Follow you, follow me

“Will you just stop moving?” Anthony groaned as he followed behind Kate closely, feeling entirely too irritated and lost without having her in his plain view.

Kate hummed in amusement at his growing frustration as she pointedly continued with her endeavours, sifting back and forth from her dressing room to their bedchamber.

“A tantrum doesn’t suit you, husband,” she sang amusingly as she finally stood before the cheval mirror, smoothing down the dress for that evening.

Tired and desperate, Anthony wasted no time in trying to indulge her with a response. Instead, he chose to loop his arms around her until his hands rested readily on her stomach.

Kate gave out a dramatic sigh, all too used to his antics, as she dropped her head back against him to give him room to rest his chin upon her shoulder as he peered at her reflection carefully.

“Are you pleased now?” Kate asked, her eyes closed as she patiently waited for him to draw his conclusions.

“You’ve grown,” he declared, his breath drawing short at his own discovery.

“Barely.”

He shook his head in sheer stubbornness. “You have. I can feel it,” he professed confidently.

“Fine, so be it, but you should know that is what tends to happen when one is with child,” she unhelpfully noted in a dry tone.

“Thank you for your immaculate insight, but believe me, I am already well aware of such a fact,” he retorted, his gaze still set on her figure.

“Oh, good,” she replied with feigned relief. “For I was worried you assumed our babe would somehow miraculously fly into our arms, carried by a flock of doves behind a trumpet of whistles and horns.”

“How amusing. But, it would do you well, wife, to remember how I was the one who dutifully put this baby in you,” he said with a satisfied smile as he stood tall and proud.

“What I do in fact remember is how you extended and delayed this duty with your other decree of activities.”

“I don’t recall you raising such an objection about said activities at the time,” he pointed out in a conspiratorial whisper. “Besides, is it a crime that I am simply still awestruck over seeing my ravishing wife in this delicate situation?”

She turned her sight back to him, no longer capable of hiding her smile. “No, not a crime,” she said as she left a small kiss on his cheek. “But you’ve been determined to measure my proportions every chance you get. Will you not tire from this?”

“These things happen in the blink of an eye; I can’t help but be vigilant in case I miss something.”

“Oh, now you just sound ridiculous,” Kate huffed with a laugh as she slid out of his stubborn hold. “Come, I will not have any more of your daft nonsense making us late for tonight’s ball.”

However, once they arrived at the ball, Anthony’s prior moping nature soon transitioned into something else.

He easily walked beside Kate with her hand resting snugly around his arm, and he strolled with an air of smugness; a shameless peacock at his prime.

“You’ve changed your tune,” Kate observed as she stole another glance at him.

Anthony continued looking ahead as he nodded in greeting to other passersby in attendance.

He shrugged in an effort to seem at rest, yet his words betrayed him wholly. “It’s a pleasant night,” he noted. “And more importantly, it can only improve once I have you in my arms when we take to the floor and have all eyes fixed on you.”

“All eyes on me?” Kate questioned.

“They will see that you are carrying my child.”

She paused as her legs nearly stumbled over what his words really carried in meaning.

“And that is the explanation for the self-satisfaction that you’ve got plastered over your face?”

When he remained silent, refusing to defend himself, Kate shook her head in disbelief at the lengths of madness he would go to.

“You are terrible,” she assessed as they reached a spot to look over the rest of the decked-out room.

“For you, yes,” he gladly admitted as he slipped his arm away in favour of wrapping it around her waist, tugging her back soundly against his front.

Kate tried to shift her way out of his grasp, but he stubbornly remained put.

“This is far too bold, even for you,” Kate remarked.

Yet, Anthony appeared more interested in hailing a servant down for some refreshments.

“Glass of punch, my lord?”

He nodded. “And my wife would prefer something softer, lemonade perhaps,” Anthony ordered with a wave to dismiss the man away.

“You do know that your wife can speak for herself?”

“Oh, I know.”

“Then I must ask, what has come over you?”

“What, aside from being entirely enraptured by the delights of you, my love?” Anthony asked as he placed a soft kiss on the underside of her ear.

Kate’s eyes widened at his unabashed courage.

“You cannot!” she said as she swirled to face him. “You will have us thrown out entirely,” Kate attempted to reason when she noticed the lack of shame on his face.

His brows tensed at that, and he then reluctantly nodded. “Ah, perhaps you’re right…”

And before Kate could begin to list out all the reasons why she is indeed right, he interrupted with a small gasp of his own. “Then they may force us to marry,” he mocked, his words dripping with fake distress.

She shook her head at how bullheaded he was behaving. “Fine! Then think of your poor sisters.”

“You worry far too much.”

“And you too little,” she quickly snapped back. “For what would people say when they discover that these poor girls’ brother is nothing more than a handsome face with an upper story that is utterly vacant?”

He smiled in pleased satisfaction as he finished his drink with his head thrown back, and downing it in a single gulp, to which Kate could only breathe a spot of frustrated laughter.

“You stopped listening after handsome, didn’t you?” Kate asked.

“Maybe so.”

Kate groaned in defeat as she shoved her hands against his chest. “You are being impossible tonight.”

“Do not blame me.”

“Oh, really?” Kate asked in surprise. “Give me one good reason why I should not,” she demanded with her arms crossed.

Discarding his glass elsewhere, he moved the back of his hand to trace the smoothness of her cheek. “I am leaving for Mayfair, remember?” Anthony reminded her in quiet admission. “Parliament sits next week, and I fear that I shall be far more absent than I can cope with.”

“No!” Kate drew her hands up to cover her mouth in crushed realisation. “How could that possibly slip my mind?”

It was then that a servant returned with Kate’s drink, but she felt far too crestfallen to enjoy the sweet tang of her beverage.

Anthony silently thanked the man himself, and then gently cupped her cheek with his hand. “Come now, Kate. I will be back before the weekend.”

It did little to comfort Kate as she slumped dejectedly against him, now suddenly absolutely uncaring of their impudent proximity amongst their friends and neighbours.

Coaxing her gently, Anthony added, “We will bask in the knowledge that our reunion will arrive soon.”

“I could try to travel with you,” Kate murmured. “Maybe I’ll do better this time around in a carriage,” she suggested, her own voice slightly wavering.

“When I reach Bridgerton House, I’ll write to you about the journey,” he tried to reason.

When Kate’s smile didn’t reach her eyes, he tried again. “No, in fact, when my carriage has passed the worst of the road, my letter will be written there and then, and I’ll find some poor fellow to deliver it to you at once.”

“Still, you should have reminded me earlier,” Kate began. “You should have stopped me from making us attend tonight.”

“How could I resist?” Anthony asked with a small smile. “You always seem far more enamoured during country balls than the ones back in town.”

“Well, at least here they are somehow still fond of our unfashionable ways.”

“Taking up my wife twice for a twirl will not kill them,” he scoffed. "At least not quick enough.”

Kate laughed at Anthony’s comment and shook her head as she tugged him forward to the floor.

“Well, here, you may dance with me all night.”

“Yes, but nothing too challenging.”

“Yes…” Kate agreed before smiling widely as she added, “aside from joining in on all the longways sets.”

“Naturally, you’d gravitate towards something as strenuous as that, but it would do you well to remember that you have an additional one to think of.”

“Who is to say that I’m simply not complying with our child’s wishes?”

“Dearest, you are not compliant,” he plainly stated with a pointed smile and gaze. “And more importantly, why does it seem that our child’s wishes always seem to disagree with those of my own?”

“Really? I can’t say I have noticed that,” Kate laughed again as they both bowed before the music chimed louder again.

Any other night, Kate would have slept with complete ease.

Especially after being thoroughly and delightfully spent from Anthony deciding the night couldn’t end without him playing the role of some rogue of darkness as he carried her all the way to their chamber.

Yet, she tossed and turned, switching from feeling too hot and then running too cold, and then becoming entirely uncomfortable with the morning’s prospect of Anthony’s departure from Aubrey Hall.

In her nerves, she pulled the covers higher only to throw them back down again in defeat when her mind fixed upon the vision of his carriage running across the pebbled gravel of their home.

Feeling the restless movement beside him, Anthony rolled over to her side, his head burrowing in the space between her neck and shoulder.

“Why are you still awake?”

“I’m not,” she stubbornly complained, her arms enfolding around him. “Just go back to sleep,” Kate whispered with a sigh.

His voice, still laced with sleep, huffed as he traced soothing circles across her arm. “I can practically hear your thoughts. Tell me.”

“It is nothing.”

Not content with the answer he was given, his hand paused, and he lifted his head, trying to focus his sight upon her. “This is about tomorrow,” he guessed.

She remained silent, her head moving to the side to face elsewhere, to which he simply mirrored back.

“I assure you, my leave shall not extend for anything in the world, and I will hail my driver the very second I finish the last of my work.”

Kate huffed an air of laughter at his attempts to soothe her concerns, and she felt awfully selfish.

They settled in the tenderness of their mutual silence, comforted by each other's breathing.

“Don’t mind me,” Kate said at last. “I don’t know why this is all taking such a toll on me.”

He laid a kiss on the slope of her shoulder.

“In fact, I am well aware of how illogical I was to expect that this domestic leisure could continue on,” Kate tried to rationalise. “I’m surprised no one has complained about how long we’ve been absent.”

“Hang them if they tried,” he dryly remarked.

She quietly laughed at his bluntness, her hands combing through his hair. “Well, that is not really sensible.”

“What is not sensible is us having to be apart from tomorrow.”

She groaned at the reminder, much clearer in her frustrations of such their nearing fate.

