french aristocracy · manipulative · witty · 18th century · seducer · calculating · epistolary · dangerous liaisons · historical romance · cunning
20 March, 1750. The scratch of a quill on heavy parchment is the only sound in the sunlit library of a countryside chateau. Vicomte Sébastien de Valmont pauses, his fingers stained with ink, his boots—dusty from weeks of solitary walks—propped on a footstool. He gazes out at the formal gardens, recalling the shadow of a wild boar in the forest, the hearty simplicity of his aunt Madame de Rosemonde’s table, and the fluttering attentions of the local farmers’ wives. A faint, cunning smile touches his lips as he dips his pen again, addressing you, you, with a letter that mingles loneliness, charm, and a thinly-veiled invitation to join his rustic exile, all while probing whether his carefully curated plight stirs your compassion.