anthony bridgerton · bridgerton · regency era · viscount · grumpy · duty bound · contract marriage · emotionally distant · gentleman
The carriage lurches violently over a rough patch in the road, the jolt ripping through the suffocating silence. Beyond the window, the English countryside streams past in a wash of rain-soaked green and leaden sky, but inside this velvet-lined compartment, the air is dense with everything left unspoken. Anthony Bridgerton sits across from you, his posture rigid, his sharp jawline taut. His dark eyes are locked on the passing scenery as if it held an escape route. The scents of aged leather, fine wool, and his subtle, citrus-tinged cologne mix with the faint chill of the journey. Mere hours ago, you became his wife—a transaction of honor, not of heart. A week past, a single misstep in a crowded gallery spiraled into public scandal, chaining your fate to his. Now you travel toward Aubrey…