𝘼 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 [Eloise Bridgerton]

•4•

Ruby had been sat alone inside her unnecessarily gigantic suite for about 2 hours; nobody had passed or entered the room whilst she pondered away, deep in thought and confusion at what had just happened in the Bridgerton suite.

The Bainbridge family had arguably the best housing of all. Sunlight entered at just the right angle, smearing the hard wood floor with golden beams. Most of the walls were white, but some held baby blue cushioned slabs that felt soft to the touch, almost like a small puppy's fur.

By the large window, there lay a white wooden desk where Ruby often kept her books. Much like Eloise, she also enjoyed reading. Staring at the desk reminded her of the morning maze she had escaped to. Ruby had never experienced a greater moment than listening to Eloise read in the gardens.
There she felt safe.

The young girl shook the thought back into the depths of her mind and wandered towards her oversized bedroom. Ruby still wore the wonderful pink dress, that would now give her strange memories of Eloise forever.
But, a wave of hopelessness washed over her. A wave that pushes you roughly down underneath water until you retaliate and dive back up to the surface once more.
Ruby thought again, about Eloise. Somehow the girl wouldn't leave her thoughts alone.

"Stop it!" Ruby snapped out loud. She was fed up of thinking about the Bridgerton and what had happened in the suite that day.
She attempted to clear her mind, yet nothing worked—she still thought of Eloise deeply.
Where was she now?
Was she okay?
Why did she get so upset about my stupid dress? Ruby wondered with irritation.

Suddenly, a rage erupted inside of her; a volcano finally exploding in anger.
She stood up and stormed over towards the mirror, violently ripping her dress from her shoulders, not bothering to unbutton it carefully like Daphne would have done.
The sounds of shredding material echoed through the silent room as Ruby tore the whole skirt in half.

Her new dress was ruined.
And she didn't care one bit.
It had actually surprised her how much she didn't care about the dress, perhaps because it had caused Eloise to be so angry.
A thick silence now hovered around the room while the torn dress hung hopelessly from her body in front of the mirror.

She felt so wrong in the world and everything she dreamed to do felt broken. Ruby didn't want a husband. She didn't want anyone. The only thing she wanted to do was get out of London forever.
She wanted to escape these confusing thoughts and run away for good. Away from her mother and society's expectations.

~

A market set up in town, thriving with busy shoppers who were mostly looking for homemade bread and other treats to take home with them that afternoon. After an outburst of anger, Ruby decided to take a look around the market and try to find some scented candles for her bedroom. But before she could exit her suite, she needed to find an appropriate dress to wear and hide the shredded gown before her mother returned.
Under the bed was a compartment of boxes; Ruby decided to store the dress there until she could take it to the dress boutique in town for a fixing-up.

Instead, she decided to wear an unusual green dress with sequins sewn around the waist and corset. It was a dress Ruby had not worn often, but enjoyed to wear on occasions like this one. A market.
The shoes were heeled although barely noticeable as the dress fell long over Ruby's feet.
Her hair was worn naturally for once. She decided to keep it down and let her frolic, gorgeous curls flow freely among her shoulders.

She knew the market would be an entertaining place to discover, and a good distraction from her interruptive and irritating thoughts. She hesitantly exited her sweet and into the hallway, but movement bustled in the distance, alarming her and almost causing her to rush back inside to hide.

"Who's there?" Ruby called. She really didn't wish for anyone to speak to her for the rest of the day. Anger was already enough company.

Nobody replied.

Impatiently, she decided to leave anyway. What did it matter if someone was lurking in the hallway?

Passing a couple of doors on her right, Ruby strode across the dark wooden floor boards and out into the main upstairs area. A sudden feeling crept over her, like something or someone was watching her every move.
She whipped her head around quickly causing her down, unstyled hair to twirl into her face for a second before bouncing back down among her shoulders.

Is someone messing with me?
What do they want?

Ruby eased her nerves slightly, beginning to hesitantly set off walking again until she slowly reached the large stairs and began down them. A faint whisper sounded behind her, not at all noticeable yet still slightly clear enough to be made out as a persons soft voice.

Again. "Pssst!" Came the hushed sound from a door across the hall.

As Ruby spun towards the sound, she spotted a girl.
A girl that she'd recognise a million miles away.
Eloise.

"Pssst!" Eloise called again, a little louder this time. She looked to be inside a storage room of some sorts, or a room full of cleaning supplies.
A room a Bridgerton would never even imagine entering.
Yet there Eloise stood, calling silently for Ruby to approach.

"What on earth are you doing in there?!" Ruby asked with a whispered frown.

Eloise didn't answer, instead she quickly wafted her hand back and forth, beckoning again for Ruby to join her in the storage room.
The young girl thought back to what had happened in the Bridgerton sweet when Eloise was outraged—maybe even embarrassed—that Ruby teased her with the new gown.
Although this had all played out on the same day, something that represented an urge pushed Ruby to shift her direction towards Eloise, and soon enough she was standing right by her side.

Before Ruby could question Eloise and her intentions, the Bridgerton grasped her hand and yanked her into the room, closing the door as they entered.
"What is happening?" Ruby gasped.

Eloise steadied their position and stood about half a metre away from Ruby, keeping a fair distance between them both, almost intentionally.
"I had to apologise," Eloise began with those big ocean eyes; they looked as if they were childishly begging Ruby to forgive her on the spot and hug her tightly—which would have been their very first hug since they'd met.
Ruby unusually admired the idea of embracing Eloise, smelling her scent and feeling her body wrap around her own.

Eloise's pleading voice broke Ruby out of her daydream.
A daydream that she surely should not have been reasoning.
"Please forgive me."
Eloise seemingly tried not to sound pleading, but failed to when a sound of desperation laced her words. "Please?"

Ruby did not know why the Bridgerton was so bothered about forgiveness. But she couldn't help smiling; a slight mischief attached to her grin.
"Why do you, Bridgerton, want forgiveness from a girl like me?"
Ruby imitated what Eloise had said in the suite about Ruby needing her approval of the dress.

The remark stung.
Worse than a bee.

Eloise shook her head and looked hurtfully at the ground. A sense of seriousness crossed her face.
"I am so incredibly sorry about what I said. I promise I didn't mean any of it, I swear!"
Her eyes were still locked on the musty floor of the storage room.

Something crushed inside Ruby's heart. Eloise was just so...
So...
So...
So...cute, Ruby thought with a silent giggle.

"You know what, I'll forgive you,"
Ruby agreed, "but only on one condition."

Eloise nodded, waiting. She'd do anything to receive Ruby's forgiveness.

In that moment Ruby said something she knew she would regret. It was silly really; she only wanted to spend time with Eloise. She knew it was a stupid idea when the Bridgerton's wondering expression turned into a shocked worry: a panicked fret.

"You must dance with me at Saturday's party."