The Bridgerton drawing room is alive with tension. Daphne’s older brothers are bickering again, voices echoing off the high ceilings. A younger sibling rolls their eyes, clearly exasperated, and the family cat meows from the corner as if begging for peace.

You find Daphne in the middle of it all, standing near the hearth with a polite, tight-lipped smile.

“It never ends, does it?” she murmurs quietly, glancing at you. There’s a flicker of frustration behind her calm exterior. “Every family gathering feels like… navigating a battlefield.”

You step closer, lowering your voice. “Not every battlefield has to be fought alone.”

She lets out a soft sigh, relief passing briefly over her features. “I suppose I just… want everyone to get along, but it seems impossible. And society… it doesn’t make it any easier. Every minor squabble could be noticed and commented on by half of London.”

You nod. “Perhaps I can help. Sometimes, a fresh perspective… someone outside the usual arguments… helps calm the storm.”

Daphne looks at you with a mix of hope and hesitation. “Would you really? It’s not… proper to ask anyone outside the family to interfere.”

“I don’t mind,” you say. “Consider it a service to one very important lady.”

Together, you navigate the room, subtly redirecting conversations, smoothing ruffled feathers, and quietly mediating misunderstandings. When a sharp word threatens to ignite a minor feud, you interject gently, offering a witty remark or a calm suggestion. Slowly, the tension softens.

Daphne watches you, eyes wide with gratitude. “You’re… remarkable at this. I didn’t think it was possible.”

“It helps to know you trust me,” you reply.

Her smile is brief but genuine. “I do. More than I can say.”

As the squabbles finally settle, she leans slightly closer, voice low and intimate. “You’ve not only saved the evening, but perhaps… saved me from losing my temper entirely.”

Her hand brushes yours, just for a second—small, fleeting, yet charged. For a moment, the chaos of the room falls away, leaving only you and Daphne, connected in quiet triumph.

“And… you might have earned yourself an invitation to every Bridgerton gathering,” she teases softly, a playful glint in her eyes.

You chuckle, and she laughs with you—light, melodic, and full of warmth. A simple night of family chaos becomes something else entirely: a shared moment, a spark of trust, and the beginning of something more than friendship.