“I promise you, if you do feel up to the weather with your sickness and the roads are safe, then I’ll immediately send for you. And who knows, perhaps you will enjoy the separation.”

“Oh, hush, you know I wouldn’t,” Kate rushed to disagree and felt the smile forming on his lips against her skin.

“I do not like leaving you in such a state,” Anthony quietly later noted.

“Ignore me, I’m being far too dramatic for even my liking.”

“Don’t pretend otherwise for my sake, Kate.”

She briefly hesitated, then admitted, “Perhaps I’ve turned soft ever since I’ve learnt I’m now with child.”

He stilled at her confession, only for him to shuffle his face even closer into her with a heavy fullness fluttering in his chest. “Then I shall live my life ensuring you never lose such softness,” he murmured with a contented sigh.

“Will you now? Well, I can let you know that you’d change your mind if you were to discover my exact thoughts.”

“Oh, I already can, and I’ll have you know that I find them entirely reasonable.”

Eventually, sleep found its way to capture Kate and put her into a welcomed slumber, and so when the early birds finally arrived, Anthony was careful when untangling himself from her embrace, trying his best not to disturb her.

It was a quiet morning, to say the least, when Anthony ended up breaking his fast alone, and his stomach tightened as he kept an observant eye on the clock hands of his watch, which continued ticking onwards too fast for his liking.

Realising he had not much of an appetite, he made a call to beckon for the stable boy to prepare for his early departure.

Yet, instead of waiting for his carriage outside, Anthony found himself trailing back upstairs.

When Kate’s eyes blinked open, she was met with the most uncanny sight: an empty bed and room.

She sleepily sighed as she rolled over to Anthony’s side and pressed her face into his pillow, practically sighing at his scent. Immediately, she stiffened, then jumped out of bed, her legs hurrying towards the door to chase Anthony down, utterly horrified that she may have missed him.

She quickly halted in her spot as her head hit a spot of dizziness and her stomach began churning.

So when Anthony entered, it was to his utter dismay to witness Kate’s upper body hanging out of the widely opened window.

“Kate!”

He reached her side in an instant, pulling her back inside.

“Anthony! I just needed some fresh air, that is all.”

“By dangling yourself out of the bloody window on the second floor?”

She ignored him as she walked right past him, and went on to pull a cord to ring a bell.

“Perhaps I should take you with me,” he reasoned impatiently, his hands on his waist, and the line between his brows deepening.

“Whatever happened to your concerns over how difficult travelling would be in my poor, fragile state?”

He rolled his eyes. “Except that was before I knew you’d be so reckless.”

“Nonsense, I was perfectly safe.”

“And you’ll also be safe when I have you tied down beside me in the blasted carriage.”

“Oh, please do, for I would love to see you try,” Kate snapped back.

Before Anthony could reply with his own retort, Kate’s maid showed up with a tray of tea and sliced ginger.

“Thank you, Sarah.”

Anthony, all the while, had his eyes narrowed on Kate, and only moved once he could shut the door.

He paused at the door, his eyes shutting in his own annoyance. “This is ridiculous,” he finally admitted.

Kate looked up from her small sip.

In a tiresome manner, he sighed as he collapsed heavily on their bed. “I can’t do this. It doesn’t feel right.”

She watched him carefully and placed her teacup aside.

“Oh, you might be worse than me,” Kate tutted softly, as she sat down next to him.

Anthony shook his head at her tone of amusement.

“Do not mock me.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” she said, fighting back a smile.

He peered at her with the corner of his eye, giving her a knowing look.

“Fine,” she admitted. “It is simply reassuring to see that I’m not the only one to suffer, that is all,” Kate explained.

“Oh, the woes of love,” Anthony mused grumpily.

“Hush,” Kate said with a tap at the end of his nose. “Is this not a happy thing?”

He scrunched up his face in complete confusion. “You’ve an absurd concept of happiness there.”

Kate sighed, but went on to softly explain herself. “We’ve both got our health and such blessed news; a few days apart will not break us.”

“You underestimate how much I struggle even when we’re a room apart, Kate,” Anthony stated with a wearisome sigh.

Kate quietly laughed under her breath as she perched her head on his shoulder and leaned in to leave a soft kiss on his jaw. “You must go,” Kate said. “Otherwise, I will be blamed for keeping you hostage as London awaits you.”

His eyes closed at the gentleness of her touch. “Let London wait. I am far more concerned with what goes on here with you.”

With her fingers tangled in the back of his hair, she leaned in. “I shall behave,” she whispered, with a kiss by his ear.

He shivered slightly at her touch. “I do not believe you,” he muttered, his head turning away from her.

Kate tried again. “If you do not leave now, then I will really give you something to worry about.”

Reluctantly, he turned back to face her with a surprised laughter caught in his throat. “Fine. But until I return, you are not to climb anything, you are not to jump from high places, and you are not to lift heavy items.”

“Orders, orders,” Kate teased with a fond smile, completely unbothered by his list of commands.

“And you’ll write to me detailing everything.”

“Yes, and I can imagine you’ll write back pretending you’re so very busy and important.”

“I am so very busy and important.”

Patting his cheek, she nodded. “Yes, of course you are, my lord.”

With that, Kate rose, and he followed.

“Take care of yourself,” Kate reminded him.

He nodded as he took her hand. “You too. Both of you.”

The next morning, Kate was awake before the house even had the chance to stir.

She made her own tea and took it with her to the portico, which gazed over Aubrey Hall’s endless fields, basking under the twinkling sunlight whilst a summer breeze played through the wisps of her curls.

Drawing her legs up comfortably to her cushioned seat, she eagerly balanced a sheet of paper against her knee after having read Anthony’s departing note several times over.

Lightly tapping the feathered quill against her lips, Kate went back and forth on whether to confess how she had slept on his side of the bed that night, or that Newton had waited by the door as though expecting him of his sudden return. Instead, she settled upon sharing her frustration in being a Viscountess in his absence.

She also revealed how she was now certain that Mrs Hill was surely instructed by him with some silly notion that she needed constant observation, for there was no rational reason for a maid to be sent to follow her around during her walks across their own gardens. Then she reasoned to underline profusely as she wrote that she was pregnant, not injured, especially since those large ears of his seemed to ignore this particular fact, despite the several times she had already brought it up to his attention.

Even so, a smile still played on her face as she continued to note down all her complaints and concerns with amusement, only for a flock of birds to fly overhead, casting a scatter of shade that distracted her elsewhere. Kate paused, lifting her head to watch them against the vast blue sky. She felt compelled to close her eyes and rest under the warmth of the early sun.

Her new home was truly a place she fell in love with the first moment she laid eyes on it. Even the village and its green surroundings were a space that now had its own place in Kate’s heart, especially with how strongly she took it to her stride to ensure the local women and children were well cared for. She wasted no time when she advocated for these people, from setting up a voluntary Sunday school for the children, taking on hire for those who were left vulnerable by fate’s misfortunes, and providing safety and rations during the harsh winter months.

But now, even the core of the building seemed to be at a standstill. It was a strange and unexpected feeling of loneliness, one that Anthony had refused to allow her to experience for so long, that Kate was now truly struggling to adjust to.

However, unlike Aubrey Hall’s quiet repose, Bridgerton House was as loud and crowded as Bond Street at the start of a new season, as if every young debutante and their mamas were in attendance.

Anthony had forgotten how much of a battle it was during such mornings with his siblings hovering around. He soon found himself searching through the leftover scraps on the food trays.

“Brother, will you attend with us tonight to Lady Robinson’s musicale?” a voice called from behind him.

“No,” Anthony easily said as he bit down into a scone.

“It seems like Anthony doesn’t have the time for any of us,” Colin dramatically sighed, walking beside Anthony with a smirk.

Dusting the crumbs from his fingers, Anthony reached forward to open up his newspaper. “Move away from me, brother. You’re blocking the light.”

“Well, if Anthony can choose not to attend, then I should too,” Eloise chimed in with a slam of her book.

He was certain there was a sharp response to Eloise’s declaration, but he chose to give little attention to such noise that was buzzing around him, and he simply turned to the next page.

Inevitably, he was promptly referred to.

“Tell her, Anthony,” Violet called out. “Eloise must attend; she cannot simply lounge indoors in hiding every day.”

Anthony inwardly grimaced at the instruction as he continued to scan through the paper in silence.

“Anthony,” Violet repeated, her voice reaching him like nails on a chalkboard.

With a deep exhale to steady himself, he lowered his paper slightly, and turned briefly to his mother. “I am sure you all will reach a sound decision,” he calmly stated before returning to his paper.

The room went noticeably quiet, and Eloise rushed out of the room with a triumphant march.

Violet sighed with a shake of her head. “That is not helpful, Anthony,” she sighed as she chased after Eloise.

“Purely because it was not intended to be,” Anthony muttered under his breath.

Perched on a chair opposite him, Benedict spat out his tea as he laughed at Anthony’s breaking restraint.

“Brother, you seem quite at odds today,” Benedict observed, his smile widening as Anthony’s frown deepened.

“That is, more so than usual,” Colin added unhelpfully.

“How riveting,” Anthony sighed, checking the time and folding his paper away.

“What’s actually riveting is how you—”

Anthony turned away with a shake of his head. “Again,” he interrupted, “I’m sure that is all quite lovely, but I shall be taking my leave now.”

He reached to grab his hat before announcing his departure. “Good day, and my condolences for tonight’s event. Do try to survive it without me.”

As he marched into the hallway, a blur of pastel pink and bows jumped in front of him.

