【12】
"He is insufferable!" I said, pacing my room as Benedict watched in a chair near my vanity. "Was he raised to always be this judgmental? Does he even for a second think of your needs... what a snobby little..." Benedict trails off.
"Still... I must marry to make him happy." I said with a sigh, standing still. Benedict stands to his feet. "Maybe this upcoming lunch with the Ton shall soothe this devil." He said, crossing his arms.
"We can only hope." I said.
✑
The Bridgerton family as well as the Ton filled the spacious garden. Servers were around handing out different cheeses paired with a tart wine. I stood with Benedict next to an extravagant water fountain. I intentionally hid from my father for several reasons.
I did not have the time for him to ramble on about how disappointed he was in me.
The pink long-sleeved gown I had on paired well with my skin tone. My hair was in a bun with strings of hair adorning my face. I sighed, looking over at the Viscountess who was with her two daughters, Hyacinth and Eloise.
"I wonder what Daphne is doing at this very moment," Hyacinth said. Her mother hummed. "I am sure she has many new duties to attend to as duchess, things you should be learning yourself for your debut." She said, looking over at Eloise who gave her a sour look.
"Making simpering conversation, pretending not to wince every time a man treads my toes during a waltz?" She said slyly. Hyacinth darts off with Gregory. Her mother sighs. "I am no good at those things, Mama. I'll surely only make a fool of myself." Eloise said, fixing her white glove.
"Well, perhaps if you devoted as much time to your deportment lessons as you did to writing in your journal you might feel rather better. Oh, and on that subject, in preparation for your season, I think it is time we lowered your skirts to wear at home." Mrs. Bridgerton said, I listened in closely. "I have no time for a visit to the modiste. I am busy. The queen herself has charged me with discovering Whistledown's identity. You would not have me cross Her Majesty, now would you?" She said before the clanging of glass pulled my attention to Colin, who stood next to Miss Marina Thompson.
"May I have everyone's attention?" He said, which made the Ton quiet down. I looked at him with confusion. "I would like to make a small but rather important announcement. I have happy news to impart."
"I have asked Miss Marina Thompson to be my wife, and she has accepted." My eyes widened slowly and the Ton all clapped with glee. My mouth went agape, I couldn't believe it, Colin Bridgerton was engaged! I clapped slowly.
"Unbelievable." I heard Benedict say with a lopsided grin. Suddenly my stomach dropped to the floor as my clapping stopped. I had only just realized that another Bridgerton was to be married... and I am not. Surely, I will feel my father's true wrath later.
✑
It was the next day and the Bridgerton family excluding my father, fortunately, were having breakfast in the dining hall. I wore a white long-sleeved dress with a patterned corset over it. My hair was half up and half down. I bit into a croissant with chocolate drizzled on the top.
All of the Bridgerton's were here apart from Colin and Anthony which led me to assume a tension was rising between them both.
The Bridgerton's that were sat at the table were bickering about Hyacinth's ribbon, which had apparently been taken. I sighed comfortably. "Good morning." I suddenly heard Colin say which made me snap my head up. A silence flickered before I smiled warmly.
"Morning, brother," Benedict said, wearing just a long sleeve white shirt with a yellow vest on top. Hyacinth smiled excitedly. "Colin, your engagement is in Whistledown!" She said. Mrs. Bridgerton gave her daughter a look!
"Hyacinth!" Eloise surprisingly said. "What? It is!" Hyacinth says. Must have not been kind words. I looked over at Benedict, he could somehow read the room. I couldn't piece together how he did so. It was incredible. "Very well. Everyone out, I think." He says before everyone except his mother got up from their seats.
I walked beside Benedict as we left the room. I looked over at him. "What has happened with Colin? Why is there such tension?" I asked. "Well, our mother just finished marrying off Daphne and now she has discovered only weeks later that her 3rd son shall marry." Oh. That made complete sense now, she felt like everything was moving so quickly or even all at once.
"Oh dear... it must hurt," I say, Benedict looked over at me. "To have your child marry and move somewhere nearly completely out of sight... out of your arms," I said, my eyebrows then furrowed.
"I have yet to have a parent feel this way. I would actually... prefer if my father wouldn't let me go... instead of... shipping me off like I'm some sort of present." I said, deep in thought. "Your father is..." Benedict trails off and I looked at him to see that he was searching for words.
"No words could fathom how savage and odious that man is towards you. How on earth did you spend 16 years with him?" He said, I looked down at the ground as I walked. "I don't exactly know. I don't even understand how my sisters survived him." I said.
✑
Two hours later I walked outside the back of the estate, and was met with a wide open grassy plain. But far away enough there was a large forest. The white dress I wore blew in the wind softly and I felt a sense of freedom.
I suddenly heard footsteps behind me. "Sir Isaac Riddle." He announced before I turned my head around to see Isaac walking out of the home and towards me with a warm grin. I smiled brightly.
✑
I was pushed up against a marble pillar that sat directly in the middle of the large field. Isaac pressed his lips against mine harshly, squeezing and groping at my bosoms. "You have no idea how much I've missed you." He whispered against my lips. I smiled gleefully and I reached my hands towards his trousers and dipped my hand inside.
