Eleanora, Violet, and Anthony walked outside, around the perimeter of the art exhibitionary. Violet had her hand around Anthony's arm, who held a bouquet of flowers he was going to give to the Sharmas as a peace offering. His grip on the light pink roses tightened at the sight of the women. Eleanora decided to walk by Violet's side, in order not to stir more suspicion and anger from the Sharmas by walking on Anthony's side.
"Lady Danbury," Anthony greeted, as the three approached Lady Danbury and the Sharmas, who were standing outside the entrance and had just exited from their carriage.
Anthony handed some of the flowers to the Sharmas' mother. "Lady Mary," he greeted, earning a polite yet forced 'thank you' from the woman. "Miss Sharma," he greeted, giving Kate some flowers too. He then stood in front of the youngest. "Miss Edwina." Anthony seemed to have fumbled over her greeting, yet was even more stunned at the sight of Edwina paying no heed to his good deed. She immediately gave the flowers to the nearby coachman and Eleanora pursed her lips at the unfortunate sight.
"How thoughtful of you, Lord Bridgerton," Lady Danbury noted.
"Now remember, before we are to send out our invitations, we must appear to be enjoying each other's company," Violet reminded the group. "Shall we?"
Eleanora refrained from rolling her eyes. The only reason she was forced to come along to the gallery was to not give the ton any reason to suspect divergent feelings towards Anthony and to put all the suspicion on her as the reason the wedding backfired at rest.
Eleanora waited until the Sharmas and Violet entered first, before she followed suite. Anthony leaned in as Eleanora walked past him, inhaling deeply at the lingering fragrance that he didn't realize he became attached to. That damned lavender and vanilla.
He closed his eyes and smiled at the perfect scent, before his eyes shot open at Lady Danbury clearing her throat. He turned to the woman, who pursed her lips at the sight of his momentary loss of control.
Anthony then walked into the building, feeling Lady Danbury's piercing eyes in the back of his head, expecting her to watch him like a hawk for any more improper gestures for the length of the event.
As the group entered the gallery, all eyes were on them and socializing amongst the other guests had ceased. Eleanora wanted so badly to just snap at them: "Quit your staring, the statues and paintings don't mind it, but we certainly do!" She kept her mouth shut.
"Do not be deterred," Violet reminded everyone, as Anthony stood beside Eleanora. She took a half a step away from him. "If we can put the wedding behind us, so can they."
Everyone separated, and Anthony offered his arm to Lady Mary, who accepted it, and they entered one of the nearby rooms, where people continuously stared at them. Anthony could only nod and smile politely, no matter how painful the glares felt.
"You must forgive me, Lady Mary," he began. "I've yet formally to apologize."
"It is not exactly a surprise," she said. "Men often take time to realize their culpability in such matters. It is quite the privilege, is it not?"
Anthony's jaw tensed at her tone. "You have every reason to scorn me. But I would be very much remiss if I did not tell you it was not my intention, ever, to cause your family as much strife as I now know I have done."
"In truth, I cannot place blame entirely at your door, Lord Bridgerton," Mary confessed after a beat. "I, myself, have been absent for far too long. When my husband died, it should've been me taking on my family's burden, not Kate."
Anthony felt foolish at that moment, remembering that Kate had affections for him, though he could never reciprocate for the Sharma woman. He only ever felt truly alive when he was around Eleanora. Speaking of, he noticed her curly hair in the distance in one of the other rooms. She was gazing at the sculptures fondly, taking in the beauty and hard craftsmanship required to create such a masterpiece.
"Does art make you feel, Anthony?"
That question Eleanora asked Anthony last season echoed in his mind, making the corners of his mouth lift ever so slightly in yearning.
The viscount hesitated in approaching the woman so elegantly dressed in emerald green, but gathered the courage to do so anyway. When he was a mere few feet from her, Eleanora didn't notice Anthony's presence, for she was too engulfed in studying the sculpture of a man putting a crown on a woman as they kissed.
"Nora," Anthony greeted, causing her a small fright. "I've been wishing for a moment to be alone with you. To speak."
"There is nothing to speak about," Eleanora replied, keeping her eyes on the sculpture.
"We kissed-"
"We did not," she interjected, closing her eyes to compose herself. "Nothing happened between us."
Anthony felt a sting from that statement, recalling when he claimed the same thing in the Danbury drawing room, referring to their moment in the Aubrey Hall study.
"You were Miss Edwina's intended," Eleanora continued. "There is no world in which we could even kiss, or ever go beyond kissing."
