‘Bridgerton’: A Guide to Francesca & Michaela’s Spicy Book Scenes Before Season 5

There’s a reason we ranked Julia Quinn’s When He Was Wicked as the spiciest of all eight Bridgerton books. Francesca and the rakish Michael (Michaela in the Bridgerton show) both know their way around the bedroom when they begin their relationship. Years before they fall in love, Francesca is married to Michael’s cousin, who died unexpectedly. Devastated, Francesca and Michael form a close friendship in their grief. Unbeknownst to Francesca, Michael has guiltily harbored feelings for Francesca since they met, which eventually leads him to leave town. (Bridgerton Season 4 ends on that note.)

The angst only gets more intense from there, as does the heat. Though Francesca is angry at Michael for leaving, they manage to become friends again — and eventually lovers. For Francesca, no romantic feelings are involved at the start (or at least, she isn’t aware of them), but she can’t deny her attraction to him. Once their relationship turns physical, Francesca struggles with her own guilt about betraying John’s memory before accepting Michael’s love and returning it. They get their happily ever after, just like all of the other Bridgerton siblings and their love interests.

Now that we know Bridgerton Season 5 will focus on Francesca (Hannah Dodd) and Michaela (Masali Baduza), we thought we’d give you a taste of what to expect in the spice department. Of course, the mechanics will differ now that Michaela is gender-swapped, but the show has been following the book’s plot fairly accurately so far in the show. There’s a high chance of the spicy scenes being adapted in Season 5. Get to reading about the fan-favorite (and actor-favorite) cabin scene and more below! (Warning: The below contains spoilers for When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn.)

Liam Daniel / Netflix

Chapter 14

Francesca and Michael don’t get down to business in Chapter 14, but their first kiss is HOT. Francesca is back in Mayfair and has put herself back on the Marriage Mart, which Michael struggles with. A suitor tries to force Francesca into a kiss, but Michael swoops in. Emotions are running high later that day. Hearing that Michael has returned home — they’re both staying at the Kilmartin House in London — Francesca intercepts him to say thank you.

Francesca is sure Michael is angry with her, thinking she’s betraying John by trying to find another husband. (He isn’t, of course. He’s just jealous.) By now, Francesca is realizing how attracted she is to Michael, and she follows him into his bedroom during their argument. They find themselves in close proximity, and Francesca can’t deny that she wants him. Their kiss is so good that Francesca’s legs almost give out. When Michael grazes her chest, though, she realizes it’s too far. Michael tells her to go, and she leaves for Kilmartin House in Scotland the next day.

Chapter 17

Michael follows Francesca to Scotland, where he unexpectedly tells her that they should get married. (He doesn’t admit his feelings and frames it as a practical decision.) After Michael’s proposal, Francesca says they can’t marry, so Michael sets out to seduce her. He knows he can’t sway her with emotion; passion is the answer. He starts by kissing her neck, and Francesca’s protests fall away. He pulls down the neckline of her dress with his teeth, and you can imagine what happens next. Francesca is all for it.

Michael lifts her up onto a table, and Francesca asks him to tell her something wicked — she’s asked him that question for years, but not in this context. Michael decides to tell her everything that he’s going to do to her, and let’s just say, he gets a 10/10 for dirty talk. He uses his fingers on Francesca first, all while describing how he would eat her out. Once she gives him the go-ahead, he follows through on his plan. They move down to the carpet and go all the way.

Chapter 18/19

After their first time, Francesca is overwhelmed with guilt. She decides to leave the house without a word and into the Scottish Highlands. A storm comes, and she uses a tree for cover until Michael finds her. She refuses to go along with him, so Michael resolves to pick her up and put her on his horse. The horse goes lame far away from Kilmartin House. Luckily, the unoccupied gardener’s cabin is nearby, so they warm up there.

Naturally, their evening takes a steamy turn. Michael, letting Francesca initiate intimacy rather than himself, asks about marriage once again. Francesca says she’ll consider it before she kisses him. Taking the lead, Francesca teases Michael this time.”If you want me, you can have me,” she says. “But I’m in charge.”

As she touches herself, Francesca tells Michael he can only take what she allows him to. There’s a lot of boob action to start, and Francesca loses herself to lust quickly. When she can’t figure out what she wants after that, Michael throws out a few suggestions as the more knowledgeable of the two. Eventually, they land on Francesca riding him, which she hasn’t done before. “I’m not a gentle pony,” he says. “I promise, you will have to work to keep your seat.” (Yeah, we also screamed at that line.) He delivers on his promise.

Chapter 21

More angst ensues as Michael tries to court Francesca, who’s still uncertain about accepting his offer of marriage. In Chapter 20, they have sex off-page in the library. Over the next three weeks, they keep returning to each other’s’ beds, and Francesca says she’ll marry Michael if she gets pregnant. After her period comes along, she gets emotional, but she isn’t sure if it’s because there’s no baby or because they won’t get married. Michael shows Francesca how much he missed her, first with his fingers.

Michael had dreams about new things they could do, and he resolves to teach her. But before they can go all the way, Francesca stops him. She wants to, but she can’t. She can’t recognize the person she’s become, someone who feels passion for a man other than John. Michael offers marriage again, leading to another rejection. Michael asks Francesca to leave, and she does briefly. She returns to the house to accept Michael’s proposal, even though she isn’t sure about her feelings for him yet. They sleep together at the end of the chapter, though it doesn’t go into detail.

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Chapter 22

After their quick, simple wedding, Francesca realizes that she’s happy she married Michael, though she has yet to tell him she loves him. After Michael tells Francesca that he loves her. They consummate their marriage that night, with Francesca letting Michael do all the work this time. He starts with her chest (as per usual), but they get right to the main course in no time. After, Francesca remarks it felt different than usual… She’s finally starting to recognize her feelings, at long last!

There’s another bout of angst in the final bit of the book, with Michael coming down with an illness and Francesca nursing him back to health, but no further spicy scenes.

Place your bets now: Do you think Bridgerton Season 5 will be as spicy as the book? Which steamy moments do you hope are adapted? Let us know in the comments below!

Bridgerton, Season 5, TBA, Netflix