"Hurry along, we mustn't be late for Daphne's debut," Eleanora said, ushering Eloise, Francesca, and Hyacinth down the stairs; Eloise being the most stubborn and grumbling in defiance.
"How can we be late for Daphne when she isn't even out of her room?" Eloise argued, "I am already roasting."
"Are you to complain the entire day, Eloise?" Francesca asked flatly, accustomed to Eloise's complaints.
"Surely I cannot be expected to bear these fashions the entire day."
"I feel like a princess!" Hyacinth chimed in, "Do I look like one?"
"If you feel like a princess today, imagine how beautiful you'll feel when the time comes for you to present yourself to the queen," Eleanora smiled, placing her hands on the youngest Bridgerton's shoulders.
She turned around just in time to see Gregory racing past the girls and grabbing hold of Hyacinth's ribbon located in her hair, running away with it, while Hyacinth chased after him down the stairs.
"Is our dear sister still not ready?" Benedict asked, meeting with the girls in the foyer, followed behind by Colin.
"She's only been readying herself the entire day," Francesca replied, rolling her eyes.
"You mean her entire life?" Eloise said.
"Now, now. When you girls come of age to present yourselves to Her Majesty, you'd want to take your time on perfecting everything, too. Just give Daphne a few more minutes," Eleanora assured.
"Or a few more hours," Benedict retorted.
"I shall run upstairs and hasten her along," Colin offered.
"Colin, wait - I'll do it!"
"She likes me better than you, Benedict."
"Did she say that?"
"Everyone says that."
"All right, lets stop squawking about," Eleanora chimed in, straightening her arms in front of the brothers in order to prevent them from racing to Daphne's room. "Let me go up and check on her."
Gathering up the front of her skirt and going up the steps quickly, Eleanora raced to Daphne's room, finding the door open and Violet standing in the doorway, gazing in proudly at Daphne standing in the mirror. Eleanora decided to stand beside Violet, taking in the view of Daphne's beautiful debuting dress.
"Oh!" Eleanora gasped and clapped her hands together, "She just looks lovely."
"I can barely keep myself together from all the emotion," Violet replied, wiping away at her cheeks with a handkerchief.
Eleanora decided to step in fully into Daphne's bedroom, standing behind Daphne as she gazed at herself in the mirror. Eleanora looked up and down at the intricate white and gold dress with a train that was longer than Eleanora was tall.
Daphne saw Eleanora in the reflection and turned to her. "How do I look?"
"Just wonderful. Truly magnificent. Utterly divine. I'm running out of words!" Eleanora laughed, holding Daphne's hands in hers, feeling like an older sister. Eleanora took a step back. "Pretend I were the queen. Show me how you'd curtsy, like how we've practiced."
Daphne took a breath, lowering herself as if her knees were to touch the floor, but they didn't.
Eleanora smiled. "Perfect."
"DAPHNE! YOU MUST! MAKE! HASTE!" came from downstairs.
"Oh dear. We must run along before you are late," Eleanora said, placing a reassuring hand on Daphne's shoulder.
As everyone filed out of the house and descended down the outside stairs, Eleanora could spot the Featherington daughters exiting their house in their debuting gowns from across the street.
"Any sign of him yet?" Violet asked Benedict outside of the carriage, "Should your brother wish to be obeyed as Lord Bridgerton, he must act as Lord Bridgerton."
"Of who?" Eleanora asked quizzically. It took her a moment before realizing with a gasp, "Anthony! How could we have forgotten! Where could he be!?" She turned to the second eldest brother frantically. "Benedict?"
"I do not know," he said simply, avoiding contact with the two ladies. Though Eleanora had a hunch that Benedict, in fact, did know.
Meanwhile, in the park, Anthony was with opera singer Sienna Rosso against a tree, doing ungodly things and checking his pocket watch when she wasn't looking. It was almost time for Daphne's debut to the queen, and he promised his sister he wouldn't be late.
When the other Bridgertons and Eleanora arrived at the palace, one of the coachmen helped her out of the carriage after Daphne, and Eleanora could easily spot Anthony getting off his horse beside the carriage in the knick of time.
