The Second Born Bridgerton // Benedict Bridgerton

A liar

"You should not have spoken to Anthony that way, Peaches. He may be proving himself as a heartless imbecile, but he is my brother and the viscount nonetheless." Benedict sighs, his hand still interlinked with mine as we return to the centre of the maze to find his dinner jacket. He leans down to pick it up and releases his grip on my hand only to put it on.

"I will not stand by as he insults and chastises you. If you thought that is what would happen then you do not know me nor my temper so well. He may be your brother but he is no longer the viscount, you are. Tomorrow he shall either be killed or he shall have to flee, and that shall leave you as the eldest. It does not matter what I say to him, he shall not be around to reprimand me." I am still irate.

"You shall not talk of my brother as though he is already dead." This seems to provoke benedict, and he turns around to look at me with a face full of an emotion I have not seen on him before. "I do not care that you do not like him and he does not seem to like you, he is still my brother and you shall not speak as though he is not. You call him rude and that is what you are being at this moment, you are showing that you have a temper like his, an abrasiveness like his and you are heartless like him. Do you wish to be like Anthony? Or your own sisters perhaps?"

"Do not talk of my sisters."

"You are allowed to speak of my brother as a dead man walking yet you are so full of anger after one mention of your sisters? That is interesting." He scowls as he straightens his jacket, letting out a sigh and stepping forward to look at me. He makes an attempt to take my hands but I do not allow him to. "I do not see what reason you have to be angry with me. You have provoked my brother without cause or concern, you speak of him with so little respect that you do not care if he lives nor dies, and now you are intending to act as though I am the one who has done wrong? I have done no wrong."

"I wished only to defend you!"

"I am not a lady in need of defending, Peaches! We are not alike in that way, I feel no need to provoke people and cause arguments, I do not see why you must. This situation did not involve us until you began speaking, and you needn't have spoken!" He shakes his head once again.

"Benedict-"

"Not to mention that I shall now be viscount. I... I cannot marry you if I am the viscount. I could only do that when I was the second born and I was unimportant and it did not matter whether I spent my time with people like you or ladies or lords or-"

"People like me?" I cannot help but frown even further, shaking my head a little. I did not mean to cause this much upset and I am heartbroken to see the way he must feel, as he begins to pace back and forth. "I am a lady too. I am also of noble birth, I am not just anyone. And I know that I am not much as a female and fourth born Featherington but I am a lady nonetheless and... you shall be able to marry a lady? Will you not?"

"I... I do not know, Peaches. Anthony could not stop this before but... if I am the viscount I... I shall be in charge of all of my siblings and our funds and... my mother and... I must marry as Anthony would have, surely?" His hands grasp his head and he breathes out, stressed and frustrated.

I reach for him, placing a soft hand on his shoulder so that I may attempt to comfort him, shocked as he does not allow me to, shaking my hand from it's place. "So... this is it, I suppose. You do not wish to see me any longer?"

"Of course I wish to see you but that does not mean I shall have the abilities to do so. I... I do not know. I do not think this will work any longer, no. I am sorry-"

"You are sorry? Sorry? I do not believe that sorry is good enough, I am afraid. You have... ruined me, you understand that much, do you? You have taken everything, I have allowed you to... oh, I am such a fool to believe you should ever have actually married me. This is completely my fault. I should not have trusted you!" I exclaim, speaking from a place of emotion and not logic, and certainly not in a way that I should ever have spoken to him. No matter how much he is hurting me, I do love him. I am in love with him and I can see that he is hurting too. But in that moment, none of that matters to me, only the deep burning anger in my stomach. "I cannot believe you! You act as though you... you are different and you told me I could trust you! You told me that you loved me and that we shall marry and you... you are a liar." The tears in my eyes sting as I desperately try to refrain from allowing them to roll down my cheeks. I cannot cry, I do not want to cry. "You are a liar."

"I am not! Circumstances have changed and I am no longer sure I shall be able to marry you. I wish still to see you-"

"You wish still to see me? You wish to hide me away as Anthony does with Siena? I am not some whore or prostitute or common woman, I am a lady! I am just not good enough for you any longer. You are... you are fickle and I hope you must marry some foul old duchess, and I hope you hate every second of your marriage with her, as I shall hate every second of mine!" With that, I storm away from him and from the maze, feeling a painful numbness in my head and my heart.