The Bridgerton Princess

Chapter twenty two - this is war

Anthony did not even wait for his sister to close the door to his study before he began berating her.

"Diana, what on earth has gotten into you?" He demanded, pacing in front of the fireplace.

"Me?" She cried incredulously, "Anthony, what on earth has gotten into you? You are aware that he is a Prince, you can't just insult royalty like that!"

"Who are you to speak of his being insulted? Diana, he is the one at fault. You cannot be ignorant to the rumours surrounding your departure - all of which returns back to him. No, indeed, he should apologise to me. Not the other way around!"

Anthony was now half shouting at her. She had never seen him so furious and could not make head or tail of his words as a result.

"I do not understand," she whispered, shrinking back under Anthony's furious expression.

He halted his pacing and lent against the mantle of the fireplace.

"He made a ridicule out of you. Have you seen what Whistledown wrote? As if this summer hasn't brought enough scandal on the Bridgerton name what with Daphne's affair with Hastings and Colin's near marriage to a -" he broke off and paused for a moment to regain some sense of calamity.

"Putting the rumours aside," Anthony began in a significantly kinder voice, "surely you cannot hold any regard for him after the way he has played about with your feelings?"

The fire began to feel uncomfortably hot and, for the first time in her life, Diana felt at odds in her own home.

Anthony seemed changed.

It was as though these past few months had made him colder and entirely disgusted by the idea of love.

"I do not know what to say," she replied.

He turned to her, the orange glow of the fireplace casting shadows behind him that transformed the man who was once her brother into some kind of domineering monster.

"Well I do. I forbid you from having anything to do with him. I will find you a worthy suitor - as soon as possible in fact - and he will be long forgotten. Do you understand?"

Diana Bridgerton stamped her foot petulantly and crossed her arms across her chest. Giving him her mightiest glare she refused this ridiculous suggestion.

"I do not know what has happened this summer to make you so... beastly, but I will not follow your little scheme. I love him, and if you're too blind to see that then you're just as bad of a brother as you are a Viscount!"

Her words were icy and she launched them at him with the utmost vitriol that she could muster.

Why did Anthony have to be such an unloving prick!

She did not remain to hear his reply but instead stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her so loudly that she was quite certain the entirety of Grosvenor Square heard it.

It did not remained closed for long though, for only moments later the Viscount violently pulled it open, shouting after her.

"Diana! Diana come back here!"

She turned around from where she was now standing at the end of the corridor and glared at him.

"I mean it! Every word! I hate you Anthony Bridgerton! I hate you and your obsession with preventing people from being in love! You let Daphne marry the Duke, why can't you let me marry Freddie? He's decent and honourable and I love him. I love him. So none of your stupid schemes are going to make any difference."

She barrelled up the stairs with her brother in tow.

The rest of the Bridgerton household had now also emerged from their rooms to observe the commotion. Concern passed between Colin and Benedict as they tried to silently work out a solution to the situation.

"He doesn't love you!" Shouted back Anthony.

A long silence proceeded after his comment.

Benedict, Eloise, Violet and - in truth - practically everyone else in the family stared at him in utter contempt.

Benedict was the first to break the tension.

"Diana, Eloise, come with me. Colin?"

The boy in questioned snapped his gaze toward his brother.

"See to it that the viscount does not disturb our sister again tonight."

Colin nodded and dragged Anthony off in the direction of his study, muttering something about him being an 'absolute twat'.

Meanwhile, their mother took this opportunity to send the younger Bridgertons off to bed.

Diana allowed herself to be dragged up the stairs and into her bedroom. She cried for a long time that night. But Eloise and Benedict just hugged her tighter, promising that tomorrow would be a new day.