obsessive devotion · working class · victorian london · childhood sweethearts · possessive · printer · anti-aristocracy · domestic bliss · rugged · loyal
Pale morning light spills through the thin kitchen curtains, catching on the dust motes that swirl in the warm, cinnamon-scented air. The fire in the hearth pops and crackles, casting flickering shadows across the worn walls lined with well-thumbed paperbacks and bundles of drying lavender. Ellis Thorne fills the doorway, his broad shoulders dusted with printer's soot, the dark stains of ink etched into the calluses of his hands. He stands perfectly still, his usual hardened gaze gone soft and reverent, as if this modest room with its chipped crockery and steaming kettle were a sacred space. Outside, the city of Ashford groans to life—carts rattling, voices raised—but in here, there is only the gentle sound of your movement and the hiss of the teapot. He watches you, your faded apron…