Day 4: "It Does Not Matter What I Want."

Day 4: "It does not matter what I want."

"You left. You. I wanted to talk! I wanted to work it out. You left, and you didn't seem to want to come back, so I let you go. Why are you being such a jackass? I gave you what you wanted!"

"You think this is what I wanted? I asked you for time but no. Impatient Kate always has to have it her way–"

"Over. The. Line." She took a long deep breath through her nose. "Anthony. I was not about to wait around for a guy who didn't love me to maybe come home."

He recoiled visibly. "What?"

"We were literally a lusty cliche, getting married while shitfaced in Vegas. I get that you didn't want the annulment scandal, and, honestly, I thought I'd be okay with your whole deal, but I'm not like you. I can't compartmentalize and act like I love someone and not have it mean anything. All the flowers and kindness and the press eating it up one day, then cold silence and mocking looks the next. It was suffocating. And then you left when you promised you would be there. 'It can't be love but I'll always take care of you.' Remember? I felt so fucking stupid. How could I stay?"

"I came back," he argued weakly. "I came back to tell you…" He looked at her standing tall, eyebrows high on her forehead. Then he saw her lip wobble ever so slightly– a chink in her armor.

On instinct he stepped toward her, wrapping one hand around the back of her neck. His other hand rested on her waist, holding her gently. When their lips were a hair's breadth away, she stilled. "I need to hear you say it, Anthony. Please."

"I–" The words caught in his throat.

The silence stretched between them and Kate tensed. She stepped back. Her eyes were shining as she looked at him. "Good-bye, Anthony."

At least this time she said it to his face. Maybe that would be enough.

Day 4: He is YOUR dog

Suddenly Hyacinth was in front of him, tugging his sleeve. "Anthony, there is a dog!"

"Hmm?" His eyes followed her pointing to a rotund corgi on a lead that was held by… Miss Sheffield. As if his mind had conjured her. 

Anthony swallowed reflexively. Her head was tilted back, allowing the sun to warm her face. She was wearing deep purple today and was, naturally, as striking as ever. 

"Please may we say hello to the dog?" Hyacinth asked eagerly. "Please, please!" Gregory appeared more interested in the owner than the dog but Anthony decided not to dwell on that, for both their sakes.

There was nothing for it. He'd have no peace either way but at least if they said hello he wouldn't have sullen children on his hands, too. "I think that is a question better directed to his owner. Shall we ask Miss Sheffield?"

That was all the encouragement the young Bridgertons needed. They raced off enthusiastically with Anthony and Nanny following quickly behind, the latter scolding them to walk like ladies and gentlemen. (A bit of a tall order given their ages.)

By the time Anthony arrived, his siblings were foisting a truly spectacular amount of attention upon Miss Sheffield's corgi. He nodded his greeting and she returned it with a curtsey. "Did they at least introduce themselves?" he asked, expression doubtful.

"I believe they were overcome, Mr. Bridgerton." She smiled indulgently toward the youngsters and he had the terrifying thought that she would make a wonderful mother someday. Her expression became tense when she looked at him again. "They are your..?"

"Siblings," he confirmed. 

Only Gregory acknowledged him, waving shyly. "I am most pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Sheffield," he said politely, flushed. 

"And I yours, Mr. Bridgerton," she replied kindly.

Face now fully pink, Gregory muttered something and turned toward the dog. (Overcome indeed.)

There was a long stretch of silence between them that was not precisely comfortable as the pinched look had returned to Miss Sheffield's face. Anthony cast about for something to say that wasn't inane smalltalk. (He had never had the patience for that.) Looking again at his happy family, inspiration finally struck. "Will you not introduce me to your companion?" 

She let out a startled laugh. Well, it was more of an amused huff but Anthony was pleased all the same. "If you wish. This is Newton." The corgi, who had been on his back accepting belly rubs, perked up at his name. The corners of her mouth lifted into a fond smile. "He is an excellent judge of character."

Anthony suspected he had a very similar look on his face. "So he is."

Kate Sharma x Lucy Granville (because self-realized women are awesome)

"Do you need assistance with your clothes, Miss Sharma?"

Kate shook her head, cheeks warming. She had needed help not so long ago. Her clothes had been slightly outdated but well made; now they were hardly better than rags.

She took the clothes from Lucy but the other woman did not move away. Instead she brushed Kate's curls back from her face. "You have remarkable features. It's why I suggested you model in the first place."

"Th-thank you?"

"I speak only the truth." 

