#i do like edwina and I understand the anger

[thelesbianluthor]

Getting into bridgerton late means finding out people's rancid takes on my beautiful woman Kate 2 years later and being left baffled and peeved. The way people miss the point of her character completely and dismiss everything she has done and sacrificed makes me want to scream.

And if that's not the unfortunate fate of many female characters.. the amount of people that cannot handle complexity and mistakes if done by women even when they mirror beloved male characters...

Mistakes are part of what makes a character interesting, their baggage that held them back and then their growth after finally learning to let it go. If you dislike Kathani viscountess Bridgerton than you better stay away from me because I will let Anthony Bridgerton's spirit posses me and I WILL fight you for her honor

[indiaalphawhiskey]

“Perhaps that was another part of your planned… entrapment.”

Colin Bridgerton could live to be eight-and-ninety, and those words would forever be the nine he was most ashamed of. He had not known a moment’s peace since uttering them, his bones heavy with grief and regret as the words circled his memory, again, and again, and again.

Worse still had been Penelope’s response — soft and unbearably genuine; watery and honest. “I did not mean to entrap you, Colin. I love you.”

I love you.

He held onto that part of the memory fiercely, mind focused on her singular mercy, the use of present tense — love, not loved — fervently hoping it would drown out the rest. That it would make him forget the feel of her fingers, warm against his own, slipping the frigid metal of her betrothal ring back into his palm; forget the way he felt his heart split in two immediately, the crisp sound of its cracking masked only by the angry clack of his boots as he stormed after her, livid and ludicrously in love, because how very dare she?

How dare she think to leave him, as though that were even a possibility for two people whose souls were so deeply intertwined?

He said as much, though admittedly, not quite as well.

“Penelope,” he whispered the warning into her hair as he caught up to her at the bottom of the staircase. His fingers curled around her elbow, just firm enough to keep her in place. Gently, he spun her to face him, and implored seriously, “you cannot leave.”

Me, was what he meant. You cannot leave me.

Even the thought of it made the air leave his lungs, so he pushed it away, and chose instead to say, “the banns have been read.”

She scoffed in a way that was so easy, he felt another shard of his heart come loose. “As though we are the first pair to ever call off a wedding. Was not Miss Edwina already at the head of the altar? If anything, we are conscientiously early in our decision.”

‘Our decision’. Of all the insults. As if Colin would ever permit such foolish thinking as this, let alone contribute to it.

He narrowed his eyes at this sudden display of hardness he did not recognize in her. “We have been intimate,” he reminded her then — determined that she understand just exactly how inevitable they were.

He had uttered the very same excuse not five minutes prior, and yet this time, instead of her earlier sweet sorrow, he was met with a startling flash of anger, the blue of her eyes thunderous.

“No one need know that if you would only stop repeating it,” she hissed, quiet and angry. “Or are you to tell me you will stupidly aid in your own entrapment,” the word fell from her tongue like arsenic, heavy and poisoned, “by announcing it over and over until we are caught?”

It was infuriating how truly clever she was.

No matter, he was clever, too. Her soul’s perfect match.

“And if you are with child?” He snapped.

She rolled her eyes at him, derisive laughter in her tone. “My courses have come and gone, Mr. Bridgerton, you need not worry.” Somehow, her words left him stricken, a sharp pang of something akin to disappointment hitting him squarely in the chest. She, however, was unmoved, her expression as fiery as the auburn of her hair. “It seems even my body has graciously decided to relieve you of your most honorable duty.”

It was scathing and deserved, and yet all Colin could say in return was what he hoped was true, “You lie.”

“I do not,” she said simply, a near murderous smile playing at her lips now. “Or maybe I do,” she shrugged, unbothered. “It is not as if you can lift my skirts in an attempt to ascertain the truth.”

It was all he could do not to gape at her, his beautiful, sweet, gently-bred betrothed — for she was his betrothed still, make no mistake — speaking in such a manner to him.

“Penelope,” he chastised harshly.

“Miss Featherington,” she corrected, tone sharp as she tipped her chin up towards him, eyes stony.

It was the final straw. Colin had never been so angry, and so desperately in love. His fingers fell from her elbow to her wrist, and he yanked it towards him much less gently than he should have, before slipping the ring back onto her finger with the kind of finality that brooked no more argument. He watched as it found its rightful place again, before announcing, irrefutably, “Mrs. Bridgerton.”

[lavellenchanted]

begin again (edwina's version) is so 💖💖💖

Obviously you know exactly what this is! My currently very meandering attempt at a post S2 Edwina-centric fic as she navigates her return to society with a damaged reputation, learns that suppressing her hurt and anger out of guilt is not the same thing as actually working through it and letting it go, and struggles to trust her growing feelings for Prince Fredrich.

Here's a bit more of the scene between her and Eloise I posted not long ago.

“It’s just so . . . inane. And degrading,” Eloise says acerbically, staring at the glittering whirl in front of them with an expression of undisguised disdain. “Letting themselves be paraded around like bejewelled livestock to be weighed and measured.” When she doesn’t get an immediate reply she looks over and lifts an eyebrow.  “Can you honestly say I’m wrong?”  Edwina takes a long sip of her lemonade - not particularly tasteful, but still appropriately sour - as she considers her answer. Last year she would have made some vague, conciliatory remark intended to smooth Eloise’s ruffled feathers and keep the peace, that revealed nothing of her true thoughts. Perhaps last year she would not have known what her true thoughts really were. Today she lowers her glass, and looks Eloise in the eye as she says, “No, I do not think you are wrong, per se, but I think you don’t recognise your own privilege in being able to say so.” Eloise snorts. “My privilege? You mean the privilege of having a brain?” A flash of irritation gives bite to Edwina’s reply, “No, I mean the privilege of having a wealthy, powerful and loving family that can support you.”  The bemused frown on Eloise’s face makes it clear that she doesn’t understand. Swallowing a sigh, Edwina takes her elbow and steers her to a quieter corner of the ballroom and points to a blonde girl in a glittering pink dress, dancing with Lord Fife. “You see her? Miss Grace Campbell. Her father gambled away their family’s fortune. She has no brothers, so if she does not marry well, she and her mother will be destitute.”  Turning slightly, she gestures to another, dark-haired young lady laughing prettily at something Benedict Bridgerton is saying.  “Or her? Lady Veronica Ryswell. Her uncle is the Earl of Staffordshire, and has plenty of wealth, but there are rumours that he has quite a temper.” She pauses, letting that sink in and out of the corner of her eye sees Eloise start to shift uncomfortably as she realises what Edwina is implying. “Or take me.” “You?” “What money my father left us when he died is all but gone. My grandparents have disowned us. My reputation is hanging by a thread and I have no dowry.” “Anthony would never let you –” Eloise starts but Edwina cuts across her. “My options are to marry, or to be dependent on the man who humiliated me in front of the ton and is the reason my reputation has been damaged in the first place.” There’s a pause, and this time it’s Edwina’s turn to raise an eyebrow - almost daring Eloise to contradict her assessment of her situation, for she can tell the other girl is struggling with the desire to come to her brother’s defence. But, in the end, she can’t, and her shoulders slump a bit at the realisation. Edwina nods and continues. “I would not for a minute try to argue that society is fair to women. I know very well it isn’t. And I don’t think you’re wrong to want more - I would have liked the chance to go to university if I could. But I also don’t think you realise that you have more freedom than almost any other woman in this room. You will never have to worry about money or how you are to live. Your brother will never force you to marry someone you don’t want. Your family’s powerful enough that any scandal that touches you will last days at the most - how long was it after that Whistledown piece about you that you started getting invited to things again?” A strange expression crossed Eloise’s face at the mention of her brief brush with notoriety, but Edwina’s too caught up in her own thoughts to pay it much attention. “It’s been a year and there are some who still cut me in public, you know. And any eligible bachelor who comes near me is warned that I’ll likely jilt him. If there’s something you want to study, I would bet that Anthony would find you a tutor. You might not be able to do as much as your brothers, Eloise, but you could do so much more than so many of us if you tried.”

