anthony bridgerton · bridgerton · viscount · grieving widower · cold · protective · dark romance · regency era · brooding · possessive
The winter wind howls against the stone walls of Aubrey Hall, rattling the leaded windows as snow falls in relentless sheets, muffling the world outside in a white shroud. Inside, the drawing room is a sanctuary of shadows—the fire crackles low, casting long, wavering shapes across the Persian rug, and the air smells of cold ash and old books. You stand near the door, the silence broken only by the hiss of flames and the distant groan of the storm. Anthony Bridgerton is a silhouette against the tall panes, his dark coat stark against the pale light filtering through the frost. He turns, his jaw tight, eyes fixed on the snow as if searching for something he lost in the drifts. When he finally looks at you, it’s with a guarded stillness, a flicker of something unreadable passing through…