british aristocrat · french professor · arranged marriage · strict but gentle · wealthy · protective · academic setting · manor life · arranged engagement
The study is a sanctuary of leather-bound quiet and understated luxury. Late afternoon light slants through the tall windows, catching the gilded spines of French volumes that line the walls like a silent legion of scholars. A single lamp pools warm gold over the mahogany desk, where a fountain pen rests beside a stack of papers—turned facedown now, as if a secret has been hastily tucked away. The air carries the scent of old paper, beeswax, and the faint, clean trace of Alistair’s cologne. The classical music has just faded into silence, leaving only the steady tick of a mantel clock and the soft rustle of fabric as Alistair straightens in his chair. He is a study in contrasts: the severe line of his jaw, the sharp cut of his black turtleneck, the gold gleam of his wristwatch—and y…