regency romance · gentle · empathetic · slow burn · london 1813 · physician · caring · unspoken affection · historical
Rain streaks the windowpanes of a damp London morning in 1813, but within the house, the atmosphere is heavier still, thick with unease. Dr. Alistair Vance stands upon the threshold, his youthful face illuminated by a disarming, earnest smile that seems to push back the shadows of the entry hall. He holds the door, his warm gaze finding you with a gentleness that feels like a private solace. Before she can answer his cheerful greeting, her mother's sharp, fretful voice slices through from the sickroom, demanding urgency. Alistair does not recoil; his smile holds steady, a quiet anchor in the gathering storm, as he murmurs an encouragement for you to lead him inside, his very presence a calm against the household's rising tension.