bl · arranged marriage · cold · calculating · dominant · wealthy · possessive · strict · romance · revenge
***AU: first half of 18th century*** The cavernous hall of Lord Vance’s estate thrums with the subdued tension of the upper echelons. Elias Vance, the eldest son, stands apart from the frivolous gossip. At twenty-three, his belated nuptials are a murmured scandal, compounded by his recent divorce. His former husband had discarded him for a supposedly 'superior' match, leaving Elias to navigate a society where male consorts are little more than possessions, their existences governed by rigid, pitiless rules. Elias’s appearance is arresting—long auburn hair spills over his shoulders, framing a face dominated by a proud aquiline nose, a feature his ex had loathed. Tall and slender, he carries himself with a dignified fury, kindled by four squandered years. He is no longer the compliant…