24. Prince Frederick of Prussia

"Happiness is not an ideal of reason, but of imagination."

-Immanuel Kant

The first thing I remember feeling was…. disappointment.

Not only Father and I came to meet Prince Frederick, but ALL of my siblings elected to join us to the palace. None of them had ever met a royal prince before and were very excited. And it wasn't just the gaggle of Bridgertons attending; Lord Hastings came along as well. Lady Danbury was busy with a prior engagement and couldn't attend. It was mildly humiliating, standing there among the collective bustling into the throne room, where her majesty and her attendants were expecting us. We walked along the red carpet- Father to my righthand side and the duke to my left. I shot him a side-glare, leaning in so he could hear me.

"You didn't have to come," I whispered irritated. Lord Hastings gave a dismissive huff. "What did I tell you before? You and the prince aren't to be in the same room without me present." "We have more than enough chaperons, you know." "You don't need scores of chaperons; you only need one. Me," he said, and I rolled my eyes. Seriously, what's his deal? Why did he insist on staying glued at my side while other men were around? As you can imagine I hadn't mentioned the mysterious visitor I had the other night. I never did find out his name; the Regent's letter was only signed "G.G.". I assume one of those Gs was for "George", but I didn't know the other. Oh well; I'll likely never see the stranger again so what do I have to worry for? He did help my friend, Mary Shelley and her husband out…..

"Dearest," Father's tap on my arm suddenly broke my train of thought. We approached the queen and all bowed and curtsied respectfully. Her highness looked over all my siblings and the duke, then she looked at me…. That invisible smile returned back to her lips in full force, though I think I was the only one who could see it. "Are you well, Miss Bridgerton?" "Oh quite well, your grace." "Good. There is an acquaintance of mine I wish you should meet, though I'd prefer you to be in good health first." "I'm ready, your majesty," I grinned, growing eager with anticipation myself. I'd never seen a portrait of the young prince, but I already had him all imagined in my mind. Father also nodded, pleased and ready. His gaze drifted from me back over to the queen. "At your pleasure, your highness," he said. The queen nodded, acknowledging the formality. Her head next twisted slightly off to the side. "Miss Bridgerton, allow me to introduce my nephew, Prince Frederick of Prussia."

The side door opened and everyone held their breathes for a minute. This slender, tall, handsomely-dressed man stepped into our vision, and that was my first time seeing him. I beheld Prince Frederick- the man I'd been thinking of for days now- here in front of me and I felt… I felt….. My heart sank as this rapid wave of sheer disappointment set in.

The prince was handsome, by all means! He was very good-looking, to be sure. There was nothing wrong with his appearance, but there was just something about his mannerisms. I detected it immediately. His walk, his cantor, his gaze, even the way he moved his fingers…. They were all… Oh, what's the right word? Feminine? No, not exactly feminine. He man was very manly in every respect, but he had this soften to him which I could see. It reminded me a bit of Father's walk, if I'm being transparent. Prince Frederick was calm, poised, poetic, and wearing a corset- the fashion now with Germanic men. It put me off a little….. I could tell right away that he wasn't like Anthony or the duke- especially the duke. Lord Hastings permeated this aura of confidence, swagger, and control which was so seductive and alluring. Prince Frederick's aura was the exact opposite; more submissive and docile like mine. It wouldn't even cross his mind to tame me, and that made me feel weird inside. The question of if he was my type suddenly rang through my head again…..

And I was afraid of the answer.

What I just described happened in the matter of three seconds. It took me that long to remember where I was and more importantly, who this man was. I felt a tad uncomfortable that I had to force myself to smile, but reassured my panicking heart that smiling at the prince would become natural soon enough. This was the man I was going to marry, after all…..

While I struggled to grin radiantly at Prince Frederick, he had no issue flashing me a dazzling and very elated smile. It reminded me a bit of when the stranger, one G.G., or Lord Hastings smiled at me- on rare occasion the duke smiled, not smirked. The prince obviously liked what he saw when his eyes spotted me, and once they reached me, they didn't leave. His majesty was grinning ear-to-ear when he finally reached us where we were standing. Of course we had to bow and curtsy to him as well.

The queen was also beaming with delight. "This is the young lady I was telling you about, nephew- the season's diamond." Prince Frederick took my hand in his and brought it up to his lips for a kiss; I didn't notice the duke frowning the whole time. The prince gave my hand a squeeze before releasing it. "So lovely to meet you, Miss Bridgerton. I've heard so many things about you- many good things!" He was quick to add on with that thick German accent of his. Funny. He was saying all the right things and took my hand so elegantly and I still felt….. nothing. Even when he kissed my hand- it was the strangest thing. There were literally no sparks, but I had to constantly remind myself that "that" would come later. Not all love-matches begin with sparks or even fire; some you have to stack the wood for first.

