37. Two Very Possessive Men Part 2

(Author's Note: I know Prince Friederich seems to be coming on a little strong from the very start. This, too, was by design. I wouldn't call him a villain (that's Nigel), but he's definitely not a good guy at the start. He does indeed have his own motives and chose Daphne because he thought she would be an easy target. But I don't want you to hate him; he does redeem himself by the end after he comes to genuinely care for Daphne. Don't worry; this won't turn into a DaphnexFriederich story. I just like love triangles where the desired partner stays loyal to one person but is desired by two people. Enjoy!)

"Whoa, would you look at all the food? You Brits really know how to go all out, don't you? So whatcha gonna have?" Friederich asked me with enthusiasm; it's like he was really happy to be there. Not that I can blame him. He did have members in the royal family- he himself was royalty. He outranked everyone else here but the English monarchy. And yet he acted so casual, so at home. He clearly had experience with the ladies, and it wasn't hard to see why they might find him attractive in return. Since the moment he arrived, the prince had been getting looks and side-eyes from women all around the room- even the married ones. I guess the only one who wasn't ogling Friederich like he was a quote "snack"- seriously, the F with that?- was….. me. My heart didn't pound when this objectively gorgeous man smiled my way. And I bet that's because someone who shall not be named was very close behind us. Talk about the most awkward setup in history.

Thank god there was a reprieve. A somewhat frantic Penelope came racing up to me; she was not grinning. I flinched surprised when she suddenly grabbed hold of my arm. This was a surprise since she wasn't really my friend; she hung out with Eloise, only saying hello to me when she came to the house to visit my sister. She never approached me out of the blue like this, and Eloise was nowhere to be seen. Her fingers squeezed my skin nervously.

"Daphne, I have to talk to you!" She said in a near whisper, alarming me a little. The tone of her voice just then…. I could tell something was off. Still, she was Lady Featherington's daughter and my sister's friend, so I elected to be polite and go with her. "Um, excuse me, your highness," I turned to Friederich beside me. He held up his hand in that nonchalant manner of his. "Please, call me Friederenich." "I couldn't possibly….!" I gasped scandalized. But he merely shook his head, shutting his eyes. "We're not in Germany, honey. You can call me whatever you want. I won't tell my dad," he added with a wink. I watched his expression for a moment, contemplating to myself. He's so personal with me….. He's so at peace around me. Perhaps I should make an effort to do the same, so not to make him feel weird. But I couldn't bring myself to call him by his name to himself directly- not yet. We barely know each other, after all. My lips parted a sliver.

"I-I'll be right back. Anthony, would you….?" I then gazed over at my brother, who was standing beside an upset-looking Simon. My brother flinched a little, then came over to Friederich's other side. "Of course! You can tell me all about where you come from in Bavaria, sir." "Sure thing," they took off and I let the worried Penelope drag me off to a corner of the room. She gave a quick look around to make sure no one was listening- or at least that's what I think she was doing. I couldn't really tell what she was up to at the moment. After glancing around, she leaned in close to me.

"Sorry for all the secrecy; I just don't want to cause a scene." "Is something wrong?" "Yeah. I just wanted to tell you to be careful." "With the prince?!" I blinked utterly shocked. I suppose she would know more about his past, being his cousin and all. Her head spun back to me, only to shake rapidly. "What? No, not him! Listen, he's here; I heard from my gal pal that he got in somehow." "Who?" Her mouth opened to answer but before she could a familiar voice interjected into our conversation. "Penelope! What are you doing? I told you to fetch me a roll!" Both our eyes shot over to Lady Featherington's direction. Penelope shifted her stance awkwardly. "Coming!" Then she leaned back in very near me so she could whisper. "Be careful," were her last words. I could only watch her go off wide-eyed. "He's here; I heard from my gal pal that he got in somehow." Who could she mean? Everyone I knew was here- well, from my society anyway. I didn't know anyone else besides those at the university, did I? Did I? Could she perhaps mean Simon? Did Eloise tell her about us and she wanted to warn me that he's here? But that doesn't make any sense; she must have seen Simon walking right behind us. It can't be Simon, and if it's not the prince, then who could….?

My attention was slowly drawn back to Anthony and Friederich. They were over at the buffet table, getting themselves a plate of food and actually looking like they were having a good time together. Anthony was smiling a lot more now- sincere smiles- and laughing along with the prince. Seeing such a sight made me smile inside. It always warmed my heart to see my beloved older brother happy; he looks so much like Daddy when his face glows like that. It's the same kind of face he makes when he's around Simon. My lips opened a tad. Simon….

