Baby, I'm yours - Benedict Bridgerton

Frogs and peas

"Did you hear her? Flawless, mama!" Daphne, the next day, is still reeling off the words the queen uttered to her. She flows around the dining room as though she is on a cloud, so happy with this feedback that nothing could ever be wrong again. "Flawless, oh is that not just the most wonderful-"

Eloise now rushes in to interrupt her, with a sheet of paper clutched close to her chest. The way she enters so dramatically means that everyone instantly turns to look at her and expects her to say something. "Should you like to hear of what lady whistledown writes?"

"Lady whistledown?" Daphne tilts her head and extends her hand, Eloise placing the paper into it. "Do we know a lady whistledown?"

"It will surely be an alias." I look at the scandal sheet. I have heard all about them but never read one myself before. I did hope it did not include anything of myself, I would find that wholly embarrassing. I skip through, reading of Daphne being named the season's incomparable, until I see my own name.

"Matilda look, she writes of you as well." Daphne informs me, and then straightens the paper so she might read it out loud to me. "Matilda Dawson, a newcomer on the London social scene, may bring us a fresh new perspective but one can only hope she brings us new scandal and intrigue." Daphne raises her eyebrows, handing it to me so I can read it again myself.

"What an interesting thing to say." Violet pauses, before she rolls her eyes slightly. "Nevermind, girls. We have the Danbury ball tonight and we must prepare you. Daphne, you shall bathe first, Matilda I shall call you when it is your turn. I apologise, since we only have one bathtub in this house."

"And at home, I wash myself with a bucket and a sponge, Lady Bridgerton. A single bathtub is a luxury to me." I smile and she smiles back at me, and so I excuse myself from the room and wander down the stairs. I do not mind who I shall bump into, but I am sure it is no surprise if I share that I am hoping it shall be Benedict. I suppose he might not even be wandering around the house either way, I am sure he has other hobbies like his painting that mean he does not mope around all day.

I continue to walk around, the house eerily quiet. Then, I see a door slightly ajar and hear a scribbling inside, so assuming that it shall be Benedict, I enter. I am disappointed as I come face to face with Anthony. "Oh!"

"Matilda. Any particular reason you have decided to disrupt me in my study?" Anthony meets me instantly with a scowl, before I even have chance to say anything. "Or did you just think you would come to irritate me for no particular reason?"

"I am more than happy to irritate you if you should like me to. But you are not the brother I was looking for. Is, uh, is benedict around?" I ask him, trying to be as subtle as possible that I want to see his brother.

He just raises a judgemental eyebrow at me, but he does not let that take away from the clear annoyance in his face. He puts his pen down and leans back against his chair, crossing his arms against his chest. "Is there something going on between the pair of you?"

"A friendship, perhaps. Or is your brother not allowed to have a friendship?" I keep my calm so that Anthony shall not suspect that I am completely and utterly as enamoured with Benedict as when we were children. I am sure Benedict only acts like this around me because he is generally a rascal, and he most likely flirts with all the ladies like this, but that did not mean I was not allowed to have a harmless crush on him, did it?

"If it is like when we were children then I should do well to forbid you from spending any time together, since your very favourite hobby was putting twigs in my pillow or peas up my nostrils."

I snort at the thought of this, shaking my head to compose myself as I look at Anthony again, who now gives me real evil eyes. "No, nothing of the kind, Anthony. We are adults now, adults do not do things such as that."

"They most certainly do when those adults are Benedict." He huffs, shaking his head. "If I proceed to find a single pea in my bed or nostrils, I shall be telling mother she is to send you right back to wherever it was you came from. Do you hear me, Matilda?"

"Aye, aye." I watch him. "Now do you know where Benedict is or have I endured this conversation for absolutely no reason?"

"He was in the dining room, last I saw him. Drawing or painting or whatever it is he wastes his time doing whilst the rest of us are working-"

"Okay, thanks Anthony." I spin on my heel and head towards the dining room.