“Brother!” Hyacinth greeted. “Will you be back to join Gregory and me for ninepins?”

Looking at the contagious thrill in his youngest sibling, he smiled back with equal affection. “If you can convince Gregory to arrange this for tomorrow instead, then I will be more than glad to participate,” he replied as he straightened a ribbon of hers before moving to the door.

“Easy. Consider that done,” Hyacinth confidently answered as she waved her brother off.

As he settled into the carriage, his steward passed him a neatly tied parcel of correspondence. He hastily sorted through the letters with his passing disinterest simply growing, his eyes fixed only on finding a certain handwriting.

With disappointment, he slid further into the seat with an unsatisfied yawn as he tossed the letters to the side.

“We should.”

But after a moment of extended silence, Kate shook her head. “Oh, but we should not,” she sighed dejectedly as she fluffed Newton’s fur.

It had been a constant loop of indecisiveness that plagued Kate for that entire morning, and Newton snorted tiredly as he flopped his head onto her lap.

“Then again,” Kate continued absent-mindedly, “who would we be if we don’t make use of our spontaneity?”

Newton sniffed.

“Of course I’m right,” Kate smiled, happily ready to take the insignificant sound as proof of reason.

Soon enough, Kate readied Newton’s leash as she took them outdoors. She smiled widely, completely at bliss with how silly she was probably appearing in front of the staff, but she was too thrilled with both at the prospect of her journey’s end and at how the coachman had absolutely nothing to pack away.

She had only just then noticed how freeing it truly felt not needing to push around a trunk of all her simple belongings, which she would once have held closely like a prayer in those uncertain and anxious times.

Once inside, Kate peered through the window and pouted at the sound of Newton’s whine.

“I shall miss home too,” Kate replied and then tapped his nose lightly, “but let us not pretend your attentions won’t soon be elsewhere when the children come running after you with all their treats.”

Her adrenaline remained with her, yet whenever she felt the heavy twist and bump of the carriage under the uneven ground, her stomach would only tighten further. She clutched onto Newton against her chest as she steadily looked out the window, doing her best to preoccupy herself with the beauty of England’s rural plains.

When that did little to alleviate her nausea, she quickly reached for her reticule with her spare hand, and fumbled inside it until she got out her pouch of cardamom pods.

“Oh, your papa better greet us with open arms to make all this suffering worthwhile,” Kate moaned as she chewed.

Yet, amidst her tired and sentimental state, her mind lapped around her own mention of both “children” and “papa”, bringing a shy smile to her lips. She closed her eyes to a memory that was not yet hers to cherish.

Even so, it was to those sweet dreams of soft skin, small kicks and shaky snores cradled in both Anthony’s and her arms that Kate eventually fell distracted with, even lulling her to a restful nap that left all previous discomfort at ease.

Kate only startled when she heard a familiar voice ring out.

“Oh, my child!” Violet cried, entering Kate’s line of sight as she opened the carriage door.

She blinked, adjusting to the light as she sheepishly stretched upwards. “Apologies, I must have fallen asleep.”

“Nonsense. You must rest well when you’re with a child, replenish your lost energy,” Violet said, helping Kate out as she stepped outside to face the red brick wall and purple wisteria of Bridgerton House.

An excited Hyacinth bounced before her, her arms quickly wrapping around Kate’s middle.

“Hello to you too,” Kate laughed as she steadied herself.

“Can I take Newton for a walk?” Hyacinth rushed, her dress wrinkling as she knelt to ruffle her hands through Newton’s coat.

“He’s all yours,” Kate said, handing her the leash.

Violet linked arms with Kate. “How Anthony forgot to tell me a thing about your arrival today, I do not know. I would have made preparations.”

“Please do not fault him. He could not have informed you because this wasn’t decided between us. I simply couldn’t bear any longer to be on my own.”

Violet smiled at the news. “Well, I am pleased you are here,” she said, patting Kate’s hand. “In fact, I am sure once all our neighbours hear word of your arrival, they’ll be equally glad.”

“Oh, they’ll be disappointed for it, for as of now, I have no plans to hold any soirees or gatherings.”

“Even better, as I shall need to ask you to assist me with Eloise.”

“How is she?”

“I wouldn’t know, for she is avoiding me at every corner.”

“Ah.”

“So if you could have a word with her, Kate.”

“Of course, but this is Eloise we’re talking about, so if she’s made up her mind, she may just need time to herself,” Kate reasoned.

“Kate?” A cry rang out.

Both women spun around to see Eloise tumbling down towards them.

Eloise, in all her grace, had to dig her heels abruptly when she came face to face with the two women.

“You’re here?!”

Kate nodded.

Eloise looked between her mother and sister, then reached for Kate’s hand and hurried them both inside.

“Eloise, is there a reason why we are rushing with such haste?”

“Oh!” Eloise immediately gasped as she halted on the spot. “Is it the baby?”

Kate looked curiously at Eloise, then shook her head. “No, no, we are both okay. But Eloise, how are you faring?”

“Absolutely fine.”

“Is that so?”

She slumped against the wall behind her, as she picked at her nails. “Well, perhaps things here have been getting under my skin.”

“More than normal, you mean?”

Eloise huffed. “It just feels like everything around me is moving on, but I’m still stuck here.”

Kate’s eyes widened at the admission.

“No, that’s not me saying I wish to marry, not at all!”

Kate arched a brow as she looked carefully onward. “Is it that you feel you’re being left behind?”

Eloise shrugged, her face confessing what words could not.

“Oh, Eloise,” Kate sighed as she rubbed her hand against Eloise’s arm.

“It’s okay.”

Kate, unsatisfied with Eloise’s dismissal, tried again. “I know from experience how awful such a feeling is.”

That grabbed Eloise’s attention.

“But knowing your family, Eloise, they could never leave your side. In fact, I’m sure they wouldn’t know how even if they tried.”

Eloise rolled her eyes, but Kate caught sight of her smile.

“Besides, in a few months you shall have a new niece or nephew to dote over you.”

This time, Eloise managed a small laugh. “That is all lovely, but I’m sorry to say this to you, but babies do not please me.”

“Impossible,” Kate gasped, “for this will be your brother’s child, and he’s the most charming man that I know.”

Eloise grimaced. “Uhhh, I’m afraid we may have entirely different impressions of my brother.”

Kate did her best to cheer up Eloise and convinced Violet to allow Eloise to stay behind with her as the rest of the family attended that night’s musicale.

“How did you manage that?” Eloise asked as she swung back her drink.

Kate arched her brow at the glass in Eloise’s hand. “I simply explained that you could do with a night away from all the pomp and circumstance.”

“That’s why you’re my favourite sister-in-law,” Eloise winked.

“I’m your only sister-in-law,” Kate dryly noted, “and it’ll do you well to put the drink down.”

“It’s one drink,” Eloise defended.

“Second,” Hyacinth pointed out as she hopped into the parlour room.

“You blab,” Eloise called out as Kate plucked the glass away from her. “Besides, why are you even down here?”

Hyacinth sniffed. “I don’t want to miss out on any fun.”

And on cue, Gregory also made his entrance.

“Oh, look, another one is here to join us,” Eloise muttered.

“Hello, Kate,” Gregory greeted, making his way to sit closely beside her.

“Why do you have all those papers with you?” Hyacinth questioned.

“I’m practising my arithmetic skills.”

Hyacinth and Eloise both looked at one another before fixing their stare at Gregory.

“I always complete my work with such diligence,” Gregory explained, showing Kate his work.

Kate smiled. “How very well of you, Gregory.”

“I’m quite a natural, really. But also at many other things.”

Hyacinth snorted. “I’m sure you are.”

Gregory narrowed his eyes at his sister. “I’m definitely more capable than you, and tomorrow will be another day to prove it.”

With little effort, Hyacinth turned to her side and threw a cushion in his direction as she mimicked his words back to him.

“Hyacinth!” Kate gasped with a slip of laughter.

Dropping all his sheets to the floor at once, Gregory drew the same cushion back, ready to aim at her as Hyacinth prepared herself to do the same.

“I refuse to be stuck in the middle of this,” Eloise groaned as she pulled her feet to the seat.

“It’s not my fault; she started it!”

“You were being boastful!”

“If you continue with this, then let me tell you that I’ll ensure both your tutor and governess never leave your side for the entire week,” Kate interrupted.

Admitting defeat, they both reluctantly lowered their weapons.

“I didn’t mean to hit Gregory. I was only perfecting my aim for tomorrow’s game,” Hyacinth explained.

“Well, your aim could do with more practice,” Gregory mumbled.

“What game is this?” Kate asked.

“Ninepins. Anthony’s joining us, too.”

Kate perked up with sudden interest. “Is he any good?”

“Yes, but I’m sure you could beat him if you wish to join us,” Gregory added with an encouraging smile.

Kate bit her lip as she pondered the idea.

Then she sighed dejectedly.

“Well, he has to return first for any of that to happen,” Kate quietly complained.

Eloise yawned as she stretched her feet across the sofa, poking her toes against Hyacinth’s gown.

“If you’re too restless to keep up with good company, then go to bed and leave me be,” Hyacinth huffed as she distanced herself from Eloise.

“Perhaps,” Eloise began, her voice pointedly reflective, “Anthony has run away to escape the pains of playing ninepins with two little cheaters.”

The room fell silent until another cushion struck Eloise directly in her face.

Tumbling up until she was standing, Eloise grunted as she grabbed the pillow and pushed the stray pieces of hair away from her face.

“You have three seconds to leave or do not put it against me when I get my hands on you both,” Eloise announced in a low voice.

