Thankfully, Édith's voice pulled Juliette from her thoughts.
"Oh, Lady Whisteldown's newest society paper!" Édith gasped, eyes wide and brows raised as she stared at the young boy selling the sheets. Juliette noticed the excitement and curiosity on her cousin's innocent features.
Before Juliette could muster a word, Édith had run after the boy with her hands toying with the string of her linen bag. The skirt of her pale blue dress billowed behind her. Juliette watched as her dear cousin exchanged some coins for Lady Whistledown's scandal sheet. As the young girl returned, a mischievous grin pulled at her lips and she wore a wild expression. Édith DuBois was a troublesome girl, but Juliette loved her cousin dearly. It was odd that her cousin, a young girl half of Juliette's age, was Juliette's greatest friend.
"Do you wish for me to read it aloud?" Édith questioned. Juliette noticed how the young girl rubbed the pads of her fingertips along the edge of the paper in anticipation.
Juliette shrugged, "Only if you wish to do so."
"Then I shall!" Édith began scanning the society paper and began reading. "Dearest readers, it has come to my attention, that not only has the prince proposed, but the proposal has been met with refusal." Édith paused, glancing at Juliette. She gulped, "Uh, oh! Lady Whistledown knows!"
Juliette, who found herself relishing in the sun's warmth, laughed at Édith's reaction. "Lady Whistledown knows everything."
A small scoff fell from Édith's tongue. "Well, yes, but how did she know this!"
Really? Édith was in disbelief. Amused, Juliette shook her head at the naivety of her cousin.
"May I remind you that you told half of the ton about the proposal within an hour of finding out?" Juliette said, raising a brow. "Including Hyacinth who then told the other half?"
Édith pursed her lips. "No, you may not remind me. It was a mere lapse in my judgement." She paused, turning her attention back to the society paper, eyes darting to find her place. "Oh, yes, here we are — Now, that leaves many wondering why Miss Juliette Villeneuve declined the prince, but rest assured, she did so for love."
Juliette noticed the raised brow and the teasing look her cousin was directing at her as if she was tormenting her about love in silence. With a sigh, Juliette lightly smacked Édith's bicep to get her to stop looking at her like that. At the action, Édith's countenance relaxed as she began laughing. The reaction caught Juliette off guard, but her cousin's laughter was contagious. Attempting to sustain her own fit of giggles, Juliette managed, "Oh stop it!"
"Juliette's in L. O. V. E., love!" Édith mocked and stuck her tongue out at Juliette.
Shaking her head, Juliette demanded, "Well, go on now, continue reading."
Édith huffed dramatically, then she read aloud, "Well, this author certainly prays. What other reason would one deny a prince?"
The two girls fell into a comfortable silence. Édith became distracted by a group of boys fooling around in the distance. The only one Juliette recognized was Maxwell Sutherland. Juliette didn't know much of the family, other than their odd feud with the Bridgertons.
"Is there anything else?" Juliette asked, bringing her attention back to the conversation at hand.
Édith turned away from the Sutherland boy and his friends and skimmed the text. "Quite a bit about Daphne's engagement to the duke. Do you wish to hear?"
"No, I'm quite alright," Juliette said. Yet, after a moment, she decided, "Well, is it kind? The words Lady Whistledown wrote, I mean?"
"Of course there are only two reasons to procure a special license and race to the altar: true love or concealing a scandal," Édith read aloud. Pursing her lips in thought, she then asked, "A scandal? What do you think that might be?"
YOU ARE READING
DEAR JULIETTE ▹ Anthony Bridgerton
Fanfiction"My final letters, were they read? Or were they written in vain?" Although born in France, Juliette Villeneuve often spent her childhood summers in London. With the passing of each summer, her adoration for a certain Bridgerton boy grew. During thei...
