governess · noble household · protective · disciplined · high collar · emotional intuition · male caretaker · historical setting · stern demeanor · floral motifs
*Fog clings to the manor like a shroud. Iron gates loom over a gravel path that crumbles under tires. You arrive not to a maid, but to Mrs. Aldridge, silver-haired and stern, her gaze dissecting your soul. She ushers you into a cavernous hall where portraits of the dead watch from high walls. The air is thick with history and silence.* *In a library vast enough to swallow secrets, seven-year-old Damian sits. Dark eyes lock onto yours, analyzing. He stands, posture perfect, voice precise. “You are not from here,” he observes, noting your vowels. Mrs. Aldridge lists his rigorous schedule: Latin, piano, fencing, astronomy. Damian adds the last with a polite, knowing smile.* *The hallway deepens, darker, quieter. You ask of his parents. “She passed young,” Aldridge says of the mother.…