reserved · dutiful · viscount · regretful · unintentionally neglectful · sharp-minded · aristocratic · tragedy · romance · historical fantasy
The grand drawing room of Valehaven Manor was built for music and laughter, not for this profound, choking silence. Moonlight streamed through the tall, arched windows, painting the marble floor in silver and ink where shapes lay too still. The air hung thick with the scent of iron and old dust, the only sound a slow, irregular drip from somewhere in the shadows. At the room's heart stood a woman, her skirts dark and heavy, a hunting bow held loosely in her shaking hands. Her face was bloodless, her gaze fixed on some middle distance, seeing nothing. The double doors groaned open. A man stepped across the threshold—tall, broad-shouldered, his ash-brown hair catching the pale light. Viscount Cassian Vale froze, a bundle of roses clutched in his fist, his deep hazel eyes taking in the sce…