I DO NOT OWN BRIDGERTON.
Featherington House. London, United Kingdom. The next day.
The next day, I woke up and began preparing myself to go pay a call on Marina Thompson. A part of me felt like a dumb ass for literally courting trouble, but another part of me felt such pity for the woman. Yeah, trying to trick Colin into marrying her was a very shitty thing to do, but it wasn't like she had a whole lot of options to choose from if she wanted to avoid her baby being a bastard and she a slut. I enjoyed a hearty breakfast as all anyone talked about was Daphne's suitors (or lack thereof, thanks to Anthony's bullheadedness).
After the morning meal was had, the ladies went to the drawing room to support Daphne, the boys went off to their own pursuits, and I made my way over to casa del Featherington to call upon Marina Thompson. I'll admit, I was feeling pretty nervous since i'd never actually done the whole proper courtship thing. I was just used to asking a girl out and letting whatever happened happen. Before I went to the house, I made sure to buy a nice looking bouquet of Hyacinths. Thankfully, giving flowers to a pretty girls was a custom that had not fallen out of style.
The flowers ended up costing me, however; When I arrived, I was at the end of a pack of potential suitors, eager to claim Marina Thompson for their very own. Perhaps it was juvenile of me, but I couldn't help but laugh inwardly as I thought of how these prim and proper boys would run for home if they found out that Marina had George Crane's bun in her oven. Unlike Penelope, I wouldn't actually say it and damn her to a loveless marriage to the baby daddy's brother. All us young men were gathered into the foyer while we waited to be introduced.
"Several callers, milady; for miss Marina Thompson." the servant declared as we all went inside the parlor, one after the other. Pen's face brightened as she saw me and I gave her a smile in return as the men immediately presented their gifts to Marina.
"It appears that the odds of me getting close to miss Thompson are quite slim." I said as I made my way over to Penelope.
"I'm sorry Colin, the suitors have been flocking to her like bees to a pot of jam." Penelope replied as I have to admit, her way with words got a smirk out of me.
"Well, no reason to have these flowers go to waste." I replied as I handed the Hyacinths to Penelope, who took them eagerly.
"Thank you Colin, they are beautiful." Penelope said with a smile bigger than any I had seen on the show thus far. It was honestly mind boggling how much of a complete dumb ass Colin Bridgerton was. This girl was desperately in love with him and despite what Penelope believed, she wasn't very good at hiding it. I did manage to steal a glance from Marina who offered me a smile as she tried to spread out her focus on as many of the suitors as she could.
"And so, by Heaven, your love may burn from the depths of my soul. 'Tis thee I shall earn." The fop said as his shitty poem came to an end; Christ be praised.
"Wonderful, wonderful." Lady Featherington lied as we all clapped disingenuously. "Gentlemen, thank you for your calls. Do not forget to bid Prudence, Philipa, or even Penelope farewell as you go." As the suitors chatted indistinctly, I made my way over to Pen.
"A most wretched sonnet, indeed." I quoted from the script, earning a chuckle from Lady Whistledown.
"Lord Byron he is not." She remarked, having no more respect for the fop than I did.
"I do not believe so." I said with a chuckle as I gently squeezed her hand before making my exit. "Good day, Pen."
Bridgerton House. Later that day.
After my failed attempt at courting Marina Thompson, I made my way back to Bridgerton House where everyone else was already getting ready for bed. As I made my way through the house, I saw that Eloise was in bed, reading by candlelight in her bedchambers. Against my better judgement, I knocked on the open door. I was tired of keeping who I really was a secret and I was going to need someone that I could trust to help me navigate this world and book smart Eloise seemed like the best possible option.
"So...how was your courting of Miss Thompson?" Eloise asked in an unamused tone of voice.
"Not that great...Eloise, I was wondering if I could have a word?" I asked awkwardly as Eloise sat up and looked at me curiously.
"Concerning what, exactly?" she asked.
"Look Eloise, I have to tell you something and it's going to sound completely mad, but even if you don't believe me, you have to swear that you will not say a word to anyone else." I told her as that got me an eyebrow raise.
"Colin, what is going on?" she asked again with slight concern.
"Swear to me, Eloise." I commanded, trying to sound serious.
"All right, I swear it." Eloise replied anxiously as I took a deep breath.
"I am not your brother Colin Bridgerton; my real name is Tommy Schulze." I said as Eloise looked at me with stunned almost silence.
"What...what could you possibly mean by that?" Eloise asked quietly.
"I'm an American university student living in Paris. Somehow, my soul has been transferred into Colin's body." I answered as I could tell that Eloise was struggling to comprehend what I had just told her.
"Do you honestly expect me to believe this nonsense?" She asked incredulously.
"Of course not, but it's the truth!" I answered back as I tried to keep my cool with her. "I'm stranded here and I ain't exactly familiar with the customs of this era. I need someone who help me. If I was lying to you, I would come up with something more believable."
"You honestly could not have chosen a worse person for this task, I loathe the customs of the Ton." Eloise insisted with a shake of her head.
"So, you believe me?" I asked hopefully as she scoffed at me.
"I honestly don't know...but i'm willing to keep an open mind about this." Eloise replied as she looked at me with precision; as if she was trying to spot me inside of her brother.
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