"Aunt Eloise said that Bath is where everything started…."

I remained beside Friedrich as people came to congratulate him after the reading had finished. Lots of individuals shook his hand, proclaiming they'd never heard such fine words. The bashful Friedrich responded demurely, giving praise to Edwina's happy state as his source of inspiration. I rubbed the side of his arm approvingly- such a decent man. The thought of him and Edwina hooking up hadn't crossed my mind yet that night, but I wasn't opposed to it. She deserves someone good…. like him.

Friedrich took spare moments to grin back at me, making sure I wasn't growing too bored or anything. Our eyes met and he smiled. "Did you enjoy the reading, Kate?" "Oh, yes! Absolutely! Your poem was inspired, utterly fantastic." "Ah, well….." He gazed downward for a second before shyly peering back up my way and continuing. "My prose is not so good…" "Not so good? It's wonderful! Remarkable! Where did you ever learn to write like that?" "I took a few classes in Vienna," he admitted in a humble tone. My eyes lit up excited. "Vienna?! Well, if you're going to learn how to write poetry, Vienna's the place to do it," I should know…..

He watched me a moment, his smile deepening on its own accord. His eyes lowered a little. "I have a confession to make. I originally started writing a verse dedicated to you…." "You did?" I blinked at him in sudden alarm; not a bad sort of alarm, but I hadn't been expecting him to say that. He nodded. "I stopped when I realised how inappropriate it would be for me to continue. You're a young, single woman, after all…. I only wrote two lines." "What were they?" Why did I ask that? Boy, was that dumb of me to ask! I was more curious than anything to hear what he'd have to say after only knowing me for such a short amount of time. But his eyes glowed. His soft, slender fingers raised up to brush some hair from my forehead, down behind my left ear. They lingered there a moment, right beside my face….

"Beauty. Thy Form is her…"

"I hope we're not interrupting," I suddenly shot around to see Anthony and his party approaching us; Edwina was there on his arm. Both Friedrich and I blinked wildly, like we had been expecting them coming. While I wore a mildly horrified expression for a sheer instance, Friedrich's face lit up like a Christmas tree. He didn't hesitate to rush over to the now stunned Anthony, taking his hand in his and shaking it readily.

"Lord Bridgerton! That was a show-stopping performance! What a terrific passage! You truly did the great Goethe's work justice," Friedrich praised with such sincerity, not holding back in his admiration even a tiny bit, that the viscount genuinely seemed flabbergasted by his reaction, as did the rest of the Bridgertons. They all just stared at Friedrich like he was crazy. Anthony's mouth hung open slightly after a bewildered minute or so. "Uhhhhhhhhh, thanks? Your poem was um, good too…" He couldn't have struggled harder to compliment the kind German.

Friedrich released Anthony's hand, clasping his hands together behind his back. He beamed brightly at Edwina and all the Bridgertons, like they were his friends already. I meanwhile stood protectively beside Friedrich, not sure what any of them would say to my friend and not very trusting of them either. Friedrich was just so nice; he didn't deserve to be made fun of or teased. Fortunately for me, it was Edwina who broke the silence next, grinning over my way.

"Kate! Guess what? Anthony's just invited us to join him and his family in their estate in Bath!" "He has?" My gaze turned to her puzzled. Bath? This was the first time I'd heard anything about any "estate" in Bath. She nodded merrily and Anthony followed suit, although with more gravity, speaking more to appease my jittery sister. "Yes, it would be an honour to have the two of you accompany us there next week." "N-Next week?!" I gasped, looking at him. Edwina waved her hand in my direction, as if she already knew what I was going to say. "You can go to Oxford anytime. This is a summer trip we can all take together. Come on, Kate! Please come with us." She was referring to the fact that I'd planned to go sign some documents and look at dormitories next week, which she knew I'd had booked for a while! Nugh, this couldn't have happened at a more inconvenient time! Too bad I was the only one who thought so.

"Bath?! Wow, what a beautiful location. Have you been to Bath before?" Friedrich proceeded to ask me. I hesitantly nodded my head, which seemed to delight him. His eyes glistened in joy for me. "You should go! It's such a lovely city in July. You would have such fun there."

