Debutante || BRIDGERTON

Prologue

1813 ― Mayfair, London

The Bridgertons and the Reyes family are by far the most prolific families in the upper ranks of society. Such habitualness on the part of Viscountess and the late Viscount Bridgerton is deserving of praise, though one can find a bit of banality in their choice of names for their children. Anthony, Benedict, twins, Colin, and Charlotte, then Daphne, Eloise, Francesca, Gregory, and Hyacinth ― orderliness is, of course, beneficial in all things, but one would think that intelligent parents would be able to keep their children's name straight without the need to alphabetize them.
Such as the Reyes family, and what a commendable family they are after the death of the Viscount only eight years ago, putting Xavier Reyes as the head of the family next to his strong matriarch the Dowager Viscountess Cordelia, and the rest of his siblings in order, Artemis, Delilah, and finishing with the two twins, Vincent and Sienna. All of the children are at marriageable ages, but none are yet married.
But these families are one with history. The dowager viscountesses, Miss Violet and Cordelia, have been friends since their social debuts into society when they were younger. Miss Cordelia was even the diamond of the season in her time. These two families have grown up together, and most of the ton have speculated there may be a few Reyes-Bridgerton marriage unions. There are enough of them to go around.
However, for the two families, it will be the first season for both Miss Daphne Bridgerton and Miss Sienna Reyes. Who shall be the diamond of this season? Seeing as it was Delilah Reyes who was the diamond last season, but no man could seem to draw her interest in marriage. Will Delilah come back to the marriage mart this year and be the diamond again? Well, this author can't wait to find out.
LADY WHISTLEDOWN SOCIETAL PAPERS, 1813

"Can you believe what those gossip columns write about this family? And that of the Bridgertons? Why are we always to be her bloody targets?" Sienna Reyes said as she entered the drawing-room where she knew all her siblings would be.

"Sienna, what have I told you about using such language?" Viscountess Cordelia said to her youngest daughter, who only rolled her eyes, another trait that was not very lady-like.

Sienna was the free spirit of the family and also the youngest sibling. Her twin brother Vincent was born a mere 2 minutes before her. Hard-headed and stubborn in all she did, she wasn't even sure she wanted to be presented this season. She didn't know if she wanted to be married. She knew the marriage market was a competitive field, but she also knew her only purpose was to find a husband and sire him an heir, or she would be deemed a 'worthless spinster' to all of society.

Part of the reason the young Sienna didn't want to marry was that she didn't know if she would be able to find a love match as her parents had. A lot of the people in the ton marry for status, wealth, and a title, and while the Reyes family were of a noble family, with all three of those things, the late Viscount Alexander Reyes knew when he married, it would be for love, as he watched his parents live through a loveless match, he didn't want that for himself, and he didn't want to set that example of marriage for his children.

The only thing Sienna was grateful for was that she would have her best friend, Daphne Bridgerton, to suffer through the season with.

"Well, I am sorry, Mama, but have you?" Sienna asked as she sat down next to her next eldest sister, Delilah.

"What, pray tell, have the columns been saying?" Xavier Reyes asked. Their father had died eight years ago from a likely stroke, is what the doctors said, which made Xavier the viscount and the head of the family since he was 21-years old. He is now 29. It was now his job to represent his sisters on the marriage market. He allowed Delilah and Artemis to sit this season out since it was Sienna's first debut, and Cordelia mainly wanted to focus on her.