there was happiness because of you

Firstly, when you get this, you have to answer with 5 things you like about yourself, publicly. Then, send this ask to 10 of your favorite followers (non-negotiable, positivity is cool).

Words are hard at this hour, but yeah positivity is cool.

Have a bby girl who did nothing wrong ever (unless you count s.ex work, opera, and lacking title as crimes <- but that's just misogyny) heaven forbid women do things /lh /hj

Have a good timezone!

A one shot, with no angst, of sienna finding out about Anthony and Kate through whistledown or Genevieve and being totally fine and happy that he’s finally happy.

Siena hadn’t heard or seen Anthony since the night she had told him that she was done trying to be something that might guarantee his happiness and therefore his continued support. It had been no easy thing to turn away someone she cared for so deeply and even came dangerously close to loving. But it had been a wise choice and she did not regret it. She didn’t want a life of being sneered at by society (and his mother for that matter) due to her crime of not being born to wealth and having to earn a living. If Anthony wanted to strive to complete the impossible task of pleasing his family above everything else, he could do it without her and she wished him the best because she could foresee no happy outcome there. He needed to realise his happiness lay in creating a life of his own. Until then...her well wishes were all she could give.

The gentleman that Siena had been courting, a Baron of more modest fortune but more steadfast devotion, had paid for her to travel Europe with him. And only after the ton had recommenced for the next season and Siena was back in England did she receive news of Anthony through Whistledown. Apparently the infamous Capital R Rake (Whistledown’s words) was looking to marry. Siena expect to feel a flood of jealousy yet instead felt only a rising pity. Anthony did not like any of the missus of society and the girls that his mother brought forward did not grasp his attention. If he were to marry, Siena wondered who to send a sympathy card to – Anthony or the wife?

Siena received all the copies of Whistledown from his house far from the ton (her one indulgence of her former life) and read with mounting amusement of the tales of the Viscount’s attempts to secure the Diamond of the Season – a Miss Edwina Sharma. Apparently he wasn’t having much luck due to his rather boorish attempts and by the guarding by the Diamond’s sister. Siena found herself almost chuckling at the idea of a matronly sibling taking on Lord Bridgerton and giving him a taste of the frustration his own siblings must feel.

Then, after a reported stint at Aubrey Hall, Siena read of the impending nuptials of the Viscount and the Diamond. So… Anthony had got what he wanted? Again, it inspired no ire. Siena felt rather bored by the news actually.

Siena had kept in touch with Genevieve Delacroix and invited the seamstress to her home for tea when the young lady was passing Siena’s way. Her old friend regaled Siena about her business. She was busy with the engagement of the eldest Featherington girl (Siena truthfully didn’t care) and more so with the Diamond. Apparently the Queen was financing the affair so money wasn’t in short supply.

Siena asked about the Diamond. She was genuinely curious about the girl who had captured the viscount’s heart. She was assured by Delacroix that Edwina Sharma was lovely, excitable and eager.

“And what of the sister? Was she an overbearing matron?” Siena asked.

“Hardly! She’s six and twenty and actually rather beautiful if you ask me. A match for her sister.” Delacroix concluded, sipping her tea.

“We both know that’s old for the ton. Is she upset that she has been ignored?”

“Maybe a little but...” Delacroix seemed to be thinking as though a little confused. “When they came to my shop, the Diamond, their mother and the sister, she was very quiet and...sad. She looked so sad.”

“Sad?” Siena repeated. “Surely being beaten by Ant- by Lord Bridgerton is annoying but wouldn’t make you sad.”

“That’s what I thought. But sometimes...her eyes would almost shine with tears and I saw something in them when Lord Bridgerton was mentioned...” Delacroix trailed off and shook her head. “I’m being fanciful. Maybe they really hate one another and she doesn’t want to think of that man as a brother-in-law. Not that she will have to worry too much about his influence – she intends to become a governess in India once her sister is married. She won’t have to worry much longer.”

Siena nodded her agreement and ate a crumpet.

Siena went about his business the day of the wedding without giving it too much thought. It was to be held at the palace apparently with flowers and champagne and peacocks so Siena mused the spectacle would make Lady Bridgerton happy if nothing else and wondered if Delacroix would get a good view from her seat. She was not expecting to receive the mother of all scandal sheets the next day from Whistledown.

Apparently the Diamond had ran out of the chapel before the wedding was complete and the ceremony was called off altogether.

Siena read the sheet three times before noticing a small piece. “The Diamond’s Mama was in attendance on the broken-hearted Diamond. The elder sister was apparently unwelcome.”

Siena didn’t know why but a bell was ringing in her head.

At first, she shook her head.

No. No! Don’t be absurd! That’s pure conjecture. He wouldn’t-

He -

But...he has. Somehow. And in some-way...he has.

What Delacroix saw in the elder sister’s eyes was not annoyance...but grief.

And somehow Siena knew she was right.

Oh...Anthony...you idiot!

It wasn’t even a week before news came to Siena of the elder Miss. Sharma’s riding accident which apparently led to Lord Bridgerton ‘finding her and bringing her home’.

What? He just happened to be on his horse? Riding near her home? Before anyone had had their breakfast? In the rain?!

Siena was actually relieved to hear that Miss Sharma woke up after a week of unconsciousness. In an odd way, Siena felt attached to this poor girl. Even if she was elevated in society somewhat by her stepmother’s estranged relations, she was still a woman trying to make her way in the world. And having to deal with Lord Bridgerton’s changeable moods. That would garner anyone’s sympathy.

There was an absence of Whistledown for a time before another pamphlet revealed that Lord Bridgerton and Miss Kate Sharma were betrothed to marry. The Queen had given her seal of approval after a very scandalous dance and even the former Diamond seemed reconciled to this very odd new family dynamic.

Siena sat at her table and found herself smiling. Somehow this betrothal felt more real than the other ever had. And Siena could tell that if Anthony was willing to face the wrath of the world in order to be with Miss Sharma, she must be quite a woman indeed.

Anthony needed someone strong when he was weak and steadfast when he was all a-flutter. Someone who would do her duty while also meeting his passion.

I wish you joy, Lord Bridgerton and his future Lady. And in the end...isn’t that the best you can hope for someone?