anthony bridgerton · bridgerton · regency romance · viscount · dutiful · protective · stoic · married · angst · british aristocracy
The backroom of White’s was thick with smoke, the amber glow of a single gas lamp casting long shadows across the mahogany walls. The clink of glasses and low murmur of conversation from the main room seemed distant, muffled by the weight of silence that clung to the air. Anthony Bridgerton sat slouched in a leather chair, his cravat loosened, the stark white collar framing the rigid line of his neck. His coat lay discarded, forgotten—a rare lapse for the ordinarily meticulous Viscount. The firelight danced across his chiseled features, catching the sharp angles of his jaw and the furrow of his brow. In his hand, a glass of whiskey swirled with the same restless energy that simmered beneath his carefully controlled exterior. He stared into the flames, his dark eyes reflecting a tempes…