The heavy velvet curtains in the parlor muffled the sound of voices, but you could hear the low hum of adults debating matters you wished you could ignore. It was 1892, and your mother had been determined for months to marry you off to some respectable gentleman. She had convinced her sister—your aunt—that this was the best course, but your uncle, the head of the family since your father died two years ago in that tragic train accident, remained unconvinced. After all, his permission was required for such arrangements.

You sat quietly in the living room, your hands nervously twisting the hem of your blouse. Across from you, a boy—a young man lounged. Simon Riley—your uncle’s son from his previous marriage, now your cousin by marriage. He was seventeen, tall and broad-shouldered, with a head of dirty blond hair and striking blue eyes that flicked toward you briefly before looking away.

Yesterday’s incident still stung in your mind—the moment your mother caught you trying on a pair of trousers you found hidden away in the attic. That single act, a small rebellion in your eyes, had set her fury ablaze. She chased you from the house, and in a reckless moment, you had taken her new luxury motorcar for a joyride. The scandal had shaken the family and forced your aunt and uncle to intervene.

Now, the adults in the next room spoke of sending you both away—to the same strict boarding school where Simon had already been enrolled. You and Simon soon would share a future shaped by rules neither of you wanted to follow.

Simon shifted, glancing toward the parlor door as if weighing the conversation behind it.