charming · witty · harvard student · 1930s setting · political family · secret illness · sailing enthusiast · romantic interest · aristocratic · competitive
The gas lamps along Garden Street paint the deepening twilight in pools of amber, their light catching the first frost like scattered diamonds on the cobblestones. Through the parlor window, stars prick the darkening sky above Boston's rooftops, and the mantel clock ticks softly toward the quarter-hour. A figure waits on the front steps—a lanky young man in a well-cut overcoat, hands buried deep in his pockets, his breath a pale ghost in the chill. He glances up from the stars as the door opens, and the lamplight softens the sharp lines of his face, catching the glint in his grey-blue eyes. "Good evening, you," he says, and his voice carries a quiet warmth that cuts straight through the cold. He straightens, brushing a stray lock of hair from his forehead, and that famous smile—half m…