Debutante || BRIDGERTON

[05]: Shock and Delight

1813 ― London, England

There will forever be just two words that come to this Author's mind the morning after any good party, 'shock' and 'delight.' Well, dear reader, the scandalous accounts from last night's soiree at Vauxhall are quite shocking and delightful indeed. Emerging, phoenix-like from the ashes of irrelevance, is one Miss Sienna Reyes. The illustrious debutante was seen dancing not once but twice with the season's most eligible and uncatchable rake, the Duke of Hastings.

Sienna and Simon could all be seen out in Grosvenor Square, of course being chaperoned by Cordelia Reyes and Lady Danbury. "He is smiling!" Lady Danbury said to Cordelia as they watched Simon and Sienna talk. "The Duke rarely smiles." She said.

"Sienna has an excellent sense of humor," Cordelia noted.

"She will need it. Life as a duchess will have many demands. Hosting balls, greeting foreign dignitaries... Sienna will not merely be in society. She will be leading it." Lady Danbury said.

"I have prepared her quite well, Lady Danbury," Cordelia said. The two women smiled and laughed as Sienna linked her arm through Simon's, and they walked off while speaking of their arrangement.

"Eight balls," Sienna said.

"No."

"Eight balls. You do want our plan to succeed, do you not?" Sienna asked.

"The purpose of this arrangement is to keep the marriage-minded mothers of the ton at bay, not to hurl me directly into the lion's den," Simon said.

"The purpose of this arrangement is to ensure I marry my very first season. Plus, if we want people to believe that we are courting, do you not think we should attend the same events?" Sienna asked.

"I shall grant you four," Simon said.

"Six balls."

"Five."

"Six... and you must send flowers. Today. Expensive ones." Sienna said. Simon almost scoffed as he looked down at her. "If you were truly courting me, you'd buy out every florist in town," Sienna said. That was when Simon stopped walking, which made her stop too, and he looked directly into her eyes as he spoke his following words.

"If I were truly courting you, I would not need flowers... only five minutes alone with you in a drawing-room," Simon said. Sienna kept her eyes from widening, but Simon's words caught her off-guard and sent a wave of butterflies through her stomach; she figured he was hinting at what happens between a man and a woman on their wedding night. The thought sent chills throughout her entire body as they held each other's gazes, and Simon's was one of deep intensity. "I did not mean..." Simon trailed off as they began to walk again.

"Six balls, Your Grace." She said.

"Very well. Though I shall see about the flowers." Simon said.

"And you must remember, no one can know about our little arrangement. Nor about what happened last night with Lord Penwood." Sienna said.

"Ah, yes. How is your hand this morning?" Simon asked. Of course, people were watching as they walked by, everyone knew who the Duke was, and everyone was starting to know who Sienna was. "You must know you did nothing wrong."

"What I know is that even the rumor of my being alone with a man, let alone punching him, will ruin me," Sienna said.

"I have no interest in causing a scandal, Miss Reyes," Simon said as he looked at her.

"I should imagine that with you; it comes naturally." Sienna teased as she looked up and met his gaze, and both laughed.

Then they continued on their walk.