"Surprise! I'm back from the dead! Isn't that exciting?" For whoever inspires you atm, please? XD
Mab, @heirsoflilith you're a darling. Thank you so much for sending me this one!
(tagging you because tumblr is a bitch ™ about notifications)
I went back on forth on which OC to choose for this prompt, but in the end, I went with my new Bridgerton OC, Josephine Hollingsworth. For context, she has two older brothers named Matthew and Micah, and her pairing is Anthony. This is also so much longer than I intended, but I hope that's okay!
Josephine Hollingsworth had forced her new friend Eloise to accompany her to the modiste so she wouldn't have to go through the harrowing experience on her own. After both women had been fitted with new dresses, though Eloise was quite a few years her junior and hardly a woman yet, they went to the Hollingsworth home to take afternoon tea.
Upon walking through the front door, the butler informed them that Jo's brothers were already having tea in the drawing-room. Jo decided that Eloise might as well know the culprit behind their impromptu trip to the modiste and had every intention of throwing her eldest brother to the wolves for it.
"Surprise," she announced dramatically as they entered the downstairs drawing room with the sage green walls. "I am back from the dead, isn't that exciting?"
Next to her, Eloise had stiffened, and when Jo actually looked around the room, she saw more gentlemen than just her brothers.
"Josephine," Matthew said through gritted teeth. "We have guests."
"I see that," she muttered, turning her attention to their guests as if her arm weren't currently linked with that of those very guests' sister. "Lord Bridgerton, Mr Bridgerton, I apologise for the abrupt intrusion."
"It's not an intrusion at all," Anthony said, his tone even as he held her gaze firmly, never showing any sign of emotion that Jo could detect. "You live here, after all."
Eloise withdrew her arm and made sure to curtsey at Matthew and Micah like a proper lady before punching Colin in the arm to make him move to make room for her on the sofa.
Jo was entirely focused on the Viscount. "That is true," she agreed.
"Jo," Colin said, tearing her attention away from Anthony. "Why did you say you were back from the dead?"
"We were at the modiste," Eloise said matter-of-factly as if that explained it all.
Josephine took a seat on the empty chaise longue opposite Anthony but looked at Colin as she gave her answer. "London fashion is uptight, very primp and proper. It makes riding difficult, walking too with such narrow skirts. I dragged your dear sister with me to lessen the torture."
"You need new dresses," Matthew told her. "If you are to find a husband, you must look the part."
"The part of what exactly, dear brother?" Jo could feel Anthony's eyes on her, assessing her and the situation, but she did not dare return his stare. "A pig for slaughter? I don't see you getting a new dinner jacket to increase your chances of finding a wife."
Eloise snorted. Jo barely managed to keep a smile off her own face.
"Should I ring for more biscuits?" Micah asked, clearly attempting to ease the tension. "I do seem to recall Colin's ferocious appetite."
As Micah rose and left to summon a butler for more biscuits and tea, easy conversation flowed between Colin, Eloise, and Matthew while Anthony remained quiet. Jo turned her head, finding his eyes still trained on her and what seemed like the ghost of a smile on his handsome face.
She quirked a brow at him. "Is there something on my face, My Lord?"
"No," Anthony said with a shake of his head. "You look beautiful."
send a prompt + an oc/pairing and i'll write a little something