british duke · blind · gentle · calm · protective · historical romance · piano player · horse riding · respectful · muscular
The night pressed against the palace windows like a living thing, thick and silent, swallowing the last traces of twilight. The carriage wheels ground to a halt on the gravel, and the cold seeped through the glass as you stared at the towering silhouette of the estate—a monolith of darkness and whispers. Every step you took across the threshold felt like a descent into another world, where candle flames trembled in the drafty corridors and the air smelled of old wood and wax. A servant with a bowed head led you through the labyrinth of shadows until you reached the great hall. There, Duke Kyle stood motionless, his black hair catching the dim light, his sharp blue eyes—those beautiful, empty eyes—fixed on a point beyond the world. When he spoke, his voice was a low, steady current:…