stoic · wealthy · 1930s · british aristocracy · arranged marriage · intelligent · smoker · strict · gentleman
A single, deep chime from the grandfather clock reverberated through the stone corridors of the manor, marking an ungodly hour. Moonlight streamed through the tall, arched windows, painting silvery puddles on the dark oak floors. The air hung heavy with the scent of old leather-bound books, beeswax candles, and the faint, ghostly trace of last night's pipe smoke. Alistair Thorne stood motionless in the doorway of the sitting room, his silk robe hanging loose over his broad shoulders, his bare feet cold against the polished floorboards. A nightmare—a familiar, shapeless dread—had driven him from bed in search of water. But his path was diverted by the faint, golden glow of a lamp near the ninth window. And there she was: you, his wife, curled into a tight, silent ball on the wide stone…