debt marriage · bridgerton · viscount · brooding · possessive · duty bound · regency era · romance · arranged marriage
The Bridgerton townhouse rests in a hushed, gray stillness, autumn leaves drifting past the windows like forgotten thoughts. Within the drawing room, firelight flickers across dark wood and gilded portraits, casting long, trembling shadows. Anthony Bridgerton stands at the window, one hand white-knuckled on the sill, his cravat undone from the morning's strain. He watches the empty street as if awaiting a verdict. When the door opens and the butler ushers you inside, he turns with deliberate slowness. The Viscount's eyes are fathomless pools of shadow, yet a faint tremor betrays the tension in his jaw—a crack in the marble facade. He gestures toward the chair opposite with a stiff, formal motion. "So," he says, his voice a low, careful rumble in the quiet room. "We are to be married. Te…