Because of Miss Bridgerton (rokesbys, #1)

Set in 1779 in Kent, England, the novel follows two neighboring families: the Bridgertons of Aubrey Hall and the Rokesbys of Crake House, who have lived three miles apart for generations with their children growing up almost as siblings. The story centers on Billie Bridgerton, the 23-year-old eldest daughter of Viscount Bridgerton, and George Rokesby, the 27-year-old heir to the Earl of Manston, lifelong antagonists.

The novel opens with Billie stranded on the roof of an abandoned farmhouse after climbing a tree to rescue a stray cat. The animal scratched her and sent them both tumbling onto the roof, where she sprained her ankle. When help arrives, it comes in the unwelcome form of George. He finds a ladder and examines her ankle, but the cat darts between his legs. Billie grabs him to prevent a fall, and the ladder topples, leaving them both stranded. If they are reported missing overnight together, the scandal could force a marriage, a prospect that horrifies them equally.

George's younger brother Andrew Rokesby, a Royal Navy lieutenant home recovering from a broken arm, arrives and props the ladder into place. George coaches Billie through the painful descent and sweeps her into his arms. He carries her toward Crake House, and during the walk, his thoughts reveal a lifetime of feeling separate from the family. While his brothers Edward and Andrew, his sister Mary, and Billie formed a tight childhood foursome, George was always five years older and burdened with the duties of an heir, never permitted to take a military commission. As he carries her, George notices for the first time that Billie is "actually rather pretty." She falls asleep in his arms, and he finds he does not mind.

At Crake House, Billie borrows a gown for dinner with both families. When George carries her downstairs, the task feels unexpectedly intimate; he tells her she looks "rather fetching," flustering them both. At dinner, Lady Manston, George's mother, steers conversation toward eligible matches for George, and Lady Bridgerton, Billie's mother, announces a house party to celebrate Andrew's homecoming. When Lady Bridgerton publicly reminds Billie to attend in a dress, humiliating her, George squeezes her hand under the table in comfort.

After dinner, George and Billie share a private conversation in the Crake library. George suggests that Andrew should "just marry" Billie, reflecting the general expectation that she will wed one of the younger Rokesby brothers. Billie concedes she would probably accept if asked, but the exchange reveals her deeper anxiety: She has served as her father's eldest son, managing Aubrey Hall's lands and earning the tenants' respect. Once her younger brother Edmund inherits, she fears she will become superfluous.

During Billie's convalescence, George accompanies Andrew on a visit and bonds with Billie over agricultural management. When George tells Billie she treats Andrew "like a brother" but implies he does not view her the same way, the tension becomes palpable. A heated argument follows in which George accuses Billie of recklessness and Billie accuses him of disapproving of everything about her. He nearly kisses her but catches himself and flees, shaken by his attraction to the last woman he ever expected to desire.

The house party begins. George's sister Mary Maynard (née Rokesby) privately warns Billie not to marry a Rokesby brother so casually, insisting she deserves a husband of equal intelligence. At dinner, George grows jealous watching Sir Reginald McVie, a house party guest, charm Billie, while Billie fumes at Lady Alexandra Fortescue-Endicott, a fellow house party guest, for monopolizing George. The next day, Billie organizes a Pall Mall match, a competitive lawn game played with mallets and balls. She secretly recruits George as her ally against Andrew, and their whispered strategizing creates a bubble of intimacy. During a quiet moment, Billie realizes she wants to kiss George, a revelation that overwhelms her.

The game is interrupted when Mary's husband, Felix Maynard, arrives with devastating news: A military messenger has reported that Captain Edward Rokesby went missing on March 22, 1779, in Connecticut Colony. George carries Billie to the house, where they find Lady Manston sobbing and Lord Manston weeping silently. Andrew volunteers to seek reassignment to the colonies, but Lady Manston forbids it. George takes charge, declaring they will pause before deciding how to proceed.

The house party ends abruptly. The next day, Billie finds George at Crake House, brittle with frustration. He cannot go to the colonies, cannot fight, and feels helpless. When Billie asks what he wants, he answers that he wants her. He kisses her passionately, and she kisses him back. When he pulls away and calls it a mistake, Billie refuses his offer of marriage, insisting he only kissed her because he was upset. George asks if she wants him to kiss her again. She consents, and their connection deepens until Lady Manston's approaching footsteps force them apart.

Lady Manston announces that Billie will accompany her and George to London, where George will make inquiries about Edward at the War Office. George avoids Billie for days, tormented by his attraction. One evening, he pauses outside her bedroom door and acknowledges to himself that he has fallen in love with her. She opens the door, and they share a conversation about duty and stewardship. George articulates a new acceptance of his role: If his brothers risk their lives for King and Country, he and Billie should make it a country worth fighting for. When he half-jokingly offers to propose, Billie panics and sends him away, afraid he is teasing. Alone afterward, she realizes she loves him.

Lady Manston ropes Billie into attending Lady Wintour's ball. Lord Arbuthnot, a retired general, asks George to deliver a coded message at the ball to Robert Tallywhite, Lady Wintour's nephew. George agrees, seeing it as a chance to serve his country. At the event, Billie enters in a crimson gown that leaves George stunned. Just as he is about to dance with her, Arbuthnot intercepts him and redirects him to a pub, where George delivers his message and is forced to stay for hours. Billie dances every dance and is a social success, but she is heartbroken that George abandoned her.

After three in the morning, George returns to find Billie waiting in his bedroom, furious and tearful. He confesses that watching her dance with another man was agony. He kisses her, and this time neither pulls away. Before they go further, George demands that Billie promise to marry him. She agrees, and they consummate their relationship.

The next morning, Arbuthnot reveals the errand was a test and asks George to deliver a package to a posting inn on the Kent coast, claiming it could help find Edward. George refuses, declaring he will serve his country by being a good steward rather than a covert agent. Billie, who has overheard, bursts in and volunteers. George forbids it and, in front of Arbuthnot and his mother, declares his love, saying that losing Billie would destroy him. Billie replies that she loves him too. Lady Manston reveals she had been engineering their match all along, confessing it was "always George" in her mind. The couple decides to return to Kent and marry rather than stay for the London Season, the elite social calendar of balls and matchmaking events.

In the epilogue, set several months later, Billie and George are happily married at Crake House. Billie continues managing Aubrey Hall's lands alongside new responsibilities, playfully competing with George over barley harvests. A late-night messenger delivers an urgent letter. George opens it and announces that Edward is alive.