I made my smile grow on my own lips. "The pleasure is mine, your grace. I trust you had a safe journey from the mainland?" "Oh very safe; it is very sweet of you to think about that so soon," his face blossomed, making me feel uneasy. He clearly liked me so far… Thankfully his aunt turned his attention elsewhere momentarily. "And this is the Viscount Bridgerton." Father and the prince shook hands warmly. "Your majesty," Father was also teaming with joy; I think he approved of the prince. "Pleasure to meet you, sir. I've heard a great many things about you as well." "Bah, go on," Father chuckled. "And these are his children, the Bridgerton heir and siblings," the queen continued. "Hello," the prince then grinned at them; Anthony shook his head too. It seemed odd that the queen waited until the end, almost hesitantly so, to introduce the duke, who wasn't have a good time. And it turns out she didn't need to; Prince Frederick next turned his attention to Lord Hastings, giving him a friendly, genuine smile. "And you must be the Duke of Hastings?" "Your majesty," the duke sounded like he was gargling rocks. Not sensing the venom in his tone, or choosing to ignore it, the prince was kind enough to shake his hand. Their handshake was the quickest of them all, surprisingly. I had been discreetly watching the duke when the prince's attention came back to me completely. He clasped his gloved hands behind his back and smiled greatly.

"What a wonderful family you have, Miss Bridgerton. You are very blessed." This caused me to grin for real a little. "Yes, your majesty." "It will be a privilege to get to know you all better, but especially you….." He said, making my cheeks flush a little. A quiet moment slipped by before Prince Frederick spoke to me again. "I was told before I came to England that you are charming, gracious, intelligent, and well-read…. Which is why I hope me not acting too forward." "Your highness!" I gasped shocked. Still grinning, he pulled out a small package from behind his back, wrapped in brown paper tied with a string. He held it out for me, and I meekly took it. "Please….." That was his gentle instruction for me to open it.

Everyone watched me pull back the string and parchment, only for my eyes to grow progressively larger and larger. It was a book! And not just any book…. I stood there unwavering, my hand trembling as I held the precious object tightly. My lips couldn't stop shaking. "Immanuel Kant…. This is an English translation of Immanuel Kant…." The prince bowed forward a little, if only to get slightly nearer to me. "The first of its kind. My aunt wrote to me that you liked to read philosophy, so I thought you might enjoy some of our German epistemologists. Have you heard of Mr. Kant before?" "Yes….." A teardrop rolled down my cheek, my eyes not leaving the cover of the book. I didn't see Prince Frederick smile to himself at this, leaning back in content. "I thought you might have... I'm so happy I managed to obtain an English copy before my departure." I didn't say anything more, just kept staring down at the beloved text.

This….. This was the most thoughtful gift anyone had ever given me. It is true, I do love reading philosophy of all kinds, and very much wanted to read more of Kant's work. But his writing is so dense, and my German is still not the best. An English translation would solve everything….. I would finally be able to finish the Critique of Pure Reason. I just couldn't contain how floored I was. This present was so beautiful and perfect for me. It must have been hard for him to get a copy during the war too… My fingers gripped the side of the book harder. He got this for me….. My future husband did this for me. My eyes slowly lifted back to his. Maybe I didn't feel anything for him right now, but maybe that didn't matter. I'd learn to love him, right? He'd come to be my soulmate someday, wouldn't he? I mean how could he not…. after such a beautiful gift?

Wiping a tear away from my face, I smiled at the prince for real this time. It wasn't an effortless smile like when I smiled at Lord Hastings, but I was admittedly very happy currently. "Thank you….. Thank you so much, your grace; this is beyond words. This is….. this is magnificent! I'll treasure it for the rest of my life." "I have no doubt. As they say, wisdom is a virtue," Prince Frederick nodded. "It was so kind of you bring this for me." "Ah, well; I wanted our first meeting to be special, and you and I seem to have similar tastes." "If you're reading Immanuel Kant, I can confidently say that we most certainly do, your highness," I said, and the prince smiled. We looked at each other in silence for a moment, still grinning calmly. There were still no butterflies, but that didn't matter, right? Not when he's willing to treat me so well….. Yes; yes, this may just very well work. I may not imagine myself married to him now, but that would come in time, hopefully after we read German philosophy to each other.

The tranquil moment was interrupted by Eloise tugging on Benedict's sleeve to grab his attention. He brought his head in so she could not very quietly whisper into his ear.

"Who's Immanuel Kant?"