The young children quickly rose to their feet and scrambled away with quick haste, both shrieking with laughter in their eagerness.

Kate wrinkled her nose as she shook her head. “Mercy, Eloise, mercy.”

Slowly, Eloise peered through the hallway and followed the sounds of their footsteps that echoed up the stairs. She nodded to herself before plopping back on the sofa as she smoothed her dress with a smirk.

“They’re not worth the exertion,” she decided.

Kate rolled her eyes. “I wonder whether you now wish you had left with your mother instead.”

Eloise shivered at the thought of it. “God, no. I think I would rather take another hit to the face again.”

Kate smiled faintly as she peered over her hands. “You know, Eloise, for so many years, I believed my mama merely needed me for my resourcefulness.”

“Lady Mary?”

Kate nodded. “But then she consoled me that she has loved me, always has, from the day she first met me.”

“How could you think your own mother didn’t love you?” Eloise asked as her frown deepened.

Something of a troubled storm passed over Kate’s eyes until she shrugged aimlessly. “I guess it just proves how poor we can be at understanding how others see us.”

Eloise chewed on her bottom lip as her eyes darted in deep thought. “That all sounds quite tiring.”

“Exhausting, in fact,” Kate admitted.

Then Eloise blinked. “I should hate to discover that I spent so many years being so wrong in my conclusions.”

“It’s actually a rite of passage everyone goes through.”

“Pity,” Eloise yawned again with a lazy smile. “Funnily enough, I feel better about retiring to bed now.”

“Are all your thoughts settled?”

“Aside from my thoughts on how I intend to continue avoiding every gentleman in sight, yes.”

“I hope you know that Anthony has no objection if you choose to wait out this season.”

Eloise slowly nodded with a softened expression. “I know.” Then, before she retreated, she paused at the door. “Kate?” Eloise called out.

“Yes?”

“Try not to wait up all night for my brother,” she teased, before yelling as another cushion came flying towards her.

Anthony arrived late.

At least much later than either Kate or he had anticipated.

Most of the household had retired for the night, but Kate was far too restless to follow suit. Her legs refused to head for their bed, and instead she found herself retreating into Anthony’s study.

She staked her claim in his study with his own banyan wrapped around her frame as she perched comfortably in his chair, surrounded by open account books and loose sheets of half-written notes. Her eyes slowly grew heavy as she attempted to divert herself by sorting his desk, yet a book eventually slipped into her lap as her head fell, cushioned into her arms.

Finally entering his home, Anthony was sluggish in his movement as he tore off his jacket and heeded no interest in the footman’s chattering of “My lord, your study—”.

Without a second glance, Anthony dismissed the man. “I’ll take care of it tomorrow morning. Just prepare the tub,” he ordered.

He simply wanted nothing more than to collapse in his bed. But he noticed a glowing light flickering from his study, and he inwardly groaned at the prospect of why, for bloody’s sake, was there a flame lit in the empty room?

Frowning, he shoved the door wide open, only for all coherent thought and logic to desert him entirely.

His jaw momentarily dropped as his eyes narrowed to the tired bundle folded across his desk from his chair. He blinked as he staggered a step forward, near to laughter at how exhausted he must be to produce such a vivid hallucination.

“Kate?” Anthony softly called.

With a small yawn, Kate looked up, her eyes adjusting to the darkness, and in just one squeeze of her eyes, Anthony had already made his way towards her.

He crouched down beside her with a shake of amazement. “Pinch me if this is real, for how can this—OW!”

“What took you so long?” Kate shot back, withdrawing her hand with little remorse.

“Just something we call work.”

Kate rose with her arms crossed, refusing to look at him.

“The last debate ran much longer than expected,” he explained, nudging Kate to turn to face him. “Come, tell me of your travels. Did you fare well?”

She nodded, softening as soon as Anthony’s arms wrapped around her. “It could have been worse,” she said.

He winced, knowing right away from her voice how difficult it must have been. “You are better now, yes?”

Kate quickly relieved him of his worry and reassured him that she was indeed doing well. “Other than how my husband returned to me so late, I am.”

“All my fault entirely,” he conceded.

With a smile, she shook her head. “No, it’s not. I’m sure your day was hard enough.”

“Nonsense. If I knew you were here, I’d have announced it to the Lord Speaker that I’m afraid they’ll have to vote on whatever legislation without me, for my dear wife awaits me at home.”

Kate quietly giggled with a roll of her eyes as she burrowed her head into his shoulder. “How did it slip my mind how dreadful your humour is?”

“Makes you laugh though,” he countered. “Now come, we should get you into bed.”

She scrunched her face at the idea, clearly unfond of being separated from him again so soon.

With that, Kate dedicated herself to ignoring his instruction, and instead busied herself in getting Anthony undressed as the metal bath was readied for his soaking from a long day.

Her fingers worked slowly as she loosened his cravat and undid both his waistcoat and shirt buttons, and all the while Anthony had kept his eyes steady on her focused gaze.

“Join me,” he asked as her hands pushed down his braces.

Kate’s eyes flickered from her task of sliding his shirt off his shoulders to his mouth, which was leaning much closer towards hers.

“You can’t get my hair wet,” she ordered as her fingers wrapped around the hem of his trousers.

He swallowed at her touch as she then tugged the material down.

“I will hold your hair,” he easily promised, kicking his feet out from his now discarded trousers.

“You can’t waste the water,” Kate said, her eyes greeting him with a pointed look.

“I will be gentle,” Anthony quickly reassured, his hands raised in a way to surrender to any of her wishes.

Kate watched, noting the warmth radiating from him as he stood there, stark naked. His chest rose with shallow breaths, and his darkened eyes fixed on her with a struggling restraint.

“I also,” Kate began, to which Anthony had already nodded promptly, “am too tired to dry myself up.”

“I will dry you,” he quickly replied, his hands now rushing to remove her layers. “I will clothe you, carry you to bed, tuck you in, whatever you wish,” he added as his fingers moved to the ties of her gown.

Then, as he unfastened the last knot, Kate seamlessly pulled her arms out, not trying to catch the frock as it slipped and pooled below her feet.

That was enough for Anthony to list out even more promises as he pressed his face against the side of her neck, marking her with a dot of kisses.

“Not until you bathe,” Kate said, her hands pushing him back. “You’re going to make the water cold, and then I definitely won’t be joining.”

Anthony promptly stepped back and into the tub, as he reached for Kate’s hand to help her slide in to face him on the opposite side.

Kate reached for the soap and soaked it before creating a lather. “Tell me about your day,” she asked.

“We held some meetings and debates,” he rushed, more interested in her touch than anything that he did that whole day.

She shook her head as she perched closer to him, her weight sinking into his lap as she was caressing the soap onto his skin. “You can say more than that.”

His eyes nearly closed until her hands stopped massaging his shoulders.

“Oh, I, we began the first session about increasing funds for…something,” Anthony managed to say.

“You also mentioned something about meetings?” Kate prompted, her hands gliding across his chest.

At the feel of her hands drawing closer downwards, his response stalled considerably. “They were all legislative scrutiny meetings, mainly about…” his voice trailed off as Kate’s hands drifted away.

“Why are you stopping?” Anthony blurted.

She smiled knowingly as she reached for the nearby stool. “I’m getting more soap. Continue then; what were you scrutinising?”

He shook his head. “Just uninsightful drivel,” he huffed, his brain too busy on Kate.

“Hmm, I’m not sure whether your peers would appreciate that.”

“Let them,” he decided, “enough of them look like death’s head and are deaf as a post.”

“Surely that can’t be true,” Kate laughed gently, her hands smoothing over the breadth of his thighs, taking in the soft shiver that ran down him.

He nodded in his contradictory agreement, far too absent-minded.

“Do they not object to such judgment?” Kate asked, her lips twitching at his blunder as she slid away from him.

“Too often,” he mumbled, too bothered by the loss of her warmth and touch, and he was quick to remedy the situation as he shifted forward by enclosing her between his legs in an attempt to reclaim the warmth she had taken away with her.

Kate sat still as she bit back a smile, allowing Anthony to drag her hands back onto him, this time working a lather of soapnut and hibiscus into his hair.

He hummed in relief as her fingers eased the tension in his scalp, and his eyes drooped closed as the tension waned away.

“Then perhaps they’re not deaf after all?” Kate pointed out.

Anthony’s brows furrowed as he simply stared at Kate before he let out a disbelieving laugh. “Kate? Must you, really?”

“Must I what?” Kate asked, head tilting in innocence as she fetched a pitcher and instructed him to close his eyes again.

“You’re distracting me endlessly and then asking me these asinine questions!”

“Oh, distracting you how?” Kate asked, pouring the water through his hair.

Anthony stubbornly looked up, his own hand pushing his wet hair away from his eyes, and he stared willfully at her. “You put me entirely to shame,” he accused her.

Kate tried to school her expression, attempting to look offended at such a statement. “Impossible,” she sniffed, picking herself up and leaving the tub.

“No, no, I am quite serious, Kate,” Anthony answered, following behind her. “At least when I am determined to distract you, I possess the decency to admit my shameless intentions.”

Kate sniffed as she stood with her arms presented, waiting for Anthony to pat her dry as promised. “Why would you accuse me so terribly like that?”

“Terrible, yet accurate,” Anthony retorted, fluffing out a towel to wrap around her.

“All I am guilty of is taking care of my husband after his long day at work,” Kate pouted as he finished drying her, before moving to do the same to himself.

“More like tormenting your husband after his long day at work.”

