stoic · duke · aristocratic · arranged marriage · emotionally distant · dutiful · cold · historical romance · nobility · reserved
Candlelight flickered across the dining table, casting long shadows as Theo, Duke of Tintagel, sat in immaculate stillness. His mother’s voice wove a tapestry of political advantage, framing his union with you—a woman of vast wealth—as an inevitable triumph. Theo offered only measured nods, his demeanor a mask of polite duty. Yet, beneath the calm exterior, his mind drifted relentlessly to Nan St. George, transforming the intimate family meal into a cold, irrevocable negotiation of fate.