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celestialnxva · 2 years

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Audacity

Benedict Bridgerton x Reader

Summary: Everyone in the Ton knew that Benedict was someone that did not show his irritation or anger often. However, when it came to his spouse, the Ton realized that an angry Benedict is quite a terrifying one.

Warnings: fluff, general warning for Cressida Cowper because she irritates me, just Benedict being a loving husband, it does get kinda suggestive in the end.

benedict masterlist. | main masterlist.

To say that Benedict Bridgerton loved you was quite an understatement.

From the moment he laid eyes on you and the way you moved across the room, his eyes had opened to the enchanting world that love had to offer. With each click of your heels against the ballroom floor while you made your way towards him, your ethereal beauty and aura overwhelmed his senses and spirit. His heart throbbed painfully in chest as you danced the night away with him. He would never forget that night and how your body felt against his. If someone told him then that you would eventually become his spouse, he would’t have believed them.

Yet you were his, and he considered himself to be the luckiest man in the entire universe.

The Bridgertons were the only family in the Ton who focused on love matches, rather than marrying for status. Granted, they didn’t have to exactly worry about their status in society or their financial security, but in every season, each Bridgerton child had found themselves their own, true love match.

They should all feel jealous towards the family and their luck, but many members of the Ton didn’t seem to care enough to do so or simply admired the family’s fortunes. Either way, they never expressed these feelings, as it would be unwise to make enemies with a powerful family such as theirs. They may not have the highest rank in the Ton, but between their intimate connections with the Queen and Lady Whistledown’s obsession with them, it would be unwise for the Ton to cross the Bridgertons in any way.

For those lucky souls marrying into the Bridgerton family such as yourself, it was common knowledge that the Bridgertons’ influence extended to each new family members’ reputations as well. After all, they were a lovely family and only wished for the new additions in the family to feel like they were part of their family too. Therefore, it was also an unspoken rule in the Ton not to cross their spouses too. These rules seemed to create a sense of peace between each of the families for the first few seasons with the Bridgertons, until the day you and Benedict announced your courtship and engagement to the Ton.

All were surprised and many were shocked, as a Bridgerton had taken interest of a foreigner from another country who had only been out to this society due to Lady Danbury’s mysterious decision to sponsor them that season. Many mama’s were angry that yet another Bridgerton child had been plucked out of the marriage mart, and especially angry that it had been done by someone that had never even lived there at all.

Despite the angry disapprovals from jealous debutantes and mama’s alike, the Queen forced them all to silence their complaints. When you were involved with a Bridgerton, it was common fact that the Queen will be watching closely of the match that blossomed beautifully in front of her eyes. In this season, the Queen had not only taken interest in you, but she sympathized with you and your journey to introducing yourself to this society. It was always difficult to be thrust into a new country without any experience in its local traditions. She of all people knew the pain and anxiety you must have felt this season.

To make matters worse for jealous members of the Ton, you married into the family with a wedding that was personally overseen by the Queen herself. It seemed that the rest of the families’ luck dwindled down as more seasons passed by with the Bridgertons on the marriage mart, so it was only a matter of time before someone in the Ton finally snapped.

And to no one’s surprise, it was the Cowper family.

Everyone knew that when they expressed their hatred towards someone, they made sure everyone knew about it. And with the upcoming ball hosted by Lady Danbury and the Queen, Lady Cowper and Cressida Cowper made sure that the whole Ton would know about your dirty little secret.

———

You were almost tempted by Benedict’s offer to skip the upcoming ball hosted by Lady Danbury, as it would only occur shortly after your honeymoon. Even though you considered what he suggested, you knew that it was only right to attend. After all, you owed it to Lady Danbury for taking you under her wing and securing for you this season’s famous love match. It was only right to go.

“My darling,” you said with a sympathetic look in your eyes. Benedict had stopped kissing your neck and leaned back to stare into your eyes out of concern. Did he say something to offend you? He hoped not. He started overthinking before you leaned in to kiss his forehead tenderly.

“We must go to the ball, love. I consider Lady Danbury to be a mother figure in my life, and I would also like for you to remember that if it were not for her sponsorship, I would have not met you,” you said lovingly. He supposed you were right. You always were. He grumbled in reluctant agreement. “Then we shall go to the ball.”

“Although,” he said before slyly wrapping his arms around your waist to pull you closer to his chest. He leaned in until his lips were inches away from yours. “Do not think for a second that I will let you wander even an inch away from my side,” he whispered teasingly. You giggled at his antics and wrapped your own arms around his waist as well. “But my love... I was planning to wear your favorite gown that you bought for me the other day,” you whined childishly before your lips pursed into a seductive smirk.

