Aspire - Kanthony's continuation story

Chapter 6 - Modistes, marriages and mares

Bridgerton House, August 1815

Kate sighed as she lay on the bed and caressed her bare belly with her fingertips. She could already trace the little bump that had appeared on her body, but still it felt like it would take forever before she would be able to meet this child. Unfortunately, she craved for some new substance into her life at this very instant. They had already stayed in London for over a month and it had become tediously clear that the honeymoon was surely over. Not in the way that Anthony would be any less passionate about her, nobody could blame him for that, but he simply did not have as much time to spend with her as they both would have wished to. Even though Anthony had delegated some of the estate's less pressing matters to Benedict while they were away in India, the pile of paperwork waiting for him in London had proved out to be high as a mountain. He spent all day at his workroom, from early morning till late in the night. Then he would collapse in bed next to Kate, after managing to only exchange a few quick words with her.

Kate had learned to know better than to disturb him in his daunting task of bringing down the mountain of piled up paperwork, since he was always either cursing furiously or so engulfed in studying something that he did not even notice her entering the room. To make matters worse, Daphne and Augie had fallen into a terrible influenza some time ago, which of course had stressed out both Anthony and Kate even more, preventing the duchess from arriving in London as she had planned. Meanwhile Kate was still new to society in London and she had no interest in roaming around alone on tiresome balls, trying to find some new friends. But luckily both Daphne and Augie were now healthy again and would be arriving in London tomorrow.

Also the other Bridgerton siblings seemed to be busy with their own endeavours in the capital. Colin was constantly out with his many friends, Benedict was absorbed into his art, Francesca into her music, Gregory and Hyacinth into their classes and Eloise in frequenting the many libraries of the city. A hobby, which Kate also had put all her efforts into, now that she was unable to ride horses. After a while she had felt like she had read every interesting book there was – twice – and her days felt hopelessly empty again. She was quite confident that Daphne had a better knowledge of the many interesting events London surely had to offer, but Daphne was not due until tomorrow and today Kate had one more dull task to accomplish – a visit to the modiste with a reluctant Eloise. She got up from bed, rang for her maid and put on an emerald green dress, then went to chase out Eloise from her room wallpapered with pictures of Mary Wollstonecraft.

"I hate it." Eloise spat out when she saw herself in the modiste's mirror wearing her new dress for the last ball of the season. The dress itself was a pretty light-pink thing with diamond embroidery, but perhaps rather chosen by Violet than Eloise herself.

"Eloise, Madame Delacroix has made a great effort to create you this beautiful dress..." Kate muttered in a mildly scolding tone. "I believe you look absolutely lovely in it."

"If Miss Eloise wishes to do some alterations, there is still plenty of time to fix it." Madame Delacroix smiled understandingly. Kate flashed a grateful smile at her.

"I do not wish to fix this dress, I wish to fix the circumstance of me wearing these stupid dresses and going to those mindless balls at all...!" Eloise hissed.

"Pardon me, might we have a moment?" Kate asked Madame Delacroix apologetically.

"Of course, Viscountess Bridgerton." She purred in her French accent, curtsied and swooshed away to another room.

"Eloise, darling... If you really do not wish to go to that ball, you obviously do not have to." Kate sighed and sat down at one of the modiste's elegant sofas.

"Are you being serious...?" Eloise looked surprised and jumped down from the podium where she had been trying out the dress.

"I am." Kate smiled and patted at the empty spot next to her on the sofa. Eloise slumped down on Kate's side, paying no attention to whether her new dress might get ripped or not.