Anthony narrowed his eyes at her, taking a step closer to her. "Are you quite serious?" he asked incredulously.
"We did a terrible thing. We should be ashamed of what we did, no?" Eleanora caught herself glancing at Anthony's lips, before her eyes caught a change in his appearance. "Ah, you took my advice," she noted. "You shaved."
~~~
In the Bridgerton drawing room, Eloise and Benedict were playing chess, Anthony was on the sofa, nose deep in his newspaper, Hyacinth had just sat down to practice the pianoforte, and Eleanora was helping Gregory with his writing - or, attempted to, anyway.
"The invitations are ready to be distributed, ma'am," Mrs. Wilson said, entering the room.
"Oh, excellent!" Violet beamed. "Dear little Augie is still suffering from his cough, so the duchess will naturally not be able to attend."
Hyacinth began playing the pianoforte, and Violet turned to the rest of the room.
"But that is precisely why it is so important that the rest of us embrace this theme of harmony-"
As if by comedic timing, Hyacinth began purposefully playing false notes and jamming on random keys, earning a warning glare from her mother, resulting in her stifling back a laugh. Eleanora noticed Gregory was distracted by the interruption, and she drew his attention back to his work.
". . . And work together to impress our guests," Violet added.
With ragged breaths, Eloise stood up from her seat and ran over to the window, opened it, and stuck her head out. "It is positively suffocating in here!"
"Eloise, dear?" Violet called with concern. "Are you feeling unwell?"
Eloise drew her head back into the room, awkwardly moving her hands around as if she did not know what to do with them. "Do not fret, Mama, I'll still be in attendance at your ball."
"Participating in this farce along with the rest of us," Anthony muttered from his newspaper.
"I am doing this for all of us!" Violet sighed.
"Perhaps there is still time to change your theme," Benedict chimed in with a grimace.
"Has there truly been no Whistledown delivery today?" Eloise asked frantically. She turned to Eleanora. "Nora, you didn't steal the copy of our delivery, did you?"
Eleanora let out an exasperated sigh. "During our circumstances, why would you believe I'd be interested to hear what Whistledown had to say about it?" she asked rhetorically.
Just then, Penelope entered the room with a pleasant smile. "Good day, Bridgertons."
Eloise walked past Mrs. Wilson, grabbed Penelope's arm, and ushered her out of the room, while Eleanora looked quizzically at the sight.
~~~
As Eleanora was preparing herself for the Bridgerton Ball, she couldn't help but notice how depressed her reflection looked. She forced herself into her baby blue gown, since Violet insisted everyone in the household wore the family color.
Eleanora hated to admit it, but she was utterly disappointed that she had not had the opportunity to wear her signature color to a ball as often as she would have liked. She just hoped to get the evening over with and curl up under her sheets to escape into sleep, in order to forget about the wedding that still loomed over the ton and the Bridgertons' reputations.
With her hair done up, jewerly in place, gloves on, and dress snugly on her, she and the Bridgertons descended down the stairs into the foyer, all but the three youngest and Daphne. The family crest was painted on the floor in white, and lovely flowers decorated the room. Eleanora was too mesmorized in the decorations and the music that played from the balcony. So mesmorized, in fact, that she didn't notice how disappointed Violet looked at the fact that no guests had arrived.
As if on cue, Lady Danbury and the Sharmas entered the foyer.
"Well, this is . . . unexpected," Violet noted.
"It is still quite early, I suppose," Mary said.
One thought struck in Anthony's mind. If Lady Danbury advised that he and Eleanora kept a large distance from each other around the guests at the ball, yet there were no guests to be found . . . maybe he could close the distance with Eleanora and spend the night with her.
One of the instrumentalists approached Violet and asked, "Would you still like us to play, my lady?"
"That would not be necessary," she answered, pursing her lips. The man signalled to the others on the balcony to not play, and the men dispersed to relax.
"If there is no need for my presence, I'll head to my studio," Benedict said to Anthony, giving him a small pat on the shoulder before walking in the other direction. "I, for one, do not wish to be around such misery all evening."
"Wait!" Anthony protested, stopping his brother from moving another step forward, glancing up at the small orchestra. "You will stay for a dance." He turned to everyone else in the room, who looked quizzically at him. Anthony glanced at Eleanora with a small smile. "There shall be dancing." He turned to his brother. "A new perspective, yes?"
"Dancing? With whom?" Colin asked.
"Anthony?" Violet questioned.
