VISCOUNTESS

change pronouns and gendered nouns as necessary.

“it has been weeks since your last letter.”

“i cannot stay here, ____.”

“i was willing to give him my heart. my life.”

“my mind is made up, i leave tomorrow. what is left for me here?”

“whatever pain you feel now, in time, it will pass.”

“_____ doesn’t deserve to be spoken of with such contempt.”

“you look uncommonly pale.”

“i must confess my thoughts are wayward. i cannot explain it.”

“perhaps ____ simply ran out of things to say. it happens in every marriage.”

“i have acted so foolishly.”

“seek her out. explain yourself.”

“a frank apology is the remedy that she needs.”

“you’re tiring me with all these questions.”

“you have not one word to say?”

“tell him i cannot see him.”

“he cannot be the only reason for you to be here.”

“a friend would oblige me with the truth, not enjoy secret laughter at my expense.”

“what does it matter now? the damage is done.”

“i hope you will forgive me for my part in the deceit.”

“i don’t suppose you would mind… chaperoning me?”

“i cannot regret the intention of my words, but i regret the way i expressed them.”

“is that an apology?”

“then it seems you have some thinking ahead of you.”

“there is a certain alchemy that occurs when a painter and a sitter are alone.”

“i am the winner, am i not?”

“excuse me, i’m very tired all of a sudden.”

“i’m sorry this is such an ordeal.”

“i know i’m the last person you would seek comfort from now, but i know you better than anyone.”

“it frightens me to see you like this.”

“i’m just a little dizzy, that’s all.”

“don’t feign shock, ____, you agreed to this.”

“i didn’t agree to poison her!”

“this seems especially cruel, ____, even for you.”

“there’s something different about you tonight. a new brightness in your eyes.”

“his shame, not mine. why should i hide away?”

“_____ tells me there will be some highly eligible gentlemen here.”

“i hope that you will be dancing this evening.”

“_____, permit me the honor of the first dance.”

“does that suggest you have been giving some thought to your future, ____?”

“for my own pride, i cannot let this stand.”

“i am hardly inclined to believe you since you have made no attempt to explain your actions.”

“i beg you, do me the honor of the next dance.”

“i will not dance with you.”

“i came only to say i was fool enough to indulge your falsehoods, but please consider your behavior. perhaps you may spare the next girl.”

“she bears you no more love than i do.”

“i trust you are having a pleasant evening.”

“she did very well to interrupt us, i did not like that dance at all.”

“come, we must go before you humiliate yourself further.”

“i don’t know what kind of spell you’ve put on him.”

“i… you know i do not dance.”

“were you going to tell me?”

“this is me telling you.”

“so this is goodbye?”

“_____, there you are! i thought you’d disappeared.”

“i cannot explain the effect you’ve had, ____, on all of us.”

“you will think of something, ____. you always do.”

“what would i do without you, _____?”

“you are allowed to have feelings for another man. that is not a betrayal.”

“you surprise me constantly.”

“nothing would delight me so much as to be constant to you.”

“i wish you to be my wife.”

“i thought i’d been clear. i do not wish to marry.”

“i play no game. i am perfectly serious.”

“love will grow if you let it.”

“i know who i am. i’ve never pretended to be anyone else.”

“what is it? what did he say to you?”

“abandoned and in want of friends again, i see.”

“how do you always find the most perfect words of comfort?”

“we are at a ball, you are wearing the most beautiful gown here, and i must insist we dance.”

“you are mocking me once again.”

“simple is not plain. true beauty needs no adornment.”

“i say to you now in all sincerity that you have never looked lovelier.”

“that is worth all the more, coming from the rudest man i know.”

“this is what i tried to warn you of.”

“you didn’t warn me of anything.”

“you ordered me to avoid him and gave no reason.”

“my only thought was to protect you from a man i knew to be dangerous.”

“he told me you were not to be trusted.”

“i have had enough of these endless riddles and evasions, of trying to find meaning in your silences.”

“this is not the place.”

“i must know who you are.”

“how i will miss your sense of humor.”

“i was not expecting you.”

“i’ll tell you everything tomorrow.”

“i would never harm him, i’m comforting him!”

“i never thought what strangers she and i had become.”

“the words i spoke torment me to this day.”

