Chapter Nineteen

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I arrive home about ten minutes before the rest of the family does and I pretend to have been reading all this time. Eloise sits down next to me on the bed and gets rid of her shoes roughly, she stops me from reading and talks to me about the horse-riding event incredibly passionate,

"it was truly a shame you were not there; it was unusually boring at first and as I expected, most of the horse-riders were not very good. But then, this one gentleman came and he was the best one, quite obvious, he was much more talented. And the best part, he had his hat all over his face, as if he were attempting to hide his true identity.. he has a secret.. I simply know it" as Eloise goes on talking about the afternoon I start listening closer, she is talking about me...

"he only has a bit of an unfortunate name, his parents called him William Williams... but he cannot help that. Nevertheless, I was here to ask you if you would like to join me on my quest to find out who this mysterious rider is" she sounds excited and I smile, how am I ever supposed to help her look if the person she is looking for, is myself! I am not allowed to tell her that of course and now I am stuck. I think about it for a second, but her puppy eyes make it impossible for me to reject her offer,

"I would love to join you Eloise, but please, do not tell anyone about this, your brother will punish me for doing something like this"

"I know, he hates it when I come up with these kinds of ideas, I assure you my mouth stays closed"

"good, do you have something already?"

"not exactly. I will start off by figuring out what motives he could have to hide, hoping that brings me a little closer"

"Sounds like a plan.."

Two days later we show up at another ball and I start to get used to the gentlemen wanting my attention, although patience is not one of my qualities I stay silent and listen to their endless stories. My dancing has certainly improved and I try my best to lead the men instead of the other way around, knowing how clumsy some of them can be.

One man in particular looks at me a lot, he does not approach me nor asks me for a dance, but he glances and smiles. I try to get out of his gaze, but I catch his eyes staring at me every time. Once I am done dancing for the night, I walk over to Colin who had quite a few ladies standing in line for him as well,

"Colin, do you have any idea who that gentleman is?" I ask, looking at the man in the corner,

"I believe that is lord Harvard, his father is an intelligent and rich man, which is why he gets a lot of attention. Are you interested?"

"not yet, he stares at me all the time, I do not know whether I shall find it cute or creepy"

"I will watch out for you, Olivia, he appears to be a nice man. If you wish to talk to him, now is your chance.." I take one more look at the man, he is not Chris, not even close, but he is certainly charming and an actual candidate. I walk towards the drinks and as if he read my mind, he comes and stands next to me,

"Are you enjoying the party miss Bridgerton?" he asks sincere,

"yes, quite a lot, lord Harvard, is it?"

"yes, it is. have we met before?"

"no, I asked my brother.." I smile down and he laughs,

"well your brother was right then. Did he say anything more?"

"not really, only that you appeared to be a nice man"

"and do you agree with him?"

"definitely not, you are a horrible person..." I try to hold my laughter,

"well thank you miss Bridgerton, always lovely to get a compliment" we start laughing and talk until Anthony forces me to leave,

"thank you, for making this night a little more... memorable.." I smile and he kisses my hand,

"It was an honor, miss Bridgerton"

During our ride home I continue smiling and I am a little relieved, lord Harvard is not what I envisioned as a husband, but he is nice to me and makes me laugh. If I had no other choice than to marry a man from society at this exact point, I would choose him. I enjoyed talking to lord Harvard, still, I could not help from wanting him to be someone else. because if I could marry anyone in this whole world, it may be Chris. Or perhaps Eloise, because that would make us two free women only connected by name, no responsibilities, nothing forced, just freedom.

In the living room, we discuss the night and Eloise does not stop teasing me,

"are you in love with him cousin? Fallen for his smile?"

"Eloise, please stop, we only talked for a little"

"a little?! You two talked for more than an hour!"

"sister, please, be quiet. And be happy for her, lord Harvard is wealthy and had a great family name, he is the very first born and would be perfectly acceptable as a husband" Anthony says,

"I believe, brother, one talk does not instantly make him her husband, give her a little space" Benedict says strict,

"Olivia why do you not wait?!" Hyacinth says out of nowhere,

"wait? What should I be waiting for?" I ask confused,

"the prince! You should wait for the prince!" she smiles, and I laugh,

"oh, no thank you, Eloise can have him..." 

.........

NOTE: Hi, I am a little busy at the moment so I apologize for this crappy chapter. I am praying myself the next one will be a little better :) I still hope you enjoyed it though! okay love y'all byee <3

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