independent & selective multimuse for francesca, gregory, hyacinth, and violet bridgerton. based on netflix's bridgerton and julia quinn's novels, with headcanon influences.
penned by danni (30, she/her, uk), established dec 22
DIALOGUE SENTENCE STARTERS PULLED FROM SEASON ONE OF NETFLIX’S SERIES BRIDGERTON, ADAPTED FROM NOVELS BY JULIA QUINN.
CHANGE gendered words and in-universe phrases as needed.
SPECIFY muse for multimuses.
“ Are you feeling better, dearest? ”
“ You do not seem pleased. Whatever is wrong? ”
“ I knew there was something between you! ”
“ Well, tell me. Tell me everything! ”
“ You do not need to tell me anything. ”
“ You are getting what you always wanted. ”
“ It will be the grandest wedding of the year. ”
“ Has something happened? ”
“ I believe you will know what love feels like soon enough. ”
“ You think I am to follow in your footsteps? ”
“ Can there be a more dreadful fate? ”
“ The only thing I am grateful for is that I am not you, nor will I ever be. ”
“ I thought we shared an understanding with our discussions of the future. ”
“ My goodness! If anything, I am the one forcing him. ”
“ Love is surely the greatest force of all. ”
“ Nothing can stand between us. ”
“ It was a pleasure to know you. ”
“ I look forward to counting you as part of our family. ”
“ She does not owe me anything. ”
“ Have you not done enough? ”
“ I applaud you. I bring you flowers on each of my visits, and yet you still react with admirable surprise every time. ”
“ I shall need to bring you something unexpected. ”
“ Her happiness is your greatest concern. ”
“ I promise you will not be disappointed. ”
“ Oh, I do hope your wedding dress will be ready in time. ”
“ While you may be content to accept defeat, it is certainly not how I approach things. ”
“ I take that duty with the utmost seriousness. ”
“ You have always been a terrible shit. ”
“ Surely we must be able to do something? ”
“ Now, where is the dinner I was promised? ”
“ Please, come in. Make yourself at home. ”
“ Apologies. Have we met? ”
“ I see my reputation precedes me. ”
“ Feelings are irrelevant. Indeed, they're responsible for this mess. ”
“ You will seduce him? ”
“ He is not so little anymore. ”
“ After your meal, perhaps we could take a walk, like we used to do. ”
“ It is quite late for you to be up, too, is it not? ”
“ If you're nervous about the wedding, you need not worry. ”
“ I am not quite sure what you believe I am to do about it. ”
“ It was not love at first sight for either of us. ”
“ We found something far greater. We found friendship. ”
“ Her laughter brings me joy. ”
“ To meet a beautiful woman is one thing, but to meet your best friend in the most beautiful of women is something entirely apart. ”
“ I want her to be my wife. ”
“ Do you wish to marry this man? ”
“ I suppose congratulations are in order ”
“ I do hope you will remember my kindness in keeping secrets and repay me someday. ”
“ You can choose anyone but him. ”
“ Perhaps you would find it acceptable for me to live my life with a man who treats me like a mere beast? ”
“ I am beginning to feel a bit faint. ”
“ We should not be alone in here. ”
“ I know we have only known each other a short while, but… well, would you want to marry me? ”
“ You deserve a grand wedding. ”
“ I must say, I am honored and most grateful for your presence. ”
“ I hope you made the right choice. ”
“ You certainly enjoy spreading secrets, do you not? ”
“ Dear child, have you lost your wits? ”
“ I am flattered by your accusation, but it is simply not true. ”
“ What evidence have you gathered? ”
“ Tell me what you know. ”
“ What happened the other night? ”
“ I suppose I have put this conversation off for as long as I can. ”
“ Well, what do you recommend? ”
“ I'm sure you'll enjoy the peace and quiet. ”
“ I am going to miss all of you terribly. ”
“ I have a present for you. ”
“ I know we could not be any more different, but there is one thing we do share. ”
“ We need to rest before continuing on in the morning. ”
“ We should go down to dinner. ”
“ You have avoided my presence. ”
“ You have said all but a few words to me. ”
“ I could not bear witness to the misery I have caused you. ”
“ I cannot stop thinking of you. ”
“ From the mornings you ease, to the evenings you quiet, to the dreams you inhabit… my thoughts of you never end. ”
“ I am yours. I have always been yours. ”
“ You look angry and bothered. ”
“ It is you I cannot sacrifice. ”
“ I burn for you. ”
“ It has been so long since we have been blessed with your presence. ”
