OF SUITORS & SCANDAL || ANTHONY BRIDGERTON

four - an eventful evening.

chapter four.

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It was a beautiful day in London, which – of course – meant much of the ton decided to spend much of their day promenading. Amelia was not one to promenade herself, but that did not stop her mother from forcing her to go anyway.

"I swear...she will not stop until she sees me married right this second. Or until I am dead," Amelia grumbled to herself, allowing her personal maid Anna to assist her with her gown. Anna let out a small snort, tightening the gown while she did so.

"Now, mistress, do not say such a thing! Your mama does not wish to see you dead. She wishes only to see you secure a husband by the end of the season."

"Yes, well, I may as well be dead if that is to be the case," Amelia said, sighing at the thought of marriage.

The idea of marriage was not entirely terrible to Amelia. It was only the fact that she had never witnessed many individuals marry for love. Her parents got along just fine, but if anyone were to ask her – she was not entirely convinced they loved each other in any romantic form. Best friends perhaps, but not lovers. Amelia supposed she would be lucky to even end up marrying a friend.

A knock on Amelia's door pulled her out of her thoughts. "Yes, come in, we are finishing up in here," Amelia stated as Anna finished putting up her hair. "Thank you as always Anna," Amelia said with a soft smile and a nod before shifting her attention to the door. Samuel popped his head in the doorway, his eyes lighting up at seeing his sister dressed up nicely.

"Well, mother will surely have a delightful surprise once she sees you today. Are you ready to go?" Samuel said, a playful smile upon his face.

"I suppose we can go now. I would like to get this over with," Amelia said, exiting her room and accompanying her brother as they head for the front doors. While Samuel started talking about simple small talk topics such as the weather and what rumors were spreading that day, Amelia's mind wandered elsewhere. She was not one to linger on balls as she had been to so many in her lifetime, but the ball from the other night was certainly unlike any previous ball she had attended. Specifically, the feeling she got upon her interaction with a certain Bridgerton. Though, Amelia couldn't exactly pinpoint exactly what she was feeling – which certainly scared the girl.

"Amelia? Did you listen to anything I just stated?" Samuel spoke loudly, proceeding to snap his fingers in front of his sister's eyes for good measure.

Amelia jumped at her brother's raised voice, quickly pushing her previous thought out of her mind. "I....did not. I apologize brother. Please do continue," she mumbled, her face growing nearly as red as her hair. Samuel simply snorted and shook his head, "I will not even ask what you were thinking of."

Which Amelia was quite thankful for.

---

Another ball, which meant another night in which Amelia and Samuel begrudgingly dealt with their mother insisting they find their match.

"Well brother, I assume it will be another night of making our presence known before leaving early?" Amelia said, walking into the ballroom with her arm wrapped around her brother's.

Samuel snorted at his sister's remark, "You know, it would not kill you to have a good time for once, my dear hermit sister." Samuel and Amelia both walked around the ballroom, nodding at the guests that make eye contact with the siblings.

"Oh, on the contrary brother, I think it might indeed kill me," Amelia said, a smirk upon her lips. She let go of his arm, then nodded at him before walking off to fetch herself a refreshment. She watched as Samuel quickly made his way to a group of his friends, though he still made sure to keep an eye on his sister as always.

"Well Lady Danbury, here we are. Now that you have your refreshment, may I be off?" Amelia quickly turned around at the voice of Anthony Bridgerton speaking behind her at the other end of the table. This, of course, caught the all-seeing eye of Lady Danbury herself.

"Of course you may be off, Lord Bridgerton. Though, before you go, I must make sure you accompany Miss Everdale? Come here, my dear. It is no fun to be standing alone at an event such as this," Lady Danbury spoke, reaching her hand out towards Amelia. Amelia, being mid-drink when Lady Danbury turned to her, nearly choked on her drink once spoken to. Anthony, noticing this, could not help but smile – a ghost of a laugh upon his lips.

"I. Uh – yes? Lady Danbury?" Amelia walked towards the two, her one free hand grabbing Lady Danbury's outstretched hand. "My dear, you are always so quick to leave these balls. I thought Lord Bridgerton here may be kind enough to allow himself to dance with you just once before you leave?"

Amelia's eye widened at Lady Danbury's suggestion. She now understands why many turn the other way once Lady Danbury enters the room. A weary smile formed upon Amelia's face, "Well, of course. Only if his lordship wishes to do so?"

Anthony's eyes darted between the two women standing in front of him. With a deep breath in, he forced a smile upon his face. "Well, how could I say no," he stated, shooting a glare at Lady Danbury. He held out his hand to Amelia, bowing while doing so. Not entirely thrilled about the situation, Amelia hesitated to move her hand from Lady Danbury's, until Lady Danbury herself moved Amelia's hand to Anthony's for her before leaving the two with a smirk upon her face.

As Anthony moved Amelia to the dance floor, he spoke lowly towards her ear so only she could hear their conversation, "I apologize that you were dragged into this tonight."

