Chasing Miss Bridgerton

Prologue

The summer of 1813...

C H A R L I E Basset wasn't always close with his older brother. In fact, he hadn't even realized he had a sibling until he was nearly six years old when Simon had shown up at his front door with his Nurse.

He had always been told his brother had died right after their mother passed away during Charlie's birth. So when Simon showed up to Basset House suddenly one Spring afternoon many years ago, young Charlie was, to put it lightly, shocked.

From their very first meeting, it was so apparent that Simon was truly his brother. Even at six years old Charlie knew that. They looked so similar with the same dark hair and piercing blue eyes.

So why had Simon been kept away? At first, Charlie could come to no conceivable conclusion to that question. But he soon found the answer when his brother opened his mouth to speak.

Simon stuttered. And although Charlie did not have any sort of impediments like his brother, he knew instinctively that their father would not accept anything less than perfection from his offspring.

Charlie and Simon's father was a cold man, indeed. The duke cared about the precious Hastings reputation, carrying on the family line and duty more than he ever did about being a decent father.

Their father loved the dukedom, Charlie, then Simon in that order—if you could consider the way he treated his sons as 'love,' that is.

Even before he knew how the duke had treated his brother, Charlie had disliked him. He had always been distant and unfeeling with him, despite Charlie's attempts to gain even a sliver of his attention. But when he heard his father call little eleven year old Simon 'his worst failure,' Charlie did not think he could despise anyone more.

And so, the two boys grew up quite separate. Charlie would beg the duke to let him visit his brother and when that didn't work, he secretly sent letters to Simon. Much to Charlie's surprise, Simon wrote back and the pair became friends of a sort.

When Charlie finally arrived at Eton, he and Simon were able to bond as brothers. They're mutual hatred of their father seemed to fuel this bond. 

He knew Simon had planned from a young age to never marry. He vehemently refused to provide their father with what he wanted by fulfilling his duty of providing an heir to the Hastings estate. 

So, Charlie decided that he would do the same. For Simon's plan would be for nothing if Charlie decided to marry and have a son. In fact, that would be exactly what the duke wanted; an heir from Charlie—his favourite son. The son without a speech impediment, the son who was seemingly perfect in his eyes.

No, Charlie would not give his father that satisfaction, it killed the duke that Charlie had a relationship with Simon as it was. Although, he had stopped telling people that his eldest child was dead when Simon started getting good marks in his classes. It was as if he finally decided that Simon was 'worthy' of the Basset name. 

In fact, the duke had once mentioned to Charlie during one of his few visits home that he should have never doubted the superiority of Basset blood—a comment that was swiftly met with an resentful eye roll from Charlie.

Simon and the old duke never reconciled, though. Charlie could hardly blame his brother for wanting nothing to do with their father, for he could hardly stand to be around the old duke himself.

For many years, Simon held onto the vow that he would never marry and so did Charlie. When their father died, they both wholeheartedly believed that the Hastings line would die with them.

Which is why, Lord Charles Basset was standing on the edge of the large, spectacularly decorated ballroom at Bridgerton House, nearly eighteen years after he'd first met Simon, contemplating his entire future.