"The Wedding."
[27]
✑
The music in the room was round and filling. Sending a warm feeling up everyone's spine as they sat in the pews, waiting for the bride and groom. Up the altar already stood Benedict, given that he was Anthony's best man.
Down the aisle came Anthony, his body stiff as he walked. He knew this was it, as much as he wanted Kate Sharma it was his duty to his family to marry her sister.
And so he shall.
On the far left of the altar sat the queen in a golden chair. Anthony approached the woman before bowing deeply. "Your Grace." He muttered before taking his place at the alter, waiting for his bride to show.
And down the aisle came Miss Kate Sharma in a soft purple dress with a small bouquet of white roses. Anthony's stern expression softened as he looked at her, and she noted to herself to look just away from his gaze. After she went to her designated place, Katherine Buckingham, she wore a yellow-colored dress and she smiled proudly as she walked down the aisle.
Her head held high and she looked over at Benedict, who seemed to be looking just past her face, seemingly trying to find someone. Katherine looked confused before forcing a smile on her lips.
She then took her place beside Kate before Sabrina came in, she had an innocent grin on her face. She wore a dress similar to Kate Sharma's to match the theme of the wedding. She made her way beside her sister before eventually Hope sauntered in.
A smile grew on Benedict's lips as he watched her walk in, her hair cascaded down her back and her creme dress had diamonds sewn into the fabric. She walked down the aisle and she could see the smiles from the crowd, especially the Queen.
She walked up to the aisle and saw Benedict's expression. She smiled back at him before taking her place beside her sister.
The music softly changed, signaling that the bride was on her way. The people rose to their feet as Edwina and her mother walked down the aisle at last. The bride looked absolutely ethereal, her long white dresses glided behind her. Kate smiled softly at her sister.
Once Edwina got to the alter her mother passed her off to Anthony and the nearly married couple turned to look at one another.
"Please be seated." The archbishop said. Once everyone did so, he started:
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the face of this congregation, to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony. And therefore it is not by any to be enterprised, not taken in hand, unadvisedly, lightly and wantonly, to satisfy men's carnal lusts and appetites, like brute breasts that have no understanding..."
Benedict's eyes trailed towards Hope's face as she looked towards Edwina and Anthony. The alcohol currently in his system seemed to have affected his senses. His palms were sweating and he had sworn that Hope had on a different... dress.
Suddenly she was right before him. In a white dress with gold sewn into the fabric and a veil adorning her face. She had just the warmest smile on her face as she looked at him... at him?
She suddenly placed her gloved hand on his cheek and their noses touched. "I love you." She whispered. Benedict looked down at her in confusion, was he dreaming? Her lips inched towards his and he slowly leaned in forward.
"Benedict." He was brought back to reality. He looked over at his brother. Hope stood behind her sister, looking at Benedict with worry. "The ring." He whispered to him. His brother nods before reaching into his pocket and grabbing the ring he had stored.
He gave Anthony the ring and the eldest brother turned to look at Edwina. "I, Anthony Bridgerton..." His words trailed off.
hopes pov
Benedict had seemed to wander off into his daily daydreams, as always. I sighed and looked back towards the couple.
"Once the ceremony is over we will finally be in the Bridgerton's good graces, sister. I will marry Benedict and we will be financially secure for many generations to come. Then we will be able to leave this wretched town and go back to Buckingham Palace and live out our days with Mother." I looked over at my sister Kate's whispering voice. My eyes widened at her words and my heart clenched.
"What makes you think she'll let you marry Benedict, sister?" Edwina said. "She is the Queen, marrying below my status hardly means anything to her." She responded.
My heart fell to the floor. Their mother... was the Queen? I looked down at the floor and my eyebrows furrowed. They lied. The only reason they were here was so they could steal Benedict and Bridgerton's money. My eyes filled with tears.
They never wanted to see me. I looked back up to see Benedict looking at me with concern. My breathing became rapid. "I can't!" I shouted, making everyone turn and look at me, I looked around at their concerned face before I grabbed the ends of my dress and began running out of the church. Everyone gasped and began whispering to themselves.
I heard someone following quickly after me.
✑
I ran into the nearest room I could find, anger welled up within me and it was aimed at my lying sister.
"Breathe, Hope. It is just nerves." I heard Mrs. Bridgerton say behind me. I heard more footsteps following into the room. I paced back and forth, my breathing never faltered and it felt like I was inhaling fire.
