𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚎 - 𝚋𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚌𝚝 𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚍𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚘𝚗

𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗

Lady Danbury had warned Florence before hand of the Bridgerton rank in society. The family was remarkable, and well respected despite many of the dramas they were put through, and Lady Danbury had even put the effort in to recount some of them - the previous scandal of the last season, the viscount being engaged to someone then calling off the wedding to marry the sister, the third son being engaged to a young woman who then came out to be with child. Many scandals, as Lady Danbury described them, with the Bridgertons but they were still a renowned family and it was evident that Lady Danbury appreciated her 'friendship' with them as the next person would.

Florence could practically rattle off all of the siblings personalities as they welcomed themselves inside of the Bridgerton home.

The interior was half of what she was expecting, it was classy but homely, portraits of grouped siblings decorated the walls. It looked like a lived in, genuinely enjoyed home, in contrast to hers of course, her own one back in Sweden was kept polished, as soon as even a speck of dust fell, it was robbed. Her mother had strict policies as she was growing up, her toys had to be kept within certain boundaries, whilst the Bridgertons clearly had their own immaculate space, it was evident many brilliant memories were spent within the hallways and rooms.

Some maids scurried off to announce their arrival to their hosts, they had obviously made quick work of it for a man, who had his arm linked with his evident wife, had appeared from behind a corner. Florence stared in awe at the warm orange dress that the woman had dressed herself in, it curved around her stomach, proudly showing off the with child bump, her neck was doused in gold jewellery celebrating the natural beauty of the woman wonderfully. The man could hardly tear his eyes away from his wife to even look at their guests, his face was practically melting with his grin. The viscount and his new viscountess.

The couple eventually found a stop in front of Florence and Lady Danbury. And the viscountess flashed a friendly smile at Florence, and she returned it nervously, she watched the other woman look her up and down, taking in her dress, the face she made was clear she appreciated the colour even if it was a cooler colour compared to the warm orange.

"Viscount," Lady Danbury acknowledged, the man bowed his head and so did his wife.

"Lady Danbury, always a pleasure," The viscount spoke, a genuine smile playing at his lips, his wife shook her head in a joking manner, he turned then to address Florence.

"I'm sorry, I'm aware my brother has invited you but he has left out the matter of a name, so I believe introductions are in order?"

"Florence Galloway," Florence speaks, she knows she should probably use her actual last name but what's the trouble in using her mother's maiden one, besides she's read the Whistledown papers.

"Ah, Anthony Bridgerton, and this is my lovely wife-"

"Kate Sharma-Bridgerton," The now named woman speaks, Anthony looks stunned before going back to all smiles, "I will go find Benedict and inform him."

Before any of the other three could have any input, Kate is gone, disappeared back the way she came from but now without a husband at her hip but that doesn't stop him from staring at the blank space of where she had just been.

"Tell me Anthony, how long have you been married to her and how long do you plan to stare after her as if it is the first time all over again?" Lady Danbury inquires, a smug smile plastering her face, even Florence finds herself laughing under her breath, especially when Anthony's ears turn a reddish tint. Anthony avoids the question by sprouting many dodging questions which Florence tunes out for she spots Kate walking first whilst Benedict has his arms linked with Eloise. His face is framed with melancholy but instantly he becomes joyous when spotting Florence. He whispers something to Eloise before making haste to meet Florence.

He breathes in deeply when he is finally walking the same pace as Florence, he smiles whilst he addresses her, "Florence."

"Benedict," She smiles, he mirrors her exact smile, and he finds himself lost in her eyes, it is only when Lady Danbury turns around and gives Florence a smug knowing look, does he stop, Florence finds herself disappointed that she is now not his main focus. He leads her regardless into a vast grand room, the table is laid in a beautiful tablecloth, plates in front of every available seating options.

Benedict leans in closer to whisper something to Florence, "Do you like it? The tablecloth I mean." She turns around bewildered at the statement about a tablecloth, "I don't think anyone has ever asked me my opinion of that before, but it's nice, I think it was a perfect choice for a dinner as such." She hears him breathe in a relieved sigh, she spots Eloise across the room, mouth something in Benedict's direction and she sees him nod, she smiles but her bent head hides it.

Benedict snaps out of a trance, and leads her to a chair stationed next to Eloise, the other chair is vacant, he pulls it out for her in a gentleman fashion, she smiles at him before seating herself, he tries to push it in for her as well but she waves him off but quickly exchanges a 'thank you'.

"Eloise, it's lovely to see you again," Florence smiles at the woman next to her, Eloise looks at her in confusion, "You know my name? I thought we were never properly introduced."

"I caught it at the ball, your brother shouted it, I just assumed it was yours and based on your reaction, it was."

Suddenly, the chair next to her is pulled out, and Kate is sat by her, to the right. They offer the other polite smiles, and Florence notices now the rest of the previous vacant seats have been filled, Benedict is across from Eloise but is quick to catch Florence's eyesight and he makes a goofy face which catches her out of it, and has to pretend to be coughing rather than laughing aloud. Her mother would've scolded her for such manners, but Benedict had a smile nevertheless.

The evening passed in polite conversations, Florence occasionally added her input, a young girl to the right of Francesca, named thankfully by Kate and Eloise named the young girl as her youngest sibling as Hyacinth, began talking about a Whistledown piece, one specifically about Florence though the paper had remained nameless of the Swedish 'duchess'. Florence had been sipping from her drink at the time, and when the piece was mentioned she had started to cough into her wine, which attracted everyone's attention, she waved everyone off but she could feel Benedict's eyes lingering on her. It wasn't exactly a secret that she was said Swedish 'duchess' but more of the way Whistledown had described her, she had portrayed her as this greedy woman who was only here for her selfish ambitions, to find a husband to claim her fortune. That's what she was mortified at.

Violet spoke up now, "Florence, where are you from? Your last name is English, I believe I used to know someone with said name, but your accent can be heavy with some words."

Knulla.

Lady Danbury speaks up before Florence even has a chance, "She was born in Sweden, raised there mostly but she's always had a love for England. Her own mother is none other than Lady Eleanor Galloway." Florence is reasonably surprised by how easily lies come to her.

Florence has to admit, she knows next to nothing about her mother before she married a Swedish man, out of her own ignorance absolutely, her mother is constantly trying to live through her daughters, she believes all the space in Viktoria's head is pure useless facts of their mother's life in England.

Violet nods, Benedict's eyes remain trained on her even after the conversation has shifted, sometimes even attempting to embarrass him she meets his eyes, he smiles before his eyes flicker down to his plate but within moments they are back on her. The dinner ends shortly after, an after event is being put in motion before Benedict publicly asks to speak to Florence in a quiet place alone. She is shocked by the request but allows him to take her hand nonetheless.

authours note
so how did we like this? also ive changed my updating schedule for this book from random to every monday :)
ive also finally got a structure for where i want this book to go and i am so excited to write the next couple of chapters