i’s Reviews > The Viscount Who Loved Me > Status Update

Finally, Kate stepped down.
And Anthony realized he’d been holding his breath.
…There were some bonds, he was coming to realize, that were stronger than those of blood. These were not bonds he had room for in his life.
Why was why, when he married, the face behind the veil would have to be Edwina Sheffield’s.

Anthony could actually feel the tips of his ears turning red with barely leashed rage. “You, madam, are a menace to society.”
She opened her mouth to return the insult, but instead she just offered him an almost frighteningly devious smile and turned to the dog and said, “Shake, Newton.”

And while the woman on his arm was not the woman he planned to take to wife, nor, in fact, was she a woman he planned to take to anything, Anthony felt a rather easy sense of contentment wash over him.

…She had her face tipped up to the sun and was basking in its warmth. And for one extremely disconcerting moment, Anthony felt a sharp stab of…. something.

Something? He gave his head a shake. Not for this woman.

Anthony could see Miss Sheffield growing worried at the devilish gleam in Colin’s eye. He took a rather uncharitable pleasure in this. His reaction was, he knew, a touch out of proportion. But something about this Miss Kate Sheffield sparked his temper and made him positively ITCH to do battle with her.

And win. That much went without saying.

After all, he had a bride to choose, and that was surely serious business. “Who is considered the diamond of this season?” he asked.
…”Edwina Sheffield. Surely you’ve seen her… You can usually spot her by the sheeplike crowd of lovesick suitors following her about.”
…”Has she a brain?”
…”Yes, I rather think she does…”
“Good… Then I’ll marry her.”

Under no circumstances would this rule be broken.
He wasn’t a complete cynic; he knew that true love existed. Anyone who’d ever been in the same room with his parents knew that true love existed.
But love was a complication he wished to avoid. He had no desire for his life to be visited by that particular miracle.

Being a discerning and somewhat organized man, he’d made a mental list of requirements for the position. First, she ought to be reasonably attractive…
Second, she couldn’t be stupid…
Third—and this was the most important—she couldn’t be anyone with whom he might actually fall in love.

Anthony Bridgerton leaned back in his leather chair… and then announced, “I’m thinking about getting married.”
Benedict Bridgerton… fell over.
Colin Bridgerton started to choke.

“Bite your tongue, Edwina. You are not to have anything to do with Viscount Bridgerton. Everyone knows he is the worst sort of rake. In fact, he’s the worst rake, period. In all London. In the entire country!”
“I know… Besides, he’s not likely to choose a bride this year, anyway…”
“Don’t worry. We will find you a suitable husband. But NOT—not not not not not Viscount Bridgerton!”