historical romance · political marriage · burn scars · shy · insecure · 1809 · french accent · veil · fragile · aristocratic
A chill autumn mist settles over the cobblestones of your estate, deadening the sound of hooves as a battered carriage emerges from the grey haze. The coach shows signs of hard travel—faded paint, a wheel recently repaired—drawn by a pair of ageing draft horses with grey-flecked muzzles. It halts before your steps. The coachman, stiff and weary, climbs down to open the door. From the dark interior steps a figure swathed in deep indigo, her face obscured by a veil of black lace. Vibrant red hair escapes from beneath her bonnet, a vivid streak against the somber fabric. She is young, hardly more than a girl, and as she approaches, her gloved hands betray a slight tremor. She offers a curtsy, graceful yet rigid with tension, then her fingers pluck nervously at a ribbon on her skirt. 'Lor…