THE ORIGINAL BRIDGERTON FANFICTION
Aurora Grey, only daughter of Earl Grey and new closest friend to Daphne Bridgerton is an energetic and thoroughly intellectual girl from the North.
Much like the other ladies of the aristocracy, Aurora is dragged...
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It was now the morn of the debutante ball, and - much to Mrs. Bridgerton's despair - Anthony had still not become acquainted with the Lady Grey.
The house was frantic with the upcoming debut of Eloise and so the day flashed by in a whirlwind of corsets, ribbons and shouting.
And so, Anthony was now stood outside the illustrious golden doors of the palace's great hall, awaiting the declaration that would allow he and Eloise to enter.
For some bizarre reason his mother had decided that he ought to be Eloise's chaperone, a responsibility that he did not take lightly.
Eloise, who was on the verge of crying in what he assumed to be a mixture of anger and sadness, seemed to be in no mood for his chastisement of her unladylike manners and so, instead, he chose simply to comfort her with hugs and soft smiles as they awaited the call.
He was most surprised when a young girl, who could not possibly be older than nineteen, walked over to the two of them. She was donned in the traditional white gown, complete with gold adornments, however, Anthony thought her to be most elegant and refined in her tastes.
It therefore came as even more of a surprise to him when the woman - who he had never met before - embraced Eloise in a tight hug before whispering what seemed to be words of encouragement in her ears.
As the two broke their embrace Eloise drew in a deep breath and smiled at the woman before she moved off into the crowd of other debutantes.
After a moment the young Lord turned to his sister, confusion etched across his face.
"Who on earth was that woman?"
Eloise looked up at him I'm similar confusion before realisation dawned.
"Of course! You've never met Aurora before!"
"You mean to tell me that was the young Lady Grey?"
"Yes" Eloise smiled, "isn't she marvellous?"
Anthony tried desperately to respond to his sister but it seemed that words had temporarily escaped him. The fear that he had initially felt at making the mistake of falling in love had already begun to manifest itself deep within his gut and he knew, with some certainty, that is was a feeling that would only grow.
In truth Anthony did not remember much of the ball. Usually he had a keen eye but that evening his thoughts were entirely clouded by one woman and one woman alone.
He started to fear for his future, he had not even spoken to the woman and she was already at the forefront of all his thoughts.
'No.' He thought as he undressed for bed that evening, 'I must not think of her in such a manner. I will marry for reputation. Not love.'
And with that mantra replaying in his head, Anthony prepared himself for a night of dreams plagued by a strange, ethereal woman.
