4. Chapter 4

Kate spent the evening forcing herself to not think about anything even vaguely Bridgerton related. She didn't want to think about how lovely the house had been, how kind Lady Bridgerton had been, how much she had enjoyed Eloise's company, how handsome –

Kate growled and stalked to window, abandoning her tea on the table.

She needed to get over this. She had never been this affected by a man. It was infuriating. She was not going to let some rake of a lord upset all her plans.

Edwina must come first.

The door opened, surprising her, as Lady Danbury strode into the room.

"A letter for you." She said, holding up the object in her hand. "Your tea grows cold, but my horses do not."

"Lady Danbury –"

"Did you plan to ride again tomorrow morning?" the Lady interrupted. "I know all that goes on in my home. And since you insist on sneaking around, I may as well save us both the trouble. Correspondence from your grandparents, the Sheffields. I wrote them before you arrived."

"Those people are not my grandparents, Lady Danbury." Kate told her, annoyance clear in her voice. "I have no relation to them whatsoever, in fact."

"It seems you have not been straightforward with me." Danbury said blandly.

"I realize I should not have gone out for a morning ride without a chaperone." Kate tried to placate.

"And what about failing to tell me why you have truly come to London with your sister?" Danbury asked over her. "I'm rather more concerned about that."

"We have come to find Edwina a husband."

"And is that all?" she shot back. "You would be wise to reconsider resorting to more forgeries and half-truths, Miss Sharma. Very few attempt to outwit me, and even fewer succeed. You are living under my roof, under my care, relying on my good name, my connections, my money. I vouched for you and your sister in front of Her Majesty the Queen, all because I thought I was paying a kindness to an old friend – "

"And we are truly grateful for everything." Kate interjected.

"Your mama misses your father, naturally." Danbury told her. "But she never really wanted to come back here, did she? You did! I have no interested in being used as a pawn in someone else's game."

"That's not what we are doing." Kate told her desperately.

"Then tell me what stipulations the Sheffields have apparently set down with regard to Edwina's match."

Kate sighed, defeated.

"Edwina must marry an Englishman of nobility."

Danbury nodded.

"They could not control your mama's marriage, so they mean to interfere with your sister's."

"Yes." Kate replied. "They never recovered from my father's lack of rank and title. Though let me assure you, Lady Danbury, I am not here for selfish reasons." She sighed again and took a step forward. "After my father died, Mary and I did the best we could to raise Edwina, all so she would never know of our struggles. But our money ran low. We used the last for this very journey. The Sheffield's have agreed to bestow a sizable dowry on my sister, and to look after Mary. But only if Edwina marries properly."

"And what about you?" Danbury asked, sitting down on the couch.

"If I could marry for the sake of my family, I would." Kate replied. "But I am not Mary's daughter by birth, Edwina is."

"If you were to marry well, you might not need the Sheffield's." Danbury told her. "A man with a large enough fortune might be able to take care of your mother and sister, even provide a dowry for Edwina."

"A man such as that would never want me when they could have Edwina." Kate said with a matter of fact-ness that rather depressed Lady Danbury. "I've spent the last eight years raising my sister to walk in the right way, to talk in the right way, to play the pianoforte just so. Teaching her twice as much and watching her work twice as hard as anyone else. I even taught her how to make this pitiful excuse for tea the English so adore." She dropped down next to Lady Danbury. "I despise English tea."

She and Lady Danbury both shared a laugh.

"But," she continued, "if it means my sister will not be left destitute, then I will smile, and I will nod politely after each and every sip, to be sure."

"Your sister has a right to know." Danbury said. "As you said, it is her future."

"If she was made aware of the circumstances, she would marry quickly only to please us." Kate said. "She would yes to any man kind enough to ask. Edwina deserves a chance to find love without such a burden. Please, you must not tell a soul."

Lady Danbury studied her for a moment before nodding her agreement. She got to her feet and headed to the door, but she paused to look back at Kate.

"You should try to find your own happiness as well." She told her. "I rather think it might not be too hard to find if you would just look."

With that, she left a mildly confused Kate to a restless night's sleep.

The next morning, Kate considered sneaking out to ride again, but quickly thought better of it.

~.~

Across Mayfair, Anthony convinced himself that he wasn't riding his normal path because he simply desired a change. It had absolutely nothing to do with the young woman he had met who's scent now invaded his dreams.