"Anthony!" she hissed, walking over to the viscount. She took off one of her gloves and smacked him on the arm with it.
"Ow! Whatever was that for?!" he demanded, rubbing his hand where Eleanora hit with her glove.
"Did you forget about Daphne's big day today? Where were you?" she interrogated.
"I merely had some errands."
"Oh, errands, please," she scoffed, walking with him to meet with Daphne.
"Anthony!" Daphne said in delight, "You are here!"
"Of course I'm here, Sister," he replied. "I'd never miss such an important day for you and our family."
"No, you would just be late for it," Violet intervened, eyeing her eldest in a chastising manner.
He cleared his throat. "Shall we?" He offered both arms to Daphne and Eleanora as the family made their way into the palace.
~~~
"Oh, dear me," Eleanora muttered, fanning herself with her gloved hand.
They were now in the throne room, in the queen's presence. Her Majesty looked rather bored from her seat, wanting to get the event over with. Eleanora and the siblings were located by the wall of the room, while Violet and Daphne were making final touches in the other room with the other debutantes and their mamas.
"Whatever is the matter? It is not as if you are presenting yourself to the queen," Anthony said.
"Yes, but I am still feeling the flutters. Daphne and I practiced her entrance, and I have faith in her, but I am still nervous. I can't explain it."
Anthony took Eleanora's hand that she was using to fan herself and clasped it tightly in an attempt at reassurance.
"Miss Prudence Featherington, Miss Phillipa Featherington, and Miss Penelope Featherington; all presented by their mother, the right honorable, Lady Featherington," boomed a voice from out of sight.
Just then, the double doors opened to the three sisters squeezing through the doorway with their mama behind them. As they walked down the aisle towards the queen, Eleanora grimaced at the sight of Her Majesty visibly looking unimpressed at the girls. They bowed out of sync, and right after, the queen dismissed them with a wave of a hand, and the middle sister -whom Eleanora could not identify- fainted, making the whole room gasp.
After the sister regained consciousness, the Featheringtons were ushered aside, and the same booming voice rang out, "Miss Daphne Bridgerton; presented by her mother, the Right Honorable, the dowager Viscountess Bridgerton."
Eleanora let out a shaky sigh, beyond nervous for Daphne.
Anthony looked down at Eleanora. "Just as you two practiced, yes?" She nodded in confirmation.
The doors opened, revealing Daphne and Violet. Eleanora couldn't make out Daphne's expression, unable to tell if she was nervous. When Daphne made her way down the aisle and stood in front of the queen, she stopped walking, turned down her head, and bowed. It was perfect: just as she and Eleanora practiced. Low, as if kneeling, but not quite. She held the pose, keeping her eyes to the floor.
Just then, Her Majesty stood up, walking towards Daphne. She held up Daphne's chin with her forefinger, and said with a smile, "Flawless, my dear," and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
Eleanora couldn't help but cover her shocked mouth with her hands from joy as Anthony looked down at her with a smile.
~~~
"It is done! Done and over with!" Eleanora exclaimed gratefully, plopping onto her back on Daphne's bed. She sat up. "Daphne, be honest, was it really as nerve wracking as you feared?"
"Not at all," she said happily as she changed into her day dress with the help of Rose, her maid.
The other sisters were in the room, Hyacinth changing too, and Eloise and Fransesca reading some sort of pamphlet off to the side. Eleanora stood up, smoothing out her day dress, and walked over to lean over Eloise's shoulder to also read the pamphlet. Lady Whistledown?
"You absolutely sparkled, Sister!" Hyacinth said excitedly.
The conversation relocated to the back of Eleanora's mind as she concentrated on reading this Lady Whistledown's writing.
". . . Trust I was astonished Her Majesty offered me, out of two hundred young ladies present, a most gracious remark," Daphne said.
"Yes, it was quite a distinction," Eloise dismissed flatly, keeping her eyes on the pamphlet. "And now, two hundred ladies have a common adversary! I wish you luck, Sister."
