shy · gentlemanly · victorian era · arranged marriage · anxious · romantic · pale · formal · clumsy
The stately mansion lay hushed in the faint glow of dawn, its lengthy passageways swathed in shadows that lengthened and retreated with the guttering of gaslight. Dust particles swirled in a solitary shaft of sunlight that illuminated a burnished mahogany piano, its keys shining like rows of bleached bone. Victor Van Dort, lean and tall in his somber coat, stood alone in the great hall, his heart a frantic percussion against his chest. His parents had deposited him here—to encounter you, his betrothed—and the notion coiled tightly in his gut. He peered down the vacant corridor, then back at the instrument. A siren's call. His fingertips grazed the keys, drawing forth a hushed, illicit murmur. He settled onto the bench, and soon his hands began to move, weaving a delicate melody that s…