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London, England - 1813
These days, the modern young lady must display a miscellany of talents in her quest for a suitor. She must be a witty conversationalist, an accomplished musician, and an expert in the art of the swoon. For managing a faint with nary a petticoat out of place is a most coveted talent indeed. Of course, not everyone has fallen victim to the royal fever sweeping through London Town. Two diamonds in particular seem quite immune, making this author wonder if the crown has lost its luster...
It is known that Queen Charlotte was wise beyond her years. While she may have lacked empathy, she made up for it with her whit and determination to see things through. And she had not spent all these years carefully crafting the unique select pieces of pawns in her matchmaking game... only to have them drift further and further apart with each day that passed by!
Time was running out, the season was well under its halfway mark, and her nearly perfect diamonds had yet to receive a decent proposal! And she most certainly did not need, nor appreciate, Lady Whistleown explaining that for her in her latest spread!
Like the rest of the ton, she too saw a perfect love match between Benedict and Betty. She had watched them grow up alongside one another, always at each other's beck and call. She had tried to play the role of cupid many years ago when she invited them both over to Buckingham Palace on multiple occasions. Whether it was tea, a promenade around the royal gardens, or Charlotte showing off her newly imported zebras, she just wanted to watch them fall in love in person and see their story unfold right in front of her own watchful eyes.
It had backfired entirely.
Instead of shooting love, heart shaped arrows, the Queen had instead released an army of doubt, insecurity, and dishonor between the pair. The young hopefuls she had her eye on had soon turned entirely hopeless...
Still, she was determined to see it through. They were destined to be together, they were just in need of a little extra shove. Charlotte had been wagering the question all morning of whether or not she should be the one to start pushing Betty towards Benedict again. She had even considered sending her nephew over to her house to call on her, hoping that it might ignite a spark in the Bridgerton man.
She decided against it though, realizing that would only push them further and further away. Charlotte noticed, much like herself, that her diamond was too tough, that she was too strong-willed for outside manipulation. And that, perhaps, now it was time to just sit back, relax, and let fate work itself out.
The strings would untangle on their own, and Betty would find her way back home...
Over in the Bridgerton house, Benedict had spent his entire morning sat in the empty drawing room with his head buried in his sketchbook. He worked tirelessly to perfect his craft, but he felt as though he had just been wasting his efforts. For hours, he sat in that drawing room, his legs cast across the chair he set up in front of him.