“If you must insist on me staying close to you tomorrow night, I will do so. However,” you paused and leaned in to kiss him slowly before pulling away to shyly look up at him through your lashes. “I will make sure that when I do walk away from you, you will enjoy the sight of me doing so,” you purred before the two of you lost yourselves in each other’s loving embrace for the rest of the night.

———

Everyone at the ball felt the emotional high of being at Lady Danbury’s ball once again, as it was rare for her to host more than one ball each season. They chalked it up to her wishing for her favorite tea time confidant to come back and spend time with her after their honeymoon. That, and it was a rare ball in which the Queen had proposed to host alongside Lady Danbury. Clearly, you were a favorite of the Queen’s and nobody could ever dispute that.

As each family slowly wandered into the ballroom, Lady Danbury’s sharp eyes searched for the Bridgerton family. After a few minutes of searching and feeling a sense of defeat, she finally caught sight of the family walking in with the rowdy bickering between the siblings. She smiled excitedly and made her way to where they had stationed themselves and tapped her cane to announce her presence. The entire family whipped their heads around to look at her and when they did so, they all greeted her warmly. It was then did she finally notice yours and Benedict’s absence. She frowned.

“Where exactly are the newlyweds, Lady Bridgerton?” she asked suspiciously. She saw the other woman flash her a sheepish smile before she spoke. “They wrote to us and expressed their wishes to attend the ball. Rest assured, Lady Danbury, they are most likely making their way to where we are at this present moment.”

Lady Danbury supposed that it was a good enough reason for her to excuse.

With an approving hum, she bid her farewell and made her rounds around the room to make sure that everyone was finding everything to their satisfaction.

It had been what she felt to be an hour that had passed since that conversation when she heard from across the room the gentle lilt of your voice. She turned around towards where the voice came from and sure enough, you were standing with your in-laws, Benedict’s arm wrapped possessively around your waist. It took everything within herself to not roll her eyes at the sight as she made her way towards you.

When you saw your mother figure and sponsor, you practically launched yourself into her arms, catching the lady by surprise. Your endearing actions made your in-laws fall more in love with you. You were just as sweet as Benedict, and it was clear to them that you and Benedict were made for each other. They couldn’t wait to see what new mischief the two of you will cause when you visit them again.

After a short conversation with your family, Benedict decided to dismiss the both of you to fetch a glass of punch together. Just as he promised last night, he refused to let you wander away from his side. The family groaned, knowingly familiar with Benedict’s desire to show you off to the whole world. Not wanting to see such sickening displays of affection, the family (well, mostly Eloise and Colin) dismissed him immediately. With a chuckle, the two of you made your way across the room to talk near the refreshment table, greeting the Queen fondly with a polite bow on the way there.

It had only been but a few minutes alone with your husband before a crowd of (rather fake) debutantes cornered you both with an onslaught of shallow compliments and congratulations for your love match and marriage. You felt particularly uncomfortable, as you were still not used to the passive aggressive behavior and damaging gossip that existed in this society. From where you came from, these antics certainly existed, but they were never as consuming as it was here. When Benedict expressed to you that he wanted to settle with you in the countryside, you couldn’t have been more grateful, as you certainly did not want to associate with this society and their stifling judgements about your foreign status.

As they all spoke to you and Benedict at the same time, you noticed a particular head of blonde hair in an updo and froze in fear: Cressida Cowper was here and that could mean trouble.

In a state of panic, you gripped onto your husband’s arm tighter. When he also saw Cressida, he let out an irritated sigh and reached over to rub your arm comfortingly. It was his way of silently communicating with you that what you were about to face, you would do it with him; together as a unit. Your braced yourself for the moment Cressida finally pushed her way towards the front of the crowd with her drink in hand. Of course, she did it quite dramatically, ‘accidentally’ spilling her drink on other debutantes outfits and kicking their shins painfully to make her way through. When she finally reached to the front, she let out a sigh of relief and flashed the most sinister smile you have ever seen anyone make.

“Well, if it isn’t the Bridgertons,” she cooed before leaning back arrogantly. “The famous love match!”

You winced at her words, afraid of what she was about to say. True to your intuition, she loudly drew the attention of a crowd as she spoke.

“It was quite the love story; a story that was similar to Cinderella’s, was it not?” she sneered victoriously. You went rigid in Benedict’s arms while he was losing his usual calm demeanor. Cressida continued to explain to everyone what she was talking about to the room.

“Of course, it would be such a shame for your new husband to know about your lack of rank or blood relation to any noble family in the Ton,” she announced with a haughty laugh. She was so ugly, inside and out, and she was a terrible person to expose your background in front of everybody. You’ve had enough. You didn’t care anymore that she was part of the Ton. Nobody spoke to you that way. Nobody.

