It is said that second-born sons have all the fun. This much is certainly true for Benedict Bridgerton, free from the burdens held by his eldest brother, the Viscount. One must wonder, how does the second eldest Bridgerton spend his time?
To the to...
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"El, I need you." Benedict grabbed her arm, pulling her away from her conversation with Penelope and off to the side.
"What, Benedict! I was in the middle of a conversation!" Eloise snapped, yanking her arm out of his grip.
"I need you to stay with Madeleine and I for the remainder of the day." Benedict stated, stopping as they reached the fence.
"Absolutely not-"
"Lady Featherington and Lady Blunt have already approached us asking about children, and I need you to do whatever it is that you do that makes people not want to speak to you." He said sternly, keeping an eye on Madeleine as she stood with Daphne by the refreshments table. Eloise scoffed at this.
"First of all, it is not that people do not wish to speak with me, it is that most people are not capable of having intelligent conversations. Second of all, what makes you think I wish to bore myself with you two when I could be working on finding Lady Whistledown with Pen?" Eloise argued, crossing her arms over her chest. Benedict rolled his eyes before sighing in exasperation.
"I will buy your cigarettes for a week." He stated, giving her an annoyed look.
"A month." She smirked, not letting up.
"Two weeks."
"Three."
"Fine. Jesus, you are impossible sometimes." He rolled his eyes, taking her arm and bringing her over to Daphne and Madeleine.
"Your husband is quite annoying, I'll have you know." Eloise gave Madeleine a look, grabbing a cookie from the table. Benedict glared at her, turning to Madeleine.
"Eloise is going to help us avoid any unwanted conversation with her charming antics." His voice was dripping in sarcasm as Madeleine laughed at this, nodding.
"Oh, that is a good plan, indeed. Eloise will surely scare them away. She is quite skilled in that regard." Daphne smirked, making Eloise stick her tongue out at her sister.
Benedict's eyes widened as he saw Lady Cowper approaching, Cressida tight at her hip. He abruptly elbowed Eloise, making her drop her cookie.
"Hey! That was-" He cut her off when he gestured to the side, her eyes widening in realization as she saw the two.
"Lord Bridgerton, Lady Bridgerton. Wonderful day, is it not?" Lady Cowper smiled at the two.
"It is, indeed, Lady Cowper. Did you two enjoy the race?" Benedict asked, a polite smile on his face.
"We did, it is always a pleasure to see everybody together. Speaking of, it has been a quite a while since we have seen the two of you out and about in London." Lady Cowper quipped, smirking ever so slightly as she looked from Benedict to Madeleine.
"Yes, we have truly been enjoying our time together in the country." Madeleine smiled back, tightening her grip just a bit on Benedict's arm.
"You have, have you? Do tell us, will there be-"
"You know, I find marriage to be an entirely overly-infatuated institution. Why is it that we have all accepted that a woman be chained down to a man for the rest of her life?" Eloise spoke up, making Lady Cowper give her a condescending look.
"You are entitled to your own ideas about marriage, Miss Bridgerton. As I was saying," She turned back to the couple, opening her mouth to speak again.
"But truly, do you actually believe that this is the best way for society to flourish? On the heels of men? I rather think there are many intelligent women who should be working in the higher concords of our society, expressing our own ideas about marriage. I, for one, plan to publish a sheet on the utter misogyny of the institution of marriage-" Eloise intended to ramble on and on until Lady Cowper grew annoyed, which happened sooner than she anticipated.
"Oh, I apologize. I see somebody we must go speak to. Good day." Lady Cowper gave them a tight-lipped smile, ushering Cressida away.
The group broke out in laughter as the ladies walked away, elated that the plan worked.
"Oh, El. You are truly a saint." Madeleine laughed, sighing in relief. Eloise smirked and picked up another cookie.
"I could do this all day."
And that, she did. Six more times, in fact. Each time anybody would approach the group, they would engage in polite conversation until the newcomer started to steer the conversation toward children, at which point Eloise would jump in. And each time, they would be scared away within mere moments, making up some excuse or other to leave.
Violet laughed loudly when she heard about this, as the group walked back to the carriages.
"Oh dear, I guess your rebellion is truly helpful in some situations." She chuckled, taking Eloise's arm.
"If only I had thought of that, maybe you could have kept the eldest Sharma sister occupied today." Anthony groaned slightly in annoyance. Benedict laughed at this.
"Fair warning, she does not do it for free." He said lowly to his brother, smirking as Anthony chuckled.
"It was truly a pleasure to see you two, today. Please do come home to visit soon." Violet smiled at the pair, hugging them both.
"We surely will, thank you for inviting us today." Madeleine smiled, turning to bid farewell to the rest of the group.
Eloise gripped Benedict's jacket when he hugged her goodbye, holding him in place.
"Do not forget about our deal brother, three weeks." She scolded, pulling away and giving him a stern look.
"Yes, yes. I will not forget." He rolled his eyes before chuckling. Eloise smirked, hugging him once more before the two parted ways into their respective carriages. Madeleine smiled at him as he got in, moving over to make room for him to sit.
"She is something else." He sighed, laughing and shaking his head. She giggled and nodded.
"It worked perfectly, though. We must remember that for the future." She grinned, intertwining their fingers as he took her hand in his. He laughed and kissed her hand, settling back into the seat for the long ride.