“ I am looking forward to making your acquaintance. ”
“ I'm no good at those things. I'll only make a fool of myself. ”
“ May I have everyone's attention? ”
“ Do you think this is a joke? ”
“ You are an ass. Do you know that? ”
“ I must make a good impression. ”
“ I am certain there is much left to see. ”
“ I found myself in continual awe of their beauty. ”
“ I knew you were flirting with her, but you flirt with plenty of young ladies. ”
“ I am not sure I have ever seen you so solemn and serious. ”
“ I was not prepared to let another of you fly the nest so soon. ”
“ It pains me you should think every compliment a mockery. ”
“ You think so little of me, I cannot bear it. ”
“ Please do not tell me you regret it. ”
“ I cannot condone your actions. ”
“ I am afraid that is not possible. ”
“ You have such a unique accent, and yet I have never asked where you're from. ”
“ I am not fooled by your little act. ”
“ I am sure we can find a solution to these difficulties, and I thank you for bringing them to our attention. ”
“ Oh, there, there, there, child. No need to cry. ”
“ I did not realize my absence would be felt this way. ”
“ You know, oddly enough, when I am actually in the presence of children, I forget all about my own concerns. They are the easiest company in the world. ”
“ I have all that I want just here. ”
“ I am very sorry. But this plan of yours, I find it wanting. ”
“ What were your favorite pastimes in the country? ”
“ Oh dear, what can the matter be? ”
“ You really are very good. You know that? ”
“ My own father does not want me. ”
“ Fool that I am, I truly thought that with your family, I might finally find acceptance. ”
“ We shall make our own family, you and me. ”
“ It is all I want. It is all I want in the world. ”
“ I wish we could be married this very minute. ”
“ We just have to make it to the border. ”
“ Are you missing home? ”
“ I will ensure everything is in order. I will ensure everything is done properly. ”
“ Should I have worn a different dress? ”
“ Perhaps I might ask your opinion on something? ”
“ I know I am new to the role, but I cannot imagine what I have done wrong so soon. ”
“ I will correct my mistake at once. I…I had no idea. ”
“ I am so very grateful for your guidance. ”
“ His childhood was not always easy. ”
“ Everyone talked as though it was her fault. ”
“ I thought you loved him. ”
“ Your love is an unrequited fantasy. ”
“ I should not have stayed away so long. ”
“ I'm at the end of the world with you ”
“ I trusted you more than anyone in this world, and you took advantage. ”
“ "Cannot" and "will not" are two entirely different things. ”
“ You chose this for yourself. ”
“ I thought you were prepared. ”
“ You took my future from me, the one thing I wanted more than anything. ”
“ I would have died for you! ”
“ Do you know — I even felt pity for you? ”
“ The ones we love have the power to inflict the greatest scars. ”
“ What thing is more fragile than the human heart? ”
“ I have learned that a grave fraud is afoot. ”
“ Should I really deliver the message? ”
“ You cannot believe I shall welcome you back into my bed after your lies and deception? ”
“ I would never dream of concealing the truth of such important matters. ”
“ I must return to my family immediately. ”
“ I will not let you out of my sight. ”
“ Hush, child, all will be well. ”
“ We are in just as perilous a position. ”
“ Perhaps if she can destroy a reputation… she can restore one too. ”
“ This is an emergency. ”
“ We do not require your assistance. ”
“ This may be the answer to all of our problems. ”
“ Pretending that nothing is amiss is the perfect way to lure the ignorant into submission. ”
“ I know you must think me a fool, but my heart pays no heed to mere logic. ”
“ When I think of her, I only want to be near her, to be with her… despite all reason otherwise. ”
“ Perhaps I can arrange a rendezvous. ”
“ It follows no reason or sense, does it? ”
“ Where have you been all night? ”
“ Do you understand me? That we no longer trust each other? ”
“ Thank you for joining us. ”
“ I did not come here to be shamed by you, nor anyone else. ”
“ You may think me a villain, but I did what I thought I must. ”
“ No one ever truly helped me, or guided me in a different direction. ”
“ You wish to know the cruelest part of your deception? ”
“ I see now that was all a lie. ”
“ We should tempt scandal more often. ”
“ Your duplicity comes so naturally. ”
“ Improvement is all a matter of practice. ”
“ How are you faring? ”
