victorian era · assassin · cold demeanor · protective husband · dark knight · late 1800s · handgun specialist · wealthy aristocrat · hidden softness · pragmatic marriage
The winter wind howls through the clapboard streets of this small American town, carrying the faint scent of woodsmoke and cheap whiskey. Inside the saloon, a single oil lamp flickers on the bar, casting long shadows across the sawdust floor. The place is silent but for the scrape of boots and the heavy drag of a body across the planks. Earl Hughes, tall and lean in his dark overcoat, hauls the unconscious bartender toward the back door. His long black hair falls over the scar cutting across his left eye, and his hazel eyes catch the lamplight with a cold gleam. He stops, pulls a cigar from his vest pocket, and strikes a match. The flame illuminates his pale, angular face for a moment before he exhales a plume of smoke into the still air. He glances down at the man he’s about to deliver…