~~Artiste~~(Benedict Bridgerton)

What Have You Done!?

         Elizabeth nervously chewed on her lip, fidgeting with her hair as she sat up in bed. Her green eyes flickered with the candle on her bedside as she replayed Lady Danbury's words in her mind. A sense of guilt washed over her as she would have to tell her brother the news, he was on his own and all the odds were against him once again. 

        "Are you alright?" Benedict's voice drew her from her blank stare,

       "Just tired is all" She shrugged, finishing up the last section of her braid. He could tell she wasn't being entirely true just by the way she drifted right back into thought. He had begun to undress, peeling back the layers from their long day out.

       "Your brother is quite the good poker player" He sighed, unlacing his boots,

       "Which one?" She smirked, resting her hands in her lap.

        "Edward, he snagged all of us from under our noses" 

        "Well you forget he is fresh out of Eton, whilst you all have been letting your skills deteriorate" He scoffed, wriggling his toes as he stretched up from his seat. 

       "It was more like he knew how to play us more than the game" He began to walk across the room, his long underskirt the only piece left on him as he crawled into bed behind her. She remained unmoved, her eyes following the small flame as she pressed her palms flatly into the sheets. A long breath escaped her lips as she cocked her head back.

       "Lizzie?" Benedict lay on his side, observing her odd behavior as she tried to settle herself down,

       "How much does Anthony care for Miss Edwina?" He propped himself up on his forearm, a raised brow on his face as he watched her finally lay down. "You know Anthony, his motives, his tactics" Elizabeth looked at him, her lips slightly curled down to a frown "But does he care for her?" 

        "Lizzie, what's this all about?" He asked, but she didn't answer, instead, she sighed and turned away from him "I think Elliot's in love with her" Benedict's breath came to a curt stop 

        "Your brother Elliot?" She turned back to him, an unamused look on her face.

       "What other Elliots do I know, of course, it's my brother!" Benedict could tell she was pondering on this for a while, stressing and panicking over something that was entirely out of her hands. "So tell me, do you truly think Anthony loves her?" She rested her hands on her stomach, looking at the canopy above them.

       "I think you know Anthony well enough that he wouldn't intentionally hurt Miss Edwina-" 

       "That's not the damn question Benedict!" Her eyes glistened with tears "I tried to convince him but he didn't listen, I tried to plead with Lady Danbury but she didn't listen, and now I am asking you one simple question. Anthony doesn't have to love her, not the way Elliot claims he does but he has to care for her, and tend to her needs and her woes. Or will he find another woman again just to make her bed even colder" Benedict sat up, his stomach twisting as he leaned himself over her.

        "Please don't cry" He cupped her cheek, noticing the wobble to her bottom lip, "Please" He repeated "Miss Edwina would be taken care of just like I take care of you" Elizabeth shook her head.

       "Why because she marks every item on his list?" 

      "Because you know that my mother, Daphne, Colin, even Eloise would not sit idly by if we saw her struggle" She nodded softly, now allowing the few tears she produced to slip down the sides of her face onto her pillow. "I am so sorry you had to worry about this, and I know you care for your brothers, you would do anything for them. But this, this is not something you cannot control Lizzie and I cannot bear to see my wife cry every night with guilt" A small sniffle escaped her lips.