouted with my croaky morning voice.

She placed her palm on her chest, surprised by my slight display of annoyance. Her reaction was matched by her sarcastic remarks. "Oh, did I offend you for caring about your appearance as you display yourselves in front of English men hours from now?"

I rolled my eyes at her. "I'm sorry, sister. I didn't mean to."

"Whatever, Callie," she said as she sat beside me on my bed. "But urgently, you have to prepare."

I nodded. I slowly sat up from my bed and removed the soft satin sheets that covered me. Before I could stand up and prepare, Georgia came rushing into my bedroom shouting.

"Mother, come here!" Georgia shouted, trickles of sweat sliding through on her forehead. "Make haste!"

She ran, then leaped onto my bed, while holding a parchment. "This paper has been the talk of town this morning. Written by a Lady Whistledown, she names in full and critiques the debutante that has appeared before the queen yesterday."

"What?" Stella and I exclaimed simultaneously.

As I reach out for the paper from her hands, Mother has arrived outside the door, panting from running upstairs to Georgia's screaming. "What is happening here?"

All three of us looked at her. Only I took the first words to explain what Georgia has mentioned. "Apparently, there's a writer with a pseudonym Lady Whistledown that had published a newsletter critiquing the girls from yesterday's event."

"What did it say?" asked Mother, her eyes evidently concerned.

"I have yet to read the details, Mother." I explained, then proceeded to scan the paper.

Her eyes shifted to Georgia, and mouthed, Have you read it? To which Georgia responded by shaking her head.

I scanned through the pages, reading every word Lady Whistledown had to say about the girls——both the compliments and the harsh judgements. Her words sting, but her writing was undeniably impeccable.

She mentioned about Prudence's unfortunate fall, detailing how embarrassing it must have been on her part. However, only a few were said about the other two daughters. With Cressida Cowper, she didn't hold back with talking about how internal and external beauty doesn't always match, which elicited a laugh from me.

When my sisters asked why I chuckled, I ignored them. Here I was reading her comments on the Bridgerton family. In this paper, she mentioned finding banality with how the kids were mentioned alphabetically. Daphne being the fourth child, which means Anthony was the eldest. Out of all the ladies present there, Lady Whistledown obviously had a lot to say about Daphne. Her column approximating half a page. At the end, she mentioned her being the season's incomparable and nicknamed her as the Diamond of the First Water.

"I'm not the season's incomporable," I whispered, pained to disappoint my sisters and mother. "She's Daphne Bridgerton."

Stella let out a subtle gasp, while Georgia immediately wrapped me in an embrace. "It is fine, sister. Daphne really was pretty."

I elbowed her on side. "Are you insinuating that I'm not?"

She pushed me away, jokingly. "Of course."

After those words left her mouth, we both paused and stared at one another. Suddenly, burst of laughters.

"Ladies," shushed my mother. "Behave."

That stopped Georgia and I. Mother, on the other hand, walked closer and sat on the spot of the bed beside me.

"Calypso, as much as I want you to be this season's incomparable, I'm still proud of how you performed yesterday," she softly said.

I held my mother's hand. "I know you are, mother. With or without words."

She pulled me into a tight embrace. "So, what this did Lady Whistledown say about my daughter?"

We pulled away from the hug, then I continued to scan the pages. She flattered me with several remarks about how I looked and dressed. But there were also attacks, especially comparison with my other sisters. However, she ended it nicely. Just like Daphne's.

I took a long pause before telling the people inside my room. "She said that I was elegance personified."

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I republished this chapter to alert my readers that I have made a few plot corrections due to the fact that the timeline was kind of wrong. Instead of the start of courting, I forgot they had to attend Lady Danbury's ball first. So, the edit was pretty minor.

Enjoy!