Oceans Apart ||Bridgerton|| (♡ Simon Basset)

i

Grosvenor square, 1813.

Dearest reader,the time has come to place our betsfor the upcoming social season.

Consider the household of the Baron Featherington.
Three misses foisted upon the marriage market
like sorrowful sows by there tasteless tactless mama.

Far better odds might exist in the household of
the widowed Viscountess Bridgerton.
A shockingly prolific family,
noted for its bounty of perfectly handsome sons
and perfectly beautiful daughters.
How very perfect, indeed!

Today is a most important day,
and for some a terrifying one,
for today is the day London's marriage-minded misses
are presented to Her Majesty the Queen.
May God have mercy on their souls.

But as we know, the brighter a lady shines,
the faster she may burn.
It is only the queen's eye that matters today.
A glimmer of displeasure and a young lady's value
plummets to unthinkable depths.

......
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WIND rushes along my cheeks while my horse gallops through the field. "Faster Cynthia, or we will be really late." I whisper into her ear and she gallops faster. When we arrive at the house the stable boy is already standing outside. I halt in front of him and jump off the horse. The stable boy grabs the reigns and I start to run inside. "Thank you. Give her something extra, she deserves it." I yell and run inside. I enter through the front door and I am met with an empty hall. I close the door behind me and start to run towards the stairs. "You are late." someone says as I start running up the stairs. "I know Benedict." I say and continue running up the stairs. "Good luck." Benedict says. "Thanks, I am going to need it." I say as I turn right at the top of the stairs and run up another set.

I run towards my room and swing the door open. I walk towards the dressing room and there are standing two maids with a dress and a corset in their hands. I quickly walk toward them and let out a sigh. Relieved that a certain person isn't here. "Delia." a voice says and I stop dead in my tracks. I turn around on my heels and see her sitting on a chair against the wall. "Mother." I say. She looks at me with an angry face. "I know, I know. I am sorry I am late." I say as I look at the floor. "This is a very important day." she says. "I know-" I start. "I don't want to hear any more of it. We don't have much time left." she interrupts me. I nod and walk inside the bathroom with the maids.

When I walk out I am clean and I am wearing the dress. I look at myself in the mirror. "You look beautiful." mother says as she stands beside me. I am wearing a simple white dress that goes down all the way to the ground. The detailing on the dress is simple, there are a few beams on my chest and at the bottom of the dress along the edge, all the way around. Alice starts to put my hair up in a bun, which is a little bit tight for my liking. "I am going to check on your sister." mother says as she walks towards the door. "Don't forget your gloves." she says before exiting the room. When Alice is done doing my hair she hands me the white long-sleeve gloves and I put them on. I look at myself in the mirror again. I touch the gold neckless with a small solid heart on the chain which I got from my father. I wish he was here. "Thank you Alice." I say and Alice smiles at me.

I walk out of the room and down the stairs. Two of my brothers are already in the hall. They are sitting on a little bench, waiting for the rest to arrive. "Well, it looks like I am not the last one this time." I say as I step down the last step of the stairs. They get up from the little bench as soon as they hear my voice. They turn around to look at me. "Delia-" Colin starts as they walk towards me. I put my hand up to silence him. "Stop it." I say. "It is true you know." Benedict. "I can nearly breath in this corset." I say ignoring his comment. They let out a laugh. "I'm surprised mother got you to wear one." Colin says. I look at the ground. It is true I despise corsets. I really don't see the need to wear one. It isn't like it accents my figure that much. It just sinches it in a little. "I am doing this for her." I say as I look back up at them. "She has been waiting for this day for quite some time. I don't want to ruin that for her." I say. "We get it." Benedict says. I give him a small smile and look around the empty hall. "So where is our dearest Lord Bridgerton?" I ask. They both raise their eyebrows and give me a knowing look. "Right." I say knowing what he is doing and with who.