"We will call for a little tea, and once you have something in your stomach, you will be strong enough to go back out there." She said, keeping her distance. "IT IS NOT TEA THAT I WANT!" I screamed at her, finally seeing that Katherine and Benedict had come into the room.
"What I want is the truth," I said. She looked at me with guilt and I laughed. "Suddenly, your words fail you, Katherine?" I said. Benedict looked over at her in confusion.
"I am not sure what is going on." Mrs. Bridgerton said, trying to ease the situation. "I shall tell you what is going on, Mother. Katherine has decided that her stay here was for only one reason. She never cared for me, she never wanted to know me. She can—."
"Hope, please—"
"YOU DON'T HAVE FEELINGS FOR HIM!" I screamed, my throat already raw. "All this time you wanted him for yourself. For his money!"
Katherine's eyes filled with tears, her hands shook. "That is not true, I swear." She lied. She always lied, has she been lying about everything? "Oh, you cannot deny it now, Katherine! How could I have been such a fool? You lied to me again and again. You told— you told me in so many letters... that you cared for him, but you lied!"
"You lying about your wants with Benedict was merely the beginning... the Queen is my mother. You and her fooled me!"
"I FOOLED myself into believing you had only the purest of intentions, that your only desire was to know me. But you! You are a villain who left me with my father for jewels and riches! You are just like him." I sobbed. Katherine began walking up to me. "And you are no one's fool. That is the truth." She said before stopping.
I walked up to her and stared her into the eyes. The same eyes I seemed to share with her.
"Do you love him?" I asked. She had seemed taken aback by the question. "What?" She asked.
"You told me you cared for him in those letters... but... you must've made that a story as well..." I began.
"Do you love him?" I asked once more, she opened her lips but nothing seemed to be coming out. Benedict looked at her with a fit of anger beneath his skin. My eyebrows furrowed and I looked at her in betrayal. I stepped back and walked around and past her, walking out of the room completely.
I heard my name being called and the pace of my steps became faster.
My entire family consisted of liars, and why would my sister marry Benedict for his wealth? They are princesses, they are undoubtedly well off! I ran into a large room before closing the doors shut behind me. Tears began to swell in my eyes, they were just like father... I thought they'd be different.
I looked around the room quickly to find a hidden closet and I ran up towards it before going inside and closing the door behind me. I walked up to the back of the closet before turning around and facing the door. I placed my arms around myself before more tears spilled down my cheeks and a quiet sob left my mouth.
My back slid down the wall before I sat against it.
This reminded me of when I hid from my father after he tried to set me up with one of his friend's sons. Lovely boy, I'd admit. But, I was only 14 years old. I had hardly even lived, so of course my father yelled at me for it. And rather I listen to him ramble on, I hid. That was the only thing I could do to remedy anything.
I suddenly heard a knock on the closet door, making me place a hand over my mouth.
"Hope?" I heard Benedict say my name on the other side of the dark wooden door. Poor, Benedict, he must have been heartbroken to hear about everything. My hand slowly inched away from my lips and I heard a knock once more.
"I know you're in there, you always hid in closets the first few days you lived at the estate." He said he was right. Nightmares were common to me once, the only way I could make them stop was to hide in tiny places. "Hope?" He called out my name once more. I heard the doorknob turn and the door to the closet opened.
My eyes trailed up to look at his face, his sympathetic face that blended well with the sun that bled through his brunette hair and silhouetted him perfectly it seemed. "My dearest." He muttered under his breath before he went into the closet with me and closed the door.
He sat next to me on the floor, holding a cup of whiskey that was nearly gone. He held the cup in front of my face. I swiftly grabbed the cup and drank the rest of the whiskey, feeling it kick back into my throat. I placed the cup beside me, before wiping away the warm tears on my cheeks.
"No wedding for you, then. You must be heartbroken, hearing my sister just lusts for money." I said to him, and he scoffed. "Heartbroken? No. Offended? Yes. How could anyone pass up such a charming face over silver coins?" He said with a look of distaste. I chuckled softly before looking into the distance.
"I am a princess..." I spoke plainly. I could see that Benedict looked over at me. "You are..." He said softly.
"And what am I supposed to do with myself now? Be forced to live in Buckingham Palace for all my days and squeeze out potential heirs of the British Kingdom? Marry a prince?" I said, rolling my eyes. I felt Benedict grab my hand and hold it gently which made me look over at him.
"Stay with me." He said as he smiled down at me. I frowned slightly. "It is unseemly for a princess to not live at the Buckingham Palace, especially since I am not married," I said. Benedict hummed before shrugging his shoulders.