His mouth went agape and he shuddered. "And I you," I said, kissing him softly. I retreated my hands from his trousers and I grabbed his hands, pulling him away from the pillar with me and towards the house.
I pulled him inside with a giggle and I looked around, making sure the housekeepers were nowhere to be found. I pulled him down the broad hallway and towards the open ballroom and I quickly scurried up the grand stairs before suddenly...
I heard faint... extremely faint moans.
Isaac looked at me curiously, my eyebrows furrowed. The moans were coming from the right side of the stairs that led to Benedict and Anthony's rooms. Anthony would never bring his maiden to his home... but Benedict would. I looked back at Isaac.
"Give me just a moment," I said before taking a right toward the other bedrooms. I walked down the halls and went to the last door on my right—Benedict's room. The door was slightly ajar and the sound of a mixture of both his and another woman's moans entered my ears.
I carelessly took a peek inside to see... good God.
Not Madame Delacroix, but another woman who looked a bit similar to her, sensually riding Benedict like he was her favorite horse. A flush spread on my face, even though I recognized what they were doing I was still completely flushed.
Benedict lay there, white button-up now exposing his freckled chest that was covered in a sheet of sweat. His wild, fluffy brunette hair adorned his face which was thrown back in pleasure. Soft but guttural moans left his lips as each snap of the woman's hips occurred.
I stepped back from the door and leaned against the crème colored wall.
I nibbled on my bottom lip before I turned on my heel and went back to the door. I opened it ajar which made them immediately stop and turn to look at me as I stuck my body between the door. Benedict looked at me like he had been interrupted by something stressfully important.
"Benedict I need your aid," I said with a cheeky smile. He glanced at the woman above him. "I am in the midst of something." He said, and he certainly was in... something.
"Yes, I can see that. But, I need your opinion. You see, I am heading to Madame Delacroix later this evening to pick out fabric for some new gowns I've been dying to wear." I began, Benedict threw his head back with a sigh. "What colors would you suggest?"
He ran a hand through his hair. "A dark, deeper gray possibly? Add in red—Hope it is difficult for me to speak to you in this current... position." He said, closing his eyes shut tight. I nearly laughed but nodded. "Very well, I shall use your suggestions then. I hope your taste is up to par, dear Benedict." I said, stepping back slowly from the door.
"I love you~..." I sang happily as I backed away. I heard no response so I poked my head through the door, I saw Benedict turn to look at me.
"I love you too." He said with a chuckle. I smiled. "You two enjoy yourselves," I said before walking away from the door. I chuckled to myself.
✑
A dinner soirée had been orchestrated to bring together the Featheringtons and our family, courtesy of Colin's impending union with Miss Marina Thompson. Despite the familial obligation, Benedict and I made a strategic decision to conspicuously absent ourselves from the affair.
However, my father, ever the tactician, managed to secure my involvement by requesting a tour of our town. Reluctantly, I found myself walking alongside him, donned in a mint green dress with my hair neatly bundled into a bun. Passing by the modiste, I couldn't resist the opportunity to showcase a snippet of our local charm.
"And this is the modiste, where only the finest gowns are made," I declared with a playful grin. My father, hands clasped behind his back, emitted a nonchalant hum. A perplexed furrow creased my brow. "Not enjoying the tour, father? I hope I'm not boring you," I offered apologetically. He shook his head, dispelling my concerns.
"No, no, you don't bore me. It's just... this side of London is so different from where we live. Everyone is so... prim and proper," he chuckled heartily. I nodded in acknowledgment. "Well, you did raise me right enough to fit in," I quipped with a wry smile.
The conversation took an unexpected turn as my father shared his observations. "Your sisters were raised somewhere completely different than you. They weren't born in the countryside; they were born in jewels and handmaidens." His words hung in the air, leaving me momentarily still. Why the discrepant upbringing?
"Why were they raised differently?" I ventured hesitantly. My father's gaze met mine, offering an enigmatic response. "Your mother," he stated, and with that, he strolled away, leaving me with furrowed eyebrows and a trail of unanswered questions in his wake.
✑
The estate greeted us with shadows as we returned well into the night. Weary and emotionally spent, I made a beeline for the drawing room, where the soft glow of candles played upon my skin as I sank into the plush embrace of the couch. A deep exhale escaped me as I let my body succumb to the cushions.
In the flickering candlelight, Anthony entered the room, a solitary candle casting dancing shadows on the walls. "You're home late, did your father terrorize you, again?" he inquired, taking a seat on the blue couch opposite mine. I shook my head, weariness etched on my features. "No, but I should admit that he did hurt my feelings today. Which isn't exactly new information," I confessed, my eyebrows furrowing.
As I sat up on the couch, the weight of my father's words lingered in the air. "He told me my sisters were raised differently than I. That they were raised with silver spoons in their mouths and handmaidens. And it was all because of my mother... Which made me wonder... I am the second child so... why was I the oddball? Maybe... maybe my mother is just like my father. She favors my sisters more than me," I murmured, gaze fixed on my lap. "I'm envious of them... not once have I been favored."
