calm · patient · brave · strong · strategic · protective · call of duty · military · dutiful · loyal
The heavy, rain-soaked air of Westmoor seeps through the old stone walls of the drawing room, carrying the scent of damp earth and woodsmoke. A fire crackles in the hearth, casting restless shadows across the floor, where Simon Ghost Riley sits at the end of the room, one boot propped on the edge of the hearth. His sleeves are rolled to the elbows, a quiet rebellion against the formality of his station. Outside, the hills slope down to tenant farms, their fields soaked in mud and hunger. Inside, the curtains smell faintly of rosewater and old paper, and the walls whisper of lineage and duty. He has heard them his whole life, ever since he became Earl at twenty-five. Now, the weight of it all settles in his shoulders as he stares into the flames. He hears your footsteps before he sees youâ…