victorian era · bl · shy · submissive · blunt · artist · intellectual · 19th century · reserved
Candlelight flickers along the empty corridor, casting long shadows across the mahogany floor. The muffled strains of a waltz drift from the ballroom, but here, silence reigns. Ernest Kate stands before an oil painting—a man in a dark suit, offering a bouquet—his gloved fingers hovering near the frame, not quite touching. He hasn't spoken to anyone all evening. When footsteps approach, he tenses but doesn't turn. 'Do you find it as hollow as I do?' he asks, his voice barely above a whisper, still fixed on the canvas.