[suitsusboth]

Loved the new chapter! Could we maybe get a snippet of Anthony pov when he saw Edwina was back? From Kate's perspective it looked like he didn't care about her comments or her opinion, but I'm sure he was seething

Ohhh, I love that you've asked this!

I think we all know, Anthony can throw on that Viscount™️ mask when needed. Which he knew he had to here, where emotions were already running so high.

Lady Danbury's butler had opened the door with a grim expression. So grim, in fact, Anthony was worried for a moment something terrible had happened. But when the man did not say anything, and simply led the way to the sitting room as he had done every morning these last nine days, Anthony thought little of it. Perhaps it was a personal matter or something with another servant. Either way, he cared not. He had only one thing on his mind— Kate.

Kate, whom had looked so beautiful yesterday in the garden, who had been brave enough to show him the vulnerable parts of herself and her worries and doubts with him. As much as it had pained him that she worried she was not good enough, there was a certain satisfaction that she trust him enough to tell him that. He could tell it took a lot for her to do that, and he would not take that for granted.

Then she had turned around, and this confident vixen had taken her place, and absolutely floored him. He should have known Kate wouldn't have been the meek maiden most unmarried girls were. It had taken everything in him not to fall to his knees and tell her she can have him any way she wanted. He should be glad he had such restraint as his eleven year old sister would have far too much if he hadn't.

This whole not-being-married-yet thing was becoming very inconvenient. Luckily for him though, one day from now they would be.

One more day.

It felt almost unreal. What man gets everything he wants?

He ached for her. Not just in a carnal way, but for her mere presence. Just to be near her, to see her, to smell her, to hear her voice—

The butler opened the door to the sitting room, announcing his arrival, and Anthony barely stopped himself from bowling right past the man, far too eager to see Kate.

Like he was a compass and she was true north, Anthony's eyes instantly found Kate, who was sitting on the settee in her lovely lilac day dress. He couldn't wait to tell her just how lovely she looked, when she looked at him, and Anthony instantly came to a halt.

Something was wrong.

He looked around the room, Lady Danbury and Lady Mary also sat in the room with tense expressions, and then he noticed two others seated across from Kate. A nervous looking, scruffy man and none other than Edwina Sharma herself, who was looking at Anthony with adject horror.

"Miss Edwina,” he said at evenly and politely as possible, “Nice of you to return. You had us worried.”

You had your mother and sister beside themselves with worry. Kate had a panic attack and I do not think either of them had slept properly since.

While his blood simmered with anger, he knew it wasn't his feelings on the matter that were important. No, right now, all he cared about was Kate. He looked for her again, her expression strained as he silently asked if she was all right. She seemed to understand by how she gave him a quick nod. She looked all right, but he knew better. Those eyes told him everything she needed to know.

He itched to go sit next to her, and hold her hand.

Edwina must have realized why he was here, and began protesting in earnest that this couldn't be true.

Anthony had expected some discontent from Edwina once she found out about the engagement. He had half-hoped this would all happen after the actual wedding, but apparently not.

Edwina stood (as well as the gangly gentleman next to her, the man Anthony presumed Edwina had run off with) and got in between him and Kate as if to keep them forcibly apart. Like he was some danger to her.

His hand curled into a fist.

“Didi, please,” Edwina pleaded, “Tell me you are joking. ”

Kate sighed, looking entirely uncomfortable as she gently pried her sister's fingers from her arm. “Bon…”

“You cannot marry a man like him. Not after everything he has done!”

He understood the jab, and in way it was deserved. But he and Kate had come to a peace, a peace he would not let Edwina unravel.

Edwina flashed Anthony a glare, and her gentleman (husband, he corrected mentally once he spied the wedding ring on Edwina's finger.) moved in between them, twitching nervously, as he was not quite sure what to do.

“I do not know what to tell you, Edwina,” Kate said, moving away from her and closer to Anthony. He resisted the urge to reach out and pull her tightly against him.

“Him, Kate?” Edwina's eyes flashed with anguish. “Anyone else would be fine. But him?”

Mary stood, coming in between the two pairs. “Edwina, please—”

Edwina’s expression turned worried then, like she had had a thought. “Is it blackmail? Is he forcing—?”

That was enough.

“Come now,” Anthony said, trying to make light of the situation instead saying something biting and nasty. Instead he let his fingernails bite into his palm. Losing his temper would not help anyone in this moment, and Kate's expression was growing more upset. Those big, brown eyes were going to kill him. “You’re starting to hurt my feelings.”

“What feelings?” Edwina hissed back, “I wasn’t aware you were capable of them!”

That stung, but he didn't let her see that. It was to be expected though. He was the viscount. Cold, exacting, always in control of the situation. It's what he would have everyone believe. He's sure his family feel the same as Edwina did. It was perhaps they never held back with their jabs.

It was fine. He would rather take them than let them see how they affected him.

“Edwina, that is enough!”

Anthony's eyes widened in surprise momentarily at the outburst from Kate. Her eyes her alight with, and her expression unyielding as she looked at her sister as if to dare to say another word.

He heart clenched a little bit, relishing the feeling for once someone was on his side.

