Falling for a Bridgerton : a Bridgerton fanfic

chapter 31: happily ruined

Two can play this game

Eloise patted her dress down and tucked her hair behind her ears. She took a deep breath and walked towards the corner of the ballroom.

Through the corner of her eyes, she noticed Mabel watching, her eyes widened as if Eloise was a ghost that no one else could see.

Eloise marched towards the fireplace, where she spotted a familiar splash of dirty blond hair. She walked up to him and tapped his shoulder. He turned and smiled when he saw who it was, "Miss Bridgerton."

Eloise smiled back just as brightly, "Mr. Carrington."

A thought fleeted across Eloise's mind, as she noticed Mabel was still watching. Was it incredibly cruel to flirt with a man that had led them to meet?

Eloise silently shook the thought away. What Mabel had done was a thousand times worse than what Eloise could ever imagine.

Eloise cleared her throat and lifted her right hand up. Mr. Carrington, or Wesley, clearly not used to the attention, stuttered before he carried her hand to his lips and kissed it.

Eloise was suddenly grateful she was wearing gloves.  She cleared her throat and put on her best debutante voice, "So Mr. Carrington," she said as demurely as possible. "I was very happy to see you tonight."

"You are?" he was very shocked. In his defense, his surprise was warranted, she wasn't that happy to see him the last time they encountered.

"Yes, I am. I know the last time, I was just very shy, I just thought you were so incredibly.....handsome." Eloise choked back her words, she felt like throwing up any second. But she had to keep up the ruse. She could still see Mabel staring, almost glaring at the sight.

Mr. Carrington took a step closer to her. Further up, Eloise could see he was not actually bad-looking. He was only a few years older than her and his green-blue eyes seemed to have been taken from the ocean itself. But what stood out the most was his smile; he seemed genuine. And kind.

It made Eloise feel bad for how she rejected him last time, though she really didn't mean to be that brash.

"Miss Bridgerton, would you care for a dance?"

They were basically standing an inch away. Eloise looked through the side of her eyes and noticed how the man beside Mabel was still chattering in her ear. Mabel tried to seem interested but she couldn't stop staring at Eloise.  A memory pricked Eloise's mind.

Eloise, I really like you. Trust me, I do. But this - you and I - can't happen.

Eloise stared back at Wesley and smiled. She picked up her fan and inched closer, as she stood on the tip of her toes. She leaned forward and whispered into his ear, "it would be my pleasure."

At this moment, she saw Mabel's eyes widen, shake her head, and rush straight towards the door. Eloise was fuming.

What the hell! She told me it's over but she's mad at me for moving on?

Eloise could feel steam come out of her ears and picked up her dress and began to head towards the door.

She quickly turned and looked back to poor Mr. Carrington who looked just as dejected the first time they met. "I'm so sorry. I have to go. I'm so sorry."

He stared back at her with shock but gave her a quick nod. She smiled and rushed out of the room.

She ran out to the front yard and ran down the stairs. It was so dark that without a lantern, she could barely make out any faces. As she took a view of the courtyard, she noticed a figure running through the gardens.