Unexpected romance / Benedict&Anthony

Efforts to find a husband

I had always found the rules of our society extremely unfair. That simply, if you were not the first born son of a rich and powerful man then you should receive nothing, and that was acceptable and that was all. I was lucky enough to have a father who was not poor, and who owned an estate and land and the title of a duke, but I was the second born and I was female, and so it did not benefit me all that much. My older brother would receive all of it.

I had never seen much of my older brother. Our father sent him away when he was extremely young, when his mother died. That is when he found my own mother and tried for another boy. Alas, he only ended up with a girl and another wife who did not survive childbirth. I knew that he despised me as such for not being a male and I often found it difficult to bite my tongue as to not remind him that I most certainly did not choose whether I was to be male or female. If I did have such a choice, I would certainly have chosen male. Then, I would have a chance to actually inherit something of worth.

Now that father is dead, my brother is to return home so that he may sort out all of our affairs. I shall meet him, and I shall see him for the first time since we were children. I am not nervous, I do not get nervous, but I am certainly not excited either. All I have heard of my brother in ten years is that he is a notorious rake and if there is one thing I do not like, it is a rake. It is a short carriage ride to our organised rendezvous point, Lady Danbury's home, and I am somehow not surprised to find I am the first one of us to arrive. I stay inside my carriage for a few moments before he arrives, and steps from his own. He looks exactly like our father, it is actually rather unsettling how much he does in fact look like our father. He is handsome, but he is stern looking and from the looks of him, I am sure that he will be far too serious and far too boring. "Sister."

"Brother. It is wonderful to see you, I am sure." I extend my hand out to him, so that he may either shake it or kiss the back of my glove, and he does the former. "It has been quite a period of time since I have seen you last."

"Yes, it has." His answer is plain and I can tell that he does not wish to speak with me. I suppose I cannot expect much different, it is not as though we really know each other. "Is Lady Danbury here?"

"It is her home and so I am sure she shall be inside, yes. Although you do recall that she is hosting a ball tonight, and so she may be busy." I decide I shall be just as blunt as he is, walking towards the house. It is grand, not as grand as Clyvedon or some of the other homes I have been so lucky to see, but grand nonetheless. There are many of her servants and help walking through with large trays of sweets or flowers in vases, or other decorative items. Today is when all the young ladies of the ton debut, and Lady Danbury's ball is invitation only. It is a highly sought after invitation, and I am lucky to have been invited. "There she is. She has been rather looking forward to your arrival."

"I am sure." He speeds his walk so that he can interact with her instead of with me. He embraces her in a hug, a subtle smile on his face. He did not hug me, merely shook my hand. But I suppose we did not know each other, he has a much closer relationship with Lady Danbury. I was not jealous, of course I was not, I do not get jealous.

But, I sigh a little. I hoped he may be kinder but if he is anything like our father then I should have known it would not be as such. Rather than continue to hang around where I am clearly not wanted, I make my way upstairs so that I might prepare for the ball tonight. Lady Danbury has been kind enough to allow me to keep my dress here so that I may ready myself straight from meeting my brother, and so I don my dress and fix my hair and my rouge before I find it is time to attend the ball.

I have not attended many before. I have never really been of the right age, I suppose. I did not exactly know what the protocol was, or what I should or should not do or who I shall speak to, since the only people I know are Lady Danbury and a brother who wishes to ignore me and avoid me at all costs. So I take a small and delicate champagne flute, hanging around the drinks table. After a few moments, a young and extremely beautiful woman stands by the side of me. She is in an exquisite light blue dress, and every part of her is absolute perfection. She offers me a sweet smile, and I return the favour, and that is when she decides she shall speak to me. "I am sorry, I cannot place you. Do you mind ever so much reminding me who you are?"

"Oh, I am Delilah Basset. I am afraid I do not know who you are either, I do not think we have ever met before."

"I am Daphne Bridgerton. I must say, your gown is just splendid. I am in awe of these little flowers, they look so intricate." She takes a gentle and poised sip from her glass.

"As is yours. I am truly enamoured with the colour. It suits your complexion fantastically. It is a shame that the ball itself is not as wonderful as us, do you not think?"

She laughs, making a slightly unbecoming snorting sound, nodding to show that she agrees. "Oh, I did not wish to say it but... this is my very first ball and I feel already as though I shall not be so upset if I never attend a ball again." Her hand covers her mouth as she attempts to not snort once more.

"I relate to that-"

"Daphne! You are not supposed to be fraternising with ladies, you said you shall only be a moment. Hanging around the drinks table with whoever this is shall not make our efforts to find you a husband very successful, shall they?" A man approaches her. He is tall, and he is handsome, with the same stern look that my brother has, however. Perhaps that is simply all the rage in London currently, to look as though you are constantly irritated and irate. His hair is dark with curls, and I have never been a witness to such extreme sideburns before. That is another fashion I do not understand. He glances at me, his eyebrows furrowing as he does.

"Please do excuse my brother. Anthony, this is-"

"I am Lady Delilah Basset." I extend my hand to him so that he must kiss it and he does so, although reluctantly. "I do apologise for keeping your sister for all of a mere thirty seconds. I am quite sure that I have ruined any chance she has of finding a husband with my half a minute conversation."

Daphne just stands there, her eyes widening a little as she takes another drink from her glass, but she smiles as though this is an entertaining interaction for her, as though she cannot wait to see his reaction. He pauses for a moment, before letting a short breath of air from his nose to express that he disapproves. "Lady Delilah? I have never heard of you."

"Well that is quite heartbreaking for you, truly. I am Lady of Hastings. My father is the duke. Was the duke. My brother is now the duke." I raise an eyebrow as I glance around the ballroom for my older brother. I cannot spot him, I suppose he is hiding someplace in a corner as to avoid all human interaction. If I was as rude as him, I would also avoid it. "And who are you, sorry?"

"I am Viscount Anthony Bridgerton."

💗Author's note💗

Hi everyone! I know you might be thinking: but this said it was a Benedict fic? What??

I promise, Benedict will get his moments to shine, do not worry!

All my love,

Ruby x