[navree]

ok if you know me you shouldn’t be surprised to know that i really don’t like bridgerton (i know, shocking, a history buff and writer who openly despises bunk theories and shoddy worldbuilding doesn’t like the show predicated on a bunk theory followed by shoddy worldbuilding, stop the presses), but i have watched it, mostly for background noise, but watched it nonetheless, and i think i finally figured out what irks me not just around season 2 of the dumb show but also the fandom response and reactions to the dumb show. 

the show, to my understanding, said prior to the season 2 release that they were treating the story between anthony and the sharma sisters as more of a love triangle (which made a lot of fans mad because edwina’s supposed to be one of those characters who exists solely to cheerlead a different character even if it’s at their own expense which is just the worst kind of character), and so fandom is reacting accordingly by treating this as if it were a “team edwina” and “team kate” situation that you see in other tv show love triangles and the like. but here’s the thing. a love triangle, as understood in most media, is that characters a and b like character c, who likes both of them and is torn for a while before realizing that they like character a/b more and thus ends the love triangle. 

except that’s not what season 2 of bridgerton was. it’s not that anthony likes both kate and edwina but ends up choosing edwina for a bit before finally realizing his true feelings lie with kate. anthony doesn’t like edwina at all. i’m fairly convinced that he couldn’t differentiate edwina from eve. anthony shows no care or concern for her at all not even as a love interest, but barely as a person, and has no regard for her personal feelings or wants or objectives or desires or literally anything about her. i’d be genuinely surprised to learn that he’s ever felt anything for her beyond the standard feelings we have towards humanity as a whole in knowing better than to do shit like punch randos on the street. this isn’t necessarily a solely anthony problem, the narrative appears to treat edwina exactly the same way which is bad writing because yes, she’s not one of the Main characters of the season, anthony and kate are, but she’s still a major player nonetheless. nor is this necessarily me writing anthony off, there’s a reason for his asshattery that’s been well established both by backstory and by the canon of the show itself back in season 1. the issue for me is that it doesn’t seem that anyone realizes that this is why anthony and kate were in the wrong with the marriage thing. 

edwina got a lot of flack from the fandom for being upset at kate and anthony about the whole wedding fiasco, and for holding a grudge for a while afterwards, and a good chunk of that seems to come from that old gripe i mentioned earlier about how edwina wasn’t following her book characterization of being kanthony’s number one cheerleader. but a lot of it is that i genuinely don’t think people understand what the issue is here. yeah, anthony deciding to marry edwina for shallow reasons even tho he knew she wanted a happy love match, while also being into her sister is bad, and kate knowing all of this and still deceiving edwina is also bad. but the core “this is a fucked up thing to do” element in her anger at kate is that kate is very aware of the fact that anthony literally just does not care for or about edwina in any capacity whatsoever beyond what he would care for, like, a lady passing on the street, and she was still willing to lie to edwina and let her enter into a marriage with someone like that, not only not giving edwina the full information to make her own informed consent about whether she wants to be in this marriage, but also just letting her walk into a situation like that knowingly. like, imagine how psychologically damaging it must be to be married, shackled for life, to someone who probably wouldn’t even remember your last name if it wasn’t the same name as the lady he was actually into. that’s a very valid reason for edwina to be mad at the two of them, especially in being mad at kate, considering that a guy screwing you over is one thing, but a close sister doing the same is a whole other level. and if edwina lashes out because that’s a fucked up thing to do, even for the “right reasons”, honestly that’s fair and valid. i love my sister to death but if she was egging on a marriage between me and someone whose only concern about whether i lived or died would be how it affected my sister, i’d be pissed for a really long time. 

(and no i’m sorry the “kate was doing it for edwina’s sake like she does everything” doesn’t really fly, you can’t pull the “i do everything for everyone can’t i do this one thing just for me” excuse out when the person you’re “doing everything for” a) never asked you to do it b) never had any expectation for you to do it and c) would have been perfectly content and likely even happier if you hadn’t done. kate’s reasoning is something that needs to get brought up with mary and with idk her regency era version of a therapist, not edwina. that’s not edwina’s responsibility, because most of us generally learn the concept of having to handle our emotions and that how we react to things is on us alone by age ten generally.) 

and the worst thing about it is that it’s never resolved. edwina is justifiably angry at the people who hurt her, the fandom’s mad because it’s viewing the situation through a love triangle lens and not the “two people who refuse to admit they wanna fuck and also the poor innocent who got dragged into and very nearly got screwed over as a result” and also because edwina’s being Mean to the primary couple and isn’t hopping up and done in ultimate ship mode for them. and then kate hits her head and that’s it, the justifiable anger is over and done with. i don’t think that edwina should have still been holding a grudge while her sister was dealing with a serious head injury that could have killed her, but that shouldn’t have been the end of the situation. none of edwina’s concerns got addressed or even understood, it’s just that the narrative wanted us to view it as edwina being unreasonable and coming to see the light and the glory of kanthony after nearly losing kate, which makes no sense. as mentioned, edwina’s anger is justifiable, because when you actually look at what happened and not the “love triangle” angle, it is an entirely reasonable anger. that edwina was willing to put it aside when kate was in trouble, because she loves her sister and obviously doesn’t want her dead and is relieved that she’s okay, that works. edwina being immediately over it does not work; her grievances aren’t addressed and it doesn’t seem like the narrative, let alone the characters themselves, understand why she was upset, and thus any reconciliations ring hollow. i mean hell, she doesn’t even get a scene where anthony, like, openly admits that this whole situation was a dick move on his part and sincerely apologize for his behavior and what he put her through, which really only cements how little, if at all, anthony cared about her in any way. 

edwina should have been allowed to take her time on forgiveness, and the way that she and kate especially built back trust and rapport should have been vitally important and deep character work, not just for edwina herself and the satisfaction of her arc, but also for kate and for her own development. but instead, edwina’s over it, she’s the cheerleader at long, and she gets dangled the possibility of a consolation prize as her reward for no longer being upset at her fiancé for being an ass and at her sister for violating her trust and nearly putting her a deeply unhappy situation for the remainder of her natural life. it’s bad writing to the extreme and it also makes kanthony both as a ship and as individual people seem like jerks and the total misread of the situation and the hate edwina got for her reaction just makes the fandom seem borderline illiterate. 

anyway this is rambly and not very eloquent and likely riddled with spelling errors but i woke up at 5am and made myself mad about this while getting ready for the day so this is my two cents on a specific element i hate about the dumb bridgerton show and its dumb ways.

[sergeantpixie]

Do you prefer saphne or kanthony and why?! kanthony was too much constant bickering/clashing and not enough actual connection for my taste but i know that’s not a popular opinion!!

You know I wasn't on tumblr when the first two seasons of Bridgerton aired so I experienced it in a vacuum. I watched it with one of my closest fandom friends, we've been friends for about 10 years at this point, so we know each other really well and we respect each others' opinions too. We both liked both couples and both seasons, but we each had a preference. She preferred season 2 and Kanthony, and I prefer season 1 and Saphne. I didn't need to be on tumblr to know which one would be more popular though, this is the enemies to lovers website.

