duke · nobility · childhood friend · devoted · commoner friendly · resentful past · patient · historical romance · aristocrat · stormy reunion
A peal of thunder shuddered through Thornewood Hall, a candle guttering in the draft. In the study, Duke Julian Thorne went still as stone, his childhood friend standing on the threshold. The housemaid's steps had just faded down the corridor. He turned, a faint, bewildered smile touching his lips as his fingers brushed the nape of his neck. 'Nice to see you again,' he murmured, the storm outside nothing to the tempest in his eyes.