Midnight Rain:

Prologue:

The Viscount Anthony Bridgerton exited the carriage at his mistress's house, Siena Russo. 

She was a famous opera singer, but tonight, he was prepared to bring her to his sister Daphne's ball to show the world that he loved her and wanted her to be his new Viscountess.

He carried the bouquet and walked up to the door, using the golden ring knocker to knock on it. He stepped back when he waited for the door to open. But instead of Siena, it was a man only in his long white tunic shirt. "Oh... Apologies," Anthony said with widened eyes since he had not expected to see the man.

"My lord..."

His shocked expression turned sad when he heard Siena's voice. She walked up to the gentleman who opened the door, and the gentleman stared down Anthony like he was trying to insert his dominance.

"Give me a moment, my love, and I shall return upstairs," Siena said softly to the gentleman, who gave her a small smile before he returned upstairs. Siena looked at the ground as her breathing staggered. 

She did not want Anthony to see her with the other gentleman, but she kept replaying their conversation earlier. They were happy. But her fear got the better of her. 

She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She tried again, swallowing harshly, when she tried to think of what to say. "I thought about coming with you tonight. I envisioned myself on your arm... dancing the entire night away. But my imagination was the furthest I could allow myself to go..." She started to explain when he continued to look at her in shock.

"Siena, what are you doing?"

"What am I doing? What am I--" she asked, sounding slightly angry by his question as if he did not know the answer. She paused to keep a calmer approach. "I am doing the very thing I have always done. I am looking out for myself. I am ensuring my own future. Because I know... in my heart... I know that there is no one else who ever will." She said, her voice cracking a bit as she fought back the tears.

"I tried... You must know, I... I tried." Anthony tried to explain to her, but he was hurt.

"What I know is that you are lost. And I cannot allow you to set me adrift as well," she said to him, making him sigh deeply. "You need to let me go," she told him, blinking away the tears.

Anthony sighed, pressing his lips together, when he shook his head. "I know I have been unfair--"

"Let me go." She demanded, not letting him finish his sentence. "I am comfortable. I am content. That gentleman upstairs... he sees me for who I am." She started to explain, pointing toward the staircase inside the small apartment. "Unlike you, he does not wish for me to don some ridiculous gown and go with him to some absurd ball. He does not wish for me to change. And neither do I. You need to let me go..." She said with tears welling up in her eyes.

Anthony continued to shake his head lightly when his eyes filled up with tears. "You're right." He sighed, giving in as he did not feel like he deserved to feel this blindsided. "I am sorry, Siena. I'm so sorry." He apologized, but she just bit her bottom lip, shutting the door and letting him stand there, looking down the street before ditching the bouquet and leaving.

The following day, Anthony joined his family in saying goodbye to his younger brother, Colin, who was about to go on a tour around the world.

"I shall write to you all from Greece," Colin said to his family while he sat on his horse. One of the staff members held the reins to keep the horse still while Colin bid his goodbyes to his family. He would not see them until the start of the next season when Eloise would make her debut.

"Do not forget to bring me a gift." The youngest Bridgerton son, Gregory, said to his brother.

"It is not a gift if you have to ask," Hyacinth, the youngest Bridgerton child and daughter, said, looking at her slightly older brother. "I would fancy anything blue... or white," she said, turning her attention to Colin.

The rest of the family chuckled at the young girl's hypocrisy. Colin tipped his hat before riding away. 

"Anthony..." Daphne said, gaining her eldest brother's attention as she stood between him and her husband, Simon, the Duke of Hastings. "I do not recall seeing you last night," Daphne said, referring to the ball she hosted with her husband, which ended up being a chance for the newlyweds to recover from the rocky start to their marriage.

"Yes. I was feeling rather unwell. My apologies, Sister." Anthony lied, coming up with a far easier excuse instead of facing the fact that his mistress left him for another gentleman.

"Well--" Daphne started to say, but Anthony spoke up again.

"The two of you are now off to Clyvedon, I presume?" Anthony asked the couple, but he was mainly looking at his new brother-in-law, who was also a close friend since university.

"We have decided to stay in London a little longer. Take some time to enjoy ourselves, just the two of us." Simon smiled, looking at his wife, who smiled happily.

"And you? What are your plans, Brother?" Daphne asked, turning her attention back to her brother.

"Nothing of note... Other than finding and promptly declaring my intentions to my new viscountess, of course." Anthony said, shocking Simon and Daphne.

"The viscount is ready to find and declare his intentions?" Daphne asked with a surprised tone. "Did you hear that, Your Grace?" She asked, looking at her husband, who was just as surprised. "And which young lady--" Daphne went to ask her brother.

"Does it matter?" he asked his sister, not letting her finish her question. "I have finally determined the difficulty... love itself. Removing it from all romantic relations shall make me all the better for it. No more distractions from responsibility or being waylaid from the sensible path." Anthony said, his heart hardened at the heartbreak he was currently feeling. "At any rate, enjoy your time." He smiled, walking back inside.

"Perhaps he will learn." Daphne sighed, knowing that at the start of the season, she never imagined being happily married to the duke.

"Perhaps not." Simon sighed when they followed him inside.

~season 1, episode 8: "After the Rain"~

~1077 words~