At the modiste, with Daphne and her mama, Carina hears Lady Cowper converse with Violet, "Cressida would never have a hope with the prince if any of your daughters went for him. We all know my darling might have the fortune, but it is your Carina and Daphne who have the face." She heard her say, and it clicked something in her.
She was right, Carina could have the Prince if she wanted. She could have any suitor she wanted. There is no use moping over her unrequited feelings for Simon.
Carina is a Lady, the eldest daughter of the noble House of Bridgerton, and it is about time she acted her part. She was raised to be a perfect wife to whomever she shall marry. This was her identity, this was who she shall be, and it is time she gave up on futile dreams and fantasies and faced her reality.
Marrying, into the best possible house, was her duty, as a woman and as the eldest daughter to her family. The time for freedom and education had long passed. She would fulfil her duty. She shall marry and she shall please her husband in any way he desires. And why couldn't she chose him from her many suitors?
Even though she would not be marrying her husband for love, she would learn to grow fond of him, if not love him. She could have anything she wanted from material things to a loving husband and family. After all, everyone seemed to think that the Queen's 'Royal Jewel' was the best catch for any gentlemen.
It was time to put a stop to her madness and finally begin what she set out to do in the first place, before getting distracted by her feelings, finding herself an exceptional husband as her match would set the prospect of future matches for her siblings. Not to mention, she needs to at least be engaged, if not married, before Daphne gets engaged or it could cause scandal and ruin Daphne's match.
Arriving home, she instructed Lily to prepare her best dress and do her hair the most flattering way. Carina was on a mission tonight, and she was determined to achieve success.
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"Are you feeling all right, dearest?"
Standing on the balcony, out of sight of the people enjoying the ball down below, Carina stood, taking a deep breath to brace herself.
"Exceptionally." she answered back to her worried mama, who was quite concerned upon seeing Carina dress up in her best garments this evening.
Ascending the staircase alongside her younger sister, Carina could feel everyone's gazes on her, just like all the other events she had attended.
Only, this time rather than letting the attention sully her mood, she let it empower her. She stepped into the limelight rather than escaping it. Let everyone see exactly how much more alluring Carina Bridgerton could be if she wanted, if she stopped hiding.
Reaching the ballroom, the Prince suddenly appeared in front of her, "Miss Bridgerton, I simply must have your first dance."
Carina cringed inwardly. She had no intentions of courting a Prince, not now, not ever.
Yet as she witnessed the entire crowd wait for her reply with bated breaths, she realised 'no' was not an option right now. It never has been with the royals, and Carina was lucky she did not have to suffer consequences for rejecting the Prince's advances numerous times this season.
Looking to her right in search of Daphne as a last resort to escape, she found her younger sister linking arms with her Viscount and cursed her luck.
"It would be an honor, Your Highness." she smiled her best smile and joined him on the dance floor, catching Simon's eye on the way and immediately looking away. It hurt too much.
Could it be true?
The fallen Royal jewel even more precious and rare a stone than previously thought? For it now appears this treasure is set to join the likes of the queen's ever-so-cherished crown jewels themselves.
As the Prince twirled Carina, she caught Simon's retreating figure mid turn and stopped. She stood there frozen, as people continued to dance all around her, and she felt her heart freezing up too. The same wall around her heart that had melted with Simon Basset's arrival had now built up again, stronger than ever with his departure.
She could hear the Prince calling her name but it was all muffled as she stood there, mourning for the loss of someone she never even had, realising that was last time they would be in a room together.
The Duke of Hastings, I hear, was left looking rather tongue-tied last night, as Miss Bridgerton seems to have finally grown tired of waiting for him to pose that all-important question. Or, perhaps, the young miss has simply traded up.
Surprising? Quite.
Unreasonable? Of course not.
After all, why settle for a duke when one can have a prince?
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"Carina! You would not believe what happened at the court today!" Carina was reading a book, seated at her favourite armchair in her family's living room with the rest of her siblings, when Daphne and her mama barged in after returning from the Court, where they were invited by the Prince.
"The Prince was so upset by your absence that he brought a gift for you. He said he was hoping to see you soon!" Daphne exclaimed with glee as she set a wooden box in Carina's lap.
With a sigh, Carina closed her book and while opening the box, said "And here I thought rejecting his invitation would make my intentions clear." Finding a beautiful necklace inside, she gasped and scolded her mama "This is too much! I cannot accept it. Mama, you should have said something, and certainly not accepted it!"
Anthony chuckled at her expense with Colin as Carina glared at them and Benedict tried to pretend he was not eavesdropping, while Eloise had been fully immersed in reading, up until now it seemed.
In a town filled with ambitious mamas and fortune-hunting gentlemen, marrying above one's station is an art form, indeed. But Miss Carina Bridgerton's advance from future duchess to possible princess is an achievement that even this jaded author must applaud.
"Is it true? Am I to be the sister of a princess?" Hyacinth came running in from the other end of the room where she was playing with Gregory to where Carina and all the elder siblings were seated.
"Calm yourself. I am not yet engaged to the prince. And never will be if I can help it." she replied.
"Will you have to wear a crown?" Gregory asked next, having followed Hyacinth.
"Perhaps for special occasions," Daphne said.
"but only if I should marry the prince, which I shall not." Carina interjected.
"Will you have to learn Prussian?" Hyacinth questioned yet again,
"It is German." Eloise corrected her.
"And perhaps, but only if she should marry the prince." Colin said, and as Carina opened her mouth, Anthony, Benedict, Daphne, Eloise and Colin beat her to it as they said in synchronicity, "Which she shall not!" And then they giggled.
Giggled.
These idiots had the audacity to giggle.
"Will you have to move to a castle far, far away?" Hyacinth said again.
"Should you not be off somewhere with your governess?" Carina said, irritated by the situation she found herself in.
"I should. My governess has the very same questions as me!" Hyacinth said as their mama shooed her away to the awaiting governess.
Though this author cannot dismiss the Duke of Hastings quite so soon. He may have let the diamond slip through his fingers for now, but I shall wager he is not a man to ever hide from a fight.
Carina only looked at the necklace and sighed as her siblings laughed around her at her expense, Simon's face once again popping up in her thoughts. She wondered if he had yet departed. Or perhaps the ship will leave in the afternoon. She had no way of knowing. All she knew was, he would be leaving before the evening turned to nightfall.
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Author's note:
It was so funny I didn't realise this before but I had to explain some dynamics for Carina and Simon and I just forgot.
You would notice, or maybe not, but yeah basically that Carina refers to Simon with titles, aka, My lord, Your grace, etc. a lot more than Daphne ever did, or necessary. Like-its so over the top sometimes.
The reason I made Carina so "formal" here, is in fact exactly because Carina is NOT in fact formal at all. Confusing, i know, even I got confused for a second.
She does not care for formality, especially not with family and friends (yes, Simon included). But when we flashback to when they first met, we can see Carina think he was a gentleman at first and switch up gears later.
Simon had said something along the lines "Lol. You really expect me to believe you don't know who I am?" Seemingly all high and mighty, so she started referring to him with titles as sass, as a way to mock him, it's all sarcasm like 97% of the time.
Anyways.. enjoy the new knowledge of this as it makes you realise Carina was basically throwing shade every sentence (yes Simon knows, he loves it).