I tend to prefer the friends to lovers route - that's just who I am. But I think Kate and Anthony are so well written that it makes sense why they argue and fight against it and why they end up hurting a lot of people including each other (Daphne and Simon do this too, just differently.) As older siblings who stepped up to take their fathers' place after his death, Kate and Anthony are very similar, specifically similarly damaged. They put their siblings' needs above their own to their own detriment constantly. It makes sense that they could only fight against their attraction and feelings for each other - it makes sense that the only way Kate could come to terms with her own feelings was through the eyes of her little sister that she puts above all else - and it makes sense that she'd end up hurting her in the process, because that's what happens when you wall yourself off from your needs - especially emotional. You hurt people. (We get that with Anthony and Daphne too, in season 1. He projects his own romantic woes onto Daphne and Simon and tells her they can never be together when he's not actually seeing them, he's only thinking about his own doomed romance with Siena. Every time Kate tells Edwina Anthony is not for her she's talking about herself. Both of them are trying to save their beloved younger siblings from pain as well as themselves - and causing them pain - and also causing themselves pain.)

Daphne and Simon are both exactly my types as characters it's kind of insane. Simon's archetype is one I find appealing in both sexes, but Daphne's is exclusively interesting as a woman to me. Almost all of my favorite female characters are the archetypal perfect girl of their universe and they're so fucking lonely because of it that they're barely human. Simon is lonely too - loneliness is an important factor in being my favorite characters - and he's very defined by the abuse and neglect he suffered in his childhood. And then he meets someone who gives him hope - a friend and a lover and someone who makes the world seem bright. But he's so preoccupied by the pain and the anger from his past that he can't let himself take it. Daphne has the strength and the determination to demand he take it. Daphne is also very emotionally stunted and uneducated about certain aspects of life because the time she grows up in is so infantilizing to young women. (I appreciate Queen Charlotte for showing exactly why Mama Bridgerton is so fucking bad at basic sex ed, god her mother was a nightmare!) Her anger and humiliation at her lack of knowledge and understanding of the world is a lot. They do hurt each other along the way but ultimately choose each other (they choose happiness!) and idk I just love it a lot. A character like Simon being able to decide that love is more important than pain is very beautiful to me. I love that he gets to be Lady Danbury's son instead of his father's.

Thank you for asking, anon!

[wyllzel]

my very correct reviews of the bridgerton novels 😎

stars and spiciness (scale of 1-3) and tidbits below

please note that the following numbers are my opinion and largely exist relative to one another and to my limited understanding of the genre haha

The Duke and I (⭐ 3.5/5 +🔥): Ok I have very mixed feelings about this one haha 😞 The dub-con/non-con scene between the leads is framed as a mistake by the perpetrator (Daphne), which is good! But it's also not fully acknowledged or apologized for... which is bad... But at the same time, there's some really good things in this novel - the chemistry between the leads, Simon's persistent issues and Daphne realizing that she can't fix him overnight, Daphne recognizing her own privilege, the humor and comedic timing, Daphne's Weird Girlness...

The Viscount Who Loved Me (⭐ 4/5 +🔥🔥): Anthony as a character was very fascinating, and Kate's sororal relationship with Edwina was lovingly written! I also thought Quinn's approach to mental health as something unknowable & unpredictable was great (her descriptions of panic attacks were pretty spot-on too)

An Offer from a Gentleman (⭐ 2/5 +🔥🔥): 2 stars for Benedict chokeslamming the abusive stepmom, 0 stars for Benedict creating a toxic workplace environment 🤮

Romancing Mister Bridgerton (⭐ 4/5 +🔥): Penelope is a very interesting character, and the primary conflict being one of jealousy between the two leads was really interesting!? (ie. Colin is jealous of Penelope's success 👀)

To Sir Phillip, With Love (⭐ 5/5 +🔥🔥🔥): Really complex and I'm glad that a) Quinn allows her leads to make mistakes and b) Phillip was not insta-cured by marriage or A Woman's Healing Touch but instead had to do some self-reflection and come to conclusions on his own (with her help)

When He Was Wicked (⭐ 4.5/5 +🔥🔥🔥): 5 stars for Michael being pathetically in love, -0.5 stars for Michael being an active participant in English colonization 🫥 It's thematic, and his commentary sounded accurate to contemporary stuff I've read lmao, so I see the vision - but given that Quinn is a modern author, she should know better and it could've been handled better... The overall gothic/ghostly vibes were fascinating tho !

It's in His Kiss (⭐ 4/5 +🔥): Hyacinth is just like me fr, and Gareth was a nice change in pace from the Tall Dark And Handsome Brooding ML LOL Also the treasure hunt as a plot vehicle was fun!

sidenote but i just think it's so funny how phillip & michael each had a scene where they gave the FL an orgasm but didn't finish:

On the Way to the Wedding (⭐ 3.5/5 +🔥): Gregory is a goof and I appreciate his madly-in-love vibes, also he shot a man??!!?! A well-executed finale to such a vibrant series 👏

but to be clear, none of these books are perfect, and there are definitely tropes/moments that quinn likes playing to but that i find dicey (such as most, if not all, her male leads having "sexy" (?) anger issues lol... also she is not the best author if you're looking for a critique of english classism/imperialism lmao)

yet there are also a lot of really good and interesting things (mostly internal growth/conflict rather than external, haha) that she explores through the Bridgerton Regency Tropes Vehicle 👀

also i think it genuinely takes a hugely skillful author to write good humor / erotica, which quinn definitely excels at, so i will give her her flowers there 👍

AND it's interesting to read a modern american woman's interpretation of early 19th century upper-class english society 👀 there's some interesting things going on there w historicity and the non/necessity of accuracy 👀 and ofc american-english cultural relations haha

phillip got up and jerked off in the bathroom LOL

meanwhile michael, possibly horniest man alive, just took a cold shower lmaooo

idk why this is so funny to me

also phillip and michael get extra kudos for going down on their love interests (gareth might have as well, i can't remember, if he did then good for him too)

and i will end this post on that note lol

[sukibenders]

https://www.tumblr.com/sukibenders/759646404506484736?source=share

You are so mean. What do you want?? That Colin was trap into a loveless marriage??? Wirh a woman who tame him???? Do youu wish that for him???

Poor edwina she was used by her Sister and now she has to run away to india

Me: *makes a post about how I won't needlessly hate three female characters who are already dragged by the fandom, even though in the grand scheme of things, their anger is justified and, in comparison to other characters who don't catch as much smoke, is given more flack and would prefer to take a different approach and analyze them from a different perspective.*

You: Oh, you're just a big meany!

