Chapter Seventeen - An Engagement... or Two

______________________

Lady Whistledown's

SOCIETY PAPERS

One may say modesty is a virtue, yet this author is hardly a virtuous woman. It is therefore my great pleasure to announce the news others questioned, but I never doubted.

The diamond of the season has made her match, officially betrothed to the Duke of Hastings.

______________________

"The Duke of Hastings!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms around Daphne and grinning at her, "congratulations! I mean, despite every mama in town being infuriated by the news, I do think that you have accomplished something quite wonderful indeed!"

Daphne chuckles weakly as she looks at me, "yes, we are so... excited."

"Well... I must get going! Frederick asked me to promenade this morning!" I say, standing up and pulling her into yet another hug, "but truly, Daph, congratulations on your engagement..."

"Perhaps I will see you there then," Daphne noted, a weak smile appearing on her face as she turned to look at me, "the Duke and I are to promenade this morning as well... ten o'clock to be more exact."

"Well then, we shall see you there," I say, beaming at her.

______________________

The bride, undoubtedly, is giddy with anticipation over the impending nuptials... an event that will apparently take place sooner rather than later.

______________________

"Oh Frederick, it was wonderful, was it not! Imagine... Daphne and Simon... they will be a wonderful family," I say.

"Well based on the Duke's attendance record this morning, it will be a miracle if he arrives at his own wedding on time," Frederick mutters, "where ever could he be?"

"There he is!" Lady Bridgerton called, smiling widely towards the man in question.

"Well," Lady Danbury calls out, obviously unimpressed by the Duke's appearance. "Do not make haste on our account."

"A most heartfelt congratulations, Your Grace," mama greeted, offering the Duke a small curtsy and nod of the head.

"I look forward to counting you as part of our family," Lady Bridgerton greeted.

Suddenly, Lady Danbury, who seemed to be holding her tongue the entire conversation lept forwards and had a quick, and hushed conversation with the boy that seemed to be her child- in every way but blood, that is.

"Perhaps we should... promenade?" Daphne offered, looking to the Duke with a hopeful smile, glancing around at the passing couples ever so often.

"I do think that Simon has had one too many drinks at Anthony's club last night," Frederick mutters to me, raising a brow as he watches his old friend all but stumble towards his fianceè.

"Poor Daphne," I whisper, watching as she offers him a weak smile.

"To be honest it will be a miracle if he manages to sober himself up before someone comes up to speak to them... oh, here we go," Frederick watches with wide eyes as both Simon and Daphne were congratulated by Lord Wetherby and one of the married ladies of the Ton.

"Ooh, not the brushing away of her hand," I whisper, watching how Daphne's face falls because of Simon's actions. "That was just cruel..."

"Maybe he is just... nervous?" Frederick offers weakly, glancing over towards me with a hopeful smile, "he did just get engaged, so perhaps..."

"Well, that didn't stop him from bringing the bar back with him this morning..." I whisper, plastering on a smile and nodding towards one of the married ladies when they passed us.

Frederick just sighs and shakes his head, "well, we just have to get through this promenade... thankfully."

______________________

"What about this one?" I ask, reaching out towards one pale purple fabric that was hanging down from the wall.

I had met Cressida outside of Madame Delacroix's shop a few minutes ago and we had quickly fallen into an easy and rather entertaining conversation. As soon as we stepped into the shop, my eye had been caught by the pale purple fabric that was hung from the corner of the room.

"It would look rather go- Daphne!" Cressida exclaims, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the fitting room, a mischievous grin appearing across her face. "How lovely to see you."

"Oh, Daphne! Hello," I offer her a small smile before looking at another fabric that was placed close to the curtains of the fitting room.

"Oh, I do hope your wedding dress will be ready in time. Madam Delacroix must be working so fast." Cressida continues.

Daphne pauses, her eyes momentarily flashing with fear as she gazes back at Cressida. She suddenly turns towards her mother, plastering on a small smile, "mama, might you spare me a moment? I must have Cressida's opinion on some fabric. Her taste is impeccable."

