peak of interest • benedict bridgerton

twenty • rain

She found her feet leading her to the entry way, wanting nothing more than to escape to her home, and never leave its interior. "Sevyn?" Eloise asked curiously from the bottom of the staircase, clad in her night robe. "Where are you going?"

"I must be off." She responded frantically, hand already grasping the door tightly. "My father will wonder where I am."

"It is very lat-" the Bridgerton could not finish her short sentence before the girl bolted, rushing out into the thick downpour that engulfed Grosvenor Square. "Sevyn!" The Bridgerton exclaimed, following her friend into the pitch black night. "You will get sick." Sevyn ducked down to the gravel, wrapping her arms around her knees, sensing the girls presence next to her. "What has happened?"

She knew something was off upon seeing the girls back quickly rising and falling, signaling her quick weeps. "I can not marry, Eloise." The girls eyes narrowed, sitting on the wet pavement, never minding the possibility of her dress getting wet- she never was the type to care. "Of course, I-" she whimpered, trying to regain her breath, "I do love him." She got out, seeing Eloise cease all movement. "I love Benedict."

"But-" she began, trying to wrap her head around the situation. "You know I am not the one for this conversation-"

"I need to leave, Eloise."

"What?" The girl shrieked, jumping to her feet. "I beg your pardon?"

"I can not stay." Sevyn spoke aloud- but mostly trying to assure herself. "I must flee."

"You..." Eloise sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "You can not!" Quickly being hit with realization, she shouted at her friend. "If you disappear, Benedict's heart will shatter." Sevyn hastily wiped her tear-filled face, no longer minding the rain. "I can not allow you to do that to him."

"I am not asking for your permission, Eloise." Sevyn radiated coldness, standing to her feet. "I will send word to your sister in the morning." She sighed, wiping off the ends of her dress, covered in light specs of dirt. "He will forget me."

"I know my brother." Eloise spat. "He does not simply forget." The two had never argued, and it was certainly uncomfortable for the pair. "I am never the one to plead, Sev-"

"I will not stay, Eloise." Sevyn could feel her heart longing for her to rejoin the Bridgerton's within their home, but her brain could not accept this attraction, no matter how much she longed to be in Benedict's arms. "I will be gone by nightfall."

"And what of your father?" Eloise knew she needed to fight, and it was not something she considered herself good at. Like she said, she was never one to plead, but her she was. Standing in the pouring rain, begging the girl she called her best friend not to break her favorite brothers heart. "He could not live with himself if you were to flee."

"Life will be easier for him and Lucy without me." Truly, the girl did not believe any of the words she spoke, but she still attempted to make true of the words in her mind, no matter how bad it hurt. "I have been a burden since my first day with Henry."

"You can not believe that-" Eloise huffed.

"I do."

The Bridgerton girl was speechless, seeing Sevyn quickly walk off in the night, standing still in the suddenly cold rain, Anthony called out the door for her. "Eloise?" And with one final glance, she watched her best friend disappear before her eyes. Questioning if she should notify Anthony- track her down before she even had the chance to write Daphne.

She knew Sevyn trusted her, and that's what kept her in her restraints. Meeting Anthony's concerned eyes, he gripped her arms. "Are you crazy?" He suddenly sobered up, feeling the girls chilled flesh. "You will catch your death out there."

Catching Benedict's sudden presence, she knew she could not deny him of his right to know. "Sevyn is gone."

His eyes met hers, fear striking his normally calm features. "Gone?" He whispered. "What do you mean she is gone?"

"She has left us, brother." Eloise slowly broke down, never feeling this pain for anyone. "She is to leave tomorrow."

Benedict did not know how to feel- what would have led her to leave him. "We-" he ran his hand through his messy hair. "We must stop her!" Eager to race out and find her, Anthony extended his arms.

Stopping him from going any further, the eldest Bridgerton soothed his brother. "We must not stop her-"

"Anthony!" Benedict exclaimed, nostrils flaring.

"You know how that woman is, Benedict!" He grasped his shoulders, staring him dead in the eyes. "She will not listen to us."

Upon Anthony's words, Eloise watched tears fall hastily down Benedict's face. Taking one last look at the door, he rushed up the staircase.