“Miss Cowper, I suggest you choose your next words wisely, or—“

“Or what?” She cut you off. “What will you do? You have no rank.” She leaned in threateningly. “I don’t have to listen to poor foreigners like you, Mx. Bridgerton,” she said and practically spat in your face.

A series of gasps echoed throughout the room. Whether it be because of Cressida’s audacity to behave so poorly in a public setting or a reaction to your status, that you would never know. But what you did know was that Cressida was an evil woman who deserved nothing but bad karma.

At the point, your husband was fuming, and it was actually visible to everyone in the room. It was a foreign sight, since everyone usually saw him to possess a light-hearted attitude and an earnest expression. With that knowledge, there was a sudden shift of energy when Benedict wrapped his arm around your waist protectively. Not only was he pissed off by Cressida’s comments about his spouse, but he was furious that she did it in front of everyone in the Ton, including the Queen herself.

Because of that, he allowed himself to break out of his gentle demeanor and throw his manners that were taught to him completely out the window. Nobody messed with his spouse. Ever.

“At least my spouse has married someone, and that certain someone comes with high status and a lack of care for their background.” Your head perked up to stare at him in shock. You have never heard him sound so angry before. Seeing him so angry compelled you to hang onto every word he spoke to Cressida with the belief that he has the ability to counter Cressida’s rude behavior and ruin her reputation in front of everyone in the room.

He tilted his head to the side and smirked, though this one was not his usual playful smirk. No, this time, it was one that sent shivers down the spine of anyone who was witnessing this confrontation. He continued to speak to her.

“How about you, Miss Cowper? I have yet to see you with any suitors, let alone be married to one!” he said in mock curiosity. He laughed dryly. “You have been in the marriage mart without any suitors for the last three seasons now, yes?”

Her eyes widened in shock. He grinned at her reaction. “What does that say about you and your reputation? I would like for you to enlighten me on that, Miss Cowper.”

He leaned in and mimicked her mocking stance moments earlier towards you before he proceeded to insult her.

“Let me make this clear. I am a gentleman, and I was raised to respect every person I meet. But when it comes to you, I am willing to set aside my upbringing to tell you how I feel.” He practically growled his next sentence. “My family has been aware of my spouse’s background before my marriage to them, and we still accepted them with open arms. The Queen had done so as well. Do you wish to know why?”

Cressida was scared at this point and completely humiliated by the Bridgerton she least expected to lash out at her. It was always the quiet ones that held the most anger, especially if it involved the bullying of a loved one. She watched as he leaned back to stare down at her with eyes filled with the fury and wrath likened to that of gods.

“You will never compare to my spouse. With your outburst tonight, you have managed to make a fool out of yourself in front of the entire Ton and-- most importantly-- Lady Whistledown herself. If you so much as to breathe in my spouse’s direction—or in any of my family’s, I can assure you that you will regret that decision for the rest of your life.”

She gasped and angrily stared him down. “Are you threatening an innocent lady, Mr. Bridgerton? You should feel ashamed. Where are you manners—“

“You aren’t and will never be an innocent or respectable lady in my eyes, nor in anyone’s eyes, from what I can see right now. I want you out of my sight for the rest of the night and the other balls after that. Your family should tread carefully and be grateful that they will not experience the wrath of the Bridgerton family tonight. But you should know,” he paused before pulling you close to his chest.

“That we do not have to do anything to ruin your life. You have done so yourself. You have dug your own grave. Now…lie in it,” he venomously spat out at her.

When he finished his outburst, the chatter of the entire room had been replaced with a tense and heavy silence. Never have they seen Benedict so furious. If Cressida had spoken ill of you for another second after, they were sure to believe that Benedict could’ve actually done something to actually be scared for her and her family’s lives. But with his words tonight, they already knew that it was enough to humble the family that they despised the most, and that was victory enough for them, after all the toxicity they have spread throughout the Ton for many years.

As for his family, they were a bit embarrassed by his confrontation, but they were more proud of him and his public display of love and protection. The Queen must have felt the same way, as she was the first to stand up from her seat. All eyes shifted to her and waited on baited breath to hear what the Queen had to say. She looked down at Cressida from her place on the pedestal and glared at her.

“Get out of my sight,” she declared in an icy tone. The rest of the Ton gasped and started to whisper sensationally with each other. Cressida felt tears form in her eyes at the Queen’s words and tried desperately to defend herself. “Your Majesty, I—“

The Queen’s eyes flared with fury. “Are you going against my orders, child? I am your Queen and you have finally lost all of my respect. Get out of my sight.”

