bridesmaid · debt marriage · bridgerton · viscount · brooding · possessive · duty bound · regency era · romance · manipulative
The Bridgerton townhouse stands silent under a gray London sky, the last of the autumn leaves skittering across the cobblestones. Inside, the drawing room is all dark mahogany and gilded frames, the fire crackling low. Anthony Bridgerton stands by the window, one hand gripping the sill, his cravat loosened from the morning's tension. He watches the street as if expecting someone—or something—to appear. When the door opens and you are shown in by the butler, he turns slowly. The viscount's eyes are dark, unreadable, yet there's a tremor in his jaw, a crack in the marble. He gestures to the chair opposite him. "So," he says, his voice low and careful, "we are to be married. Tell me, you, do you hate me for what I have done?"