The Muse // Benedict Bridgerton

The Duality of Femininity

A/N: hii everyone, sorry for the late update but i hope you enjoy the chapter!

Upon returning to their new temporary home, the only thing on the young bride's mind was her husband. The way the warmth of his hand felt along her waist as they danced throughout the night – it was quite large and encompassed the side of her short frame. The way his other hand felt in her own, as he guided her across the dancefloor, made her feel delicate. It made her feel like the petal of a flower, to be admired and inhaled for its beauty and scent. She could not erase the thought from her mind. She prized her knowledge and intellect above everything else most of the time, but it was nice to feel beautiful and wanted by the opposite sex on occasion; and that is exactly what she felt when she was around Benedict. The simple way his eyes scanned over her when she was in his proximity was enough to make her mind run wild. The desire she felt for her husband only grew with each day and glance she shared with him, and the craving to feel his body pressed against hers was all she could think about that night after their dalliance. Dancing was not enough, not when she knew what else could be in store for the two of them. Her conversation with Kate illuminated her on that point. She wished she knew if he had been feeling the same, and she decided that the night they returned from their first ball they attended as husband and wife would be the night she found out.

One by one the Bridgertons fled to their respective rooms, ready to retire after a long social evening, and Benedict did as he usually did since they arrived back in London – he escorted Lucy to the door of her room. After wishing everyone a goodnight, they approached the white door at the end of an expansive hallway that led to Lucy's chamber. Benedict lifted her hand up to his lips and brushed them across her soft knuckles, something that was becoming an intimate ritual, and bid her goodnight. Before he could turn away and leave, though, Lucy felt a surge of confidence and spoke.

"Benedict," She said in a quizzical tone. Their eyes met, and he gazed into her deeply. So deeply and with such affection, or so it seemed to Lucy. He looked at her in the way someone would look at something they desperately wanted to embed into their memory.

"Yes?" he spoke softly. Everyone was still awake, aside from the youngest children who could sleep through any measure of noise, but he still took care to speak quietly. It seemed more personal, more private.

"You... you do not have to go," Lucy explained. His eyebrow raised, as if on impulse.

"You wish for me to stay?" He asked. She felt a flash of embarrassment overcome her body at what she had just implied with such a simple question.

"It - it was improper of me to say such a thing, I-" she continued and shook her head slightly.

"No, no it was not. I understand you're curious. You always have been – it is an attribute I have always admired about you," Benedict interrupted, and smiled warmly. She felt her cheeks heat up faintly, but she fought the feeling. She did not want to, once again, display any fragility she may hold. She responded with a demure smile to match his own and straightened her spine.

"And I would stay Lucy, truly, but I have some business to attend to tonight. And I fear you may already be asleep when I return," he explained.

"Oh, of course. Another time, then," she responded. She tried to not let her disappointment show on her face.

"Besides, I have been thinking about things. Perhaps it would be better for us to wait – people are already curious as to why we ran away and got married, they're probably thinking the worst. That you were compromised and are with child. At least if we wait a while, we can squash that rumor which might bring a more welcoming reception to our marriage. I told you I would try and fix things, Lucy, and this is one of the ways that I can do that," Benedict replied.