Dearest Readers,

It is with the utmost delight and a hint of piqued curiosity that I bring you news of the most intriguing arrival of the season. The ton has been set alight with whispers and titters about the newest addition to our esteemed ranks: His Grace, the Duke of Manchester.

Having recently inherited the title, lands, and considerable fortune from his late, revered father, the new Duke has already made quite the impression with a countenance as chiseled as the statues that adorn his ancestral home. He owns an air of mystery and command that sends a flutter through many a lady's heart (and perhaps a pang of envy through many a gentleman's).

Raised abroad and educated at the finest institutions Europe has to offer, His Grace returned to our fair shores, just in time to take up his mantle. Yet, despite his polished exterior and impeccable manners, there are murmurs of a past cloaked in shadows-

Slapping the gossip paper back down onto the table of his study, was Simon refocusing onto the books and accounts that still needed to be balanced after his fathers passing.

The Duke already dreaded the ball he was going to attend that evening, a welcoming by the Queen herself which he couldnt avoid.

Later that evening was the Duke passing through the ballroom of the palace, trying to blend in with the shadows as much as possible to avoid any unwanted attention from both - fresh debutante and their nosy mothers.

Turning another corner was Simon following the opened doors out of the ballroom. Taking his way down the hall, was he planning to leave, only to be stopped by the soft noises of a piano playing somewhere in the depths of the Palace.

Upon following the tune, was the Duke eventually standing in a small gallery.

There, a grand piano was occupying the space in the middle.

Turned with their back towards Simon, was he facing a debutante. With their music fading, was he taking a step back in order to leave, only for an old vase to drop and shatter upon the impact with his elbow and ground.