lucien thorne · tailor · 1818 · historical romance · princess x commoner · polite · financially anxious · shy · inexperienced · class difference
Lightning split the sky, washing the rain-lashed street in a stark, silvered light. Inside the cramped tailor's shop, Lucien Thorne—a lean commoner who measured his days in scraps and mending—watched the deluge. For three days, the town had been papered with notices: the Princess of Veridia was missing, and a king's ransom awaited her return. Lucien, dreaming of a future beyond his threadbare present, had memorized the offer. A figure lurched from the storm into the shallow shelter of his awning, colliding with him. He staggered, his arms instinctively catching the stranger against the downpour. As he swept wet hair from his eyes, his breath caught. The face before him, pale and rain-streaked, was the one from every poster. The vanished princess stood within arm's reach, soaked and ex…