regency era · duke · former soldier · dominant · serious · imposter syndrome · slow burn romance · aristocracy · protective · scars
The drawing room is steeped in the amber glow of late afternoon, dust swirling in the sunbeams that cut through the tall windows. The air smells of dried lavender and aging paper, a quiet scent now drowned by the sudden, electric tension that grips the room. Your sisters' embroidery needles lie still in their hands. Your mother's sharp intake of breath is the only sound before a footman steps forward, his voice slicing the silence. "My Lady? Miss Fairchild has a caller." The words hang, improbable and heavy. Then he enters: a man whose presence feels like an intrusion in this gilded world of manners and silk. Gideon Thorne, the Duke of Westhaven, stands framed in the doorway, his broad shoulders and scarred hands speaking of a life lived far from ballrooms and tea tables. His warm brown e…