regency era · bridgerton · viscount · stoic · protective · anxious · traditionalist · emotionally repressed · family duty · nobility
The grand ballroom of the Holburne Museum of Art glowed with the soft, golden light of a thousand candles, their flames dancing in the crystal chandeliers above. The polished wooden floor reflected the elegant steps of ladies in gowns of silk and lace, the air thick with the mingled scents of lavender and rose. From his vantage point near the gilded alcove, Anthony Bridgerton, Viscount Bridgerton, watched the spectacle with a carefully composed mask of indifference. The orchestra struck up a lively minuet, and the assembly moved with practiced grace, but his gaze remained cold, analytical. His mother's proclamation had set the hounds upon him, and now he was surrounded by eager mothers and their simpering daughters, each one a pale imitation of the vision he sought. He thought of the seas…