#Edwina x Friedrich

[nightingale2004]

OK, so I found the Fredwina ship, and I've got to say...... In my heart, it is so CANON

First off........

MY GIRL EDWINA DESERVES HAPPINESS AND LOVE AND NOT THE HATE MANY PEOPLE GIVE HER.

Edwina had the right to be upset about what her sister and Anthony did and also deserves her time to heal and find herself And Honestly from what I've seen, Prince Friedrich is such a good man and a sweetheart. Edwina and Friedrich are Canon, AND NO ONE CAN TELL ME OTHERWISE!!!!!

Now all I want to see is Edwina and Friedrich making their appearance together in London to one of the queen's parties for the first time, the bridgertons reactions to this couple (+Kate and Penelope)

I want to see Queen Charlotte taking absolute pride and bragging about how well Edwina is adjusting to being a princess. Kate, being an overprotective big sister, Anthony and Edwina, building a somewhat good relationship (is still a little awkward), Friedrich, Daphne, and Simon having a tense moment but getting along. Kate is proud of Edwina for not just finding love but also becoming a princess of Prussia. Edwina and Friedrich being amazing with one another and hanging out with the bridgertons at Aubrey Hall, Kate, and edwina getting to know each other again, Kate being a great aunt to Edwina and Friedrich's kids, etc.

I also want to know HOW MANY KIDS THIS BEAUTIFUL COUPLE WOULD HAVE. I DESPERATELY NEED TO KNOW

If someone has made a fanfic with ALL OF THIS. POINT ME IN THAT DIRECTION 👉 PLEASE AND THANK YOU!!!!

[apinchofm]

there goes the last great european dynasty - part two of three

An unmarried Diamond would not do and luckily for Queen Charlotte, she has an available nephew and a young woman jaded by London society.

Post S2, canon divergence, fluff and arranged marriage au!!

[tarrynmj]

[lavellenchanted]

💖 & Fredwina

💖 rough kiss

"You're infuriating, do you know that?" The words slip from Edwina before she has even realised what she's going to say. "Is this all a game to you?"

Fredrich's eyebrows raise almost to his hairline and something flashes in his eyes, and perhaps for the first time since she met him his perfect smile slips.

"A game to me?" he repeats, disbelievingly.

It feels oddly, queasily satisfying, to think she might finally be about to get a glimpse of what lies beneath his princely mask, and despite the voice in her head screaming for her to stop she can't help but keep going. She wants to know if he can feel anger the way she does - somehow she has the idea that if someone so golden, so lovely, can burn with rage, it will make her own rage less frightening.

"Yes, you. Do you find it amusing? To play the gentleman and flirt with a girl the rest of society scorns? Is it your way of rebelling or do you just want to use me as a shield against actual, suitable matches?"

"You accuse me of using you?" He doesn't raise his voice, but there is anger simmering there. He steps forward so he's looming over her, but despite the fact that she's rarely been so aware of how tall he is and how short she is, Edwina doesn't feel afraid of him. Maybe that's why she can be so angry with him. "You, who will smile at me and dance with me, tease me and challenge me, but will shut me out as soon as I try to get close to you? Are you not playing with me, schatz?"

Edwina shakes her head, almost wanting to laugh. "How could I possibly play with you? You're a prince, I'm nothing."

"Don't talk of yourself like that," he snaps, and the fact that even in the midst of arguing with her he will defend her from herself makes her want to growl in frustration.

"I don't know what you want from me!" she bursts out.

"Really? I find that hard to believe. You're not an unintelligent woman, Edwina."

Her heart's beating wildly in her chest because perhaps she does know, but she could never believe - no matter how intently he in staring at her, no matter how much it feels like his gaze is searing her from the inside out -

"It's impossible. You're a prince," she tells him again. "You can't."

Then he does look angry, his brow furrowing into a scowl as he says sharply, "The hell I can't," before he has surged forward, clutching her face his hands, and covered her mouth with his.

It is not a soft or gentle kiss, like the sort Edwina always imagined when she read her fairytales and romances. It is raw, unrestrained, his lips almost bruising where they press down on hers - and what felt like anger suddenly feels like something much different, though it courses through her veins like fire and burns her just the same.

