11. Bridgerton Family Picnic With A Guest

I came into Daddy's room with fresh water and towel. He'd been bedridden since his return from the hospital; they had to keep him there for a long time after his fall. The doctors weren't optimistic that he'd make a full recovery- which he didn't. Course he had a nurse come see him twice a day, but since school was out and it was summer, I was his primary caretaker in between their visits.

Daddy stayed in his massive king-size bed in the master bedroom. It was one of those old-timey English rooms you see in movies. My father was propped up against the back of his headboard with a mountain of pillows. I handed him a glass of water and sat down on my little stool at his bedside. "Drink your water- all of it," was my instruction. Daddy did as he was told, emptied his cup, then set it down and grinned over at me. "Thanks, dumping. You take such good care of me." I also smiled, patting his lower arm with my hand. His grin slowly faded as his eyes moved downward. His hand reached over to cover mine.

"Listen, honey. I think it's time we talked about your future." "Oh! Well, as you know, I want to study history. What I really want is to go into Masters and then move on to…." "I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about marriage," Daddy's head shook. I blinked, a bit startled by the topic change. "Marriage? W-Well sure, someday when I fall in love…."

"Who said marriage has anything to do with love?"

All I could do was stare at my father who was completely serious. He met my gaze straight on. "Look, baby girl; I hate to tell you this, but forget about love. People like you and me don't have the luxury of "falling in love". You have to understand: all marriage is a transaction, and you've got to maximize your profit." "Daddy…." My lips fell. "You're going to trade money for a title. Dollar princesses used to do it all the time. There's no shame in it." "B-But, Daddy; I don't want a title, and I definitely don't want to marry for one," my hand lifted to my chest. Daddy smiled warmly. "Sweetheart, our family has climbed the social ranks for centuries. You think my father or grandfather would ever forgive me if I didn't carry on the tradition?" "But…. But why… Why does it have to be me? Why can't Eloise….?" His grin deepened. "Because frankly my dear, you are miles above the rest in my books. If any of my kids get to land a better title, I want it to be you. The only way to do that is through marriage. Besides, marriage is good for women! You won't have to worry about anything; your husband will take care of everything for you." "But I can take care of myself. Can't I just be free to make my own decisions in life?"

Daddy looked at me, his hand reaching up to brush some stray hairs off my cheek. His eyes lowered onto mine. "There are just some things a man can do better, honey. Sure, it may be a little suffocating, but that's what marriage is. That's what women have dealt with forever. You at least get prestige out of the deal." My bottom lip quivered uncontrollably. "B-But I don't want prestige. I want to be like other girls…." "Other girls?" His eyebrow raised. "I want to be free to choose for myself. We're not living in the Victorian Era anymore. I want to enjoy what the current world has to offer me."

My half-lit hopes began to fade when Daddy merely shook his head. His hand drifted back down to take mine in his. "Sorry, sweetheart, but I simply love you too much- I can't let you become like me with your condition. It'll be your husband's job to ensure you don't; Anthony won't let you marry him if he does anything less." "I thought I was marrying for a title?" "You are, but I can have it both ways. Wives like you have to forgo some freedom… in order to retain security. Take it from me, cupcake; this is what's best for you. I should know….

I always did whatever I want and look where it got me."

"Good! Now throw it back over here," I was tossing a ball around with the two youngest Bridgerton siblings. I always acted like a surrogate mother figure to them when I was back in London. Hyacinth threw the small red baseball over to Gregory, whom I was kneeling beside in the grass. Anthony had sensed I'd been feeling a little down since the last party we attended- for obvious reasons- and so proclaimed that we should go on a family picnic today in the park. I was surprised but not shocked when he announced that he'd invited the duke to join us. Not that I was upset by this! Not at all. It was nice to see Simon again since the last time we saw each other was…. you know.

We ate as one large group, talking and teasing one another; the mood was much lighter this afternoon than that first family dinner Simon attended. I think my siblings could tell I needed a mental break from everything for a while, which they were gracious enough to give me. No more inheritance talk…. For now, anyway.

After lunch, Colin and Benedict went out on a boat on the pond together. I was playing ball with the younger kids. Anthony, Simon, and our two remaining sisters sat on the blanket underneath a massive oak tree, casually watching the three of us play. Well, it was more like Hyacinth and Gregory tossing a ball back and forth with me couching on the side. Still, it was fun to be there with them once more.

