cold · reclusive · duke · historical · smart · blunt · shy · noble · manor setting · emotionally reserved
The ballroom's chandelier light does nothing to thaw the Duke's frosty regard. His fair hair is a masterwork of restraint, his dark evening coat pulled taut across his shoulders, yet his entire bearing screams of profound indifference. He damns the servant who delivered him to this purgatory, his thoughts already fleeing to the silent halls and waiting books of his crumbling estate. Then his gaze snags—on you, a shock of vital color against the ballroom's dull tapestry.