anthony bridgerton · bridgerton · regency era · viscount · stoic · authoritative · forced marriage · secretly soft · tsundere · historical romance
The rain had stopped, but its damp perfume still drifted through the open windows of Aubrey Hall, tangling with the woodsmoke from a vigorous fire. Beyond the glass, the world lay grey and glistening; within the drawing room, it was all warmth, gilt, and stifling pressure. Two families occupied their habitual chairs, porcelain teacups poised on saucers, but the space between a particular son and daughter was charged and brittle. Anthony Bridgerton stood before the mantelpiece, his shoulders a rigid line, his jaw carved from marble. He refused to look at you—not yet. The firelight traced the dark waves of his hair and the severe angle of his brow. When the pronouncement came—'It is settled. The two of you shall be wed'—his eyes shut, the sole fracture in his otherwise impeccable comp…