With a small smirk teasing the corners of his mouth, Anthony turned to the balcony closest to the stairs.
"Hyacinth!" he called out.
The youngest's shying head poked out over the railing, as did Gregory's. "Yes, Brother?"
Anthony welcomed his invitation with open arms. Literally. "Come down here and do me the honor."
Eleanora smiled at the gesture, a warm feeling in her chest at the sight of Anthony putting in the effort that since no guests had arrived, he would make do by being courteous and kind enough to invite Gregory and Hyacinth to dance, who, for their ages, would usually not be allowed to do such things.
Hyacinth beamed and giggled joyfully, running down the stairs, and Gregory practically looked offended at Anthony. "If she gets to dance, so do I!" he said, following after his sister.
Anthony stood at the entrance of the foyer, holding out his hand and smirking at his family and guests, before Hyacinth ran down and took her brother's hand and twirled.
"Come, show this dowager the benefit of all these lessons I hear you've been taking, Mr. Bridgerton," Lady Danbury said to Anthony, as she handed her cane to a staff member.
Eleanora approached Gregory. "Would you do me the honor and dance with me, Mr. Bridgerton?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow and offering her gloved hand. He shyly accepted and smiled at her, making Eleanora smile back at the boy, ruffling his hair.
"He is much better than me, I will say," Eloise commented.
Everyone held hands and stood in a circle, Eleanora between Gregory and Eloise, Anthony between Hyacinth and Lady Danbury.
"Something lively. A country dance, perhaps?" Anthony suggested to the orchestra. He turned to Violet. "I believe the theme you have chosen for tonight is harmony, Mother."
The music started, and everyone clapped rhythmically to the tune. The men danced to the middle before retrieving back, then in either pairs or groups of three danced in a circle, and Eleanora dancing with Gregory put such a huge smile on her face she believed her muscles would give out at any moment. Anthony picked up Hyacinth and twirled her in the air, earning a squeal, before everyone continued the dance.
Everyone continued whooping and clapping along as the women now danced to the middle, before retrieving back and gaining new partners, now Anthony with Lady Danbury, and Eleanora with Eloise. Everyone laughed as they fumbled to grasp their partners hands and dance along to the music successfully.
At one point, Anthony and Eleanora were united as a pair, and Eleanora realized this is the second time they've danced all season. Anthony focused on Eleanora's beauty as she laughed and smiled the whole time.
The number ended, and out of breath, everyone curtsied or bowed to their partner. As Anthony bowed, Eleanora watched him through her eyelashes as she curtsied.
Finally, a stress free moment ever since the downfall of the wedding, and Eleanora felt like a weight was lifted off her shoulders. They were able to stay in close proximity without Lady Danbury's chastising, or gossiping guests, or the glares and disappointing looks from the Sharmas, even for just a mere second.
The two continued smiling at each other, unable to lengthen the distance between them. That was, until Eleanora noticed from the corner of her eye, Edwina staring at her. Clearing her throat, Eleanora took a step away from Anthony.
"Perhaps a quadrille?" Hyacinth suggested, bouncing on her toes. Everyone looked at her skeptically, knowing that not enough energy could be mustered up for such a thing.
"Perhaps we should start eating some of that food," Colin said.
Everyone agreed, filing over to the buffet table and talking amongst each other. Eleanora stared at the food, methodical of what to eat first, knowing she would try everything by the end of the night.
"Hello."
She turned to find Anthony beside her, and her cheeks turned an ungodly rouge color. "That was a very fun number," Eleanora said, unable to conceal her smile. "It was a good decision on suggesting a country dance. It was cheery enough, given that we needed something cheerful after our circumstances."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Anthony said, fully facing Eleanora, not paying any heed to the food.
Eleanora took a finger sandwich. "I must say, I am rather happy that . . ." She paused dramatically to take a bite and chew her food, making Anthony chuckle. ". . . That there were no guests present." Eleanora paused again, but this time not for dramatic effect, but to collect herself. "So that we were able to be close," she finally said in a whisper.
"Is that Lady Whistledown?" Eloise asked Violet and Lady Danbury, approaching the women. This caught Eleanora's attention. "Has she published, Mama?"
"Indeed, she has," Violet drawled, reading the pamphlet. "And now we may know why we are the only ones here."
Eloise's chin quivered as Violet gave her the pamphlet for her to read. After reading it, she pushed the paper into her mother's chest, running past her and Lady Danbury and up the stairs, quietly crying. Anthony's jaw tensed, and he strided in the other direction, making Eleanora turn her head from the stairs to where Anthony exited, her breathing going uneven.
