𝐁𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐞 ✔️

Chapter 11 - Coming to your rescue

While the stuff with the boys was going on this is Emma's POV:

The horse galloped down the field, while the breeze blew against them. Emma felt free again like she did at Lady Danbury's ball. The riding was exhilarating, but not enough to keep the past from circling in her mind. Tears started to rise to the surface as her old memories played in her head. She needed to let him go, to live her life without torturing her heart every day when she often thought about him. It was like every time she got closer to escaping the past, it was right there behind her.

"This way!" Emma shouted as she steered the horse to the right.

She began to head back to the stable but made a detour around the rest of the property of the Bridgertons.

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Back to now:

Anthony spun back around and ambled over to the tall creep standing near his brothers. He portioned his fist up, going in for a punch as Benedict pulled him away from something stupid. Benedict explained to his brother how it would be rather foolish to fight in an open area for others to see, to which Anthony agreed and Lord Chamberlyn scoffed.

"How about the two of you..duel?" Colin hesitated.

"Not again.." Benedict mumbled, referring to the last time Anthony dueled with Simon.

"No by fencing, how stupid can you be brother." Colin jeered. He rolled his eyes and then handed both the men a sword. They of course agreed to the fight, but Lord Chamberlyn wanted to make the fight worth something more than honor.

"Whoever wins gets Miss Harrington." Lord Chamberlyn bet, making the others stare at him with disgust.

"That is absurd even coming from you. She is not an object." Anthony testified.  Benedict thought of an idea as his brother spoke, blurting it out mid-conversation. "If Anthony wins, you must leave Emma alone." The man took a minute to think about the offer before giving an official yes.

"What do you say, Mr. Chamberlyn?" Colin asked. The man gave in and accepted. "Very well." Matthew grabbed an extra pair of gloves and slipped them on. He unbuttoned his red vest, throwing it to the ground, and then tucked his black cravat into his white shirt.

The men pointed their swords forward as both of them got into their stances. Benedict cleared his throat before yelling go.

The two men swung at each other, Anthony blocked Matthew's left to hit and swung at his right to which Mr. Chamberlyn did the same. The sword fighting consisted of constant blocking, causing Colin and Benedict to get bored of having to wait on a winner.

Until, Anthony struck in an unexpected direction, making his opponent think he was for his left again, but ended up hitting him in the stomach. Anthony smirked as he watched Matthew throw down his sword and turned away with his hands on his head. He was absolutely angry at his loss and started to pace back and forth. Colin and Benedict clapped for their brother as they were finally ready for this fight to be over.

"You remember the deal, stay away from her," Anthony demanded. The men grew quiet as they watched the young lord reach into his coat. The brothers exchanged looks, indicating that the three of them knew what was about to happen.

Matthew slowly pulled out a pistol and pointed it at Anthony.

"No, you are going to stay away and keep all contact to a minimum." Lord Chamberlyn threatened. Anthony stood there dismayed at the gun pointed at him. He didn't want to die and the thought of losing Emma to a fool such as him broke his heart.

"You have my word." Anthony avowed then backed up slowly. Benedict and Colin stayed in their spots, too scared to move a muscle.

"You think I am stupid? You will want to associate with her and I am not going to allow it!" Lord Chamberlyn shouted as the gun shook in his hand from him being nervous. "I will keep my distance as I promised. There is no need to make matters worst." Anthony reassured and continued to back up. Matthew ordered him to stop moving or he was going to shoot. He wasn't going to stop until he got what he wanted which was for all of them to keep their distance from her, for she was his now. Nobody else could have her. He was to make sure of it.

"She will never love you." Anthony implied. "And you think she will love you?" Lord Chamberlyn asked, scoffing at the thought.

"No, but I will never let her marry a fool like you." Anthony spat, already accepting his fate. Matthew screamed for him to shut up, the gun still shaking in his hand. "Bloody hell, do you wish to die or something?" Mr. Chamberlyn questioned. Anthony took a deep breath before answering, "If that is what it takes for you to leave her be." His brothers stared at him in disbelief, completely shocked at what he wished for.

"Deal." Mr. Chamberlyn shouted, trying to push the trigger of the pistol back. Benedict ran towards Anthony, while Colin ran to unarm the distressed man. As he knocked Matthew to the ground.

The gun fired.

Benedict had already pushed Anthony out of the way, but a heroic woman on a white horse rode in the middle of the gunfire. The bullet hit her, causing the horse to neigh loudly as its front legs lifted in the air. The lifeless body that once sat on the horse's back, fell off. Her body lay cold in the grass as the damage knocked her out.

"EMMA!" Anthony shouted then stood up to rush over to her. Benedict stood up as well, watching Anthony cradle the bleeding woman. Colin screamed for help as he and Matthew looked back at the woman lying dead on the ground.

"Please wake up, you can not die on me, I will not let you.."Anthony cried out. She laid unconscious as he rested his head on hers, letting tears roll down his cheeks. Benedict's eyes started to tear up as he watched the blood drip on the grass.

The police swapped places with the Bridgerton holding down Lord Chamberlyn, pulling him up from the ground and dragging him away from the scene. Physicians ran over to Anthony, trying to remove the young woman from his grasp, but he refused to give her up not wanting to leave her side.

"Anthony she is dying, let her go!" Benedict ordered. The words pierced his heart as his hands loosened their grip on her body. One of the physicians picked Emma up and hurried her inside the Bridgerton home. Anthony was still sitting in the grass, staring at the blood on his hands. He couldn't move his body as he started to realize this might be the last time he would see her. Bullet wounds are never easy to save people from, and the person he needed to be saved was one of them. Colin and Benedict staggered over to him before helping him up, Anthony hugged Benedict. He began to weep in his arms.

"Is it my fault?" Anthony cried. Colin looked at his wreck of a brother, "No, not everything is on your hands, Anthony." He turned to look at Colin and showed the blood drying on the palm of his hands. "But she is."

Hours passed and the house was hushed throughout, while a sound of wind roaring against the fragile glass windows murmured in the distance. The muffled voices on the other side of the chamber wall awakened Emma. She could hear the sound of footsteps vacating the halls and staff slipping in and out of rooms. Others quickly ushered down the flight of stairs.

She became aware of her surroundings as a breeze of cold air shivered on her skin. Soreness covered her left upper arm, she glanced down towards the injury where the bullet grazed the skin, and bone was exposed. It was obvious the physicians had tried to apply pressure to the wound by wrapping a rag around it tightly, but blood still seeped through the cloth. When the bullet struck her, she didn't feel a thing. It was like numbness repleted her body. Adrenaline was running through her before the incident, due to her past coming back up to the surface.

Emma looked to the nightstand on her left and eyed the red and pink roses held together by a white ribbon and a note. She reached her hand out, struggling to grab the bouquet as a sharp pain came from the injury again.

"Ahhh!" Emma screamed as the aching took over her. The medical helpers burst through the wooden door and ran to the woman's side. They were able to aid the gash with alcohol and stitch up the wound, but the discomfort caused her to scream in agony. She needed it to end, for the torment to end. It would be insane to want to die and be highly dramatic, but such torment was not bearable.

The room was brimmed with people and the air reeked of the smell of rust and blood. Sweat plundered down Emma's forehead as she felt her breathing coming to a stop and her eyes lids falling shut.

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