"Of course, dear," Lady Bridgerton throws Daphne a small smile before looking around the store and starting towards Mama, "Lady Huntingdon... it has been too long! How have you been!"

"I am to have a new pelisse for my honeymoon," Daphne says, picking up the front of her dress and starting towards the furthest wall of fabric. Cressida and I trail behind her, with me lagging the furthest behind due to me reaching out and touching any fabric that catches my eye, which ends up being many of them.

"What about this color? Trimmed with fur, perhaps," Daphne continues, reaching towards a cream fabric with intricate designs all across it.

"Fur," I exclaim, looking over at her with wide eyes, "at this time of year? Oh, no Daphne, it is much too hot for fur!"

"Well, I suppose it depends on how much time you and the Duke spend outdoors," Cressida says, glancing over at her with a twinkle in her eye. "But you are fond of a midnight garden stroll, I believe."

"I do not know what you mean," Daphne weakly acknowledges, her eyes fluttering away from the fabric and over towards Cressida and I.

"I am almost certain I saw the two of you in the gardens at the Trowbridge ball," Cressida retorts, "no chaperone in sight."

"How strange," Daphne says, "I do not recall leaving the ballroom."

Cressida hums softly, mindlessly running her hand over one of the fabrics that were rolled and placed on the shelf in front of her.

"Though I dare say it would have been difficult to see the garden with any real clarity at night," Daphne continues, "unless you were actually out in them yourself."

"My view of the garden was perfectly clear from the safety of the terrace, Daphne... where I stood with Florence- who was still in view of her mother, mind you," Cressida replies quickly, "you dallied with the Prince purely to rouse the Duke's jealousy, and then lured him into those gardens to trap him into a marriage."

My mouth slowly falls open as I listen to Cressida's words. "Daph...."

Cressida sighed before picking at another one of the fabrics, a brow raised and a smirk present once again on her face. "I never would have imagined that a Bridgerton would ever come to know such shame."

"You should consider your words more carefully, Cressida," Daphne says, swiftly taking a step towards her as Cress moves to leave, "In a matter of days, I am to be a Duchess, and you shall be just as you are now, unmarried and untitled. So, you can either be a Duchess's friend or her enemy. It is entirely up to you."

Cressida's lips purse for a moment before she lets out a little chuckle, "first, let us see if you actually manage to drag him down that aisle at all. I would imagine a man like the Duke does not take kindly to being forced into anything."

Daphne moves to open her mouth once more, but I am quick to step in between the two. "Enough... I think that you both have said more than enough for today... Cressida, I'm sure that your mama is looking for you."

Cressida pauses, looking over at me briefly before starting towards the door leaving me and Daphne alone.

"Daphne..." I turn towards her with a pleading eye, "believe me that I did not know what Cressida was doing that night..."

"I believe you, Florence," Daphne assures softly.

"I will try my best to make sure that Cressida doesn't say anything for the time being... but you know how she can be," I weakly chuckle and look up at her, falling silent for a moment before opening my mouth one final time. "Congratulations, Daphne... you will make a wonderful Duchess and an even better wife."

______________________

Of course, there are only two reasons to procure a special license and race to the altar:

true love, or concealing a scandal.

______________________

"I have had a lot of time to think... perhaps more than I should have taken," Frederick says, glancing over at me as he guides us both towards a small clearing in the garden.

He had shown up at my door, unannounced, and asked, rather rushed, if we could speak. In a matter of minutes, I was ready and walked out of the door, with both mama and Henry following behind me.

"When I arrived with Simon, we were both, young- or, I was at least- and we didn't think much about our future," Frederick continues, gazing out at the small pond that we had, a hidden feeling hiding behind his eyes. "My mother and father didn't have a wonderful marriage... but with time they learned to accept each other. I grew up watching them sit across from each other at the table, never talking, and rarely even meeting each other's gazes... I was only 7 or 8 when I knew that I never wanted that for my own marriage."

