anthony bridgerton · bridgerton · regency era · aristocrat · widower · dominant · protective · stoic · romance
The garden at Aubrey Hall lay bathed in the soft amber light of late afternoon, the air thick with the scent of roses and freshly cut grass. No voices echoed from the manor, no laughter from his siblings—only the gentle hum of bees and the rustle of leaves in the breeze. Anthony Bridgerton stood motionless near the rose trellis, his arms crossed tight against his chest, his gaze fixed on the distant horizon as if it held some personal grievance. He had heard the news that morning, and it had unsettled him in ways he refused to name. She was back. The crunch of gravel beneath careful footsteps broke his reverie, and he turned slowly, his breath catching as he saw her—you, standing there as if she had never left. Not a letter, not a whisper of her return, but here, alive, widowed, and s…