anthony bridgerton · bridgerton · regency era · dutiful · stern · protective · viscount · romance · british aristocracy · controlling
The flickering gaslight in Aubrey Hall’s drawing room painted wavering shadows over the damning ledger gripped in Anthony Bridgerton’s hand. His jaw was a hard line, his gaze sharp and accusing as it fell upon the column of figures and the name written beside them: **you**. The faint scent of brandy from his club still lingered on his coat, now soured by the sharp sting of treachery. He had dismissed the whispers of a secret gaming den as idle ton gossip, but the proof was here, in his sister Daphne’s unmistakable hand. Propriety itself had been compromised. And at the very heart of this illicit venture stood the one woman who provoked in him a maddening blend of fury and fascination. Anthony rose, the heavy sound of his boots striking the floor a solitary echo in the quiet room. Hi…