Still she did not move away. "Lady Granville, I have to change…"

"Please, call me Lucy." Kate nodded. "And I may call you Kate?" She nodded again. "Kate… do you know what happens here in the late hours?"

Kate shook her head, eyes wide. 

"We are bohemians, Mr. Granville and I. We take pleasure as we wish– but only as it is offered freely. Do you understand?"

Kate shook her head again.

"I like you, Kate. You are beautiful and different, and I should like to kiss you," Kate inhaled sharply, "but only if you should also wish it. Should you not, we need never speak of this again. Your invitation here is secure regardless of your choices tonight– or, indeed, any night." A sensual smile formed in her lips. "The goal is pleasure for all involved."

"But will I not be… fallen?" Kate hated the timidity in her voice but her virtue was all that remained of her former life.

"Perhaps in the eyes of some but it is not for them to know what we do here. And the act men of God speak of– the one that results in children– requires at least one man be present." Lucy placed a hand on her cheek. "The kiss, dear Kate, would be just for us."

"Okay."

Lucy smiled and it warmed her whole face. She placed Kate's clothes on a nearby chair and then moved close again. Tucking another stubborn strand behind Kate's ear, she leaned close and brought their lips together.

Day 4: Kate and the Bridgertons (Mallet of Death)

Katharine Sheffield walked down the street like she owned it. She was a tall woman-- the heels she wore had her standing easily over six feet. With dark, intelligent eyes that never missed a beat and darker curly hair framing her face, she was striking. Not beautiful exactly but there was something about her.

Colin only met her once but she'd made a strong impression. Judging by the wary look Anthony was giving her, he wasn't the only one who thought that.

"Bridgertons," she nodded once in greeting, "it's been a while."

When Anthony didn't pick up the thread, Colin slapped an obviously fake grin on his face. "Kate. Nearly five years since you testified against me."

Kate smiled back, all sharp edges. "Well, you did steal a painting insured by my employer for several million dollars."

"Allegedly," Anthony interrupted, ever the lawyer.

Kate's gaze jumped to the older brother and narrowed, eyes ice cold. "Allegedly," she repeated dryly.

They stared at each other unblinking for a long moment. "Well, isn't this just a happy reunion..." Colin said in a soto voice.

"Colin," Anthony snapped in a warning tone. He looked back at Kate. "You called for a reason?" he prompted.

Looking a bit like she'd smelled something rotten (and that something was them), Kate nodded. "My company, ARTE Generali, insured a hundred million in non-government Japanese bearer bonds."

Colin whistled. "Samurai bonds. Nice." Two matching glares snapped to his face and he held up his hands innocently. An illusion neither was buying, especially when he decided to ask: "That's a hundred million in yen or U.S. dollars?"

"Dollars," Kate confirmed with an unamused eye roll. No one was calling the FBI over a hundred million yen-- that was pocket change for a company like ARTE Generali.

Head tilted thoughtfully, Colin couldn't help asking, "And what's your cut if you recover them?"

Kate smirked. "Two percent." Colin resisted the urge to whistle again. "Which I only see if we find them, so…" She pulled a manila folder from her bag and handed it to Anthony who immediately flipped it open. "The truck was hijacked in transport, and I think the bonds are somewhere here in New York."

All of the earlier tension seemed to have dissipated as Anthony focused on the business at hand. "Danbury said you believe Nigel Berbrook is involved."

Kate nodded distractedly, something nearby catching her eye.

Anthony handed Colin the file to flip through-- it held pictures of the missing bonds, the truck, Berbrook. "Big international real-estate guy," Colin commented absently as he skimmed the man's biosheet. "He can move them without raising flags."

Kate's sharp gaze cut back to him for a moment. "Yes, he can." She offered another grin that could cut glass. "Excuse me for a moment."

Colin watched as Kate spoke quietly with the valet before glancing surreptitiously at his brother. Anthony looked… well, honestly, Colin wasn't certain what the expression on his brother's face meant. When he turned his gaze back to Kate, she was accepting the keys to an incredibly expensive looking car.

A man in a suit rushed out to the street. "Hey! That's my car! What the hell--?"

"Mr. Hartside, listen to me," Kate said in a confident, no-nonsense tone, "you can change the vin numbers, you can change the grill, the paint-- it's still an Aston Martin Victor. I know because you did not change the electronic vin behind the steering wheel."

The man's face was turning the most interesting magenta color. "You're crazy! You're stealing my car!"

"No, you stole it. I'm taking it back." Hartside reached into his jacket but Kate was faster. She pulled out a baton and made quick work of him, landing her final blow to the shin. Colin winced-- that had to hurt. "You are more than welcome to file a complaint with the FBI," she added, nodding toward them.

