emeralds and diamonds ♔ bridgerton

Part 11

benedict bridgerton was a good guy.

i would know because i sent my assistant on a journey through his past. he wasn't a gambler, or a rake, or previously engaged. he was just a painter who left the academy. and one day he would step into his title, as would i.

or maybe i wouldn't. i don't believe anyone would like a duchess or duke who lives in another country. maybe it would be a better idea to just be a lady. i would be able to keep my status in court, keep some power, and receive a sizable allowance.

but i didn't want to be just some french noble lady living in england. but that's what would happen, unless i married someone other than benedict. if i married someone who loved their share of mistresses, i could escape to the countryside of france. then i would stay in london during the marriage season, make sure my kids were married off well.

then i would have to see him. every time i came to england i would have to see him and his family. he would be married off to some other girl, and she would have his children.

i couldn't bare that thought. but i could not propose to him, that would be absurd. the only time a woman has ever proposed marriage was when the crown fit on her head. and i don't mean a tiara, i mean the crown. i refused to give up my honor simply because the bridgerton boy did not understand that my time was running out.

"m'lady may i grab the blankets you are sitting on?" anne asked, she was mentioning the soft fabric that was sitting under me.

"oh yes anne, forgive me." i stood up, my skirts shuffling as i stepped closer to the window.

the ton was leaving aubrey hall this very night, which meant i had to leave aubrey hall. i hadn't unpacked much, knowing i would only be here for a week or so.

but still another week without an engagement. my mother thought i would be married by now. i wanted her and father to be at the wedding. i wanted to invite the both of them to england, for them to see it in all its glory.

i was engaged once. when i was at my 14th name day, lord sansar asked my father for my hand to be given to his son, richard. a heart shatterer he was. richard was about one year older than i. we could've been married if he stayed around in france long enough. after a month of our engagement he ran off with one of the maids. his father told the court that he disappeared one night. both my father's men and lord sansar's men went out to look for him, but of course they found nothing. i didn't want to tell anyone here about it though. an eligible lady, being left behind by some high-born son, and then covering it up with a lie? people will start to suspect some things. some people back at court said i pushed richard off the balcony because i didn't want to be married— some even said i stabbed him and burned his body. thank the lords above that there were no further investigations or i wouldn't be standing here.

"vicky is everything alright? you've haven't been all yourself lately?" anne stepped forward, placing her hand onto my forehead to feel it's heat.

"i've just been thinking."

"that seems to be the downfall of everyone." anne tried to bring some light into the conversation. but it was true. if it werent for anne boleyn thinking she could give a son to the king, she could have had a happier story. or if henry's fifth wife hadn't thought she could trust everyone i could've been england grown.

but thoughts are what truly change the world. in the new world, with the silk traders, with my cousins that live in the irish mountains. it wasn't the actions of kings or ministers, it was everyone's thoughts.

————————————————————————-

"you must marry her!" or something like it ran through benedict's mind, but it was his brothers, not his own.

colin had finally come to his realization about why victoria spent so much time together. at first he believed that his brother was just going to paint a portrait for her, then he thought they were just trying to be friends for him, then when he saw them riding together he realized. by inviting his old friend to spend a few days at aubrey hall, he had made two people fall in love. aphrodite would have no power compared to his.

but benedict had been in love with her this whole time. that first night, it was so comfortable talking to her. not because the amount of drinks they had been passed by the circling lower-class servers; but because they were destined for each other. like there was a reason she was at that party that he so desperately wanted to attend, and he never wanted to attend such a soirée.

he began to scramble for anything that could resemble a ring. or maybe he could propose with words, then give her a ring on the marriage day.

he had to beg for marriage today or it would be too late. from whistledown's newest writing it suggested that victoria stayed away from most of her more suitable proposers because she knew that the moment she stepped back in london, she was to be in an engagement.

but that is what would make this so perfect. the prince would not win this battle. not even a duke or a viscount. it would be a very rich gentleman who spends his days painting. painting whatever made him feel happy. and lately his murals had turned into things that reminded him of her. like the tudor rose, with all of its crimson red and it's snowy white petals. or the emerald that shade could kill.

but those things that reminded him of her, made him feel so joyous.

at home.

she was his new home.

things are spicing up!!! i have everything planned out so now i just have to write it!!! and i have a 3 day weekend with no practice so i am expecting at least on chapter to be done by the end of the week.
can we also talk about the fact that it's only tuesday, like how does this make sense.
also the artemis thing? stupidest thing ever. i live about like 30 minutes away from where it was to be launching from so that day was an excused absence (my mom didn't let me skip) so traffic sucked. it's literally not landing on the moon.
i'm so sorry if you read through this all

until next chapter,

remsupport