The Other One // A Simon Basset x Original Bridgerton Sister Story

Chapter 3: The First Ball of the Season

Much like the Bridgertons, the rest of society was readying themselves for the upcoming social season, practically inhaling Whistledown's reports and attempting to keep informed of all the latest gossip so that each ambitious mama could navigate through the crowd most efficiently for her own goals and so that each young lady could know who their competition was. This was, after all, a giant game for the mamas to play, with their daughters as pawns, their daughters' futures as the prizes, and the bachelors around London as their game pieces. It was important to them all to know who they could play with and how exactly everyone was playing.

For the moment, however, every female in London – mamas and debutantes alike – remained uninformed of a certain player that would certainly change their games: the new Duke of Hastings. Lady Danbury, the host of that evening's ball, which was set to begin the new season, was the only one aware of his arrival. He claimed to her that he was only in town to handle his late father's business and get his affairs in order and did not have any plans of being in society while he was there.

Lady Danbury had been exquisitely kind to him for all of his life, and he was glad to see her, but he truly wanted to stay far away from that evening's ball.

However, when he voiced his regrets, she flat out denied them.

He settled on a quick appearance.

The season's opening ball at Danbury House is a most highly sought-after invitation, indeed, for every darling debutante from Park Lane to Regent Street will be on display. Titled, chaste, and innocent, this is what they have raised and trained for since birth. Tonight, we shall discover which young ladies might succeed at securing a match, thereby avoiding the dreadful, dismal condition known as "the spinster."

The ball was beautiful, and as the Bridgertons arrived, the girls knew that it was setting a wonderful tone for the season. Daphne looked around in awe, Eleanor took in the crowd, and Anthony assessed just how many of the men in the room were staring at his sisters. It was almost all of them.

Viscountess Bridgerton looked on, very pleased with her daughters, and after smiling around the room, allowed Anthony to lead Daphne and Eleanor forward. They could feel more eyes on them the longer they remained in the room. Eleanor watched as even bachelors who were currently dancing with other young ladies let their eyes linger on Daphne. As the Viscountess instructed Daphne to remain where she was and let men approach her, instead of the other way around, Eleanor fiddled at the dance card attached to her wrist. She wasn't as focused on finding a true love match as Daphne was, and so she could sense that she wasn't as truly stressed as her sister about how this night would play out, but Eleanor did at least want to be happy. She knew how society worked, and she knew how courtships and marriages were supposed to play out, but she couldn't help but hope that she'd at least find a man that she cared for. If she was to be courted throughout the season and then married for the rest of her life, she wanted to at least find some enjoyment with the man she was going to have a family with. She knew it didn't always work out like that, but this early in the season, Eleanor still wanted to try to find it.

As men approached Anthony to introduce themselves to Daphne and Eleanor, the night began to move just as Eleanor expected. Bachelor after bachelor approached the group, immediately spoke to Daphne rather than Eleanor, and then got shot down in one way or another by Anthony, who proceeded to list off the man's faults as the quickly-rejected bachelors walked away. In this regard, Anthony certainly took his role as head of the family seriously. He had always cared for his sisters, but as soon as Daphne became of age, Eleanor couldn't help but notice how much more protective Anthony had gotten. Having Daphne singled out by the Queen didn't help at all.

Eleanor only hoped that Anthony was as protective of her as well, but as it was, the men approaching were focused on Daphne and few efforts were made to speak to Eleanor instead. Anthony wasn't guarding Eleanor as much because, so far at least, he simply didn't have to be.