Through the Grapevine [ BRIDGERTON]

Dancing the Night Away

   It was the night of the Danbury ball, and throughout the entire day the ton could not stop talking about the mysterious Duke of Hastings. The Duke was to be present at tonight's ball, and Cassandra was interested in meeting him; however she knew that every debutante and their mama would jump at any chance possible to talk to him.

   As the oldest five Bridgerton's entered the ballroom with their mother, the eyes of bachelors all were focused upon Cassandra and Daphne. Cassandra wore a lovely deep purple dress with black accents while Daphne was a beautiful shade of lilac. Both girls looked incredibly stunning, so different yet so beautiful and by the looks they were receiving from the ladies and men alike the girls knew they looked ravishing. Cassandra fond of the attention was also nervous and she squeezed the arm of Colin, who had his arm locked with hers as he escorted her inside. ' Col, please stay with me tonight. All these eyes, all this attention... I do not know how I am to get through the night without a sip of champagne.' Cassandra mumbled. She looked into the eyes of her twin brother, his hazel eyes staring back into her own.

' Do not fret Cass, I am with you always. But you also have Anthony and Benedict here with us. And Daph. Mostly Anthony though, I believe he will not let the two of you out of his sight. I could not imagine a worse night than that.' He laughed and so did Cassandra. The Bridgerton siblings were huddled together talking, and Anthony mumbled quickly ' On guard!' And the boys tried to walk quickly away.

  A cane appeared into the girls' line of vision and it wacked the boys in the middle of their backs which earned a mumbled curse from each brother. 'Too late, I already noted you.' Lady Danbury's rang out. Each brother turned around and bowed while saying her name in greeting. It was hard to stifle a laugh, Lady Danbury was an absolute force to be reckoned with. Cheeky with a hint of brutal honesty, Lady Danbury has a notoriously respectable reputation. Cass admired that, and admired how adored yet feared Lady D was.

  Lady Danbury turned to the sisters and smiled. ' Cassandra, Daphne. I have yet to see you both on the dance floor.' Just as Daphne was about to reply, Anthony interjects. ' All in due time, Lady Danbury.' Both Daphne and Lady D rolled their eyes, the elder replying ' You poor things.' and left the siblings alone as she tended to her other guests. Colin ended up leaving the rest of his siblings to join the next dance, and Benedict went off to who knows where. So much for staying by her side.
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  The party was fun, laughter and chatter filled the room. The ambience was just right, the ballroom was faintly lit, giving the room a warm heavenly glow. And apparently it gave the right glow to the Bridgerton sisters as gentlemen one after the other offered each young lady a dance. And of course, one after the other Anthony denied on their behalf. It was when Daphne went off in search of a drink did Anthony go after her, the pair actually ended up conversing with the Duke of Hastings. During that time  a handsome young man confidently approached Cassandra, bowing before her in greeting and she had done the same.

    This man was finely dressed in the same shade of purple as her, as was the rest of the members of the party. Studying his features as best as she could in the dim light, he had a kind face, beautiful blue eyes and the softest smile. His blonde hair didn't know whether to curl or stay in waves. Something about him seemed so familiar, but she could not put her finger on it. He extended his hand out and cheekily smiled. ' May I have the pleasure of having a dance, Miss. Bridgerton?' He nodded towards her dance card. Cass extended her arm so he can fill in his spot on her dance card, and she continued to study his face in hopes of remembering his name. He noticed her staring and he laughed, his laugh having a disappointed undertone.

   ' You really do not recognize me, do you? Well... after all I do not expect you to remember as it has been some time now. Last I saw you you and I were barely out of leading strings.' Her heart almost leapt from her chest as she believed this to be her mysterious 'A'. Just as she was about to speak and ask what was on her mind, he continued to speak. 'I'm George, Colin's old friend? Always gave you a hard time when we were younger. If I recall, Colin and I tried putting a toad in your hair.'

Cassandra laughed as the memory came back to her,  the pair entered on to the dance floor and assumed their position for the dance, taking his rather large hand in her own and placed her other hand on his shoulder. ' I remember clear as day. And if I recall, Daphne and I tried to put rocks in your soup. Great times.' She smiled devilishly at him and the sweet sounds of the violin began, which signaled the start of the dance. The couple moved across the ballroom effortlessly, chatting away without missing a single beat.

Dancing has always come easy to Cassandra, she danced plenty with her father around the house. As a child, her father would take her chubby little hands in his big strong ones and let her step on his feet, the two of them would dance and twirl around the house for what felt like ages as he hummed all kinds of music. Giggles from both and screams of joy from Cass would fill the house, and even if her father was needing a break from all the twirling he never stopped, as all he wanted to do was make his little girl happy. At this very moment Cassandra felt like a little girl again, so blissfully happy twirling around the dance floor with George. No care in the world about the rest of the ton, about what her brother Anthony may think. One dance with George seamlessly turned into two, then into three. During the third dance, a young man taps Cassandra on the shoulder and pulls a note from his pocket.

' For you, miss.'

Taking the letter in her hands and examining the print on the front, she knew immediately who this was. Opening the note, the contents were an easy read.

Nothing short of perfect for the first night of the season, Cassandra. I may be hard to find, but you so easily stand out. I hope you have had your fun with the young man on the dance floor. To many more balls this season.

- A

Frantically scanning the room, Cassandra looked for any sign of a young man watching her and George at the moment. Unfortunately, just about every other man was watching her, their eyes conveying the message of desperation; they wanted at least one dance with her. Turning back to a concerned George, she anxiously blurts out ' I have to go.' and hurries off the floor in pursuit of Anthony, leaving a hurt and confused George alone on the dance floor.

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Well, George is going to probably be Francis from Reign! The actual actor is Toby Regbo, I love him and Adelaide Kane together 😍 what do we think of George so far? Will get to know more about him soon.