The Viscount Who Loved Me

“…when Anthony cradled the Bridgerton pocket watch to his chest (given to him on his eighth birthday by his father, who had received it on his eighth birthday by his father), he liked to think that his relationship with his father was just a little bit special.”

Anthony has his father’s watch, which is not only a family heirloom, but a physical object that helps him feel closer to his father. Ironically, the watch being the item that represents their bond also represents the inevitable passage of time and Anthony’s fraught relationship with his own mortality.

“Unbidden, his hand rose to touch the spot where he’d been stung so many years before.”

Anthony recalls a previous incident where he and Edmund were both stung by bees, and they were both fine. In a moment of foreshadowing, Anthony places his hand on his shoulder, near his collarbone, to indicate where he was stung—the same place where Kate is stung by a bee later in the novel.

“Edmund Bridgerton had died at the age of thirty-eight. And Anthony simply couldn’t imagine ever surpassing his father in any way, even in years.”

Anthony’s reaction to Edmund’s untimely death is drastic. Without Edmund there to teach him how to be a great man, Anthony fears he will never measure up to the example his father set. Anthony extends that same logic to his lifespan as well since he modeled himself from Edmund’s example in every way.

“Mary would have liked to have waited until Edwina was eighteen, and a bit more mature, but that would have made Kate nearly twenty-two, and heavens, but who would marry her then?”

Mary contemplates the timing of her daughters’ debut season. While she wishes they could have waited until Edwina had matured, the delay would make suitors then consider Kate practically a spinster. While the timing is not ideal, Mary knows they only have one chance at the “Marriage Mart,” and making their debut this year gives both women their best possible chance.

“He is exactly the sort of man the two of us should avoid at all costs. He could probably seduce an iceberg.”

Kate talks to Edwina and Mary about Anthony’s rakish behavior that has been reported in past issues of Lady Whistledown’s gossip column. She is confident in her assessment of him despite the fact she has not yet met him, and she warns Edwina to be cautious of his seductive trickery—a skill every Rake masters.

“She’d heard it said on more than one occasion that one could not consider oneself ‘arrived’ until one had been insulted by Lady Whistledown.”

Despite being named the season’s “Incomparable,” Edwina is jealous that Lady Whistledown insulted Kate in her column and did not insult Edwina. This passage illustrates the weight of different kinds of social attention, and good press versus bad press. Despite being the most sought-after debutante, Edwina does not feel she is “known” and recognized in the same way as Kate.

“…it might have something to do with that time you announced to the entire audience at the Smythe-Smith musicale that you could never marry without your sister’s approval.”

Kate reminds Edwina of her declaration to only marry someone whom Kate approves of first. Since their father died, traditionally another male relative would become head of their family and that decision would be his, but Kate and Mary share the familial leadership roles when it comes to raising Edwina.

“…he could recite from memory Balthazar’s entire ‘Sigh No More’ song from Much Ado About Nothing, not because he thought it particularly meaningful but just because he liked it.”

Anthony recalls a play he and his father loved, which ironically features a couple quite like himself and Kate. The main romantic leads in Much Ado bicker and banter with one another, but eventually fall in love.

“And you are my mother. In every way that matters.”

Kate’s conversation with Mary in this passage is noteworthy because it illustrates the most significant part of their relationship: They chose one another. Mary chose to love and raise Kate as if she was her own, and Kate in turn chose to embrace Mary as her mother. Their family could have been broken by their grief, but Kate and Mary chose each other.

“…and his lips, while classically beautiful […] were tight at the corners, as if he did not know how to smile.”

Kate observes Anthony’s face when they first meet, and her impression of his smile hints at Anthony’s emotional intelligence. His efforts to compartmentalize his life become apparent in his facial expressions, showing that whatever he hopes to hide from will eventually come to the surface.

“She didn’t believe for one second that reformed rakes made the best husbands. She wasn’t even sure that a rake could be properly reformed in the first place.”

Kate decides to block Anthony’s courtship of Edwina because she is so confident in her assessment of his character. Kate only knows of him what she has read in Lady Whistledown’s gossip columns, so she does not have a complete picture of him as a whole person. She thinks rakes cannot be reformed because she views them as a static archetype rather than a dynamic person with the capacity for change.

“And she suddenly wasn’t so sure she liked this role of mother hen she’d been thrust into. Or maybe she’d thrust herself into it.”

Kate questions her choice to take on so much responsibility in her family. At first, she feels like the responsibility was foisted upon her in her father’s absence, but Kate suspects she took it on of her own free will so that Edwina could continue growing up with two strong people in her life.

