Debutante || A Bridgerton Girl

Five

The Bridgerton girls thought the theater elegant. Not that Emmeline truly knew about many of them because she had not been to many. She knew something else though, she looked stunning. Her hair was amazing and she was drapped in her best silks. Emmeline could be a Countess in a second, all Earl Grant would have to do it say the words: Will you marry me? She didn't love him, but that didn't matter. Older women always reinforced the idea of power and money over love in relationships, and Emmeline was beginning to agree. Although she didn't limit herself, she might still find someone else she truly loves. It's just her heart wasn't in need of love like her siblings were.

As Mama, Daphne, and Emmeline walked in. She saw Berbrooke making eyes at her sister. Which Daphne promptly ignored because she did not want to give any wrong ideas or slight the man.

"Our box, Mama?" Daph asked.

"Mhm." She nodded ledding them up to a seat.

A voice called out interrupting their journey to the seats. "Lady Bridgerton!" Lady Danbury called out. Notably, she was in the next to the queen. "Do join us."

Instead of their seats, their mother lead them to the large posse. All three of them bowed low to her royal highness.

"Your Majesty, good evening." Lady Bridgerton said, "You must remember my daughters, Daphne and Emmeline."

"Yes, they made quite an impression..." Queen Charlotte said. "However fleeting it might have been." She laughed to the man next to her.

Lady Danbury stept out in front of them with her cane in her hand. "I would like to offer you join me in my box this evening." Before their Mother could say a word she said, "I insist."

They followed her up to the seat which faced opposite to the Queen. The music played joyfully as everyone in the audience listened, however, Emmeline couldn't keep her ears out of the gossip Lady Danbury and her mama shared. She wasn't sure that they knew she was listening, however.

"They are saying her husband will not live till the end of the month." Lady Danburt stated looking over to the Queen.

"Surely another rumor provided by that vicious, scandal-mongering writer. Should her degradation know no bounds?" Lady Bridgerton voiced.

"She writes about my family too. Yet, I suppose the duke can withstand such scrutiny, since he is, after all, a man." She told. It was true, he was a man. And like many other men of nobility he might be as self serving as them.

"His Grace was fortunate to have you there with him as a child. After what happened to his mother. Awful!" Emmeline heard her mother say this, yet she didn't know what it meant. Furthermore, she only knew about the Duke from Lady Whistledown and what she saw of him at the ball.

"He is not what Whistledown writes." Danbury stated.

"Nor is Daphne."

"I see the two of them have that much in common then. Matches have certainly made with far less."

Lady Bridgerton's head whipped around to look at Lady Danbury with slight shock. "What are you suggesting?"

"Lady Whistledown merely writes what she sees. Perhaps we need to help her see things more clearly." Lady Danbury whispered.

Emmeline couldn't hear any more of the conversation, but she had a thousand guesses of what that meant. Her head couldn't stop turning. Eventually, her head went back to the perpetual thought of how her mother prioritized Daphne. Why? What did she do to deserve that? Maybe she was over exaggerating, but on the inside it felt horrible. Maybe she had a jealous side that had began to blossom.