𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 ☼︎ 𝒂.𝒃

𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐 𝒊𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒔

'grosvenor square, 1813. dearest reader the time has come t- place our bets for the upcoming social season. consider the household of the baron featherington. three misses foisted upon the marriage market like sorrowful sows by their tasteless tactless mama. far better odds might exist in the household of the widowed viscountess bridgerton, a shocking prolific family, noted for its bounty of perfectly handsome sons and perfectly beautiful daughters. how very perfect indeed. or more so you might find the even odds in the household of the baron durham, an ally family to the bridgertons. no thanks to the friendly ties between viscount bridgerton and miss durham, two childhood friends. how lucky indeed. the durhams are known for their mature and kind children, two older brothers who married for love in their first season and their daughters. miss colette durham and lillian durham. lily was lucky enough to not be ripe enough to be plucked into the season quite yet. but for miss colette, well she wasn't as lucky.'

so that's how the miss durham herself found herself before her mirror, her maid rushing around her with the outfit choices of the day. hearing her sister rushing down the corridor, they were already going to be late. her maid, frella had eventually chosen a beautiful cream coloured dress, the trims a most wonderful lavender in colour. making haste work of her hair too, a twisted bun at the nape of her neck. with a few curls framing her face giving the young lady an elegant look as frella added a small bundle of lavender into the bun. and with that she was ready. following her family outside, the bridgertons and featheringtons tumbling out of their homes as well. however once again, no sign of anthony bridgerton. so colette simply waved towards the rest of the siblings with a kind smile before climbing into her carriage. her sister who was already inside patted the space beside her, even though she knew colette would sit beside her anyways. her mother and father joined soon after.

"you look beautiful etta." lillian mumbled to her sister, and she did. a warm smile lifted onto colette's face straight away as she patted her sisters head. causing the girl to grin yet swat her away.

"it will be your turn soon lils, and you'll outshine me.'' colette spoke softly, lily's face bursted into joy upon the second the words left her lips. lillian had always felt second place to colette so hearing her sister say that truly meant a lot to the little girl. well not really little, only a year until she would join her but she would always be little to colette. and before long the carriages were pulling into the courtyard, the bridgertons in front of the piling out of their carriage. each girl looked as beautiful as the last as usual. when colette's eyes landed on the man himself. lord bridergton walking to the eldest sister daphne.

"anthony! you are here." daphne spoke, drawing her eyes from the building before her to look at her brother who had stode over to them. daphne taking note that the cart behind them held the durhams.

"of course i am here, sister. i'd never miss such an important day for you and colette." anthony told her as he viewed around them, almost like he was looking for someone. colette.

"no you would be just late for it." violet bridgerton spoke as she joined her children in front of their carriage. anthony only gave his mother a small smile in return.

"very anthony like, indeed." a voice behind him called, all of them turning to look at whom it may have been. and who else but colette.

"well hello to you, dearest durham." anthony snickered as his brothers smiled at their childlike actions.

"ouch, last names. that one truly hurt. see you around lord sideburns." she smiled, mockingly bowing before him before turning back to her family. the rest of the family only scoffed at the girl's response as anthony simply rolled his eyes at the girl. only she would speak to him in such a tone, a very unlady-like way. simply because anthony was her best friend. although her family did not agree with her bickering friendship with lord bridgerton, no matter how hard they tried her to act, talk a certain way. it suddenly seemed to fade away around the viscount himself.

"shall we?" he asked daphne, holding his arm out for her to take, he would be the one to lead her inside. and soon the bridgertons were making their way inside, closely followed by the durhams themselves.

'today is the most important day, and for some a terrifying one. for today is the day london's marriage-minded misses are presented to her majesty the queen. may god have mercy on their souls.' inside many of london's ladies were found being bustled around, hairs adorned in large white feathers. colette couldn't help link them all to birds, birds that would be led into a room where all eyes would be scrutinising their every movement. selecting them out like animals to be chosen. it was rather patronising however colette was a lady, and ladies had a reputation to uphold in this society. nothing more than trophy wives, pretty dolls in the arms of noble men.

"miss prudence featherington, miss philippa featherington, and miss penelope featherington. all presented by their mother, the right honourable lady featherington." a man spoke, presenting the ladies as the doors swung upon. three misses appearing from behind. all three trying to squeeze through the doors at the same time. the three made their way to stop before the queen bowed under her uninterested gaze.

'it is only the queen's eye that matters today. a glimmer of displeasure and a young lady's value plummets to unthinkable depths.' the queen simply wavering them off very clearly uninterested as she leaned back into her chair once more. prudence growing slightly pale and then came the thud as she hit the floor. she had passed out before the queen herself. now that must have been a very bad impression to give.