rage. [A. Bridgerton]

v

❝ I have not broken your heart - you have broken it; and in breaking it, you have broken mine ❞

"You appear displeased, daughter," her papa stated, looking at the young woman who sat in the window seat. A book was in her hand but her thoughts were elsewhere. He noticed it after the tenth sigh she had let out while he was trying to work on his ledger. Evelyn looked from her book to the older gentleman that sat at the mahogany desk. 

She had been reading William Shakespear. Or trying to read.

"I just find it odd that betrayal is so... so ubiquitous," she started. "I mean how does one think it okay to simply murder their friend?"

Edward raised an eyebrow, his reading glasses placed on the bridge of his nose. 

"I mean truly, men seem to just hold hands with betrayal," she rambled. "Like Brutus and Caesar... or even Judas!" Evelyn continued.

Edward took his reading glasses off of his face, putting them gently down on his desk. He knew he was not going to be able to get any work done any time soon.

"Are you sure we are talking about Brutus, Caesar, or even Judas?" he questioned.

Evelyn closed her book. She sighed for the tenth hundredth time that morning, "no, I do not know who else we would be talking about besides the three."

"Uh-huh."

"But now that is brought up, papa, that Viscount Bridgerton is truly one piece of work."

Edward kept from letting out a hearty laugh. The truth was, he knew of his daughter's admiration for the Viscount and the Viscount's admiration for his daughter. He saw the stolen glances between the two. The small touches the two would exchange in secret. It reminded him of his late wife. The Viscountess and he had a gamble on who would finally mention their feelings.

"Anthony Bridgerton?" he questioned. 

"Yes, Anthony Bridgerton. That little-"

"Evelyn," he stopped her.

Evelyn sighed and got up from her seat. She walked over to her papa's desk and sat in one of the matching leather seats in front of the desk. "He's just daft, papa. I feel bad for the Viscountess and daphne."

"Well, that is truly unfortunate as I made plans for you to accompany the Bridgerton's for dinner tonight," he casually stated.

"I- You- What?"

He shrugged and smiled, changing the subject to her brothers. 

━━━━━━━༺༻━━━━━━━

The dining room was full of exquisite paintings. There was the Bridgerton family crest, a painting of Aubrey Hall, and a painting of the family playing pall mall. Evelyn, though sitting right beside Anthony, felt welcomed into the family's eating place. She loved how they all ate together. Usually, it was just Evelyn, Emmett, and her papa who ate at the dinner table together as her older two brothers were always out around the ton.

"For all we know, Whistledown maybe some interloper living in Bloomsbury of all places," Anthony stated his hands clasped together. 

Evelyn shook her head, "What should be so terrible about Bloomsbury? Is it because people there actually work for a living?"

Benedict and Collin snickered at Evelyn's rebut. The table had been debating Lady Whistledown's identity after Eloise had brought up her latest edition.

"She does seem to be someone with access," Daphne agreed, sending a small smile to Evelyn.

"Who knows if Whistledown is even a she?"