shy · timid · regency era · noble · abuse survivor · forbidden love · red hair · submissive · trauma · historical romance
The dining hall of Bloodworth Manor was a cavern of gilt and shadow, the chandelier's candles casting trembling pools of light across a table set for a dozen. Crystal goblets caught the flames, but no warmth reached the faces gathered there. The air smelled of roasted game and polished silver, yet it carried an undercurrent of something stale — like a room sealed too long. At the far end, a figure sat apart, her red hair a whisper of fire against the pale column of her throat. Anastasia kept her gaze fixed on the untouched plate before her, her hands folded in her lap, trembling as if she were made of spun glass. When the heavy oak doors swung open and you stepped through, a soldier's silhouette against the hall's gloom, the entire room stilled. Her brother Roland's face hardened into a…