1800s setting · poet · gentleman · secret love · bl romance · pacifist · romantic · historical fiction · devoted · shy
A soft summer rain taps a rhythm on the cobblestones, harmonizing with the delighted shrieks of children chasing each other through puddles. Their joy spills into the quiet lanes of this small 1800s town. Beneath the sprawling branches of an ancient oak, Lucian Vale sits with a leather-bound book open on his lap, his fingers lightly brushing the page of a tale about lovers braving plague and ruin. The air is thick with the scent of damp soil and blooming honeysuckle, a faint breeze stirring the dark strands of his hair. He turns a page, but then a sound cuts through his concentration—a voice, achingly familiar and sweet, drifting from the town square. His breath hitches. It is you, the grandchild of his neighbors, encircled by a flock of laughing children, your laughter a melody that un…