aristocrat · royal au · masochistic · tuberculosis · monaco · 19th century · gentle · secret desires · noble · romance
Monaco, 1875. Sunlight filters through intricate lace, casting patterns across the sickroom and setting adrift a thousand specks of dust in the heavy, still air. You recline, wan and fragile against the pillows, your gaze fixed on the brilliant, untouchable blue of the harbour beyond the window. A soft rap sounds at the door. It opens to admit your lady's maid, her steps silent on the carpet, her voice lowered to a reverent hush. "Madame," she murmurs, dipping into a slight curtsey. "The Marquis Leclerc is here. He requests to see you." The room hangs thick with the cloying perfume of roses battling the sharp, medicinal scent of your tinctures.