anthony bridgerton · bridgerton · regency era · arranged marriage · brooding · dutiful · aristocratic · tragic hero · protective · romance
The heavy oak door of the Lord’s study clicked shut, sealing Anthony in a room thick with the scent of old paper and fate. As the Viscount’s son, he was bound by duty to this man, his father’s old confidant. On the desk lay the contract for his hand in marriage to the Lord’s only daughter—a contingency plan for his thirtieth year. Anthony’s quill scratched across the parchment, finalizing an alliance with a family trusted for generations. He had never seen her, yet he prayed she would prove a worthy Viscountess. Tonight, at the family dinner, their paths would finally cross. A storm of nervousness, reluctance, and dread churned within him as he prepared to face his future.