Last Chance: A Bridgerton Tale about Anthony (AU NON-COMPLIANT)

Chapter 10: No honour among men

Writer's note

- Still need to fix error in one of the first chapters

- In this I pretend Anthony is also a businessman hence the need to hire private investigators in order to protect the family's assets

- Apparently I am even more shite at writing fight scenes than smut the brevity of that part.

- Can you tell that I love Ben? I do.. I mean it is Anthony for me but Ben.. Love him.

- Sorry for stupid grammar mistakes. I am not lying when I say that this takes ages to write and rewrite.. Sigh..   

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Mara had asked to go inside and share the news with him in the library, which was the nearest room and proceeded to tell him about her afternoon. As he listened to her his mouth flew open at one point from indignance and she didn't know if he was mad at her or him, or both.

"You... actually agreed to talk to him?", he angrily inquired.

"I didn't want to be impolite.... I - ", she began but he cut her off really quickly. He looked like he could explode from anger in any minute but was trying to restrain in anger.

"It was a dumb thing to do"; he sneered, and this comment triggered her annoyance. If he wanted a fight, he could get one.

"'Don't be so condescending", she spat angrily. He was being unreasonable and faulting her for something she had had no control over.

"You actively put yourself in that man's vicinity. He touched you", he yelled, now standing in front of Mara and they locked eyes and found only irritation staring back at them now and certainly not love or desire.

She looked even more beautiful when she was angry, Anthony concluded as he watched her. He wouldn't admit it so freely but he appreciated her fiery nature, as she was not too afraid to stand up for herself and let Anthony walk all over her.

"I had no idea I was going to run into Henry and I certainly could not have predicted he was going to- "but he cut her off again preventing her from completing her sentence. If he did that one more time she was going to walk away and not bother talking to him anymore for a considerable time, until he stopped behaving like an arse.

"Oh REALLY. Even I knew that the Carrington co-sponsored the exposition as they do with many events in London but... you didn't? Or did you and hoped to encounter Henry? he accused.

It was the wrong thing to say for her eyes were shooting daggers and if looks could kill Anthony was a goner by now.

"What are you suggesting? That I deliberately set out to go to Sullington's to see Henry?" she demanded to know as she took a step forward to her husband, but he remained silent.

"Go on Anthony. Tell me. That is what you suspect isn't it? If that really were the case... and I would have liked to see Henry or had planned some sort of a clandestine meeting with him in a VERY public place, I might add, then why did I ask Benedict to accompany me to the museum?" she asked, and he had nothing to say to that because it kind of disproved his entire point.

"Well... be that as it may-" he began, too stubborn to admit he was wrong even though he knew he was, and she rightfully interrupted his sentence.

" I cannot believe this. It was you, who was talking about how I should trust you... but apparently you feel no need to trust me. Rather hypocritical don't you think? " she said in a bitten voice.

"Where are you going?" he wished to know as she suddenly turned and made efforts to get away from him.

"To my mother's where I will stay until you stop behaving like an inconsiderate, judgmental baboon," she replied with a sharp tone.