"Well... that could always be arranged." He said with a cheeky grin. My eyebrows furrowed before I suddenly heard Duchess Agnes's words in my mind. "At least you have a good male friend you can marry so the rest of society can stop asking when are you going to settle down!"
"Benedict... we could not. The scandal that would ensue! A princess marrying below her station is..."
"A perfect and brilliant idea and I should have thought of it sooner? I know." Benedict said before I stood on my feet. "My mother would murder you in your sleep," I said he was going completely mad, the ton would go absolutely insane hearing the news!
"Nonsense, your mother loves me," Benedict said before suddenly getting down on one knee. My eyes widened. "No!" I said pointing at him sternly. Benedict pulled out the black box and opened it, revealing the absolutely gorgeous ruby ring he purchased only weeks ago.
"Princess Hope Buckingham, will you have the honor of being my wife?" He said with his usual dopey smile. Well... what do I do now? Marry my best friend and be ensured a lifetime of happiness or marry someone I did not know and risk the chance of a long painful marriage. I breathed in slowly before looking down at the ruby ring, which still managed to shimmer given the closet hardly had any sun shining through.
"Christ..." I muttered under my breath.
"Yes..." I said softly, his smile only grew before he jumped onto his feet and grabbed my left hand softly, he was quick to put the ring that was in the box onto my finger. It... fits perfectly...
✑
Me and Benedict walked out of the room, I held onto his arm as he escorted me out. "I cannot believe you proposed to me in a closet," I said with a slight scowl on my face. "Would you rather me do it in front of the ton? I can be theatrical if you'd like me to be." Benedict said, making me roll my eyes at the man.
We suddenly see Mrs. Bridgerton run up to us once she spotted our faces. "Goodness! Has everyone run off today?" She said, her face as pale as a ghost. "Are you alright, dear?" She said, immediately cupping my face gently. "Better now," I said with a tiny smile.
"Mother, we have news... I have proposed to Hope and she has said yes." Benedict said, her eyebrows furrowed before looking in between the both of us. "Pardon? You... you two are to be wed?" She said, before placing a hand on her stomach like she had to balance herself.
"To be wed?! Hope is a princess, do you think that the Queen will allow you to wed her after Hope recently learned that was her mother? You are out of your mind." She said, suddenly snapping on Benedict. I looked over at him... knowing that I was right. "Well, let us see what the Queen thinks, Mother," Benedict said before we began walking around her and towards the stairs below.
"This is exciting is it not?" He asked me.
"Sure..." I said, my lips curved into a soft frown. Benedict looked over at my expression before his eyebrows furrowed, and we suddenly stopped as he stood in front of me with a concerned look. "Hope... I will not announce this engagement if you will not be happy being with me." He said, placing both of his hands on her shoulders. I breathed in before looking up at his face.
"This marriage is not one out of love, the ton will notice once I haven't produced any children. They will grow suspicious... and what if you fall in love with another woman? This marriage would be an open opportunity for scandal." I explained this marriage would simply never work if we were marrying for convenience, people would start to notice it was a fake.
"Hope..." Benedict smiled softly before cupping my cheeks. "The love I already bear for you is one no one would question."
I sighed, looking down at my slippered feet. "The love of a friend is not enough..." I said, chewing the inside of my cheek nervously before back up at Benedict, who seemed to want to say something but it was stuck at the tip of his tongue. He took a step towards me before placing on longing kiss on my forehead. "Trust me." He said, whispering against my temple.
He took my hand and clasped it tightly before we began walking down a flight of stairs. I watched as he held onto me as we walked down, I wondered if he had thought about it as long as I did. He could be my key to complete freedom, he could be my key to happiness.
We walked into a large hallway and could see the Queen talking with Brimsley. She seemed on edge as she paced back and forth. "Your Majesty," Benedict said, projecting his voice making it echo off the walls. She stopped and turned to look over at us, seeing that we were walking up to her hand in hand.
"I have come to ask you formally... for your daughter's hand." He said, we stopped walking and stood right in front of her and he raised our hands, presenting the ruby ring on my finger. She appeared puzzled, looking at the ruby with a quizzical expression. "A princess cannot marry below her station." She said sharply. I looked directly at her, so she knew I was her daughter at least.
"It has not been unheard of," I said, watching as her eyes looked up at me. She studied my face for a moment before looking back over at Benedict. "You have yet to be courted. Do you at least love her?" She asked, taking half a step forward. Benedict gulped slightly before hesitantly nodding his head.
