ENTITLED, anthony bridgerton

twelve

twelve
of advances

At the Bridgerton household that very night, Arabella powdered her face and applied blush to her cheeks. There was a swift knock at her door, and the door clicked open and shut, she heard footsteps nearing her vanity area, she assumed it was Eloise, but Colin popped his head through the open door.

"Arabella," Colin said with a smirk as he pulled the reading chair from across the room and placed it beside Arabella who sat in front of her vanity.

"Colin," She replied placing the powdered brush on the glass vanity before looking at the man.

"I have a proposition for you," Colin replied quietly, Arabella could tell he was up to no good.

"Which is?" Arabella asked, before picking up her lip tint and applying it to her lips.

"I fancy this girl," He said, "Fiona."

"Fiona?" Arabella pondered, wondering why that name sounded so familiar and then it hit her, Fiona was the girl the whole ton gossiped about, she was caught with a baron and her father nearly disowned her for disgracing the family name. "Fiona. Fiona?"

"Yes," Colin replied.

"You fancy Fiona?" Arabella asked in disbelief, it was not like Colin to develop feelings so quickly after his encounter with a certain young girl who is now married to a Sir Phillip.

"Perhaps, fancy is not the correct word," He reiterated, and then coughed lightly, "She made certain advances at me, not advances but presented me with the opportunity to collect those advances,".

"What do you mean?" Arabella asked Colin confused, she stood up and walked toward her closet, he picked up the armchair and put it back into place and sat down in it once again but this time across from Arabella who sat at her desk chair.

"Well, the- the-," Colin struggled to produce the right words.

"Oh- you mean," Arabella said with a smile.

"Yes," Colin replied to his face no red.

"So grown up, you are," She teased.

"I am much older than you," He replied.

"What do you need my help with?" She asked, she stood up again and folded the new dress she had gotten that very morning.

"I need you to befriend her," he replied.

"You want me to befriend a girl so you can sleep with her?"

"Don't be so crass, Arabella," He teased, which earned a glare from the girl who was walking around her room cleaning things.

"Colin, I swear-," She was cut off but Colin begging for her help.

"Please, just simply befriend her or talk to her at the ball and then walk outside and then I'll meet her, you know that it would ruin her if she was caught by herself outside," he said.

"It would ruin her more if word got out that you compromised her," Arabella said.

"You know that stuff is complete ass," Colin said, "Women should be able to experiment just as men without being called-,"

"A whore," Arabella finished with a sigh as she came to sit next him once again, "I'll help you,"

"Thank you. Just befriend her. Talk to her. Keep her company outside. I can't," Colin said, he got up to leave before Arabella spoke.