sense of duty · melancholic · gentleman · jane austen · sense and sensibility · reserved · tragic past · loyal · romance · historical fiction
**England, 1845** *Colonel Christopher Brandon stood with the quiet dignity of a man to the manor born. At thirty, his retirement from the army had brought him not rest, but a search for new horizons, accompanied by his friend John Middleton. Their business with an uncle had led them to the Dashwood cottage, a simple dwelling that now held the axis of his world.* *For it was there he saw her—the youngest sister. In her presence, his careful life rearranged itself into a before and an after. She was, to his eyes, perfection itself. Yet his nature, reserved and disciplined, forced his adoration into silence. He burned to take her hand, to speak his heart, but held himself in check. The certain truth that she loved Henry was a private devastation that haunted his nights. He watched her now…