Hyacinth tossed the red ball, to which Gregory caught it in his small hands with me right there beside him. Everyone at the picnic sight clapped as my youngest brother flashed me a glorious smile. "I caught it!" "Yes, you did," I gave him a great big hug; he'd been not so good with the catching bit until now. "Well done, Gregory," Anthony praised. "You're a natural," Simon tacked on. We grinned at them before an excited Gregory ran off somewhere with his sister, apparently done with the game now that he'd succeeded in catching the ball. I straightened up and walked back to the four-person party. Anthony handed me up my pink steel water bottle which I took a few gulps from. Then I sat down next to Eloise.

Simon looked at me. "You sure have a way with them." "The youngest Bridgertons have always been close with Daphne," Anthony concurred. "Yes. It appears the mothering gene skipped a sister going down the line," Eloise cracked a smile, earning a swift nudge to the ribcage from me. "I just like to be around them. They make me happy," I shrugged. "You're a good sister, Daph," Francesca grinned at me. Eloise rolled her eyes. "Ugh, don't go getting all sappy on me." "It's not sappy! It's sisterly love," I rebuffed her. "Whatever," she scoffed. Anthony shook his head exasperated. "Aren't you glad you don't have siblings?" He asked the amused Simon. Meanwhile I gave our eldest brother a playful grin.

"Oh, we're not so bad, are we, big bro? At least life isn't boring with the seven of us around." "No, I can imagine it certainly is not," Simon chuckled, causing me to glance over at him. "Oh right, you're an only child," I noted out loud. "Mmmmmm, must be nice," Eloise muttered under her breath; more in jest than ill-will to us. "On the contrary, I spent many an hour wishing I had a brother or sister while growing up. It was rather dull, all on my own," he elucidated. "Well that is one virtue about a big family; never a dull moment," Anthony nodded. "Especially when your older sister is caught sneaking out trying to go to a museum opening," Eloise laughed. All eyes were now on me and I blushed embarrassed.

"I don't know why I wasn't allowed to go. It was during the day on a weekend and a real star attraction. I wanted to be the first one in line." "Daph, it was a restored history museum. You'd been the only one in line," Francesca remarked cheekily, making my cheeks sizzle even redder. Wearing a smile, the duke planted his chin on his closed hand and leaned forward a little. "So what happened?" "Oh, she was caught just before she could purchase a ticket. Daddy gave her a stern talking-to about how "it is not ok to sneak out to see old paintings and even older manuscripts". Then he sent Daph to her room. It was quite funny," Eloise giggled. I shot her an irate glare.

"It was not funny! I didn't get to go for two whole weeks; I almost missed the exhibit of Rembrandt's "Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp"!" "Oh how tragic, how dreadful, how catastrophic," the back of Eloise's hand raised up to her forehead in a mocking manner. I gave a light shove while Francesca scratched the side of her head. "Who's Nicolaes Tulp?"

We ignored her question, remembering that we weren't the only ones present. Anthony let out a sigh and Simon continue to grin- a warm, comfy grin, like he was truly happy at the moment. I'll admit… it was honestly nice to see…. from someone like him. Our eldest brother simply shook his head from side to side. "Well, at least it's nice to know some things don't change. Daphne's loved history ever since either of us can remember." "Is that so?" Simon's eyebrow raised. "Yeah, we don't know what went wrong either," Eloise cracked; this time I swatted her with my hat upside the head. Francesca laughed and the duke smiled yet again. He'd been doing that a lot this afternoon, and I wasn't the only one who noticed.

Anthony gazed over to Simon, looking regretful. "I'm sorry about them, Simon." "Not at all! Your family is very charming. Heh, and I have to admit, I find the idea of your sister sneaking out to see a painting rather amusing," he said this last sentence while looking my way. Our eyes met again and my lips parted a sliver. Francesca shook her head. "How'd you even know about that Tulp guy's painting back then? You were ten," she asked me. "You were ten?!" This caught Simon by surprise. Shyly, I blushed and nodded my head very slowly. This time Anthony chuckled. "See, what did I tell you? Never a dull moment with these lot." It was then that he took notice of Simon's expression. Anthony saw his face and blinked in astonishment. "Are you smiling? You rarely smile!" He gasped. "Sure I do," Simon glanced back at him. "You weren't known for smiling all throughout college," my brother countered. "Well, that was different. Right now, I'm in the company of your lovely family." Anthony grinned at this, a bit pleased. "Indeed."

