More Today than Yesterday

Annoucements

"Thanks for dinner Sophie," Anthony said.

Elizabeth followed up, "Yeah, Sweetie, it was just lovely."

Sophie looked around at the people, grabbing Benedict's hand beneath the table for strength, "Thank you, but since we're done eating, there's something to tell you..."

Giving Benedict's hand a squeeze gave Sophie the resolution to continue, "Benedict and I are in love and have been seeing each other for a few months"

Nobody said anything for a few seconds, but looked around at each other, though Ben was the only one who looked a little surprised. Edmund received a little affirming nod from his wife and spoke, "We know dear, and we're happy for you."

"You knew?" Benedict asked in disbelief.

His mother answered, "We have seen the looks you give each other when you thought we weren't looking, but we didn't figure it out until a couple of weeks ago. We didn't want to meddle, so we didn't say anything."

Kate, Sophie and Benedict were stunned that the secret had not been so secret, while Anthony and the rest of the tribe were still working on the news that Sophie and Benedict were in love and that they'd kept it a secret. Clearly the Bridgerton Braincell was residing with Benedict this evening.

"We figured you'd tell us when you were ready," Elizabeth explained, "although we would like to hear more about it, like, when did it start?"

Neither Sophie nor Benedict answered immediately, so Edmund said, "Well, now that the big news is out, perhaps we should move to the sofa and talk."

He was halfway out of his chair when Benedict stopped him by saying "Actually, there's more."

Beneath the table, Sophie had slipped on the ring and brought it up for everyone to see, "We are getting married."

This time they received the reaction they expected; everyone but Benedict and Sophie sat staring with an open mouth.

Kate was the first to regain the use of her mouth, "You're engaged?!"

Sophie and Benedict just nodded and gave each other a squeeze under the table. Since their parents had taken the first announcement so well, they hoped for similar acceptance on the second.

Tears formed in Violet's and Elizabeth's eyes and a second later they started squealing with excitement.

"Oh, another of my babies is getting married!" was what Violet exclaimed, but Elizabeth corrected her, " Our babies are getting married... to each other."

The two mothers hugged briefly and Violet commanded, "Edmund, get the camera!"

The following ten minutes were filled with picture taking, hugs and congratulatory remarks, with a little curse from Edmund about not having champagne, but the water already in front of them worked just fine for a toast.

It felt a little weird for Benedict and Sophie to be able to hold hands in front of their parents when they had receded to the sofa, but it was nothing compared to how nice it also felt.

"That's so romantic!" both Violet and Elizabeth said when Sophie told them of what had happened on her birthday.

When they were asked about the proposal, Sophie told them about what Benedict had said, but left out the rest of the conversation in his room that morning.

Benedict and Sophie had decided to tell their parents about their relationship and the engagement, but wanted to wait with the pregnancy until later.

The rest of the evening was spent talking about how they fell in love and about wedding plans, though it was mostly the women who discussed the latter.