"Eloise, please," Eleanora chastised, noting how it affected Daphne's cheery mood.
"What? It is true."
"My success on the marriage mart influences all of your prospects," Daphne pointed out, "We will all need to find love one day." She then turned to Eleanora. "Isn't that right?"
"That is correct, up until the point where," Eleanora quickly covered Hyacinth's ears with her hands, switching to a whispering tone, "your husband hangs himself because he was stupid with how he handled his money." She removed her hands from Hyacinth's ears, returning to her normal tone. "But nevertheless, love is good for anyone and everyone." Then she muttered for no one to hear, "With 'true love conquers all evil' and all that hogwash."
As much as Eleanora was supportive for Daphne to find love, she was not as hopeful for herself. After all, she just recently became be a widow and she had no source of real true love. Her only proof was of her parents, and Edmund and Violet. But alas, the poor fate with those involved in the two marriages have faced . . .
"I merely hope I am able to continue such a grand tradition," Daphne continued with optimism.
She knew Eleanora by now that when love is mentioned, the widow would get defensive and coped with sarcasm and dark humor, so the only right thing to do was to dismiss it.
Turning to Eleanora, Daphne asked, "Nora, are you planning on partaking in the next social season?"
"Me? Oh, no," Eleanora said with a short laugh, "I think I am done with finding a husband. The ton will only embarrass me in reminding me of my late husband. Plus, with my age, I am now considered a spinster, and the reputation of those is not held in the highest regard. But I promise you, Daphne, be grateful you're so young, because your delicate and youthful features start disappearing before you know it."
With the now bitter and awkward atmosphere suffocating the room, Eleanora was internally thankful when Violet burst through the door and announced, "Your dresses have arrived!"
Everyone rushed into the other room to look at the dresses excitedly.
"This one is quite ravishing!" Daphne awed, running her fingertips gently on the fabric of one dress.
"Mary Edgecombe wore a similar shade last season-" Violet said.
"And secured three offers the very next day, one from an earl!"
"Mary Edgecombe, now the Countess of Fulton," Eloise interrupted from the doorway, "apparently spent the last year living in a cottage hundreds of miles away from her earl. She is miserable. It says it all right here." She smacked the back of her hand on the pamphlet Eleanora was reading earlier.
"Do not tell me it is yet another scandal sheet," Violet chided, her attention pulled away from the infinite number of boxes filled with dresses.
"No, this one is different. This one lists subjects by name, in full."
"Let me see!" Hyacinth said before Francesca had the chance to take it from Eloise first.
"Now wait a second," Francesca said slowly, "Lady Whistledown," she read.
"Lady Whistledown?" Daphne questioned, taking the pamphlet from her.
"Do we know a Lady Whistledown?" Violet asked.
"Surely Lady Whistldown cannot be her true name," Francesca pointed out matter-of-factly.
"What does it say, Daphne?" Eleanora asked, as everyone followed the eldest sister back into the other room. When Eleanora was skimming over the issue earlier, she never caught sight of the publishment listing subjects by name.
"She loathes the fact that we've been named alphabetically, from oldest to youngest," Daphne read.
"Huh! I never even noticed that myself!" Eleanora piped cheerfully, going through the names of the Bridgerton siblings in her head.
"Your father and I found it orderly," Violet explained.
"Lady Whistledown finds 'banality'," Daphne continued.
"The papers were distributed across town without charge," Eloise chimed in, resting her head on her mother's shoulder.
"Eleanora, dearest, Lady Whistledown has something to say about you too," Violet said, reading from the pamphlet.
Eleanora stiffened. "What is it?"
"Just about what we already know; about Lord Russell, the money," the mother recalled, before hesitantly pausing. ". . . But now everyone who has received a pamphlet knows too."
Eleanora's stomach dropped. "Oh dear . . ."
"On the bright side, she has said one thing positive. Daphne was named the season's Incomparable! She calls you a 'diamond of the first water'. How lovely!" Violet quickly added, not wanting to linger on the bad news.
