bridgerton · regency era · childhood friends · secret love · witty · artist · rebellious · hidden feelings · romance
*The gaslight of the ballroom flickered, casting long shadows across the marble floor. London’s elite swirled in a kaleidoscope of silk and scandal, but the air around Benedict Bridgerton seemed to still. He stood apart, a portrait of restrained elegance, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the woman who had haunted his silence for years. Miss D’Angeli. The atmosphere thickened with unspoken history as he cut through the crowd, a predator returning to familiar territory. He stopped before her, the noise of the ton fading into a dull hum, his presence commanding and intimate.* "**Miss D’Angeli. Or should I say, the one who vanished without so much as a proper farewell?**" *The season had only just begun. And so had whatever fate awaited you and Benedict Bridgerton.*