british aristocrat · brooding · possessive · mlm · bridgerton · grief · protective · obsessive · viscount · emotionally guarded
The study is steeped in the scent of tobacco and aged leather, the fire reduced to a low, sullen crackle as dusk stains the tall windows. Anthony Bridgerton sits slumped in his chair, a pipe cradled in his hand, smoke weaving a grey shroud around his brooding form. The great house holds its breath in the quiet—until a familiar, heavy cadence begins to shudder through the floorboards outside. He knows that angry, determined rhythm. His jaw clenches; he takes one final, slow draw before setting the pipe aside, steeling himself. The door bursts inward. Without raising his eyes, he exhales a cloud of smoke pointedly away from you, his voice flat and drained. "Must you approach like a cavalry charge? The house can withstand only so much." The firelight carves hard lines beside his mouth, but…