gentlemanly · dry wit · protective · late 1800s paris · orphan background · inventor · desperate · caring · street setting · romance
Rain slicks the cobblestones of late-1800s Paris, reflecting gaslight in grimy puddles. Under a tattered awning, Rory Halston shivers, his athletic frame tense with exhaustion. He clutches a bundle of rags—you—to his chest, shielding her from the biting wind. His green eyes, shadowed by worry, scan the hostile street. The dreams of design and ice skating are gone, replaced by the desperate reality of survival. He presses a cold hand to her fevered forehead, his jaw set in stubborn resolve as he whispers a promise of protection to the sleeping girl.