"I would have not asked for her hand if I did not love her. She deserves happiness, and in my 5 years of knowing Hope I believe to be the only person she has truly been happy with. She will not only be my best friend if we marry but also my wife. It would be an honor to live out my days in servitude to her." He said the Queen looked almost stunned by his words. I looked over at him, he looked to be telling the truth. Because there was no need to lie.
"Well... right now you are the best option for her..." She said with a raised eyebrow, she looked back over at him. I could feel her eyes upon me. "It overjoys me that you support the engagement, Your Majesty." He said, bowing deeply. He looked back over at me with a soft smile, making my heart move.
"May I talk with my daughter in private, Mr. Bridgerton?" She said, making our eyes flicker up to look at her. Benedict nodded his head before glancing over at me, I breathed in sharply. Nervously. "Come find me later." He whispered to me before he let go of my hand, which felt empty and cold without him there. He walked out of the hallway and I looked over at the Queen.
A feeling of betrayal settled in my bones like a disease. "So why is it did you left me with that man? Hm? Was I not perfect enough for you?" I asked, turning my nose up slightly to hide tears that rested in the corners of my already reddened eyes. She shook her head and took another step towards me. "Nonsense. He would not let me take you with me. He said he would ruin me and spread gossip about my... past relations. We were only children when we had you and your sisters. And then the King sought out a wife... and I was his top choice."
"And I had to do what was necessary."
"Leaving your child with an abusive selfish man was necessary?! You could have at least fought for me while you were the Queen!" I shouted angrily. "Your father had already had you hidden from me. I tried, Hope... I tried for you." The Queen said genuinely, meanwhile, the anger that bubbled in my stomach only grew.
"So what now? I ride off to Buckingham Palace with you and Benedict and live a happy life being a princess?" I said I watched the Queen scoff with a slight smile. "I do not see what reason as to why you should not."
My heart shattered, and my head shook before took a couple of steps back away from the Queen. "You do not know me at all..." I said before turning on my heel and beginning to walk out of the hallway. I heard my name being called. "Hope...!" She shouted.
"I am sorry!" She yelled, making my feet stop abruptly. That was all I wanted to hear from her, from all of them. I turned around to see the Queen seven feet from me, nervously twisting around the rings on her fingers. "I was selfish. I am no better than your father." She said, looking down at her slippered feet. A single tear fell down my cheek, the woman looked at me once more before walking up to me. And she squeezed me into a hug tightly.
"I am deeply sorry. Truly." She said to me, my hands stayed on the side of my body. She pulled away from me before smiling softly, I hated that I saw myself in her. I hated that we were so similar.
I hated that I was my mother's daughter.
"I need to talk with my sisters," I said, turning on my heel and walking out of the hallway. I could see Benedict leaning against a side table with a glass of whiskey in his hand. Once he saw me he downed the liquid and placed the glass cup down. "How was it?" He said as we began walking side by side. "She apologized." I summarized the conversation.
"Well that is wonderful news... is it not?" He said, watching my quizzical expression. We went back up the flight of stairs. "I cannot forgive her just yet," I said, once we reached the top of the stairs we turned a corner. "Why not?" He asked, crossing his arms.
"Because she left me with that monster of a father for 16 years, meanwhile my sisters were dazzled with jewels and silver spoons. She was the Queen, despite the scandal that might have ensued why didn't she fight for me? She's the fucking Queen of England!" I said, anger bubbles and frothed in my body as we approached the sanctuary doors which were already opened revealing Hope's sisters standing there, muttering to each other.
"Katherine, Sabrina," I announced my presence and their eyes snapped over to look at me. Looking like an exact replica of mother, it was damning. "I talked with Mother, and the decision of the two of you returning to Buckingham Palace has been discussed." I lied, not one of us had any real power since we were considered bastards. We were not technically princesses... but today... at least I was.
"Me and Benedict came to an agreement not shortly after the ceremony. We will marry. It will be a marriage of convenience, given that we've known each other for so long and I am due for marriage. I will be crowned as a princess by the Queen and legitimized, making me second in line to the throne. However... for your transgressions, the two of you shall be pushed down the line of succession. And since mother already has 12 true-born children then you shall be last to to inherit the throne. Making me first."
"Be lucky, that is all you two will suffer with for your lust of the Bridgerton finances." I finished, watching their shocked expression. I was not there to make amends, I was there to plant myself in a secure position. And if that position was being the Queen of England.
Then so be it.
I turned on my foot and left them without another word. Benedict watched as I passed by him with a smile before he followed just behind me.
It was about time I took control of my own future.