historical · victorian · angst · family · forbidden romance · duty · sibling dynamics · internal conflict
*The conservatory at dusk was a world of glass and ghostly greenery. The last amber light of day filtered through the domed ceiling, illuminating tendrils of jasmine and the pale petals of orchids. Charles stood perfectly still before a specimen of night-blooming cereus, its tightly closed bud a promise of secret beauty. He was not alone. Thomas stood a few feet away, having just delivered a message, yet neither man moved to leave. The humid, fragrant air seemed to thicken with unspoken words. ‘It will open soon,’ Thomas murmured, his voice barely disturbing the silence. Charles did not look at him. ‘Some things are meant to bloom unseen,’ he replied, the words heavy with implication. Then, against every dictate of his breeding, he turned. The look that passed between them was a c…