#retrograderesemblance: b. bridgerton.

[nomdepen]

[LAUGH] The sender and receiver share a laugh after a slight misstep during their dance. // from benedict

"Benedict, I truly tried to give you the benefit of the doubt when Eloise said you were a horrific dancer," Unable to contain her laughter, she shook her head. For such an artistic person, he seemed shockingly uncoordinated when it came to dancing—or at least when it came to dancing with her. "But now I see exactly what she meant. You are rather dreadful on your feet."

[awynter]

🌹 from benedict

send a “🌹” if your muse thinks mine is beautiful

“Oh? What’s this for?” Anne took the flower and raised it to her nose to smell. Roses always reminded her of spring, of new beginnings and fresh starts. It was ironic that someone like him would be giving her something that made her think of starting new. He, who ought to have forgotten all about her when she left home, was gifting her a rose and she couldn't begin to assume why.

“Are you going soft on me, Benny?” She teased, twirling the bloom in her hand. "Good thing it's only one. A bouquet might've given me the wrong idea."

[awynter]

"Oh, it's alright. I guess I just have one of those... faces." She offers over her shoulder before turning around to shoot him a smile. But when her eyes fall on him, she nearly freezes in place. Benedict. She couldn't be entirely sure, but Anne had always been good with faces--and destroying them. Benedict hadn't exactly been a friend of hers, but she'd recognize that smile anywhere. And when he introduces himself, it takes all the strength in her body to no let her smile falter.

"The pleasure is all mine, Mister Bridgerton." She offered through gritted teeth and a feigned smile. She knew perfectly well who he was and it was exactly why she was growing increasingly anxious to leave. To busy herself, she shot a look around to keep a headcount of the girls. Three wasn't an incredibly high number, but it often felt as such when they all seemed to go off in different directions. Frances hung around by her skirts, fidgeting with a ribbon she'd picked up minutes ago, while the other two were off rummaging through things.

"Frances, can you go get your sisters for me?" Her voice held a subtle urgency that the girl didn't seem to pick up on and it took a bit more prompting and a weighted please before she toddled off to find Harriet and Elizabeth. The quicker she could leave the quicker she could avoid any trouble--something of which Benedict had always been good at making, or at least that's how she remembered him.

"Well, it was wonderful to meet you, Mister Bridgerton. And you, Miss Hyacinth," She shot a far more sincere smile towards the young lady. "But my girls and I should be heading out soon. I hope you have a splendid rest of your day." Turning on her heels, she hurried towards the door, tossing a look backwards as Elizabeth followed suit... lacking either of her sisters.

"Lizzie, where are your sisters?"

Elizabeth shrugged, looking rather surprised by the question tossed her way. Nervously, Anne tries her hardest not to look at Benedict, though her eyes don't seem to cooperate. Dark blue eyes land on him and instantly a flush creeps onto her cheeks as a small wave of panic washes over her. "Frances! Harriet! Please make haste. We ought to be returning home soon."

“Has anyone ever told you that you are exceedingly nosy?” for benedict uwu

@awynter

With his shoulders stiffened, hands on the verge of curling into fists and being firmly placed on either side of his hips, Benedict felt very much like a child again in that moment. He didn't believe her, but he wasn't about to declare as much in the middle of a haberdashery floor.

"My apologies, Miss Wynter," he parroted the name the youngest girl accompanying not-Annelise had corrected him with, "you bear a striking resemblance to a family friend."

Clearing his throat, "It's a pleasure. My name's Benedict Bridgerton. This is my sister Hyacinth," he turned toward his sister only to see Hyacinth engaged in conversation with one of the girls.

Lowering his voice so just Miss Wynter could hear, he muttered, "Though I have an inkling you already know that."

How it could be Annelise Shawcross in the flesh, he wasn't sure. It was a name, a very presence, Benedict hadn't thought of since he was a boy away at Eton. That was when he'd first heard news that his and his brothers' childhood friend had disappeared overnight. It was as if Annelise had never existed at all. To this day, Colin was certain she'd been kidnapped by pirates...

[awynter]

"Yes." She replied, crossing her arms over her chest. It didn't matter how many years had passed, it seemed some things never changed. "And I have no plans on telling you."

She wanted to. Selfishly, she wanted to lessen the burden she bore and shoulder it with someone else, but Benedict was kind, when he wasn't being a pest. Despite his boyish charms and annoying tendencies that he seemed to cling to well into adulthood, she had missed him. It was as refreshing as it was terrifying to see someone from her past, someone with whom she held such pleasant memories. Anne hadn't wanted to disappear. She hadn't wanted anything that had happened, but she never had a choice.

"Maybe I never did exist. Maybe things are better that way." Her words left a sour taste in her mouth as she pushed away any memories that tried to rise to the surface. Annelise was dead. And Anne Wynter had no ties to Benedict Bridgerton. "You would be wise to pretend Annelise never existed, too. It's safer for us all that way."

“Has anyone ever told you that you are exceedingly nosy?” to benedict uwu

@awynter

"Exceedingly nosy?!" His voice cracked with his outburst -- it was infuriating, the affect she had over him; just one uttered sentence and he was no longer a gentile bachelor, instead it was as if he was transported back in time, suddenly behaving no better than his eight year old self hellbent on wreaking havoc on Anneliese and his brothers for plotting to push him into a puddle.

Benedict remembered himself, though not entirely, more he remembered where they were, remembered who Anne was pretending to be.

Lowering his voice, "I don't see what's so outlandish about my question. You still haven't told me where you disappeared to. It's as if you never existed at all."