~~~
After another rendezvous with Siena, this time in her dressing room, Anthony and his opera singer were now laying on her couch, both fully naked. Anthony reached for his pocket watch out of habit on a nearby table.
"One day, I shall seize that watch and take it apart bit by bit," Siena teased, slowly swinging her feet in the air.
"That belonged to my father," Anthony said, "Should it disappear, I would miss it sadly."
"Then you shall know precisely how I feel everytime you disappear," she retorted in between kisses. "Stay with me today."
"I'm afraid I cannot. I must chaperone my sister at the Danbury Ball this evening."
"Daphne, yes? What might they be like, these grand affairs your sister must attend?" Sienna asked in a purring tone.
"You would hate them," Anthony said as he stood up to get dressed. "Every eligible lady of breeding dressed in some lavishly trimmed frock, bloodthirsty mamas at their sides, and wary fathers making arrangements for only the most advantageous of matches. Of course without my father there, that responsibility falls upon me."
"A significant duty, no doubt."
"Someone must guard my poor sister from the bucks and pinks, ensue her virtue remains free of any kind of defilement."
"Daphne is fortunate," Siena noted, "Every woman is not afforded such gallant protection."
"Every woman is not a lady."
If looks could kill, the one Siena had given Anthony after that remark would surely have deceased him. "Of course not, my lord," she mocked, crossing her arms and looking the other way in spite.
Realizing the effect that statement left on Siena, Anthony walked over to sit next to her. "Siena . . . You have me protecting you too. I will always protect you too." With that, he kissed her.
~~~
"Nora," Daphne said from the doorway of the drawing room.
"Hm?" Eleanora was too focused on her cross stitching to bother looking up.
"Mama, Anthony, and I . . . well more Mama and I, were wondering if you would join in chaperoning me at the Danbury Ball tonight."
This type of news pricked up Eleanora's ears. The first ball of the social season, and Daphne wanted her help in chaperoning. She set aside her needlework and placed her hands in her lap. "Whatever for?"
"Well, I already have the perspective of a mother and brother in looking for suitors. I was hoping in having your perspective in choosing who to dance with. From the perspective of a peer of the same sex, if you will."
Eleanora smiled at the thought, before forcing her lips back to a straight line. "Respectfully asking, is this out of pity?"
Daphne walked over to Eleanora, sitting next to her and placing her hands in hers, the diamond's eyebrows drawn in disbelief. "Heavens, no! I would really like for you to come with me, truly."
~~~
"I can't believe Nora had to tag along," Anthony grumbled in the carriage.
"I can't believe I have to sit across an imbecil. Oh, my mistake, the moonlight was tricking my eyes, it is only Anthony," Eleanora snapped back.
Even in their youth when the two weren't riding horses, they would tease at each other and make remarks, seeing who could come up with the better insult; it was all in good fun and potentially what made them so close before the wedding ripped their bond apart.
"Now, now, behave," Violet reminded them, remembering how it felt exactly like having to chastise Gregory and Hyacinth, "We are here to help find Daphne potential suitors tonight."
Once they arrived at Danbury House and stepped out of the carriage, Daphne locked arms with Violet and Anthony, and Eleanora locked arms with Anthony. Entering the ballroom, Daphne beamed at the sight of the decorations, and everyone stopped what they were doing to watch her enter.
"They're all staring, Mother," Anthony whispered, glaring at the conversing men.
"Allow them to come to you, dearest," Violet advised to Daphne, ignoring Anthony's remark.
With Eleanora's hand still around Anthony's arm, she scanned the room and remarked, "Since my youthful days, I had no clue that sideburns became so . . . prominent in the last ten years." Looking up at Anthony, she teased, "Are you the culprit of setting this trend?"
"Very funny," he noted flatly.
Ever since living with the Bridgertons and reuniting with Anthony, Eleanora loved being vocal about how much she despised his sideburns.
Just then, a potential suitor walked up the group.
"Lady Bridgerton, Miss Bridgerton, Lord Bridgerton, and . . . I'm sorry, I do not believe I know you," greeted the potential suitor, turning to each member of the arrived party.
