Balance: Benedict Bridgerton's Tale

Chapter 16: Chance

Hello,

So, I really didn't think that the next update would take so long but as I said before I suffer from lazy writer-ites. That and I have been on holiday, been sick a few times, started a new story, which is stupid because I have too many WIPS. Also, I was a wee bit stumped as where to go from here, I have had a writers blockish thing where writing feels like a chore now if that makes sense but that is because my job is sucking the soul out of me. There is a little bit of Polin in this, I still want to write a Polin fic but by God, someone slap me because I really need to stop starting new stories. Also should write shorter chapters so I can work on other stuff.

I made up a street in London, please go with it. I do not have the time, well I do but I am lazy, to look up stuff and as always this is not historically accurate nor acceptable and is written with strange grammar. There will be another time jump in the future but I don't know when. I am thinking of ending this at chapter 25, which means we have 8 more to go. Hopefully, I will finish writing this fic for the end of Summer 2023.

Wishing ALL OF YOU lovely people who comment and follow the story a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year. May all your wishes come true in 2023.

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So take a look at me now, oh there's just an empty space
And there's nothin' left here to remind me
Just the memory of your face
Ooh, take a look at me now, well there's just an empty space
And you coming back to me is against the odds

It's the chance I've gotta take

Against All Odds - Phill Collins

He couldn't get her out of his mind the next couple of days, he couldn't stop thinking about how nice it had been to see her again, up close, and not hidden away somewhere metres away in a carriage, on the occasions when she walked home from his presence unsuspectingly with her head bowed down slightly, looking down, lost in thoughts. He wondered then if she was thinking about him and if she missed him as much as Benedict missed her.

It was surreal seeing her yesterday. It was wonderful and awful at the same time; he had let her walk away.. again, and the fact troubled him. Benedict turned over once more in his bed which was in his bedroom, and in which Eleanor was missing, since they no longer slept together now, not that they had done so often.

He had come home late after meeting Alina after once again filling up on brandy. He had no desire to go to a gentleman's club today; he could no longer listen to the superficial conversations of the l'ordre établi, the establishment. Then person a had taken over another factory, then person B had bragged about the fact that "he had made a mega-profit in his" and that "production had been increased by 20%" Benedict wondered how much the workers got out of that, probably nothing at all, and under what conditions his employees worked which he suspected were less than great.

His feet had dragged him to his childhood home, he was not sure why, something moved him to move into familiar surroundings now. His mother was not at home, nor was his younger sister, which was fine by him, at this moment all needed was solitude. Benedict settled himself in the drawing room and ordered the butler to fetch the brandy and made himself comfortable after the butler gave him his drink. He was enjoying himself, enjoying the solitude until he heard voices he recognized.

"Stop saying you miss your wife, or I will make you stop".

"but Why? I am not lying. I do miss my wife... It feels like ages since I have seen her".

"Colin, it has been five hours since she has left. Penelope is only away for two days; you seem to forget that Mara (writers note: shameless reference to my fic 'Last Chance') went with h and I am also sans my spouse this weekend, but you don't see me whining about missing her".