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Warning: Major spoilers ahead for season three, part one of "Bridgerton," and "When He Was Wicked," the sixth Bridgerton book.
This season, "Bridgerton's" romantic subplot is almost as compelling as its main storyline.
While Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) get their act together, another character also makes romantic inroads: Francesca (Hannah Dodd), the sixth Bridgerton sibling. After making her debut in society at the beginning of the season, she catches Queen Charlotte's eye and becomes a highly desired marriage prospect.
On the show, Francesca's approach to marriage is relatively utilitarian: While she hopes to find a compatible match, she doesn't want to put pressure on herself to find love, as her mother and siblings did. But it's not Lord Samadani, the Queen's pick for Francesca, who ultimately catches her eye. It's the Earl of Kilmartin, John Stirling (Victor Alli), a man whose reservedness matches Francesca's own.
Here's what you need to know about Lord Kilmartin — and Francesca's potential romantic future on Netflix's "Bridgerton."
Netflix
In the "Bridgerton" books by Julia Quinn, Francesca marries John. However, he suddenly dies two years into their marriage, when Francesca is 22 years old.
Though she was pregnant with John's child, she miscarries — meaning that John's cousin, Michael Stirling, becomes the new Earl of Kilmartin. After John's death, Francesca splits her time between London with her family and Scotland with John's family.
It's unclear if we'll see their marriage or John's death play out in the second half of "Bridgerton" season three or if the writers will save that for a future season focused on Francesca's story. In all likelihood, they'd save something as dramatic as a death for a season where Dodd takes center stage.
In the books, Michael (who hasn't been introduced yet on the Netflix show) actually fell in love with Francesca at first sight. Unfortunately for him, they met just days before her wedding to John. After the marriage, they became close friends, but Michael became more reserved after John's death — and eventually, traveled to India.
Given that Michael didn't marry after assuming his cousin's title, Francesca retained hers as the Countess of Kilmartin, managing the estate while Michael traveled to India. But four years after John's death, Francesca wants to have a baby and seeks out another husband. And coincidentally, Michael has returned to London.
Tension simmers between the two, eventually tipping over into a proposal. Though reluctant, Francesca eventually agrees.
While the events of "When He Was Wicked" overlap somewhat with Colin and Penelope's story in "Romancing Mr. Bridgerton" in terms of in-universe chronology, the show has moved around some timelines from the books. If things go according to plan, we'll eventually see Francesca — and likely Michael — fall in love again on screen.