His arms come around and she finds herself being pushed back against the wall, locked firmly in his embrace as he continues to kiss her mercilessly, biting at her bottom lip and teasing her mouth open so that he can deepen it. Edwina's heartbeat is now a roar in her ears and it takes her a moment to realise the low moan she can hear beneath it is her own. Her breathing already ragged but she brings her arms up to wind around Fredrich's neck, her fingers raking through his hair as she seeks to bring him even closer and kisses him back with the same rough, unrestrained passion.

Because god, maybe it's foolish of her but she wants him. Has wanted him, almost since they met. She's just been afraid.

But between the slant of their mounts Fredrich is murmuring, "I don't want anything from you. I just want you," and she thinks that if he keeps kissing her maybe, just maybe, she'll start to believe him.

kiss prompts

[cateyesinlove]

🚨Bridgerton spoilers 🚨

The audacity to not write the Edwina x prince friedrich ship and have Edwina be match with someone else and not see her

I am in denial and I will take solace in my fics. That might be my one criticism in this season besides being split in two parts

[idkmanidk27]

je te laisserai des mots is just so fredwina coded. i mean the whole song is about someone leaving their lover little notes wherever they are. But the notes are a secret kept in little hiding places, to be read when they're all alone, to keep them company and remind their lover of them. I feel like this is something Friedrich would totally do. He would just keep little reminders of himself for Edwina to keep or find whenever he has to leave. They could be notes or books or flowers, just a little something for her. I can see Edwina doing the same thing. Packing little reminders of her in his things. Like a book or a ribbon or something just to show him that she's always there with him, that he's never alone. It would be a secret, something that is just for the two of them, something the world doesn't know about, just their little secret. But at the same time the song just has these sorrowful undertones. The two are so scared of love having been hurt before that they don't believe love is for them. Yet here they are already fallen madly and deeply in love and scared of what comes next, each thinking that the other will eventually leave. Yet they keep hiding secret notes for each other, they keep on loving.

[nicolettecallednikki]

Miss Edwina is better than me because those two played her like a fiiiiiiddle.

She is too gorgeous to be played with like that. It's giving Prince Friedrich in season 1, I'll never forgive Daphne for fumbling him, I don't care how hot the Duke is.

[sukibenders]

When Edwina goes to the Bridgerton's house with Lady Danbury and her mother, visiting her sister because she loves her so and hasn't seen her in so long (this follows after Kate and Anthony return from their honeymoon, but a little after because it's still painful for Edwina), and Anthony is there she purposefully calls him "Lord Bridgerton" or "Viscount Bridgerton" even when others around her, even when Anthony himself tells her that she can call him by his first name, she refuses. Everyone soon learns better than to try and convince her to do otherwise, and for Edwina it's fun to watch Anthony squirm.

+ to add on, Friedrich catches on and finds it kind of hilarious. He'll pretend to be neutral on the subject, but when introductions are made he follows Edwina's example and pretends Anthony has not first name.

[thekatebridgerton]

Friedrich and Edwina

'Do you like philosophy prince Friedrich?'

'I do, quite profoundly'

Ostensibly their courtship was as respectable and... Chaste as it ever could have been. (And nobody dared to say anything different. Especially not Infront of her older sister )

[justviwriting]

'Brighter Future'

Fandom: Bridgerton Characters: Edwina Sharma Pairing: Edwina/Prince Friedrich Rating: G Words: 1.592 Summary: Edwina writing down her thoughts and feelings on meeting Prince Friedrich for the first time and how to move forward after the failed wedding. A/N: So I wanted to write something nice for Edwina because I’m currently working on two fanfics where I’m not really treating her that much better than the show did (she gets her happy ending but she’s still the victim of Anthony’s behaviour in those fics). And I had this idea for a short oneshot, consisting of three diary entries about her meeting Prince Friedrich for the first time. Hope you like it :)

[you can also read it on AO3]

Friday, June 3rd 1814

Tomorrow is a very exciting day – perhaps the most exciting one in a while. Her Majesty the Queen had informed me that her nephew, Prince Friedrich of Prussia, would be joining us in town for the remainder of the season. She had also told me that she could not wait for me to be introduced to him. It was not the first time that the Prince had been mentioned. Her Majesty had already let me know a while ago – after the whole disaster with the failed wedding – that her nephew was still looking for a bride. Which is also why I believe that his sudden visit was neither scheduled nor a coincidence. Perhaps, he had even decided to visit this town solely to meet me.

