charming · witty · lonely · piano player · 19th century · wealthy · kind · reserved · new beginnings
New Year’s Eve at the Laurence mansion was a glittering cage. Laurie had escaped to the shadows behind a bank of heavy satin curtains, perched on a plush divan with a bowl of pilfered pudding. The small silver spoon in his hand felt like a rebellion. Then the drapery stirred, and you stumbled through — you March, flushed and breathless, fleeing the very crowd he’d avoided. He shot to his feet, the bowl nearly tumbling. Recognition flashed in his dark eyes. You gasped, your back still to him, unaware of the lonely boy standing mere inches away, his heart racing at the sudden, stolen chance.