~~~
Shawl tightly wrapped around her, Eleanora made her way to the gazebo under the light of the full moon. Edwina's hurt expression after Anthony and Eleanora exchanged glances clearly made the poor Sharma feel hurt. Eleanora felt trapped, and if she could just escape for one night, maybe her guilt would cease and not boil over.
She made her way to the gazebo, sitting down in one of the comfy chairs positioned under it, fidgeting and smoothing out her dress under the dim candlelight.
"What are you doing out here?"
Eleanora let out a small shriek and jumped from her seat at the surprise of seeing Anthony.
"Good god, you nearly frightened me to death!" she hissed, recomposing herself as he approached her.
"My apologies, Nora," he said, hands clasped behind his back.
"Good night-"
"I insist, you may stay here if you would like. I was just leaving. You may use this as your place of refuge, it certainly is an improvement from the closet," Anthony said.
"Please don't give me orders of where I should stay," Eleanora sighed. She then muttered, "But then again, a man used to giving orders . . ."
"I do not give orders!" he scoffed.
"You give orders, expecting me to listen!" Eleanora retorted, standing up and approaching Anthony confrontingly.
"Perhaps you should!"
"No!" Eleanora laughed.
"You wish to know why it has taken me this long to come to terms with you never listening to me?" Anthony challenged.
Eleanora crossed her arms. "Endulge me."
"It is because I have never met anyone like you," Anthony said, causing Eleanora to stiffen and drop her arms to her side. "It is maddening how much you consume my very being. My family is on the brink of ruin. I am nearly certain every last one of my brothers and sisters secretly despise me - my own mother, at that. Despite the fact that I have lived the better part of my life for them. And yet still, all I find myself thinking about, all I find myself being able to breathe for . . . is you."
Eleanora's breathing shuddered and her eyes watered at the touching statement.
"Do you think I want to be in this position?" he asked rhetorically. "Contending with these thoughts of wanting to be nowhere except with you?" Anthony's heart fluttered, forcing out his next statement. "Wanting to run away with you. And we almost could have, if it wasn't for your damned marriage that you didn't even want to be a part of. Of acting on the most . . . impure, forbidden desires," Anthony took a step closer to Eleanora, breathing in her scent that he so loved. "No matter how much I must remind myself: I am a gentleman, and you are a lady of that-" He trailed his nose along her neck, breathing her in, "Of that scent. It has remained imprinted on my mind ever since the wedding . . . Lavender and vanilla. Even just looking at a lavender in the gardens makes me think of you and nothing but you. You have to stop."
Anthony's unexpected statement caused Eleanora to pull her head back from being so close to his. "I have to stop?!"
"There is no other course of action to be concluded, you must stop."
"I don't need to stop anything!" Eleanora retorted, separating herself from the viscount. "It has been you this entire time. Spinning my world off its axis ever since we were teenagers, and now that axis has completely disintegrated ever since our dance at the conservatory ball, making me reconsider everything I know. I am still here, only to leave a mark for my parents and to make them proud. Everything I've ever done-"
"Has been for them," Anthony finished.
"Has been for them," she whispered.
~~~
"Mama?" Eleanora, a mere ten years of age asked, watching her mother shift under the covers. Amelia's coughing sounded scary to the little girl, worried if her mother would make it through till the morning.
According to the doctor that they could barely afford, Charles reported back to Eleanora saying that her mother had contracted pneumonia. It had been now four months, and Amelia's symptoms hadn't ceased.
The stress of possibly losing his wife turned Charles to alcohol, depression, and barely able to get out of bed, much like Amelia. This had led Eleanora to have to stay loyal to her parents' clients and care for the horses in every which way, while Amelia was physically unable to, and Charles mentally unable to.
The poor child had lost countless nights of sleep from watching over her mother and getting her father to eat a meal, that she barely had cared for herself. Her physique became thin, and her eyes weary, but she had to push through.
Early on, at a very young age, Eleanora had to learn the hard way that people won't always be there to help, and that she would have to help herself.
Obviously, her parents became better and functioning, since just three years later they began working for the Bridgertons, but during the traumatic time of worrying when Amelia's final breath would come from that damned infection that plagued her, Eleanora had to mature very quickly in order to cope with her new and daunting responsibilities. For those few months, Eleanora was taking care of her parents, and not the other way around.
Ever since then, everything she's ever done, had been for Charles and Amelia.