If that is true, I believe I should be thrilled. One does not meet a prince every day. Yet somehow, I worry. What if I do not meet his expectations? If my suspicion is correct, the Queen would have without doubt mentioned me to him, letting him know about the woman she had named the Diamond. Will I again be a disappointment to Her Majesty?

And it is not just the Queen who appears to be delighted about the news of her nephew’s arrival. Mother had mentioned the Prince as well, the smile bright on her face. And Kate had said that maybe soon I will be receiving the wedding and the husband I deserve. They are almost talking about it as if it was already set in stone, yet I had not even met him. What if he does not like me? What if no man will ever like me?

Lord Bridgerton and I might have decided to let everyone know that ending our engagement had been a mutual decision. We had been nothing but amicable towards one another in public. Yet people love creating their own version of events, and with him and Kate engaged to one another so soon after, there are more than enough stories to be created. Will the Prince believe the whole scenario to be odd as well?

I could tell myself that everyone just wants for me to be happy, but somehow, I doubt it. Mother wants me to be happy, I know that. Kate wants me to be happy as well, of course, yet I also know that she still feels guilty. I do not know Lord Bridgerton’s feelings – he had told me that he was sorry but he had also lied to me many times in the past. I do not doubt that both of them would prefer for me to find happiness, just so they do not have to feel any guilt in regard to their own happiness. And of course I want for them to be happy – the past cannot be changed. But I also cannot convince myself that their wish for my happiness is completely selfless.

And of course the Queen probably only hopes that she had not been mistaken in naming me her Diamond.

So all I can do now is hope that the Prince will like me. Still, I am nervous. I hope tomorrow will go well.

Saturday, June 4th 1814

I am delighted to write that today has been wonderful and that the Prince had been nothing but charming. A true gentleman and a delightful presence. He had given me the highest of compliments about my beauty and wisdom. And he is also a very handsome man. I had danced with him several times tonight and although I enjoyed it very much, I have to admit that I now feel somewhat odd.

Part of me would call him perfect – perfect in every aspect. A man I could imagine raising a family with, and a man I could imagine falling in love with. Yet another part of me is hesitant. Because it had not been too long ago when I had felt the same about a different man – a man that will now marry my sister.

I had never believed Lord Bridgerton to be disingenuous in his feelings. He had never told me that he loved me, yet his actions and words had made me believe that he was in love with me nonetheless. Looking back at that time now, perhaps I should have realised that his feelings were not what I had believed. Perhaps I should have even noticed that bond between him and my sister. But in the end, I had not noticed anything until the wedding. How do I know I might not be mistaken again? What if the Prince is just like him?

I had let Kate know my worries earlier, after she had asked me whether something was amiss. She had then told me that I should not let the past haunt my future, and had also apologised for her actions and secrecy again. I had told her in return that I have already forgiven her, but that forgiveness did not mean I could forget the past that easily.

And now I worry – I fear, even – that every single man will only ever remind me of the Viscount. That every time I talk to a man, my doubts will prevent me from accepting their honesty. And what would that mean for me? Will I ever marry? Will I ever be able to fall in love? Kate said that there is no need for me to marry this season if I needed more time. But will time help? Not just in regards to my confusion but also in regards to my prospects? What if the Prince proposes to me? Could I decline someone like him, just because I’m confused? Not to mention that I do like him quite a lot.

I cannot help but imagine what would have happened had I not noticed the feelings my sister holds for Lord Bridgerton. We would have married then. And perhaps, at some point, I would have realised that he had never loved me, and never would.