A reassuring voice cut through my thoughts. "You're wrong," Anthony stated, prompting me to look up at him. "I assure you that you are favored by everyone in this family, why else would we have taken you under our care?" he insisted.
A dry chuckle escaped me. "Pity," I replied, meeting Anthony's gaze. Despite his conviction, a lingering doubt clouded my thoughts. I stood up from the couch, the heavy silence between us echoing my internal turmoil. Without another word, I left the drawing-room, the door closing behind me, leaving the flickering candles to cast shadows on the empty space.
✑
Dear gentle reader,
All is fair in love and war, but some battles leave no victor, only a trail of broken hearts that makes us wonder if the price we pay is ever worth the fight.
The ones we love have the power to inflict the greatest scars. For what thing is more fragile...
then the human heart?
The bond between man and bride is private and sacred. But I must tell you, I have learned that a grave fraud is afoot.
As if the Featherington's did not have enough to be dealing with, Miss Marina Thompson is with child...
and she has been from the very first day she arrived in our fair city. Desperate times may call for desperate measures, but I would wager many will think her actions beyond the pale.
Perhaps she thought it her only option, or perhaps she knows no shame. But I ask you, can the ends ever justify such wretched means?
✑
The scandal that Marina Thompson was with child spread across town like wildfire. The father was not Colin, but a past lover of Marina's. I did not expect her to keep such a secret. But, a pretty face cannot hide deceit.
✑
Dear gentle reader,
Miss Marina Thompson's recent fall from grace continues to echo through every drawing room in town, days after it was revealed her engagement to Colin Bridgerton was nothing more than a sham.
Of course, lady's disgrace does not merely tarnish her own name. Like the tars of the Thames, it also leaves a horrid smear on anyone nearby.
While there is no parasol in the world strong enough to shelter a ruined woman, the fallen Miss Thompson can only hope she shall find refuge... somewhere.
✑
Here we were, Mrs. Bridgerton, me, Benedict, Anthony, and Colin, all in the drawing room at the brink of night. Colin stood before us all, preaching about how he needed to visit Thompson. I laid on the blue couch and my violet-colored dress shimmered as the candles danced.
"Miss Thompson must be in agonies over these lies. Why can I not visit her?" He said with a look of confusion. I sighed, rubbing my temples. "Listen to me, brother. That the ton devours every bit of Whistledown's on-dit is the only thing keeping this family from shame. Because of her, Colin, no one believes you are the father of Miss Thompson's child. But if you were to go near her, then they'll presume you responsible for her ruin, and all your sisters, including Hope, will pay the price for your notoriety. Is this what you desire?" Anthony said. Colin was about to plead his case before I saw... Daphne.
I sat up, seeing her enter the room.
"Evening, everyone." She said something was definitely wrong, given her strained smile. "Dearest!" Mrs. Bridgerton said in surprise.
"What are you doing here, Daphne? Should you not be frolicking in newlywed bliss?" Anthony said, partially teasing."I came as swiftly as our carriage would allow when I heard the news." She said.
"In the middle of your honeymoon?" He asked with suspicion. "Hastings must surely be cursing the Bridgerton name for this. Where is he, anywho?" Benedict said, furrowing his eyebrows.
Daphne breathed in. "He went to set up Hastings House." She answered. "We have all things in order, Sister. We do not acquire your assistance." Anthony said snakily.
Benedict scoffs before making himself a glass of gin. "Highly doubt that given our predicament." He said, taking a sip from the glass cup before looking over at me. "Hope remind me to marry you so I can avoid the sharp claws of the mamas and Lady Whistledown's grating pamphlet's." He said, gulping down the liquor. I chuckled softly.
"If I must please my father..." I say playfully. Benedict cheered. "Look at us, using each other for our own benefits." He said with a toothy grin.
"You two!" Mrs. Bridgerton said which made us immediately look at her as if we were children caught doing something we weren't supposed to. "This is not the time. Now Anthony, Daphne may be the answer to all of our problems. Once the ton sees that we still have the favor of the duke and duchess, then the whispers may very well cease, and we shall then go about our daily lives as if nothing has happened as if nothing is awry." She ranted about.
"And no one will be the wiser," Daphne said, causing all of us to look directly at her. "Pretending that nothing is amiss is the perfect way to lure the ignorant into submission. Is it not, Mama?" She said in a way that wasn't entirely normal. Something was really wrong.
I looked over at Benedict who stood next to fireplace. He shrugged his shoulders.
"Now, what grand event will the ton be descending upon this week? Surely there is something." She said, looking over at her mother. "The... um... The queen is hosting a luncheon." She said.
"I am certain the Duke and I can secure an invitation. If we are lucky, our return to London will give everyone so much to talk about, they simply have to breath left to discuss other matters." She spoke. Colin looked, absolutely distraught. This was not what he wanted I could tell. After all the scandal he still seemed... he still wanted to see Marina.
"I'm so very glad this has all been settled on my behalf." Colin walked out of the room, slamming the door on his way out.