“ You have not heard what people have been saying. ”
“ All will be well again, I promise you. ”
“ I am sure you wish to avoid any further unpleasantness. ”
“ Judge not, lest we too be judged. ”
“ Something troubles you. ”
“ I know you are a grown woman now, but I am still your mother, and you can come to me when you need advice. ”
“ Well, then, share your thoughts. ”
“ I am merely trying to be of help. ”
“ For what it is worth, I am sorry. ”
“ I came here to apologize to you. ”
“ I wish it had not happened this way. ”
“ Why should he be the one to choose your future? ”
“ Do you really want to be alone? ”
“ I am quite capable of doing more than you think. ”
“ I have defeated the best, and I'm confident I shall continue to do so. ”
“ I think you would be wise to leave. ”
“ We shall teach you the rules. ”
“ Seems I have been blessed with some beginner's luck. ”
“ Would you just get to the point? ”
“ Do you not ever get tired of pretending to be so perfect? ”
“ We may not be perfect, but at least we keep our promises. ”
“ I'm trying to be a man of my word. ”
“ Well, you certainly make it look difficult. ”
“ Tell me why you are so adamant. ”
“ Your help is greatly appreciated, but there is nothing more you can do. ”
“ I’m not exactly in the mood for music and finery this evening. ”
“ I may have been a trifle harsh with you. And I'm sorry. ”
“ So you admit it now? You were acting a fool? ”
“ You may hurt now, but the pain will pass. ”
“ We live under constant threat of danger. ”
“ I risk my life every day for love. ”
“ It takes courage to live outside the traditional expectations of society. ”
“ I'm not bound by the rules of society. ”
“ You know not the future that awaits. ”
“ Don't you touch me. Stay away! Just leave me alone! ”
“ This time next week, our ruse will be well and truly over. ”
“ I shall begin practicing straightaway! ”
“ I would have expected this from anyone but you. ”
“ I am sorry for everything I have done and said. ”
“ I know I do not always say the right things, and then the things I do say, well… They are not always what you wish to hear. ”
“ However difficult forgiving someone may be, it is necessary to move forward. ”
“ However are we supposed to move forward from there? ”
“ I have come bearing grim news today. ”
“ I thought him a villain, but he was not. ”
“ We do not need to have this conversation. ”
“ You may not understand this now, but I am doing this for your own good. ”
“ You will be better off without me. ”
“ I cannot fight forever. ”
“ I merely showed him what he was capable of all along. ”
“ You still managed to put on quite a performance. “
“ What ever could be more honorable besides taking care of one's family? ”
“ You’re angry, but not with me. ”
“ What is this? And more importantly, how did you get it? ”
“ I believe I need a doctor. ”
“ This is preposterous and fantastical. ”
“ I want you there by my side. ”
“ For someone who hates ballgowns… you look exquisite in one. ”
“ I am merely glad you came. ”
“ I suppose I should thank you. ”
“ We did not expect to see you here. ”
“ Are you enjoying your evening? ”
“ I did not see it at first, but I know you were only trying to prevent me from heartache. ”
“ I wish to tell you something. ”
“ It was actually you who inspired me. ”
“ Oh, um… What was it you wished to say? ”
“ I need you to take me somewhere. ”
“ My imagination was the furthest I could allow myself to go. ”
“ I am looking out for myself. ”
“ What I know is that you are lost, and I cannot allow you to set me adrift as well. ”
“ It is a choice, dearest, one that is never too late to make. ”
“ I cannot tell you how much peace and comfort that brings to me. ”
“ There is nothing you cannot do. ”
“ I know that this is not what you had envisioned for the evening. ”
“ Just because something is not perfect does not make it any less worthy of love. ”
“ He made you believe that you needed to be without fault in order to be loved, but he was wrong. ”
“ I am tired of pretending. ”
“ I cannot continue acting as if I… as if I do not love you. ”
“ I love all of you, even the parts that you believe are too dark and too shameful. ”
“ You may think you are too damaged and too broken to ever allow yourself to be happy, but you can choose differently. You can choose to love me as much as I love you. ”
The smell of the forest and sting of the air brought Victor back to his senses. Eyelids fluttering for a brief moment, Victor tried to focus his eyes on what he was seeing above him. Darkness, trees, Gregory...