"What are you trying to say-"

Frederick was quick to shake his head, causing me to stop as he continued to explain whatever it was he was talking about. "When I arrived in London, I was determined to find a match... but the eligible ladies of the Ton were not quite what I was hoping for. In all honesty, I was ready to leave the night of Lady Danbury's ball... I didn't think that there was anyone here that I could connect with the way that I had hoped... but then you quite literally ran into me."

"I did apologize for that," I mutter, blushing at the memory.

"That you did," Frederick said, chuckling as he glanced over at me, "I saw you and thought that I may just have to give this whole thing another chance... and I'm quite glad that I did. You are constantly teaching me things that I never would have known about otherwise... you've shown me what it feels like to love someone so hard that I lose my ability to think. I've learned all the small things about you that I never would've noticed originally... the way that you smirk when you don't want to say what you are thinking, how, when you smile so hard- with so much joy- you get this tiny twinkle behind your eyes. How when one looks into your eyes, they realize that they're not quite green... there are these splashes of brown and this beautiful ring of dark green that makes them pop even further... it's... well, it's beautiful, really."

"I never realize that my eyes looked-"

"So mind-blowingly beautiful?" Frederick offered, "I can't believe that it took me so long to see it... but once I did, I couldn't unsee it... it's like... well it reminds me of the woods back at my country home. I would go walking for hours through them- it gave my parents quite a fright when I was younger. It was the time that I could get away from the whole 'being the heir of a Duke' thing that they were drilling into me at home. Don't get me wrong, I love my parents with all that I have, but they were quite... instant when it came to my education and upbringing. Since I could remember they were teaching me about the duties that I would have to take when my father eventually passed down the title... he would have me sit in on meetings and watch him as he did his paperwork in his office."

Frederick pauses, fiddling with his hands for a moment before eventually turning towards me and offering a sheepish smile. "I suppose that I've just been trying to buy myself time because I was nervous about how you would react..."

I chuckle and look at him with wide eyes, a small, yet confused smile coming across my face. "React to what, Frederick?"

"The entire time that I have spent in London I haven't been able to find it within myself to spend time away from you- more than I have to, of course. I can't promise that it would be easy, or clear the entire time, but I promise that- if you'll accept- I would stand beside you the entire time. Spending these past few months together has led to the creation of some of the best memories that I've ever had I would be honored if you would be willing to spend the rest of your life by my side... with me as your husband and you as my wife."

My eyes widen as I look at him, watching as he pulls out a ring from his pocket and offers it to me.

It was a golden band that had obviously been repaired at some point in the past, holding 9 fairly small, but still somehow very noticeable, diamonds within it.

"The ring was my mother's..." Frederick pointed out, "she wanted me to have it to give to my wife one day... I had to get it cleaned and fixed up from when she wore it..."

"It's beautiful," I say, looking up at him with a soft smile, "it's absolutely breathtaking, really."

"So... what do you say?" Frederick pressed, smiling over at me hopefully.

"Let's get married," I whisper, grinning up at him and wrapping my arms around his shoulders. "We're getting married!"

"We're getting married!" Frederick roared, spinning me around and laughing.

______________________

This author was surprised- but not shocked- to hear about the announcement of the diamond of the season's betrothal to the Duke of Hastings. But, dear reader, it seems as though the Ton has more than one betrothal to celebrate.

It is, therefore, my pleasure and honor to announce the betrothal of Lady Florence Huntington and the Duke of Windsor.

The bride was seen celebrating her impending nuptials with her family and close friends at Hyde Park, along with the Dukes of Windsor and Hastings.

The wedding, which is sure to be one of the biggest events of the season, has been said to be taking place just a few days, after the diamond of the season, Miss Daphne Bridgerton, and the Duke of Hastings are said to marry.

Not to worry, dear readers, this cunning author will get you all the details for the wedding of Lady Florence and the Duke as soon as she can.

______________________

_______

↑ Florence's ring is the top picture ↑

don't forget to comment and vote!

-T