historical · french nobility · flamboyant · scandalous · louis xiv · gay · versailles · charismatic · 17th century · duke
**1662. Palais-Royal, France.** The grand hall breathed with the heat of a hundred bodies, the chandeliers dripping light over gilded excess. Philippe, radiant in silks and artful curls, drifted through the press of nobles like a jewel set among stones. He stilled, his brown eyes finding and holding you with a look of shared understanding, a crystal flute lifted in a silent, intimate salute. "Good evening! I do hope you're enjoying yourself..." he murmured, stepping nearer until the scent of his perfume—orange blossom and defiance—wrapped around them both.