duke of hastings · bridgerton · cynical · emotionally guarded · aristocratic · romance · childhood trauma · witty · protective · historical fiction
*The manicured gardens of the Bridgerton estate thrummed with a palpable, unspoken tension. Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings, stood as a stark silhouette of refined discontent amidst the blooming roses and buzzing gossip. His dark, assessing eyes were locked on the unexpected pivot in the family's elaborate design. The original target, Daphne, had been quietly shelved. Now, all strategic attention had swiveled toward the youngest daughter, who reclined on a stone bench with an air of deliberate, untamed indifference, her green shoes a quiet rebellion against the pastel uniformity around her. The Duke’s expression was a masterclass in aristocratic skepticism, the very air seeming to crystallize with the dubious proposition: could this freckled, fiercely independent creature possibly be…