"Wife of the late Lord Russell," Eleanora said with a curtsy, avoiding eye contact.
She was not expecting to be embarrassed; the thought that no one managed to know of her, considering what Whistledown had said of her, never came across Eleanora's mind.
"I believe you have already been introduced to my daughter Daphne, Lord Ambrose," Violet said, placing her hands on Daphne's shoulders.
"Yes, we met at your brother's levee," Lord Ambrose recalled.
"If I recall, my lord," Daphne chimed in, "You had just won your first race at Newmarket-"
"His first and only, I believe," Anthony interrupted.
"Well, in that case, let us hope his lordship has found himself a new horse," Daphne replied, swiftly saving herself from Anthony's disappointing remark.
"I haven't had the pleasure of seeing you at our club lately, Ambrose," Anthony confronted after a beat.
"Hear we go," Eleanora muttered to herself with an eye roll.
"Should it have anything to do with the unpaid balance you left on our betting books winter last?"
With no response, Ambrose sheepishly bowed his head goodbye and walked away.
"Ambrose is a cheat," Anthony explained to the three ladies, "A man of any honor ensures his debts are fully paid."
"I did not realize-" Daphne said, suddenly feeling embarrassed.
"Well, how could you have done? It is the very reason I am here, Sister," assured the eldest brother. "Now," he said, turning to Eleanora, "Shall the three of us make a turn about the room?"
With that, the three, arm in arm, began walking and scoping for potential dancers for Daphne, with Anthony holding a determined attitude, scanning the ballroom.
"He is rather pleasing," Daphne commented, referring to one of the men on the dance floor that had made eye contact with the diamond as if she were a piece of meat.
"Not with the way he was staring at you, he isn't," Eleanora said disgustedly, giving the man a grimace.
"He is rather here to shuffle about hunting fortunes," Anthony explained, "Trust Mr. Lewis knows of your sizable dowry. Leave him be."
"And you know of him too, Anthony?" Eleanora asked, nodding her head towards another staring man in the distance.
"Mr. Worthington: second son. We shall find better." A third man nodded politely at Daphne as he passed by. "He is of dubious parentage."
"What about that one with the mutton chops?" Eleanora asked.
"Really Nora, are you to distinguish every man here tonight based on his facial hair?" Antony said, rolling his eyes.
"It has been how I managed to tell you and your brothers apart," she retorted, making Daphne laugh.
"Besides, I shall not have you making a life with a poet, heaven forbid," Anthony continued. "Nor an eccentric. My word!" he remarked, once another man passed by the trio.
"Anthony! Daph! Nora!" Benedict called from the other side of the ballroom. Him and Colin met up with the three halfway.
"If the only gentlemen present this evening are your brothers, then we're in a great deal of trouble indeed," Anthony muttered to his sister, making sure his brothers didn't hear.
"You continue to say 'we'," Daphne pointed out.
Before she could continue, Colin unintentionally cut her off. "Did Mother tell you yet? About my tour? I am to begin in Greece."
"Greece!" Daphne mused, "How adventurous, Colin!"
Eleanora could see Lady Danbury walking up to them, wearing an elegant light-colored gown with a cane of the same color to accessorize it. "On guard," she warned, and everyone made a beeline in a different direction to seem like they blend in with the crowd.
"Too late," Lady Danbury stated. In shame and embarrassment, everyone turned back around to their original spots. "I already noted you."
"A second sooner and we would have made it," Anthony whispered to Eleanora.
A mix of introductions including 'Good evening' and 'Lady Danbury' erupted from the brothers in greeting as they bowed to the hostess of the ball while the ladies curtsied.
"Miss Bridgerton, you look rather lovely this evening," Lady Danbury complimented, making Daphne smile warmly, "Is there a reason I've yet to see you on the dance floor?"
"All in good time, Lady Danbury," Anthony reassured.