“i so wanted to tell you, but i was afraid of what you would think of me.”

bridgerton starters.

it could very well be that sophie, had not been thinking at all. of course, the vicountess was not mocking her. perhaps it had most to do with the second eldest bridgerton son and less to do with the whole house and it's excitement for the return of the viscount and vicountess, along with the latest edition. the whole house was alive, and buzzing still. and it became very clear, that sophie was well out of her depth in her understanding. well, anything at this point. she was most ashamed she had been out of turn with the vicountess.

a fond smile graced her features at the girl's apologetic explanation. with her daughter in one arm she used her free hand to wave her concerns aside. " come now, no need for that. i assure you, the last thing i'm worried about is a discussion that was never meant for my ears in the first place. " her laugh was warm as she settled down on the edge of a couch. she combed her fingers gently through her daughter's curls as she studied the other. " if i may ask, " she started slowly and cautiously as if worried she would scare the girl away. " i have been away for quite some time, so perhaps i have missed a lot. it sounds like you stayed at benedict's cottage ? "

you must know... surely, you must know it was all for you.

you are too generous to trifle with me.

if your feelings are still what they were last april, tell me so at once.

my affections and wishes have not changed, but one word from you will silence me forever.

you have bewitched me, body and soul, and i love... i love you.

i never wish to be parted from you from this day on.

i have struggled in vein and i can bear it no longer.

these past months have been a torment.

i came to [location name] with the single object of seeing you. i had to see you.

are you too proud, [name]? and would you consider pride a fault or a virtue?

we're doing our best to find a fault in you.

i have fought against my better judgement, my family's expectations, the inferiority of your birth by rank and circumstance.

you really do love him, don't you?

please, do be seated.

this is a charming house.

all these things i am willing to put aside and ask you to end my agony.

how are you this evening, my dear?

may i have the next dance, [name]?

my brother gave it to me. he shouldn't have.

i wish you would not call me "my dear."

what endearments am i allowed?

what should i call you when i am cross?

i cannot believe that anyone can deserve you... but it appears i am overruled.

are you out of your senses? i thought you hated the man.

have you no objection other than your belief in my indifference?

i do like him. i love him.

only the deepest love will persuade me into matrimony, which is why i will end up an old maid.

i love you. most ardently.

please do me the honor of accepting my hand.

i appreciate the struggle you have been through, and i am very sorry to have caused you pain.

believe me, it was unconsciously done.

are you... laughing at me?

i wonder who first discovered the power of poetry in driving away love?

i thought that poetry was the food of love.

what do you recommend to encourage affection?

i'm very fond of walking.

i do not have the talent of conversing easily with people i have never met before.

perhaps you should take your aunt's advice and practice?

so this is your opinion of me. thank you for explaining it so fully.

those are the words of a gentleman.

from the first moment i met you, your arrogance and conceit, your selfish disdain for the feelings of others made me realize that you were the last man in the world i could ever be prevailed upon to marry.

forgive me for taking up so much of your time.

maybe it's that i find it hard to forgive the follies and vices of others, or their offenses against me.

my good opinion, once lost, is lost forever.

i cannot tease you about that. what a shame, for i dearly love to laugh.

i will not and i certainly never shall.

you have insulted me in every possible way, and can now have nothing further to say.

i must ask you to leave immediately.

i have never been thus treated in my entire life.

i can admire you much better from here.

do you talk, as a rule, while dancing?

i prefer to be unsociable and taciturn.

i dare say you will find him amiable.

it would be most inconvenient since i have sworn to loathe him for all eternity.

no one would suspect your manners to be rehearsed.

i've come to tell you the news.

not all of us can afford to be romantic.

i've been so blind.

they are far too easy to judge.

i was wrong. i was entirely wrong about him.

i am well aquainted with you, [name], to know that i cannot alarm you, even should i wish it.

your skills in the art of matchmaking are positively occult.

i've never seen so many pretty girls in my life!

i do not deny it.

has the pig escaped again?

❝   correct me if I'm wrong, miss sharma— and I dearly hope I am wrong but,   ❞ nikolai leans towards her conspiratorially, though audacious nonetheless. tonight he was a prince amongst an unmarried audience, escaping a flock of eager mamas and daughters queueing up, with only the excuse of seeking fresh air in his armoury. but tonight, he also is a detective, an unraveler of mysteries as he'd call himself: and he's taken up the case of the elder sharma sibling & her decided ignorance of him. ❝   have I offended you in any way? you seem to have been avoiding me.   ❞

the following is a collection of sentence starters from season 1, episodes 1-2, of netflix’s bridgerton.

you do not know me, and you never shall.

do not worry, (name). it shall all be over in a matter of … hours.

the only thing i shall worry about, (name), is if i am to go before (title / name) looking anything like you in that ill-fitting frock.

i am already roasting!

are you to complain the entire day, (name)?

surely i cannot be expected to bear these fashions the entire day.

i feel like a princess. do i look like one?

do you truly wish to know what i think you look like?

i have imagined this day for so very long. and now it is finally here.

i would never miss such an important day for you and our family.

flawless, my dear.

did that truly just happen?

keep smiling, dearest. they are watching you. now more than ever.

you absolutely sparkled, (name)!

come now, i merely simpered and minced in a pretty dress like everyone else.

one flies too close to the sun, and …

what would you know of handsome suitors?

oh, this one is quite ravishing.

do not tell me that is yet another scandal sheet.

she calls you a … ‘diamond of the first water’. how lovely.

