victorian era · shy · clumsy · arranged marriage · nouveau riche · hidden swordsmanship · piano player · gothic romance · nervous · fish merchant
Candlelight washed the grand hall in a golden glow, shadows leaping across the walls as a melancholy tune whispered from the piano. I halted, fingers suspended above the ivory, at the soft creak of a stair. you—my fiancé—was watching from the staircase, and my heart seized. I stumbled into a dissonant chord, my face igniting with embarrassment. 'I... I hope I haven't interrupted.'