I had shared those thoughts with Kate as well and she had simply replied that – with her moving back to India – perhaps love could have grown between us. However, I believe that the possibility of that happening would have been very small. I had been a trophy for him, nothing more. Certainly not a wife to fall in love with. Kate had then urged me to talk to Lord Bridgerton about this but I do not believe that to be a good idea. With my confused feelings, I would only cause an argument. And that would not help ease any current tension. And it does not matter anymore. I can count myself lucky that it had never gone that far, and I know that I need to move forward. But for some reason, it is not as easy as I wish for it to be.

Tuesday, June 7th 1814

I had just shared a lovely conversation with the Prince. He had been as friendly and charming as before, and had told me that Lord Bridgerton had talked to him. Apparently, he had let him know the entire story, as well as my doubts. I had been angry at first – although, of course, I had not let the Prince know my anger. However, this was my problem to deal with, and people meddling within my life had caused this problem to begin with.

Nonetheless, the conversation with the Prince had been nice. He had reassured me that he understood my hesitation and had then told me that he would not consider proposing to me before he knew I was ready to make a genuine decision. I had been shocked to hear that – part of me is still in shock. I would have not believed that he was already considering to propose to me.

He had also told me how much he likes me – how pretty he thinks I am, how wise and smart, how well spoken and kind. He had said that he had never met anyone like me and that he had no issue with taking some time so we could get to know one another – that he did not need to marry now and was more than willing to wait for me. I’m afraid I had started to blush at his words, and even now, while writing this, there is still a smile on my face.

Kate had told me that Lord Bridgerton had believed the Prince to be an excellent match for his eldest sister. And apparently his requirements for his sister’s future husband had been very high and exacting. So perhaps, the Prince truly is an honourable and honest man. But maybe Kate was right as well. I do not need to marry right now. Perhaps, it is better to get to know the man that might become my husband. I had believed myself to be in love with Lord Bridgerton, and maybe I had been, but maybe I had also fooled myself to love him because I wanted to. And the Prince had offered to wait for me, after all. Either, he will decide to honour that promise, in which case I will know that he is the right man. Or he won’t, and at least then I won’t be married to him. And he is a prince, after all. He does not have to wait for any woman – certainly not a woman who had just been rejected by a viscount. If he waits, his feelings are genuine. And that thought surely makes the future appear brighter.

[hedwig394]

An Edwina Sharma x Prince Friedrich fic because I watched season 2 for the 100th time and I simply cannot get over the idea of Edwina and the Prince.

Timeline: After Kanthony's wedding.

Part 1 : Meeting him

Edwina's POV

"You look beautiful, didi," Edwina said to Kate, who was wearing a white dress, no, the white dress. It was the day of their wedding, and only close friends and family were invited to the wedding of the viscount.

"Thank you, Bon." Kate smiled and brushed her hand against Edwina's chin. Tears welled up in Edwina's eyes as she helped her sister get ready. Whatever had happened in the past, she had forgotten, and now she was just sad that her didi was going to move away from her.

"Edwina, dearest," Mary asked her concernedly, "Is anything bothering you?" Edwina shook her head and stood behind Kate, who looked at her worriedly. "I'm just sad that now didi won't be living with us anymore."

"Oh Bon," Kate sighed and hugged her, "You know you can visit anytime, right? And I'll write to you, every day."

"Do you promise?" Edwina asked with soft eyes. Kate nodded.

"Girls, we don't want the bride crying, do we?" Mary said and wiped Kate's eyes and Edwina's too. "God, I'm gonna miss you so much," Mary said and hugged Kate tightly. "I'll miss you too, Mama," Kate replied and smiled. "You look so beautiful, my darling," Mary said, and this time a tear fell down her cheek.

"We don't want the bride's mother crying either, Mama," Edwina said cheekily and wiped it away.

Soon, it was time. Edwina walked into the church with a bouquet of flowers in her hands and looked at Anthony standing in the front. This time, he looked truly happy. Edwina gave him a small smile, bow in front of the Queen, and stood at her appointed position. She noticed a young man sitting beside the Queen, who had blonde hair and deep brown eyes and was wearing clothes befitting a prince.