Like, you looked and read (probably not) through my post about Marina where I, even when I talk about her lack of options, state that her lying and keeping that secret from Colin was wrong and still think that I wanted her to continue to be dishonest? Or, heck, even together in a trapped and "loveless" marriage? If that's the conclusion you came up with to fit your narrative, whatever just keep it to yourself and get out of my inbox. Your misspelling is making it hard to understand you, so if you're being sarcastic and this is a joke, please add more clarification next time and just ignore the rest of this. If it's not, and you're serious, then just get out of my inbox and read the posts of those who share the same mindset as you, because you won't find it here.

If you think Colin, who while I can sympathize with to a degree, a man from a respectable family with very high social standing is fitting of more concern and understanding than Marina, then whatever. Go away. And, lowkey, it's very funny how you and many others like you will swear up and down that his relationship with Marina would have been loveless all the while ignoring how they, not only, held a genuine connection with one another but he also went back to her and was more than ready to integrate himself back into her life had Marina not told him no. But yeah, sure, that would have been a loveless marriage he'd be trapped in. In that regard, if you base it on the fact of being less than truthful as a deal breaker, wouldn't his relationship with Penelope be the same since she kept being LW, something that held serious weight, from him as well?

With Edwina, it's obvious that the plot was written in to hurry and tie things up and, in a way, find some way to push Kathony out to put the focus on Polin (because the actors themselves say they want to come back, but the showrunners and writers have obvious favoritism that's not hard to miss due to how certain choices the characters made---when given screentime that gave them justice---didn't really make sense) and, even while I was happy she gets a happy ending (and don't necessarily mind what was given), it's not exactly wrong to also want to give her something better than the show cooked up. Admitting that how s2 went down was wrong and Edwina deserved better, doesn't necessarily mean that I didn't want Kathony to happen, so if that's the mindset you have it's wrong just like the rest of your post. Like how does wishing for a better storyline for both sisters follow that idea? Idk, think what you want and just stay out of my inbox while you're at it. Have a nice night.

[petalsmooth]

And petty or no....the Kanthony fans and Benedict fans who have staging a rather disgusting attempt at sabotage of the season and harassment of Luke and Nicole, hope now understand how pointless it all was.

Whether season 4 or 5, Benedict will get a season. Such a childish reaction in extreme to have thrown a tantrum for 2 year's over it not being this one. Let's be honest. Given the way season 2 was written, are you REALLY so dense as to have not understood how badly Sophie's introduction could have gone? She would have had to have been prepared to be introduced in that season. Because Benedict, unless do an entire re-write, is supposed to meet her once and then not again for a long time. At least not knowing it's the same person. The showrunner who came up with the delightful idea of the triangle for Edwina, Kate and Anthony would have blown it. And since Benedict has a difficult storyline to modernize as it is, last thing you needed was fan service in having his story first with a sloppy introduction. You may not have the capacity to understand this, but you should consider it a blessing in disguised saved from your own foolish petulance over this. And oh...looks like Colin is not so unpopular with the general audience after all huh? Ugliest brother indeed...not forgiven for what you said in anger about Luke's appearance and acting. Wrong on both accounts.

As for Kanthony fans...maybe, finally, will sink in this show is not about any one couple. You get one season as the main and that is it. I am sorry you hate the sl you had, I wanted better for that season too. But this is not the Kanthony hour and never will be. The GENERAL audience which is so much more massive than any one couple just wants good chemistry and good story. Claims to contrary, Luke and Nicola have always had chemistry. They weren't supposed to portray the tension we are seeing in recent clips (though occasionally slipped through anyway) because it wasn't time for their story. It didn't mean the sexual/romantic tension wasn't there.

As for the story, yes we got lucky in they have a new showrunner and thankfully she listens to her actors and cares about origins of the characters. And that both Luke and Nicola were so strongly advocating for book elements to add. Still not our fault or their fault. Take that up with Shondra about not firing the other guy earlier.

But really and truly where you ever got the idea a season with best friends falling in love that we have gotten to know for two seaaons, with one of them being Lady Whistledown and the other one a traveler and writer would be boring I'll never know. Both characters are given to heightened emotions, passionate if you will, and have a sense of humor and love for creating chaos. If anything I think they struggled figuring out what ideas to exclude because there are so many could have done with these two in a classic rom com.

But, regardless, no, those numbers you are seeing are not "bots". That's the general audience, not stans in their own bubble talking themselves into believing the fiction that Luke can't act and is ugly, that Penelope is hated and that Nicola can't be a good leading lady because she doesn't weigh 110 lb's.

[the-other-art-blog]

It really angers me when people say things like “Kate is more interesting because she’s much more aware of the world” and that Edwina (and Daphne) are “boring” because they are too innocent. Well, instead of looking at them, look at the people who shielded them from real life!

Kate’s excuse of keeping the truth for Edwina to protect her is BULLSHIT! It’s patronizing and condescending!!!! We see the same stupid argument in every action movie where the male protagonist keeps the truth from their female love interest. And you know what happens to them, they either die or come close to it! Ignorance only puts the person in a higher risk. If Kate wanted to keep Edwina safe, she should have prepared her for the realities of life and marriage. What did she think, that Edwina would always live in a pink bubble forever! What if her husband ended up being horrible? What if he had mistresses, what if he mistreated her? What then? Also, Kate planned to leave to India right after the wedding?!

Kate is the embodiment of “don’t do good things that seem bad.” I understand she had Edwina’s best interest in mind and she loved her sister deeply, but she made tons of mistakes. And people should not take that away from her! She’s allowed to make mistakes!!!

Do you have any unpopular Edwina opinions 👀

Isn't any favourable opinion of Edwina unpopular lol?

Edwina's a protagonist in s2

fandom acts stupid on purpose to villify Edwina

many Edwina haters are racist/ sexist/ colourist but hide behind "loving" Kate

Edwina was not wrong to trust her family

she was a victim and was betrayed by everyone

in his speech at the talent show, Anthony never says he'll never love Edwina

Kate's warning about Anthony in ep 1-2 doesn't mean Edwina's at fault for believing Anthony's pointed advances and trusting the people around her (including Kate) who supported them

Edwina's not a gold digger

it's normal to not suspect your fiance and sister of having an emotional affair, Edwina wasn't "blind"

it's normal to want your fiance and sister to get along

Edwina does not magically forgive everyone

it's normal to be hurt when lied to

it's normal to lash out when hurt

her reaction in episode 6 was quite subdued

it's normal to be hurt when the people who broke your heart are giddily dancing in front of you

it's normal to be hurt when they're sniffing each other in front of you

I get if Edwina doesn't attend the wedding

it's not normal to want Edwina to grovel at Kate's feet for raising her and let all of Kate's actions slide

it's not normal to want Edwina to suffer as "retribution" for Kate's struggles, stop projecting

it's not normal to act like Edwina is Kate's property

little Edwina also suffered the loss of a parent and shouldered the responsibility of providing for her family through her marriage

it's not normal to hate Edwina for existing and Charithra for portraying her

Edwina was done a disservice by being shielded from the truth/infantilised when she was old enough to be married

Charlotte was the adult Edwina needed AKA someone who gave her the truth and let her decide

loved Edwina's scene with the king

Edwina is not fine in episode 8 but puts on a brave front for Kate

Edwina adores Kate as much as Kate adores her

Edwina always sings Kate's praise

I want Edwina to be in love, happy, rich and married to Prince Friedrich

having a comfortable life (like all leading Bridgerton ladies) doesn't mean there's "no character development"

Edwina's a good sister and person

[harrietbarnesblog]

Mark my words

Masterpost

Masterlist

Taglist

Pairing: Anthony Bridgeton x reader

Warning: angst, this doesn't have a happy ending, cursing, language, Anthony is kinda an arse here, mention of sex.