Gregory?
"What happened?" He asked, suddenly feeling very confused. This wasn't that place they'd fallen into, was it? It felt much more alive. The trees swaying, the crickets in the distance, and even just the existence of wind told him that they were above ground again.
Above ground!
Sitting up faster than he meant to, Victor's excitement shone on his face, momentarily forgetting the conditions that were tied to their temporary freedom. "We're out! She let us go!" He grabbed at tufts of grass just to check that all of this was real. "Gregory, we're okay! We got away from her!" Oh, if he were the dancing type Victor would have jumped up to do a jig right there!
"Did she just let us go? Y—You're not hurt, are you?" His gaze concerned, he studied his friend as if searching for any sign of injury.
For a moment, Gregory feared that Victor was ill from his time in the underworld, the coldness perhaps reaching his bones at a faster rate than they had anticipated. What had happened? Surely he had not forgotten, the bright excitement in his gaze both softening and concerning the Bridgerton.
"Yes, we did," he agreed, although his voice lacked the enthusiasm that Victor seemed to be displaying. Dark eyes fixed on his friend, serious and firm -- Two things that Gregory liked to think he was not. "Do you not remember? Anything?"
Seemingly not. With a sigh, he ran his hand through dishevelled curls, swallowing as he tried to think of a way to break it to him. After all, this was all Gregory's fault. "She let us go under... under a condition. That we must convince our parents that we're... well, together."
Ben flashed a lopsided smirk, though it was somewhat frayed around the edges. "If it weren't for transactions being digital nowadays, I would've expected Anthony to stab me with his check-writing pen," he agreed.
Francesca's expression grew decidedly withering. "I am just trying to help."
Despite the gravity of their situation, he grinned. "There you are," he commended. "You're already doing well with the whole 'significant other glare.'"
Visibly, Francesca started to slow down at his side. "Safely," she echoed, caution in her voice. "Are you certain? I don't want anybody to get hurt because of me."
Glancing around them to be certain that no one could overhear, Ben took her shoulders and leaned in closer -- this position both aided in their ruse, and kept all prying ears at bay -- and with an earnest look to his eyes, he reminded her, "There will always be a risk, but I wouldn't have suggested this if I didn't think it was your best option. No matter what happens, I want you to trust me. It is my job to protect you -- to protect everyone in your immediate vicinity."
Gently, he squeezed her shoulders. "Now should we keep pretending that you're wholly, madly -- not to mention, understandably in love with me, or did you want to head back to the hotel?"
Even though Ben was teasing her, there was a note of visible concern in his eyes while he appraised her. What if she wasn't prepared for this? What if she froze when he needed her alert and at the ready?
"There you are. You're already doing well with the whole 'significant other glare.'"
Despite the urge to continue her glaring, Francesca couldn't help the reluctant smile that graced her features at that, playfully shoving Ben's arm as she carried on with their walking. As loathe as she was to admit it, she was having fun -- Or... as much fun as somebody could be having when they faced imminent danger at every corner.
"Perhaps I was born to be the exasperated girlfriend," she replied, the word feeling strange on her tongue considering she had only met the man a mere few days ago. Still, a teasing glint entered her gaze as she glanced back at him. "Although you make it rather easy."
