. 。・゜・✫ III. GENTLEMEN CALLERS ✫・゜・。.
" the young men of the ton have selected their own diamond. "

The morning following the Harrisons' ball, Benedict Bridgerton woke up early. He got himself dressed and combed his fluffy brown hair, hoping it would stay in place, before heading downstairs, where his family was eating breakfast.

Anthony sat at the head of the table, reading over the daily newspaper. Benedict took a seat next to Eloise, his favorite sister, noticing that she was reading a copy of Lady Whistledown.

"She's published early today," Benedict quipped, leaning over Eloise's shoulder to get a glimpse of the publication.

"Of course she has," Eloise muttered in her gravelly voice.

"Anything of note?" he asked.

Eloise smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Benedict chuckled. Eloise's response told him that there was indeed something in Lady Whistledown that he would consider "of note."

"Alright, out with it, Eloise," Anthony interrupted, his eyes leaving the newspaper and narrowing in on the paper in his sister's hands. "What has she written about us this time?"

"Not us specifically," Eloise said, folding the document and slipping it over to Benedict.

Benedict picked it up and cleared his throat, preparing to read aloud.

"'The queen may have selected her Diamond in Miss Harriet Finch, but the young men of the Ton have selected their own: Miss Elizabeth Lafferty,'" Benedict paused, his eyes widening at the mention of his friend. "Whistledown is writing about Bex?"

"Oh go on," Eloise prodded, a smirk residing permanently on her face.

"'With news of her father, the Baron Vaughan's, failing health, many young men in attendance at Lord and Lady Harrisons' ball last night made it their goal to rub elbows with Miss Lafferty. Lord Lafferty's estate inheritance is a unique one, as if Miss Elizabeth should marry before her father's passing, the estate and his title will pass on to her husband, rather than a distant relative.'"

Benedict felt his mouth grow dry as he read Lady Whistledown's account of Bex's situation. He didn't like seeing her name in the print of such a publication.

"'Last night, Miss Elizabeth spent a great deal of time with Mr. Peter Harrison, who has recently returned from his studies abroad. While Mr. Harrison is certainly a desirable suitor, I cannot help but keep an eye on Mr. Benedict Bridgerton, who is known to have been in Miss Elizabeth's close circle for many years,'" Benedict paused, letting out a short laugh. "This is crazy," he said, shoving the paper back towards Eloise. "Whistledown thinks I plan to court Bex?"

"You do spend a lot of time together," Colin interjected.

"She's my best friend!" Benedict protested. He turned to his sister. "It's like ... like you and Penelope Featherington."

At the mention of Eloise's longtime friend, the girl's face fell and she forcefully grabbed her copy of Lady Whistledown from the table. "It's not like me and Pen."

Anthony, who rarely found any entertainment in Lady Whistledown, was watching Benedict and Eloise, clearly amused. "Is that all she said?"

"Oh Anthony, leave your brother alone," Kate, the viscountess, said, swatting her husband gently with the back of her hand.

"She finishes with, 'The conditions surrounding Miss Elizabeth's courtship will prove for an interesting season, and she will be the one I consider my own diamond.'" Eloise said, setting down the paper.

Benedict forced a smile to his face. "It's amusing, really. Though I'm sure Bex will be thoroughly embarrassed when she finds out she is the focus of Whistledown this season."

The Bridgerton siblings looked at him expectantly, but when he said nothing more, they turned their attention back to their morning meal.

Benedict finished his breakfast before heading back up to his room, where he grabbed his portfolio of artwork. It was a beautiful day for a walk, not too hot, not too cold, so he left the Bridgerton home and headed down the street for the Lafferty residence. As promised, he would show Bex his drawings. Part of him was also curious to see her reaction to the latest Lady Whistledown, as he knew Bex was an avid reader, and as far as he knew, she'd never been mentioned in it before.

As he stepped up to knock on the front door, it swung open, revealing the Lafferty family's butler.

"Mr. Bridgerton, welcome. Follow me, please, and I will show you where to wait in line."

"Wait in line?" Benedict repeated.

"Yes, sir. Miss Elizabeth has many callers this morning."

Benedict's eyes widened as the butler led him down the hallway, to where he knew the Lafferty parlor sat. A string of men, ones he recognized from the Harrison ball and other social events, sat before him, waiting for their turn for a moment with "Miss Elizabeth."

Some held flowers, some held chocolates, and all were dressed in their best suits. He wore a normal outfit, one Bex had seen a handful of times. His hair, despite his best efforts that morning, had gotten ruffled during the brief walk over, and all he had in his hands was a bundle of drawings.

Then again, he was calling on Bex Lafferty for an entirely different reason.

"Bridgerton!" The man at the end of the line, a short, stout fellow by the name of Vincent Pemberley, gave Benedict a quick wave. "Was Whistledown right, then? The other lads and I were wondering if you were going to show up."

Benedict let out a quick laugh. "I'm not here to court Miss Elizabeth, if that's what you mean," he said, the feeling of Bex's full name strange on his tongue.

"Ahh, well, good for the rest of us then," Vincent quipped, clapping his hand on his lap, nearly crushing the bouquet of tulips that laid idly next to his hand.

"Who's in there now?" Benedict asked, taking a seat next to the man.

"Peter Harrison," he replied. "Been in there quite a while."