You were just a toy to him. You only appear in his memory when he is alone. He tells you how much he fancies you when fucks you. You wanted him to own you. You wanted him to love you and marry you. You wanted him to show you off. But all he wanted was to use you. He has touched you a ton of time but you wanted him to hold you.

It was a fine Tuesday night. You were passing some time with two of your best friends.

“You have to stop doing this to yourself, y/n.” Eleanor said.

“It's not that easy. I love him.”

“He is getting married and he is just using you. These feelings you have for him are useless. He does not care about them. Stop letting him inside your life again and again.”

“Pardon me. but I can't do that.“

“Then at least tell him how you feel about him. You can't just let him use your body like you are some harlot.” Jane said. It touched a nerve when she called you a harlot.

“I did.” the truth you didn't tell him how you felt but you have shown it and expressed it. “And I wish to end this conversation about Anthony. What is going on between him and I is none of your business.” you said rudely.

“You don't mean that, do you? We are your friends, of course it is our business.” Eleanor said, offended.

“Not anymore.”

“Not anymore? Our friendship or your business being ours?”

“Both.” you answered. You showed no emotions.

“Mark my words, y/n. You will regret choosing a man who doesn't love you over us. But also remember when you need my hands will be still open to hug and console."

They were right. You will regret choosing Anthony over them. Love really does make you blind. It makes you destroy yourself and you don't even realise that.

You watch your friends walk away. You don't stop them.

—----------------*__________*------------------

It's been four days since you lost your best friends.

You just wanted to curl up in a fetal position all day and cry. You realised the mistake you made. You realised Anthony will never love you the way you love him. You realised you were stupid for choosing Anthony over your friends.

Someone knocked on the door. You opened to find the bright face of Anthony.

"Hello, darling." He said.

"Anthony."

He didn't waste a single second. He grabbed your face and pulled you in for a deep kiss. You wanted to be committed in that kiss but you just couldn't. It felt so wrong.

You pushed him. Tears were forming in your eyes.

"What happened?" He asked.

"I don't wanna do this anymore. I just can't do it anymore."

"Why? What changed? You were happy with this arrangement. We were happy."

"First of all there is no 'we' and it never was and never will. And second of all I was happy in the beginning and now I'm not."

"I don't understand."

"Of course you don't. You were too shallow to see my feelings through your pleasure. You shouldn't come here anymore, you are betrothed to someone. " You screamed in anger and pain.

"Is this what this is all about? You want to stop this because I'm betrothed to Edwina. I'm merely marrying her because I want to marry a noble woman, a woman who can take care of my family and fulfil her duty as a wife. It's not like I'm marrying her for love."

"No this is not all about. It is more than that. And I don't wish to explain myself to you. You need to leave, lord Bridgerton. I don't want to see your face anymore."

He placed his hand on your shoulder.

"You don't really mean everything you said. "

You got frustrated. You didn't really mean what you said and you hated that he knew that.

You pushed his hand away.

You let out an agonising scream. Tears streaming down your face.

"No, I don't really mean what I said. But I want to. I'm in love with you but I'm wishing I wasn't.”

“I told you from the beginning not to fall in love with me. You had one fucking job and you couldnt fucking do it properly.” he shouted at you.

“Don't try to blame it on me. I didn't know I would fall for you.”

“I should have seen it coming when you started giving roses and becoming clingy.”

Anthony calling you clingy hurt you. It felt like he stabbed you in the heart with a knife and twisted and pulled the knife out.

You scoffed.

“Clingy. I was merely expressing my love. Mark my words, lord bridgerton. You will fall in love someday and memories of us will flash in front of your eyes. The person you fall for will be forbidden fruit. You will be hurt as much as I'm hurt right now. Now fucking get out of my house and never come back again. And also I feel sorry for the girl that you're marrying. Since you are merely marrying her to make her play the wife role and you don't love her.” you said to him with full anger and pain.

Anthony swallowed his saliva but it felt like he was swallowing a big rock.

“I'll leave and I hope to never see you again.” he turned away. He stormed out of your house, slamming the door behind.

You crumbled down to the floor and wailed your heart out.

[thelesbianluthor]

Calling Kate selfish and saying she didn't care about Edwina's feelings is the most ridiculous statement ever made when she was the one that sacrificed everything FOR HER.

Edwina was naive and thought that Kate's multiple warnings were misguided protectiveness. Anthony never promised love to her, he stated he was not able to give it to her, but of course she didn't know him at all, she didn't understand him at all (and that was bc Anthony himself never intended to be open with her or anyone really) and that made her think that his courtesy could turn into love at one point. She thought her infatuation with the viscount was love. But she never really knew Anthony and that is not her fault.

I love Anthony but I will always say that most of the blame of Edwina's hurt falls on him. He was the one that kept following Kate, kept looking for her, could barely contain himself in her presence while still courting Edwina against Kate's loud protests and then proposed to the wrong sister.

Kate stopped being loudly against their union when Edwina said she didn't care about his disinterest in love and then pressed for the wedding with full intention on going back to India on her own because Edwina thought she loved him. Kate had never even considered the idea of taking anything when it was for herself. She had spent a life of service to her family and she would have done the same thing again, dismissing her feelings and wants in favor of her family, if Anthony had been able to keep his feelings in check.

Would that have been an incredibly sad ending and worst for all ? Of course it would have! Because Anthony would have never learned to let go of his trauma and would have spent his life keeping his family at arm's length. Edwina would have grown to resent Anthony because of his cold and detached demeanor. And Kate would have spent a life of solitude.

Anthony shittiest action was understanding he loved Kate and immediately going for the worst possible decision, asking Edwina to marry him, especially after what happened between Kate and him in the library. But I understand the reasoning behind his stupid actions. Do I still think he was a huge clown for it? Yeah obviously. But I know that it was a necessary stressful moment to amp up the angst and drama caused by his never addressed trauma and issues.