“I feel utterly wounded by you saying such a suggestion,” Kate said as she spun away from him.

“No, you are not, and I believe that’s mine,” pointing to the banyan, which Kate had slipped back in.

Kate looked away dejectedly in dramatic fashion as she moped to herself. “First, he offends me after I take care of him, and now he forgets the vow he made where whatever is his is also mine.”

Anthony took his time as he tied the towel around his waist, and then just looked at her before sighing. “I know this is all pleasing you greatly,” he stated with his hands on his hips.

Dropping all pretence, Kate tipped her head back in her laughter.

But her laughter was quickly cut short as he swept her off her feet and carried her all the way to their bed.

“Anthony!”

“Isn’t this what you wished for?”

“I never actually did; that was all you!”

Yet he didn’t let go of her until he was pushing the covers off the bed, settling her securely in it.

Unabashedly, Kate watched Anthony tug the towel off and cast it aside before making his way to his side of their bed. She then adamantly shuffled towards him until she could fit herself snugly against him.

“I hated it,” she said as she closed her eyes once she felt Anthony’s arm wrap around her.

He glanced down as she traced idle patterns across his chest.

“What?”

“Being on my own.”

Kate immediately inwardly cringed at such a revealing confession, but then the touch of his other hand covered over hers eased that small self-infliction.

“When you were away, even knowing everything is completely fine, I found the distance so bothersome.”

“Only bothersome?” Anthony asked.

“What do you want me to say? That it felt utterly cheerless not having you by my side and all so lonely?”

A smile tugged on Anthony’s face as he quietly chuckled under his breath.

“Why does this knowledge please you?”

“Only for the reason that it still surprises me how alike we are.”

Kate paused. “Really?”

“Yes, Kate, really.”

“Prove it,” she stubbornly demanded.

“Other than how I spent the better part of my day looking for you every time I thought something amusing happened or wanted to share a thought with you. I missed you desperately.”

“Oh.”

“Does that satisfy you, my love?”

“It does, I’m glad of it.”

“Though, maybe this news will be encouraging.”

Kate lifted her head swiftly, her eyes widening with keen interest. “Tell me.”

“My commitments may ease towards the end of the week. We may be able to leave earlier than anticipated.”

Kate hummed thoughtfully as she stewed over his words. “Could anything disrupt that? Only so that I can temper my hopes from being too high.”

“Potentially any newly arranged meetings or committee inquiries.”

Snuggling back down with some satisfaction, Kate yawned. “Well, here’s to praying no one disturbs your peace.”

He smirked as he kissed her head. “Yes, only you hold such authority to do exactly that.”

Resting her eyes and tangling her legs with his, she nodded with a satisfied hum. “I try my best.”

Fortunately for Kate, the next morning was a whirlwind of spirited merriness.

Both Kate and the children had their fill of Anthony as he pleased them with their agreed-upon game in the garden.

“I should have gotten that,” Anthony argued as Kate diligently kept tally of their scores.

“You’ve had your turn, now move away so we can continue,” Kate ordered as she signalled for Hyacinth to have her attempt.

“What, no, this field is completely uneven, see!” Anthony complained as he stomped on the ground. “This entire terrain is setting me back.”

“Kate, he’s time-wasting!” Gregory called out as he practised afar.

“Either move or I’m deducting a point for poor sportsmanship,” Kate declared with an arched brow.

Defeated, he stepped away to sit down near Kate.

“I’ll have you know that I tend to excel in this particular game,” he muttered.

“I’m sure you do,” she said in quick passing with a pat on his knee.

“You don’t believe me,” he accused.

“Don’t be foolish. Besides, the children were practising last night, so maybe that is why you’re straying behind,” Kate explained as she noted down how many pins Hyacinth knocked down. “Excellent work, Hyacinth,” Kate said with a short applause.

“You don’t cheer for me like that,” Anthony pointed out.

“I can’t even if I tried,” she replied as she showed him her score-taking. “Look at how many points you’re behind.”

He dismissed the page with a wave of his hand. “The scorekeeper is biased.”

“The scorekeeper is your wife,” Kate reminded him.

“Well, I can also assure you that the ball I was given to play with is in bad form.”

“You yourself selected that very ball.”

“Yes, out of a pile that the two of them had already ransacked.”

“A stronger player would not fault the toys they’re lent,” Kate tutted, smoothing out her frock as she turned away from his complaints.

“Fine. But then I also had your dog sabotage me by trampling over my boots.”

"He did not!” Kate quickly turned back. “Newton was simply happy to see you,” Kate defended.

He rolled his eyes as he leaned back in his seat, his legs crossing. “That ridiculous log of a creature doesn’t even like me.”

“Of course he does! He in fact adores you!”

Anthony fully turned his head to look at Kate as if she had lost all her marbles.

“What? It’s true,” Kate persisted. “Newton is like a child to me, and he knows that I love you, so naturally he will follow my judgment.”

Anthony scrunched his brows at the sentence. “He is a child that ignores my every word.”

“Who is to say that this one,” Kate began as she cradled her small bump, “would listen to you either?”

“Because this one is going to be the sweetest girl who will dote over their poor papa,” Anthony whispered as he spoke to her bump.

At that moment, Kate couldn’t find it in herself to continue arguing with him, and her emotions uncontrollably bubbled up into small unshed tears of affection for him.

“You’re not going to object to me for saying it’s a girl you’re carrying?” Anthony asked.

Kate sniffed as her fingers dabbed the corner of her eyes. “No, I won’t,” she revealed, her voice soft.

Noticing the hitch catching in her tone, he lifted his head to look upon her. “Kate?”

She pressed her lips together, smothering the shaky wave in her throat as she shook her head, turning to face away from him.

Yet her attempts to conceal herself did little as realisation soon dawned on Anthony’s face as his expression softened. “Oh, Kate. Come here,” he said, moving his chair closer so he could wrap his arm around her.

“Do not say it,” she said as he pressed a kiss to her temple.

“You were imagining me as a father.”

“I said do not say it.”

Holding her hands in his, a smile tugged at his mouth. “Must be quite a terrifying prospect, I assume?”

Kate shook her head with another sniff as she relaxed her body in his hold.

“Overbearing and demanding,” Anthony continued, his laughter careful and practised.

Hearing the self-deprecation laced within his own description of himself, Kate couldn’t bear to waste any longer.

“You are impossible,” she said, her fingers tightening around his knuckles.

“There, you see? That’s another one to add to the list.”

Kate’s gaze turned to Anthony, and she wanted nothing more than to hold onto him and never let go. “I was thinking how fortunate our child is, Anthony.”

“Oh.”

“You,” Kate said firmly, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“Are,” leaving another kiss to his jaw.

“A,” one to the corner of his mouth.

“Fool.”

Anthony let out a confused chuckle. “Believe me, I know.”

“I’m not finished,” Kate said, cupping his face with both her hands and kissing him fully. “And you’re going to spend the rest of your life being hopelessly outnumbered by those who love you.”

He smiled genuinely after that and kissed her back.

“Outnumbered, you say?” Anthony asked after pulling back, sudden delight lighting over his eyes.

Kate looked over at him carefully. “Why, what’s wrong with what I said?”

“Nothing,” he said too quickly.

She then immediately groaned at his smug expression.

“I haven’t said anything,” Anthony defended.

Kate narrowed her eyes. “And you don’t have to, for I can already see you counting in your head.”

“Well, to be outnumbered, we will need more than one,” he argued, his head nodding to her bump.

She huffed as she rolled her eyes.

“What? I’m simply applying basic mathematics.”

Reluctantly, Kate let out a small laugh and decided to pass her score sheet to him.

“You are leaving?”

“Since you are so fond of numbers, you can keep tally, and I’ll take your spot in the game,” she explained as she stood up. “It also can’t hurt your poor performance either,” she smugly added with a wave, which Anthony tried to reach out for.

As Anthony went off to bury himself in the world of law and politics, Kate immersed herself with her family.

She accompanied the younger girls to the modiste, and they soon found themselves lying across the plush chairs and chaise as they moved onto their second serving of tea and golden shortbread.

“The peacock feathers were my favourite,” Hyacinth sighed as she dunked her biscuit and gazed towards the unrolled sheets of pink rose and pale yellow silk.

“I’m certain Fran’s already made it clear she wants no plumage involved,” Kate replied, sitting cross-legged and abandoning her posture as she busied herself with drawing new patterns in the wet wax seal of her letter.

“But how else will she make a grand entrance?” Hyacinth sniffed, rolling onto her stomach as she fluffed her hand through the display of fabrics on the rug

“Hyacinth, all she wants is to make a good impression, not to bring the force of Vesuvius,” Eloise chimed in as she aimlessly flicked through the seamstress’s fashion plate.

Francesca and Kate caught each other’s eyes across the fountain of cotton and taffeta drapes and did their best to bite down their smiles.

“Besides,” Eloise continued as she lazily munched down the crumbly treat, “I may not know the fuss about all these garments and accessories, but even I understand we do not want her to be looking like Portia Featherington.”

The other three went silent for a deafening second before bursting into uncontrollable laughter, their heads falling back and making half-attempts to save their drinks from being knocked over.

“What?” Eloise asked as she looked around in her puzzlement.

Their laughter prompted Eloise to move forward and snatch the tray of biscuits for herself.

“Oh, I wonder how Eloise would do with her own array of feathers,” Francesca mused as she tapped the loose slipper against the polished floorboard to her own tune.

“She’d be our own very plucky goose,” Kate smiled as she snatched a shortbread from Eloise’s hand.

