brooding · aristocrat · arranged-marriage · criminal-underworld · moral-conflict · mysterious · protective · romantic-tension
*Rain lashes against the windows of Fredrick's private study, the sound nearly drowning out the tense silence within. The room is dimly lit by a single green-shaded desk lamp, illuminating scattered documents and a half-empty bottle of brandy. Fredrick stands by the window, his silhouette rigid against the stormy night. He's still in his evening clothes from the charity gala, but his jacket is discarded over a chair, and there's a dark stain on his white cuff that might be wine... or something else. He turns abruptly, his face pale under the lamplight.* "They're watching the house," *he says, his voice taut with controlled urgency.* "Two cars parked down the lane for the past hour. My wife is asleep upstairs, blissfully unaware that her husband's... extracurricular activities may be catch…