Bridgerton - A Girl To Remember

Chapter Twenty-Three

Dear readers,

The rumors were true, at last night's ball, no one less than the prince arrived and stole all our hearts. But one heart in particular. It is no surprise it was the diamond of the season his eyes fell on, with her outstanding dress and pretty smile it was no wonder he asked her to dance. Although I did not expect the prince to let go of his stubbornness this early, I am glad he did. They would be the coupe of the season and a couple to be jealous of.

It must have been painful for lord Harvard to see his love interest leave him for the prince, miss Bridgerton has not looked back at him once after the prince took her hand. They danced all night and seemed to have a lot of fun, as if they had known each other for years.

Not long from now the semi-finals of London's horseriding competition takes place, which will be watched by many. Not because horseriding is the most fascinating to look at, it is the mysterious man hidden under the hat we are waiting for. His true identity has still not been revealed and it came to my ear the queen is not too pleased about it. It is even said the other Bridgerton in our society has been assigned to find out more about him and I wish her good luck, no one wants to be on the queen's bad side...

May I see all of you at the semi-finals this week and let us hope we will not need to wait long before William Williams real identity is shown and before the prince and miss Olivia Bridgerton announce they are to wed.

Yours truly,

Lady Whistledown

I find it funny, how every word lady Whistledown writes is somehow related to me, and she does not even know it. I feel horrible at the same time, people are coming from all over the city to see William Williams get through the semi-finals and I quit. I cannot bear to see the disappointment in their faces, especially Eloise, I had never seen her this excited before. The guilty feeling grows every day but there is no time to mourn, I must go on with my life.

I try very hard to stay home during the horseriding competition but Anthony does not allow me. There is a chance the prince will be there too, he said, and I had no proper argument in return. Eloise cannot stop talking about how she will unmask him today and what plans she has, I try to listen but zone out and stare out of the window,

"if only he looks at me once I will be able to... Olivia? Olivia, are you listening?"

"hm? Oh, yes, of course, go on" I smile weakly and Eloise lays her hand on my shoulder,

"are you alright?"

"yes, a little tired, that's all" I lie right to her face and we get out of the carriage. A few competitors are warming their muscles and getting their horses ready. I recognize everything of course but I have never seen the course from this point of view. I listen to Colin and Benedict talk when I spot Chris, or actually, the prince, arrive as well. I attempt not to look at him but I tend to look his way and in the end, we make eye contact.

I smile a little and look away, we had a great time at the ball but not for a second did we discuss this matter, the competition. I do not know if he finds me annoying or whether he agrees with my decision but either way, I am here and he is over there, so close and yet it feels likes we're miles apart.

The competition begins and I feel the urge to say it, to tell everyone it was me. But I keep my mouth shut and watch how the other competitors do their thing. I am dreading the moment where the man with the microphone will shout his name, my name, and no one will show up. All the tension, all these eyes longing to see him fly over the obstacles, all the disappointed faces when they find out he bailed. Or actually, I did.

I start feeling nervous and I cannot handle it anymore. I look over to the prince and his eyes find mine, I give him a nod, no idea if he understands. I cough and Benedict looks at me,

"Everything alright?"

"I do not feel so well, the crowd makes me a little dizzy. Do you mind if I go for a walk?"

"no, of course not, would you like me to go with you?"

"no, please, enjoy the competition, I will be back swiftly"

"take care, Olivia"

"I will" I smile and get up, leaving my family behind. I enter the stables and search around for the clothes, there are only a few minutes left and I have to get Emily ready as well. I cannot get my dress untied and I am walking around radiating complete chaos when I hear a voice,

"need some help?" I turn around to see Chris.. the prince.. someone... with Emily by his side,

"yes, thank you... your highness"

"call me Louis"

"thank you, Louis" together we transform Olivia Bridgerton into William Williams, and just in time I get onto Emily,

"Why did we do this again?" I ask,

"good luck. Or did you not need it?"

"very funny, you should return to your mother, she must be wondering where you are"

"will I see you at the picnic this week... Olivia?"

"most likely"

"good" he smiles and my name is being called,

"I will meet you there, Louis" I get onto the course and the crowd is clapping louder than ever. I know exactly where Eloise is and remind myself to not look at her while riding, Emily jumps over the obstacles like she has never done otherwise and as Louis predicted, I make it to the finals...