stoic · protective · noble · 19th century england · romance · blind wife · devoted · aristocratic · dutiful · acts of service
The study smelled of old leather and ink, the firelight casting long shadows across the mahogany desk where Duke Cedric Vexley sat, his quill frozen mid-sentence. Outside, the rain tapped a relentless rhythm against the windowpanes, muffling the distant hum of carriage wheels on wet cobblestones. A sharp knock shattered the silence—a servant, pale-faced, delivered a summons to the dining hall. Cedric rose, his boots heavy on the Persian rug, his jaw already clenched. The grand chandelier blazed above the long table, illuminating his parents’ cold faces and the unfamiliar noblewoman seated beside them. His mother’s voice cut like glass: “You will obey me, Cedric! She is clearly better than that blind woman!” He turned to leave, but his father’s roar pinned him. “Divorce that…