When he arrived at Bridgerton House, he found his mother and Eloise getting along rather well for once.

"Oh, Anthony, you are coming to the Queen's ball tonight, yes?" his mother asked as he opened his paper. "The rumor is the Queen might finally name her Diamond!"

"I suppose I will be then." Anthony confirmed.

"Didn't you dance with the Sharma ladies at Lady Danbury's ball, Anthony?" Eloise asked, making her brother start.

"Uh, yes, I did." He confirmed with a cough as the tea went down the wrong way. "Why do you ask?"

"Mama had them round for tea yesterday." She told him. "They seem like the first ladies I've met this Season worth furthering an acquaintance with, particularly the elder Miss Sharma. She seems frightfully quick witted and I admire her distain for society."

"Why ever would you say she had distain for society, Eloise?" Violet asked, looking up from her needlework in surprise.

"Well, she's six and twenty and doesn't seem to care one jot for what society thinks of that." Eloise replied. "She seems perfectly content in her life. I admire that."

"She said that?" Anthony asked despite himself. "She's content to be a spinster?"

"Well…no." Eloise replied. "But all she seems to care about is making sure her sister is happy. She rather reminded me of you that way, Anthony."

Anthony desperately needed to change the subject.

"Any new suitors I should know about, Eloise?" he asked, making her grimace.

"No, thankfully." She replied. "But when I am in need of your charming personality, I will be sure to let you know, dear brother. I can think of nothing better to drive off even the most determined suitor!"

Anthony glared at her as she laughed and their mother shook her head despairingly.

"You are aware you will have to marry someday, Eloise?" her brother told her strictly. "No matter what the elder Miss Sharma does."

"Must I do it this Season?"

Anthony's heart softened towards his sister and he shook his head.

"I won't force you to marry, El." He told her. "I do want you to be happy."

Eloise seemed surprised by her brother's words which somehow made him sad.

"Eloise, we must start getting ready." Violet told her. "Anthony, we will see you when it's time to leave."

"Yes, mother." Both of her children confirmed duly.

Anthony glanced at his pocket watch and decided to head to the study to work on the ledgers. His valet knew to bring his clothes there, so he decided to lose himself in the monotony of math and crop yields. A few hours later, it was time to dress and wait on his sisters.

He found Benedict dressed and loitering in the foyer.

"Are you to join us, brother?"

Benedict shrugged.

"I find myself without much to entertain myself." He told his brother. "And Eloise has been extolling the virtues of the Sharma ladies and since I promised the elder another dance, I thought I might tag along."

"You promised her a dance?" Anthony asked, trying and failing to sound nonchalant, which made Benedict grin.

"I said I hoped we could dance again soon, and what do you know? It's soon!"

Anthony glared and opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by the arrival of Eloise and their mother.

"Come, we don't want to be late to the Queen!"

The Bridgerton siblings dutifully followed their mother to the carriage. The ride over was rather tame for the siblings, with only minimal sniping at each other. When they arrived, Anthony and Benedict stepped down and handed their mother and sister down before the footmen could approach, Benedict taking Eloise and Anthony taking his mother's arm and leading them inside.

~.~

Kate still couldn't quite believe that she was going to be greeting the Queen again. If it weren't for Edwina, she's fairly certain she would have given up the honor. But for her sister, she would grin and bear it.

"I do hope you are finding everything in town to your satisfaction, Lady Mary." Her Majesty said loftily.

"Indeed I am, Your Majesty." Mary replied demurely.

"This time around, that is." Queen Charlotte said sharply.

The Sharma ladies were silent.

"Perhaps your mother would enjoy some refreshment, Miss Sharma." Lady Danbury said finally.

Kate nodded and shepherded her sister and stepmother away while Lady Danbury lingered.

"I might think Lady Mary deserves some recognition, ma'am." She told the Queen. "It's certainly a sign of true devotion on her part, having sought to introduce her daughters under the discerning eye of Your Majesty, after all. The youngest one, in particular, I think, will certainly make a match that will be the envy of the ton."

Queen Charlotte raised an eyebrow.

"Why do I sense my strings being pulled, Lady Danbury?"

"You said you wanted to shake up the season." The Dowager replied. "Now is your chance."

