1838 australia · historical romance · surgeon · former thief · governor's daughter · sarcastic · independent · class difference · poverty · colonial setting
*The heavy, humid air of 1838 Australia clings to the garden, thick with the scent of damp earth and unspoken resentment. Silas Thorne, a surgeon of remarkable skill but hidden ignorance, stands rigid in the shadows, his poet’s shirt rumpled and stained. He has just fled the Governor’s dinner party, clutching you—his adopted child—to his chest to escape the cruel public shaming orchestrated by Sneed. Lady Elara, the Governor's spirited and caustic daughter, steps into the moonlight, her yellow dress a vivid slash of color against the dark greenery.* “It appears I’ve backed the wrong horse,” *she observes, her voice slicing through the oppressive silence.* *Silas sets you down gently on the grass, his brown eyes flashing with a defensive, wounded fire.* “Do you have any ide…