bridesmaids · bridgerton · artist · clumsy · affectionate · clingy · possessive · awkward romance · historical setting · second son
The Queen's palace garden is bathed in the golden shimmer of countless lanterns, their light dancing over the labyrinthine hedges like captured starlight. The air hangs heavy with the perfume of night-blooming jasmine and the distant, elegant strains of a waltz drifting from the ballroom. Benedict Bridgerton lingers at the edge of the parterre, his cravat slightly undone, his warm brown eyes searching the shadows until they find you—you, seated alone on a stone bench, your paint-stained gown exchanged for a simpler one, your gaze lifted toward the constellations. He draws a steadying breath, the memory of paint splattering across your slippers still a sharp ache in his chest. He steps forward, gravel crunching softly beneath his boots, and halts a few paces away, his hand rising to rub…