Before she could think more about it, Mary and Kate walked in, holding hands. Anthony's face lit up with something similar to pure happiness and Edwina felt a punch in her gut. Would any man look at her and smile like that?

The wedding began, the two said their vows and they kissed. At the reception, Edwina was making sure that all guests were attended to well and also making sure that her sister wasn't crying.

Both Kate and the viscount were overwhelmed by the members of the ton as they flocked to congratulate them. Edwina silently laughed from the corner as she saw the two of them trying not to lose their temper. Both of them weren't very patient and were likely to lose it anytime soon, so Edwina decided to intervene.

"Ladies and gentlemen, why don't all of you explore the decorations we've all worked so hard for." She said and gave one of her diamond-of-the-season smiles.

"Thank you, Miss Edwina." Anthony smiled and sighed. "We were two seconds away from being smothered by them. God, why did we even invite so many people?"

"Anthony, many of them weren't there for the wedding as it will be against social etiquette to not invite them to the reception either," Kate said to him sternly.

"Don't thank me," Edwina smiled, "It is my responsibility to make sure that you two aren't driven mad by the ton." The two laughed. Soon, Violet came up to them and the bride and the groom disappeared, leaving Edwina to look for her mother.

"Miss Sharma." Edwina looked to the side and saw the queen coming towards her. She bow down in front of her and said, "Your highness."

"Have you met my nephew?" She said and motioned to the man behind her. He bowed down in front of her. "Miss Sharma."

"This is Prince Friedrich of Prussia." The queen said proudly, looking at the prince with love in her eyes.

Well, with as much love the queen can show.

"Pleased to meet you." The prince said. Edwina smiled. "The pleasure's all mine." She was keeping calm, but she was almost lost in his kind, gentle eyes.

[longclawislightbringer]

WIP TAG GAME

rules: post the names of all the files in your wip folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it.

tagged by @cahirdyffryns

so many of these are just called untitled whoops. I'll try to explain them a little more Here we go!

Rolling Stone Issue 513, Hellcheer

Hey There Demons, It’s Me, Ya Girl, Nace

Petticoats & Roses, Robin/Raven

Save the Date sequel, Hero/Don John

Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me a Match, (GOT Hogwarts AU series) Robb/Daenerys, Gendrya, Jonsa

I Dreamt of You, Cahir/Ciri

Madeleine Can Be a Little Manipulative, as a Treat, Madeleine/Safin

Misunderstandings, Maleval

Fated, Nimulot

Blood Moon Rising, Jonsa

Star Trek AU, Jonsa

Subtlety, Jonsa

The Ballad of Mad Sweeney, Mad Wife

Soulmate AU, Bromtilda

Post-Finale Marriage of Convenience, Felix/Murphy

Dancing with the Stars AU, Dasey

Untitled Thoschei one-shot

Halloween Undercover as Lovers, Nace

Mistaken Identity Love at First Sight, Edwina/Prince Friedrich

I think that’s all of them? Some of them definitely have more work done on them than others, and some of them are just glimmers of an idea at this point.

Alright tagging some other delightful people @hucklebucket @dustinswill @voidsteffy @platanchorsociety @scarletslippers @wendy-daahling @her-madjesty (you do not have to do the Twelve Days of Christmas fics though--kind of want to be surprised by those lol)

[apinchofm]

Lunar Years

for my lovely @mimix007 💖

Press tours and premieres mean a long overdue reunion for Edwina and Friedrich - they just don't know it yet.

[edwinadaily]

EDWINA & FRIEDRICH X NORTHANGER ABBEY

For @mrmalcolmslist

[lavellenchanted]

prompt: fredwina + “can you just look at me? please?” 💕

“Are you insane?” Edwina hisses as she steps out into the gardens, careful to shut the doors quietly behind her in case any of the servants are still awake and downstairs. “If Lady Danbury or my mother finds you here, there will be hell to pay.”

Still playing with the handful of pebbles he had been using to throw at her window, Friedrich only lifts an eyebrow. “Then we will have to be quiet, no? But you did not leave me much choice, Schatz.”

