006 | an affair of honour

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vi. and then I can tell myself
what the hell I'm supposed to do

ELIZABETH STOOD AT LADY Trowbirdges ball. All women were obsessed with the fact that Prince Friedrich was here, trying to seduce him but he had his eye on Daphne.

She caught the eye of Baron Radcliffe, the eldest of four boys and a nice man.

Anthony watched as they talked from the other side of the room, his eyes narrowing on them.

He didn't like that she was talking to someone like him. He knew Ben Radcliffe and knew that he was a rake, a regular visitor to brothels

He walked over, a fake smile on his face, "Miss Monroe, would you enlighten me with a dance?" He asked.

She raised her eyebrows and so did Radcliffe, "I'm talking to her Viscount," he said, narrowing his eyes at him.

"It's okay Baron, I'll dance with him if you don't mind," she said, taking Anthony's hand as the two waltzed into the crowd.

"You're welcome," he said, looking anywhere but at the girl.

He didn't know why she looked so beautiful, her light green dress looking stunning against the green theme of Lady Trowbridges ballroom.

She scoffed, "Welcome for what? I can handle the Baron, he's not that bad," she explained, stepping to the side as the dance called it.

Now it was his turn to scoff, "He's an awful person," he said.

Elizabeth just rolled her eyes, "I'm a good judge of character Bridgerton, don't worry about me," she said, allowing him to dip her slightest at the rhythm of the song.

It began to speed up and the two, not breaking eye contact, began to spin across the floor at the quick pace.

They stopped and Elizbeth walked across the room, trying to get as far away from him as possible.

He followed her out, the two headed into the maze. She turned around with a huff, folding her arms across her chest.

"What do you want Anthony?" She asked, pausing in the middle of the maze.

"Nothing, I'm just trying to protect you," he said, raising his voice slightly.

She rolled her eyes, "You're not my father Bridgerton, don't tell me who I can or cannot talk to," she said, shaking her head.

She walked ahead, not in the mood to talk to him. He sighed, matching her pace so he was walking beside her.

They stopped talking, neither knowing what to do. They both seemed mad at each other but what they would see next would change it all.

As they turned the corner,Elizabeth gasped at the sight in front of her. Simon and Daphne were in a tight kiss, his hands roaming her body.

"Bastard!" Anthony yelled out, running over to the man. When he pulled away from Daphne, the man hit him square in the face, knocking him to the side.

"Anthony!" both girls exclaimed at the same time as they watched the scene unfold.

He punched him again, this time making Simon hit the floor. He bent down, hitting the man again as he stood up.

"Anthony," Elizabeth said, grabbing the mans arm as she pulled him away from Simon as much as she could.

Daphne could see how the touch calmed her brother down but with all the chaos, she didn't have any time to tease him.

"You will marry her, immediately," Anthony said, standing next to Elizabeth as he pointed at Simon and Daphne who's faces of shock explained it all, "We can only hope no one saw you take such liberties and my sister is saved further mortification,"

"I cannot marry her," Simon said and he scoffed.

"You have defiled her innocence and now you refuse her hand," Anthony questioned, moving forward slightly.

Elizabeth placed a hand on his shoulder, the man stopping his move and calming down as his friend repeated the same statement.

"Then you leave me no choice, I demand satisfaction," He stated, folding his arms across his chest.

Daphne and Elizabeth shared equally shocked looks as they turned to him. He seemed sure of his decision, head held high as he stared at Simon with a slight glare.

"A duel, are you delirious?" Elizabeth questioned, looking up at the man.

"He dishonors my sister, he dishonors me and the Bridgerton name," he explained to her before turning to Simon, "You have duped me. We will settle this as gentlemen,"

"I understand, I shall see you at dawn," Simon said and Daphne shook her head, looking up at him.

"I don't understand, you would rather die then marry me," Daphne said, her voice sounding truly heartbroken.

"I am truly sorry," he said, unable to make eye contact with the girl.

"We need to go Daph, before anyone sees us," Elizabeth said, looking around.

They began to walk away and Elizbaeth scoffed, walking behind Anthony.

"A duel? I can't believe you'd go to such lengths for something as petty as your sister kissing the Duke," she said and he froze, turning to look down at her.

"What would have happened if we hadn't come along, he would have defiled her. Simon is a rake and we have known that all along," he said and she scoffed.

"And you're so righteous?" Elizabeth questioned, holding her head high as she spoke to him.

He scoffed, the three of them heading back to the party and even Daphne could sense the sexual tension in the air between Elizabeth and Anthony.

They got back and Anthony, still furious, looked at his mother who stared at him confused.

"My sister has a headache, I am taking her home," he said, taking Daphnes hand and walking out.

He turned around to look at Elizbaeth once more before walking away.

She rolled her eyes at his antics. She couldn't believe he was actually entertaining the idea of fighting Simon. It made no sense.

"Do you know what's going on with my son?" Violet asked, confused as she looked between the empty doorway and Elizbaeth.

She shrugged, "I really don't know anymore, he drives me crazy," she said, the two girls nodding.

1104 words

𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒 •  𝐚.𝐛Where stories live. Discover now