Either way the rules of their society, the stubbornness of everyone involved and the lack of honesty with themselves and each other plus years worth of unaddressed trauma are the reason behind it all.

I still think that some of the thing Edwina said when angry were not really fitting with the situation (i mean writing wise) but I can justify them if I think of them as words said in anger in the heat of the moment by a young girl who has spent her life following her sister like a guide and not having to worry about the world because her sister would always protect her and take the brunt of it all.

Also one thing that people that blame it all on Kate conveniently forget is that the moment she realized she had feelings for Anthony she WAS ready to tell Edwina, especially after Lady Danbury told her to be honest. But he proposed to Edwina and Lady Danbury told her it was too late to do anything basically and she should just swallow her feelings because the marriage was gonna happen at this point.

Not saying that it's Lady Danbury's fault because she is just trying to work with what society gives them and trying to keep the situation under control, like all the women in the show really...

The moment something was actually about to happen between Kate and Anthony she was gonna tell the truth but Anthony was a clown and society made it worse.

In Kate's mind, at that point, she was just gonna have to keep her feelings in check until the wedding because then she would leave for India and leave it behind.

I keep thinking I am done ranting about this but I see someone being a Kate hater and I have to ramble about all the shit my girl has had to deal with and defend her.

Also I am late to the party so I have many thoughts to express

[kathanisharma]

Speaking of Episode 6/the wedding, do you still watch that one when you rewatch the show?

I was rewatching it today and completely forgot that Anthony says Kate is a ‘thorn easily removed from the blossoming flower of our lives’ - I forget how many times he pissed me off watching it because he so quickly makes up for it again and makes me love him again, damn that man.

What did you think of this line? I loved Edwina’s subtle reaction - I kind of read it as her realising she’d have to give up her sister to be with this man and almost wish there had been a line where she said something along the lines of ‘never see my sister again?’ But also she’s mad at Kate then so it may have jarred.

What do you think Anthony’s motivations are here? Do you think he is still acting in Kate’s interests or is he genuinely worried about their reputations? I thought there might be some relief based on the previous episode. I assume he is still lying to himself/wearing that mask.

Soaking of Edwina & Kate - if they were doing Austen parallels I kind of wish they’d had an Edwina weeping over Kate like in Sense & Sensibility with Eleanor & Marianne but then that is one of my fave scenes ever and makes me cry everytime - but Charithra would have smashed that

i— i can't tell if you're joking i literally went on a spiral about this yesterday so i'm just going to copy paste what i said but essentially i LOVED that line about the thorn AND I LOVE EPISODE 6 from a kate and anthony standpoint and here's why:

"the man was on the verge of a complete breakdown and only years of pushing away his own emotions for his duty/for the good of his family got him through that day like?? this man was not ok"

"every word out of anthony's mouth was literally him trying to build his walls up. 'she has plans that do not include me' clearly suggested that if kate even hinted at wanting him in her life, he would do anything for her. he was literally going through with this wedding because of her begging, using his name for the first time, him to. he restates the thorn line because he's forcing himself into thinking of her that way because if he doesn't? he would end up completely broken on the outside. he literally states that this is what i now know for what will happen with kate post wedding because he cannot ever say that that is what he wants. at the first hint of her being vulnerable to him as well, in the closet, anthony grab's kate's wrist and looks deep into her eyes, begging for just another moment with her."

"i maintain that thorn line in episode 6 was delicious because it really emphasized how much pain anthony was in over what kate said about their feelings fading and he was there saying that to edwina but actually desperately trying to convince himself"

"HIS MOUTH SAYS ONE THING BUT HIS EYES SAY ANOTHER THE MAN WAS IN PAIN IT WAS DELICIOUS AND IT HURT SO MUCH LIKE WHAT DO YOU NOT GET!! HE WASN'T JUST BEING CRUEL ABOUT KATE HE WAS BEING CRUEL TO HIMSELF ANY AMOUNT IT HURT US IT HURT HIM 10x WORSE LIKE??? HE WAS LITERALLY LOOKING INTO SPACE IN THE PICTURE ON THE LEFT HE WAS IN HIS HEAD IMAGINING KATE LEAVING FOR INDIA AND HE WAS IN PAIN"

TLDR; anthony was forcing himself back into the duty mindset because he believes kate doesn't care for him/doesn't want a future in which he is a part of and so that's why he was saying those things. to convince others, sure, but more to convince himself and honestly the person he was hurting the most was himself.

in terms of edwina, i struggled in this episode, i won't lie. i think her hurt and anger are justified, but i struggled with understanding her motivations and i think that's a fault of the writing. especially in her confusion that anthony doesn't love her and then her saying that kate pushed her into this when kate was against it from the start and only gave in when edwina took a stand for herself and said this is what she wants. like i will always be a little bothered we never truly delved into that and again, i think it's a fault of the writing trying to make her speech as big and dramatic as they could without actually paying attention to the content. they could have gotten that same scene with different lines.

i think when watching episode 6, i kind of ignore literally everyone except kate and anthony (and honestly that's how i watch the show) so to me, 6 was an excellent episode for the kathony content it delivered. it was peak repression and DESPERATION on both of their parts and the angst?? the sweet sweet angst!!

[kathonydaily]

This might sound patronising, but I do think some people find it hard to read nuance or understand emotion from subtle facial expressions.

Because it’s very very clear to me that Anthony in episode 5 is not angry, he’s trying very hard to pretend that he feels nothing for Kate, and through JBs acting you see how contained he is, how he is playing the part of the Viscount through his controlled language & posture, he barely breathes, and yet can’t help but steal glances from Kate. The first time he breathes or we even get a glimpse of the real Anthony is when Kate has the ring on, and he seems to sink into himself, before buttoning you again.

It’s similar in S6, although I think he does have some anger towards Kate, it’s not cold or indifferent. Again. I think he is convinced that it’s out of sight, out of mind - the man is marrying someone else, he HAS to repress his emotions, of course he is going to repress them, or say things he doesn’t mean to convince himself and other people that he can repress the feelings (after all - it was Kate who said they would pass, he doesn’t think as this point she feels the same)

And yet, despite his ability to so that when she isn’t there, every time he sees her he cannot help himself. The aisle, the bangle, the closet, the scene with Edwina at the end when he thinks it’s Kate that asked him to meet, and despite denying his feelings he rushes there to see her, the kiss at the end.

If you can argue he is being cold with her, it’s generally only when he is talking to others about her, and you can see him convincing himself he doesn’t want her because he thinks he can never have her.

Nothing more to add, anon. Like i've said already in a different ask, Anthony is one way with Kate (himself), and another with other people, including his own family (with a mask on). Only after ep6, basically after accepting completely his feelings for Kate, he began to be himself even with other people, first with some members of his family, then in front of the entire ton in ep8 at the Featherington's ball.

