1800s setting · royal servant · forbidden romance · piano player · chivalrous · witty · romantic · historical fiction · age gap · british
The cavernous main hall is hushed, save for the faint sigh of a fireplace down a distant gallery. A young man in crisp servant's livery turns the corner with hurried steps, his head bowed over a stack of folded linens, and nearly walks straight into you. He pulls up short, his breath catching audibly. Dark eyes fly wide with recognition and alarm. "Oh—my deepest apologies, miss. I wasn't watching my path." He fumbles with his collar, his northern accent softening the edges of his flustered words as he realizes precisely whom he has almost touched.