𝐼𝒩 𝐿𝒪𝒱𝐸 𝒜𝒩𝒟 𝐸𝒳𝐼𝐿𝐸 - 𝐸𝐿𝒪𝐼𝒮𝐸 𝐵𝑅𝐼𝒟𝒢𝐸𝑅𝒯𝒪𝒩

1

Eloise Bridgerton had done an admirable job avoiding this very moment for years. While other girls her age had eagerly donned wedding gowns and curtsied before Queen Charlotte, Eloise had been perfectly content cultivating her reputation as a spinster. At twenty-five, she wore the title with pride, a shield against the nonsense of balls, bouquets, and empty suitors' flattery. Marriage, she believed, was a tiresome endeavor, a fate that transformed intelligent women into dutiful wives and nothing more.

Her mother, of course, disagreed. Violet Bridgerton had been relentless, her determination unyielding, even as Eloise scoffed at every matchmaking attempt. The only thing Violet loved more than her children was seeing them happy, preferably in a loving marriage. If her eldest son Anthony could find love in Kate Sharma—a woman as sharp as she was kind—then surely Eloise could, too.

Eloise, however, did not share her mother's optimism. She had no desire to become the woman a man relied upon, no need for a husband to love or to lean on. She managed her life perfectly well on her own, thank you very much. Still, even she couldn't deny that Kate's radiance hinted at something missing in Eloise's own carefully guarded existence.

And so, with her mother's persistence—and more than one exasperated sigh—Eloise found herself in an ivory gown, her dark hair adorned with long, elegant feathers, preparing to make her debut before the queen.

As she stepped onto the thick crimson carpet leading toward Queen Charlotte's gilded throne, Eloise couldn't have looked less interested. Her gaze was steady but distant, as though she were cataloging all the absurdity around her. The murmurs of the onlookers faded into a blur as she moved forward, chin held high.

Violet, walking just behind her, leaned in close and whispered sharply, "For goodness' sake, Eloise, try to look as though you're enjoying yourself."

When that didn't elicit a response, her mother delivered a discreet but firm pinch to Eloise's side.

"Ow!" Eloise hissed under her breath, glancing back at Violet with a glare. She straightened her posture, her expression now bearing a faint hint of rebellion.

Finally, she reached Queen Charlotte, whose sharp eyes appraised her with amusement. Eloise dropped into a graceful curtsy, her feathers dipping low as she sank to the ground.

Queen Charlotte's lips curved into a sly smile. "Well, it's about time," she said, her voice cutting through the silence.

Eloise's mouth twitched, but she remained silent, rising from her curtsy and meeting the queen's gaze with her own unflinching one. She thought she caught the faintest glimmer of approval in the queen's eyes before she was dismissed, but Eloise could only think one thing:

This is going to be unbearable.