(name), put down that book at once. you shall confuse your thoughts.

you are known to be quite charitable.

the blemishes on her face are quite difficult to conceal. perhaps some arsenic and lead might help?

you too must recognize every eligible nobleman by sight before the danbury ball.

you may wish to listen to her, my lady.

oh, how much competition can this cousin provoke? she came of age on a farm.

someone will hear us, my lord -

i shall have you know this belonged to my father.

should it disappear, i’d miss it sadly.

then you’d know precisely how i feel - every time you disappear.

stay with me today.

(name). you have me, protecting you, too. i shall always protect you.

surely hours remain before tonight's ball. are you certain you cannot stay? in the interest of defilement?

well, if this is not a sight for sore eyes …

you must excuse the disorderliness. i am to host a ball this evening, as you know.

i have managed to keep the details of your return quiet, but when those vulgar mamas discover there is an eligible duke present at tonight's fete, well, i shall no longer be able to keep such a secret.

i suppose a brief appearance shall …

(name) … it is magical.

they are all staring, (name).

oh, i do love to dance.

should you like my flower? we grow them in our very own garden.

i must show you my watercolors some time. if you desire to see them.

(name). i did not see you there.

he is rather pleasing.

i presume you know of him, too?

i shall not have you making life with a poet. heaven forbid!

is there a reason i have yet to see you on the dance floor?

i am not entirely sure the matter in which we discuss, my lord …

you have always amused me, mr/ms. (last name).

am i honestly to believe you do not already know my name?

if you desired an introduction, madam, i do believe accosting me is the least civilized of ways.

if only it were not time for me to retire.

(name). i did not expect to see you here this morning.

i could not sleep for some reason. all the excitement, i presume.

appears as though it may rain.

i believe i should like to stay.

He  does  not  belong  here.    As  more  time  passes,    it  becomes  ever  more  clear  to  him  that  coming  at  all  was  in  error.    Across  the  room,    his  eldest  brother  commands  attention  with  all  the  veneer  of  an  accomplished  world  traveller  and  lord;    if  anyone  cares  that  he  is  nothing  more  than  a  soldier in truth,    they  keep  their  opinions  in  the  sidelong  glances  they  give  each  other  when  Cassian  is  not  looking.    Azriel,    for  his  part,    makes  no  attempt  at  all  to  mingle,    sticking  to  the  outskirts  of  what  feels  as  close  to  half  the  Ton  can  fit  within  such  confining  strictures.    In  such  grandeur,    it  is  easy  to  believe  such  a  farce.

The  setting  suits  his  other  brother  even  better;    in  fact,    if  not  for  the  Marquess  of  Velaris’  endorsement,    two  lowly  soldiers  would  long  have  been  tossed  out.    Azriel  is  not  entirely  convinced  he  would  not  prefer  such  treatment.    The  gossipmongers  come  alive  without  the  fizzing  flutes  passed  around  the  hall,    but  what  they  have  to  say  consists  of  little  significance to him.    He  lingers  in  one  corner  as  long  as  he  can  get  away  from  anyone’s  attention.

It  never  lasts  in  the  likes  of  this  sort  of  company though.    He  is  content,    at  least,    that  the  attention  he  does  finally  receive  is  no  one  so  displeasing.    ❝    Who  said  I  was  looking  at  you?    You  have  grown  so  vain,    Kathani  -  ji,    ❞  tsks  Azriel  with  the  rarest  tilt  of  his  mouth  in  amusement.    He  cuts  a  swift  look  around  before  settling  a  hand  to  his  chest  in  mock  horror.    ❝    Oh,    forgive  me.    It  is  Lady  Bridgerton  now,    is  it  not?    Shall  I  give  a  bow,    too, @kathrani?    ❞

kate's eyes scanned the sea of bodies until they locked onto the disapproving scowl of the attendee. with the way the brothers held themselves, it was often easy to forget their rank amongst the other lords. in that way, kate and azriel were alike. two outsiders who had infiltrated their way into mayfair. a moment of recognition passed between them amidst the exchanged quips and the corners of kate's lips pulled upwards. she lifted her chin stubbornly and for a moment she felt much like the older sharma she had been only months ago. a woman who didn't have to worry about the reputation of the bridgerton family name resting on her shoulders. " i had merely wanted to spare you from the wrath of a much less kinder lord, had they assumed your murderous glares were directed at them. i assure you, my wrath is much more tolerable. "