"Well, it is not like I can admit to doing much else this evening. I am not one to truly enjoy the presence of others at balls," Amelia said, her strained smile from earlier forming a more natural one. Anthony, slowly becoming more relaxed himself, pulled Amelia along throughout the steps of the dance. The two moved as one in comfortable silence, something that both of them were thankful for. Amelia kept her eyes glued to anywhere but Anthony's eyes. Hair, cheeks, shoulders, nose. Though, Anthony was the opposite. His eyes were glued to Amelia's own green eyes. He could easily tell that her eyes were darting around anywhere but his own, causing a slight blow to his ego, but nonetheless understood that she may just simply be uncomfortable in this situation.

Amelia cleared her throat before speaking, "I couldn't help but notice Daphne still seemed rather upset at you. While it is none of my business, I am asking as a concerned friend of hers – is everything alright?" Her eyes darted up to his once she finished speaking.

Amelia immediately noticed that his previously relaxed stature shifted into a rigid one. "Daphne will be fine. She is to be married to Lord Berbrooke. She just simply needs to accept this fact."

Amelia's brows immediately furrowed upon hearing this. While the two were talking lowly, only for each other to hear, this new revelation caused her voice to grow much louder. "She what?" Amelia's feet immediately stopped moving, causing those dancing around her to stumble and stare in annoyance. She immediately dropped her hands from Anthony in shock.

Anthony, eyes wide, glanced around the two of them. "Amelia, whatever are you doing?" He whispered, nearly hissing to Amelia. "I am hearing things, surely! Because I believe I just heard that you gave away Daphne's hand to that oaf Berbrooke!" Amelia hissed back to Anthony, making sure only he could hear the appalling news.

"Miss Everdale, I do believe you have overstepped your place. This is my family affairs, not your own," Anthony took a step towards her, placing his arm upon her shoulder to attempt to drag her away from the middle of the dance floor.

Amelia, the spitfire she can be known for, simply shrugged his hand off her shoulder. "I may be overstepping, but I simply do not care. That is my closest friend, Anthony Bridgerton. I will not have you ruining her future while has no say in the matter! She has every right to choose her own suitor," Amelia said, taking a step closer to him, such as he did. The two were nearly face to face, and while no one else could hear what they were discussing, it was clear to anyone who gazed upon them that it was an argument between the two of them.

"Well, a strong opinion that might be – it is an unwanted one at that. She is my sister, Amelia. I am the one who will make that decision-"

"Oh, you are such an ignorant fool, Anthony Bridgerton! That is what you are!" Amelia shouted, loud enough for much of the people around them to clearly hear.

Anthony's eyes widened at that. He stood in silence, only staring into her own eyes. In them, he saw a passion and fury that was ready to fight for her dear friend. He gulped at this.

"I think it is time you go find someone else to dance with, Lord Bridgerton," Anthony heard, before his gaze upon Amelia's eyes was interrupted by a body sliding in between the two of them.

Anthony immediately took a few steps back, as he noticed Samuel Everdale glaring down at him. Samuel was clearly shielding his sister with his own body, and while Anthony certainly respected what Samuel was doing, he only wished the situation had not come to this.

"Yes, I....will be doing that," Anthony replied to the older Everdale sibling. His eyes shifted to Amelia, who was watching Anthony from behind her brother. A look of embarrassment and frustration was upon her face. Her eyes locked with Anthony's, before she quickly looked away, her brow furrowing even more at the situation. Anthony quickly took his leave after that, going to search for his sister.

Samuel made sure to glare at Anthony each step he took away from his sister. Once Anthony was far away from the pair, Samuel quickly ushered his sister away from the dance floor, dragging her outside the building. His usual humorous demeanor was nowhere in sight. He placed both his hands gently upon his sister's shoulders, "Are you alright?"

Amelia scoffed at the question, trying her best to bottle up the storm of emotions she was currently feeling. "Other than making a complete fool of myself in front of the entire ton? Yes, I'm quite alright."

Samuel sighed, giving his sister's shoulders a comforting squeeze before dropping his hands. "Thankfully, I do not think many saw or heard what happened. Though, word may get around. Regardless, I believe you will be just fine."

"'Fine'. Yes, we will see about that. Once mother hears about this, she will never let us go to a ball without her again," Amelia said, a hint of a small smile gracing her lips. Samuel laughed softly, nodding at his sister. "That very well may happen. Let us leave before anything else drastic happens then, shall we?"

As Amelia left the ball with her brother by her side, there were three things she was now aware of. One – that she was graced with the most supportive brother in the ton. Two – she was now even more confused about how she felt regarding Anthony Bridgerton. Three – she needed to urgently check in with her dear friend Daphne as soon as she could. And as she left the ball, replaying the previous argument in her head – Amelia couldn't help but think about how close that she and Anthony had stood near each other in the midst of the moment.