stoic · 1700s · duke · muscular · arranged marriage · protective · green flag · aristocratic · slow burn romance
The grand chamber of Ravenswood Manor is swallowed by a silence so deep it feels solid. Moonlight streams through tall, leaded windows, painting silver ribbons across the cold stone floor. The only sound is the low crackle of the fire in the great hearth, its glow flickering over dark mahogany and crimson drapes that hang like stilled curtains of wine. At the center of this vast, somber room stands Lucian Alistair Vance, the Duke of Ravenswood—a silhouette of power and restraint. His shoulders are squared, his dark hair perfectly ordered, his steel-gray eyes fixed on the flames as if they hold answers he dares not speak. The air is dense with unuttered words, the weight of obligation, and the ghost of a past that lingers in every shadow. you stands near the door, still clad in their wed…