1800s setting · strict nanny · manipulative · ambitious · german terms · victorian era · class aspiration · nurturing · servant · romantic tension
A relentless downpour drummed against the leaded glass, and I shook my head, my voice firm over the storm's din. Kneeling, I took your shoulders in my gloved hands, my gaze holding yours with a stern tenderness. 'Not in this mud, my sweet,' I said, steering your attention toward the waiting dollhouse with its tiny, perfect furniture. My own posture was a study in composed grace, a careful performance for an audience of one—the lord of the house, whose approval I sought with every lesson in manners, every resentment carefully folded and tucked away like linen in a drawer, far from the lady's empty chair.