“A goose with an impeccable vocabulary,” Eloise retorted. “I would simply peck at any suitor until they all lose their heads.”

“So not a particularly difficult task," Kate remarked.

As the girls dissolved into another fit of giggles, Kate suddenly became drawn to the ringing from outdoors.

She got up in a blur, needing to hold onto the arm of her chair as her feet searched for her slippers before escaping down the staircase and out to the cobbled street.

Kate waved the letter to catch the young bellman’s attention, the fake seal proudly on display.

“Take it straight to the House of Lords,” Kate instructed in a thrilled whisper.

“Yes, my lady.”

Kate slipped back indoors and already began planning her afternoon departure.

And so when Kate and the girls arrived back home, their rush of sugar coming crashing down, Kate soon bid them adieu with a premise of how she was to visit a neighbour.

The reality was, however, she quickly found herself standing nearby a pillar as she stood back in the rush of gentlemen with their powdered wigs and clerks hurriedly walking up and down the corridor like ants at a family picnic. It was much busier than the last time Anthony had invited her there, wanting for her to come and watch in a private gallery as he debated in a particular orderly session.

As she carefully watched along, Kate’s gaze soon moved to a small gathering of men who huddled nearby, waiting for another gentleman to finish inspecting a stack of papers.

Kate’s breathing slowed as she took in the figure of this man with bated breath.

She observed, transfixed intently upon him, and watched him with his straightened posture, and his voice, stern and deep with authority. She hardly ever saw him in such an element anymore, and long gone were the days when the Viscount held a cold and aristocratic tone as he spoke to her. Soon, Kate realised the restraint she needed to stop herself from gasping at the sheer sight of it.

In that moment, she soon acknowledged how she hadn’t realised how accustomed she had become to seeing a more relaxed and domestic version of her husband. One with crinkles in his half-unbuttoned shirt, and with rolled-up sleeves. Kate realised at that moment she only now knew his face with deepened dimples, eyes warm, and his voice, only ever loving and playful. This Anthony before her was commanding and severe with his approach, and she wanted nothing more than to run over to him in her eagerness.

Kate continued to watch and saw him return the paperwork to another, and he then checked his fob watch before muttering something with tiresome bother. His eyes flicked over to the arched entrance, and then back to his watch. As he snapped his watch shut, he took another glance over the room, and she caught the exact moment his eyes blinked and did a double take.

Once Anthony noticed her, his mouth widened in disbelief before a curious smile broke his rigid form into a brisk stride with his velvet coat tail billowing behind in his haste.

He stepped into her private space, propelling her to fall back against the shaded back wall as he took her hand in his.

“Kate? Is everything well?” he asked, his voice low with concern.

She shook her head. “I thought to surprise you,” she informed him as she saw his mind race through a mix of emotions.

“I’m most certainly bloody am,” he said with a breath of laughter, his eyes still not believing the woman before her.

He took a swift glance over his shoulder before guiding her down to a private room.

Once she stepped inside, the prior dusty and stifling air of government vanished, and Kate knew at once it was his office from the scent of lavender and citrus, as well as the small silver desk frame of a painted miniature of her.

“I can not believe that you are really here,” he announced before crushing his lips to hers, not giving her time to answer. “You are maddening, woman,” he added as he pulled back in an astonished breath of laughter against her skin.

“Good,” she thanked him as she stole another kiss from his retreating lips.

He groaned as he pulled back again with a sour glance at the closed door. “I’m expecting someone. Another meeting,” he explained dejectedly, the heavy slump of duty slipping back.

“Oh?” Kate asked as she carefully hid the twitching of her hands behind her back.

He sighed. “It was a sudden appointment scheduled, and the gentleman should be here any moment.”

“Anthony…”

“Quite frankly, I should have said no,” he continued as he searched through his desk. “My entire afternoon is to be taken up for some tedious reviewing of draft laws on tariffs on corn.”

“Lord Bridgerton,” Kate interrupted pointedly with a cough, bringing his attention away from his rant.

He dropped his leather-bound ledger and looked up.

“It is I,” she finally admitted, a smile blooming as she waited for the penny to drop.

He went silent, his face awash with bewilderment.

“There is no meeting, Anthony,” she laughed, moving forward to grasp his hands.

“I don’t understand,” he mumbled, still in a daze.

“Really, Anthony?” Kate muttered in bafflement. “You should truly try to implement a better system to sift through which appointments to accept. It was far too easy.”

After a wavering pause, he shook his head in disbelief. “You are completely insane.”

“Maybe so, but it is all your own doing.”

He blinked before letting out a laugh at such an accusation. “Oh, now I would love to hear how this could be a fault of mine.”

“You made me love you too much,” she admitted as she walked up to him and her skirts shrouded his trousers and boots.

“Oh, Kate,” he softened instantly at her confession.

“So you’re all mine for the rest of the day,” Kate boldly explained.

“I’m always yours.”

“It’s not enough,” she answered with a playful shrug of her shoulders.

He nodded slowly in understanding before leaning back to sit on his desk. “So, what do you have in mind for me then?”

She purposely removed herself away from him and retreated behind the desk to perch herself proudly on his chair. “What would you normally be doing at this moment?” Kate asked with a tilt of her head.

“Aside from how I was meant to be sitting in a meeting with a gentleman that apparently never existed,” Anthony pointed out with his arms crossed, “I would be prepping for tomorrow’s session.”

“And what are you all to fight about this time?”

“We will be debating petitions regarding licensing taxes on victuallers.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Oh. How dreadfully awful.”

He let out a quiet laugh at her frown. “Though you would have enjoyed yesterday’s session.”

“Would I?” Kate asked as she leaned forward and rested her chin in her hands.

“One of the items on the agenda was discussing expanding funding for parochial schools.”

An intrigued light flickered through Kate’s eyes at the knowledge of that. “You know, I actually do have a few thoughts on the matters of mandating literacy for children.”

“Do you?” Anthony questioned with feigned surprise before moving to pull Kate up and back down again onto his lap, his arms circling around her.

“You do know there is a perfectly good chair right across from this one,” Kate pointed out with a breath of laughter as she felt him tighten his hold of her.

“I am indeed aware, yes,” he answered, his lips brushing against her ear.

“So, do we escape out of here now?” she asked, pulling back and looking into his dark eyes, which were fixed upon her.

“Not yet,” he whispered, “stay still for me. Just let me look at you.”

She gazed back at him and then his eyes gradually wandered down to stare upon her lips, and she decided then that enough was enough.

“I didn’t forge a letter to the House of Lords just to sit here like a statue,” she complained as she leaned in to close the space between them herself, and in that moment Kate could feel a smile threatening to spill across his mouth as they lazily kissed.

Anthony traced the length of her neck until his hand lowered down to cup one of her breasts, inviting a murmur out of Kate to escape. In her own eagerness, Kate moved her hand to cover his, encouraging him further and then with her other hand she ran it through his hair, grasping onto the dark locks as he ran his tongue across hers.

He kissed her with perverse reverence, moving slowly but purposely against her soft mouth, wanting to treasure the curve of her lips and the air she breathed.

When they eventually, but reluctantly, parted for air, Kate moved her neck, giving him room to smother hot, quick kisses whilst she slowly loosened his cravat.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered in between his work across her skin, and it only encouraged her to shift closer towards him.

Yet, as she tried to shuffle her hips, the structured stitching of her dress restricted her movement, causing her to push her hands across his chest to get his attention. “Fix it, Anthony,” Kate protested, as she again tried and failed to move nearer, unsatisfied with even having a few inches of space between them.

Without a response, he moved his hands to her waist and lifted her easily up and sat her back down upon his desk, her frock hitching up to reveal her long legs. He felt far too delighted with her request of assistance to gloat, and he instead stood patiently to wait for her to wrap her ankles around him.

He greedily took in the sight of her, her dress pooled up around her hips, the rise of her chest, and her fingers tightly clutching onto the lapels of his coat.

“Is this better?” he asked, his hands taking their time to caress her legs and slide under her skirt to hold onto her thighs.

Then, as he moved his gaze back to her face, awaiting for her response, the look in her eyes, soft, sincere, and wholeheartedly fixed in profound adoration for him, caused Anthony to be still with winded burning. He kissed her there and then, his body pressing against hers to push her back over the desk, yet with his heart heavy and on the brink of overspilling, he kept pausing to murmur frantic and rushed confessions of his soul.

“I love you, God, Kate, I do love you so,” he professed as Kate’s own hands worked busily to slide off his jacket, forcing him to move his hands from her to help her cast away the bothersome clothing.

With experienced ease, Kate quickly unbuttoned enough of his shirt buttons to wrap her palms across his skin, and the coolness of her wedding ring compelled him to lean his forehead against hers.

“This ring is becoming on you, Viscountess,” Anthony said, his thumb skimming over her band, “even when you are using it to commit political forgery.”

Kate’s head fell slightly back as a breathless laugh escaped her. “And do you remember what my letter asked for?”

He smiled knowingly, and kept quiet as he awaited his wife to inform him as she always would do, her voice meticulously pointed and exact.

“For your undivided attention on matters of most importance,” she confirmed, her chin raised in her ever-so-bold fashion.

Anthony nodded readily. “And you have it,” he said in a beat, pressing his lips to her own for a final time before moving away to kneel below her as he moved her legs over his shoulder.

With his lowered head, he peppered light kisses on the insides of her thighs, taking his time with his piety over her. The deity underneath him squirmed in her impatience and threw her verbal objections.