Lady Danbury looked between the two Bridgertons, taking note how protective and restrictive Anthony was acting. She leaned in towards Daphne and said, "You poor thing," before turning to Eleanora. "Miss Fitzwilliam, am I mistaken or are you already in search for a suitor so quickly after your husband's passing? I give my condolences."
"Thank you, Lady Danbury," Eleanora said with a another curtsy. "Unfortunately, I am in no search of a suitor right now, just simply helping Daphne find hers." In that moment, Eleanora proceeded to say something before her brain could stop her lips from uttering another word. "The next social season is a more likely possibility, though."
"How splendid," Lady Danbury mused, before Benedict stepped out of the way for the hostess to walk past the group to socialize with her other guests.
With that, everyone looked at each other without a second idea of what to do next, before Colin turned the other way and started talking with Benedict.
Soon, the group of siblings separated, with Benedict talking with Lady Danbury, Colin on the dance floor, and Anthony, Daphne, and Eleanora off to the side, with Anthony still scanning the room.
"I'm quite parched," Daphne announced, bored of just standing around while waiting for her brother to dictate on who she should and shouldn't dance with.
"Then I shall fetch you a lemonade," Anthony offered quickly.
"Anthony, don't; you've already done so much," Eleanora chimed in, busy fixing her gloves. She looked up. "Daphne, you deserve to fetch some lemonade on your own."
"Thank you, Nora," Daphne said, purposefully emphasizing her name, making sure Anthony could hear. "I shall return in a mere moment."
When Daphne was out of earshot, Anthony turned to Eleanora. "Really?"
"What? She needed a lemonade, she deserves a lemonade. Unless you believe she needs your chaperoning when it comes to beverages also."
After a pause, Anthony leaned down to Eleanora, changing the subject. "You never mentioned before that you'll be participating in the next social season."
"It was an in the moment decision, I believe," Eleanora shrugged off, going back to fidgeting with her gloves. She could feel Anthony's gaze on her and looked back at him. "What?"
Anthony broke the gaze and cleared his throat. "Nothing."
Deciding to also get a lemonade, Eleanora excused herself and retreated to the refreshments table, unable to locate Daphne. Grabbing one of the small glasses, which Eleanora found adorable, she took a sip of the sweet refreshing drink.
"Small glasses."
Eleanora turned around. "Sorry?"
The man's sideburns were the worst of all. And so was the face; the worst of them all. Like a gremlin and a pig had a passionate night together and birthed this excuse of a man. Just looking at him made Eleanora feel uneasy.
"Tiny little things, are they not?" he said, continuing to make conversation, "Oh, where are my manners - I am Lord Berbrooke."
He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. Eleanora recoiled immediately and was internally thankful she was wearing a glove and that the man hadn't kissed her bare hand. If in fact, he had, boils would have probably started sprouting where his lips touched her hand.
"The glasses, you mean?" Eleanora asked, wiping her hand on the side of her gown. Or your penis, was what she wanted to add. She no longer found the glasses adorable, but now repulsive.
"Then the matter is settled."
"There was no matter to begin with." Eleanora furrowed her eyebrows, confused.
"And I know you to be the wife of the late Lord Russell, yes?"
"Oh, no," Eleanora denied, laughing uncomfortably, "You must be mistaking me for another woman-"
"You've always amused me, Miss Fitzwilliam. I remember you as just a girl involved in equestrians, when I was in my twenties, and you were-"
"A girl?" Eleanora interrupted. "Like you just mentioned?"
"Did I say 'girl'? I meant, a maturing woman."
Eleanora was utterly speechless. She stared at the man with her eye twitching in disbelief. "I believe I was just summoned," she finally had the courage to say. Eleanora walked off rather quickly without bidding Lord Berbrooke farewell, making a beeline to search for where Anthony was.
~~~
When Eleanora walked to the refreshments table, Anthony's main goal now was to look for at least one potential suitor before Daphne came back and finished with her lemonade. He pushed the thought of Eleanora joining the next season to the back of his mind. In the crowd, he recognized an old friend he never believed to see again.
"Basset!" Anthony called, walking over to Simon, who Daphne was standing next to.
