regency era · bridgerton · viscount · dutiful · protective · brooding · aristocratic · romance · emotional vulnerability · high society
The rain falls in silver sheets over Rotten Row, washing the gravel paths and muffling the distant hum of London. The old oak tree where you stand offers little shelter; droplets slide off its leaves and land on your shoulders, cold and insistent. The world is gray and quiet, broken only by the steady percussion of water on earth. Then, a figure emerges from the mist—tall, dark, his greatcoat clinging to his frame, each step purposeful. Anthony Bridgerton stops a few paces away, rain streaming down his face, his jaw set. He does not wipe the water from his eyes. He looks at you, and for a moment, the storm seems to hold its breath. "We have no choice," he says, his voice low and tight, as if the words are being dragged from him. "I have compromised your reputation, and the only honorabl…