It was around now that our other two older brothers caught our attention by wailing their arms high in the air and calling out in a bit of a panic. They were still in their boat mid-pond and standing precariously on its wood. I was half-expecting that thing to flip over right then and there. We all looked, and the joy washed from Anthony's face. Benedict was the one to call out loud enough for us to hear him so far away. "Uh, Anthony? We seem to have punctured a small hole in the boat. Could you give us a hand getting b to shore?" Colin only made matters worse when he slipped in what I assumed to be a sizable puddle on the floor of the boat. Our sisters couldn't stop giggling and Anthony looked like he was going to pop a blood vessel. "You idiots!" His annoyed voice bellowed as he got up and began marching towards the pond. We all watched him take off without saying anything; then Eloise, still grinning, laid on her side stretching across the blanket. She stuck a grape into her mouth and glanced up at the duke.

"So, Simon? Is it true you don't want to get married?" "Eloise!" I audibly gasped in horror, gawking wide-eyed at my sister. Francesca- unfortunately- didn't see what the big deal was. "What? That's what you said, Daph." "Francesca!" Simon looked at me before turning to them. "That is correct, Miss Bridgerton. I do not intend to marry." "Oh, so you're like Daph then? What is it with you older people being so against the idea of marriage?"

Simon cleared his throat. "I have nothing against the idea. It is just something I do not wish to enter myself." "And there's nothing wrong with that, Eloise. The duke doesn't owe anyone any explanation for his choices," seeing where this was going, I jumped in fast. She flashed me a clever grin. But to our surprise, it was Francesca who spoke next. "You don't even want a girlfriend?" "No, I do not," he smiled kindly at her. Thank god he wasn't offended by all these stupid, juvenile questions. But I knew my sisters weren't done yet. Eloise spun her head back in his direction.

"Well, you should at least come over a few more times before our sister leaves," she didn't even try to hide that knowing tone of hers. Simon's eyes peaked back my way. "I shall come for a couple more visits." "Oh no, Simon; you really don't have to do that," my hand rose up, feeling bad that he was being pressured into this. That's how I saw it at any rate. Too bad Eloise and Francesca were having none of it. "Yes, he does. How many more visits we talkin' about here?" She couldn't have looked at him faster.

Simon stumbled over himself for a second, clearly taking some time to think. "It's hard to say… Let's say four more times." "Six," my sister pushed her luck. "Eloise!" I admonished, only to be utterly ignored. "I shall grant you four." "Mmmmmm, no; I think six is better." To my shock, by the duke's expression I'd say he was actually enjoying this exchange. He looked at me again. "Five." "Six. And did I mention Daphne loves flowers? Roses are her favourite." "Eloise, stop! You're making the duke uncomfortable," I tapped her arm. "What?! I can't share a bit of trivia about my eldest sister? That's red roses," she was quick enough to tag on. I rolled my eyes. Oh my god, could they be more obvious? To make matters worse, I think Simon caught on to what they were doing. His eyes trailed back to me with a playful tint in their corners.

"Why Daphne. It sounds to me like they wish to see us courting," he said with that superior voice he could achieve. Sensing what he was playing at, I also grinned and decided to go along with it. Well why not? So long as he isn't uncomfortable or embarrassed….. "I think you may be right, your grace. They've somehow got it into their heads that we would be a good match- even though we don't each other that well, and have totally opposite personalities, and I technically live in another country." "Details, details. You'll find a way to make it work," Eloise waved her hand dismissively. The duke chuckled and I shook my head. "I already told you two; we're not the slightest bit interested in dating, no matter what that horrid Lady Whistledown writes." "Ah, yes. Mustn't forget about the local gossip column, always posting away. Do not worry, Daphne. I have no interest in causing a scandal," he smiled that brilliant smile of his. He smiled right at me, and I unthinkingly mirrored his expression.

"I should imagine with you it comes naturally."