War of Hearts ━━ Anthony Bridgerton

viii. this is me trying

chapter eight.

   The next night appeared in the blink of an eye. Charlotte Wentworth kept mostly to herself after the late night encounter with Viscount Bridgerton. She did not know what came over her to tell him about her nightmares, then and now, but the regret that encased her caused the woman to avoid eye contact with anyone and everyone the next morning and into the evening. However, it grew difficult to avoid people as she was surrounded by them at yet another ball.

   Aubrey Hall was filled to the brim with workers hauling in large bouquets, cases of food, and decorations covering every corner of the ballroom. If Charlotte had not been used to such a decree of enchantment, one would say she would have been overwhelmed and overstimulated. But alas, she had bigger problems on her mind.

   It was as if she could feel his eyes burning the back of her skull from wherever he decided to hide himself. Charlotte hoped her brother could not feel her hands tremble within the crevice of his elbow as they walked into the busy ballroom. So far, she had done a fair job in steering clear of her siblings' suspicions with her suddenly shaken behavior. She just hoped she could keep it up throughout the night, no matter what is thrown her way in the coming hours.

Another person she had grown vigilant to avoid was Anthony Bridgerton himself. There were many instances where she caught him trying to approach her from
the corner of her eye, and that gave her enough leeway to create as much space between as possible. Her efforts were not purely out of embarrassment that he saw her in such a vulnerable state. It was the mere fact that she did, indeed, feel
something every time she was around him.

   And that cannot happen.

It cannot happen for a plethora of reasons, the main one beside her, glancing around the ballroom with excitement, practically bouncing her heels against the marbled floor. But before any of the siblings could put a word in, a figure had already made his presence known.

"Miss Amelia," Lord Bridgerton bowed in greeting, extending his hand, "might I have your first dance?"

Amelia smiled brightly, "certainly, my lord."

Charlotte watched the two walk away hand in hand, not being able to fight her eyes from watching them as long as she wished to. After a long moment or two, too long for her liking, she whipped her head back to the front, only then noticing her brother gone and Lady Danbury hovering over the balcony, observing the crowd below. She joined her.

"Have you been enjoying your time alone with the viscount?"

Charlotte snapped her head toward the older woman with widened eyes at the choice of wording, which in turn, raised a brow.

"Yesterday's hunt," Lady Danbury clarified, which made the young woman visibly relax, "it went well, I take it?"

Charlotte nodded, "oh, yes. Of course, yes. Quite well, indeed."

Lady Danbury only hummed at her answer before making her way down to the rest of the crowd, leaving Charlotte to herself. It took her a while for her to leave the security and sanctuary of the balcony, but she knew she had to join the rest of the ton at some point. It was toward the end of Amelia and Anthony's first dance when she slowly clamored down the stairs and stayed to the side with the rest of the onlookers.

   It was hard to look away, yet hard to watch her sister and her suitor dance so intimately while she stood to the side, knowing she would never get to do anything like that again. However, Charlotte inwardly cursed such a distraction, knowing she had bigger things to worry about. And they were about to make their presence all the more known.