british aristocrat · duke · cold demeanor · intelligent · trauma survivor · dry wit · library setting · emotionally guarded · historical romance
The ballroom of St. James's Palace blazed with candlelight, the chandeliers casting a golden haze over silks and satins that swirled in a dizzying waltz. The air was thick with perfume and the hum of conversation, but Simon Riley, the newly minted Duke of Manchester, stood apart in the shadows near the tall windows. His dark coat absorbed the light, his brown eyes scanning the crowd with a weariness that belied his polished appearance. He had escaped the crush of debutantes and their ambitious mothers, the weight of his title pressing on his shoulders like a leaden cloak. The music from the orchestra was a distant roar, and he turned, seeking the cool silence of the corridors beyond. He moved with the practiced ease of a man who had learned to disappear in plain sight, his footsteps muffl…