At this point, her mother had run to her side so she could support her daughter. Of course, she was just as irritatingly rude as her daughter. Cressida did have to get it from somewhere.

“I do not understand. Why does everyone support this pathetic, low-life peasant? They don’t deserve to breathe the same air as you, Your Majesty!” Lady Cowper exclaimed, turning her head to glare accusingly at your timid form.

Hell hath no fury like a mother figure witnessing her child be humiliated in front of her. “Lady Cowper, you are quite fortunate that I do not have you executed for your direct disobedience against your Queen and your questions about my decisions!” She pointed an accusing finger at the Cowpers. “Mr. Bridgerton is right. You are not to step foot into his Ton ever again. So, I will repeat for the third time of what I asked you to do.” Her finger pointed towards the large open doors.

“Get. Out. Of. My. Sight.”

The whispers of gossip became louder at the Queen’s words. At this point, nobody felt bad for the fate of the Cowpers. They finally got what they deserved. As they finally watch the accused party disappear from the ball, everyone assumed back to the lighthearted atmosphere they previously had before. The Queen made eye contact with you and flashed you an affectionate smile. She made a mental note to invite you for tea so she could comfort you. The Bridgerton family across the room had the same sentiments.

Despite everyone defending you, Cressida’s words stung and hurt more than you thought. You didn’t know why you let her words get to you, but perhaps it was because she exposed your secret unfairly to the Ton without any mercy. Finding yourself close to tears, you slipped away from Benedict’s embrace and ran off to call a carriage for yourself so you could go home.

Benedict ran after you immediately, flashing a sad expression to his family and the Queen before he went off to come find you. When he did, he saw that you were waiting outside in the cold with a shawl that covered most of your exposed skin. When he squinted his eyes more, he saw that there were tears that were falling from your eyes and that your eyes were red from crying so much. His heart broke at the sight of your insecurity about his love for you and your place in society, so he decided that he would do everything in his power to make sure you knew how much he loved you with his entire body, mind and soul.

Once you two entered the carriage, you had barely sat down before he immediately pulled you to him as much as could so you were slightly on top of him. He kissed you passionately, his hands delicately rubbing your sides up and down. You let a surprised squeak, but welcomed his passionate actions nonetheless. You always adored Benedict’s very passionate and romantic gestures because it made you feel like a deity incarnate. It was like he worshipped you with his entire being.

You became flustered at his boldness and pulled away to catch your breath. When you did so, he decided to speak while he kissed down your neck. “You are not a Cinderella, (y/n). You are my spouse and the most beautiful creature that God has ever created.”

When he heard your blissful sighs and noises from his kisses, he felt compelled to pull you closer and press your body flush against his chest. He was lucky that there was a barrier of thick clothing, or else he would’ve had his way with you at this very moment. He was that passionate to show you how much he adored you.

“You are my muse, the air I breathe, and the sun to my moon,” he murmured hotly against your flushed skin. You tried your best to quiet down your excitement as he continued to touch your body in a way that flustered you to no end. For a moment, though, he paused his kisses and guided your chin down to stare into your eyes.

“You complete me, my darling. No matter what anyone says, you are perfect for me. You transcend human concepts of perfection and class, as you are the most divine being that rivals the most beautiful of angels,” he said with so much love and adoration for you.

When he saw you tear up from his words, he didn’t hesitate to pull you into a loving embrace, happy to see you feel so comfortable and safe in his presence. You stayed silent, but your actions spoke loudly of your feelings. Each kiss you placed on his face was proud of him for standing up for you and that you were grateful for his endless devotion to you. Most importantly, the lopsided smile you gave to him was your way of letting him know that you were happy that Cressida and the rest of the Ton had tasted the fear that struck into their hearts the moment Benedict decided to confront them all about their pathetic excuses to disapprove of your relationship. After the events that occurred tonight, you knew now that your relationship in the eyes of the public had shifted. They’ve finally accepted what you and Benedict have known all along:

You were his and he was yours. Nobody, not even the Queen herself, could take that away from you both.

If there was one thing the Ton had learned from tonight, it is that Benedict was scary when he was angry. If he felt so passionately about you, then they couldn’t even imagine how you would be when someone tries to disrespect your husband in the future. With that, they realized that your marriage was more than a Cinderella story: it was a love story for the ages, and anyone who thought this wasn’t true would swiftly be reminded by you and Benedict of how wrong they were to think otherwise. They will be reminded about how messing with both of you is like messing with hell itself.

Cressida will know that for the rest of her life, especially after reading the Lady Whistledown issue that was published the next day.

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