A Loveless Marriage: A Bridgerton Story

Chapter 2

It had been a few hours and Kathryn could not fall asleep, though she could not figure out why. It could have been the excitement of getting to see her family after a long six months. Or it could be the fact that she was hoping Anthony would come to bed sometime in the night.

Since it was so late Kathryn did not bother waking Anne. She knew the woman needed to get as much rest as possible. Subconsciously she roamed the halls and ended up in front of Anthony's study. The door was partially cracked open and the light shone through. Kathryn stood outside the door listening in to see if she could hear any noise. After a few moments of dead silence, she cracked open the door peaking in.

There lay Anthony on the couch in his study. He looked quite uncomfortable lying on the small couch. Kathryn could not help but wonder if he had fallen asleep there by accident or by choice so he did not have to share a bed with her. Not that he could not have gone to one of the many other rooms that filled Aubrey Hall.

Carefully and quietly Kathryn walked over to her husband. Her eyes grazed over the features of his face. His shirt was unbuttoned carelessly and his hair looked like he had run his hand through it a million times. Despite his somewhat messy appearance Kathryn could not help but think he still looked very handsome. Anthony was a good-looking man, that was one of the things that had drawn her to him in the beginning. And the fact that her father had been friends with his before he passed.

Kathryn let out a small sigh before grabbing a blanket off the back of a nearby chair and draping it over her husband's body. She looked down at his face one more time. He looked so at peace, something she never saw grace his face. Anthony shifted making Kathryn jump slightly. She quickly made her way out of the study not wanting to be there if the Viscount woke up.

Kathryn soon found herself in the room that occupied all of her art supplies. It was one thing she had requested when moving into Aubrey Hall and Anthony did not argue with her. It was almost as if it was meant to be because there had already been a room set up with supplies left there by Anthony's brother Benedict.

Kathryn had never really gotten the chance to talk with Benedict about his love for the arts for as soon as they had gotten married Anthony had moved them back to Aubrey Hall. Though looking at some of the old sketches and paintings that were left behind, she could tell that Benedict was serious about his craft. She hoped that maybe he would be in the ton this season and maybe she could pick his brain about a few things.

"It's late," someone said behind her making her jump.

Kathryn turned around to see Anthony standing in the doorway.

"Sorry. I did not mean to scare you," Anthony said.

"It's quite all right my Lord," Kathryn said, "I could not sleep so I decided to come and paint. It usually helps me relax."

Anthony walked closer to Kathryn peering over her shoulder at her painting.

"It's quite good," Anthony commented.

"Thank you," Kathryn said turning back to her painting and looking at it.

"Have you been there before?" Anthony asked.

"Yes. It is the garden at my childhood home. I spent so much time in this garden as a child I can picture every detail of it," Kathryn said.

Anthony looked down at his wife. The smile on her face made him smile slightly. He could tell that this garden was something that meant so much to her.

"It is my favorite place," Kathryn whispered.

Kathryn became aware of how close Anthony was standing behind her. She looked over her shoulder staring up at her husband. Anthony looked down into her bright blue eyes. Kathryn let out a shaky breath as Anthony's eyes looked from hers to her lips.

Though they were married they had only kissed once, at the altar on their wedding day. Anthony had not even kissed her when they consummated the marriage. Though she did not have any knowledge in that area, she knew that husbands and wives were supposed to kiss each other. Her parents had always shown each other affection around the house. They were the definition of true love. Sure they had not been in love when they first married but they had grown to love each other. They had both been lucky to love their life partner, something many do not get the opportunity to do.

Kathryn's heart yearned to have that kind of love with her husband one day. But it was like Anthony had done everything in his power the past six months to not let that happen. He had even gone so far as the leave his new bride a week after their wedding and had not returned for six months. Kathryn only hoped that this social season could maybe change that. Maybe if they were together more a love could grow. She did not know why Anthony tried to push her away but she was determined to figure it out.

Anthony cleared his throat taking a step back from his wife in front of him, "We better get some rest. We have an early departure in the morning."

"Umm yes. We should get some rest," Kathryn said.

Anthony turned and started walking toward the door. He noticed that Kathryn was not following him so her turned to look at her.

"Are you coming, Lady Bridgerton?" Anthony asked.

"I will be there shortly. I just need to clean up a bit," Kathryn choked out trying not to cry.

"All right," Anthony said before walking out of the door.

As soon as she knew that Anthony was away from the room Kathryn let the tears fall from her eyes. She did not understand why he was acting the way he was. What had she ever done in life to deserve a loveless marriage?

After pulling herself together and cleaning up her paints she walked to the bedroom. She quietly opened the door seeing Anthony sleeping on the bed. She kicked off her slippers, placed her robe on the chair, and walked over to the bed. She lay down, careful not to wake up Anthony.

She laid with her back toward him, their almost kiss running through her mind. It really messed with her mind the fact that he would not even kiss her. Her must be repulsed by her.

Little did Kathryn know Anthony too was lying awake on the other side of the bed also thinking about their almost kiss. He knew that keeping himself distanced from her was going to be hard. He knew that after their wedding night, it would be difficult to keep his distance from her. But he did not think that on his first night back with her he was going to have to already stop himself from kissing her. Anthony had gone so far as to make himself busy with work the past six months just so that he could put distance between himself and his wife. Kathryn was a beautiful girl, she always had been. If he was going to keep his distance he was going to have to work hard to not put himself in a situation like that again.

A little look into Anthony's perspective on things...next chapter we'll get to join the family!
~A