rage. [A. Bridgerton]

iii

Brown guilty eyes and little white lies. Evelyn could no longer stand to pretend his rendezvous did not impair her feelings. She knew of his outings to the brown-haired, doe-eyed opera singer. He had given Evelyn his word that he had canceled their meetings, but that was certainly just fabrication.

...

The air was crisp that morning in the park. White-fluffy clouds float across the sky. There was a small breeze that came and went as it pleased. Evelyn wore a light blue dress that was complemented by an off-white shaw wrapped around her petite frame. Charlotte was steadily walking behind the miss. 

'I do not know how you can stand here in deception, Anthony.'

Evelyn could not escape the memories that haunted her. She had decided on a promenade to help settle her thoughts; however, instead of resting, those thoughts became quite boisterous.

'I love her, I'm sorry.'

Her heart ached at the thought of that night. The next day, she had left for Aunt Hattie's, hoping the next few months would omit her memories. They did not. Evelyn knew her heart belonged to Anthony Bridgerton. Yet his belonged to another. 'How satirical,' Evelyn thought. 

...

Evelyn was a sap for balls, though she would never admit it to her brothers. So when Lady Danbury's invitation arrived at her door, she spent all of the next afternoon getting ready for the occasion. Promising herself that she would have at least one dance with a potential suitor.

The cool evening air greeted Evelyn as she and her two eldest brothers found their way into Lady Danbury's ball. Elliott was quick to remove himself from the other two Ellsworth siblings as he made his way to dance with an eligible lady. Evelyn stood beside Elias. "Do you think he is going to bruise the poor woman's toes?" Evelyn bantered with her eldest brother. 

"That poor thing won't know what happened come tomorrow morning," Elias shook his head. 

Evelyn looked around the room. She saw an annoyed-looking Lord Ambrose rush past her. Looking in the direction he came from, her eyes met none other than the Viscount Anthony Bridgerton. Evelyn looked away quickly. She refused to give him the time of day. 

"I do think I found a rather lovely lady to dance with, Eve," Elias stated, looking at a curly-haired woman. She did not know her name. "You should be fine, right?" Before Evelyn could object, Elias made his way to the nameless woman. 

'Marvelous,' Evelyn thought. 

"Miss Ellsworth," a familiar voice greeted her.  

Lord Berbrooke stood beside Evelyn. Much to her dismay, Evelyn smiled at the heinous man.

"Lord Berbrooke," she greeted shortly.

"May I propose a dance?" 

Evelyn began to feel queasy at the thought of Lord Berbrooke and any type of proposal. 

"Lord Berbrooke, I do apologize but I am feeling rather unwell so I must decline," she made a small bow before quickly retreating to anywhere but in the presence of Lord Berbrooke. 

However, the man was not going to take no for an answer. He attempted to make way to Evelyn but was wrapped in bystanders' conversations. 

Evelyn did not look back. In fact, she did not look ahead either, the only thing on her mind was to escape the sight of the atrocious Lord Berbrooke. Then suddenly, Evelyn was knocked to the ground. Embarrassment clouded her face as she looked at the body she ran into. 

Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings. 

"I do apologize, Miss Ellsworth," Simon smirked, holding out a hand for her to grab. 

"Basset, I have missed your arrogant face!" Evelyn proclaimed, happily accepting his hand. 

Bystanders were laughing at Evelyn's fall; however, quickly turned to silence when the duke offered his assistance. 'Serves them good,' Evelyn thought. Thought out of her peripheral vision, she saw Lord Berbrooke making haste. 

"Simon, what a great friend you are, I would love to dance!"

"I did not a-"

Evelyn gave the poor man a deathly stare. Before he could fully object again, Evelyn urged the duke to join the dance floor.

"Do you want to tell me why you were scrambling me for dance, Miss Ellsworth," Simon questioned.  

"Well, your grace, I just missed you so dearly," Evelyn mocked. Simon laughed. 

"Truth be told, Lord Berbrooke would not take no for an answer," Evelyn said in a little more than a whisper, hoping to not attract the attention of the dancers beside them. 

The two switched partners for a split second before returning back to one another. 

"Ah, that brazen man," Simon nodded understandingly. 

Soon the dance was over. The pair walked to the refreshment area for lemonade. "We do have a lot to catch up on, Ellsworth," Simon stated before finishing his lemonade in one gulp. 

"That we do, Basset, that we do."

The moment was soon interrupted by Lady Featherington bringing her two eldest daughters to the duke. Within seconds, many more flocked to the duke. Evelyn couldn't hold her laugh in. She covered her mouth with her gloved hand. Her other hand held her lemonade as she watched Simon, her eldest friend, get bombarded with mamas and their daughters. The poor thing. 

Evelyn smiled as she stood there, simply enjoying her lemonade.

"Evelyn," she heard a dainty voice greet her. 

"Daphne!" Evelyn smiled and took the small woman in her arms for a quick hug. "It is so lovely to see you tonight."

"Likewise," Daphne returned the hug before grabbing her own small cup of lemonade. 

The two women fell into the small talk before Lady Bridgerton approached the two. 

"Evelyn, you look astounding."

"Thank you, Lady Bridgerton," Evelyn made a small curtsy to greet the older woman. 

"Your mama would be so proud to see you tonight," Lady Bridgerton beamed, taking in her departed friend's daughter. "Please, you must join us for dinner sometime." 

"I would be most elated," Evelyn smiled. 

"Now, dearest, I believe Lord Wetherby is looking for you to dance." 

Lady Bridgerton took Daphne's hand and they both said their goodbyes. Evelyn couldn't help but smile at the two. The Viscountess always had a way of ensuring her family's success, something she admired in the older woman. Along with her strength. 

Lady Danbury soon made an appearance, both Elias and Elliott escorting her. "Miss Ellsworth," she chimed, "I do believe we are long overdue for a visit to the opera house, hmm?" 

The opera. 

Evelyn used to attend many shows with Lady Danbury before she discovered a certain fiasco taking place in the broom closet. 

"Oh, I do not believe-"

"Nonsense, I shall see you in a few days time, yes?"

"But I-" 

Evelyn quickly shut up once she saw the look on Lady Danbury's face. There was no point in arguing with the woman, for she would always win. Evelyn smiled sheepishly. 

"Yes, Lady Danbury, I shall see you there."