~~Artiste~~(Benedict Bridgerton)

Spin off Part Two

When Edward started the morning he didn't think he'd be calling on anyone, and he surely didn't think he'd be sitting across from her parents as she finished getting ready.

"Oh we are so sorry my lord it's just that our Charlie-Charlotte isn't used to callers" Edward nodded politely,

"I must apologize for my sudden appearance, it must've been unexpected after our encounter last night" The Countess nodded and looked over to her husband who had yet to say a single word.

"So Lord Sheppard, your father told me you opened your own practice" The Earl spoke as his eyes scanned the bachelor up and down.

"Three years ago" Edward answered,

"And you have a house?" Her father continued to pry.

"I will once I marry," He said as he looked at the unamused lord. "But I can assure you my finances are quite well" He added, earning a nod of approval from the countess as she offered him a biscuit. Finally, the doors to the parlour opened and Edward let out a sigh of relief as he rose to greet her.

"Is it true that Charlie has a caller?" A man, looking similar to the Countess asked as he casually walked in with about a half dozen other similar-looking figures.

"She actually does!" A woman to his left gasped as the group finally spotted him. Edward took a step back and looked to the Earl and Countess for help. This was definitely not what he had expected.

"Children!" The Countess shot up from her seat and furrowed her brows.

"We just wanted to see the lucky bachelor for ourselves" Edward's neck grew hot as another Boyle sibling joined the conversation as he sat down, ignoring his mother.

"I suggest you all go back to your own homes before your sister arrives" The Earl warned as even more of his children made themselves comfortable.

"What is she going to do? Throw a book at us?" Another son jabbed, sending a fluttering of laughs through the siblings. But Edward felt as though a rage was building in his stomach, sure he loved to tease his siblings, but this had become blatant disrespect. They hadn't even offered a hello or an introduction, all they did was make themselves comfortable and look at him as if he was some kind of alien.

"Lord Sheppard" Charlotte's calm voice broke into the room as she stood in the doorway. He watched as her eyes scanned the room and she simply let out a sigh "Perhaps you might like to join me in the library?" She asked

      "Yes please" He blurted out.

When Charlotte started the morning she didn't think she be leading Edward Sheppard around her home. Most mornings she would have received breakfast in her room in an attempt to avoid her family but when her handmaid Mary announced she had a caller Charlotte knew she would have to ready herself quickly. Well, at least before her siblings arrived.

"I apologize for my family," Charlotte said as she closed the doors to the library behind her. "You have no need to apologize, I do not judge a person's character based on their family"

"Good" She let out a long sigh "Because they are terrible" She finished as she scrunched her nose, lightly laughing as he ran his hand through his hair.

"How many siblings do you have?" He asked as she walked over to a large oak bookshelf. For a moment he grew lost in the beautiful intricate braids that her hair had been tied into, some of which managed to escape and trailed down her back.

"I am the one of eleven," She said with a long sigh as she grabbed the book she was looking for.

"Eleven!" Edward exclaimed, thinking back to the six siblings he had seen before.