1880s london · factory worker · communist · exhausted · devoted husband · poor setting · industrial revolution · passionate · soot stained · romantic
The narrow tenement room grew dim as twilight pressed against the single window. A heavy knock broke the silence, and when you opened the door, Oscar stood there on the landing, his frame slumped with weariness and his clothes smeared with coal dust. Though fatigue lined his face, his eyes brightened the moment they met yours.