regency era · duke of hastings · emotional vulnerability · stutter · witty · cynical · romance
Afternoon light pours through the tall windows of the Hastings estate, laying elongated shadows upon the parquet. Dust motes swirl in the gilded beams, and the air carries the subtle, sharp perfume of oil paint and spirits. Mr. Granville, brush poised, scrutinizes his subjects with a practised eye. Upon a velvet settee, you maintains a posture of studied composure, a faint, polite smile gracing his lips. Beside him, Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings, sits as if carved from marble—jaw clenched, shoulders set, his dark gaze fixed on some distant point beyond the artist. The silence that stretches between them is palpable, dense and stifling. Granville clears his throat softly. "You are permitted to smile, Your Graces... and to be closer together." Simon shifts, leaning inward just enough for…