The Viscount Who Loved Me

Kate and Eloise’s friendship began at the Bridgertons’ musicale, and Eloise reminds Kate so much of Edwina. Their interaction at Bridgerton House in Chapter 21 shows how Eloise looks up to Kate as a sister. Eloise and Kate have similar attitudes and admire one another. Eloise is the first Bridgerton we see welcome Kate into the family, even though a gesture as simple as telling her she does not have to knock at the front door. Eloise also looks out for Kate like a sister, too, because as soon as Eloise realizes something is amiss with Anthony, she writes to Kate immediately. Anthony’s refusal to discuss his departure the night before comes from his fear of not only facing the trauma of his father’s death, but also his fear of admitting to Kate that he will not be able to share a long life with her. He is so certain that he will die young, that he wants to spare her as much potential pain as possible, including the pain of even knowing that she will be a widow in less than a decade. Kate tries to return the kindness he showed her when he stayed with her throughout her panic attacks, but Anthony is not ready to open up yet. That said, Anthony relies on logic for most of his thinking and reasoning. When Colin tells him it is quite simple to share his feelings with Kate, Anthony realizes that logically, if he is going to have a short life, it should be a happy one. Part of ensuring that happiness is by opening himself up to love and including Kate in that journey.

The narration previously disclosed Anthony’s belief that once he makes up his mind to do something, he needs to act on it immediately. This is a trait that Kate shares as well, and it is the reason why Anthony decides to seek out Kate instead of waiting for her to come home. This turns out of be a good thing, since it leads him to the scene of the carriage accident. Kate’s carriage accident is the second time Anthony is confronted directly by Kate’s mortality. Unlike when his father died, Anthony is present when he believes his wife dies and he is powerless to stop it from happening. He repeats “This wasn’t supposed to be you” as a mantra when he searches the wreck for her, and that phrase encapsulates his view that Kate is not the one supposed to die young—it is supposed to be him. Anthony and Kate finally tell each other they love one another in this moment, because the possibility of losing each other catalyzes them to take the risk.

Anthony’s recollection of his father’s death demonstrates how affected he was by a profound grief he was not prepared to handle. When Edmund died, Anthony had little time to grieve his passing, as he was immediately thrust into his new role as Viscount, and he took it upon himself to help raise his siblings. Anthony was parentified after his father’s death, just like Kate was after her father’s. Anthony and Kate lived with unresolved trauma for so long because they unknowingly taught themselves to choose other people first. Since Kate now understands the source of her pain, she can begin to heal from it and share what she has learned. Kate becomes a guide for Anthony, gently offering an alternative view of his situation. Kate approaches things with the same logical sensibility that Anthony does, and as such she can help him recognize flaws in his own reasoning: Just because his father died young does not necessarily (or automatically) mean the same will be true for Anthony, because they are not the same person.