“Hyacinth, who was now just eleven, had never even been held in her father’s arms. Anthony had tried to fill the gap as best as he could, but he knew he was a very pale comparison.”

Anthony parented his siblings while still being a child himself. Taking on that amount of responsibility to one’s family at such a young age blurs the boundary between childhood and adulthood that makes growing up even more of a challenge. Anthony condenses these stages of his life into one state of being, which further fuels his anxiety: He is doing so much, in so many different roles, and he has no reassurance that he does any of it well.

“Kate is the same way. She is forever telling me that she knows perfectly well how to live her life and doesn’t need a dead man to give her instructions.”

Edwina tells Anthony why Kate dislikes reading philosophy books and is surprised that Anthony agrees with Kate’s assessment. Ironically, Kate’s assertion that she does not need dead men telling her what to do, is a statement in stark contrast to how Anthony lives his life. He looks to Edmund’s example constantly for guidance, whereas Kate prefers making her own example.

“…any true aficionado of Bridgerton Pall Mall understands that sending Anthony into the lake is far more important than actually sending one’s ball through all the wickets.”

Colin declares Kate the winner of Pall Mall, after she whacks Anthony’s ball into the lake. The game itself stands as a metaphor for social etiquette: It highlights the distinction between what is proper and what is right, which is a boundary the characters navigate regularly throughout the novel.

“Both of them knew the singular feeling of not being the most popular girl in the room, knew the exact expression you put on your face when you weren’t asked to dance but you wanted to look as if you didn’t care.”

Kate reflects on her friendship with Penelope, as they have both been on the receiving end of Lady Whistledown’s witty insults. Kate relates to Penelope on a deeper level than that, however, because she too understands how it feels to not be the one who is chosen and admired.

“And then there was Kate Sheffield. The bane of his existence. The object of his desires. All at once.”

Anthony does not comprehend his feelings for Kate, as she is the source of intense feelings of frustration and desire. Much in the same way Anthony compartmentalizes other aspects of his life, he considers the two feelings so distinctly separate that he does not give himself room to experience a more complex emotional response like love.

“…sometimes there are reasons for our fears that we can’t quite explain. Sometimes it’s just something we feel in our bones, something we know to be true, but would sound foolish to anyone else.”

Anthony sympathizes with Kate’s fear of storms, even though he does not offer details about his own fears. This is the first instance where the two connect and relate to one another, which complicates Kate’s picture of Anthony as an irredeemable Rake and a rogue, and Anthony’s image of Kate as an obstinate, headstrong woman. They see another side of each other, and this scene lays the groundwork for them to decompartmentalize themselves.

“And so when one flew by, he laughed, he mocked, he cursed, and he swatted it away with his hand, daring it to retaliate. And he’d never been stung.”

Anthony tempts fate by swatting at bees, even though he knows Edmund died the second time he was stung. His desire to brush close to death is thwarted by the fact that he has not been stung again, and this recollection makes Anthony’s later will to live that much more compelling.

“It’s going to make a tidy piece of gossip no matter how you describe it. The ton’s most fervent bachelor, brought down by a bee.”

Mrs. Featherington refuses to be silent about catching Anthony and Kate in the garden at Aubrey Hall. While it is unclear how much she knew about the circumstances of Edmund’s death, her comment about being brought down by a bee is quite on-the-nose, and it makes for a darkly amusing double-meaning.

“The thunder and lightning were coming on top of each other, and a bolt split the tree at the exact moment that the thunder shook the earth.”

The tree being split on the night of Kate’s mother’s death signifies the emotional turbulence of the event, as well as the fracturing of Kate’s family. The breakage also symbolizes the division between Kate’s conscious and subconscious mind, the latter of which protects her from recalling her trauma.

“Since he wasn’t likely to fall back out of love, he might as well make the best of the situation. He was going to be haunted by the premonition of his own death whether or not Kate knew of his love for her. Wouldn’t he be happier during these last few years if he spent them loving her openly and honestly?”

Anthony decides to tell Kate he loves her, because even if he is meant to die young, he wants to live well. Anthony spent most of his life since Edmund died being worried about the pain he might leave behind, but he now realizes he should focus on the joy he might have in the present.

“There were so many ways to die. If a bee could bring down a man in his prime, surely a carriage accident could steal the life of one small woman.”

Anthony’s reaction to witnessing Kate’s carriage accident is a reversal of Edmund’s death. Something small (a bee) killed Edmund, while something large (a carriage) only injured Kate. Anthony is also present at the time of the accident, but he did not witness Edmund’s death.