"Bridgerton!" Simon exclaimed, shaking hands with Anthony.
"I heard news of your father. Deuce take it, you are no longer Basset. Hastings! The Duke of Hastings, now known forevermore."
"The Duke of Hastings, is it?" Daphne asked, chiming into the conversation beside the duke with sudden interest.
Remembering to make introductions, Anthony went on, "Hastings, this is my sister, Daphne."
"Your sister?" Simon asked, glancing over at her.
"Daphne, Hastings and I know each other from our days at Oxford," Anthony continued to explain. "Days we shall not soon forget." Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Eleanora hastily walking towards him, looking as if she had just seen a ghost.
"Anthony, don't look now but I think I was just preyed on by a human sized rat," she said, grabbing onto his arm. She took notice of Simon, specifically his face. "Thank heavens! Finally someone at this ball without sideburns! I believe I may just die happy here and now!"
Simon looked at her quizzically.
Anthony cleared his throat, motioning towards Eleanora. "Hastings, this is Eleanora Fitzwilliam. She has been staying with us for quite some time. She also took care of our horses with her parents when we were younger."
"I remember you mentioning of her back at Oxford. Anthony said nothing but good things about you," Simon recalled, and Anthony's jaw tensed. "Miss Fitzwilliam." He took Eleanora's hand and kissed her knuckles.
This time Eleanora was internally ungrateful that she was wearing a glove. "Oh my," she gaped, visibly blushing. "Apparently I was a famous topic of conversation at Oxford."
"I pray it not get to your head, Nora," Anthony quickly said before turning to Simon, "We shall need to get together properly. I expect to see you at our club, then."
"Indeed," confirmed Simon. "Evening, Bridgerton. Miss Bridgerton. Miss Fitzwilliam."
With that, Daphne and Eleanora took each of Anthony's arms and walked the other way.
"I was most enchanted by him. Why couldn't Daphne dance with him? The Duke of Hastings!" Eleanora said, still enthralled of being in Simon's presence.
"Are you sure we're not talking about you wanting to dance with him?" Daphne teased.
Violet caught up to the three, grabbing Daphne's arm. "Daphne, I believe Lord Wetherby is looking for you to dance!"
Daphne's face lit up. "Is he?"
"If only it weren't time for us to retire," Anthony interjected suddenly.
"Daphne's anything but weary. I shall stay with her, you may take Eleanora home," Violet said.
"I'm anything but weary," Eleanora replied.
"Now, Daphne," Anthony said, turning to his sister, "There is nary a gentleman here who would not take your hand. You must think about this. The most perfect thing to do now is not to dance, but to leave them all wanting more. If anyone knows how this works, it is your eldest brother."
With a pause, Daphne took the time to think about Anthony's proposal. She turned to Violet. "Perhaps he is right. Let us go."
Unhappy with the proposition, Violet walked Daphne out, leaving just Eleanora and Anthony behind. He offered his arm, and she took it.
"Please, as right as the 'eldest brother' may be," Eleanora mocked with air quotes, "It doesn't change the fact that he's against doing fun things like dancing."
"Maybe if you were to have a dance card on you, I would have proven that statement wrong," Anthony replied, making Eleanora roll her eyes yet smile.
The next day, a majority of the siblings were residing in the drawing room; some were reading, sewing, and Eleanora had her nose in a book. Plates of cookies and desserts had been set out; now, all the Bridgertons had to do was wait for Daphne's first caller to arrive. The diamond of the first water regularly looked up at the double doors, eagerly waiting and unable to keep herself still for the potential the day held.
Eleanora took her eyes from her book to see Daphne standing up, expecting to greet a caller, before looking up to find Anthony walking into the room.
"Well, it is no Prince Charming, but he'll suffice," Eleanora joked, making Eloise chuckle in the sofa across from her.
"I did not expect to see you here this morning," Daphne said to him, a hint of disappointment in her voice that her brother was going to chaperone her calls.
"It is terribly early for you, dearest," Violet pointed out.