~.~

Eloise groaned and dragged her feet as they headed straight for the Queen.

"Anyone here you've not rejected?" Benedict asked, smirking at his brother.

"You're the artist." Anthony shot back. "Do you see anyone remotely inspiring? We shall have our diamond tonight, and I shall have a wife."

"Is that Miss Sharma over there?"

Benedict chortled as Anthony almost tripped. For a second, he really thought his brother would hit him, but luckily for Benedict, the Queen greeted them.

"Lady Bridgerton. Miss Bridgerton. Such a shame your presentation at court was so rudely interrupted."

"Shame, indeed." Eloise confirmed weakly.

"I nearly forgot you were making your debut this season." Queen Charlotte continued. "After your elder sister's triumph, perhaps good fortune might run in the family."

The Bridgertons all smiled in response, laughing with the Queen.

"Uh, it is a delightful ball, Your Majesty." Eloise said after prompting by Violet. "Very diamond-y. Though," she took a slight step forward, "I must admit I am more of an emerald person myself."

There was a long beat of silence before the Queen laughed heartily.

"Oh, dear! My favorite necklace is one of emeralds. How thoughtful of you to know that."

Eloise seemed shocked as the Queen considered her.

"It seems you have indeed come a long way since last year, Miss Bridgerton."

Eloise chuckled weakly.

"Excuse me."

With that, Eloise took off, leaving her family to follow.

"If the queen, in fact, names Eloise the diamond, whom will you marry then, brother?"

Anthony did hit him that time.

~.~

Kate knew the moment he entered the ballroom. It was instinctual, a part of her brain that just knew where he was. It was torture.

She was distracted from her musings as the trumpets played a fanfare and the Queen rose to address the gathered crowd.

Anthony searched the crowd and found Kate standing next to her sister, her eyes fixed on the Queen.

"Your presence is noted, and your queen most appreciative. Allow it to now be my honor to present to you the Season's Diamond."

She paused, her eyes flitting over the gathered young ladies, ramping up the anxiety.

"Miss Edwina Sharma."

Edwina gasped and turned to smile brightly at Kate before heading over to receive her kiss from the Queen. Behind her, the suitors began to gather.

Anthony knew he should be one of them, but he couldn't make himself move. The Queen had named Edwina Sharma the Diamond. He should move.

He had a plan. He was going to marry the incomparable of the Season. He was going to do his duty.

He started to move and was distantly aware that he wasn't moving towards Edwina, but it wasn't until he stood behind Miss Sharma that he knew where his feet had taken him.

He knew the moment she realized he was there by the stiffening of her shoulders. They stood there in silence for a moment, watching the men of the ton swarm Edwina for the chance to lead her in a dance. He breathed in and, once again, that scent washed over him, robbing him of the ability to think of anything other than her.

Hang the blasted plan.

"Miss Sharma."

She had to resist the urge to shiver at the sound of his voice.

"Lord Bridgerton."

If she shifted back at all, they would be touching. It took every ounce of her will to stay still.

"Congratulation on your sister's triumph." He told her softly. "I wish you better luck than I had with my diamond of a sister."

"I'm sure Edwina will do marvelously." Kate hated how breathless she sounded. "You should hurry, my Lord, if you plan on securing your singular dance with my sister."

"Singular?" he questioned.

"Of course, my Lord." She replied primly. "You can't imagine I would allow you to dance multiple times?"

She turned her head to look at him and instantly regretted her decision as his warm eyes met hers and held them.

"Well," he said, his voice low and dangerous, "then I am glad Miss Edwina is not the Miss Sharma I am interested in dancing with tonight."

Kate could only stare as he moved around her so he was facing her as he held out his hand.

"Dance with me, Miss Sharma."

She shook her head in disbelief.

"My Lord – "

"Come now, Miss Sharma." Anthony interrupted with a smirk. "It's impolite to turn down a gentleman's offer to dance…unless you are already engaged for the set?"

"I am not, my Lord." Kate answered softly. "But – "

"Unless you're afraid."

Kate's eyes hardened as he knew they would, and his smirk became a full blown grin.

"You do not frighten me, my Lord." She said, taking his hand.

"Excellent, Miss Sharma."

And with that, and in the full sight of the ton, Anthony Bridgerton took Kate Sharma onto the dance floor.