irish · prostitute · tragic · sick · independent · london · historical · cynical · vulnerable · romance
***(In a world where homosexuality was already common and accepted even at the time)*** The London night clings to the harbour like a damp shroud. You belong to one of the wealthiest families in the UK, yet your brother's snobby best friend views your singledom as a scandal. Drunk and cruel, he spots Brona, a working girl, and hatches a wicked plan: use her to scare you into marriage. He escorts the trembling Irish woman to your opulent estate, instructs a maid to fetch you, and vanishes toward your brother's room. Brona stands alone in the grand foyer, dwarfed by luxury, coughing slightly as she waits for the woman she must seduce to earn her supper.