This caught everyone by surprise, including Anthony, who was staring- more like gawking- at Friedrich like he didn't know what to think of him now. Edwina was also looking at Friedrich, unsure what to make of the situation; she didn't seem to have the same positive air as Anthony currently. But Friedrich kept his eyes glued onto me, like he was anticipating my response. My conflicted glance drifted from him back to my sister and the Bridgertons, or "Bridgerton" I should say….. Eventually my lips parted a VERY reluctant sliver.

"B-But it's so sudden….." I finally forced myself to squeak out. Edwina's hand waved flippantly at me again, which irked me. "Anthony's arranged everything, or he will arrange everything once you agree to come." Colin, the only other Bridgerton I recognized, shrugged nonchalantly, keeping his hands buried in his pockets. "You might as well come; get to know your future brothers and sisters-in-law." "He's right, Kate. This is a chance for you to bond with your family. Oxford's not going anywhere," Friedrich smiled kindly and I gazed back his way. I didn't blame him for saying that since he didn't have the context that I was starting PhD there this fall…. That'd have to be rectified soon enough. But when my mouth opened to rebuttal this statement, Friedrich's hand reached over to take hold of mine again- a gesture Edwina noticed and frowned at. Not that the kind German realized this; he was too busy flashing me an affectionate, honest grin and cradling my fingers. "And when you get back, we'll go there together. I'll take you to Oxford, Kate….. If that's where you want to go."

Edwina and Anthony scowled while I blushed a tiny bit. Friedrich has this way of saying things so warmly, so earnestly….. It made me blush, and that weird, uncomfortable feeling began bubbling up in the pit of my stomach again. The woman standing beside Colin- Anthony's sister, I take it- pointed her forefinger at the both of us. "Are they like a thing…..?" She asked her brother, who shrugged. "No!" Anthony immediately spat back, turning around towards her before pausing to pinch the bridge of his nose; a sign of irritation. "What have I told you about asking impertinent questions while in public, Eloise?" "I'm sorry. Was that "impertinent"?" She retorted back, clearly not caring whatsoever.

Anthony sighed very, VERY annoyedly. Then he spun back to see Friedrich and I again; his expression was not happy or bliss in the slightest. He was too busy trying to hide his contempt for the kind, oblivious German. "I apologize for my sister's rudeness." My friend merely smiled, maintaining a totally relaxed and casual posture; the complete opposite of Anthony's just now. "Please, call me "Friedrich". And it's no trouble! I admire a woman who speaks her mind." "Oh, you ain't seen nothing yet," Eloise snorted, and the other adult man standing with them elbowed her in the ribcage. Anthony looked like he wanted to strangle someone and was desperately trying to keep his temper. He pinched the bridge of his nose again.

"Enough! Look everybody, let's just go home. The reading's over." "Good idea! It's getting late, and the ladies must be getting tired," Friedrich said, glancing to Edwina and I. Edwina's cheeks suddenly sizzled as her hands shot up in front of her. "Oh no! No, Kate and I…. W-We're stronger than we look. We can handle a late night out, can't we sis?" She addressed me and I frowned. "Speak for yourself. I'm tired and wanna go home too." "Then allow me to escort you back," Friedrich offered but was instantly interjected by an angry and frankly wary-looking viscount. "I'll be seeing the Sharma sisters home this evening. We can discuss travel details on the way back." "Yes, please come to Bath with us, Kate! It'll be so much fun!" Edwina grabbed my arm, shaking it lightly. "But I have other arrangements," I fired back with a harsh glare; one she blew off entirely. "You can deal with all that when we get back to London. Come on, Kate; please? You love Bath!" "Well I….."

She shrieked before I could finish, grabbing Anthony's arm and squeezing it tight with both hands. "See?! She's coming! We're all going to Bath next week!" Anthony sighed, resisting the urge to role his eyes. He gave me a pleading look, like he was already worn out by my sister, Friedrich, and his siblings. I was the only bit of rest he'd get in the room….. Wait! I didn't mean that to sound "that"! You get what I mean! He looked at me and sighed heavily. "Please, Kate? Can you just make this easy for me?"

