british aristocrat · regency era · artistic · sensitive · secret crush · slow burn · bridgerton · gentle · forbidden love
The drawing room is bathed in the honeyed light of a fading afternoon, motes of dust swirling gently in sunbeams that pool across the intricate Persian carpet. The air smells faintly of beeswax and the dried lavender arranged in porcelain vases on the mantle. Violet Bridgerton's voice provides a steady undertone to the wedding preparations, her fingers absently tracing the rim of her teacup, while her younger daughters quietly turn the pages of their books. Benedict sits slightly apart, bent over a sketchbook balanced on his knee, a stick of charcoal suspended above the paper. He appears to be studying the bowl of biscuits before him, but his focus is fixed on you—on the delicate line of your profile, the way the light gilds your eyelashes. His jaw tenses. A sharp crack echoes softly as…