"What of our families? What will they think?"
"Let us not live for them, let us live for us and our eternal love."
A century-long feud and a forbidden romance.
In which a Sutherland falls
for a Bridgerton, and despite
the cutthroat rivalry between...
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THE MORNING OF THE BLACKWOOD BALL, Maisie sat by the fireplace in her room. She was finishing the final pages of the travel memoir that both Maude and Maxwell had snatched from her grasp on different occasions. Overall, Maisie was not particularly fond of the piece. She had difficulty envisioning the scenes due to the poor narrative and lack of lively descriptors. It was bland. Lifeless. The author simply wrote what he saw, never delving into the other senses, nor how these sights made him feel on the inside. She couldn't help but compare the work to Colin's verbal descriptions. He had done a much better job, for his descriptions were natural and chromatic.
They were full of life.
The sound of three quaint thuds against the wall shared with Colin caught her immediate attention. Discarding the book to the table before her with a great deal of haste, she pushed herself up from the upholstered chair. She had only taken three steps when a fluttering movement caught her eye. A folded piece of paper, no larger than two inches long and high, tumbled from behind the painting of a meadow, the one concealing the crack in the wall. It fell to the ground with a near-silent thump. At the sight, Maisie's steps quickened, her bare feet pattering against the wooden flooring and the skirt of her morning dress billowed.
Once she reached the painting, she kneeled and picked up the note. Maisie unfolded the paper with a careful touch, allowing her gaze to meet Colin's familiar penmanship. In the lack of majuscule letters and the slant of his cursive, a thrilling message rested. Maisie chewed on her cheek, suppressing the large grin threatening to reign over her facial features. If only she could decrease the rapid beating of her heart in her chest as well. However, she was well aware that was impossible. If only Colin knew what his actions did to her.
'meet me in the library at midnight'
. . .
"Montague, what time is it?" Maisie asked for the tenth time that evening. At first, her inquiry regarding the time was well spread out. As the hours trickled by and the moon inched towards its peak in the night sky, she asked far more frequently. She refused to miss her meeting with Colin. It was, simply put, the only thought on her mind all evening.
"Again?" Her eldest brother released an exasperated sigh and raised a brow at her question. But, despite his reluctance, he pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time. "A quarter to midnight, precisely ten minutes after the last time you asked and ten minutes before you will no doubt ask again."
Maisie nodded and suppressed her smile growing from excitement. She had fifteen minutes before she ought to meet Colin in the library. The only issue in the matter would be slipping away from the watchful eyes of her family. That evening, her mother accompanied Maude and the pair were rather occupied as they made their rounds. Maisie did not worry about them as much as she worried about how she would manage to escape Montague. She couldn't merely leave to fetch herself a refreshment as her brother would wish for one as well, thus joining her to the table. Nor could she walk away from him without eliciting a string of inquisitive questions.