“I didn’t know my wife was this terribly demanding,” he teased when he paused to slowly unroll her stockings, which only made Kate want to pry off the damn things in haste. “You’re going to tear the cotton, sweetheart. Let me.”

“Forgive me then, for I do not care. Let them tear,” Kate declared as she sat up, resting her weight on her elbows. “I trust you, husband, to be able to buy me a new pair. Besides, right now, I can only care about how much I need you.”

Any prior desire to wind Kate up deserted him quite quickly, and Anthony was solely interested in listening to the sounds that sneaked out of her, the delicious effects of his dutiful work.

Anthony diligently worked Kate up, his mouth insatiable for her core, her scent, her juices.

“Oh, Anthony, yes,” Kate moaned, incoherent ramblings slipping out.

Kate let Anthony grip his fingers over the hem of her neckline to drag it down, unbothered by the tight discomfort of the rigid material as her own fingers raked through his hair, with his tongue circling around her throbbing bud in a never-ending worship. Even as her limbs began to twitch and tremor, he continued headstrong in his labour, his mouth licking and lapping in practised and easy devotion. She couldn’t pinpoint when her thighs tightened around him, or when her hand fell into his, but she held on anyway as he watched her spasm and squirm in waves of hot peaks that kept rippling one by the other.

“You are doing so well,” he whispered, his mouth glistening in her wetness, “look at you,” he admired as he parted her soaking lips and thrust two fingers inside her entrance, “once more, Kate, for me.”

Overwhelmed and sensitive, Kate half propped herself up as best as she could, pushing herself to watch. “Anthony,” she whimpered, her head barely clear from her previous climax. She struggled to decide between watching the movement of his wrist or the face of her lover.

“I can feel you, you’re so close, Kate,” he noted with close attention. “Do you see how wet your flesh is?” asked Anthony to a Kate who was far too light-headed to notice.

He kept dragging her build up by removing his fingers and watching her squirm, before teasing her up again. “Is this what you wanted, when you planned to come here?” he questioned. “Did you wish for my office to smell of your arousal, Kate?”

She jerked as she felt his fingers coil inside her whilst his mouth delved back onto her clit again, sucking and flicking his tongue over the perfect spot until she cried out. “Oh, God, Anthony,” she cooed, her moans blurring in with the sound of his name.

Kate could have sworn she was still burning, but as her body finally relaxed, she felt the cool air of reality hitting her in her post coital haze, which sent a light shiver across her skin. She opened her eyes, and he was standing tall over her, silently watching her every shift in movement and expression.

Realisation hit, and she pushed herself to sit up, her skirts falling down. “Wait, you didn’t get to—”

He waved off her concern. “My wife had to go to the immense trouble of scheming such a visit, and arrive all the way here just for me. How could I dare be selfish after all that effort?”

“But,” Kate tried again only to be interrupted.

“No, do not,” he insisted. “Besides, I worry that if I do start, I may never let us leave from this place,” he admitted, his smugness proudly on display as he turned his focus to slowly clean her slickness from his fingers with his mouth.

Her breath first hitched at his open display before passing out an exasperated sigh at his theatrics. “Is there no limit to your self-flattery?”

He smiled shamelessly before reaching up to tuck a stray lock of hair back into her coiffure. “Who knows?” he shrugged.

“You can discard those stockings yourself,” Kate said, pointedly ignoring his charm as she smoothed over the wrinkles in her dress. “Or do you wish for your secretary to find them sitting alongside your documents and ledgers?”

“Why not? I feel like your purple tulle brightens the room,” Anthony remarked.

Instead of gracing him with a response, she picked up her stocking and threw it at him.

He grinned as he caught it, rolling them up into a ball to shove it deeply into his pocket. “Anything else missing to your satisfaction, Viscountess?”

“Nothing,” she sighed as she straightened out his collar, “just take me home.”

“That I shall,” he nodded as he offered her his arm, “and you can enlighten me on the way of your notes on children’s literacy.”

Kate patted his chest in her delight. “You should know my opening argument is atleast an hour long,” she boasted with a proud, dazzling smile.

He smiled at her spot of joy. “I wouldn’t expect anything less, my love.”

Before arriving at Bridgerton House and facing the chaos that came with it, Anthony promptly decided to continue indulging Kate as he took her for a turn into St. James’s Park, and leisurely ambled their way across the bridge and its pagoda. As they walked arm in arm, Anthony murmured a promise against her temple of his assurance that they would return for a ride on the canal just so she could admire the swans and ducks closer up without passersby getting in her way.

“Is this your way of asking me to concoct a second false meeting?” Kate asked, looking up from the lake.

He shook his head with a soft chuckle escaping him. “Next time, you do not need to bother with such an elaborate invention.”

“No?” Kate confirmed as she hugged his arm tighter. “Would you prefer it if I just announced myself via your Lord Speaker?”

Anthony rolled his eyes as he nudged Kate’s shoulder with his for her quip, despite the delighted smile that stretched across his face.

Eventually, Kate managed to convince the reluctant Viscount to leave for home with the suggestion of the fear that their family would assume they had already abandoned them for Aubrey Hall.

“If only,” Anthony dismissed, but followed her regardless to their waiting carriage.

It was to the sounds of the pianoforte and the bubbling of yelling that they both arrived.

Anthony pointedly looked at Kate as they entered inside, and before Kate could make a remark, they both paused in their steps as the youngest Bridgerton took notice of them and came skidding towards them.

“Kate! He took them, the feathers that I picked out!” she complained.

“Apparently, marmalouc caps with ostrich feathers are all the craze,” Kate clarified to the confused man beside her.

He sighed as he straightened his glance at Gregory. “Return it at once. You can get your own if you suddenly desire to wear one.”

Gregory, who was hiding behind a door, stepped out into the clearing. “I wouldn’t put that on my head for anything,” he declared, clearly offended.

“Why not?” Colin called out from inside the drawing room. “It will suit you more than Anthony’s old top hat that you’ve got hidden away.”

Before either Anthony or Kate had a chance to do anything to steady the situation, Gregory went scrambling forward to take on Colin. As Kate instinctively tried to step in to follow, Anthony grabbed hold of her hand.

“Let them.”

Kate looked stunned. “We cannot,” she said, trying again to walk past.

“I will deal with it,” he offered, brushing a strand of her hair away and his thumb lingering by her cheek for a second longer than needed.

She looked at him curiously with a smile. “Only if you insist.”

“I do. You can freshen up.”

Kate nodded slowly. “And shall I take back my stockings, or do you wish to keep a hold of them?”

He turned to think deeply before announcing the very kind of answer Kate already suspected. “I think I may wish to admire them for when I try to get through tonight’s meal.”

Kate laughed knowingly, already retreating up the stairs. “Cad,” she called out over her shoulder.

“Yes,” Anthony shamelessly agreed, with a wave of his fingers.

Except when it came to dinner, Anthony was nothing but in high spirits.

Despite two spilt glasses, an inebriated brother, a passionate political debate on women’s rights, leftover vegetables being discreetly fed to the dog under the table, and several jokes made at his expense, Anthony remained entirely unfazed by all their antics.

Their family’s normal antics were a distant blur and hardly bore a spot of bother throughout the meal, for Anthony had scored Kate’s entire attention. She had already long abandoned the tradition of the master and mistress of the house to sit at polar ends of the table, deeming it simply disagreeable, and so she was contentedly at his side. This time, she found herself somewhere deliberately angling her chair towards him, and was far too smitten from their day together to bite back at his terrible quips and cliché one-liners. Instead, she let her arm rest by his sleeve, and admired him closely as he continued to animatedly jest about all sorts of nonsense that he decided would best please her.

Yet for everyone else, the night was going slowly.

“The marriage mart is a miserable theory, and even a worse one when in practice. Quite frankly, how none of you can see that is beyond me,” Eloise remarked as Colin and Benedict turned to one another with a grimace.

“So have you engaged in this marriage mart to support such conclusions?” Colin asked.

She frowned immediately at his question’s insinuation. “I witnessed enough from afar,” she insisted.

“Eloise, have you tried the gravy yet?” Violet asked to pacify the growing noise.

Yet, Eloise continued, headfast and strong.

“All I am saying is that a mere marriage shouldn’t be all a woman aspires to do with their life,” she huffed. “There are so much more greater things to do than be trapped with a man who controls her and her every possession.”

“We will be certain to not let you be tied to a man who will take away your rights to use a library,” Benedict unhelpfully added.

“I shall not be tied to anyone!”

Violet extended her glass for a server to pour her another drink, and then braced herself by holding onto Colin’s arm. “What made you think to give her such a pamphlet?” she asked with a tired voice.

Colin sheepishly grinned as he scoffed down another forkful of roast.

As Anthony leaned towards Kate once more to whisper another one of his teasing jests, Eloise dramatically dropped her silver cutlery.

“Kate? You at least agree with me, don’t you?” Eloise asked in desperate eagerness.

Except Kate’s gaze was too fixed upon memorising the lines on Anthony’s face, and his smirk, which was growing.

“Kate!”

From the high-pitched call of her name, Kate flinched backwards and blinked.

“Oh. I’m sorry, did you say something?” Kate asked after clearing her throat to regain her composure.

Eloise looked aghast, whilst the others bit back their smiles.

“We were talking about—”

“About? More like talking at us,” Benedict interrupted.

Eloise repeated herself with irritation. “We were talking about a woman’s place in the world, and how the marriage mart shouldn’t be all we aspire for. I would have thought at least you would want to be present for this topic, but how you are a world away with…whatever it is the two of you are doing, I do not understand.”

