Silent Longing | Bridgerton

12

Nathaniel Balfour was, to put it simply, a creature of beauty. With his smooth olive skin and silky jet black hair, it was a wonder Phoebe was still conscious at the sight. His loose white shirt was tucked into his black trousers but was unbuttoned enough to let the girl's mind wander briefly. He had riding boots on which might explain the reason the small group had not seen a visitor arrive at the Bridgerton house.

Yet as beautiful as he was to behold, his eyes were the warmest thing Phoebe had seen all day. A caramel colored desert that seemed to be sunny and 80 degrees inside. She would even be bold enough to say that they were the kindest eyes she had seen, including all of the Bridgertons'. Enviously long lashes adorned the caramel pools and made his whole demeanor that much more mysterious yet inviting.

This stranger had said not even one word to her and yet Phoebe could feel her stomach twisting into knots. Had she not known the Bridgertons since birth, she surely would have never been able to hold a proper conversation with any of them. This gentleman was on a completely different level than the Bridgerton men. He radiated confidence not arrogance, compassion not pity, selflessness not duty.

Phoebe was pulled out of her daydream rather abruptly by a tug of her elbow. Blinking a few times, she glanced up to see Benedict helping her to stand. He gave her a lopsided smirk then a slight nod towards the newcomer.

Her breath was once again taken away as he gave a charming smile, putting his dazzlingly white teeth on full display. She remembered her manners and politely curtseyed. Her mother would be positively fuming if she had seen how she was behaving around this clearly handsome potential suitor. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Balfour," she managed to say without becoming a complete embarrassment.

"Nonsense!" His kind laugh graced the foursome's ears. It was angelic. Phoebe could listen to him speak all day, babbling on about anything and everything. He held his hand out a bit in front of himself and nodded towards her. Thankfully her hand seemed to understand what he wanted before she did. It rose from her side and found itself in the warm embrace of his own large and slightly calloused one. He brought their hands to his lips, nearly causing her to swoon as he maintained eye contact and a slight smirk. The brush of his lips was enough to send her heart aflutter. "The pleasure is all mine."

Before Phoebe could embarrass herself, she nodded politely and withdrew her hand from his. Despite perpetually being in a glove, her hand was now on fire and she swore a hole would appear where his lips had touched. She attempted to keep her breathing under control but his eyes refused to look anywhere other than hers. It was shocking yet not uncomfortable as one might imagine. She would normally hate being the center of anyone's attention, yet this man had a hold on her.

Snapping her out of her daydream, Benedict shook the gentleman's hand and turned to his brother. "And where did you meet Mr. Balfour? One of your extensive travels, I presume?" He knew how his brother could be while traveling. Colin was careful to retain his good name while in and around the ton, but when abroad he could be very much like Anthony. Benedict was not a blind man. He could see Phoebe's breath catch in her throat at the sight of this handsome man and he was determined to keep this stranger in line when it came to his family and friends.

Colin swayed a bit as he shifted his weight to swing an arm up and around Nathaniel's shoulders. A lazy smile fell on his lips as he lightly furrowed his brows. "Yes, it was while I was traveling. I believe we met in Greece, however Nathaniel is from France." A few curls had escaped the top of Colin's head and were now bouncing freely in front of his eyes. The sight made Phoebe chuckle to which she quickly covered her mouth with her hand.

The noise caught Nathaniel's attention and again his honey eyes found hers. A brilliant smile graced his face once again. "Yes, we met at the beach and had a fun few nights with newly made friends." Benedict couldn't help but get a bad feeling about this new gentleman's intentions. He decided to speak with Colin once he had sobered up about how long this visitor planned to stay. Turning his attention to the unhappy Bridgerton, Nathaniel added, "Colin tells me that you yourself have had some fun nights as well."

Benedict could hardly contain his scoff. He felt the small woman to his left turn her body to face him and could tell her brows were raised. "That would be my brother, Anthony. I can assure you, no fun is ever had here." He shot a quick wink to Phoebe who felt her heart both relax and contract. Benedict was the sweetest man, surely he would never be caught partaking in any of Anthony's supposed fun outings. Yet Eloise had shared that she had caught Benedict sneaking into the house late at night on more than one occasion. She would have to speak with him about that privately at a later time.

"Ah, my apologies." Nathaniel removed Colin's heavy arm from his shoulders and gave him a swift pat. "Colin mentioned he had many siblings yet you are only the second one I have had the pleasure to meet." His smile once again flashed to Phoebe who did her best to forbid a blush from creeping onto her face.

Never had she had so much attention focused on her and her alone before. Yes she had faced Queen Charlotte before and had nearly the entire ton present, yet she was with her mother and Penelope. She had attended many balls, yet no one, with the exception of those with pity like the Bridgertons, had spared her a second glance. Why was this devilishly handsome man even giving her a second look? Her thoughts would likely have kept her busy the rest of the afternoon if Benedict had not extended his hand once again to her. Breaking eye contact with the honey eyes of Nathaniel, she found Benedict's dark chocolate ones staring at her intently.

"I am sorry. What was that?"

"Nathaniel has had the misfortune of meeting Eloise and will be making his rounds to meet the rest of the circus shortly." A teasing smirk flashed across his face as he closed his hand and offered his arm instead. "We should be getting you and Penelope home soon, your mother will start to worry."

An exasperated sigh escaped her lips as she carefully laced her arm through Benedict's. "When is my mother not worried?" Returning his small smile, she turned her attention back to the new visitor. "If you'll excuse us, Mr. Balfour." She gave a slight curtsy again, thankful to have a friend to hang onto for balance.

Nathaniel chuckled and it sounded like music to her ears. Catching her gaze, he shoved his hands in his pockets and let his long hair droop in front of his beautiful face as he cocked his head to the side. "I do hope to be seeing more of you, Miss Featherington, was it?"

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Hello readers!
First, I wanted to say thank you for sticking with this story! It's been a long year and I finally wrapped all my work up (at least until August).
Second, I want to thank you for your patience and let you know that I'll be posting at least one more chapter by Sunday evening.
Third, I love heading all your theories and comments. Please keep them coming!
I promise Phoebe and Anthony's story is not over, only beginning!