The Muse // Benedict Bridgerton

Shame

TW: slight physical violence

In a swift motion, Henry stepped forward and hauled James up off the ground by his collar.

"You absolute bastard" he said, right before he punched him square in the nose and pushed him right back onto the ground, making sure that the landing was as painful as it could be. Lucy's father then stepped forward, placing a hand on his son's shoulder.

"Stop. You wouldn't want to leave a mark and draw attention to the situation, would you?" Her father asked calmly.

"Well what do you propose should happen now? We just let him go?" Henry asked through gritted teeth.

"No- Well, you have already suggested what should happen. Propose- a proposal." He began.

Lucy's heart sped up- propose? How could her father expect her to marry a man who just tried to compromise her? surely that wasn't a good start to a marriage, nor would he be an admirable addition to the family.

"Mr. Bancroft, you will marry my daughter to ensure her reputation remains intact. We will announce the engagement in a fortnight- not too long to wait and not too short either- and in the meantime, you two will behave properly and publicly court each other and give everyone the impression that you are falling in love. And hope that no one else witnessed what has happened here today," He added.

Lucy's mind began to spin. Her father was speaking in the most calm manner he had spoken in over half a year, and it sent a chill down her spine. She had just met this man, and now she was being forced into a marriage with no say in the matter. She knew there was going to be no easy way out of this, but she was definitely going to try.

All Mr. Bancroft did was grunt with an unappealing shadow of a grin on his face, signaling he agreed to her father's terms before he was sent away by him and her brother, seemingly pleased with the outcome of his actions. Then it was just the three Blackthornes, stood peculiarly behind a hedge, in the gardens of a grand house.

"I cannot imagine what spirit possessed you to wander into a garden like this alone with a man to whom you are unrelated, but I hope this proves a lesson to you." Her father stated, before walking back into the ballroom, calm and collected. It was unbelievable, and surely an overreaction on her father's part. No one had seen them, as far as Lucy knew. No one except for the two men in her life.

"Are you hurt?" Henry asked.

"Not physically" Lucy replied. Tears burned at the corners of her eyes, threatening to fall.

She then noticed a look on his face that she had never seen before. A look she thought resembled pity, disappointment, and anger all at the same time. It filled her with rage.

"Don't" Lucy said.

"Don't what?" Henry replied. He was attempting to remain calm, but she could tell what he was thinking below the surface of his manner.

"Don't look at me like I am the most disgraceful person on earth. It is not as though I invited him to compromise me" Lucy responded.

"Well I'm sorry, Lucy, but I do not really know how I should feel right now. Or what to do, or say, or even think- so please, forgive me if my facial expressions are not to your liking at the present moment," he replied.

"It's not as though you were compromised. It was me. How do you suppose I feel right now?" Lucy asked, frustrated.

"God, I don't know. Let us just go back inside before anyone notices our absences." Henry replied bluntly and reached out his arm in offering to her.

She relented and looped her hand around his elbow, following him back into the warmly lit ballroom. She knew her brother meant well, and that she was lucky that she had him, but he was still a man. Not nearly as bad as the other men she knew, or stories of other men that she had heard from other women, but he still shared some of their dated views. He would never understand what it was to be a woman in their time- always treading lightly, making sure we don't set a toe out of line, whereas he could do whatever he wanted albeit discreetly.