Unexpected romance / Benedict&Anthony

The luckiest man alive

I feel ever so nervous. I am not usually the type of lady who finds herself nervous, but I was certainly nervous today. I had Daphne, fussing around me. She tugged slightly at my dress, and so I turn now to look at her. "Daphne! Do leave the dress! It shall not look any better than it does, do not bother any longer."

She watches me, pursing her lips in a little smile and offering me a small nod. "I apologise, Delilah. I simply want you to look your best. I know how important today is! I know how important my wedding day was. It was... oh, you shall have a wonderful time!" She sinks into newly wedded bliss again, a happy sigh escaping her lips. I know she is only trying to make me feel better, but it does not at all. She is too caught up in thoughts of my brother to notice it is not helping whatsoever.

"Yes... yes, it is. I am finally to be married. I shall no longer be a spinster." I grimace a little as I look at myself in the mirror. I do look nice. The dress was made by Madame Delacroix and she did a wonderful job but that did not stop the knots in my stomach. "Oh I... I think I shall go outside for a cigarette."

"Is that the best-"

I do not hear another word she says, as I have already rushed past her and I am making my way to the church, shuffling the packet in my hands. I am nervous. I do not get nervous! I am not used to being nervous. I do not even know why I am so nervous, I am not some innocent debutante. I know exactly what marriage shall require of me. And I love Benedict. I do. He is perfect, and he is yet to show me otherwise. I hoped he never should. I do not reach my destination before I bump into Anthony. If he were not Benedict's brother, I should not wish to have invited him! "Viscount Anthony."

"Lady Delilah." He bows his head dutifully, glancing at the cigarettes in my hand. I attempt to cover them, not to hide them but simply because I do not want to deal with him scolding me. "I was coming to find you. I wished to... speak with you."

"Of what?"

"I wished to say sorry." I knew that this was tough for Anthony. He was not the kind of man used to saying sorry, a man like my brother. Proud, and unapologetic. But here, he stood before me, and he said he was sorry.

"For what?"

"You know why. I cannot... Well, I cannot help but feel that this... all of this... it could have been myself. And yourself. If I had not done such a terrible job of it all." This is uncomfortable for him. He scratches the back of his head. "I just wanted to say that I truly am... sorry. For what I did. You might deny it, I know I hurt you. But if... if anyone were to marry you, I am glad it is Benedict. He shall be a better husband to you than I might have ever been."

"You fucked an opera singer on your table whilst I sat upstairs and had to listen." I watch him. He panics, and begins to chatter again, but I laugh. And so he begins to laugh as well. It is a nice moment, a pure moment. We both continue to laugh, and I feel slightly better.

"Yes. And I hope one day you might forgive me for that." He laughs, putting his hands behind his back and attempting to straighten up but he still has an amused smile on his face. "I hope one day we might even be able to be friends."

"We already are, Anthony. Now, if you do not mind, I am going for a cigarette. I need to clear my head and ensure Benedict is the brother I wish for, hm? Colin is always an option! I have not yet had all of the Bridgerton brothers,  so how will I know if I have chosen correctly?"

He nods once again, stepping back so he is no longer stood in my way. "Well do not let me keep you. You look beautiful, Delilah."

I reach outside.My hands shake a little and I struggle to get the cigarette out the pack. "Oh! Bother!"

"Are you having second thoughts, my dear?" Benedict hangs at the side of the church now too, offering me a crooked grin. "I do apologise. I saw you rush out here and I could not resist. I simply had to come and see you, I have been without you for too long."

"You have been without me for mere hours!" I laugh a little, feeling a strange wave of relief wash over me now that he is here. "You know you are not supposed to see me on my wedding day, it is terrible bad luck."

"Look at how beautiful you are. How could I ever be unlucky again?" He chuckles, stepping towards me with his lit cigarette. He stands before me, lifting my face up to his own. Pressing the ends of the cigarettes together, he indicates for me to breathe in and so I do, the end of my cigarette sizzling softly. He keeps his hand on my face for moment, his fingers stroking across my jawline before he pulls away, breathing out a cloud of smoke. "You are nervous."

"Yes."

"Why is that, might I ask? Is there any way I can qualm your nerves?"

I look at him, sighing with a small smile, before I lean in and press my head against his shoulder. "No, you have already done so."

"Just my presence calms you?" Benedict chuckles, putting his spare arm around me and running his hands up and down my torso. "You shall be fine, my dear. We shall be fine. We have gotten along thus far, have we not? I believe we can do anything. And I especially believe we can conquer this whole wedding thing."

"I know, I know." I keep my head resting on him. It should not do us well to be spotted like this. It was already clear to everyone that my virtue was no longer in tact, but for him to see me in my dress on our wedding day? The scandal! "I cannot wait until we can get away from London, at least for a little while. We shall come back though, I believe I might miss the gossip and you might miss your family."

"Perhaps we shall have our own family by that point, my dear Delilah. Perhaps we might be the first to give my dear mama a grandchild! We must beat Daphne and your brother to it. In fact! I think we must get started straight away!" He picks me up and I yelp, giggling like a little girl as he spins me around and kisses my lips.

"Benedict Bridgerton, you are so inappropriate!"

"How can I not be, when you look so good?" He grins at me once again. The way he looks at me... I could not enjoy it more. I know I shall be loved, and he knows I shall love him. He knows all too well how in love with him I am, which is why he looks ever so smug as he examines my veil. "My wife. Delilah Bridgerton."

"I may still choose to run before I reach the alter!" I tease.

"You would never! Well, I must get you back inside instantly before you take off!" Benedict teases back, pressing his fingers softly into my ribs to make me giggle again. "Come. We must go back inside. People shall begin to worry."

"I wish we had visited Gretna Green to marry instead. I simply cannot be bothered with all this rigmarole. The eyes of the ton, oh, it is all so boring, Bennie."

"I know, Lila. But think of tonight, and tomorrow, and every other day in our future, my darling. It shall be only me and you, hm?" His thumb and finger press against my chin, pulling my face up to look at him once again before he plants a soft kiss on my lips. He kisses my lips, then my forehead, staying pressed against me for a moment like that before he breaks away. "I truly believe I am the luckiest man alive."