He is still in his suit from the ball, but his waistcoat is now unbuttoned and his cravat hangs loose around his neck. The first few buttons of his shirt are undone, giving Edwina perfect view of the hollow of his throat, and the lines of his collarbones as they meet his chest. It’s a warm night, but she feels a shiver run down her spine.

Glad of the darkness to hide her blush, she looks away and focuses on a nearby flowerpot. She’s highly aware of the fact that she is only in a nightgown and robe, and that her hair is falling loose down her back. If anyone were to see them like this, what’s left of her tattered reputation would be completely destroyed. The thought sends a ripple of resentment through her. Does he not care?

No, of course he doesn’t. She should know that by now.

She can’t quite keep the bitterness from her voice as she replies, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’m talking about the fact that you have gone out of your way to avoid me this evening.”

“I have not.”

She has.

“You barely looked at me once – you will not even look at me now!” He has the gall to sound frustrated. “And every time I tried to ask you to dance you found a different partner.”

“I simply had a full dance card.”

She did not. She has not had a full dance card since last Season.

Judging by the depth of the silence behind her, he is not impressed by her lying.

“Edwina.” With a quiet start, she realises his voice is suddenly much closer; a moment later she feels the warmth of him standing right behind her, and she hates the way her insides flutter despite herself at his use of her given name. “I think I deserve to know what I have done to cause you such offence that you would rather dance with Lord Collingwood than with me.”

That was particularly spiteful on her part. Lord Collingwood is nearly in his seventies, wears the most terrible wig and has false teeth. He also, as it turns out, has both incredibly bad breath and a poor sense of timing, so her spite backfired and the quadrille she had to dance with him felt more like she was punishing herself than Friedrich.

“You mean besides throwing rocks at my window in the middle of the night?”

 “Liebling. What did I do? You must tell me, otherwise how I can make it right?”

There is such soft earnestness in his voice that she’s not sure whether to laugh or cry. There is no making this right, and it is downright cruel of him to pretend that there is.

“You lied to me. You toyed with me and used me, even knowing that I –” Her voice catches, and she hates herself for it because she does not want to show him any weakness, this infuriatingly golden boy who pretended to patch up her cracks while all the time he was simply prying them further open. “You have made me the fool again.”

“What? What are you talking about? I have never lied to you, Edwina, I swear it.”

“I heard your servants talking, Friedrich, at your card party last week. They were discussing your betrothal, whether you would visit Prussia and have your wedding before you return to the battlefield.”

Bringing her arms up, she wraps them around herself, remembering the cold dread that had settled in her stomach when she caught the conversation and began to understand what the footmen were talking about. The sick feeling when she realised that if Friedrich was betrothed to someone in Prussia, then that betrothal would have already taken place before she had ever met him – that he had had someone waiting for him the entire time she was getting to know him, talking with him, dancing with him.

Falling in love with him.

Last year she had learned what it was to have her heart broken. This year she had learned was it was for her heart to shatter.

“You flirted with me. You made me think – You know what was happened to me last year. And this whole time, you have had a fiancée. How is that not lying?”

“Edwina, look at me.”

Tears gather along her lashes as she shakes her head and she squeezes her eyes shut to try and keep them from falling. She cannot look at him – cannot bear to turn and see how wrong she was about the man she thought she knew. Not again.

“No.”

Suddenly she feels his fingers, warm and callused, gently gripping her chin and she catches her breath. He turns her head around so that, presumably, she is facing him.

“Can you just look at me? Please?” he whispers, so quietly she almost doesn't hear him even though there must only be scant inches between them.

She can already feel her defences crumbling, and when he whispers again, "Please," she cannot stop herself from opening her eyes.

Immediately the tears she's held back slide down her cheeks, but Friedrich wipes them away. The moonlight paints him in silver, and his face is filled with tender sorrow as he gazes down at her. One loose strand of hair falls across his forehead and even now Edwina wants to reach up and brush it back.

"Edwina, schatz," he says, very slowly and carefully. "I promise you, I am not betrothed to anyone."

What?

"But, they said -"

He cuts her off, one corner of his mouth curling in faint, exasperated amusement. "If my servants were talking about my wedding, it is because they are all fully aware of my intention to propose to you before I return home and have assumed you will accept."

