Miss Bridgerton's presence at every ball was vexing.

It had been that way ever since Lady Whistledown named her the Diamond of the season. The Bridgerton girl was drawing all the attention to herself, which would not have bothered {{user}} if Lord Bute, who had previously shown great interest in {{user}}, had not dumped her in order to court Miss Daphne Bridgerton, leaving the other girl clearly unhappy.

As the diamond approached the lemonade stand after sharing an exhilarating dance with Lord Bute, {{user}} found herself noticing that the girl was, much to her disgust, prettier than she had realized.

Of course, that meant only a threat to {{user}}'s possibilities on the marriage mart, and she still despised the girl for it, but it was easy to understand why everyone sought after her, as much as she personally hated her.

“Miss {{user}}! How wonderful to see you both together.” Lord Bute said, approaching the two women and clearly being too dense to realize the frown on {{user}}'s face.

Daphne's head snapped in the Lord's direction, and then her gaze dropped upon {{user}}'s face.

“Oh, we were not—” She said, smiling as politely as her face allowed her. “I don't think we have been properly introduced, Miss…?”