Falling for a Bridgerton : a Bridgerton fanfic

chapter 21: the one person

Amelia was writing in her diary when the clock struck twelve. She glanced through the window, the grand clock tower staring right back, reminding her that it was time to head to bed,

She figured that it was right; the bags under her eyes were as weary as ever and she quickly began shuffling into bed. She blew out the candle, resting her head on the pillows, realizing that she actually wasn't going to fall asleep any time soon, a common occurrence these last few days.

Playing house with Anthony was unexpectedly the highlight of her weeks. To Amelia's surprise, she finds herself anticipating seeing him again, walking alongside him, and getting to know him better. Unfortunately, it all happens under the watch of the townspeople. 

She somehow understands their curious glances, their wandering eyes, and what it all means. They're thinking "who is she?" and more likely "what does he see in her?"

She allowed herself to fall into the fantasy momentarily. She liked being watched, observed, and more specifically, she enjoyed being envied. She'd never been in such a position before.

And for a second, she feels as though this is where she's meant to be.

But then she remembers.

She remembers that she's not really Rosalie Warner. She's Amelia. Not a debutante, not wealthy, not titled. Just a girl who was fortunate enough to have a rich and prominent best friend.

Since the beginning of the ruse, she only saw Anthony a few times a week, if she's lucky. In the times in between, not a word is spoken between the two of them. However, Amelia finds herself thinking about him a lot, mostly about how much she hates his voice and his behavior and just everything there is about him.

She grumbled out loud, realizing how much she lets him affect her mood and disturb her time that could be spent sleeping instead. Amelia buried her head further into the pillows and pushed away all further thoughts away from the vexing viscount.

She finally felt herself drifting away to sleep when she heard a thud on the window. Instinctively, she lifted her head up out of fear, but she was only faced again with the sight of the clock tower.

She shook her head, believing it was just the wind or the horses in the stable, and lay her head down again.

*thud*

This time, her eyes widen and her body paralyzes itself out of panic. Amelia threw the bedsheets aside and crawled to the window, trying to find the culprit before he finds her.

Instead, she was faced with the sight of a man, smiling softly, stones in his hand, wearing a black coat and hat, as if he was trying to blend into the night.

But she knew that smile all too well.

Anthony

Amelia stood up straight in front of the window and crossed her arms. She let him know she's clearly not happy to see him.

In response to her scowl, he holds up a bag in his hand and smiles sheepishly.

She smiles in her mind at the gesture of a gift, but quickly pinches his arm to remind herself that he doesn't actually care about her, she's just a pawn in his game.

~~~~~~~

Amelia managed to bring him to her room without waking anyone up, a task that has her feeling like a bandit in her own home.

She was so focused on being as stealthy as possible that she hadn't really taken a real good look at him since he showed up.

He was sitting on the bench placed on the edge of her bed. The bag he carried sat nicely on his lap.