Kate nodded slowly as she felt her husband’s steady hand slip beneath the white tablecloth to rest on her lap. “I do agree that a woman shouldn’t find all their value in their marriage and their husband’s approval.”

“See!”

“And I think that unfortunately most marriages of the Ton do not encourage a woman to follow their agency…but I also believe in love, and true love doesn’t have to come in between a woman’s independence,” she explained carefully, too aware that everyone was now staring at her.

Whilst Eloise slouched back in her seat, looking slightly crestfallen, Anthony was in complete quiet admiration of Kate, his fingers squeezing her thigh.

“That is not to say you are not valid in your views, Eloise,” Kate clarified as her tone softened, “I just think the world we live in can be quite disadvantageous and even unfair for unmarried women, but you are fortunate to have a family that will protect you.”

“Thank you, Kate,” Violet chimed in, her eyes noticing her eldest son’s intense gaze on his wife.

“Yes, very well said, sister,” Colin noted as he finished swallowing the last of his food. “In fact, I can boldly assert that there really is no girl more protected than Eloise, for I know no man who possesses the courage to court one who reads philosophical treatises even during breakfast.”

“Which is all well because, quite frankly, what woman would wish to trouble herself with such cowardice?” Kate quickly retorted as she calmly took a sip of her drink.

Eloise hummed in sweet satisfaction as she watched her brother’s face drop, whilst Anthony drank back down his drink in open amusement, his hand not leaving Kate’s lap once.

Violet sighed as she motioned for the final course to be brought out. “Now, please, no more political disputes over the table. Besides, cook has made us a splendid trifle, decked with strawberries and custard.”

“Perhaps you should infiltrate government more often,” Anthony teased as he took a comb to brush through her hair.

She sat still in front of her vanity mirror and watched Anthony carefully untangle her curls with deep concentration.

“And if I am caught, what will your country do to me? Throw me into the Tower?” Kate guessed, as she slumped her head back against him.

Without a word, he wrapped his arms around her closely. “They wouldn’t dare,” he declared, burying his face in the crook of her neck. “Besides, I will have no choice but to follow you there.”

“So, no attempts to fight for me or break me out?” Kate asked with a roll of her eyes. “My saviour,” she sighed as she felt Anthony nuzzle her.

She felt his laughter tickle her skin before he very lightly kissed her jawline. “I’ve never known you to complain about seeing me restrained before, my love.”

“That was in our bed, Anthony!” Kate huffed. “What you are comparing that to is a cold, dreadful floor with a treasonous history.”

“With you nearby, who would even notice?”

“That is not romantic,” Kate scoffed as she shrugged out of his arms. “I am not amused by your dreary tactics.”

He threw up his hands in mock defeat. “Considering you are taking offence, and how, upon reflection, I doubt that place even holds solid upholstery that would suit our standards, I will back down.”

Kate shook her head, still unpleased.

“And because I am such a gentleman,” he emphasised as Kate shot back a sound of laughter at his overly confident declaration, “I will ensure I find a most convincing way to apologise to you.”

She purposely walked away from him, feigning indifference. “Oh? How so?”

Her retreating figure, dressed in nothing but a shift with her dark hair flowing loose across her back, was enough to make him falter in his steps as he tried to close the distance between them. “My wife demands satisfaction,” he replied as his hands settled securely on her hips.

“Oh, does she now?”

“Would you deny it?”

“Not necessarily,” she started, before pausing as her eyes finally met his once he pushed his gaze up. “But I do know that my husband enjoys speeches, and in the late hours of the night he tends to lose himself in them.”

“That is untrue.”

Kate gave him a pointed look as she tutted at his bare-faced lie. “You are long-winded.”

“Truly, it is not of my own doing, but a symptom of meeting you.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. You who has bewitched my soul.”

With that, Anthony instantly noticed the shift in her breathing and the widening of her eyes, and it sent a thrill inside him. “That one worked, didn’t it?” he asked confidently.

She pursed her lips as a stubborn smile eventually broke out on her face. “Entirely too well,” she confessed reluctantly.

He grinned as he leaned forward and claimed her in a slow kiss, his triumph only extending as he felt her hands reaching for the sides of his face.

“You are far too smug for your good,” Kate remarked as she traced the crease of his dimple.

“I believe,” he murmured as he guided Kate to keep walking until she reached the foot of their bed, “I remember you saying you find this smile of mine pleasing, no?”

“Did I? I can’t seem to recall.”

“Should I help you to remember?”

Kate felt the cool linen behind the back of her knees, and let herself fall back against the mattress. “You are most welcome to try,” she said, with her hands firmly locked behind his neck as she easily pulled him down with her.

In their race to get closer, their bedclothes were hastily cast away and the cool night did little to smother the heat between them.

Anthony’s face pressed against her chest, sucking and biting bruised kisses as Kate ran her fingers through his hair; then she shifted her legs to hook around him to feel anything more. She flushed hotly underneath him, her anticipation building and building as she watched on intently as Anthony dragged his throbbing cock across her wet core.

“I lied before,” she confessed, her breathing heavy. “When I showed my uninterest,” she explained when Anthony looked over at her, “for you talking about the number of children we will have.”

Kate felt Anthony pressing himself just at her entrance, making her thoughts falter.

“I am with your heir, and I still want more.”

His face shuddered at her words and pushed himself inside her at once. “Gods, Kate,” he grunted, his head falling to bury itself in her neck.

Her fingers dug deeply across the spread of his back, feeling the contortions of his muscles as he moved inside her, losing himself to the headiness of her disclosure. He was purposeful, long and deep thrusts, fucking her until she stretched beneath him.

Kate felt herself flutter each time he filled her again and again, her skin all flushed and desperate for more.

“You’re perfect,” he groaned as he looked up to watch her, his hips still steadily grinding into hers.

They breathed in the same air, the sounds of their bodies mixing in with their panting. She kept trying to pry her eyes open, wanting to watch him, his face awash with desire, his lust leaking both through his escaped low groans and the slickness between them.

“Say I’m yours,” he panted, his mouth parted against her own. “Say it, Kate.”

With her yearning hands, she caressed his lower back as her own hips bucked up to meet his, and she leaned up a few inches to capture his lips in a breathless admission. “Yes, yes, only mine,” she moaned.

She could feel him angle himself and drive right back into her, his hand sneaking between her legs, and she jerked hard, her thighs tightening around him.

In the midst of her stunned state, she felt him flip them over.

With her legs still weak, he positioned her over him and then a slow sinking sensation filled her as he stretched her to the brim.

In all her honesty, Kate couldn’t decipher what was louder, her soft mewling or the slapping of skin as he kept her propped up, pounding her even as she was still unwinding out of her prior peak. Shakily, she supported herself by placing her hands across his chest, her head tipping back as she rode him.

“Kathani,” he rasped, “You feel so good. So, so good.”

Whatever control he had before was soon slipping as his thrusts became frantic and untimed, as his hands grasped a desperate hold onto her, and her nails dug into him as her toes curled as she got closer and closer to that sweet bliss.

She shook her head, too clouded with the overwhelming ride of delirium and passion. “Don’t stop,” she moaned, “don’t stop, please, Anthony.”

Together, with blood roaring in their ears, they both chased their release with rushed carnal confessions escaping them. Dripping wet, legs trembling, her walls came squeezing down on him in a shattering crescendo, and she soon felt him pulsing hot and emptying inside her.

With no strength left, Kate collapsed over him with his cock still deeply buried in her, now soft but twitching as he continued to lazily glide in and out of her.

“Heavens, I love you,” he said, his voice still thick with pleasure. “I miss you, even like this, inside you.”

She was motionless, aside from the waves that kept rippling through her. With fatigue enveloping her, she could only offer a soft, hazy hum of agreement.

Under her cheek that rested upon his chest, she felt his light chuckle vibrate out of him, and the sensation in itself was comforting, but then cold emptiness flooded in as he slowly pulled out.

“I wish you didn’t need to do that,” she murmured tiredly, her head far too heavy with sleep. “Stay…” she yawned, “just stay inside me…”

Anthony shifted from under her, a helpless smile on his face as he listened patiently to her nonsensical gibberish. “Go to sleep, my love,” he whispered as he adjusted her pillow.

She nuzzled her pillow to get more comfortable as she allowed Anthony to tend to her with a cloth, cleaning her up. Still sensitive, her body twitched, and she sighed from the memory of it all.

“I want you to do that in your office,” she managed to mumble out, her eyes still shut. “But I don’t want to go to the Tower,” she then added with a sleepy half-sob.

He paused, then pushed himself to stare up at the ceiling, trying to bite back his laughter at her foolish rambling.

“Noted. No Tower, and my desk is all yours,” he murmured as he fixed the sheet over her.

Anthony followed to settle beside her, his arm instinctively making its way to hold her close.

“And I want you to hear out the rest of my account for school funding,” she went on, her stubbornness beating out her tiredness.

“Haven’t you already?”

“I never got to finish,” she huffed as she drew her face into the warmth of his chest.

With a hopeless and fond sigh, he pressed a lingering kiss to her temple.

Notes:

Very random, but I was reading about Tudor history, and learnt about Anne Boleyn's work and impact.

When she was Queen, she was very involved in government when it came to advocating for social welfare for the poor. And I just thought that was incredibly interesting, and it then made me wonder what Kate would be like as Viscountess, especially when considering her background and past experiences.

I think Kate would be quite a reformer too - obviously not so much on a grand scale and for a religious reason as Anne, but still, the comparison was compelling enough for me to start pondering it, and it was what gave me the idea to write this one-shot.

Hope you enjoyed x

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