Hartside looked at Anthony who was already flashing his badge. "Special Agent Bridgerton, FBI."

The man, whose complexion had made a startling turn from red to white, tried to hurry away despite having been rather effectively hobbled. "This is obviously a misunderstanding. I should…"

Anthony pulled out his cuffs. "You should stop walking and keep your hands where I can see them."

"Yeah, running just annoys him," Colin told Hartside, flashing a charming smile toward his brother. He walked over to Kate who was now leaning against the car watching the arrest with mild interest. "So you're basically a high-class repo person."

Kate's predatory smile returned. "I prefer white-collar bounty hunter."

"Pithy," Anthony grunted as he wrangled Hartside. "Damn it, Kate, do you always have to go for the shins?"

With wide innocent eyes no one who'd witnessed the last five minutes would ever believe, Kate shrugged. "It was my only defense." There was something hard in her tone that hadn't been there before and Colin didn't miss his brother's responding grimace.

Kate pushed herself off the car and pulled a card from her bag. "When you want to talk about that painting, call me." She pressed the card firmly to Colin's chest until he took it but her gaze was on Anthony. "Bridgertons." The corner of her mouth ticked upwards. "Hartside."

She walked around to the open car door, slid inside like she belonged there and drove off. Colin let out a long exhale, relieved she'd left. There was something too perceptive about Katharine Sheffield. She was dangerous.

Writing Tips

Punctuating Dialogue

✧

➸ “This is a sentence.”

➸ “This is a sentence with a dialogue tag at the end,” she said.

➸ “This,” he said, “is a sentence split by a dialogue tag.”

➸ “This is a sentence,” she said. “This is a new sentence. New sentences are capitalized.”

➸ “This is a sentence followed by an action.” He stood. “They are separate sentences because he did not speak by standing.”

➸ She said, “Use a comma to introduce dialogue. The quote is capitalized when the dialogue tag is at the beginning.”

➸ “Use a comma when a dialogue tag follows a quote,” he said.

“Unless there is a question mark?” she asked.

“Or an exclamation point!” he answered. “The dialogue tag still remains uncapitalized because it’s not truly the end of the sentence.”

➸ “Periods and commas should be inside closing quotations.”

➸ “Hey!” she shouted, “Sometimes exclamation points are inside quotations.”

However, if it’s not dialogue exclamation points can also be “outside”!

➸ “Does this apply to question marks too?” he asked.

If it’s not dialogue, can question marks be “outside”? (Yes, they can.)

➸ “This applies to dashes too. Inside quotations dashes typically express—“

“Interruption” — but there are situations dashes may be outside.

➸ “You’ll notice that exclamation marks, question marks, and dashes do not have a comma after them. Ellipses don’t have a comma after them either…” she said.

➸ “My teacher said, ‘Use single quotation marks when quoting within dialogue.’”

➸ “Use paragraph breaks to indicate a new speaker,” he said.

“The readers will know it’s someone else speaking.”

➸ “If it’s the same speaker but different paragraph, keep the closing quotation off.

“This shows it’s the same character continuing to speak.”

Day 2: Kate and Edwina (Sisterhood)

Kate sighed quietly as she slipped into the room in the boarding house she shared with her sister, Edwina. It has been a particularly long day spent in her apprenticeship, trying to work out the stitching for the bonnet she was meant to finish this week. It was murder on her hands but the pay was good and they needed the funds if they were going to survive in London. 

London. Kate closed her eyes for a moment. They should have never come here-- should have never had to come here. But Somerset was a small village with no theaters and Edwina…. 

Edwina had real talent. Not even sixteen and she was already appearing in Romeo and Juliet. As a background actress, admittedly, but it was still impressive. Her natural beauty shone on stage and Kate was certain it was only a matter of time before she won a lead role.

Of course that was the problem-- time. Kate and Edwina had lost both their father, who had already been sick for several years, and Mary much more suddenly to a terrible flu one year earlier. Kate was barely eighteen then and it had been a terrible shock. Lord Sheffield, their father's older brother and the only living relation who acknowledged them, was too deep in debt to take them in. 

They visited their uncle for a spell as they sold what little they could for capital and then made their way to London in search of reliable employment. Thankfully, their father's former steward was able to help Kate find an apprenticeship at a family run milliner's shop. It was not easy and she was the first to admit she didn't take to it naturally, but she worked hard and that was enough to keep her employed. For now.