As soon as Ben's hands rested upon her shoulders, his face leaning closer to her own, Francesca's smile faded, wide eyes blinking back at him uncertainly. Trust. She supposed that she did trust him, in the way that she trusted any of her family's employees to do the job that they were hired for. But this wasn't the job that he had been hired for, not by a long shot.
"I do," she murmured. "Trust you. I am just not certain that I trust myself."
"Now should we keep pretending that you're wholly, madly -- not to mention, understandably in love with me, or did you want to head back to the hotel?"
The exasperation was back tenfold, paired with a grin that Francesca did not even try to hide as her hand slipped easily into his. "One more walk around the block and then we can go back? I'd rather put off facing my brother for a few minutes more."
Benjamin peered back at her, an incredulous fog overtaking his low-lashed, longing gaze as he managed a smile. If he wished to? God in Heaven, he’d wished for nothing else but to be hers – to be loved by her for as long as he’d had a modicum of sense – and with trembling limbs, he cupped her face between his hands and kissed her brow.
“Take me to bed. Please.”
Unable to help it, Benjamin laughed. "Tired already?” he teased.
Regardless of the impish glimmer to his eyes, there was still an unmistakable tremor in his limbs as he moved, and lowering to sweep her up into the security of his arms, he carried her back toward his childhood bedroom – a small, cozy space where he and Samuel would hide underneath blankets whispering ghost stories, or sneak cookies from the kitchen before supper, or laugh so hard that their stomachs ached. He had beloved memories then, but he was determined to make more now…to make a once-haunted space warm and inhabitable again.
Nudging the door closed with his foot, Benjamin carried Francesca toward his bed before lying her out across the length of the downy mattress, his left hand gently tucking a stray curl behind her ear while the other hesitated, almost twitching with indecision on how to proceed.
Such a jest would usually have earned a raised brow from Francesca, a sly remark following of how she was so very exhausted and in need of a nap. Perhaps she would have moved away from his touch, a glimmer in her eye that would challenge him to chase her, to beg her to come back to him.
But she could not. Instead she merely swallowed, shaking her head as the desperation in her ocean gaze turned to surprised laughter once she was swept off her feet and towards the privacy of his bedroom.
It was a room that Francesca had not been privy to before now, not even peeking in when the door was slightly ajar. It felt wrong, as though she were crossing a boundary despite the innate yearning to set foot inside, to look through his childhood relics and understand her husband just a little bit more. And yet, even as they entered, she could not focus on anything else except the man before her.
"I do not want to sleep," she shot back with a fierce determination, trembling fingers lifting to aid him with the laces of her garments as his lips found their way across her skin. A soft gasp exhaled from her lips as she felt his teeth graze against her pulse, and Francesca found herself reaching for him, for his shirt, chilled fingers lifting the fabric to soothe the warm skin underneath.
It was then that his touch grew more urgent, intimate, so close to where she ached for it that Francesca could feel the deep flush of her cheeks spreading across her chest. A soft moan was muffled against Ben's lips before he parted from her, and she gave herself a mental scolding for being so shameless in her desire.
"Would you like me to stop talking now?"
Francesca had remained silent as he spoke, gazing up at her husband with wide eyes and parted lips, but his question earned bright laughter in response, her head turning towards the pillow to muffle the sound.
"No," she managed, reaching up to tuck a stray hair from his eyes before pulling him against her into a deep, yearning kiss. "Never."
"And you can play them for your future neices and nephews." Kate smiled, now that they had told their respective mamas and family members, Kate was being more open with her pregnancy, and was starting to adjust to the idea of an impending child.
"Maybe you'll teach them how to play, I taught Edwina but I'm sure you'll be the better teacher."
Blue eyes brightened further at the notion of a new little niece or nephew, having been over the moon for Anthony and Kate ever since their announcement. Daphne's children were absolutely darling, but Francesca knew that her mother was excited at the prospect of having grandchildren so close to home.
"I would be honoured," she replied. "And how is Edwina? I should like to write to her soon, now that I do not have quite so many lessons to attend."