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Or…

Maybe Tallywhite did know that Arbuthnot was his contact, and the whole thing was a plan to test George so that they could use hie had just accidentally ee

He looked down at the punch in his hand Maybe he needed… No, he definitely needed soree of alcohol

"What is this rot?" he lass back down

And then he saw her

He stopped breathing "Billie?"

She was a vision Her goas of the deepest crimson, the color an unexpectedly vibrant choice for an unmarried miss, but on Billie it was perfection Her skin was like milk, her eyes sparkled, and her lips… He knew she did not color them – Billie would never have patience for that sort of thing – but somehow they looked richer, as if they’d absorbed soown

He had kissed those lips He had tasted her and adored her, and he wanted to worship her in ways she’d likely never drea announced He was too far from the entrance, or hts But there she was, standing next to his mother, so beautiful, so radiant that he could not see anyone else

Suddenly the rest of the world seemed like such a chore He didn’t want to be here at this dance, with people he didn’t want to talk to and es he didn’t particularly wish to deliver He didn’t want to dance with young ladies he didn’t know, and he didn’t want to make polite conversation with people he did He just wanted Billie, and he wanted her all to hiot about pease, porridge, and pudding, and he stalked across the roole-minded purpose that the crowds seely, the rest of the world had not yet noticed her She was so beautiful, so uncommonly alive and real in this roo

But not yet Soon he would have to fight the throngs of eager young gentlemen, but for now, she was still his alone

She was nervous, though It wasn’t obvious; he was sure he was the only one who could tell With Billie, you had to know her She was standing proud, back straight and head high, but her eyes were flitting about, glancing through the crowd

Looking for hihtedly "Er, I ave hi to see you"

"Miss Bridgerton," he e," his

He leaned down to kiss her cheek "Mother"

"Doesn’t Billie look beautiful?"

He nodded slowly, unable to take his eyes from her "Yes," he said, "she looks… beautiful" But it wasn’t the right word It was far too prosaic Beauty wasn’t the fierce intelligence that gave her eyes depth, and it wasn’t the wit behind her smile She was beautiful, but she wasn’t only beautiful, and that hy he loved her

"I hope that you have saved your first dance for me," he said