He said this, and my eyes widened a little. He's not asking, he's begging it almost seems like….. It's also the first time he's asking me to do something rather than telling me to do it. It's a small difference, but one I caught onto. My lips parted as my head gave an unconscious single nod. "I-I guess…..?" "Great! Get your things, we're going home. Oh, sis; this is going to be such a good trip! You'll have to call those people and change plans or whatever," Edwina waggled her finger again before taking off with Anthony's siblings. This bitter pang echoed through my heart as I watched her leave. Anthony's not the one ordering me to go on this trip; she is. She could care less that I have meetings booked or papers to sign. Oh no, that's not important. What's important is her making me go on a trip with HER future family. Now I have all these dates and appointments to change….

I was pulled out of my rage by the sudden sensation of Friedrich touching my arm. My head darted his way, and that's when I saw that he, I, and Anthony were the only ones left there. Friedrich gave me one of his usual teddy-bear smiles, caressing my arm gently.

"We will go to Oxford when you get back, I promise," the kind German reassured me, and I couldn't help but grin back at him. He doesn't realize I'm going for school-related issues; he's under the impression this is a travel-trip for me. Still, it was nice that he cared enough to offer…. My hand stretched up to rest overtop of his for a second; a gesture which made Anthony's eyebrow twitch. "Thank you, Friedrich. I'll hold you to that offer." "I look forward to it. Now tell me, where did you leave your coat? I'll go fetch it for you." "You don't have to…." But he interrupted me by raising up his hand. "Please, I insist." "Well, ok. It's in coatroom four." He nodded and took off, leaving Anthony and I there alone. Anthony watched him leave before peering over at me.

"What did I say about staying away from him?" He scolded, though not as harshly as I was expecting; he was probably too tired to be more animated. I shot him an equally-exhausted, unanimated glare. "Oh please. You're not going to start that again, are you?" I'm too worn out to deal with this. His eyes drifted back out in the direction Friedrich disappeared in.

"I don't trust that man. He's too… too….." "Nice?" I finished his sentence, earning a glare from Anthony; one which made me laugh. "I was going to say "vapid"." "Hey, that's not nice! Friedrich is a lovely, caring man. Face it; not all of us can be standoffish and brooding." "What did you just say?!" And I laughed again, amused. "Oh right, I'm sorry; we're supposed to be "friends" now, or at least acting like it." "That's a challenge when you insist on being impossible," he quipped back, and I smiled in his direction. "Hey, it's no walk in the park with you either. You could try smiling and relaxing a little more." "I am relaxed!" "Ha! Oh yeah, I can definitely see that." Doing his best to suppress a smile-smirk, Anthony pointed his accusing finger straight at me, making my playful eyebrow lift a tad. "Listen you….." He began before Eloise waved at us from across the room.

"Hey! Would you two hurry it up?!" Anthony sighed and I giggled, starting to walk their way, but not before giving him one last teasing glance. "Sorry. Looks like we'll have to continue this feud another time." "Well with you coming to Bath, there'll be lots of time," Anthony remarked and our eyes locked. Our stares lingered on one another until Edwina called my name. I shouted that I was coming and turned to leave for real. There was just enough time for Anthony to chuckle to himself, FINALLY relaxing his posture a bit. Our eyes met yet again; his growing soft and soulful for the briefest of seconds. "Heh, maybe he got the first lines of his "would-be" poem wrong." "Huh?" And Anthony hid a genuine smile in a smirk, refusing to look anywhere but me. "You're no muse; you're a distraction, the worst kind. You're an unrelenting headache no medicine can cure. It's easier having you near…. than trying to deal with that pain you cause anyway alone."

My mouth began to open instinctively then…. My heart beating faster than a mile a minute. "Then how would you have wrote the verse?" Since you apparently can't write poetry or prose. Anthony let himself smile entirely, wholly, effortlessly once more.

"Heh, it shoulda' been: Beautiful torment. Thy name is her….."