Burn - Edmund Bridgerton II's story

The Wedding (Part 2)

"Thomas, would you please sit down by the table with us... Perhaps some tea...?" Anthony tried to persuade Mr Dorset, who was pacing restlessly around the drawing room while The Viscount himself, The Viscountess, Lady Siena Fife and Mrs Margaret Dorset had sat down by the table.

"I do not want any goddamn tea, Anthony...! It is scorching outside!" Thomas spat out.

"Darling, please sit down..." Margaret pleaded to her husband as well. "Cold water instead?"

"Fine." Thomas hissed and sat down next to his wife, whisking away some sweat from his forehead. "This is... This is unacceptable... I thought we were friends, Anthony, at least we have been friends for over thirty years and... And now this...!"

"I am so, so sorry, Thomas..." Anthony exhaled, his voice full of shame. "But I did not have a clue what was going on between my son and Miss Fife, while Kate and Siena –"

"Lady Fife." Siena corrected him venomously.

"Kate and Lady Fife did not know anything either before yesterday." Anthony explained, shooting a sideways glare at her.

"Yesterday...?!" Thomas almost screamed. "And you would have let our Geoffrey marry a tarnished woman who is carrying another man's child?!" He yelped and now it was Siena and Kate who looked ashamed, even though Kate had not been aware of the pregnancy earlier.

"You should have guarded your children better! What kind of parents do not know what their son or daughter is up to, for an entire month...?!" Margaret joined in on her husband's hysteria. "But I guess an apple does not fall far from the tree and this should not have come as a surprise, knowing what a rake Viscount Bridgerton was in his youth and the career Miss Fife's mother here had...!" She shrieked and Siena gave her a murderous look.

"Eddie is not a rake, he is a sweet and sensible young man who we have raised with love and care to make him respect women and everyone around him!" Kate chimed in offendedly.

"Oh, how respectful of him to both Geoffrey and Miss Fife to make her pregnant before their wedding...!" Margaret retorted and furiously fluttered her fan towards her upset and red face.

"Stop acting like such a prude, Mrs Dorset, everyone knows you once spent twenty minutes with Arnie Fife inside a closet at a ball during your debutante year!" Anthony snapped at her.

"I did not know that..." Thomas Dorset blurted out with a shocked face after a small pause.

"Neither did I." Siena snarled and stared at Margaret over the table even more murderously.

"Oh, I see... Well... Now you know." Anthony stuttered, more shameful than ever.

"Yes, well... I... I guess we have all...Been young and foolish... At some point." Margaret stammered, somehow managing to look even more ashamed than the viscount.

"Exactly, so what are we going to do with our youngsters?" Kate enquired and had a sip of water from one of the elegant crystal glasses.

"Well, Geoffrey is definitely not going to marry Miss Fife." Thomas declared sourly.

"Yes, that is totally understandable." Anthony agreed. "I see no other outcome in this that Eddie and Miss Fife have to get married, if they are indeed in love. And, we simply cannot cast the girl and our grandchild out on the street." He stated calmly, making both Kate and Siena look at him with surprise. "We can say that the girl took the death of the archbishop as a sign from above that she should not marry Geoffrey, then she realised she was in love with Eddie instead and as we Bridgertons are a family that values love matches, we did not see any point in keeping the young couple apart, even though the Fife name might not be so respectable. I am sure you wish to protect the Dorset name as well and agree on this version of the truth?" He continued in his collected tone and glanced questioningly at the Dorsets.