𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓 𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐑

"𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒐 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒆, 𝑬𝒍𝒐𝒊𝒔𝒆."

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃, 𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍, Maria couldn't seem to stand still. Thoughts raced through her mind as her brother tried to still her, but all she kept thinking was Eloise was coming to the meeting tonight. She had to be, it was the only one for a while and she knew Eloise had seen the notice in the last newsletter, having read it to her herself.

"Will you stand still, Maria?" Theo asked through gritted teeth, people starting to look at the two with quizzical stares.

Seeing these expressions, Maria nodded and planted her feet. "Sorry, brother. I am excited, is all."

"What for?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows in realisation. "You did not invite that unruly girl, surely?"

"I had no choice," the girl smiled. "She doesn't take no for an answer."

"It will only be you to blame if this all goes wrong, Maria," Theo said before clearing his throat and turning to a man beside us.

Rolling her eyes, Maria felt her heart beat start to quicken, her breath fasten in her chest and her arms and legs go numb. She was excited and the wait was just making everything that much worse.

Upon the stage, a woman stood upright and shouted before the crowd, beginning the night's meeting. Maria sighed, looking around for any signs of El, but she couldn't find any such clue in the crowded room.

Then from beside her there was a familiar voice that made the butterflies erupt in her stomach. "Is it not thrilling?"

She looked to the girl and smiled widely. "You came!"

"Well, of course," Eloise smirked, but happy to see the bright smile on the other girl's face. "I wouldn't miss this for the world."

"Wow, the whole world?" the girl wondered. "That is quite a lot. You really are ambitious, Miss Bridgerton."

"Now, what did I say about the 'Miss Bridgerton'?" Eloise scolded, humor still in her tone.

"Right, sorry, Miss-- Eloise," Maria corrected and Eloise glowed, looping her arm in the girl's.

Maria felt like she was floating above everything else with Eloise next to her, touching her. It was an experience she would never give up, although she knew it was wrong.

Her liking girls was always something that she knew was there, but she always ignored it, until Eloise. The girl wouldn't let her ignore it because whenever she was around it felt like Maria could be happy forever.

The downside was, she knew she had end this soon. Penelope had already warned about the problems this way soon cause Eloise and while Maria was sure she loved the girl, she would never want her to be put in danger because of her selfishness.

"I realise we have never been properly introduced," Maria thought aloud and Eloise turned to look at her with a surprised expression.

"Huh. You are right," she said. "And I still don't know how you knew my name that first time we met."

"You are quite famous in town, Eloise," Maria informed. "The Bridgerton that believes in the downfall of modern society. I have to say, it was quite inspiring to find out."

"I inspire you, do I?" Eloise asked, a smile playing at her lips.

Maria felt her eyes wandering to her smile far too often to be coincidence and Eloise saw this, her face turning a glowing red.

"You do a lot more than inspire me, Eloise," Maria confessed, but merely turned away as if nothing had happened. She couldn't let anything happen, not like that.

The Bridgerton frowned when the girl looked away, she had been curious about what the girl had meant by that. Was she so oblivious as to not know what could be right in front of her?

"In the means of introducing ourselves properly," Eloise continued, still feeling disgruntled at the sudden end of the last conversation. "What is your name?"

"Maria. Maria Sharpe."

"Oh, I know," Eloise blurted as if she had forgotten about the little joke they were doing.

"Then why ask, hm?" Maria smirked, making the brown-haired girl feel things.

The brunette looked down at the slightly smaller girl with a soft smile, and Eloise cursed her for being so annoyingly attractive. She wanted to tell her, how she felt, how she wanted to spend every second of every day with her, how she wished to be the only person that made her feel happy, but there was no point.

First of all, Maria could never like her back. Second, it would be wrong for a woman and a woman to be together like that, at least that is what she had been taught. Third, if they forgot about the second thing, their classes did not match at all. Maria was a mere printer while she, Eloise, was a Bridgerton.

Though, none of that mattered to either Eloise and Maria in that moment. While, yes, they were in a crowded room, it felt like the world was just them, and what a world that was.

"I think you'll find some more books by your back door tomorrow morning," Eloise finally spoke, breaking the eye contact, but both still smiling.

"I will, will I?" Maria chuckled. "I must find out who is leaving them for me and thank them."

"How do you believe you'll thank them?" Eloise asked, in an almost whisper. She was practically daring the other girl to flirt, and Maria knew it.

"I guess if they reveal themself, they'll find out," the brunette said in the same low tone.

Eloise felt her knees almost buckle beneath her, but she wasn't that weak minded. Not that she knew of, anyway.

"Maybe they'll come by to the store with the books then," Eloise said, turning back to the stage, still enjoying the feeling of Maria's eyes on her. "Just to make sure you keep your promise of thanks."

"I would expect nothing less," Maria replied and Eloise's hand twisted around her arm, tighter, both of them turning to watch the meeting.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*