[onlychaosnosense]

Unpopular opinion about Edwina

Alright, I have been putting this off for far too long because I wanted to do this when I wasn’t spiralling and being pulled in all directions regarding my feelings.

Please remember my criticism is for the way the character has been written, not for Charithra or her portrayal.She was fabulous in her role. And I cannot believe that I have to state it in this day and age, but sending hate to the actors or writers or producers is not okay. And also that CRITICISM DOES NOT EQUAL HATE.

So here goes

Book Edwina was beautiful, sweet, gentle and very much the diamond of the season. But she was in no way just the diamond. She was also very perceptive and self aware. She has a mind of her own, is interested in philosophy, likes reading and wants to marry a scholar. She is well aware of her family’s financial situation and constantly feels the stress of marrying well for her mother and sister’s future. And she still hopes to find a love match. So we did not get to read a lot about Edwina, but she was her own person with her own interests and expectations and thoughts and fears.

Show Edwina is everything nice and pure and innocent. But she is extremely sheltered and the writers reduced her purpose to solely being married to a handsome, charming and titled man. What about her interests, expectations, fears and dreams? I am glad she realized how naive she was and that she got to lash out and express her anger and disappointment. I loved her growth from ep 1 (I hope they like me) to ep 8 (what can they possibly say that we haven’t heard before). But this awakening or growth could have happened over a period of time and I so wish it hadn’t come due to a conflict over Anthony.

I understand that she was trying to live upto expectations or was conditioned to want nothing but a good marriage. But she did not heed Kate’s warnings when she was adamant against Anthony and even asked Kate to persuade him to propose. If Edwina were so naive and obedient that she had always lived upto Kate’s expectations, she wouldn’t have been so set on marrying Anthony. I found that inconsistent with Edwina’s character and contradictory which I blame on the writing. And that is why I found her entire speech about how she would take her own decisions for herself post the wedding drama a bit immature. Especially when Edwina wanted the match with Anthony despite Kate’s disapproval.

In an attempt to flesh out her character they reduced her to a plot device, to act as an obstacle in Kate and Anthony’s story. The very thing the writers claimed they were trying to avoid. But in the end when Kate and Edwina both acknowledge that they both needed to find and understand their own selves, it was far more consistent with the Edwina we were first introduced to. When she gives Kate her blessing stating ‘You have spent so much of your time shining your light on me. It is time to finally shine all on your own’, that’s growth. The book never claimed she was not a plot device yet unfortunately the fleshed out show version comes off more as one.

But what is most disappointing is that the fandom is putting Edwina on a pedestal stating she is a saint or that she made no mistake. That’s a huge disservice to her character because she does grow and become a better and more self aware person. We need to stop infantilizing characters, they need to be held accountable because it means they do have agency and they are thinking,feeling, real and relatable. When we gate keep characters and label any criticism as hatred, we are refusing them the privilege of making mistakes.Let WOC, in fact, let all women be human. Women can be kind OR cruel, gentle OR ferocious, generous OR selfish, humble OR arrogant, pleasant OR annoying. Let women make mistakes and call them out when they do. Allow them to be imperfect and let them grow.

If you are still here, thank you for hearing me out. I applaud your patience. This is what I feel and think and we do not have to agree. I welcome your thoughts and comments but please remember to be respectful.

[kateandanthonyaremyparents]

So.... I wrote a silly thing today.. I was playing with the idea that both Kate and Edwina overheard Anthony speaking with some guys at the first ball.. and how Edwina's thoughts on the matter are completely different from Kate's.. and how this changes everything.

Would you like me to explore this in a new fic??? I'll drop the draft below the cut. It needs more detail and I haven't really edited it.. but i think you'll get the idea, from which point I want start this thing, if I do write it..

"You've heard him say what?" Kate looks startled at her sister, her ears ring and it's beyond her imagination Edwina doesn't seem to be bothered by the things she just told her sister.

"Come on, Didi, you yourself were eavesdropping, why do you want me to repeat what Lord Bridgerton said?"

Kate tries to contain herself, her vision is blurry and her head is full, almost too full to comprehend words but she makes an attempt anyway.

"I'm just worried, I don't think the way you interpreted his words are correct…" 

Is her sister really this oblivious?

Her usual confidence is far away and she has trouble staying on her feet. 

"You heard him say he doesn't want to love his wife, right? And that he isn't opposed to a mistress? I want to protect you, Bon. To prevent you from getting hurt."

"Didi," Edwina waves her hand to enhance the mood. "As always, you only see the worst in people, I need you to have an open mind this season. You know how wealthy he is, how he provides for his family, my life would be good, and I'm sure he's going to love the diamond eventually, I'll make sure of this."

Kate is offended, to say the least. Blood rushed through her veins, anger wells up from deep within and for a change, Kate does not plan to hide it.

She always thought of her sister as a compassionate person, a person who was living, just like her, for her family. But if that was true, how dared she insult her this way? How could she, so easily, choose her prospect over a relative? That's just wrong! Kate wouldn't have believed her sister actually uttered those words if she didn't hear her say it herself. Her hands tremble and she clenches her fists to regain some control.

"Is that what you think? About me?" She keeps her voice as even as possible and looks Edwina straight in the eyes.

"You know you have the tendency to overbearing, and as much as I admire your involvement, if you're going to be against my highest prospect, I do not need your help."

"Edwina…" Kate cries out. "Please, you don't mean this."

"But I do, I think I can manage my own season. I was already called the Diamond, things shouldn't be complicated."

Kate can't hide it, she rolls her eyes and frowns deeply. 

"I don't need your judgement, Kate, I suggest you focus on yourself, maybe we both can marry, then you wouldn't have to return to India. I would love having you around." Edwina grabs both of Kate's hands to force her to meet her gaze.

And just like that, Edwina changed back into the sweet, little girl Kate knows her to be. "Kate, you are beautiful, please don't be a wallflower, there will be a nice second son, or third that will try to court you! I know there will be."

She has no idea how incredibly vile her words are

Kate has to swallow hard to make her mouth moist enough to talk without a crackling voice.

Kate narrows her eyes, she wants to make sure Edwina understands her when she speaks. Kate needs to be as thorough as possible, she wants to leave no room for doubt, Edwina needs to know how serious she is.

"Or maybe I just go for Lord Bridgerton himself." 

It pleases Kate more than she cared to admit when she sees Edwina's mouth drop open.

"You don't have a chance, you're six and twenty! You… you're.."

Kate laughs sarcastically, for a minute she's tempted to tell Edwina about her meeting with Lord Bridgerton this morning, but at the last moment she keeps it to herself. Kate's convinced there will come a better moment to play this card. 

Today is not going to be the day she does, the initial shock on her sister's face is fulfilling enough, for now.