"Hold me close so I can finally... breathe"
Marriage wasn't something Carina Bridgerton looked forward to. And true love was not something she dreamed of. She had declared it very clearly to her family that no marriage shall ever be expected from he...
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"I bring cheerful news, Bridgertons. I have taken matters in my own hands and sought a special license for my wedding to Miss Bridgerton." says Berbrooke, by now Daphne had returned from her promenade with her Viscount, who had returned to his estates to attend to some affairs. "There is to be no wedding." Carina announces. "I told you. The arrangement is canceled." says Anthony in exasperation.
"Lord Berbrooke, you look in a great deal of pain. Shall we continue this in a more private location?" her mama says, in fear of a scandal. "I require no further conversation. Though, perhaps I am finally speaking to the true head of the Bridgerton house. For if it were you, I imagine you would have instructed your sister to take better care than to encourage certain attentions while alone with me on the Dark Walk at Vauxhall. Of course, mere hearsay of such a scandal could wreak havoc on even the most influential of families. What would someone like, say, Lady Whistledown do with such unseemly information?" he says, as a threat, as Carina lowers her face in shame.
It might not have been intentional, or her fault- as the Duke wants her to believe, but it did happen, and it did happen due to her recklessness and lack of control of her own temper. And this gossip, if let out, would ruin her entire family and it would be all her fault.
"Is that a threat?" demands Anthony. "It is certainly not. Because in three days, I am to marry. I have the 'Royal Jewel', who even Her Majesty favours. I have the very best the ton has to offer. I have a Bridgerton. And I shall save her, as well as your entire family, from the ruin which you could not protect them. I look forward to the union of our great families. Bridgerton. Hastings." he says, and as he makes his leave, all Carina could think of was how she would be the cause of her family's demise and shame.
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"I must issue my challenge to Berbrooke straight away." Says Anthony, as he, Daphne and Eloise sit across from their mama and Carina in the carriage. "Anthony..." her mama warns. "I assure you I've been properly trained in the manner." he assures her. "You are not to duel with Lord Berbrooke. Do you understand me? I do not care what kind of training you think you may have. It is illegal, not to mention positively horrific." she exclaims.
"Gentlemen are left with no other choice, Mother. When a young woman, let alone one's sister, is rumored to be dishonored, the consequences shall be deadly!" he says, agitated and humiliated by the way he handled the business of Carina's marriage.
"It is no solution. Should Lord Berbrooke decide to make good on his threat before you shoot him dead, brother, what happens then? He may decide to open his tiny mouth at any moment, and then I shall be ruined... as will we all. I must marry Nigel Berbrooke. It is the only choice." Carina says, with determination on her face, tears in her eyes and pain in her voice.
