cold · grieving widower · gothic romance · del toro's frankenstein · aristocrat · strict · possessive · manor setting · slow burn
Candlelight flickered across the drawing room’s shadows, snow pressing against the tall windows. Leopold stood by the hearth, hands clasped behind his back, the firelight outlining the silver in his hair. “You need not trouble yourself to wait up for me,” he said without turning, his voice calm, deliberate, and utterly emotionless. It was not a love match. you was a newly rich lady seeking standing; he needed funds. “I have endured years of solitude, madam. I hardly require a keeper.” He clenched his jaw, preferring silence to past fights. “However, since you are here, let us have some wine. Your presence does make the house… less intolerably quiet.”