In no rush whatsoever to see the duke again, I checked around where the two previously mentioned men were standing. A little sigh of relief left my lips when Simon was nowhere to be seen. I felt much more comfortable going to join Anthony and the prince knowing the duke wasn't with them. I took a few steps forward, only for my feet to freeze at the sound of a very familiar, precious voice forthcoming suddenly from me. "Miss Bridgerton." I winced my eyes shut. No, I know that voice….. I know it so well. I could pinpoint it anywhere from in a room. I don't want to hear it again.

It's painful.

"Is there something you want, your grace?" I initially wanted to demand what he wanted with me, what he could possibly want from me now of all times but refrained from displaying such anger. Still, I didn't turn around to face him or even look at him from over my shoulder. "Just what do you think you are doing?" He asked in that smug tone of his; I could imagine his hands clasped behind his back right now. I growled a little internally. He's talking to me like that just now….. Where does he get the nerve?! But I was determined not to give him any sort of emotional reaction; I would hold my composure together.

"I beg your pardon?" "Don't give me that. You know perfectly well what I mean," I heard Simon's shoe take a step towards me. I shut my eyes. "I assure you, I do not." "Prince Friederich- what are you doing conversing with the likes of him?" Likes of him? My hands balled into fists. "What do you mean "the likes of him"? His majesty has been nothing but kind to me so far," I hissed, growing more irritated by the minute. "So far being the key words. He's acting way too informal with you." "I'll be the one to decide that, your grace," my voice rose a little. This little…..! It's not his job to look out for me anymore. Wait… Was it ever his job? Well either way, it's definitely not now! I don't like the way he was talking about the prince or me, in that "suggestive" style of his. I can judge the situation for myself, thank you very much! Too bad Simon didn't see it that way.

"Come on, you must see it. He's obviously…. erm, experienced with the ladies," Simon struggled with that latter half of his sentence. Honestly! He's going to accost me and keep the kid gloves on? That's just insulting! "You mean "womanizer"?" Just to spite him, I spat this out, still refusing to look his way. I'm sure Simon squirmed a little at this. When he failed to reply to this, I held my head up high. "Even if he is, it makes no difference to me. I'm not looking at him as "husband-material", if that's what you're thinking. He could be a friend on the continent- that's it." "I think he has more than friendship in mind," Simon muttered under his breath. This angered me. My fists clenched even tighter, beginning to shake a little. For the first time since he popped up seemingly out of nowhere, my head darted around so to face him. Our eyes locked; each of us clearly upset.

"How dare you?! You don't even know him! And you should know I would never…..!" But the longer we looked at one another, the harder it became. This weird, sad, sinking feeling started to swell inside my chest again. It felt like my stomach was going to fall out my butt and land on the floor between my feet. I saw Simon frowning, and instantly remembered how much I wanted to make him smile before. How insanely happy it made me….. whenever he smiled. It wasn't that long ago I embraced these emotions wholeheartedly…. and now they were just painful.

An aching, oozing pain whenever I looked at him….

My mouth opened, closed again, then reopened. "It'll be fine, Sim-… your grace. I can take care of myself." "I don't trust him, and you shouldn't be so quick to either." "That's not up to you. And since when did you care? Why do you care?" "Why?" He repeated, blinking at me incredulously. But I stood firm. "Yes, why? You've made it clear you want nothing to do with me. So why should you care who I'm friends with? Why should you concern yourself with who I talk to? It's not your job to look out for me- I don't think it ever was. Not really…." He couldn't have gawked at me with bigger eyes. "You don't believe that," he gasped. "Why shouldn't I? You're the one who decided we shouldn't be friends; you chose that. You made the decision for both of us! You didn't ask my opinion on the matter! So I'm not going to ask your opinion on anything. Look, I appreciate your concern for me- though I can't imagine why you would be- but you don't need to. Anthony worries more than enough for both of us." "You think it's that easy? I told you before, it doesn't work like that!" He yelled back. I was full-on facing him straight on now; both our hands clenched into fists.

"Then find the "off-switch" because I'm done! If you truly cared for me, you wouldn't have hurt me so badly." "I didn't want to hurt you!" Simon hollered back. This enraged me. "Well guess what? You did! I've spent too many hours crying over what you said, and now it is enough. Do not talk to me again!" "No, I'm going to talk to you! Just because we're not friends anymore doesn't mean I don't….!" He paused mid-sentence. I blinked at him, waiting for him to continue. "You don't what?" "I don't…. I don't…" His eyes tore away from mine at this point. I frowned, completely unimpressed.

"Forget it. You had your chance, your grace. We're done here." "No, we're not. I'm not finished with you yet," Simon retorted distressed. "Oh, yes you are!" "No, I'm not! Would you just listen to me?!" "Why should I?! The last time I listened to you my heart got ripped into tiny shreds, and I'm still picking up the pieces! What makes you think I'm in a hurry to go through that again?" "I did it for you!" My eyes lowered onto him in pure rage. Oh, he did, did he? "Somehow, I sincerely doubt that.

No one who brought me up that high would ever let me fall so low."