How To Love A Prince - A. Bridgerton

Chapter Six

As it has come to my ears, this season is also the season of blossoming friendships. Although in competitions, many Ladies have found not only love but also companies. Knitting circles, a choir...the possibilities to spend their time together are endless.
As for Eloise Bridgerton, the young Miss was not only seen with the Prince again but also seemed to have bonded with Miss Sheffield, the woman her oldest brother is currently courting. So many families have intertwined with the Bridgertons once again.

- Lady Whistledown's Society Papers April 1814

~•~

Eloise Bridgerton needed to breathe. Her feelings were getting the best of her. The soft nightly breeze playing with her locks and the hem of her dress helped to calm her down. The pressure was sitting heavily on her petite shoulders. Every meeting with the Prince was dangerous. She didn't need a husband.
Perhaps her mother and siblings were getting to her head, and she was overreacting, but in her young life, she had learned that things tended to happen she didn't want to. Could she even say no to the Prince of England? Her sister had turned down the Prince of Prussia, and that had been a disaster. She didn't want to have to endure such an odyssey. 

"Could you be my chaperone for a moment?" a sweet voice suddenly asked and dragged Eloise out of her worries. As she turned her head, her eyes met the ones of Edwina Sheffield, and her breath hitched. That woman was indeed a jewel. Her face was gorgeous, her tanned skin and big blue eyes of a beauty that could outshine the moon. " I had to evade my mother for a while. My feet hurt, and I can not withstand another dance." She advertised her gaze coyly in a manner mother's told her daughters to, and Eloise could not feel more sympathy for the woman as she did in this exact moment.

"Yes, of course. We can be avoiding the ball together.", Eloise stuttered without even knowing why. Her heart was beating faster; her hands were cold. Edwina certainly affected people. She understood why Anthony had chosen her as a potential wife.
" You are Miss Bridgerton, right?" Edwina asked, tilting her pretty head slightly, black curls bouncing with the movement. "Eloise.", the other young woman replied, baffled this marvelous person knew her name. But that was silly; Edwina had been dancing with her brother after all. " I was dying to meet you, Eloise. I heard so much.", the other woman continued, not naive enough to pretend Eloise didn't know her name. But what could she have heard about her? Nothing good if Eloise was thinking about how her boyish nature was regarded amongst society. Her face must have displayed that confusion, as Edwina quickly added:

"I heard you liked to read and study. I've never encountered another woman that admired literature as much as I do." Eloise's heart skipped a beat. That was unexpected but  beautiful. "I am always told how it is not suitable for a Lady to read with such an intensity.", Eloise breathed out, still in wonder of the woman in front of her. " I think it forms the character. A bright mind is always charming."

~•~

Anthony was confused. But suddenly, his sister and the woman he would like to marry returned together." If I remember correctly, this is your dance," Edwina smiled at him, holding out a petite hand for him to take. He briefly glanced at his sister. Eloise was blushed but smiled; the night air seemed to have had a good influence on her nausea.

"My pleasure," he responded, assured his sister would survive a dance without him by her side. As he led Edwina to the dance floor, he caught a glimpse of the prince talking to Eloise. "It seems like Ms. Bridgerton has caught herself quite the suitor," Edwina chuckled, having noticed his focus leaving her. "She is a charming young lady," Anthony forced himself to smile as he properly put his arms around his dance partner. "She is knowledgeable, isn't she?" "the young woman continued to question, and somehow, Anthony was suspicious about her interest.

Perhaps the Prince was interfering with his plans after all. But luckily, he would have plenty of opportunities to investigate the threat as long as the royal hunt would last. Until then, he had to leave a good impression on miss Sheffield. "She is quite smart, indeed. Always burying her nose in books." he played along with her questioning. "More people should read, don't you think?" the woman asked, her blue eyes watching him intensely. "I am of the same mind as you," Anthony answered, twirling her around. She was a good dancer, elegant and graceful, always talking coyly and smiling brightly. A jewel, but he couldn't help but miss the physical attraction as he had once had with his mistress Siena.

  He couldn't imagine doing those things to miss Sheffield he and Siena had enjoyed so many times. No gentleman should think about a lady in that way. Edwina would make a magnificent bride, and he liked her; that had to be enough. A marriage out of love like his sister and mother had celebrated something rarely granted. And if it had to be a marriage out of convenience, he would instead enjoy talking to her then share no interaction at all. And that smile, Edwina was giving him, was undoubtedly an advantage as well. "I am looking forward to our next dance," she told him as soon as the music stopped and a new suitor had approached to take her away. He eyed the man with a mixture of curiosity and calculated interest but stepped back aside regardless.

A melodic laugh he knew too well caught his attention, and as he turned where Eloise had stood, he had to admit that his sister looked like she had a splendid time with Prince Edward. They hadn't danced. That was suspicious. His mother and sister hid somewhere near, watching this spectacle as he did. Eloise, Princess of England. Something about that just sounded awfully wrong.