Elizabeth Windsor and Anthony Bridgerton despise each other with a passion, but a turn of events lands them to form an agreement. They would help one another find suitable partners, but what happens when they realize they're each other's perfect mat...
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Elizabeth gazed upon the hall in awe, shocked at how grand and lavish it had been decorated. Flowers, drapes, and ice sculptures covered every corner, and while she would have preferred her engagement ball to have been smaller, she couldn't say no to William when seeing how excited he was.
Wearing an emerald gown with silver accents, Elizabeth walked next to her mother and Aurora while Adelaide fell behind, who was still disappointed by her sister's decision on marrying the Duke.
"It is truly beautiful!" Aurora expressed with delight, her blue eyes shining more vibrant than ever.
Adelaide scoffed, "You truly have low standards then, dear sister. Just like Lizzie over here."
"Adelaide, stop," Victoria reprimanded as she glared at her past her shoulder.
Elizabeth only rolled her eyes as arguing with her would be useless. She didn't have the capacity to deal with her lack of support, so she settled on ignoring her for the rest of the evening.
"My bride-to-be," William smiled when catching sight of her and practically ran to her side. He held her hand with such delicacy and placed a kiss upon it, his heart now racing faster than ever that this was actually happening.
Elizabeth smiled back, but it slightly faded when catching sight of Anthony and Edwina standing on the opposite side conversing with Kate and Violet. She forced herself to look away and redirected her focus to her future husband, who was now greeting her family as if they were a couple of friends reuniting. Well, with the exception of Adelaide, who wasn't having trouble keeping her dislike hidden.
"I hope everything is to your liking," he gestured to the hall with a nervous smile and tremulous voice. He wanted everything to be perfect, especially for her and her family that would soon become his.
Adelaide glared at him in disapproval, "The decorations are more drab compared to other balls we have attended."
"Adelaide," Elizabeth scolded and discreetly stepped over her foot. It was getting ridiculous how much her sister was adamant on making her opinions about her future husband known. She expected her to already be accepting of her engagement, but from the looks of it, there would be no approval granted anytime soon.
William thought nothing of it. He simply dismissed it as nothing more than a sister's resentment. Even if he didn't have any siblings, he couldn't imagine how hard it must be to watch them get married and leave the nest.
"I apologize, Your Grace. Adelaide just needs to get refreshed," Victoria bid her farewell before dragging her daughter away.
"She will come around," Aurora reassured her sister, hoping it would somehow make everything better. "Adelaide might not like you now, Your Grace, but she eventually will."
"I do hope so, Miss Aurora," William admitted, suddenly afraid of not being accepted into the family of the woman he loves.
"How about you go find Gregory and Hyacinth?" Elizabeth encouraged, to which Aurora happily agreed, and hastily went to search for her best friends. "I do apologize for my sister. She's been struggling with all of this, but I am certain she will have a change of heart."