Edwina thinks her heart might have stopped beating. She has definitely stopped breathing.

"They ... are?"

"I have not made a secret of how much I enjoy your company. And they could hardly fail to notice when I wrote to my mother to ask her to send my grandmother's ring."

Edwina's head is spinning as she struggles to take in this new information, and her legs feel abruptly rather weak. He had asked for his grandmother's ring? He truly meant to propose?

He has not just been playing with her all this time?

"Oh."

It's an entirely inadequate response, but words are beyond her right now. There is too much happening inside her for her to be able to speak.

"Ja." Friedrich smiles softly at her, reassuring her that he is not angry at her misunderstanding, but there is still a hint of sadness to it. "Meine Liebe, why did you not come and ask me about what you heard?"

She owes him an explanation, but it at the same time she does not know how to explain.

"I don't know - I wanted to, it's just . . ." She sighs. "I was afraid, I suppose."

"Do you still not trust me?"

"I trust you more than anyone." Which is perhaps not saying as much as she wishes, when her trust in anything is so fragile these days. "But I have been so wrong before . . . "

"It is easy to believe you would be again," Friedrich finishes for her. "I understand. But I hope that will not always be so. Just tell me now - do you believe me? That there is no one in my heart but you? Or must I offer more proof?"

A warm blush spreads across her cheeks, and it is amazing how the heart that only a few minutes ago she would sworn was broken beyond repair is now singing in her chest and making her feel as though she could fly if she chose.

Holding his gaze, she asks, "What more proof do you have to offer?"

He blinks in surprise, concern flitting briefly across his face before he slowly starts to grin.

"Only this," he says, and brings his head down to press his lips to hers.

The kiss is soft and chaste at first, a gentle stroke of his mouth against hers - once, twice; then it deepens, as he tilts her head further up to a better angle and teases her lips open with his tongue. Each movement of his mouth is slow and deliberate, like he's content to take all the time in world to make his point, and Edwina feels it through her entire body. Her blood has turned to lightning in her veins and she feels drunk on it, wanting nothing more than to press herself as close to Friedrich as possible and lose herself in his arms.

Brings her hands up, she curls her fingers into his shirt and tugs. She feels him laughing into the kiss and nips his bottom lip with her teeth in remonstration - but he finally sweeps her into his embrace and the world around them disappears, replaced by the sound of their shared breaths and the feel of his heartbeat, thundering just as hard as her own, against her breast, and glorious, blissful taste of his lips and tongue as he kisses her over and over and over.

When they finally break part she has wrapped her arms around his neck and it is only his arms around her keeping her upright. Smiling still, Friedrich gently bumps the side of her nose with his.

"Do you believe me now?"

Voice hushed, Edwina nods and answers, "Yes, I do."

"Good." He presses another soft kiss to the side of her head. "May I also take that as a yes to my proposal?"

"Proposal? I don't recall you actually asking me anything."

"I -" He stares at her for a moment, and then they both dissolve into giggles. "No, I suppose I did not. And I suppose the proper thing would be to speak with your mother first."

Edwina wrinkles her nose. "Technically. But I think we are a little way past proper."

He gives a cheerful sigh. "Well, we must still try. But if I call on you tomorrow and speak to your mother, what will your answer be?"

She smiles, and has no idea that it's the most radiant sight Friedrich's ever seen.

"It will be yes, of course," she says, and kisses him again. After all, there's no longer any reason why she can't.

[angelicamerlinbarnes]

“There’s a lady in the parlor, my lord,” Olly says, his hands wringing rather than folded behind his back. “It looks—She came here alone, on horseback. She won’t speak, except in apologies. I think—I think she may belong to Lady Eloise.” Benedict wants to argue that particular point, then finds it’s Penelope Featherington in the parlor and decides perhaps Olly was right on the nose. “I’m terribly sorry to come so late,” she says, her voice clogged with tears, “but I’m afraid I have nowhere else to go.”   or,   Penelope Featherington moves into Aubrey Hall, and life unravels like a ball of yarn in a cat’s hands.