"I'll bet," Benedict said, recalling the previous night. Bex and Peter had danced together twice, which was impressive in the Ton's eyes. Benedict, of course, had stolen two dances from the girl as well, although no one paid much attention to the two of them dancing together anymore.

He chatted a bit with Vincent as they waited for the line to get smaller, but it stayed still. Almost a half hour went by before the parlor door opened, and out walked Peter Harrison, smiling with his stupid dimple.

"Morning, gentlemen," Peter said as he walked past them, nodding politely. He stopped upon noticing Benedict. "Mr. Bridgerton," he said, greeting Benedict individually apart from the rest of the men, before moving on.

The remaining suitors moved through rather quickly, none receiving as much time with Bex as Peter Harrison had. Finally, it was Vincent's turn, and as he went in, Benedict took a seat outside the door.

Vincent couldn't have been inside for more than five minutes before the door swung open and he ran out, flustered and red-faced.

"Is everything alright, Pemberley?" Benedict asked, standing.

He sputtered out a string of unintelligible words before rushing past Benedict.

Benedict chuckled and looked to the parlor door, feeling a sense of relief as Bex's face peeked from behind the door.

She let out a loud sigh, a smile filling her face as she caught sight of Benedict.

"Are they all gone?" she joked, holding the door open so he could enter.

"I'm the only one left, I'm afraid," he said, chuckling as he watched Bex slump into a nearby seat, clearly exhausted.

"Elizabeth, don't slump!" Bex's mother, Rosina, called from her spot near the fireplace. Upon seeing it was Benedict that stood in the doorway, and not a different gentleman caller, the baroness let out a tsk. "Oh, hello, Mr. Bridgerton."

"Good morning, Lady Lafferty," Benedict replied. His eyes drifted over to the table, where Bex's little sisters sat with toys.

"Mister Benedict!" Felicity and Eden squealed in unison, rushing over to give their visitor a hug.

He chuckled and patted each of their backs. "Now girls, what's this I've told you about calling me 'mister?'" he teased.

"Well, Mama says we should call you Mr. Bridgerton, but we don't like that, so we've settled on Mister Benedict instead," Felicity said, feigning maturity as she nodded her head matter-of-factly.

"Did you come to visit us?" Eden asked, tugging on his pants leg.

"Can we see your drawings?" Felicity asked, reaching for his portfolio.

He chuckled and lifted it out of reach. "I've come to show your sister my drawings, but yes, I suppose you two can see them as well."

Benedict settled in on the sofa, setting his drawings down on the coffee table.

"Girls, remember not to touch," Rosina warned, looking over Felicity and Eden's shoulders. "We don't want to ruin Mr. Bridgerton's art."

Bex moved to sit next to Benedict, her eyes devouring each page of Benedict's portfolio.

"Oh, Ben! These are exquisite," she said, a beaming smile filling her face.

"They are indeed," Rosina replied, nodding in approval.

Benedict's face flushed. "Thank you."

He turned the page, revealing a caricatured drawing of his brother, his face set in a deep scowl.

"Oh my," Rosina gasped. "Is that the viscount?"

Benedict chuckled. "He was annoying me somewhat that day," he replied, smirking at the picture of Anthony.

Rosina frowned and stepped away. "Okay, girls. I think that is enough for today. Back to your studies."

The girls' maids came to take them upstairs, where they would go over their reading, writing, and other academic materials that Rosina deemed appropriate.

"Aww," Felicity whined, slowly pulling herself off of the sofa. "Please, Mama? Mister Benedict is here."

"Yes, and he's not here for the two of you," Rosina chuckled, ushering the girls out of the parlor before she settled into an armchair across the room, an embroidery project in hand. She was being kind enough to give Benedict and Bex as much privacy as they could rightfully have, without leaving them alone.

Benedict had been in and out of the Lafferty house so much in his life that the baron and baroness trusted him, but it was still a necessary formality.

"So," Benedict cleared his throat, watching as Bex continued to page through his drawings. "Have you read the latest Whistledown?"

Bex's face flushed and she turned to Benedict with a smirk. "Why yes, of course I have," she replied. "I'm surprised to see that you have, though."

"Eloise was gracious enough to bring it up during breakfast this morning," he replied.

Bex laughed. "Yes, of course. Eloise." She shook her head, burying her face in her hands. "Oh, it's so embarrassing. She made me sound desperate."

"She's gone against the queen and named you the diamond of the season," Benedict said. "That does the opposite of making you seem desperate. Besides, based on the line of eligible young men I saw outside your door this morning, you've got the pick of the litter."

"Yes, well..." Bex trailed off, focusing her attention again on Benedict's drawing. Over the years he'd known the Lafferty girl, he'd learned that she had a habit of changing the subject any time things got too serious. It had only worsened since her father had gotten sick. "Tell me more about your art."

Benedict sighed and looked down at his portfolio, which was showing off a sketch of the Bridgerton family's country home, Aubrey Hall. His stomach twisted in concern for his friend. Bex acted like everything was fine, but he knew how much pressure she was under. It would only be a matter of time before she would break.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ author's note ✫・゜・。.

it's been a while, hasn't it? i'm hoping to write more for this book, especially now that they're filming bridgerton season 3!

xx,

madi

ps - how excited are you for colin and penelope?