"I could not sleep for some reason," said Anthony flatly, "All the excitement, I presume." He popped a nearby sweet into his mouth, looking around the room. "Am I the first gentleman to arrive?" He then took a seat where Daphne had just been sitting. He said in his continuous flat tone, "How wonderful."
Eleanora set down her book. "Must you act like this on Daphne's day?"
"Like what?"
"Like a vulture hovering over its prey," she said simply.
"Am I assumed to be the vulture? Because I am not."
"I'd debate otherwise if I squint hard enough," she said, making Anthony glare at her.
Before long, the drawing room was filled with suitors holding varieties of presents, and all the Bridgertons except for Daphne and Anthony were asked to leave the room.
". . . And do you have a large family too, my lord?" Daphne asked the caller sitting next to her.
The caller looked nervously at Anthony, who was standing over the two of them, watching over them, as Eleanora had mentioned, like a vulture. "Is there a problem, Lord Bridgerton?"
"I should think so," Anthony said flatly, "You are in my seat."
A few hours later, Anthony ushered out the last of the suitors for the day, and the rest of the Bridgertons were allowed back into the drawing room. Daphne sat in her seat feeling defeated, just like her mother, and Eleanora was back to her book, sitting comfortably in her chair. She occasionally munched on the leftover heures d'oeuvres that Anthony prevented the suitors from consuming.
"Well, I must be off to my club then," Anthony announced with a satisfied look on his face as if his overprotective actions toward his sister were a day of well-done work. "Sisters. Eleanora. Mother." With that, he exited the room.
Good riddance.
After a silent moment, Eloise's Lady Whistledown paper rustled as she set it down on her lap with a stunned expression. "Has anyone else read what Lady Whistledown has written as of late?"
"I have," Eleanora answered, raising her hand, "I found what she had to say of Marina Thompson especially remarkable."
"Should anyone pay any heed to what Lady Whistledown writes of late? I certainly do not," Hyacinth said proudly, looking around as if her statement would earn praise.
Daphne stood up and began pacing the room. "Mama, perhaps we might attend the upcoming Salisbury ball by ourselves, and the Merriweather tea too."
"I believe that Anthony has already replied on our behalf, dearest," Violet said, "Apparently he has managed our social calendar through June."
Eleanora smirked into her book at the statement.
"He'll be there the entire season?" Daphne asked in disappointment.
Eloise moved closer to Daphne as the eldest sister sat down, pamphlet in hand. "Lady Whistledown has made her opinion of our dear sister's fortunes quite clear."
"Enough about Lady Whistledown!" Daphne exclaimed.
Just then, Humboldt entered with the message: "A caller for Miss Bridgerton."
All the ladies in the room sat up in tension. Eleanora set her book down, and Violet stood up excitedly, ready to welcome the caller.
"The Lord Berbrooke," Humboldt said.
When Lord Berbrooke pompously walked in, Eleanora let out a short yelp and all eyes turned to her. "Forgive me, I thought I saw a rat," she said, looking Berbrooke up and down in disgust. She then walked over to the couch where Daphne and Eloise were sitting, almost in a protective manner.
"Lord Berbrooke," Violet said with a nod and fabricated smile, "May I help you to some freshly prepared biscuits?" With her hand, Violet ushered Fransesca and Hyacinth out of the room. She then turned to Eloise. "Eloise, allow some room for his courtship, will you? And if you wouldn't mind, you too, Eleanora?"
Eloise and Eleanora stayed put, Eloise holding Daphne's hand. They both stubbornly kept their eyes on Berbrooke in disdain.
"Eloise, are you not due for a visit with Penelope this morning?" Violet said, another attempt at having Eloise take her leave.
"I believe I should like to stay," Eloise said.
"I believe you should like to go," Violet retorted. She then turned to Eleanora.
"Am I due for a visit with Penelope too?" she said in a snarky manner.
"Out."
With a hefty sigh, Eleanora picked up her book and exited the room with Eloise, looking back at Daphne apologetically.
Eloise and Eleanora parted ways in the hallway; Eloise going to the Featheringtons, Eleanora retreating to her bedroom.